ENERGY TRANSPORTATIONTechnologyA few years back when we interviewed Tom Crowley, Jr. for the pages of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, we asked him what he thought was the one technology that had the biggest impact on the safety and ef? ciency of his company’s maritime operations. Surprisingly his answer was simple: ROPE. The reasoning was simple too, as today’s lighter, stronger synthetic strands have gone a long way in helping to reduce back and other related lifting injuries on deck. He stands by that answer today, as well, but in a discussion of “technology,” he both praises and laments the modern marine electronics and the evolving wheelhouse. “There’s a ton of stuff in the wheelhouse, but I don’t think that anyone has done a really good job of making sense of all of that,” said Crowley. “You have so many new things in the wheelhouse, yet we haven’t gotten rid of a lot of things in the wheelhouse. It’s really overload on the crew and we have to ? gure a way to make that more streamlined.”time Tom Jr. took the reins, change that started with its inter- sure that will continue. But we will maintain a diversi