Cosco Busan & oil spill updates

(Cross-posted from the "Ask the Captain" forum:)

First, the BF "Maritime Emergency Prevention Act" supposedly adds authority to VTS to intervene and order ship movements. Both Senators make much noise about how important this authority is. Typical puffery--CG VTS ALREADY HAS THIS AUTHORITY!

From the SF VTS operations manual:

quote:
The primary function of VTS San Francisco is to facilitate good order and predictability on a waterway by coordinating vessel movements through the collection, verification, organization, and dissemination of information. To accomplish this, VTS San Francisco uses the concept of a "continuum of traffic management". This continuum consists of the following levels of control: Monitor, Inform, Recommend, and Direct.

(1) Monitor: Using AIS, radar, CCTV, and radiotelephone equipment, VTS monitors vessel traffic in the VTS Area. VTS also receives information from various sources on predicted vessel movements, hazards to navigation, aids to navigation discrepancies, and other information of interest to VTS users. Monitoring vessel traffic allows us to ensure that vessels are navigating safely and efficiently in accordance with applicable regulations and Navigation rules.

(2) Inform: VTS analyses the information gathered then informs participants as applicable. This is done at the user's request, when it appears necessary to VTS personnel, or at regular intervals. The purpose of informing participants is to give them timely information to allow them to make decisions concerning the navigation of their vessels.

(3) Recommend: Almost all of VTS San Francisco operations are conducted at the monitor and inform levels. However, at certain times the VTS will recommend action be taken by a participant to prevent a potentially dangerous situation. Such recommendations are offered to assist the participant in avoiding hazardous situations early on. Recommendations are made on the pretence that there is information available to VTS of which the participant may not be aware.

(4) Direct: On rare occasions (and during heightened security conditions) VTS will direct movement or actions of a participant. Direction would be given in cases when the VTC observes obvious violations of regulations or an obvious and immediately dangerous condition of which the participant is not or does not seem to be aware. Directions will normally be in the form of a general objective such as staying out of a certain area or coming no closer than a certain distance from a vessel or facility.

Click to expand...

This authority comes from the 1978 Port and Tanker Safety Act.

Second, be careful of what you ask for. In November of 1980, SF VTS took navigational control of the fishing vessel Dora Bella and ran it aground near Baker Beach.

Boxer and Feinstein are both guilty of arrogance and hubris in the ultimate degree. These non-skippers, by virtue of being a Senator, think they can improve on systems they know little about that have been developed over centuries--particularly the notion that the control of a ship remains with the senior officer on the ship rather than some person looking at a radar screen. Additionally, the Feinstein press release speaks of making sure "that the captain of a port can stop a ship in the event of an emergency." The facts that stopping a ship is anything but trivial, and that the captain of the port is not glued to a VTS radar screen, show clearly that we've gone beyond hubris and arrogance and are well into a display of tremendous ignorance.

The political grandstanding here is more sickening than the spill itself.

BTG
 
Here! here! BTG, you have it 100% correct! They are counting on the ignorance of their constituents to make this a political win!
 
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