[QUOTE=Capt. Phoenix;165885]I thought that line meant that if the master isn’t able to make the “anchor captain” check his ego and realize he ISN’T the one in charge then he needs to be replaced with someone who can.
He’s only a “paper captain” if he lets someone else have final authority. Accepting advice from a qualified anchor handler is like taking on a pilot, and neither of them becomes the captain while doing the job.[/QUOTE]
The analogy with the situation with the pilot doesn’t hold up. The anchor captain / paper captain is a workaround needed because the company has captains that they trust to run an anchor handling tug but lack the unlimited license that the Coast Guard requires to run the larger vessel.
Finding or training a qualified anchor handling master with an unlimited license likely is more difficult also more expensive then the paper captain workaround.
By contrast getting a pilot is not a work-around. Pilotage is a legal requirement in most ports, no workaround. Even without the legal requirement the pilot brings expertise not otherwise available.