A couple of days ago, I posted part 1 of my interview with Adm. Allen, Commandant of the Coast Guard, regarding social media. Below is part 2.
Read more at Christiaan Conover or USNI Blog »
A couple of days ago, I posted part 1 of my interview with Adm. Allen, Commandant of the Coast Guard, regarding social media. Below is part 2.
Read more at Christiaan Conover or USNI Blog »
I did an interview in April with Adm. Thad Allen, the 23rd Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, regarding social media & the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has been spearheading a move into the world of Web 2.0 and interaction with the public through online outlets, and Adm. Allen has been a prominent [...]
Capt. Richard Phillips Rescued, Pirates Killed & In CustodyCapt. Richard Phillips, master of the Maersk Alabama who’s been held hostage since Wednesday, was rescued late this morning Eastern time. It’s been reported that when the pirates were sleeping or otherwise unaware, he made another attempt to escape and jumped overboard, at which point the Navy was able to neutralize the pirates. Of the [...]
Life at Mass Maritime During the Maersk Alabama HijackingThe recent turn of events for the Maersk Alabama has had an interesting and prominent connection to Mass Maritime. As I reported in my last post, both the captain and the Chief Mate on board that ship are Academy graduates, as well as the mate being the son of one of our professors, Capt. [...]
Mass Maritime and Shanghai Maritime University Exchange ProgramMassachusetts Maritime Academy and Shanghai Maritime University in Shanghai, China have formed an exchange program, in order to expand knowledge about their respective cultures and maritime training programs. Starting this semester, 12 Chinese students came to Mass Maritime to spend the semester taking classes, living with MMA cadets, and getting to experience American culture first-hand. [...]
A couple of days ago, I posted part 1 of my interview with Adm. Allen, Commandant of the Coast Guard, regarding social media. Below is part 2.
Read more at Christiaan Conover or USNI Blog »
I did an interview in April with Adm. Thad Allen, the 23rd Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, regarding social media & the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has been spearheading a move into the world of Web 2.0 and interaction with the public through online outlets, and Adm. Allen has been a prominent part of that transition. Here is the text of that interview:
Read more at Christiaan Conover or USNI Blog »
Capt. Richard Phillips, master of the Maersk Alabama who’s been held hostage since Wednesday, was rescued late this morning Eastern time. It’s been reported that when the pirates were sleeping or otherwise unaware, he made another attempt to escape and jumped overboard, at which point the Navy was able to neutralize the pirates. Of the four pirates holding him hostage, 3 were shot and killed by Navy snipers, and 1 is currently in custody on board a U.S. Navy vessel.
Everyone in the maritime community is thrilled with the positive outcome. The Academy will be having public celebrations of his release and of the safe return of the crew. We’ll keep track of this and post on this as it happens.
Update: the details of Capt. Phillips’ rescue have changed from the initial report I received in making this post. It is now being reported that the pirates agreed to be towed by the Navy vessel, as sea conditions were deteriorating and doing so would make the ride more stable in the lifeboat. The lifeboat was attached to the Navy ship by about 80 feet of line, and the Navy proceeded to tow the lifeboat back out to sea. The pirates stuck their heads out of the hatches on the lifeboat, 2 out of the top and 1 out of the side. The one on the side had Capt. Phillips, with a gun held to his back. The on-scene commander on board the Navy vessel deemed Capt. Phillips to be in “imminent danger” and ordered snipers, positioned on the fantail of the ship, to fire on the pirates. Once the snipers had clear headshots, they killed the pirate holding Capt. Phillips, and then the two sticking out of the top of the lifeboat. A SEAL then slid down the tow rope into the water, climbed aboard the lifeboat, and helped Capt. Phillips onto the small boat that was launched from the Navy vessel.
The recent turn of events for the Maersk Alabama has had an interesting and prominent connection to Mass Maritime. As I reported in my last post, both the captain and the Chief Mate on board that ship are Academy graduates, as well as the mate being the son of one of our professors, Capt. Joseph Murphy.
Massachusetts Maritime Academy and Shanghai Maritime University in Shanghai, China have formed an exchange program, in order to expand knowledge about their respective cultures and maritime training programs. Starting this semester, 12 Chinese students came to Mass Maritime to spend the semester taking classes, living with MMA cadets, and getting to experience American culture first-hand. The Mass Maritime cadets who are part of the program are hosting these students, rooming with them and helping them acclamate to life in the United States. They are also studying Chinese, in order to have an understanding of the language before travelling to China themselves next year.
This coming fall, the students in the program from both schools will remain at their respective institutions, continuing their regular courses of study as well as classes to benefit the exchange program. In Spring 2010, the Mass Maritime exchange cadets will travel to China and spend the semester living with their Chinese counterparts, taking classes at SMU and getting immersed in Chinese culture.
We’ll be keeping track of this program, and posting updates about it over the next couple of semesters. We will be interviewing the Chinese students at Mass Maritime, and will hopefully be able to get first-person updates from the Mass Maritime cadets when they travel to China next spring.
If you have any questions about the program, or things you’d like us to ask the exchange students, please leave them in the comments below.
The Coast Guard has put new regulations into effect regarding TWIC credentials and Merchant Mariner licensing. As previously stated by the Coast Guard, all mariners currently holding an MMC (Merchant Mariner Credential) MUST hold a valid TWIC by April 15 2009. However, TWIC is now going to be required for any new MMC applicants in order to be issued an MMC.
The Coast Guard will be checking directly with the TSA to verify TWIC status and information, rather than getting information from the applicant. There may be a delay from the time you apply for a TWIC until that information reaches the Coast Guard, so if you are applying for both a TWIC and MMC, make sure to apply for your TWIC well in advance of applying for your MMC, to avoid problems with credentials not checking out. If, for some reason, you have to apply for both at the same time, you will need to provide a copy of your TWIC application to the Coast Guard so they know you’ve at least started the TWIC process.
If you are a maritime academy cadet who is planning to commercially ship within the next 6-12 months and are still in need of both items, start your TWIC now. There have been numerous reports from cadets that getting started with TWIC is difficult at the moment due to the crush of mariners getting their TWIC in time for the April 15 deadline. That’s likely to cause backlogs for a few months, so get started as soon as possible to avoid problems.
This past week, an historic Coast Guard boat house in Chatham, MA was moved from its location on Cape Cod up to Quincy for preservation and storage. Jay Cashman, Inc. provided the equipment and manpower to make the move.
The boat house is being relocated in order to preserve it as an historic landmark, given its notable past as the location of famous rescues.
I took the following photograph from my room at Mass Maritime as the tug & barge transporting the boat house entered the Cape Cod Canal from the west end:
Here is a video of the boat house being loaded onto the barge:
Massachusetts Maritime Academy recently gave a few of its cadets the opportunity to receive handgun training, in light of the spike in pirate attacks that has occurred over the past year.
With the assistance of the Bourne Police Department, six cadets were given basic pistol training to better prepare them to sail on the world’s oceans and defend themselves against potential piracy.
You can find video and a full report at the WBZ web site.
A few days ago I reported that Capt. Thomas Bushy, master of Mass Maritime’s T.S. Kennedy, would be a guest on the WGBH program “Greater Boston” to talk about the piracy problems in Somalia. Here is the video of the segment:
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MariTalk is looking for maritime academy cadets from all the academies in the U.S. who are interested in writing and speaking about life and events at their academy, or the maritime industry in general. If you haven’t blogged before, are an experienced blogger, or anywhere in between and you’re a cadet, contact us about becoming part of the MariTalk reporting staff.