From the desk of Mike Emerson, Director, Marine Transportation Systems
Commandant (CG-5PW)

Please join me in sending best wishes for fair winds and following seas to Mr. Rajiv Khandpur as he retires on September 30^th from the Coast Guard after 30 years of significant and accomplished service.  As many of the Maritime Commons readers know, Rajiv has served as the Chief of Waterways and Ocean Policy at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington DC since March of 2005.  Responsible for managing policy issues for all CG activities related to Waterways Management and Ocean Policy, Rajiv has been responsible for the oversight of the administration of the Great Lakes Pilotage program (46 USC Chapter 93) and the Coast Guard Ice Operations Program as well as developing national policy necessary to meet requirements in Polar Ice Operations, Domestic Ice Operations, and International Ice Patrol and Marine Science Activities.

But Rajiv has done more than sit behind a desk!  In fact, Rajiv graduated (twice!) from the University of Michigan in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering in 1982 and previously from the Directorate of Marine Engineering (a maritime academy in India) in 1974.  He earned an unlimited motor Chief Engineers’ license from The Department of Trade, United Kingdom in 1980.

Rajiv has close to 50 years of experience in the maritime industry. He sailed as a merchant marine officer for over 8 years culminating his sea-going career as a chief engineer in 1981.  During this time he sailed on vessels under various registry: Indian, Liberian, and Canadian; and on various types of vessels: general cargo, OBOs, Timber carriers, and Chemical carriers ranging from 13,000 DWT to 88,000 DWT.  He worked as a naval architect from 1982-90 involved in the design of various U.S. Navy vessels.  

When he first joined the Coast Guard as a civilian in 1990, his assignments included Project Manager in Lifesaving and Fire Safety Standards (1990 -94); Program Manager for the Passenger Vessel Safety Program and Control Verification Examinations (1994-2001).  In 2001, he was selected to be the Division Chief in Waterways Management and then the Office Chief in 2005. 

He also served on six month deputations to the CG Congressional Affairs office, and the Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation.  He has served as a member of the United States delegation to International Maritime Organization (IMO) on Life-Saving, Search and Rescue (LSR) and Fire Protection (FP) subcommittees and to IALA on the Pilotage Action Forum.  He is a graduate of the USDA Executive Potential Program and the Federal Executive Institute (FEI), and has taken various courses in Public Administration and Human Factors. 

He also served as the Designated Federal Official of the Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee; as a member on the Executive Steering Committee of the U.S. National Ice Center and the North American Ice Service; CG liaison to the Transportation Research Board; and as the chair of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers Human Factors Panel.

What next?  Rajiv will be spending more time with his family – both in the U.S. and in India, and I highly suspect there will be a few road trips in his Porsche outside of the beltway.  Safe travels and many thanks for a job well done.

This blog is not a replacement or substitute for the formal posting of regulations and updates or existing processes for receiving formal feedback of the same. Links provided on this blog will direct the reader to official publications, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These publications remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.