Partnerships Require Care and Mutual Understanding – and Possibly, Real Change
assigning young ensigns and lieutenants to work – or at least ride and observe – on the boats, even for a short period of time.
As a first step to improving the inspection process and, for that matter, the outcomes, it would be enormously useful to teach the inspectors as to what the industry entails, and what the vessels do, and how they do it. We are constantly told that the industry and the USCG have a partnership, but it seems like a very one-sided relationship. One sector has decided that all towing vessels with grating over the steering gear on the aft deck must have rails around the bulwarks area with the grating. It’s a nuisance for the towboat operators but it is nonsensical for the vessels that tow astern. The wire comes off the winch and goes across the aft deck to a barge. The rails would last a few seconds at best. This lack of understanding of how an ocean- going towing vessel operates is dangerous and costly for the owners.
The maritime industry needs personnel. A useful on-the-job educational effort could involve
We speak frequently with the U.S. Coast Guard Towing Vessel Center of Expertise, and they provide us with valuable information and guidance. Unfortunately, though, they can only do that. The OCMI’s have the final say and in some sectors that we work in, the inspectors tell us that they do not pay any attention to the TVNCOE. For some reason, we are all expected to believe that the OCMIs are subject matter experts in their given geographic areas even though they have never sailed in the waters or in most cases never lived in the area for more than a few years. Becoming a subject matter expert takes time and experience. If they truly partnered with the people in their areas that had the time and experience, we would all be better off. Why not trust the department with Expertise in its name?
It might be time to reimagine the USCG. It wouldn’t be that hard to do. The nation’s fifth uniformed service has, for generations, been tasked with a multi-mission portfolio with tepid funding support that has forced them, in many instances, to “do more
OPTION USCG TPO
(*) TPO cost from TVIB.
Tug & Barge Solutions website:
www.tbssafety.com
Article first published on the Marine Link website and reproduced here with our thanks. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and are not endorsed by IIMS.
Website:
www.marinelink.com
TYPE USCG Fee
TPO EXTERNAL M ANAGEMENT & VESSEL AUDITS & DD/ISE FREQUENCY Annual
COST PER YEAR $973.00
External Management Audit External Mgmt Audit Travel External Vessel Audit
External Vessel Audit Travel TVIB Fee DD/ISE
DD/ISE Surveyor Travel Total 5-Year Cost
Twice in 5 years Twice in 5 years Once in 5 years Once in 5 years Annual
Once in 5 years Once in 5 years
$3,200.00 $1,500.00 $1,200.00 $1,500.00 $1,000.00 $1,200.00 $700.00
FIVE YEAR COST $4,865.00 $6,400.00 $3,000.00 $1,200.00 $1,500.00 $5,000.00 $1,200.00 $700.00
$23,865.00
*Management and vessel audit costs are average costs based on TVIB audits that we have been a part of. The audit rates are fairly consistent across the auditors, but the travel costs vary greatly.
OPTION USCG (Existing Fee)
ANNUAL COST $1,080.00
FIVE YEAR COST $5,400.00
THE REPORT | MAR 2025 | ISSUE 111 | 93
ANNUAL COST $2,184.00
$4773.00(*)
with less.” The United States Coast Guard excels at many things; among them lifesaving, maritime interdiction, servicing aids to navigation and the list goes on. Let them continue to be world class in those areas and look for ways to hand off the other functions where they are not.
Inspection Costs – Not an Apples-to- Apples Discussion
The Coast Guard option is cheaper on paper, but some customers have found that the added cost of the TPO option is still a better deal when lost time is factored in. Some coastal customers get $16,000 per day for the boat, so a week spent waiting on the USCG is prohibitively expensive. One NOLA-based towboat company has been TPO option since the start. They report competitors using the USCG option, waiting for inspections. They typically earn approximately $6,000 per day, per boat, but lose weeks annually across the fleet waiting on inspectors. See below to understand the cost comparisons, but this is not an apples-to-apples situation, especially when time lost on the clock with a charterer is factored in:
FIVE-YEAR COST $10,920.00 $23,865.00
Courtesy Pat Folan
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