Risk by the Numbers

Risk dominates the news for maritime stakeholders in the first quarter of 2011 – As if you needed to be reminded... Maybe, you do.

1.     Risk 101

Okay: let’s review. Open your books to page 127 to the section on “Risks of Worldwide Piracy.” A quiz will follow.

Your tax dollars are hard at work. The US Coast Guard and the U.S. Maritime Administration both issued strong warnings to US-registered yachts and sailing vessels as to the perils of operating in the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Somali Basin, and the western parts of the Indian Ocean. In case you were just released from prison or have been in some sort of other, self-imposed news blackout, it seems that pirates in these waters are heavily armed and non-commercial vessels are unlikely to be able to resist a pirate attack. That we still find it necessary to warn yachts and sailing vessels against attempting such voyages is mind-blowing enough in and of itself, but I also find it particularly distressing that two federal government agencies need to separately expend energy to do so.

Leaving aside (for just a moment) the horrible tragedy represented by the two most recent events off the Horn of Africa, it also seems to me that common sense would prevail amongst pleasure craft operators, especially given the chilling statistics recently released by the IMB as to the three year trend in acts of piracy, captive mariners and brutal murders. But, hey, what do I know?

I for one am glad that the Coast Guard is on the job and keeping us abreast of such trends and risks. On the other hand, I’d just as soon that Marad stuck to doing what it supposedly does best – promoting a domestic merchant marine and ensuring that our waterfront and logistics supply chain operates in an efficient fashion.

In case you missed it, and judging from the robust pre-event interest that our Webinar (conducted in partnership with the good folks at American Public University) not too many did, the Maritime Risk Webinar that took place on 16 February generated a flurry of interactive participation from an impressive array maritime professionals. And, why not? In this interactive webcast, Donald McKay (American Public University) and Joseph Keefe (that’s me) of Maritime Professional Magazine promoted discussion, heightened awareness, and presented solutions to these challenges faced by logisticians. Some of the topics of discussion included:

• Standards of Training and Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Compliance
• Cost-Effective education of the entire maritime workforce
• Utilizing technology to more effectively deliver content
• Optimizing operational efficiency while minimizing vulnerability

Following the presentation, there was a robust question and answer session with the speakers.

Maritime stakeholders face complex day-to-day challenges. Maintaining a healthy bottom line in the face of a myriad of regulatory, environmental, and operational risks has become "Job #1". Preventing the loss of vessel and crew from acts of piracy, catastrophic accidents, natural disasters, or the loss of infrastructure resulting in down time – which hinders or suspends essential activities – are just some of the tasks confronting today’s maritime professional.

If you missed it the first time, you’ve got a second chance. Tune into the Webinar by clicking HERE to listen as Keefe and McKay lead a group of active and participating listeners in what is just the first in what will hopefully be a series of interesting and useful Webinars sponsored and promoted by APU and the publishers of Maritime Professional magazine.

3.     Maritime and Navigation Risk Conference (MNRC): 29 days and counting…

The second edition of the Maritime and Navigation Risk Conference (MNRC) will be held in Montréal (Canada) on March 30-31, 2011. MNRC 2011 is a high-level international forum where mariners, scientists, engineers, and trainers can present and share their knowledge, experience and cutting-edge innovations in managing and reducing the risks associated to marine activities. The 2011 conference, which will feature plenary speeches by renowned experts as well as regular sessions with broader scope, seek to significantly contribute to risk management in all areas of the marine industry.

Authors are invited to contribute to the planned workshops by submitting articles on research results, projects, investigations or experiences that illustrate significant advances in various areas, including:

• Navigation in shallow and confined water
• Ice navigation
• Human factors
• HazMat transportation  

Confirmed Speakers include representatives from the US Army Corps of Engineers Planning Center of Expertise for Inland Navigation, Germanischer Lloyd, the UK P&I Club, ABS, the California Maritime Academy, the Pacific Maritime Institute and scores of others. All are scheduled to speak and present papers on a wide range of risk-related issues.

The conference is organized for stakeholders from all sectors of the maritime industry who have a vested interest in risk management. The planned program should be of particular interest to ship owners and operators, pilots, captains and officers, naval architects, risk specialists, classification societies, researchers in the areas of marine transportation and risk assessment, engineering firms, government departments and agencies, environmental groups, marine equipment manufacturers and graduate and postgraduate students.

Click HERE for more details on MNRC 2011 or contact Martin Fournier of Passeport Maritime inc. at 581-999-9688. E-mail him at: mfournier@passeportmaritime.com.

4.     Maritime Professional Magazine: Premier Issue is on the way to the printer

Maritime readers everywhere are about to find out that the in-depth coverage and analysis that can only be brought by the tight focus of a serious quarterly publication is just around the corner. As the publishers of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News introduce Maritime Professional to its family of leading b2b publications in 2011, what comes next should hardly be surprising. Capitalizing on the overwhelming success of our online WEB site, www.Maritimeprofessional.com (~ 13,500 members strong and counting), the time is indeed right to evolve the concept to the next level.

Maritime Professional, the magazine — will publish 4 times in 2011. In September of last year, Associate Publisher Greg Trauthwein said it best when he announced, “While the print title is new, the names involved are not, as Maritime Professional leverages more than 70 years of publishing experience to the global maritime market, led by Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, which is the world’s largest circulation audited marine publication.”  I will head up the new title as Managing Editor. And, as we move forward towards our premier edition in 1Q 2011, the delivery of your first edition is right around the corner.

5.     $300 Million Shrinks to $100 Million: APA Expresses “Deep Concern” over Risk from Security Cuts

On Friday, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) sent a letter to leaders of the Senate Appropriations/Homeland Security Subcommittee, urging them to reject the cuts made in the House’s Continuing Resolution bill regarding the Port Security Grant program and restore funding for this vital homeland security program to at least the reduced level recommended in the President’s fiscal 2012 budget.

In the letter, Kurt Nagle, AAPA President, wrote, “I am writing to express the American Association of Port Authorities’ deep concerns over the proposed funding cut for the Department of Homeland Security’s Port Security grant program that was included in the Continuing Resolution (CR) bill that recently passed the House of Representatives.  H.R. 1 proposes to reduce the funding for this program by two-thirds; bringing the funding level down from $300 million to $100 million.  The authorized level for the program, $400 million, has been appropriated in earlier budgets.”

 It would appear that the waterfront is once again getting the short end of the stick when it comes to funding from this administration. More disturbing is the plan to effectively defund port security immediately in the wake of a massive sting operation that netted dozens of arrests and exposed new weaknesses to waterfront security.

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Joseph Keefe is the lead commentator of MaritimeProfessional.com. Additionally, he is Managing Editor of the new Maritime Professional print magazine. You can also read his work in MarineNews and Maritime Reporter magazines. He can be reached at jkeefe@maritimeprofessional.com or at Keefe@marinelink.com. MaritimeProfessional.com is the largest business networking site devoted to the marine industry. Each day thousands of industry professionals around the world log on to network, connect, and communicate.