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ic new york harbor shipping disasters ny tugmaster s weblog tugboat related issues comments and opinion feeds posts comments archive for the training category radar observer certification rule update posted in education informational license renewal pilots training on june 6 2019 1 comment the final rule for the radar endorsement will be published in the federal register june 7th 2019 thus relieving actively employed licensed mariners from the 5 year renewal expense time burden and madness of it all this recertification was irrelevant long ago those of us who remain active in the industry haven t laid a grease pencil to screen or completed a plot on paper other than the renewal classes for a very long time that said i quote a friend i so wish they would require a radar course that teaches practical skill for navigation and collision avoidance capt doug pine amen to that attached find the final rule in pdf format and a link to the federal register for reference read it the final rule is effective as of july 22nd 2019 the change do es not affect those seeking original licenses https www federalregister gov documents 2019 06 07 2019 11905 amendments to the marine radar observer refresher training regulations 2019 11905 share this share on facebook opens in new window facebook print opens in new window print email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on x opens in new window x like loading read full post radar renewal updating the update posted in education informational license renewal nav aids opinion training on march 20 2014 4 comments as you may have read in previous posts i wanted to try the online experience for my radar renewal it did not go well i signed up paid 225 00 and received my study material and then proceeded to work myself back up to a passing proficiency for rapid radar plotting i took a couple of months made an appointment at the nearest prometric testing center and believing i was ready scheduled and sat for my renewal all went well up to this point the facility is clean well organized and strict i arrived early and was processed quickly the exam was straightforward enough once you get settled in at your exam station the computer program is loaded and a timer promptly begins with your radar scenario there was the first part of roughly ten questions regarding theory and then the plots i had no difficulty with theory and scored 100 you get two shots at the plotting section it s a normal three target screen you need only identify the most dangerous target and proceed with your plot i must add the timer is a bit unnerving if you fail the first time it gives you the opportunity to select and proceed with a second chance different set of plots and you fly or fall at the end of the scenario i failed both my attempts on the exam and felt more than a bit embarrassed seeing as i had never not passed what we ve all come to see as a less than useful skill since the advent of a r p a and modern radar systems i must admit that the failure was likely my fault due to my time management or lack thereof and perhaps a careless error the plots are time sensitive and you re only allowed three minutes to solve for ntcpa and new course i overran the time limit first time out after the exam i noted in the instructions on this particular exam that there was no specific time for mx expressly indicated the instructions for mx or time of execution were included in the practice instructions but absent in the actual exam instructions this isn t an excuse since after the fact i found the instructions in the practice material clearly indicated that the exam s execution point was to be at 12 minutes i missed that somehow okay so i failed i was more than a bit upset i have never failed this recert but i guess there s a first time for everything no amount of post failure negotiation was sufficient to convince the proctors of the center to help and the online school was adamant that in order to retest i d have to pony up another 225 00 and reschedule i didn t elect to take them up on it instead i called suny maritime and scheduled my one day renewal at a brick and mortar school i paid the fee 325 00 and practiced the material they sent and showed up in the bronx for the recert like i ve done in the past the experience was easier in that i had an instructor on site that understood the material he could see which of us in class were comfortable and possessed the skill set and helped guide those who were a bit shaky during the morning practice session and boosted their confidence level that alone means a lot to anyone who s uncomfortable in exam situations you re not handed the cert it s challenging and you earn it but that said having the class in a place where it s a familiar curricula helps online courses are fine but you re strictly on your own at the center after you are scanned frisked and asked to empty your pockets no one can or may assist you in any way i passed suny s recert program as expected and left to deal with the gauntlet that is the ny area s traffic to get home in closing if you re absolutely certain and speedy with rapid radar plotting you should give the online experience a go if you re like me go to a school where an instructor can kick you back inside the lines of competency and get you through this every 5 year p i t a i have a couple more times i have to submit to this ordeal and you can be sure it will be at a brick and mortar school from here on share this share on facebook opens in new window facebook print opens in new window print email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on x opens in new window x like loading read full post calhoon meba engineering school distance learning program posted in cool stuff education exams informational license renewal training uncategorized on december 13 2013 leave a comment i m beginning my radar renewal process a bit early this time using the calhoon meba engineering school distance learning program when i wrote the last article describing this new way to handle training and re certification i said that i would be giving this a try as my renewal date approached i should say that my first attempt at finding and registering for the course was slightly side tracked by the fact that i thought i would be using the prometric portal well let s say that after a few calls to an endless loop of phone menu items and toll free calls including one to somewhere in southeast asia i found my way by calling the calhoon meba school directly and spoke to a nice young woman named lisa mc neil 410 822 9600 ext 322 i was able to ask all my questions and get answers from a real human being and i was set right in short order so here s the deal as i understand it any mariner can apply for their radar re cert with this school you do not have to be a member of meba follow this link to their home page hover your mouse over the online courses menu item and check out the drop down menu read everything then fill out your application select your course and pay the lady you ll receive an email with confirmation and then you ll have to allow a day for processing the order you will receive an email confirming your registration and access to the study material and also more importantly your login and access to the instructors for any questions you might have via email in the information link it states you have a month but the conversation i had with ms mcneil made it clear that i could study longer if necessary and not have any problem ms mcneil can offer more info if you need more time once you have registered and been accepted you will be given the key to the online course material and practice with it as often as you like the online course and testing material comes from the same source used at the prometric center on your exam day okay so you re ready to test the scheduling process is email based and finding the exam near your home becomes your next step here s where the prometric system comes into play through the calhoon website select locate a test center and follow through the menu to filter it down by country state etc select the course search the nearest test center select the center you want check for available dates so that s what i ve got so far i will report back after i ve completed the process and let you know how it went so far i m on track share this share on facebook opens in new window facebook print opens in new window print email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on x opens in new window x like loading read full post why tugboats have fenders aka risk management posted in deck safety education informational training tug and barge uncategorized voyage planning on march 5 2013 4 comments thanks to a book recommended to me by kennebec captain and my time spent reading it i have found the words to express my frustration with zero tolerance safety programs with a couple of quotes the point of risk management is not to prevent failure for that is impossible the point is to have a plan ready to manage and control failure when it inevitably comes this may in fact be the real story of human and societal improvement we talk a lot about risk management a nice hygienic phrase but in the end risk is necessary things can and will go wrong yet some have a better capacity to prepare for the possibility to limit the damage and to sometimes even retrieve success from failure when things go wrong there seem to be three main pitfalls to avoid three ways to fail to rescue you could choose a wrong plan an inadequate plan or no plan at all say you re cooking and you inadvertently set a grease pan on fire throwing gasoline on the fire would be a completely wrong plan trying to blow the fire out would be inadequate and ignoring it fire what fire would be no plan at all these quotes are not my own they are from a book linked above and a commencement speech i believe they illustrate perfectly what and how we should think about risk management as a practice the message we frequently get from management is the same old saw zero incidents accidents errors while this has a nice ring to it and is a worthy goal it s not humanly possible and we know it planning for failures that might occur however is well within the realm of possibility evidence of this kind of real world thinking is represented by our vessel spill response plans salvage plans voyage plans operations manuals and training curricula these documents all articulate what to do when something happens or if this happens then they are general in nature since it s impossible to prepare for every possible permutation of events and write a specific procedure for each it s left to our training and judgement after that high reliability organizations a high reliability organization is one that while highly trained to avoid failure is keenly aware of the cues that arise announcing an impending one the thing that makes them so reliable is that they are prepared and mindful enough to catch a bad series of events while they re still curable but it s not just their awareness their resilience in the face of an event it s how quickly they can get the situation under control and continue using the plans set in place for such an incident as a guide it s not making a blanket statement of incidents won t happen because we don t want them to it s the real world the message is clear to me coupled with proven safety procedures we need to recognize that and prepare for when things to go wrong the business of towing is full of risk it s why tug boats have fenders it s a contact sport a sign on the bulkhead stating zero zero and zero isn t telling me how to accomplish it and you can bet harry potter s magic wand is out of the question the ability to meet and assume that risk is tied to practical and relevant training standards the conflict between zero incident safety programs and reality is that if we were to eliminate all risk nothing would get done something in that statement seems to make some eyes glaze over and disconnect from the conversation ships are safe in the harbor but ships are meant to go to sea someone has to take risks to make things happen sailing across the ocean space exploration flying out of la guardia airport during bird migratory season none of these things happened because risk was eliminated it was addressed and planned for if you think all risk can be eliminated and still see progress you re kidding yourself by seeking that end you ll find that you are paralyzed by every threat real or imagined and taking a step ahead will never happen share this share on facebook opens in new window facebook print opens in new window print email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on x opens in new window x like loading read full post online radar renewal preparation course posted in education informational license renewal training uncategorized on july 28 2012 2 comments the industry continues to drag itself into the modern age when it comes to licensing and renewals for the certificates we all need i recently read of a course offering that will save some money and make a radar renewal a bit more convenient i hope calhoon meba engineering school has announced a program that will allow you to study online for your radar re cert and then travel to a satellite exam center to test as far as i know it is available to all with payment not just the meba membership i have no direct knowledge of how well this works or doesn t i just had a chance to look this over this morning and believe i may take advantage of this in 2014 when i m up for renewal presently the quoted 235 00 price is reasonable when you factor in the ever dwindling amount of brick and mortar schools that offer this course in reach of most candidates i know i d rather avoid a five hour round trip to my nearest maritime academy for what amounts to a 10 question quiz we all know the one day radar renewal course is actually a practice session in the morning and an exam after lunch you have to show up ready to test you either pass or fail if you fail you re given a price for the extended renewal course and you ll need to re test at the end of that add three days plus expenses to the total the uscg rec s do not offer the tests anymore and haven t for quite a while you re forced to pay and attend an approved school and get your cert the classes offered invariably run from the full five day soup to nuts class to variations of the renewal curriculum anywhere from one to three days add lodging meals gas and tolls and it can add up to a sizable chunk of change the online course touts its unfettered access to instructors and the benefit of studying online at your leisure the course provides a nice radar emulator which does a good job of presenting a radar screen and target advance in real time all the forms you ll need for plotting are available and are shipped within a day of payment this is what sells the program you then can schedule the test near your home ...