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Let's find out what Tony does as a Vessel Traffic Controller and how he got there . . . Before Tony joined the Coast Guard in 1980, he spent some time in college and in the cruise line business. Tony wanted to be involved in public service, but what attracted him to the Coast Guard was the fact that it is a life saving public service agency. The Coast Guard offers the only uniform in service when the country is not in war. Tony admired the fact that one of the USCG's goals is to protect the environment. From 1980 to 1984, Tony spent time on three ships, sailing from Boston to Nova Scotia and Cuba, and also spent time in North Carolina, Cape Hatteras, and the Chesapeake Bay. He was transferred to the Puget Sound Vessel Traffic Service in Seattle in 1984. The purpose of the Puget Sound Vessel Traffic Service is to facilitate the safe and efficient transit of vessel traffic to assist in the prevention of collisions, groundings, maritime casualties and ensuing environmental damage. The Pacific Northwest offers a challenging environment for Vessel Traffic Service with its strong tides and currents, steep coastal cliffs, cold pounding surf, pristine waters, rain and fog. A Vessel Traffic Controller is like an Air Traffic Controller for shipping. In Seattle a Vessel Traffic Controller monitors vessel traffic in the Puget Sound covering over 3500 square miles, the largest area of coverage in the country. Vessel traffic under Coast Guard jurisdiction includes every ferry, freighter, tanker, tug/tow type boat, Army or Navy ship and pleasure craft. Tony, as a Vessel Traffic Controller monitors and directs traffic so that two vessels don’t meet. He does this by watching the radar and cameras showing all water areas. The radar shows every vessel on the water coded by color so Tony can see at a glance if the vessel is carrying chemicals, passengers, oil or general cargo. By double clicking on a vessel, Tony can find out all pertinent information about the vessel. If Tony needs to communicate with a vessel, he does this via radio. The importance of a Vessel Traffic Controller's close monitoring, good direction and quick action taken can only be measured by what would have happened if he wasn't watching so closely. An exemplary case, Vessel Traffic Service received a report that a private plane crashed in the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Tony sent out a general broadcast alerting all boats of the trouble. A pleasure craft near the plane responded to the broadcast and advised that he was ready to help. With Tony providing step-by-step guidance via radio, the pleasure craft was able to reach the plane and rescue the three passengers — just before the plane sank! Puget Sound VTS arranged for a helicopter to pick up the three people from the pleasure craft and transfer them to the hospital. The three people survived without a scratch! The whole event from initial call to boarding the helicopter took only 45 minutes. This example represents the importance of working quickly and staying calm when assisting a rescue operation. In the Puget Sound area, the USCG and Canadian Coast Guard interface on a daily basis. As a vessel crosses the line from Canadian waters to US waters, the rules change, as does the paperwork, responsibility and ownership. For this reason, a mutual agreement has been established between the Canadian and US Coast Guard organizations. Sometimes this mutual agreement requires negotiation or interpretation. For example, recently a freighter near an area called Boundary Pass (the boundary line between the US and Canada) had an equipment failure while it was in Canadian waters. By the time the freighter could actually stop and drop anchor, it was in U.S. waters. The US and Canada had to work together to determine which Coast Guard would work with the freighter in order to safely manage the situation in a timely and efficient manner. In this case, the Canadian and US Coast Guards agreed that Canada would continue to work through the situation with the freighter. Tony also works with the pilots who escort each vessel into the Puget Sound. When a vessel is going to Seattle, it will first check in with the Canadian Coast Guard. One hour before the vessel reaches the Straits of Juan de Fuca, Canada hands the vessel over to the USCG. A pilot will embark each vessel in Port Angeles at which time he will communicate directly with the USCG about the ETA (Estimated time of arrival) and status of the vessel. The pilot and the Vessel Traffic Controller will continue to work together until the vessel has safely arrived at its final destination. When big cargo ships, like the ones the Boomerang Box rides on, arrive in Seattle, Vessel Traffic Controller can see them on radar, give them advice on their position, pass important information along to the Marine Exchange, who properly prepares for the vessel arrival by providing port tugs and lines to bring it to the dock. What Tony likes most about his job at the Coast Guard is the public service work. He also likes the fact that the maritime community is so tight knit. "I have the opportunity to work with so many different people from different organizations who speak a common (maritime) language." What Tony likes least about his job is being faced with a fog situation because boats have zero visibility which poses potentially very dangerous situations. "There is so much traffic on the radio at a time like this that it's difficult to be as efficient and effective as I'd like with each vessel," states Tony. Tony is a very motivated person. In addition to standing watch as a Vessel Traffic Controller, he spends time working in Public Affairs and Public Education. He gives public lectures from time to time. Tony also has his Master's License which provides him the opportunity to ride the ships and converse with the crew about their thoughts on how VTS can be more efficient and effective. Tony's personal goal is to work into a full-time public affairs capacity which would offer him a new challenge that he's ready to undertake. Tony's advice to school children is to "do what you want and what makes you happy. But for whatever job or goal you want to achieve, go beyond the expectations of your job description. Work hard to adopt new skills, whether it be writing skills, computer skills, organization skills, or public affairs skills. Seek to do more outside your assigned duties. Develop transferable skills so you are able to bend with the changes in today's job marketplace." |
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