As I read the indictment of two BP officials, Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine, on 11 counts of seaman's manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter, I couldn't help but think about Subchapter M and the future of the towing vessel industry. Mr. Vidrine and Kaluza were Well Sight Leaders on the Deepwater Horizon rig the day of the explosion which resulted in the deaths of 11 people. According to the indictment, these Well Sight Leaders were responsible for, among other things, "supervising the implementation of BP's drilling plan." To draw an analogy, under Subchapter M, should a company operate under a Towing Safety Management System (TSMS), the captain will be responsible for "supervising the implementation of the company TSMS."
The indictment explains that Vidrine and Kaluza were grossly negligent in their duties for not doing what they were supposed to do, specifically: failing to call the BP engineers ashore during the negative testing about the multiple readings that the well was not secure, failing to adequately account for those abnormal readings, and for accepting a nonsensical explanation for those readings. They were not following the plan, and an explosion resulted in many deaths.A few years back the towing industry experienced a number of accidents when tows hit bridges. Bridge transit procedures were added to many safety management systems. The idea is, as with any written safety plan, if you follow it you will minimize the risk of human error. Many captains that I talk to can't explain the bridge transit procedures. Many protest that they don't need some book to tell them how to drive a boat. But what if one day a captain fails to account for wind and leeway on a big tow, and as a result he takes the bridge out and cars drive into the river? I'm sure Mr. Vidrine and Kaluza relied on their experience as well, and did not think that the rig would blow up, but it did. Had they followed the plan, perhaps those people would not have died, and they might not be looking at jail time.
If your towing company chooses a TSMS for Subchapter M, take the opportunity to make sure you have the best possible procedures and that your captains know they must follow them at all times. As a wise man once said, smart people learn from their mistakes, but really smart people learn from other people's mistakes.