Oceans as a Renewable Power Source on a Global Scale
This week and next, 7th to 16th of July, the United Nations holds the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (UN-HLPF 2020) via webinars and UN TV. The HLPF is the annual assessment of the progress made by the UN Member States on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals – the SDGs – agreed in 2015…. Read more »
Coronavirus; Why don’t we think through the problem first?
While our coronavirus experience seems so novel, in the arc of maritime history, pandemics like this are far from unusual. Actually, the most unusual part of the present pandemic is that we have not had to deal with a pandemic like this for over 100 years. Taking into account that in those 100 years… Read more »
New Jersey Global Warming Data to Defeat Deniers
I was searching for some local rainfall information and came across a lovely meteorological summary of New Jersey weather posted on the NJ State Climatologist website. It provides a long listing of temperatures and rainfall, and Mirna captured New Jersey average temperatures since 1895 in the pictures below. In reviewing the data I found myself… Read more »
U.S. National Maritime Day
Co-Authored by: David Del Corso and Tomer Chen The year 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the ending of World War II. As usual, most World War II memorial monuments show tributes commemorating the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and sometimes Coast Guard. However, there is one branch that rarely gets recognition, yet had… Read more »
A Method for Providing Audience Reaction in Zoom Style Meetings and Remote Broadcasts
During the pandemic Martin & Ottaway has been conducting a lot of its business in Zoom style meetings. In some ways these meetings are quite effective in resolving technical issues. However, when the meeting revolves around a presentation, the presentation can become quite dry since funny asides, quips or jokes become total fails because… Read more »
COVID-19 and Subchapter M: Will the coronavirus affect the upcoming Towing Vessel compliance date?
The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004 has sent uncertainty as well as additional audit and survey demands across the towing industry. Even with a compliance date “phase-in period,” companies are scrambling to meet federal regulations enforced by the U. S. Coast Guard. As a result, companies are concerned as to whether they… Read more »
Introducing James “Jim” Kline
While Martin & Ottaway has always worked very closely with the United States Coast Guard, we have never had a Martin & Ottaway consultant with a United States Coast Guard background. There was never a specific reason for that, except to note that possibly the right mutual opportunity never presented itself. However, today, it gives… Read more »
COVID-19 Field Work Procedure
Since the New Jersey government has formally announced a stay-at-home order on March 21, 2020 to curtail the spread of coronavirus, the Martin & Ottaway office doors have been closed. However, even as many other states continue to implement stay-at-home orders, as marine engineers, surveyors, naval architects, and appraisers, our doors are always open. In… Read more »
Office COVID-19 Protocol
At this moment the M&O office is operating. We are fortunate to have a spacious office where there are inherently large social distances, and personnel can choose to work from home whenever they feel it helps the overall situation. We developed our own office Coronavirus fighting procedures based on CDC guidelines and the best information… Read more »
The Unpredictability of Innovation in Wheelchair Use
Standard wheelchairs have not changed in decades. It is a chair with wheels and has foot pads to support a person’s feet and to keep them from dragging on the ground. The foot pads are actually quite complicated, because they need to flip away when the person is being seated or stands up and they… Read more »