Once Upon A Nuclear Ship… Launched Finally
New film chronicles the life death and resurrection of historic ship

Once Upon A Nuclear Ship, a new documentary by filmmaker Thomas Michael Conner, tells the story of the NS Savannah the world’s first nuclear powered merchant ship that was once the diamond in the crown of the US merchant fleet.

Imagined by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1955 and built by the New York Shipbuilding Corp in Camden NJ from 1957 to 1962, the Savannah sailed the oceans of the world for 9 years before being taken out of service in 1971. In her brief lifetime she visited 77 ports of call hosting 1.5 million visitors and proved that a nuclear powered merchant ship carrying cargo and passengers was a viable option to smokestacks spewing soot and other contaminants into the air and laid the groundwork for a future that never came to be.

It’s a story best told by the men who “were there when it happened” and although many of these pioneering seamen have sailed into the sunset, Conner tracked down some key players and let them tell the story in their own words. It’s a story he too knows well because he was a member of the health physics (radiation protection) staff and was there from the day the reactor split it’s first atom then sailed on the ship until the end of 1964. The NS Savannah was the only merchant ship requiring a special department for the assessment of radiological hazards.

Once Upon A Nuclear Ship follows the Savannah through all of her trials and tribulations from the keel laying to her decommissioning and abandonment to her resurrection in 2006.

Today, the NS Savannah sits beside a dock in Baltimore MD while a small group of passionate people led by Erhard Koehler and Jon Stouky of the US Maritime Administration are busy preserving the history and technological know how that produced the Savannah in the first place. Stouky like Conner was involved with the Savannah since the New York Ship days in Camden and is currently the project’s Nuclear Advisor. Future plans include using the ship as a Maritime Museum.

Once Upon A Nuclear Ship is being released on DVD through TCL Communications, Inc and is available on it’s own website http://nssavannahdocumentary.com. Future plans include making it available via download or streaming.

Contact: Tom Conner
517-546-9230
tom@nssavannahdocumentary.com

I’m passionate about safety on board ships and in other industrial environments!  With this spirit in mind, I’m writing today to talk about taking safety to the “next level” and what exactly that “next level” looks like.

To do this I’m going to share a quick story on what it means to be a “safety freak”…

A few weeks ago, my family and I were driving on the interstate when my wife unbuckled her seat belt to pick something up that one of our three young kids had dropped in the back seat.

As soon as my wife unbuckled her seat belt our 3 and 5 year old daughters started “freaking out” and crying for mommy to “put her seat belt back on” because it was “dangerous” and “un-safe” to be in a moving car without your seat belt on.

We both thought it was hilarious, but we didn’t think too much about it after the moment passed.

Then, two weeks later, I remembered that moment and had an epiphany (pretty big word, huh?)!

Anyway, I realized the reason my girls started freaking out as soon as my wife unbuckled her seat belt was because all they’ve ever been told about seat belts is that they MUST ALWAYS be worn in a vehicle.

As parents, we are extremely passionate about our childrens’ safety.  One example of this is our obsession with keeping them secure in their car-seats which begins the first day we bring them home from the hospital. The kids don’t know anything different and when they recognize that something isn’t right or counter to what they’ve been taught (like removing your seat belt in a moving vehicle), they start “freaking out” without even thinking about it!

This “subconscious” level of safety awareness and tolerance displayed by my kids is exactly what we must strive for as supervisors in industrial environments (ships, factories, warehouses, power-plants, constructions site, etc.).

How is this “vision” achieved?

It goes without saying that coworkers should care about each other’s safety as if they were family, if not then your organization has deeper issues. Like loving parents strapping their children into car seats because it is the right thing to do, supervisors, managers and work-site leaders must also lead by example and except nothing less 100% safety compliance from their crew (because this too is the right thing to do).

We have an advantage with kids in that they’ve never known anything different, in fact, they probably don’t even realize the consequences of not wearing their seat belts, they just know you should always wear them.

From time to time you may come across an employee who’s gotten away with substandard safety attitude for so long they may not be willing to change (this may be a separate administrative issue). However, I believe most people are capable of achieving safety excellence when given a supportive and caring environment with clear expectations and zero tolerance for safety violations (like parents ensuring their children wear seat belts).

It really is time to get your freak on!

I’ve written a few articles on ship safety over the last year, not just on this site, but on gCaptain and in a “soon to be announced” leading professional maritime magazine (I’m sure the anticipation is killing you).

I believe there is a misconception in the maritime industry (or any industrial environment for that matter) when it comes to operational safety and performance. While most people agree that safety takes priority EVERYTIME, there are a few people who suggest an increased safety focus is often at the expense of performance (productivity, downtime, etc.).  This is simply not the case.

Without question, the complexity of modern maritime operations (vessel operations, terminal and port operations, shipbuilding, etc.) require a tremendous amount planning to be conducted safely and the industry has developed a variety of “safety tools” to aid professionals in these industries. Work Permits, Energy Isolation Certificates (lock-out tag-outs), Job Safety Analysis (JSAs, Job Hazard Analysis, JSEAs, etc.) and company policies and procedures all play a part in the successful execution of various tasks.

What is often overlooked, however, is the fact that these same “safety tools” can also lead us to improved performance as well!

Work Permits and Energy Isolation Certificates ensure the highest levels of management on board ship, offshore drilling unit or shore-side facility are fully aware of critical operations and equipment isolation that may affect the overall safety of the worksite.

In addition to concerns over safety, the “person in charge” (PIC, Master, facility manager, OIM, etc.) is also tasked with ensuring the operations will not affect the performance of current or future operations unless absolutely necessary (such as the need to perform overdue maintenance on a piece of “critical path” equipment).

Job Safety Analysis and Company Procedures also contribute to improved operational performance and reliability. When the various steps of the job are identified and adequate controls are put in place (to reduce or prevent the hazards from materializing), the job can be completed more efficiently.

Over time, the JSA can be updated to include the “lessons learned” from the previous times the task was performed which increases the efficiency of the task even more. When tasks involve “critical path” equipment (such as a ship’s main propulsion, an energy terminal’s tank farm, or a factory’s conveyor system), well thought out JSA and company procedures will ensure the equipment is back on line as safely and efficiently as possible.

Developing or overhauling a company’s existing Safety Management Systems to align both safety and performance can be a challenging yet value added endeavor.  If your company management system is already audited to ISM or SEMS standards, there is a high likelihood that your organization is already there, the challenge then becomes communicating to personnel increased safety and performance really do go hand-in-hand.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy has been tapped to help test a new hydrokinetic turbine that will harness water currents for electricity production.

Already host to a wind turbine, solar panels and other alternative energy projects, the the academy is seeking to explore “The one area where we have not taken advantage of our location … the canal current,” said Adm. Richard Gurnon, president of the state maritime college.

The 1.4-meter turbine was designed by Free Flow Power Corp., a Boston-based renewable energy developer. It’s bidirectional design allows its blades to change directions with the current. The turbine’s spinning blades should produce one kilowatt of electricity, about enough to power a house, said Lt. Hung “Tom” Pham, projects officer for marine operations at the maritime academy.

The hydrokinetic turbine effort, dubbed the Muskeget Channel Demonstration Project, was funded by a $98,000 grant from Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and drew on research from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. The device will charge an ultracapacitor battery from Boston-based FastCap Systems.

“This whole project is about demonstrating technology using Massachusetts resources,” Pham said.

During an Aug. 15 demonstration of the turbine, officials will bring the device into the Muskeget Channel between Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket and attempt to generate power, Gurnon said.

The findings will help support the town of Edgartown’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission filing for a pilot project to develop hydrokinetic power, said Stephen Barrett, of Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc., the town’s consultant on the project.

“They’ll be making some environmental observations and making some underwater noise observations,” Barrett said of the Aug. 15 demonstration.
Edgartown has already received a FERC permit to study the idea’s feasibility, he added.

The maritime academy could help Edgartown develop the first successful hydrokinetic power project in the state, but others have struggled to launch similar projects in the recent past.

In 2007, Natural Currents Energy Services LLC received a preliminary FERC permit to install a test tidal turbine in the Cape Cod Canal, and in 2009 company officials announced their intention to install a turbine pending further permits.

The company, which at one point was in partnership talks with the maritime academy, called off the project when “some of the promised support didn’t come through,” said Roger Bason, Natural Currents’ president.
About half of the maritime academy’s students are studying engineering. The cadets will work as maintenance technicians on the hydrokinetic turbine project, Pham said, adding the effort will give a new generation of engineers experience with innovative alternative energy technology.
“That’s why it’s so critical for us to get involved,” Pham said. “We can test the alternative technology and teach our students.”

If the turbine, which was already tested in the Mississippi River, is successful, Gurnon hopes to develop the capacity to produce hydrokinetic energy equal to the maritime academy’s 660-kilowatt wind turbine, which saves the school about $250,000 in electricity costs annually.

“It’s truly the next step,” Gurnon said. “If we can solve this, the potential truly is to light the world with water.”

Story: Cape Cod Times OnlineBy Sean Teehan
July 29, 2011

Maine Maritime Academy's sail-training flagship "Bowdoin" sails in Penobscot Bay off the Coast of Maine.

Castine, ME – Maine Maritime Academy’s Bowdoin has had a long and illustrious career, and in her 90th year afloat serves as MMA’s traditional sail-training flagship. The vessel was designed by Hand and launched in 1921 at the Hodgdon Brothers Shipyard in East Boothbay, Maine. The schooner sailed on 25 scientific expeditions to the Arctic Circle under the command of Adm. Donald MacMillan. Bowdoin sent the first shortwave communications from the region in 1923 while wintering in Refuge Harbor, Greenland.

Today, the vessel regularly cruises Penobscot Bay and local waters providing a hands-on sail-training platform for the college. The schooner is uncovered each April to begin re-rigging on the college’s working waterfront in preparation for the summer cruising season. Each summer Bowdoin cruises New England waters, from Massachusetts to the Canadian Maritimes. Throughout the sailing season, the schooner serves as a public ambassador for the college, promoting traditional sail-training techniques and serving various student and community groups.

The new "passport style" merchant mariner credential.

By now, most professional mariners are familiar with the US Coast Guard’s new “passport style” credential that consolidates the previous issuance of a paper license (licensed officers), STCW-95 certificate, and merchant mariner document (MMD or Z-Card) issued to American Merchant Marines.

The challenge for most mariners looking to renew their license and associated documents has been figuring out what exactly they need to do to renew their license under the new system.

Fortunately, the USCG has provided an excellent document/presentation on how to do this. To download this excellent tool, simply click here.

Yes folks you heard it here first! According to Coast Guard Policy Letter 11-07 dated July 1, 2011, most “formal” classes required for “hawsepiper” applications for third mate licenses (3rd Mate) are no longer required.

Talk about dropping a bomb right before the holiday weekend!

Once called “the end of hawsepipers as we know it”, strict licensing rules put in place in 2002 mandated that individuals seeking licensure as a 3rd mate (and various other limited licenses) needed to spend upwards of $15,000 to $20,000 (plus travel, lodging, and lost wages) attending professional classes that would normally be covered as part of a “formal” maritime academy curriculum.

Although there is no indication of how long this new policy will be in effect (some say it is only temporary while a new policy is being written). Effective immediately, the only classes that are required as part of a normal third mate application packet include:

Basic Safety Training
Radar Observer
Advanced Fire Fighting
Bridge Team Work (Bridge Resource Management)
ARPA (to work on vessels equipped with ARPA)
GMDSS (to work on vessels equipped with GMDSS)

Applicants are still required to complete a series of assessments as required under the previous application process and some of the mariners I’ve spoken with are still more than happy to attend the formal classes as they feel it will better prepare them for the third mate exam (granted the mariners I’ve spoken with get paid to attend these classes).

Additionally, applicants for unlimited chief mate licenses are still required to complete the prescribed “upper level management” classes as they were under the previous licensing scheme.

So, what to you think of the Coast Guard’s decision to cancel these training requirements for mariners seeking advancement to third mate? Share your comments in the the spaces below!

Taking a cue from the commercial maritime industry’s use of ship vetting services, the United States Coast Guard has recently introduced a plan to use “risk based targeting” to determine the frequency and scope of inspecting foreign flagged oil rigs (MODUs) operating in US waters (primarily in the US Gulf of Mexico).

Recognizing that some foreign flagged drilling rigs are “riskier” than others, the USCG’s new plan seeks to ensure that MODUs ranking higher on the newly developed “risk matrix” are more carefully scrutinized while operating in local waters.

Although it’s true that most MODU’s operating in US waters are manned by US crew, its not uncommon for a foreign company to own these rigs and then register them in yet another country. Additionally, the independent inspection companies (known as “classification societies”) can be from yet another country and the insurance company insuring the vessel can be from a fourth country. It’s not inconceivable that some owners, flag states, classification companies, and insurance providers might have lower risk tolerances than others.

Under current US Regulations, foreign flagged MODUs operating in US waters are required to renew their Certificate of Compliance (COC) every two years with one additional “interim” inspection done between the 9th and 15th months after the issuance of each new COC (every two years).

While this may be sufficient for some vessels registering as “low risk” on the new safety matrix, the USCG recognizes that US interests would be better preserved by inspecting “higher risk” vessels more frequently.

Under the new risk targeting system, MODUs will be assigned a score based on various criteria and guidelines outlined in the USCG’s new policy.

MODUs scoring a 12 or higher under the new points system will be required to have inspections conducted every 6 months after receiving their initial or renew COC certificate. The “high risk” MODU will remain on this elevated inspection frequency until it has undergone 2 successive COC exams with less than 3 deficiencies. It is not clear if a “deficiency” includes “non-835″ work-list items.

MODUs scoring 11 or less on the risk matrix will continue to be inspected as per the original frequency of every two years with an interim inspection between 9 and 15 months after the COC renewal exam.

In addition to more frequent inspections for “high risk” MODUs operating in US Waters, the USCG also announced that it will conduct “random examinations” on 25% of each Coast Guard Unit’s fleet of foreign flagged MODUs operating in their respective units (both priority and non-priority).

Exact details on the MODU risk matix scoring guidelines can be found in the USCG’s Policy Letter 11-06 here.

Let’s face it, when it comes to the prospect of a lifelong career on the high seas, most merchant mariners just don’t have what it takes. In fact, my informal analysis of graduates from one maritime academy’s alumni directory revealed that less than 10% of graduates from 1975 to 1995 are still actively sailing on their licenses.

For merchant marine engineers, the transition to shore side employment can be relatively straightforward; after all, engineering in general is a discipline equally (if not more) in demand on shore and afloat. In contrast, deck officers and crew are often faced with tougher challenges as their skill sets don’t always appear to translate over into shore side positions.

Regardless of which of these two crafts you practice, if you’re one of the aforementioned “90-percenters” the following tips and suggestions will help ensure you secure the most rewarding and fulfilling shore side opportunity when your day comes to trade in your sea bag for a more “traditional” occupation.

Identify Your Strengths:
In regards to your career as a merchant mariner, you need to identify your current strengths. What comes naturally to you that might be more difficult for others? Perhaps you’ve recognized that you have a great ability to connect with people of different backgrounds, maybe you’re talented at writing job safety analyses, or maybe you’re the “go to” guy when it comes to managing complex projects. Make a list of the various things you’re good at and never underestimate the value your merchant marine skills can have in a variety of shore side roles (for some reason deck officers do really well as personal financial planners).

Be Realistic:
People go to sea for a variety of different reasons. Some are lured by the adventure of sailing the high seas, other are attracted to the above average pay and vacation time. If you’re on the fence about pursuing shore side employment, make a list of the advantages of both shore side employment and the life you’ve come to know as a merchant mariner. Speak to other people you know who have already made the transition to shore side work and ask them their opinion on the advantages and disadvantages they’ve experienced. I’ve spoken with many people who have taken “shore side” jobs with the sole purpose of spending “more time with the family”. The reality was they were away from their kids more working in an office and being home every night, than they were when they were shipping out and had 6 months off a year.

Identify Your Passions:
The next step is to identify an industry or profession you might be interesting in pursuing. The more you learn about a particular industry or profession, the better you’ll be able to identify rewarding job opportunities.

Get Relevant Experience:
One of the best ways to gain experience and skills for a prospective shore side job is to volunteer or get an internship. When I first started shipping out 12 years ago, I got an internship with the Maine International Trade Center on my time off to get experience and exposure to the “business world”. Although the experience was brief, it gave me tremendous insight into the challenges faced by Maine Businesses in regards to tapping into foreign markets. You don’t necessarily need to be a student to get an internship with various companies during your off time; you just need to be willing to swallow your pride and work for free (or very little).

Get Training/Certification:
One of the best (and underutilized) opportunities for professional mariners (providing they have access to internet on board), is online education and certification programs. In some cases, companies will even pay for continuing education classes so long as the class is seen as adding value to your current position. This is especially handy for deck officers and crew who desire a degree or certification in a more marketable field (there just are not too many shore side jobs for Dynamic Positioning Operators or ship captains on land).

Network:
Once you’ve honed in on one or two prospective shore side career paths, you need to network with as many people you can within the industry and focus your energy on those individuals who seem willing to help and/or mentor you. You never know when an opportunity may come your way!

Consider Self Employment:
One of the most popular routes I’ve seen former shipmates take is to start your own business. Perhaps you’re now an expert in managing projects (perhaps through a ship yard period while on board a ship), or maybe you’ve decide you could do a better job consulting on various maritime issues better than the consultants you’ve seen used by your current employer. “Testing the waters” during your 1 to 3 month vacation time is a great “low risk” test to see if you have what it takes to make it on your own as a business owner. You probably won’t make any money your first few months, but you might be able to get an idea for the demand of the particular product or service you decide to market. Plus, you’re at a significant advantage over someone pulling down a 9-5 because you don’t have to worry about your regular job while you’re trying to get your business off the ground (at least for a month or two). Just be sure you get the proper TurboTax software when you start making a profit.

Summary:
The reasons for leaving the mariner’s profession are as numerous as the reason we decided to sail in the first place. Regardless of where you’re at in your career, hopefully these suggestions have given you some insight into the possibilities that are out there. As I’ve already said, never underestimate the skills and experiences you possess as a merchant mariner, you never know when a challenging and rewarding opportunity may come your way.

The water mist fixed fire fighting system is (in my opinion) one of the most significant advancements in shipboard firefighting technologies in the last 20-30 years. Instead of using a toxic gas such as Halon or CO2, water mist systems fill protected spaces with an ultra fine mist of water (either fresh or salt) to remove the heat and ultimately extinguish the fire.

The following video was filmed in the purifier room of a large ship during the initial testing of a newly installed water mist system. Note how quickly the room was filled with a highly concentrated cloud of ultra fine “fire killing” water mist.

While conventional Halon and CO2 systems are very effective in fighting a variety of shipboard fires, they are extremely dangerous (toxic fumes) and typically require a full muster to be taken of all personnel on board the ship. You don’t want to flood a space with toxic gases unless you are absolutely sure there is no chance a person might be in that space. Ultimately, this is a call the master or person in charge may be forced to make.

Additionally, most ships only have enough extinguishing agent on board (CO2 or Halon) for one or two discharges into the larger protected spaces on board a ship (engine rooms, switchgear rooms, machinery spaces, etc.).

With a fixed water mist system, not only can you activate the system immediately without the need for a muster , you always have a virtually unlimited supply of water to keep the system active until the flames are extinguished.

Fixed water mist systems are not cheap and can range from $250,000 on up depending on the scope of the installation. These systems are now mandatory for passenger vessels and all new cargo vessels and will probably become mandatory on even more vessels in the near future.