DO'S AND DON'TS

USS New York the right way

MS Mingzhu No. 7 the wrong way

In the nautical world as in other professions there is a right way to behave and a wrong way.  Recently we had two vessels pass under bridges across rivers coming from an upriver shipyard.  Here in America the USS New York passed under a bridge spanning the Mississippi - it went well.


In China a vessel the MS Mingzhu No.7 passed under a bridge spanning a Chinese river - it went badly.  So one learns to perhaps not use upriver shipyards or make the clearance calculations accurately.


Here in South Florida, more particularly the Spanish speaking "Banana Republic of Miami-Dade County" there has been a case in Miami Federal Court involving a local ship surveyor.  According to the report in gCAPTAIN® this morning which gives his name, however NAUTICAL LOG chooses not too, he was found guilty of maritime fraud and lying to the USCG - never a good idea.


The charges involved his clearing two vessels as seaworthy which were actually anything but, the vessels were MS Cala Galdana and MS Cosette.  The person concerned is/was a Miami based contract ship surveyor for Bolivia a land locked nation which has a dubious ship registry.  The ship surveyor was convicted of making false statements and obstructing a U.S. Coast Guard Port State Control examination he therefore faces a possible 15 year sentence.

It is unfortunate that working in the maritime industry in this "Banana Republic" part of our Nation involves cultural clashes on a daily basis with people who have the attitude that if the Law can be circumvented by a "consideration" between persons then this is quite an acceptable way of doing business. NAUTICAL LOG finds this to be personally insulting to one's professional standards.  As one has found out since retiring from sea-going and living ashore this behaviour is found in all sections of, professions and economic levels of the local society.  There does not seem to be any feeling that something wrong is being done under the Laws of the country that gave more than 65% of the Miami-Dade County population a place to settle and start a new life.  Rather than incorporate into the lifestyle of the United States they have imposed a foreign lifestyle, language, political standards which reflect the 65% cultural attitude and values on the entire local population.  This is not how the remainder of we immigrants who live here behave and it is unacceptable that we are treated as "gringos" in our own Country.


So it is encouraging when persons such as this Miami based ship surveyor who violate the Law are charged, and are tried to be punished according in the Federal Courts.  Yes! NAUTICAL LOG has had a very difficult week but will be damned if we will tolerate being dictated too by that 65%.


Good Watch

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There remain, in spite or perhaps because of the talk at the London MSC-IMO Conference nearly 600 of our fellow seafarers held hostage by pirates off the coast of Puntland, Somalia.  No rescue for them is planned or foreseeable.  This is an international disgrace on a par with the slaughter of innocents in Syria.