Welcome aboard to the exciting world of Captain Marc Deglinnocenti. My world is a world of scientific exploration and adventure, admiralty law, and technical maritime analysis reporting. Having been both a crew member on board the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) Research Vessel Point Lobos and the licensed master of the Marine Science Institute (MSI) Research Vessel Inland Seas, I have personally participated in many scientific voyages. I have also advised courts of law regarding the inland and international laws of maritime navigation. Even though I am a retired ship captain, I continue to contribute to the maritime industry through my technical articles published in trade journals.
I have worked with crew members, administrators, scientists, educators, and students to customize many of those voyages. We accomplished so many scientific missions together and learned so much about our marine environment over the years. Much scientific data was collected for research. Even though a great deal of that data was collected by the students, instructors, crew, and scientists involved, I also was responsible for collecting and recording a lot of the data too. I was also responsible for writing monthly marine biology reports to the California Department of Fish and Game. I was required to report on all of marine life collected and released under the authority of my collectors permit. I had to learn quickly about the different species of marine lifeforms as well as report their exact locations.
I had to do all that while safely piloting my research vessel. It wasn't all marine biology related work either. Some voyages were water pollution related sampling, observing historical ship wrecks, marine geology, and more. I was soon promoted to port captain at MSI and given even more job assignments.
Vessel maintenance and hiring captains and other crew members were now new time consuming activities at MSI. Training shipboard personnel was also important too. During all those activities I still found time I to design and built a benthic grab for the ship. I even later constructed a remotely operate vehicle (ROV) for educational purposes. That's a tethered underwater robot with a video camera and other equipment. Those were great days that I often miss. Captaining various vessels may be in the past, but I still find time to contribute to the maritime industry.
I am currently an expert witness for superior courts of law. My opinions on admiralty law and recommendations to the courts are considered evidence toward determining case outcomes and dispositions. That's a big responsibility, but so is educating others.
I continue to teach other people about marine science through my technical maritime articles. I have been fortunate enough to have my writings published in Maritime Reporter and Engineering News, International Ocean Systems Magazine, and Marine Technology Reporter. It humbles me to be able to contribute to the future of others as to what I have learned in the past.
Captain Marc Degl'Innocenti