MarEx Mailbag: Reader Response to MarEx Articles

MarEx readers weighed in on last week's editorial & other articles In last week's edition of the MarEx e-newsletter, our lead editorial, entitled "Idle Thoughts before the Holiday," attracted some off-beat, but amusing responses. Another article, our feature archive piece, "Earning Back the Trust – One Mariner at a Time," also received some reader response. The first article recapped Managing Editor Joseph Keefe's ongoing quest to attain STCW compliance for his continuity Coast Guard license. The second piece outlines the ongoing migration of local Coast Guard REC's to a centralized location in West Virginia. Read last week's STCW editorial by clicking HERE. Read last week's feature archive article by clicking HERE. Or, read on to see what MarEx readers had to say on both subjects. Regarding STCW compliance:

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Good day to you, Joe. I certainly hope that the Coast Guard can earn the trust of mariners. It's a most worthy goal, but I'll tend to be a bit skeptical of their ability to actually accomplish this. It's not as though the mariner has another outlet to see to their documentation needs. Combine this with institutional inertia and multiply it by a factor of five because it's a governmental body, and I'm sure you'll agree. I'd actually like to be wrong in this case, but I'm old enough to remember a license renewal taking all of twenty minutes, maybe thirty if a couple of sea stories and a cup of coffee were shared with the person in the OCMI's office, and all of that with no cash changing hands. Mariner licensing was actually a service of government back then. Best wishes, Scott Liebling Editor's Remarks: I have to think that they (the Coast Guard) are going to get this one right. At a time when much of their marine safety mission is under attack from different quarters, this would be no time to fail. And, my visit last October to the fledgling operation there gave me no indication that they would do anything but succeed. If their enthusiasm is any indication right now, then we've got little to worry about.

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Joe: Two of your pieces interest me, well actually most of them. 1.) Why a grown man wants to be a documented seaman is beyond me. I am first to admit that from ordinary seaman to Master and pilot including a seaman's passport, COTP I.D. card and badge, seaman's document, and, a gyro certificate, a radar certificate, loran ticket etc., I never underwent any confusion or hassle. It was hard work but efficiently accomplished. It appears that as the computer assistance increased, the complexity and inefficiency of the processes also increased. Truthfully, I believe that today I would be jailed for assault before I completed an application. I suggest some Hydrocodone with a beverage, and good luck. 2.) The COTA retirement is interesting as it apparently removes only one thing, John from any pilot houses, and maybe any action by the commission. However the USCG, will eventually have to do something about his AB ticket, Lifeboat ticket, seaman's document, license etc., as some are entitlement to employment. The aggrieved bridge, fish, fowl and persons will certainly want restitution, or money, and God help us, the politicians want to see their name in the papers and on a piece of legislation whether it resolves anything or not. As you know the USCG authorization bill is already loaded. The dictionary definition for captain, I am afraid will soon read: "6. the person most responsible for marine accidents." JGD Editor's Note: John Denham gave permission to provide attribution to this letter. He also added, somewhat(?) tongue-in-cheek, that he is "presently undergoing treatment for extreme irritation." As always, John adds something different to the conversation and typically, he'll bring up some aspects of a particular matter that I had not considered. This letter was no different. The final letter shown below, From Andy Charlton, refers (I think) to my editorial on STCW.

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Joe: You heard about the Merchant Mariner with the Unlimited Masters Certification? His wife divorced him over religious differences... Yeah, she says he thought he was God, and she held a different opinion. Andy Charlton Charlton Marine Corporation Editor's Remarks: Andy managed to lighten up an otherwise drab week at the office. But fortunately, I've only got a Chief Mate's ticket with a 1,600 ton Master's endorsement. Or is it the other way around? I never could figure that out. That little bit of confusion required me to sit for both licenses all over again, back in the 1990's. Trust me, I'm paying closer attention now.

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