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Monterey, CA 94940

CURRICULUM VITAE

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Master Mariner

EXPERT: Shipboard facets of submarine telephone cable installation and repair, vessel navigation including survey quality position fixing, maritime safety, new construction and initial vessel outfitting, warranty and ship repair issues from the ship operators’ perspective, marine personnel matters including issues surrounding crew productivity and cost, practical marine equal job opportunity and P&I issues.

SUMMARY

My father was a naval officer when I was born and then retired to become a university professor of areas relating to marine biology, so I grew up in and around the water. I blame my great uncle, who has sailed for many years as master of tankers, Oil/BulkOre vessels and now liquid natural gas carriers, for introducing me to the international merchant marine aboard one of his ships when I was 6. I contend that this planted the seed that has lead to my present position. My mother is a lawyer, which I claim explains many other things.

I applied to the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point in 1974 when I saw a newspaper article announcing that the Academy would be accepting women in the upcoming entry class. I was accepted into the class of 1979, which was the first class of women to enter any federal service academy through the normal admissions procedures, and the second class to accept women at all. I studied for 1-1/2 years in the dual license program and sailed as a cadet on barge carriers, tankers and general cargo vessels in both deck and engine capacities, before deciding to concentrate solely on deck operations.

I graduated with honors in June of 1979 with a Third Mate’s license and a degree in Marine Transportation, and applied to the International Order of Masters, Mates and Pilots for membership. I sailed off the board for the MM&P as a deck officer on black oil tankers, general cargo ships, and special product carriers until 1983, when I joined the Cable Ship Long Lines and began work for Transoceanic Cable Ship Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T. TCSC changed labor contract to employ American Maritime Offices personnel in 1987. I changed union affiliations at that time, continuing my relationship with cable ships, and am presently an active member in good standing of that organization.

During my time with TCSC, there have been several initiatives worth noting. Firstly, when I joined the Long Lines in 1983, the vessel was engaged not only in the support of the existing network of coaxial cable but in the initial testing and development of fiberoptic cable and the supporting technology, which is now installed and maintained exclusively worldwide. I was given the opportunity to work with development personnel from then Bell Labs in evaluating cable designs and in developing appropriate shipboard handling procedures from an operational perspective.

Secondly, cable repair is a special purpose operation requiring extreme navigational accuracy and pinpoint ship control in the open ocean as well as the normal marine transit, piloting and traffic functions shared with all working deck officers. This has lead to familiarity with navigation technology to survey quality accuracy, as well as training in both conventional shiphandling and dynamic positioning operation both stand-alone and in conjunction with support ships and remotely operated vehicles.

Thirdly, the average working crews for an operating cable vessel range from 55 on our smallest vessel to 138 on our largest ships. This has provided me with an extensive exposure to the peculiarities of marine personnel management particularly with the ongoing efforts to increase productivity while reducing overall operation costs, including implementing two differing computerized vessel inventory and control systems. I have also had experience with safety issues, crew training , shipboard medical treatment concerns, equality in job opportunity grievances and procedures, and general crew support details.

Finally, I have had a great deal of hands-on exposure to shipyard operations in vessel repairs, retrofits, and new construction in Europe and the Far East as well as in the United States. I have not only attended all types of USCG and classification society inspections, but also vessel casualty repairs and initial construction. I have been aboard two new vessels during the final several months of construction, responsible for the initial outfitting of all departments except engineering, first as Chief Officer and then as Master. I have continued aboard these vessels through their successful first operations, and am employed as permanent master aboard one of them to this date.

MARINE LICENSES

Master, Steam and Motor Vessels of Any Gross Tons Upon Oceans

Radar Observer, Unlimited

STCW Certificate - Master

GMDSS Operator (FCC)

EDUCATION

1996 Medical Advisory Systems, Baltimore Maryland

Response to Illness and Injury at Sea (USCG approved/ IMO Level III training course)

1996 Marine Management Systems, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland

MMS’ FleetWORKS System Training

1992 Aberdeen College of Further Education, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK

Dynamic Positioning Induction

1989 Medical Advisory Systems, Baltimore, Maryland

Critical Care at Sea

1987 Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies, Linthicum Heights, Maryland

Shiphandling Simulator

Collision Avoidance/Radar

1979 United States Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, New York

B.S. - Marine Transportation ( with honors), USCG license as Third Mate, Steam or Motor Vessels of Any Gross Tons upon Oceans

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Council of American Master Mariners

American Maritime Officers

Women’s Maritime Association

National Institute for Dispute Resolution (associate)

SEAGOING EXPERIENCE - detail

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