Training News from HIGMAN BARGE LINES, Inc.

The Vessel General Permit (VGP) was implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)in 2009 for normal discharges incidental to the operation of barges. The regulation covers all commercial vessels over 79 feet OR greater than 300tons. All Higman barges fall under this requirement.

There are three requirements for our Wheelmen to be aware of:

Barge Inspections - At least once per week or once per voyage, whichever is more frequent, a visual walk around inspection must be made of the barges in your tow. For vessels working cross channel routes, the EPA and USCG formerly required an inspection for each voyage. The EPA and USCG will now accept a weekly submission as long as the vessel submits the report every week without fail. We believe it best to submit the report at the same time and day of the week to remain consistent. The inspection will include:

Checking that barge decks are clear of garbage, oil, paint chips and any visible pollutant that could be discharged into the water.
Pollution prevention mechanisms are in proper working order and available: spill rails, scupper plugs, drip pans, spill response kit.
The barge inspections must be documented on Higman Boats. An electronic form includes:

The date and time of inspection.
Personnel conducting the inspection.
Location of any visual sampling and observations.
Any potential problems and sources of contamination found.
The signature of the master or the person conducting the inspection.

Visual Monitor

During each watch you must visually monitor the water around and behind the vessel for visible sheen, dust, chemicals, abnormal discoloration or foaming, and other indicators of pollutants originating from the vessel.
This report is part of the Vessel Daily Log.

Deck Maintenance

There is a requirement to document routine deck maintenance that could result in an overboard discharge such as paint chips from deck preparation for painting.
Maintenance documentation includes:

Dates, materials used, application process, etc. for any maintenance of the deck surface.
This work can be part of a rough log for the vessel.

Practical Considerations in a Man Overboard Situation Follow-up

Good ideas for a MOB rescue.

Our JULY 25th, Higman Training Newsletter article, "Practical Considerations in a Man Overboard Situation", brought good comments from Jerry Crooks. Jerry is the Marine Technical Advisor - HSSE/Incidents with Shell Trading US Company and a frequent contributor to the TNL. Jerry's comments are as follows:

Life ring

In my Coast Guard days, we trained extensively for recovering people from the water and you are absolutely correct that "it ain't easy." If the person was conscious, we would rig a mooring line under the arms and then pull the person aboard to a sitting position on the bulwark. The person is always turned so their back is to the hull, and they are instructed not to help assist in getting aboard. The line can be led to a cleat or bitt so it can be tended in stages...heave in, take a turn to hold the line... heave in together again...until the person is aboard. There are now commercially available slings that can be used with a winch or in this manner. As with any lifting or fall protection device, they have a shelf life.

If the person was unconscious, we floated them into a stokes litter. I know your tugs don't have them, but there are plenty of things that can be improvised. However, this method nearly always requires someone getting in the water, so I do not recommend it except for highly trained people.

One important point about reaching for someone with an object. One must be careful in rough seas that rolling or pitching doesn't cause you to hit the person with the object. Also, a panicked person may grab the object and pull you overboard, especially if you offer them the hook end of a boat hook (we always offered the blunt end anyway to prevent injury).

Finally, everyone involved in the rescue must be wearing a PFD, since the risk of additional people falling overboard is high.

Licenses and Water Don't Mix!

The new Merchant Mariner Credentials (MMC) have water resistant pages, NOT water proof. They will not survive rain storms, washing machines or being dropped overboard.

It is much cheaper and reassuring to protect your license in a case. There are several water proof cases available at Academy or online. I would recommend the Witz Passport Locker, it is water proof and it floats, should you drop it overboard. ($10-15). If you want to go cheaper a Ziplock back will protect your license from a sudden rainstorm while on the barge.

Should your license get wet, please call Patti in the Covington office. She will assist you in replacing it. Your license may look fine at first, but it will start to fall apart after it dries out (see the pictures to the left). Replacement licenses can take anywhere from 1-2 weeks to get back, so don't wait until it falls apart to get a new one.

Clearing the Internet Cache

From time to time it is a good idea to clear the internet cache on the boat computers. If the CBT appears to be locking up, this may solve the problem. To clear the cache, please follow these steps (it may appear a little different depending on the version on your computer):

Open Internet Explorer (any webpage will work)
Click on "Tools" on the top left side
Select "Internet Options"
Click on the "Delete" button under "Browsing History"
A pop will appear
Check:

"Temporary Internet Files"
"Cookies"
"History"

This may take a few minutes. When done close the internet before continuing your work.

Nav Zone- Near Misses

According to the Policy and Procedure Manual all accidents, no matter how insignificant will be reported by telephone to the Dispatcher, (or the Person on call for Scheduling/Dispatching). If the incident involves a spill or any a threat to cargoes, then the Qualified Individual (QI) will be notified first.

What about near misses or close calls?

We want to hear about those too. Reporting close calls takes us into the "proactive" state, rather than waiting for something bad to happen, "reactive". A near miss can provide a lot of insight to situations that you may encounter. Near misses are used for:

Simulator training
Root Cause Analysis
Job Task Analysis
Improvements on policy and procedures
Promote communication between shore and vessel personnel

It is much cheaper and safer for us to learn our lesson from a near miss than an actual incident.

Our vessel operators are shore staff's eyes and ears. Most transportation departments, including the FAA, FRA (railroad), NASA and more all have a "Close Call Reporting System". History has shown that most incidents occurred after warnings, or near misses. It is important that you report the near misses so that we can avoid the incidents.

USCG Rules of the Road

INLAND ONLY.....A power-driven vessel, when leaving a dock or berth, must sound what signal?

a. Three short blasts
b. A long blast
c. A prolonged blast
d. No signal is required.

INLAND ONLY.....A barge more than 50 meters long, at anchor in a "special anchorage area designated by the Secretary", is required to show how many white anchor lights?

a. None
b. Two
c. One
d. One, on the near approach of another vessel

INLAND ONLY.....While underway and in sight of another vessel a mile ahead you put your engines on astern propulsion. Which statement concerning whistle signals is TRUE?

a. You must sound three short blasts on the whistle.
b. You must sound one blast if backing to starboard.
c. You must sound whistle signals only if the vessels are meeting.
d. You need not sound any whistle signals.

INLAND ONLY.....A vessel engaged in public safety activities may display an alternately flashing red and yellow light. This special light may be used by a vessel engaged in __________.

a. law enforcement
b. patrolling a regatta
c. hauling in pairs
d. river bank protection

INLAND ONLY.....If a towing vessel and her tow are severely restricted in their ability to deviate from their course, lights in addition to the towing identification lights must be shown. These additional lights shall be shown if the tow is __________.

a. pushed ahead
b. towed alongside
c. towed astern
d. All of the above

Stern Shots

M/V POINT MALLARD enroute to Christening, AUG 6, 2012

M/V GUADALUPE following the M/V POINT MALLARD to Kemah.

M/V GUADALUPE in the Kemah, TX channel.

Jr Fincher, David Devall and AJ Fowler wait for the boats at the Boardwalk.

Eric Bell, M/V MISS SARAH make a contribution to Seamen's Church Institute at the July Tankerman Meeting

Nautical Trivia

The Captains' Prize Sea Serpent Story.

From the:

THE GALVESTON DAILY NEWS.

MONDAY, MARCH 12, 1900

At the Astor house the other night thirty-seven grizzled old sea dogs attended the annual dinner given by Captain N. B. Church, general manager of the American fisheries company, who owns a fleet of thirty-seven steamers engaged in the menhaden fishery in the waters of New York, Rhode Island, Maine, Delaware and Port Arthur, TX.'

The guests of Captain Church were the skippers of the steamers,

and in accordance with the custom prevailing at all similar gatherings there was no limit placed upon the yarns which each guest might feel inclined to tell, according to the Chicago Inter-Ocean. At each of the annual gatherings of the skippers, Captain Church presents a watch to the one whose cruiser shows the best results. He also presents a watch, somewhat cheaper in value than the other, to the captain who can tell the most remarkable fish story based on personal experience. It is a strict rule of the company that the stories must be strictly true. Corroboration is not demanded, however, and the narrators have lots of leeway.

Captain Mike. Cavanaugh of the good ship Quickstep received the prize for catching the most fish. Then Cavanaugh told his fish story.

"Boys," he began, "some people say there is no such thing as sea serpents. I've seen one, and if it wasn't for that serpent I wouldn't be the proud recipient of this prize to-night. It was one day toward the end of my last trip. The sun made splendid the green water and showed up the garbage that was making its way toward Rockaway beach.

"Just then I saw coming head on toward the Quickstep what I thought was a whale. When it got near, however, I saw that it was about seventy five feet long, twenty-eight feet wide with a head as big as a hogshead.

"My God, Bill," said I to the mate, "what is that?"

"It is a Sea Serpent for sure", he said. "Look at those horns", and he clutched me by the arms.

" Bill", I shouted, "If it hits the boat, she's a goner." And so saying, I acted quick. We had a twelve-pound gun aboard. The Mate and I dragged it to the bow and aimed it at the rapidly approaching monster. The charge ripped a big hole in the Sea Serpent and it turned over on its side while the blood dyed the sea and the lashing of its tail disturbed the serenity of the surface for miles around.

"To the boats boys!" I yelled, and they were manned as quickly as possible. When we reached the monster it was quite dead and what do you think we found? Through the opening in its side we saw thousands and thousands of menhaden. As soon as we recovered from our surprise, we commenced to scoop them into our boats with buckets. We got ten tons of them all together. Just as we scooped the last out bucketful, the old serpent keeled over and sank.

Captain Cavanaugh then sat down and by unanimous desire of the feasters, was given the prize.

Dates to Remember

2012 Advanced Pilothouse Management at SCI

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 25 - OCT 26

2012/2013 Tankermen Seminars

Second Session August 13, 2012

Third Session September 6, 2012

Fourth Session October 24, 2012

Fifth Session November 15, 2012

Sixth Session January 21, 2013

Seventh Session February 6, 2013

Eighth Session March 25, 2013

Ninth Session April 11, 2013

Tenth Session May 14, 2013

Eleventh Session June 5, 2013

2013 Wheelmen's Seminar

First Session FEB 20 - FEB 21

Second Session MAR 4 - MAR 5

Third Session MAR 13 - MAR 14

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

CBT Certificates earned by Higman employees from

JAN 17, 2012 to date............2400

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

How many new towboats has Higman Marine brought into service in 2012? Do you know the number?

We are into the eight month of the year and as of the day we publish this newsletter, we have put five new towboats on the water. That is quite an accomplishment in a time when many businesses are struggling to keep afloat.

Much of this accomplishment can be attributed to our crews and the sense of teamwork we all exhibit as a company each day.

Keep up the good work and take a moment to reflect with pride your own contributions to this effort as we christen the M/V GUADALUPE and the M/V POINT MALLARD later today.

Have a great and safe week!

Sincerely,

GORDIE KEENAN
KELLY CLEAVER

TEDDY CHERAMIE