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| Cadet Kevin Wakefield of the Texas Maritime Academy |
By Kevin Wakefield
Cadet, Texas Maritime Academy
As a deck cadet attending the Texas Maritime Academy, I had the opportunity in the summer of 2012 to sail with Hornbeck Offshore Services (HOS). The US Federal Code allows cadets at the state maritime academies to sail on a commercial vessel for 90 days in place of sailing for 60 days on a school training vessel. When the cadets at TMA had the annual "ship call" day in the spring, I chose to HOS as the company that I wanted to sail with.
Living and studying in Galveston, TX, I first became cognizant of HOS when I would see their vessels around in the docks near Pelican Island, where TMA is located. Their trademark black and orange boats caught my attention, and I soon developed a keen interest with the company. I soon heard other cadets talk about their positive experience sailing with their HOS vessels on their commercial cruise, and became determined to sail with them.
I was soon flown to New Orleans by HOS and put up in nice hotel located next to their home office in Covington, LA. The following day, the other cadets & I were given a presentation on the history of the company, as well as their policy and rules. One particular subject which was stressed was the company's safety policy and how a Job Safety Analysis (JSA) must be completed before every job. In the event that someone does that the job being performed is not safe or up to HOS's standards, anyone (including cadets) can use a Stop Work Authority. The company even went as far as to issue each cadet their own PPE.
At the conclusion of the orientation, myself and the other cadets were shuttled down to Fourchon, LA to join our respective vessels. Since my vessel had not yet arrived, I spent the night on a different HOS vessel. I was awaken at 0800 by the mate on watch and told that my vessel, the HOS Ridgewind, had just arrived. I grabbed my seabag and sextant and boarded the Ridgewind.
The Ridgewind is a 265 foot OSV that recently been converted from a fracking boat to a supply vessel. She seemed very new (having just come out of the shipyard) and the crew accommodations were also in excellent condition. I shared a room with another cadet, and was assigned the 1200-0000 watch, while my roommate had the 0000-1200. I soon met, Captain Billy, and was given a safety briefing by the mate on my watch. Just as evening came, the Ridgewind received orders from the charterer to set sail for the drill ship.
The Ridgewind is a busy vessel, and we never spent more than two days in port. During my 92 days on the Ridgewind, I worked with and was mentored by two masters, Captain Billy and Captain Johnny. Each captain works a 14/14 schedule, and proved to excellent mentors to a green deck cadet who had never worked in the Gulf before. Both masters taught me how to operate bridge equipment such as the RADAR and Noble Tec chart plotter. Prior to joining the Ridgewind, I took my DP induction course and was able to receive instruction from the masters on the DP system (the vessel has a DP-2 system), and even got my 30 days of familiarization signed off and completed. While on the open sea, I was shown certain boat handling maneuvers and was even allowed to steer the vessel. Captain Billy and Captain Johnny are natural teachers and were always willing to answer any question that I had.
While the Ridgewind has all of the modern bridge equipment available, she still maintains the use of paper charts. I assisted the mates on chart corrections and learned how important that charts can be in an age where there is an over reliance on electronic equipment.
HOS has a Streamlined Inspection Program (SIP) with the Coast Guard, and I was able to shadow the mates and engineers while they did their regular SIP inspections. This proved to be invaluable, and showed me what is expected of an officer employed by HOS. However, the training did not stop with the licensed officers. The ABs taught me how to start the FRC and how to operate the davit that launches it. I spent time working on deck with the ABs and learned the type of work and maintenance that is required to keep a vessel like the Ridgewind in pristine condition.
One side of the offshore business that made an impression on me was how the master communicated with the vessel's charterer. Both captains were always professional and courteous with the oil company and ensured that all rules and guidelines were followed and enforced. These men could answer any question about cargo space, liquid mud, and the deck cargo that was onboard. In short, Captain Billy and Captain Johnny knew Ridgewind inside and out.
I saw firsthand of the company's safety standards, and witnessed JSA being completed for every job on board. The crew always wore PPE and every week the crew participated in safety meetings and the weekly drills. The vessel group manager visited the vessel every week and made it a point to talk to each crew member (including the cadets).
At the end of my summer commercial cruise, the other cadets and I reported back to the home office in Covington, and were again put up in hotel rooms and provided meal vouchers. We were organized in small groups and told to put together a Power Point presentation for CEO Todd Hornbeck and the other senior officers of the company. While presenting, Mr. Hornbeck and the other officers listened to us talk about our summer experience with HOS. They even wanted feedback on what could be better, but I had no complaints. I was paid as an employee, was feed well, and received first rate training on a state of the art supply vessel. Upon the completion of the presentation, the folks at HOS took us o
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OSV HOS Ridgewind
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ut to a nice dinner to celebrate the end of our cruise.
I found my summer with Hornbeck Offshore Services to be an excellent opportunity to see how the offshore industry operates and what life on a work boat entails. I wish cadets could earn more than 90 days on a working vessel like the Ridge
wind, and
receive the type of mentoring that my
captains gave me. With this type of training, perhaps cadets will be more adept to the demanding life at sea that we face upon graduation.
