Chris Desa began his maritime career in 1973, right after graduating high school in Bombay, India. He went to sea immediately as a direct entry cadet in the Indian Maritime Service. “I worked my way up through all five levels of licensing,” said Desa. “After four years, I could qualify for my first license, which was second mate, which required another 18 months at sea.” Desa sat for what he describes as a very tough exam at the Maritime Engineering College in Bombay. “Even after passing it, you didn’t get promoted right away, necessarily,” he said. However, he was promoted to the rank of captain at the age of 28.

After spending years at sea, Desa came to work ashore in 1985. “When you’re out at sea you’re a captain, but when you come ashore with the heck do you know?” he said. “So I decided to qualify in a bunch of other professional institutions.” Desa earned a fellowship in the prestigious Institute of Charter Ship Brokers in London, which is a tall shipping qualification. He is also admitted in the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, with offices worldwide.

When he moved from working at sea to the shore side, rather than being responsible for one vessel, as a captain is, Desa was now in charge of certain key aspects of 30 or 40 at a time. “When I came ashore, I had a shore office but I did more work and went on more ships than I ever did at sea,” said Desa. He worked for the Shipping Corporation of India, the fourth largest shipping company in the world. The company had 164 ships at that time, a portion of which he oversaw in his four-year, onshore tenure with that company.

These days, Desa is a maritime consultant in very high demand. He consults in all aspects of marine operations, but his specialty is safety and quality management in shipping to shore operations. “It’s techno-commercial,” explains Desa. He’s on a case right now involving the possible contamination of two cargoes. “They can hire civilians to do this kind of work but when you want someone above that level that’s when I get the call,” he said. “It’s tricky work and you have to think a bit.”

Desa does plenty of safety inspections for his individual client companies. He also consults for all ships under the Liberian flag from Wilmington, N.C. to Jacksonville, Fla. “Liberia is considered a flag of convenience for tax purposes,” explains Desa, “but their safety record is higher than almost any other established line including the U.S.” Desa said he is just one in a close-knit group of about 300 Liberian ship inspectors around the globe.

Desa’s many clients around the world include most of the protection and indemnity associations which are like insurance companies, as well as many major ship owners worldwide. He does safety management, security audits, and consulting, primarily. Anti-terrorism and anti-piracy is included in these consultations. “There is a code called the international shipman’s port security code,” said Desa. “It’s been around since 2004. There are criteria that ships must to meet and precautions they are required to take, but when all is said and done, it hasn’t stopped piracy on the high seas.”

While Desa’s work focuses on the preventive side of ship safety, he is often called in after-the-fact, when there is an industrial accident aboard ship that results in possible cargo damage or the injury or fatality of a crew member.

Desa said he used to go worldwide frequently to perform his duties, but too much travel takes its toll. He now limits his service area to within a six-hour drive of Savannah as often as possible. However, he has clients all over, particularly along the eastern seaboard from Port of Miami all the way to New York, and still goes wherever his unique expertise is needed. “When I was a vetting inspector for many of the oil company ships, I spent an average of 25 days per month on the road. It got to be too much.”

Wanting to use his time most productively on his client’s behalf, Desa tries to time his arrival so that he arrives close to the time the ship he’s there to evaluate makes it into port. “My expertise is time,” he said. “I don’t like waiting for ships to arrive so I try to time things so that I am not there waiting and billing my clients for idle time.” Desa said that these days, he is busy, on average, about 15 days per month.

The unusual name of his company, Jonaro Technomar, is derived from the names of his children. “The name was derived from the first two initials of each of my kids. JO–Jonathan, NA–Nadine, RO–Rory,” he said. “TechnoMar means that it is both technical and commercial maritime consulting.”

In a port city such as Savannah, much attention is given to the logistics part of ocean freight. “We live in a logistics-friendly town and state, but logistics is just one part of the whole transportation equation,” said Desa. “Logistics seems to be the point people tend to focus on more. There is a lot more to international shipping contracts than meets the eye. There are international trading rules people need to follow and respect. It goes way beyond logistics.”

He is also a commissioner with the Savannah River Pilots Association–the board that issues the licenses. “My role there is to promote navigational safety,” said Desa. “Since one cannot be a river pilot and serve on the board, they are grateful I am there because I am one of the few guys who know firsthand what they really do.”

State-licensed river pilots bring ships up from the pilot station located slightly off shore near the mouth of the Savannah River, into the port. The ship owner uses tug boats to help the ship dock. A docking pilot takes the helm once the ship is in port. Docking pilots work for the tug companies. These are federally-licensed pilots.

Desa sees his work as very specialized. “Many people like to be jack of all trades and master of none,” he said. His experience in maritime transportation spans some 40 years, with expertise on both the technical and commercial sides.

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