MARITIMEPROFESSIONAL.COMGet the Maritime Professional App for iPhone, Android and Windows devicesWhen you leave the page and head to the screen, Maritime Reporter’s family of online offerings provides the most digital and online news portals for news & insight. For news and insight, visit MaritimeProfessional.comGO DIGITALLessons from the Sky While the NTSB blames pilot error in the deadly Asiana airline crash, it also offered some interesting in-sights regarding the role of sophisticated new automated controls. The maritime market should pay heed.BY GREG TRAUTHWEINIn case you missed it, the National fornia Maritime Academy with a diverse Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on seagoing career. “What happens if the June 24, 2014, released its ? ndings re- GPS, ECDIS or Radar goes out? Ships garding the crash of Asiana Flight 214 must still be able to navigate safely. At last year in San Francisco (http://www. the bottom of U.S. charts there is a warn-ntsb.gov/news/events/2014/asiana214/ ing: Mariner should not to rely solely on abstract.html). While the NTSB found any one means of navigation.”that ‘pilot error’ was the primary cause Captain Ted Morley, COO, MPT, of the crash, it also found fault with in- agreed: “ECDIS, ARPA, AIS, for exam-creasingly complex automated aircraft ple have all greatly enhanced the amount controls and apparently the pilot’s unfa- of information that a watch stander has, miliarity with them. In short, automation but they have also increased the amount that was designed to improve safety ap- of time that person spends looking at all parently now is creating new opportuni- that information. ties for user error. A balance between technology and As anyone reading these pages knows ? rst person observation is needed to en-well, there has been a dramatic increase sure total situational awareness.in the incorporation of automated prod- Technology and training are only two ucts and systems on the bridge of com- components; issues like crew size as (Copyright Airbus S.A.S.)mercial vessels, as the industry leverages compared to vessel size, ship’s schedule, Inside the Airbus 320 Simulatoradvances in computing and communica- and the ability of the master and crew to tion speed to enhance the safety and wel- act effectively are all components that fare of ship and crew. done a really good job of making sense Reporter & Engineering News, in the need to be looked at,” Morley continued. While it can be assumed that all inten- of all of that. You have so many new wake of the tragic SEWOL Ferry acci- “We are seeing an increasing amount tions are good, the crash of Asiana Flight things in the wheelhouse, yet we haven’t dent in South Korea, we reached out to of vessels with a decreasing pool of ex-214 should serve as a warning that de- gotten rid of a lot of things in the wheel- leaders in maritime training and educa- perienced mariners sailing on ever de-pendency on new technology is no sub- house. We just keep adding and adding tion for their perspective, and again sev- creasing crew sizes. Training and tech-stitute for solid mariner training, educa- all of this stuff, but we’re not taking eral salient points were made: nology can’t always “take up the slack” tion and experience. anything away. It’s really overload on While technology in the maritime sec- of smaller bridge teams or smaller deck Earlier this year we had the privilege the crew and we have to ? gure a way to tor is arguably more capable than ever to crews.”to interview Tom Crowley for the cover make that more streamlined. How do help avoid this and other accident, they For the full story visit: story of the Q1 edition of Maritime Pro- you really simplify the job in the wheel- still happen and always will. A current http://digitalmagazines.marinelink.com/fessional, and Crowley offered an in- house and not just keep layering more catch phrase in the maritime and off-nwm/MaritimeReporter/201405/teresting and relevant insight regarding things on them, and requiring more and shore sectors is “Risk Mitigation,” and the evolving role of technology on the more training?” to this end it is agreed that there is no While advances in technology are bridge. In a discussion of “technology,” there is no technology can ever remove sorely needed in many sectors of the For the full story, please visit: he both praised and lamented the mod- all risk from an inherently risky opera-http://digitalmagazines.marinelink.com/maritime chain, similar emphasis and re-ern marine electronics and the evolving tions.nwm/MaritimeProfessional/201403/sources must be paid to the familiariza-wheelhouse, saying: “Emphasis must be placed upon look-ing out the window,” said Captain Jeff tion, training and education of the new “There’s a ton of stuff in the wheel-equipment.house, but I don’t think that anyone has In the May 2014 edition of Maritime Cowen, who is a graduate of the Cali-8 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • JULY 2014MR #7 (1-9).indd 8 MR #7 (1-9).indd 8 7/2/2014 10:30:18 AM7/2/2014 10:30:18 AM