Crew members aboard a pair of SIU-contracted vessels recently earned accolades for their participation in a joint U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd)/U.S. Coast Guard safety exercise.Dubbed “Operation SafePort 2005” and conducted in early June in San Francisco Bay, the maneuvers spanned three weeks and involved Seafarers aboard the Pacific Gulf Marine, Inc.-operated Keystone State and Horizon Lines’ Horizon Consumer. The Keystone State is a MarAd Ready Reserve Force Auxiliary Crane Ship (T-ACS) while the Consumer is a container ship.
A third Seafarers-crewed vessel, the Matson Navigation Co.-operated Lihue was also part of the safety simulations. Prior to the actual exercise, Seafarers who crewed the Keystone State took part in several preparatory on-site sessions in which the Gem State, another of MarAd’s auxiliary crane ships manned by SIU members, was involved.
Under the exercise scenario, the Keystone State was tasked with maneuvering alongside the Consumer (and on two occasions the Lihue) which was at secure anchorage in a designated area of San Francisco bay. Once in position, the Keystone State was further tasked with the safe removal of certain containers. The containers in question previously had been placed in very close proximity to a test container by a U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Boarding Team (also known as Sea Marshals).
To make the scenario more realistic, Sea Marshals labeled the test container as a “suspicious” box. The simulation continued with members of the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Strike Team boarding the Horizon vessel, using complete access on all sides of the suspect container to perform additional safety surveys and then discharging it to a small LASH barge where it was carried away without incident.
Thanks to the excellent training of the Seafarers, their counterparts from the USCG and all others involved, the exercise was a complete success. All containers safely were removed from the Consumer without a hitch. The suspicious box, which remained undisturbed during the removal of containers, successfully was examined and removed by members of the strike team.
“The SIU members who crewed the vessels taking part in the maneuvers performed in a truly outstanding fashion,” said SIU Assistant Vice President West Coast Nick Celona. “Their superb training came to the forefront in all of their actions…. Their overall professionalism reflects tremendous credit upon themselves and the SIU.”
More than 80 observers from varied government agencies including MarAd, the U.S. Military Sealift Command, U.S. Transportation Command, U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Energy and U.S. Customs and Border Protection viewed this successful exercise.
Officials from Pacific Gulf Marine as well as Horizon Lines expressed pride both in the crews and the roles played respectively by the vessels they managed. “Participating in this drill allowed Horizon Lines as a primary U.S.-flag containership operator to support and actively share in U.S. port security development,” said John Keenan, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Horizon Lines. “This exercise further demonstrates Horizon Lines’ unwavering commitment to securing not only our customers’ cargo, but also reaffirms our partnership with these government agencies in protecting our borders.”
Pacific Gulf Marine CEO Todd B. Johnson, in a letter to SIU Vice President Contracts Augie Tellez, said in part, “This business has its share of ups and downs. It also has moments which make it all worthwhile. For me, those times are usually related to extraordinary performances of a team under pressure; such was the case during the ‘Operation Safeport’ exercise…. Our customer, the U.S. Maritime Administration, was extremely pleased with the performance of those crew members who demonstrated, once again, the value of maintaining an active and well-trained workforce that serve aboard Ready Reserve Force vessels.
“To all aboard the Keystone State, please extend our sincere thanks for a job s well done,” Johnson concluded.
###
Printer Friendly Page