Maritime Compliance Report
Welcome. Staying in compliance takes dedication, diligence and strong leadership skills to stay on top of all the requirements which seem to keep coming at a rapid pace. With this blog I hope to provide visitors with content that will help them in their daily work of staying in compliance. I hope you find it a resource worthy of your time and I look forward to your feedback, questions, comments and concerns. Thanks for stopping by.
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No Deficiencies?
Many vessel operators claim that Coast Guard inspections are notoriously inconsistent. They claim such things as, "One Coast Guard guy came and told me it had to be this way, and next year another one came and told me to do something else, and the next year a third guy came back and told me to do it the way we had it in the first place." This unfortunately is true altogether too often, especially when it comes to dealing with inexperienced inspectors or examiners.
I recently was asked to discuss Coast Guard inspection issues with a towboat owner, and every time I mentioned a requirement he didn't like he would interrupt me and say that I was incorrect because the petty officer who examined his towboat either said he didn't have to, or he hadn't mention it during the exam. At the same time this owner complained about how inconsistent the Coast Guard is. This paradox is also too often true. "I'll rely on the Coast Guard to tell me what to do and I'll believe them when it's to my advantage."
Here's why this is not a good compliance management strategy. The Coast Guard rarely checks everything. There are many reasons for this, but just understand when the Coast Guard leaves the vessel and you have no deficiencies, it does not mean you are in compliance. According to a Times Picayune article, Bill Ambrose, Transocean's director of special projects testified during the BP/Deepwater Horizon trial that the rig was in "really good shape," and that during the July 2009 inspection of the rig the Coast Guard found "no deficiencies." However, in an interview about the accident, Wall Street Journal reporter Rebecca Smith characterized Coast Guard inspections as "often cursory." She stated that the Coast Guard did a, "pretty minimal job of inspecting that rig." According to the same Time Picayune article, an expert witness for the plaintiff's lawyers "singled out Transocean for failing to maintain the Deepwater Horizon, having an improperly trained crew, and a rig that was in poor shape."
I recently was asked to discuss Coast Guard inspection issues with a towboat owner, and every time I mentioned a requirement he didn't like he would interrupt me and say that I was incorrect because the petty officer who examined his towboat either said he didn't have to, or he hadn't mention it during the exam. At the same time this owner complained about how inconsistent the Coast Guard is. This paradox is also too often true. "I'll rely on the Coast Guard to tell me what to do and I'll believe them when it's to my advantage."
Here's why this is not a good compliance management strategy. The Coast Guard rarely checks everything. There are many reasons for this, but just understand when the Coast Guard leaves the vessel and you have no deficiencies, it does not mean you are in compliance. According to a Times Picayune article, Bill Ambrose, Transocean's director of special projects testified during the BP/Deepwater Horizon trial that the rig was in "really good shape," and that during the July 2009 inspection of the rig the Coast Guard found "no deficiencies." However, in an interview about the accident, Wall Street Journal reporter Rebecca Smith characterized Coast Guard inspections as "often cursory." She stated that the Coast Guard did a, "pretty minimal job of inspecting that rig." According to the same Time Picayune article, an expert witness for the plaintiff's lawyers "singled out Transocean for failing to maintain the Deepwater Horizon, having an improperly trained crew, and a rig that was in poor shape."
Operators can rid themselves of the headaches associated with inconsistent inspectors and prepare themselves for litigation by insuring they know the regulations and that they manage their own compliance.
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