Safety at Sea Is What We Do

The Costa Concordia incident proved just one thing: Human beings are flawed no matter how much training is imposed on them. Captain Francesco Schettino fell into a lifeboat along with his first and second officers while mayhem crippled evacuation routes and frantic passengers and crew lingered too long waiting for their commands, which – alas – never came.

Mandated training regulations can be overwhelming at times, but then an incident comes along to reinforce their importance and, sadly, it usually means there has been loss of life or an environmental catastrophe. ‘Safety at Sea’ and ‘Safe Return to Port’ are essential foundations of the maritime industry, meant to return capital assets to their owners safely while protecting human life. But in the end, human weakness or courage can only be determined when faced with survival or death. It is a basic instinct that no training will ever correct.

Karl Holz, President of Disney Cruise Line, is featured on the cover of our opening edition for 2012. Holz tells us that Walt Disney and his family were avid “cruisers” and often sailed to Hawaii or Europe on classic ships like the Queen Mary and SS United States. So the company designed its ships like they were sailing in the Golden Age of cruising and with the entire family in mind. It was exciting to work with the folks from Disney and to kick off 2012 with such an iconic name. Enjoy! 
In “Tougher Emergency Standards Urged,” Art Garcia reached out to a number of industry executives to discuss training, communication devices, safety equipment, and personal tracking systems to find and protect people at sea. It’s a timely and important article. Kathy Smith took on what turned out to be a challenging topic in “Cruise Industry Outlook: Steady As She Goes.” Cruising is big business and will remain so despite the Concordia event. And while there will be changes in training and evacuation procedures for cruise vessels, the industry as a whole has an excellent overall safety record. With twenty million cruises booked in 2011 and thirty million expected by 2020, the industry will continue to grow because taking a cruise is not only great fun but a great value.

Michael Economides’ latest piece, “The Keystone Pipeline Debacle,” takes to task the politicians who continue to play games with America’s energy needs, demonstrating how the 1,700-mile pipeline that could bring 800,000 barrels oil daily to Gulf Coast refineries has become nothing more than a political football. Similarly, Washington Insider columnist Larry Kiern pens an insightful review of the two political parties and what we can expect during this election season. No matter what your politics, the wheels of government will continue to spin without disruption. So be informed and vote!

Upgrades & Downgrades columnist and Senior Editor Jack O’Connell finds the “winner among shipping stocks for 2011.” It’s been a tough year for the maritime industry, and 2012 doesn’t look any brighter, according to most experts. Jack also has an informative and entertaining feature on accommodation vessels – no, not cruise ships, but an entirely new class of vessel. Read all about it!
Wendy Laursen tackles the tricky issue of ballast water treatment compliance. While deadlines range from 2013 to 2016, regulators and port states alike are still working on compliance protocols. Art Garcia contributes a second article with “Preparing for ECDIS.” While the majority of ships will not be required to meet the ECDIS requirement till midway through the decade, it’s not going to be a cheap endeavor.

How do you define leadership? Well, Kathy Smith caught up with Walt Megonigal, Senior Management Consultant and former Director of Training at MITAGS, and Eric Friend, Director of Training at MITAGS, to find out. The article is extremely timely and demonstrates the difference between management and leadership, whether on the bridge of a ship or in a corporate Ivory Tower.  Finally, Bill Johnson, Director of the Port of Miami, the world’s busiest cruise port, is – appropriately – our Executive Achievement feature for this edition. Bill has lived in Miami since graduating from the University of Tennessee in 1970. His enthusiasm for the port’s future and the opportunity offered by the Panama Canal expansion rolls off the pages, and MarEx is just as thrilled to be in South Florida as he is. 
Thanks for coming back to read this first edition of the New Year, and I promise it will lead the way for continued thought and leadership in the industry.