Training News from HIGMAN BARGE LINES, Inc.

First, the Coast Guard accepts renewal applications one year before and after the expirations date. So if you license expires on December 5, 2012, you can start your application as early as December 5, 2011.

MMC

If you are worried about losing time on your license, DON'T. If you request, the Coast Guard will date your new license for the same day that your old license expires.

In making a determination on when to apply you should take into consideration your health. The Coast Guard doctors base your health on the physical form (which is part of your company annual physical). The Coast Guard may ask for additional information from your doctor for any of the following:

Any prescriptions you are taking (remember barbiturates are not allowed while working on a vessel)
Any condition check on the physical (i.e. Diabetes, Sleep Apnea, Asthma, Migraines)
Major surgeries in the past five years (i.e. back surgery, stint)
If you have had a DUI/DWI

If you have a DUI/DWI the Coast Guard may want you to see a Substance Abuse Professional.

"A Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) is a person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol program regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare."

This can be a very lengthy process. If you are in this situation you need to start your renewal process at least 9-10 months in advance.

If you need guidance on when you renew your license please contact Kelly in the Channelview office.

2011 CBT Year End Drawing

In 2011 we had 291 employees that completed all quarterly CBT courses. Each of these employees was entered into a random drawing (using www.random.org). 20 names were drawn for a $250 gift certificate to Walmart. The winners are:

0.856353591160221 Aaron McWhorter - Tankerman - M/V Skipjack

Dean Walker - Pilot - M/V Louisianan

Chris Lusk - Relief Captain - M/V Drum Point

OJ Griffin - Steersman - M/V Grebe

Gus Rettig - Tankerman - M/V Bethesda

Cliff Cooper - Tankerman - M/V Sabine Pass

James Lee - Relief Captain - M/V Sabine Pass

Tony Rutland - Tankerman - M/V Miss Cynthia

Elzie Ward - Tankerman - M/V Marrero

Randy Lormand - Pilot - M/V Mark E. Flynn

Kevin Bingham - Tankerman - M/V Bethesda

Alfred Hernandez - Tankerman - M/V Potomac

Darrell Crain II - Relief Captain - M/V San Antonio

AJ Fowler - Tankerman - M/V Grebe

Ron Anderson - Steersman - M/V Mark E. Flynn

Nakie Fitch - Relief Captain - M/V Skipjack

Chris Weber - Tankerman - M/V Cove Point

Jerry Casagrand - Captain - M/V Saint Charles

David Carriere - Captain - M/V Mark E. Flynn

Cornelius Griffin - Tankerman - M/V Bethesda

Gift certificates will be available at the Channelview office on January 16th.

Boot Policy Rumors

There have been several rumors floating around concerning boot vouchers. The rumor is that some people are able to get vouchers for pull on boots. This is a rumor! The Personal Safety Manual Sections 5 "Foot Protection" states:

Lace up Safety Boots

"Steel-toes leather safety LACE-UP shoes must be worn by tankerman, deckhand and trainees whenever on watch, performing maintenance duties, while in the engine room, on the outside of a towboat, and including wheelmen when on a barge, walking on dock facilities or while in shipyards"

Technology Can Cause Costly Distractions

Thursday, November 17, 2011

THE London P&I Club has warned that improvements in telecommunications technology on board ships can create unwelcome distractions, leading to casualties.

In its StopLoss Bulletin, the club notes that an alleged causative factor in a recent pollution incident involved the duty officer attempting to make a Skype call on his laptop during his watch. A VDR playback revealed that the officer of the watch (OOW) was listening to a news bulletin from his home country which was being streamed through a laptop computer. The officer appears to have missed a radar target and a VHF warning call while listening to the breaking news from home.

Wheelhouse "ergonomics" and the distraction of a radio call contributed to the JAN 23, 2010 collision between the Tankship Otome Eagle and the two barge tow, M/V Dixie Vengeance.

The club says, "Onboard communication has improved significantly over the last few years, with technological advances enabling crew to use mobile phones and laptops to stay in contact with family and friends ashore. However, the use of such equipment at inappropriate moments may distract crew from the navigation or operation of the ship.

"Another issue is the risk of being exposed to excessive information and simply being unable to process it all. Bridge equipment is increasingly sophisticated and it can provide the crew with access to extensive information regarding the relative positions of other ships. But, unless it is used in a focused manner, it can confuse, rather than clarify, and ultimately prove counter-productive."

In another case cited by the club, the OOW decided to use the Automatic Radar Plotting Aid to track 99 different ships whilst transiting a congested anchorage and to overlay the radar image with Automatic Identification System data. With so much information being displayed, he failed to notice that one of the targets had both a minimal closest point of approach (CPA) and time to CPA and, ultimately, there was a collision.

reprinted from MarineNews Magazine

Nav Zone

Rule 24....Lights and Shapes -INLAND-

A discussion of "Rule 24" was written up in the Training Newsletter two and a half years ago. A similar situation came up recently, so we thought it was worth discussing again. Here goes....

The Relief Captain on the M/V GREBE, Dennis Ridley had an interesting meeting situation the other night (2009).

An on coming tow had a yellow flashing light but no red/green sidelights on the barge being pushed. Dennis contacted the tow by VHF and reported to the wheelman that his sidelights were out on the barge. The wheelman reported back to Dennis that sidelights were not required because the barge being pushed was narrower than the towboat. Is this right?

Let's look at Rule 24......

(e) Provided that any number of vessels being towed alongside or pushed in a group shall be lighted as one vessel, except as provided in paragraph (iii):

(i) a vessel being pushed ahead, not being part of a composite unit, shall exhibit at the forward end sidelights, and a special flashing light;
(ii) a vessel being towed alongside shall exhibit a sternlight, and at the forward end, sidelights and a special flashing light;
(iii) when vessels are towed alongside on both sides of the towing vessels a sternlight shall be exhibited on the stern of the outboard vessel on each side of the towing vessel, and a single set of sidelights as far forward and as far outboard as practical, and a single special flashing light.

As per the rule there is no exemption for lack of sidelights on a barge narrower than the towboat pushing it.

USCG Rules of the Road:

INLAND ONLY....Which is a characteristic of a "special flashing light"?

a. It is required for all vessels being pushed ahead as part of a composite unit.
b. It must show through an arc of not less than 180° nor more than 225°.
c. It must be of the same character and construction as the masthead light.
d. All of the above

INLAND ONLY....Which lights are required for a barge, not part of a composite unit, being pushed ahead?

a. Sidelights and a stern light
b. Sidelights, a special flashing light, and a stern light
c. Sidelights and a special flashing light
d. Sidelights, a towing light, and a stern light

INTERNATIONAL ONLY....What lights are required for a single barge being towed alongside?

a. Sidelights and a stern light
b. Sidelights, a special flashing light, and a stern light
c. Sidelights and a special flashing light
d. Sidelights, a towing light, and a stern light

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND....A vessel towed astern shall show __________.

a. masthead lights
b. sidelights
c. a special flashing light
d. All of the above

INLAND ONLY....You are meeting "head on" a tug towing a barge alongside about a mile away. In addition to the white masthead lights which other lights do you see on the tug and tow combined?

a. One green and one red sidelight on the outside of the unit
b. One green and one red sidelight and a special flashing light
c. Only the green and red sidelights marking each vessel
d. The green and red sidelights marking each vessel and a special flashing light

Stern Shots

Over 3" of rain fell this week at the Channelview Office.

The calm after the storm from the M/V San Antonio.

The Crews of the San Antonio and Arundel chat while on break.

Pilot Daniel Winegeart & Tankerman Robert Stegall pose on their new boat, the M/V San Antonio.

Capt Mike Taylor flies his ALABAMA flag for

Port Capt David Devall.

Nautical Trivia

The U.S.S. WESTFIELD

Northeast of Pelican Island, off of the ICWW, the wreck of the Union Gunboat, the U.S.S. WESTFIELD was found in 2009 during a survey of the Texas City Ship Channel. It was located near the intersection with the Houston Ship Channel.

The U.S.S. Westfield, Union flagship at the Battle of Galveston in 1863, was originally a side-wheel steam ferryboat belonging to Cornelius Vanderbilt. Her statistics were: tonnage 822, length 215 feet, beam 35 feet, depth 13½ feet.

U.S.S. WESTFIELD sunk near the intersection of the Texas City and Houston Ship Channels on JAN 1, 1863

After acquisition by the Union Navy on November 22, 1861, she was armed with a 100-pound Parrot rifle, a nineteen-inch Dahlgren smoothbore, and a forty-eight-inch Dahlgren smoothbore.

The Westfield was commissioned in January 1862 under Commander William B. Renshaw. From the Westfield, Renshaw commanded the Union mortar flotilla that captured the defenses of Galveston on October 4, 1862. Six days later the city formally surrendered.

On January 1, 1863, when Confederate forces staged a surprise attack and recaptured the city, the Westfield ran aground near Pelican Spit in Galveston Bay; she could not be dislodged and had to be destroyed to prevent capture. Renshaw and a boat crew were killed when she blew up prematurely. One story has it that they waited until the explosion should have occurred, then returned to the ship thinking that the fuse must have gone out.

In May 1864 the hard-pressed Confederate Ordnance Department ordered the salvage of the Westfield's hollow and forged side-wheel shafts, which were then made into gun barrels.

Dates to Remember

2012 Wheelmen's Seminars

First Session FEB 29 - MAR 1

Second Session MAR 12 - MAR 13

Third Session MAR 21 - MAR 22

2012 Advanced Pilothouse Management at SCI

First Session FEB 13 - FEB 15

Second Session APR 23 - APR 25

Third Session JUN 11 - JUN 13

Fourth Session AUG 13 - AUG 15

Fifth Session SEP 24- SEP 26

2012 Higman Leadership and Management Course

First Session OCT 4 - OCT 5

Second Session OCT 18 - OCT 19

To schedule training please email Kelly or call at 281-864-6011.

CBT Certificates earned by Higman employees from

JAN 1, 2011 to DEC 31,2011........5187!

DO ALL CREWMEMBERS HAVE ACCESS TO THE HIGMAN TRAINING NEWSLETTER?

PLEASE MAKE SURE A HARD COPY IS PRINTED AND MADE AVAILABLE FOR THE CREW.
Add your email address with the "Join our Mailing List" button (above, page 1, left side) to get your own copy!

Answer to this weeks Rules of the Road ...B,C,A,B,D

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

A new group of deckhands came through the Channelview Office this week. They arrived on Monday, the day we saw more rain fall in a few hours then we had seen in the past year. Some had an idea of what they were getting into from stories from friends or family. Others had very little idea at all. The common trait they shared though, was great enthusiasm.

Most of them were quiet young, actually younger than my own kids. I told them a bit of what to expect before the start of their more formal orientation. They listened intently.

I think all of us can remember that first day we got into the marine field. For most, it was a start of an adventure. It is a career that is very different than most and one that you can always be proud of.

A seagoing career has some great perks. There is nothing better than being able to walk out onto your front lawn in the morning with a cup during time off from the boat. There you can wave to your neighbors as they start the commute to work. Simple pleasures!

Have a great and very safe week!

Sincerely,

GORDIE KEENAN
KELLY CLEAVER