How I Learned to Love the Obamaphone

Some of our readers will be aware that I have a working payphone. It has since been relocated from Norfolk, VA to neighboring Portsmouth, VA, but it works just the same. “Pick up the handset, listen for the ring tone, dial a phone number, insert quarters if required”. Now, four years down the road, I wonder if this was the correct approach to public communications. It is common knowledge that near-universal cell phone adoption led to the demise of the payphone network. These rugged devices retrenched from a ubiquitous sight to core locations such as government buildings and transit centers, and now many public facilities have forgone them altogether. What gives? The Lifeline cell phone, or Obamaphone. The program had existed since the Reagan era as a landline subsidy, but around 2008, entrepreneurs determined that cell phones could be issued to the needy for less than $9.25 per month, thereby requiring no out-of-pocket cost for basic phone models. Thus, I had to reframe my mind around the remaining fragments of a public telephone network, in which I include courtesy phones you may find on the front desks of hotels, hospitals, and airport terminals. In contrast to the third-party commercial interests that determine payphone removals, ensuring that these public courtesy phones remain in place now appeared to be a high priority. If we could approach grocery stores and transit centers to provide courtesy phones, then we might have a basic but functioning network of public telephones. Who is going to pay for this public telephone network? The State of Maine notably funds 50 public interest payphones, which is not too dissimilar from the keypad-equipped call boxes found at highway rest stops in other states. Overall, though, this duty was left to the private sector. In contrast, the Lifeline program gives an individual subsidy that enables a niche cell phone market to thrive. Thus, within existing constraints, expanding enrollment in Lifeline, and putting Obamaphones in more hands, is the most economically viable option for those interested in public communications access. Reversing the retrenchment of public telephones- payphones or courtesy phones- is the next issue to address.

Where to Stand on Vape Shops

We are here for a loopy subject- drug testing. Many employers, including retail chains such as Home Depot and OfficeMax, have implemented random drug testing programs. It is commonsense to test forklift drivers, who often maneuver around mindless customers. A manager worth their salt can name the benefits: To ensure a productive workforce, improve workplace safety, protect material assets from damage, and reduce theft that funds an addiction. Other employers, most sizably those in the transportation industry, are required by law to maintain such a drug testing program. If you want to drive a truck, a school bus, or a tugboat, you've got to "pee in the cup". The most common practice onboard a ship is to drug test all crewmembers, even when not required by law (for example, galley staff without emergency response duties). For several decades, employees complied, willingly or begrudgingly. In the early days of random drug testing, some labor unions resisted the practice, but later changed their focus to educating and rehabilitating. For many professional mariners, it's unthinkable to jeopardize one's career over a marijuana joint: just say no, even if one believes in hypocritical dichotomy of approved/ socially acceptable drugs and vices (Nicotine, Alcohol, Ritalin), versus those seen as anti-social (Cannabis). "If you can't say no, I don't want you on my boat". Perhaps part of the drug testing regime is to evaluate one's ability to follow the rules: As far as use of prescription medications is concerned, fitness for duty is made between discretion of the employee and employer. Now, drug test failures are on the rise. There is certainly confusion and quality control issues concerning widely marketed supplements such as CBD Oils, low potency THC, and Delta-8. Full-fledged cannabis can be purchased over-the-counter in a growing number of states, and medical marijuana is widely available, even without federal sanction. Many members of Gen Z simply don't care about the consequences of failing a drug test. While the worst that a retail employer can do is fire the employee, failing a drug test while holding a credential will usually lead to suspension or revocation, and incur a lengthy and costly process to return to employability. Entry-level crewmembers may not see the value in return-to-work, and leave the industry altogether. To this end, employees need to understand that heavy equipment and mind-altering substances are a bad mix. To the government's end, it is due time to recalibrate the cannabis threshold to better detect recent use, as Canada has done.

No Tax on Overtime?

On lonely night watches onboard the USNS Supply as a Third Engineer, I often contemplated that the tax rate on overtime pay should not be higher than a worker's regular wages. After all, overtime is usually worked during nights and weekends for the convenience of the employer (rather than the employee), and workplace accidents are most likely to happen after working over 40 hours in a week. No tax on overtime? A better deal than I could ever imagine. This would have been a pipe dream, except one state has actually tried it. Alabama made this a reality, at least temporarily, in an effort to alleviate labor shortages. The offer of untaxed overtime wages sounds too good to be true, and the plan will probably be axed by the bean counters who work for Congress. Yet the affordable suburbs of the Northeast, home to cops and firefighters and transportation workers, ate this up wholeheartedly. These are places like Ocean County, NJ (outside of New York City) and Stafford County, VA (outside of Washington, DC), where half of a blue collar civil servant's paycheck can come from overtime pay. If implemented, this could mean a significant rollback in income tax for an unsung group. As a counterpoint, the Hampton Roads region of Virginia has a large number of overtime-eligible workers (particularly among civilian employees in the shipyards and aviation hangars). However, there was no big move towards Trump. After working locally for several years, I realized that the South prefers to spend time with friends and family, rather than maximizing a paycheck.

Back to 2016

I remember lounging in my friend’s minibus on Election Night 2016. It was a weeknight, and we’d have to be back on the ship in the morning. Donald Trump won Wisconsin; I knew the election was over at this point, since the midwestern “blue wall” had been broached by Republicans for the first time in my life. We’re eight years down the stream, and some of the long-term projects from the original Trump administration have come to life. Eight years is enough time to get things done, even on the governmental timescale. Most monumental for American mariners is the construction of new, oceangoing training ships, two of which are now in service (in New York and Massachusetts). At the deckplate level, the training ships are admittedly controversial, since they have not been assigned to a continuing education role, and have only been used in original licensing programs. Nevertheless, they were a significant investment, and employ American mariners as staff and crewmembers. To an extent, it feels that we are entering Trump’s third term. Former Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, who spearheaded that shipbuilding project, resigned after the events of 1/6/2021 (don’t forget that date!), and we haven’t had someone to fill those experienced shoes: Pete Buttigieg and Sean Duffy both have entered their roles without significant maritime experience.

Never Fear! I’m Still Here!

If you follow my biweekly posting schedule, you will notice that I owe you another fine maritime blog post. The honest truth is that I've been occupied by a couple once-in-a-lifetime events, and several other notable occasions. The first of these is my brother's wedding. (My only sibling, to add). A very fine week in Reykjavik, Iceland, in which I got to meet the bride's family, and my brother's circle of friends from the fire and rescue world (the mere word "firehouse" wouldn't do it justice), and from the maritime world- some sailing and some now ashore. I must say that "boat people", even us with the high-end college degrees and most potential to integrate with shoreside society- have a certain way of speaking, of addressing challenges, and in viewing the world through well-travelled eyes. I will be spending the next two weeks at the American Maritime Officers' training center in Fort Lauderdale, FL. I will be studying gas turbine propulsion, which I last experienced at sea as a Third Assistant Engineer on the USNS Supply in 2017. This capstone course- if successfully completed- would qualify me to serve as a Chief Engineer onboard that class of vessel. Again, once-in-a-lifetime, as this qualification is good for life. On another note, for about six months I was the owner of a commuter van. It was a medium-top Ford Transit 350 with space for 14 seats- I opted to remove the back row in favor of storage space. Indeed, I am one to go for action, and not just words about the needs for better transit. Through this endeavor, I learned about the challenges and opportunities of operating a vehicle fleet of one, including the nuances of permitting, regulation, and taxation. I decided to wrap up that little enterprise on account of my upcoming return to sea, finalizing the sale to Carvana today.

The Aftermath

"Chief, where do we go during a tornado?" I was a Junior year maritime student, working a couple of weeks onboard a pierside ship in Norfolk, VA when a tornado warning came through in the middle of the night. "You're safe onboard the ship", the Chief Engineer replied. Florida has received its bouts of weather misfortune in recent years, but Hurricane Milton appears to be the worst. The rrcovery efforts are overshadowed by political news during this election season, but the individual and collective efforts of cleanup and recovery must go on. One thing I noticed was the frequent reminder online that Merchant Mariner Credentials could be replaced free of charge if required. While it is recommended to bring your important papers - and licenses- when you evacuate home, unforseen circumstances do happen. Florida is home to many American deep sea mariners, for various reasons (taxation, and being home to deep sea ports and mariner training centers), so Hurricane Milton's personal impact follows to sea. This is the time of year when established mariners seek to be at sea, in order to be home for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. I have not heard reports, but I would surmise that many mariners are eager to take a leave of absence to make sure their homes and families are okay. As much as utility crews and building contractors were lined up, waiting for the storm to pass, mariners 'on the beach' should be willing to pitch in. This could mean helping a co-worker clean up their home, or to fill in a short hitch at sea. Let us know how we can help.

Real Oysters and Proverbial Pearls

What do men on strike do? They might carry a picket sign, but they will certainly drink beer. This was the Propeller Club’s Fall Oyster Roast in Chesapeake Virginia, a twice-annual event geared more to labor- the working men and the white-collared petit bourgeoise, than to the ownership class. The members of the International Longshoremens' Association, who at previous events were low-key and focused on doting their wife and kids, instead were talking boisterously with each other, wearing identical orange strike shirts. Many of them were good old southern boys with nice pickup trucks and brand-name outdoors gear. Life treated them well so far, and they were intent on keeping it that way for themselves and their children. One recent college graduate, who worked in a shipping company office, lamented “I wish I could go on strike”. My request for the DJ to play Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer” went unheeded. Nevertheless, I hummed the good man’s words: “Tommy used to work on the docks; Union's been on strike, he's down on his luck; It's tough, so tough…” In other news, Military Sealift Command's civil service mariner will now receive paid shore leave equal to the number of weekends spent at sea. That is, 2 days of paid leave for every 7 days; a quadrupling of the previous 1 day of paid leave for 15 days at sea. The NOAA, a much smaller organization operating oceanography vessels, implemented this plan last year. For the Military Sealift Command, additional shore leave will be granted retroactively to December 24, 2023, and will appear on the next leave statement for this pay period. I expect that the realization of this new paid leave plan will greatly improve retention of skilled mariners, who have a choice of working for other employers.

Laying Up the Ships (Crewing Challenge, Part 2)

To obtain a merchant marine officer’s license in the previous century, one could choose to attend an academy or apprenticeship, or simply accrue enough time at sea to take the tests. Around 2002, all new deck officers were required to attend classroom instruction before obtaining their licenses. While it was more difficult to upgrade without a college education or registered apprenticeship, there was little impact in workforce numbers, as the maritime academies were churning out new mates. Between 2014 and 2017, new training requirements brought the minimum required course of study to that of a two-year degree. For the first time, these requirements also applied to engineering officers. The Military Sealift Command increased hiring of officers, to allow its workforce more time off the ship to focus on their continuing education. It was also predicted that many of the retirement-eligible officers would retire, instead of return to the classroom for three weeks of training (on the engineering side). This lesser requirement applied to anyone who began their maritime career before 2014. A downturn in the offshore oil industry meant fewer mariners were leaving government employment. Two of the crew-heavy warships inherited from the uniformed Navy were retired (USS Ponce and USNS Rainier). In some cases, twice as many officers as the Military Sealift Command intended to keep on the books. Work-Life Balance was good, and the horror stories of the past didn’t dissuade young achievers from staying. In 2017, they offered early retirements, drafted layoff letters, and stopped bringing new officers onto the payroll. A certain number of ships in the homeports of Norfolk, San Diego, and Guam were known as homesteading vessels, where the majority of personnel maintained as close to a 9-to-5 schedule as one can maintain in the industry. If the ship was in port, which it was most weekends, they would go home at night. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. In a faulty version of the telephone game, the Admiral at the time believed that a total lockdown to the ship, or “gangway up” was in order. The mariners, as he understood, worked a 4-month tour, then rotated into a monthlong vacation. They didn’t need to go home at night, for the time being. Although the ballistic missile submarines were an exception, stateside uniformed military personnel were not locked onto the ships at night; the military spouses would not accept such a proposal. The tours were rarely 4 months, more likely 6 months and growing as the most skilled mariners found other employment (I was working in the office at this point). While conditions slowly became more palatable, the threat of lockdown permeated for two full years. Where the Military Sealift Command had been able to coax new officers of the Class of 2018 and 2019 to accept a lower rate of pay; bonuses in the amounts of $36,000 were needed for the Class of 2022. Promotions for officers’ positions were open continuously, so that anyone who had the ability to promote, did so. Maritime academy enrollment has not been as robust as it had been in the 2010s. Due to the use of federal training ships, a drug-free policy is imposed, which is at odds with the culture of the states where the academies are located, such as California, Maine, New York, and Massachusetts. More young people are opting out of college, as well as careers overall, in favor of self-directed work-life balance. Fear of falling behind economically isn’t such a concern with Gen Z. Which brings up the new Admiral’s Force Generation Reset. By crewing fewer ships, the ships that remain will have larger crew sizes; this opportunity was forsook in 2017. This will allow for mariners to attend training and take their earned vacation, and build a work life balance. PS: I know this post is a couple days late, but I have managed to be maximally busy at training for my day job, and in overseeing renovations at my rental condo. Over the hump for this week, though.

Take Your High-Paying Job and Shove It? (Crewing Challenge, Part 1)

Recently in maritime news, there has been discussion about the Military Sealift Command laying up 17 ships, or about 25% of the ships that are crewed by civil service mariners. For many of the job positions available, the Military Sealift Command offers the highest cumulative wages in the industry. However, it comes with a significant cost in personal time. Whereby officers in other shipping firms work a total of 6 calendar months per year, Military Sealift Command has required a minimum of 8 months. This situation is partially rectified by a newly-introduced part time schedule at 6 months per year, though with reduced healthcare and retirement benefits. While maximizing a paycheck used to be the priority for many Americans, whether to provide a better life for the grandkids or to keep up with the Joneses, it is no longer the case with Gen Z. Obviously, if this was the case, Military Sealift Command wouldn’t be competing with shoreside firms for recent college graduates. These folks are putting their money where their mouth is, as far as Work Life Balance is concerned. To achieve financial stability that allows this balance, one can earn more, or cut expenses. Scott Trench, founder of the Bigger Money Podcast, notes that housing, transportation, and food make up the largest three expenditures for most households. Housing: Younger people in general have stopped trying to pay the rent on one income. Definitely a change from a decade ago, when it was the thing to sign a lease on a shoebox apartment in some hip part of the city. Living with roommates, in the parents’ oversized house, or with an equal-earning partner cut one’s housing costs in half, or even less. Transportation: A new pickup truck or SUV is no longer within the middle-class budget. Sure, you can get an 8-year car loan at $1000 per month. But anyone with an iota of sense would buy a lightly used vehicle, or a more modest new car. Going beyond the “daily driver” car, we might wonder if we have manufactured enough durable goods- or “expensive toys” - to last the next decade or two. Lightly-used Recreational Vehicles, All Terrain Vehicles, and Boats are available on the market for enthusiasts to buy at often-steep discounts. Food: The Golden age of American restaurants- and nightlife in general- is over. The New York Times wrote that hospitality has become inhospitable, from the view of customers upset about trite service and high prices, employees about demanding customers and low wages, and owners about rising costs and lack of labor. The trend is shaping out to be a small number of high-priced, high-quality restaurants, and a larger number of food hall (cafeteria?) establishments with reduced staff; with more entertainment and communal dining taking place at home. Barbeque, anyone? Earn More: The Dual Income Couple can be empowerment, rather than a trap. With parents now having their first child closer to age 32 than 22, there is a good chance that both mom and dad are established in their careers, and logically, it would be a large leap to give up the safety net of two income streams. Coming out of the Pandemic, there was a significant mismatch between work-from-home jobs and people who would benefit from them; and the fact that even among white-collar workers, WFH jobs paid more than in-person roles. With the economy being an efficient machine, we are seeing the emergency of a work-from-home, flexible hours track that allows the primary caregiver to spend time with the kids. Overall, more intelligent financial planning means less need for overtime shifts and long stints at sea. Many of us experienced mariners know the prodigal type that gives away their paychecks to man toys, girlfriends and nightclubs. Some of us are fortunate to know a forever-single mariner with a net worth nearing $5 million: keep savings high and expenses low. Moderation is finding the balance between these two extremes, something we may have forgotten in the not-too-far past.

Class of 2024

Not many weeks ago, the US Merchant Marine Academy celebrated its commencement for the Class of 2024. Each year, there are around 200 graduates receiving their bachelors degrees, and an start to life as officers at sea (with a few going into the Army and Air Force). There are also a handful of masters degrees in Engineering, with one of my Class of 2015 classmates commencing again in 2024. I may not be a diploma-winning part of this pomp and circumstance, but I do feel something in common with these fresh graduates. In the past year, I earned my Chief Engineer's license. While I had done the studying and exams back in 2018, the final step- acquiring sea time as second-in-charge of the engineering department, eluded me for a while. It involved a job and lifesytle change (from office-based electrical engineer to at-sea First Assistant Engineer), as well as learning my new shipboard role in a fly. As someone else mentioned, they have books telling you how to be a new officer or a captain, but nothing for the roles in-between. There is a bit of foolish pride: a wall by the dining hall lists every graduate who became a Chief Engineer or Captain. At least it used to be there. As I analyzed previously on this blog, some classes graduated many who achieved this license, and some graduated few, depending on strong advancement opportunities in early career. My class was fortunate in this way. Literally having their name scratched on the wall, the maritime officer comes full circle from their classroom education. Other careers may require a masters degree or doctorate, but working through the ranks of shipboard positions is an indispensable part of educating those who lead onboard ships.

Industrial Resilience on the Chesapeake Bay

The ill-fated M/V Dali is pierside at Norfolk International Terminal in the Hampton Roads area, having been towed south through the Chesapeake Bay last month from Baltimore. During the accidental blockade of Baltimore’s inner harbor as a result of the Key Bridge collapse, the additional maritime traffic sent to Hampton Roads exercised, but did not overstress, the capabilities of the local maritime industry. At a Maritime Day event in May, I casually surveyed various local maritime service providers. Among those who experienced a windfall of business were harbor pilots, tug boat operators, and longshoremen. Being on the roads, I noticed the increase of terminal truck drivers and trains carrying shipping containers and coal from April to June. Coal carriers and container ships made an increase of visits to Norfolk International Terminals, driving the increase in road and rail traffic. Several Ready Reserve Fleet ships were stranded in Baltimore; their counterparts in the Hampton Roads area picked up at least one cargo mission. Two classes of ships that appear to have diverted elsewhere are cable-laying ships and car carriers (or, roll-on, roll off). Baltimore’s inner harbor had special facilities for both. Also of note is one historic ship whose maintenance schedule was altered by the blockade. SS John Brown, a museum ship normally docked in Baltimore, is now in Colonna’s drydock undergoing a periodic maintenance and repair period. Different than the usual assortment of inland vessels and small offshore craft, this vessel is a decorated piece of World War Two history. The SS John Brown was a full-fledged break-bulk cargo ship, and was built to typical dimensions of the era. To arrive in Norfolk from Baltimore, she cruised the Chesapeake Bay on her own power.

SCOTUS adds to Maritime Law

I am not sure how Bright Enterprises, the New Jersey-based plaintiff in the recent US Supreme Court Case (Loper Bright Enterprises et al. vs Raimondo), arranges their shipboard workforces, but many American commercial fishermen are working shareholders whose workplace conditions are outside of the purview of labor laws. The New York Times recently painted a picture of the fishing industry, consisting of limited rest, frequent injuries, and abuse of stimulants (1). With this in mind, it was less surprising that a maritime company would be on the vanguard of small and mid-size businesses challenging the regulatory state. Overturned in this case was the Chevron Deference, established in the 1980s and named for a major corporation, seemed to put a cap on the excesses of corporate attorneys in the “greed is good” era- although deregulation of telecom and finance would continue through the next decade. Bright Enterprises is a sympathetic plaintiff, and their amici curiae (allies) even more so. At question was a $700 per day regulatory cost for ride-along marine fishery inspectors, which in 2016 sunk David Goethel’s small fishing business in New England cod and clams (2)(3). Another recent gem from the US Supreme Court came in SEC vs Jarkesy, which interested me since the liberal justices were against expanding the right to jury trials to defendants in civil cases currently decided by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). With the caveat that the decision does not address license suspension and revocation actions, the Supreme Court may have strengthened the position of mariners and aviators facing certain legal actions by the US Coast Guard or Federal Aviation Administration. Yet, in many cases, a mariner or aviator under charges would prefer to have their case reviewed by an ALJ than a randomly-selected jury. The ALJ would presumably be more informed about technical decisions and risk trade-offs within their sector of the transportation industry, whereas a jury might come to a premature conclusion when casualties occur to the environment or people at sea. (1) https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/06/magazine/fentanyl-death-fishing.html (2) https://apnews.com/article/fc068b291ae54450be38530c512a09f6 (3) https://causeofaction.org/supreme-court-denies-petition-review-job-killing-fishery-rule/

Trump Came to Town

Virginia Beach and Chesapeake went all out for President Trump upon his arrival, completely shutting down 15 miles of busy suburban freeway so that his entourage had a completely private thoroughfare from the airport to a berry farm near the North Carolina line. Such accommodations inconvenienced some of his followers, who had to work on a Friday and did not have the luxury of spending the day perusing merchandise and food stands at the berry farm. A caravan thus formed on the backroads, arriving at the duck fields to find that there was no more room to hear the once-disgraced president speak. Cars lined the side of the road, new cars, no beaters. Their occupants had nice clothes, good hair, and smooth hands, untaxed by grueling work or hard living. Nearest to the berry farm were mansions with many cars in their front yards. One must wonder how much each automobilist paid for the privilege. Chesapeake used to vote for the Democratic Party, between the family farm Dixiecrats and the urban industrial neighborhoods of South Norfolk. But Chesapeake is now a suburban wonderland filled with economically secure members of the military industrial complex. Donald Trump was welcome here. A cul de sac served as promontory for those who could not enter the venue. For ninety minutes, Trump’s voice rehashed talking points soothing to the audience’s ears. From here, you could not see Trump, but his voice boomed invisibly over the fields like a FDR fireside chat, or how God talks to people in movies. Studies show that Trump’s biggest fans are unchurched. Trumpism is their religion. I’m no stranger to political speeches, which seasoned politicians always keep to 10 minutes or less. Trump’s hour and a half oratory was different. One woman told me that Trump “could speak so long, because he knows so much”. After Trump left the stage, cars started to fill up the Wawa fuel station. There were Teslas and big pickup trucks, and a few MAGA hats, t-shirts, and #FJB stickers. But it was remarkable how these hardcore Trump supporters blended in as the regular American citizens you would see at the strip mall or county park. Experts will say that Virginia is fool’s gold for the Republican Party, having gone 20 years voting for the Democrats. But Trump’s handlers knew what they were doing. Many of the cars came from rural North Carolina , the quintessential swing state audience, and the Chesapeake suburbanites added visual reinforcement to the rally, so important to Trump’s image as the American hero.

A Fine Cut of the Jib

Until this year, the Newport- Bermuda sailing race was not on my radar. It is sailed every 2 years from Rhode Island, and my Alma mater usually sends a boat crewed by midshipmen. This was not enough to pique my interest in the past, yet Somehow, it came to a special place of prominence in my mind. One factor is that Orsted, a major Danish renewable energy company, has become a major sponsor of this race. Offshore wind has been creating many good career opportunities for American mariners, and the proximity to the coastline allows for better work-life balance than traditional deep sea shipping. Another key factor: Friends and their family have been boosting the hype on social media. The parents are old enough to have time to sail, and the kids old enough to have knowledge gained through experience on the water. According to race announcers, this year brings quite a few novices to the race. Relative youth is an advantage: As the starting line emcee put it on Friday. Don’t be older than the length of your boat. That is, older folks should ride in the relative comfort of a larger sailboat. See the contenders' current positions here at: https://cf.yb.tl/nb2024 PS, I'm following Assarain IV.

Reconsidering the Maritime Academy: California's Case

Sometimes, I feel that I am repeating blog posts, but with new information comes new angles for reporting. In this case, California State University's (CSU) Maritime college will be merging with a larger polytechnic program by 2026. That maritime college in Vallejo seemingly re-invented itself in the 1990s, but what has worked for two generations no longer works so well. Since 2018, enrollment has fallen by a third, and new capital investment is required to maintain dormitories and other facilities. As a professional school, there is a requirement to wear uniforms to class, stand "watch" as an on-campus job, and to abstain from marijuana (due to the use of a federally-subsidized training ship). Optimistically, CSU intends to retain the maritime licensing program. Yet, these afflictions seem strange due to the fact that CSU operates the only four-year maritime program on the West Coast; five such programs operate in the Eastern time zone, plus Texas A&M in the Gulf Coast (recently blogged about their new tuition policy). The 1990's were a transformational time for maritime colleges in the United States. The labor-intesive American ships built during World War Two were finally retired from service, leaving a smaller fleet of ships for newly-graduated merchant officers to sail. With the Cold War over, Navy veterans downsized from military service provided skilled manpower with little need for new education, under laws and conventions of the era. To this end, the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (MEBA) apprentice program in Easton, MD was closed in favor of continuing education for existing mariners. Then-Vice President Al Gore slated the US Merchant Marine Academy for closure- it is still open. Each state maritime academy began offering new majors, often without the uniform and military-style training requirements. Such new degrees tended to be adjacent to the maritime field, with offerings in logistics, international business, security, and facilities management. Organizationally, only two of the six state schools left the 1990's as autonomous institutions; the transformation of California Maritime Academy into a CSU campus was so complete that it earned the name of "casual maritime academy" due to the students' increase in rights and priveleges. There was certainly dissent about the "dilution" of regimental culture at the time. One alumnus filed a lawsuit against the Maritime College of New York, stating that use of the waterfront Fort Schuyler campus in the Bronx was restricted by the US government to training licensed maritime officers. Such an forestalling effort failed. Despite the maritime orientation of these colleges, oceanography and marine biology are often taught elsewhere. Out of the six state maritime academies, only Texas A&M is a designated Sea Grant University with focus on ocean research. Scholarly research seemed at odds with hands-on, employment focused learning. In the end, restructuring allowed these maritime colleges to exist for Gen X and Millenials. Peak college enrollment of the year 2010 came and went. Maritime colleges, offering graduates high starting salaries, continued to ride high. To this end, CSU Maritime appears to be unique it its troubles caused by a confluence of factors. First is the freshman attrition rate, where many students decide that college, and especially a maritime program, is not for them. Second is the general decreased interest in a college degree: Many of the students in adjacent degrees were not focused on a maritime career, but attended college as low-propensity, general ed students. Third, due to crew shortages, many would-be maritime students are going straight to work, collecting a paycheck instead of paying tuition, and collecting promotions based on work experience rather than classroom time. Unless they happen to have GI Bill Benefits, or a funded college savings account, it is unlikely they will return to a maritime college once they are working in the industry. It appears that, unlike the 1990's, CSU Maritime will be going through its next transformation alone. The unspoken truth is that most college-educated mariners leave shipboard work within 5-10 years of graduation. Thus, going to sea is no longer the way of life, but part of it. Incorporation of a maritime program into a college with other operationally-focused majors will provide strengthening synergies to both the student and the institution.

Harrison Butker’s Thoughts

Like Harrison Butker, the embattled kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, I was once a brash 28-year old, working in an industry that supports sole breadwinners, and attending a Catholic parish that adhered to the Missal of 1962- the Traditional Latin Mass. Nostalgia for Catholic Integralism of mid-century Spain, Italy, and big-city America; and Christian Democracy of France and Germany, ran strong. Yes, I was 28 when I lauded the Dobbs decision as a harbinger of a New Deal for families. (For the one-year anniversary of the decision, I issued a Mea Culpa on this blog, as I did not then realize the lack of compassion of many so-called “pro-life” legislators in the South). What is so appealing about fighting the “diabolical lie”, which to Butker is concept that career comes before family? For many middle-class families- especially those without a four-year degree, the single income family is still an ideal. For those with masters and doctorate degrees, this concept is an anathema. Thinking as a neoliberal, one must be a reactionary- a neanderthal- to be willing to shrink the GDP. Would such a focus on the family be “turning back the clock”? In the United States, dual income households had been on the rise since 1940, despite some retrenchment at the end of World War Two. With this option came an increase of living standards, followed by an ever-consuming increase of living costs. In Promised Land, an economics book I recently read, David Stebenne explains that this switch between freedom and necessity of a second income happened around the 1958 recession, earlier than the peak era of second-wave feminism. During the 1950's, investment in business development had lagged, in favor of high wages for the working class. It was not sustainable. The single wage earner never completely disappeared, at least for the part of the middle class that obtained special skills and education at reasonable cost. In fact, such a concept proves to be an unbreachable wage floor during labor negotiations. The appeal for motherhood and domesticity; in contrast to harsh, male-dominated industrial environments, provides the rallying cry for better contracts. Maybe in the future, emotional appeals will be gender-blind, but for now, Butker’s ideas buttress the middle class way of life.

Unreported News on the Non-Compete

Non-compete clauses got out of hand. Once a reign on executives and professional employees, many lower-wage employers have been telling their employees that they can't leave their job for another in the same field. Nursing assistants, fast food workers, and janitors are some of the employees who have recently found themselves sigining such agreements. However, these are not common in the shipboard side of the maritime sector. Since the Seaman's Act of 1915, as lobbied for by Andrew Furuseth, the American seafarer was permitted to "break articles" in any US Port. While I have not found an explicit requirement to allow seafarers to choose a different employer, it is certainly implicit in the culture surrounding seafaring, where employee's ties to a company are weak, and ties to a union and job hall being strong. To be fair, the system of impressement that existed prior to 1915 (and that still exists globally) was replaced eventually by strong unions and a "closed shop" hiring system for ocean-going, unionized ships. Within this system, there is mobility between different companies and different types of ship (one could be on a car carrier one voyage, and on a grain ship the next). However, as written by John Konrad from GCaptain, maritime wages have stagnated under the closed shop system, where unions would compete against each other to sign a contract favorable to the employer. A new generation of union leaders, who labored under these conditions, agreed to allow some healthy competition through a mechanism known as a passthrough agreement. This would incentivize shipping companies to sign more generous contracts, as poorly-paying ships would be unable to find crewmembers. Reducing the barriers to personal economic competitiveness is working in the maritime sector. How about the rest of the nation? California became a leader in tech and other innovation due to its longstanding, strong prohibition on non-compete clauses. Predominately in the near-South and the West, state legislatures and courts have invalidated many classes of non-compete clauses, and to do so through nationally through the Federal Trade Commission would follow a winning trend.

Finding the Trail

Last May, I started hiking the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O) trail. I completed the first hundred miles in two stretches. The greatest part of this trip is planning and preparation. Plan for stops, how much food to bring, and where more supplies can be obtained. Well water service on the trail begins in "mid April" and runs to October; without such amenities, more pack weight would be allotted to carrying bottled water. Preparation also includes the physical aspect of 15-20 miles per day with a backpack. Such naievity kept last year's hikes to two-day jaunts. By joining and detaching the trail at various towns, I have a little experience on how we have, and have not, maintained our transit infrastructure. The easiest entry points were those served by Maryland's commuter trains, specifically thr MARC Brunswick line, which serves Washington, DC and intersects the trail at Point of Rocks and Harper's Ferry (yes, John Brown's Harper's Ferry). More challenging, but doable is Williamsport at Canal Milepost 100. An airport shuttle known as the Bayrunner stops in nearby Hagerstown, and there is a city bus that connects to Williamsport, or more likely, one would take Uber or Lyft to maintain a schedule. Cumberland, the western end of the trail at milepost 184.5, has a daily Amtrak train, the Capitol Limited, that runs between Washington, DC and Chicago. I hope to provide a review when I ride it in several days' time.

On Ships and Bridges

From the trestle of the Baltimore Harbor Thruway (I-895), one can glimpse a glaring sight to the south. A highway ramp ascends, only to abruptly end in clear sky. This was not the sight of construction or planned deconstruction, but the result of an accident at sea. A couple weeks ago, the MV Dali collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge while leaving the Port of Baltimore. Chief Engineer Michael Buckley was one of the first to theorize on social media the exact sequence of electrical problems that the ship experienced before the catastrophic collision. The NTSB also independently focusing on electrical issues. Notably, the tugboats that normally assist ships out of harbor had turned back to the pier by the time of collision. Tugboats cost shipowners money, and in the absence of regulations and laws, they are cut loose at the first opportunity. The harbor pilot was still onboard, but was literally powerless to advise the ship's master in stopping the collision course. Anchor watches are not maintained on merchant ships, and steering gear handpumps take minutes to respond. The radios did work, and the state police saved lives by closing the bridge to road traffic. Although six road workers perished upon collison, two were successfully rescued from the water. Several strategic National Defense Reserve Fleet vessels are currently isolated from the sea. After longtime Senator Barbara Milkulski of Maryland retired, the hospital ship USNS Comfort and an aviation repair ship were relocated to Norfolk, Virginia to reduce sailing time to open ocean from 12 hours to 3 hours. The ones remaining in Baltimore are general cargo vessels. Fort Smallwood Park is located on a penninsula just south of the Key Bridge. Offering a good view of the harbor, I sought to observe salvage operations. However, the park was closed to the public, with a police officer standing guard to turn voyeurs around. Attention was thus directed away from the gnarly steel spectacle, and towards a memorial of photographs, flags, and six large crosses erected in honor of the lost road workers. Honestly, without electrical power, there is no ability to steer the ship. For this reason, tugboats are required for large ships such as oil tankers; I expect that this rule will be expanded to all large ships in the future. I have attached the opinions of a Chief Engineer who worked for the shipping company involved, and which I believe to be mostly spot-on.

Do You Draw Straws? Which Crew Must be in the Lifeboat

On a cargo vessel, there are twice as many lifeboat seats as the maximum crew and passenger capacity. If the lifeboats on one side of a ship are unusable due to damage or excessive angle of incline, there will be enough seats on the usable side. When I was on a ship with one temporarily- disabled lifeboat, part of crew travelled to the next port by airplane, so that this safety law would not be broken. The station bill lists lifeboat assignments and duties for crew and passengers. For simplicity, crewmembers assigned to the working lifeboats would continue to exercise those roles, such as launching or steering away from the ship. If it turns out that only one lifeboat out of four is launchable, and there are not enough seats, there are inflatable survival rafts located adjacent to the lifeboats on either side of the ship. Much better than their World War Two era predecessor that resembled a giant floating donut, these modern models offer the opportunity to stay fairly dry while under a canopy. Here’s an exercise for ethics and ship’s management: who should get the better chance for survival in the lifeboat, and who should be sent to the raft? The lifeboat needs two engineers in case engine or electrical adjustments are required. The shock of a maritime casualty has incapacitated many would-be survivors, so all survival tasks must have two people assigned, to ensure that the job gets done. Lifeboatmen, or “Persons Proficient in Survival Craft”, are officers and able seafarers who are trained in navigating and managing day-to-day life in a lifeboat. Part of this qualification used to require demonstrating competency as a coxswain while rowing a boat with your classmates or shipmates. You can never have too many lifeboatmen on your lifeboat, although each raft should have at least two qualified personnel. Contrary to popular belief, the captain should avoid going down with the ship. The captain is an established authority figure to the crew, but more importantly, someone with celestial navigation skills. (For about 20 years, the US Navy dropped this competency, relying instead on GPS navigation on the ship, or a quick rescue by a coalition vessel if the ship must be abandoned. This competency has been restored.) Always bring a successor as well- the second mate is often the most proficient at navigation, as part of their daily shipboard duties of charting course. A modern enclosed lifeboat, an orange jellybean of sorts, is self-righting, provided that occupants remain seated, and that the lifeboat is not overweight. They also have engines, while rafts require rowing or towing. Inflatable rafts lack this self-righting feature, so anyone who can’t pull the weight of the raft, or the oars should be in the lifeboat. Think exit row on an airplane- children, the ill, and the very elderly. The lifeboat will be much drier than a raft. The chief steward or cook is often delegated the responsibility of managing food and water rations. While a survival amount is pre-staged inside the lifeboat, bottled water and non-perishable carbs and protein will be brought onboard if time permits. The medical officer, if there is one, may bring a go-bag onto the lifeboat. Anyone with metal implants or artificial limbs must ride in the lifeboat, due to the risk of puncturing the raft with sharp objects. Anyone who is not in a survival suit- an orange or red wetsuit issued to all crew- should be in the lifeboat. Negligence should not be assumed- survival suits are mostly kept in staterooms, not workplaces, and crewmembers are discouraged from returning to their rooms for missing items. Most importantly, fill the darn seats. On the RMS Titanic, an Edwardian sense of propriety sent lifeboats away with empty seats. I did this tabletop exercise as Leadership and Teamwork Training as a Third Engineer, but didn’t realize it until now. The scenario was choosing eight people to travel from a disintegrating moon colony in an escape pod. They had to keep it abstract.

Texas Says Yes to Maritime Education

Texas A&M has educated offshore and deep-sea mariners at its Galveston campus since 1963. Unlike the founding of other maritime academies, there was no external impetus, such as war (Maine, 1941; USMMA, 1943; MEBA Union, 1965), a generous new subsidy (California, 1929; Great Lakes, 1969), or lack of skilled mariners (New York, 1874; Massachusetts, 1891; AMO Union, 2010). College was not required to serve on the first generation of oil rig vessels, debunking yet another theory. Instead, it appears that Texas, then one of the poorest states in the nation, wanted to make good for its citizens. They could sail as ships’ officers from New Orleans or another coastal port, and bring home good paychecks. A recent change- tuition cuts for maritime programs- continues this tradition. Like medicine, maritime education has been costly for several decades, but if you stick with the program, then the rewards in salary will easily cover the cost. There is a negative feedback loop, specifically that lower-paying jobs, like primary care medicine, or working onboard research vessels and training ships, are understaffed with high turnover. In several newsworthy cases, some medical schools have drastically cut tuition, in hopes that earning potential decreases as a factor in career decisions. While Texas has cut the cost of maritime education by $300 per credit hour, it only applies to In-State and In-Region students. However, this could have a big impact on the composition of future seafarers. Currently, the Carolinas and Gulf Coast are underrepresented among the merchant marine officer ranks. Geographic distance from a maritime academy, coupled with cultural differences from the Northeast (New York is closest), contribute to this issue. While USMMA remains the sole tuition-free option, Texas is accessible to non-traditional students, including those who started as deckhands, and does not have an age limit to entry.

Boeing's Loveable 757

It’s the early 1980s. While the duopoly against Airbus was not yet established, Boeing had strong competition in the commercial jet aircraft sector from McDonnell- Douglas, and for a while, Lockheed’s L-1011 Tristar. Innovation was key to staying ahead of the competition; and the key advantage with Boeing’s 757, the direct successor to the 727, was dropping the engine count from three to two. Production stopped in 2004, but the 757’s new purchase market had already declined to niche markets after September 2001, which pushed multiple US air carriers into bankruptcy. The 757 was known as the “racecar” of the skies, as it was overpowered due to the lack of a suitable sized engine on the 1980’s market. When oil prices steadily increased in the 2002-2008 period, airline executives could not justify purchasing more high-performance, overpowered, fuel-guzzling aircraft that pilots loved to fly. Some traits: It was the largest aircraft that can service Washington Reagan and New York Laguardia airports, both in the top-25 busiest airports in the US. Other aircraft of similar size require more runway length for takeoff than these airports have. The aircraft had performance for high-altitude takeoff in South America and Central Asia. Higher cruising altitude over 40,000 feet, which was only surpassed by the supersonic Concorde. This allowed for avoiding all types of weather turbulence. Year-round non-stop flights between the Eastern US and Western Europe, with 160-180 seats serving “long, thin routes”. I flew one from New York to Edinburgh, Scotland in 2007; and Iceland Air makes good use of the aircraft model today, Transcontinental flights to the West Coast, allowing improved legroom options over the 737. For example, United regularly used the aircraft on its Washington, DC to San Francisco route. Oh, and the “turn left for first class” routine, as the forward boarding door was located some distance aft of the cockpit. Around 2017, Boeing appeared ready to proceed with designing a new 757, under Project Yellowstone, sometimes dubbed the “797” or the “New Mid Market Aircraft”. The airline, however, diverted its efforts to fixing production of the revolutionary, and larger, 787 aircraft, which itself was a fresh slate 15 years in the making; and releasing the 737 Max, the fourth iteration and transcontinental version of what was once a regional jet. I’ve made big business predictions before on the blog, one of which was a major corporation moving into vacant office space immediately south of the Pentagon. Both Amazon and Boeing did so. This one might have been a napkin sketch rather than a blog post, but I felt that Norfolk International Airport was ready for a regional airline hub. Breeze Airways entered the picture seven years after Vision Airlines failed in their attempt from nearby Newport News. What if Boeing shrank the 787, a two-engine aircraft, to fit the aging 757’s market, using a common type rating for both the flagship and miniature models? With competition from Airbus in this size range, only a quarter of orders for the 787 have been for the 787-800 variety, with 230 seats. Boeing still needs to work through its backlog of orders for this jet. But shrinking the plane will cover the mid-market gap that the 737 Max can’t fill.

Does Small Business Still Matter to the Left? (Flashback to '04)

I remember the presidential campaign of 2004, a clash of values and vision. Howard Dean’s community aesthetics tied into Howard Schultz building out Starbucks as a third place for apartment dwellers. Small business would fill out all the little shops on the walkable block. This contrasted to the Bush-Cheney vision of “cowboy capitalism”, or the “ownership society”, with praise for newbuilt subdivisions and big-box retail as the American Dream fueled by cheap oil. What happened? Howard Schultz, once an icon of responsible capitalism, is now a “union buster” and “corporate shill”. (“They closed the Starbucks at UNION Station in DC? How fitting”). Those downtown small businesses, struggling due to workers not being in the office towers upstairs? “Let them fail”. Today, it is the Right that pines for physical third places, specifically churches, temples, and indoor shopping malls; and against deforestation in their communities (see the controversy over data centers overlooking Manassas National Battlefield). The Left, at least the ones who can afford the privilege, will buy that larger house with the big kitchen and extra bedrooms (for home offices), and order necessities and luxuries on their Amazon Prime account. Enter the digital age. Online confessionals by small business owners and managers explain just “how the sausage gets ground” when keeping their shop open- for example, the floated checks or delayed code-mandated repairs. Young people, being less attached to work, have less tolerance for the owner’s eccentricities- which contrast to the lawyer-reviewed handbooks that the big corporations issue. Career advancement, once a hallmark of fast-growing small and medium sized businesses, is less important when you just want to do your job and get a paycheck. The home or apartment is the first, second, and third place – live, work, and play- when you have a virtual job and a virtual community on social media. Then there is the question of feasibility for a college-educated professional or regular working mariner to pursue small business ownership- retail rents are still high, despite the so-called retail apocalypse; and student loan and home mortgage costs cutting into investable capital. In other words, more people are failing the Quick Test of liquidity, through issues beyond their immediate control. Big business has moved to the Left, and I am talking in economic terms. For the past 15 years, at least until last year’s interest rate bump, big business has been able to borrow money at 0 to 2% rate, effectively operating under Keynesian economics; while small business owners are constrained to a restrictive money policy, with credit card advances and home equity loans always at 7% or higher. Big business, therefore, was able to implement liberal priorities such as health insurance for all employees, and a higher base wage; while smaller businesses had less financial flexibility to do so, relying on legislative carveouts on health coverage, paid time off, and certain reasonable accommodation laws to stay afloat. What does it mean when the Left is no longer enamored for small business? Cash may be king for socially disadvantaged customers, but it’s icky for a business owner to move money in a non-digital format. Democrats have led the effort to reduce the cash reporting threshold from $10,000 to $600, and hire more tax auditors at the IRS. “Schedule C” filers, who make up the majority of small business owners and independent contractors, always feel that they are at risk of audit, due to the vagueness of the deductible expense categories – for example, all “Repair and Maintenance” costs are reported on a single line. So, while the expansion of the IRS workforce may be targeted at millionaires, small business owners fear that they will feel the pinch. But the current differences between the Left and small business can be overcome. After all, there is a push to support Black-Owned Businesses as a method of economic empowerment. It is more of a lack of understanding by the technocratic class, who may not personally know a small business owner. For those who work at sea, it is common to hear about dreams of owning a business, but less common for shipmates to talk about the challenges of doing so.

That Mariner Reference Number

Social Security Numbers used to have a rhyme and reason, which turned out to be a downside. With somebody’s hometown and date of birth, a hacker had a reasonable chance of guessing a social security number. Since 2011, new numbers issued to infants and immigrants have been randomized. The US Coast Guard likewise uses Mariner Reference Numbers, which for the longest time were issued in sequential order. So, you could take a look at the ship’s license rack, outside the Captain’s office, and determine who the real old salts were. For Maritime Academy students, Mariner Reference Numbers are usually issued before interning on a commercial or government ship, either freshman or sophomore year, depending on the school. Thus, a class year would have Mariner Reference Numbers grouped in close proximity. There are exceptions, for example, students who got their start as commercial fishermen or deep-sea deckhands. Those experienced mariners near retirement today have numbers in the vicinity of 2500000. Members of the Class of 2020 have numbers around 4500000. It’s certainly doubtful that the US Coast Guard has issued credentials to 2.5 million citizens and lawful residents, but there was a certain order to the numbering. After that, all bets are off. I’ve seen Mariner Reference Numbers in the 8000000’s, for example. It's certainly the end of a longstanding era. Before the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, the US Coast Guard issued entry-level credentials to many people who never had an intent of working at sea. It was a good way to get a no-cost photo ID during a time when not all states required driver’s licenses, and car ownership was far from universal. The “Z-Cards” of the World War Two era bore a six-digit number. Many were issued to the crews of thousands of Liberty and Victory ships, and were replaced free-of-charge if lost in a maritime casualty (this provision still stands, though fortunately few credentials are lost in shipwreck today). Mariner Reference Numbers crept upward at varying paces, depending on the tides of war and economic fortune. Now, they bounce by leaps and bounds.

Is Money Enough?

One of the great appeals of merchant shipping is lifestyle design, where people with wanderlust could take extended trips unthinkable to those working a 50-week-a year grind. The other appeal is paying off student loans in 5 years or less. Use Mom and Dad as a mailing address, and sleep and eat on the employer’s dime. Port visits are open again, but seeing the recent difficulties for recruiting and retention in the maritime field, something else is going on. We are a decade past “peak college”; enrollment is declining in both absolute numbers and percentage. Where maritime academies burst at their seams ten years ago with students hopeful for solid employment, today, there is more space in the dorms and hallways. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I’ve seen posters from the 1920’s proclaiming the need for more education. Slacking students in the 1980’s (see “A Nation at Risk”) were a threat to national security and economic prosperity. In the post-NAFTA era, education would be the lifeline for workers displaced from uncompetitive industries and outdated factories. Populists like Pat Buchanan and Donald Trump countered this assertion with a more authoritative model: the government could pay for infrastructure programs and subsidize the construction of new factories for the titans of industry. The construction of new oceangoing training ships under recent Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, the first of which launched last year as the “T/S Empire State VII”, is an icon of this model. Yet, more recently under President Biden and his state-level allies have accomplished the same populist improvement through a different model, by raising the minimum wage and tipping the scales of arbitration towards labor. With the floor as high as $20 per hour in California, or $15 per hour elsewhere ($30,000 per year), entry-level workers without college degrees are earning similarly to college graduates five years ago, who would accept subsistence wages to get a foot in the door. Likewise, entry level shipboard jobs can pay close to what newly-graduated officers earn. Traditionally, many seafarers hailed from high cost-of-living areas such as New York and Boston; today, recruiting focuses on the lower-cost Coastal South, and not requiring municipal services much of the year, many experienced mariners establish residence in states without an income tax, predominately in Florida and Texas. There is less pressure to become an officer for the higher pay, or to dedicate a career to a field where Sundays are often spent at work, rather than at church. For now, higher education has lost its end-all, final-word status as an economic proposal. But as I have stated before, the growth of understanding is still essential to the modern mariner.

Good Crews and Safe Skies

Large passenger engulfed in flames at Haneida Airport in Tokyo! Everyone survived! I call it a pleasant miracle; others prefer to give credit to the flight crew and passengers. Quick evacuation of the aircraft was indeed necessary; the aircraft's interior was fire retardent but not fireproof. Passengers followed directions, and correctly left their belongings onboard. What seems like an anomaly of good disciple to Americans is the expected response by the United States' Federal Aviation Administration. Evacuate a full aircraft in 90 seconds. Are we up to the task? The common Boeing 737 was first evaluated in the 1960's. Since then, passengers have become bigger, seats narrower, and no longer trained with military discipline. But didn't the 2009 landing of Flight 1549 on New York's Hudson River prove that we Americans could do the right thing? Kind of; this plane was on a "banker's run" between New York and the finance-driven city of Charlotte, North Carolina. Before videoconferencing hit its stride in 2020, businesspeople used to take weekly plane trips to routine meetings. So you had a lot of experience fliers who were not predispositioned to rock the norms. A bit different maker than a tourist flight to Orlando. I think, overall, that Japan Airlines Flight 516 is a wake-up to pay attention to maintaining standards of passenger safety.