MarEx Newsletter - November 26, 2008

November 26th, 2008 Vol. 6, No. 48 Hot New Job Postings from FastStrem! Piracy off the Coast of Somalia: No Easy Answers The maritime version of Iraq & Afghanistan. It was only a matter of time; you just knew it. Overstating the obvious, IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos last week called for a coordinated and cohesive response, both internationally and nationally, to combat the scourge of piracy off the ... Read More>>>Back to Top Happy Thanksgiving From THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE MarEx wishes each and every one of our readers, advertisers and friends a happy turkey day. On behalf of the staff of The Maritime Executive, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of our loyal readers, advertisers and yes -- our editorial subjects, too -- ... Read More>>>Back to Top MarEx Mailbag: Reader Response to Last Week's E-newsletter MarEx readers weigh in on last week's lead editorial and an article addressing the scourge of modern day pirates. In last week's edition of the MarEx e-newsletter, our lead editorial focused on the impact of oil price volatility on the maritime industry. Inspired, partly, from a joint ... Read More>>>Back to Top MarEx December Print Edition Set to Hit the Street! Spot On! MarEx targets the offshore, workboat and oil & gas sectors – with much, much more… The latest edition of THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE is in distribution. Look for your copy soon! Regular MarEx print readers will get all of our usual features, such as Larry Kiern's ... Read More>>>Back to Top US Court of Appeals: Michigan Ballast Water Statute is Valid Permit requirement of MI ballast water statute is not pre-empted by federal law or does not violate the United States Constitution. The balkanized approach to regulating ballast water discharges in U.S. waters will continue, so says the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which upheld ... Read More>>>Back to Top Featured MarEx Print Article: Ballast Water Management Taken from our September 2007 edition, Managing Editor Joseph Keefe takes a look at the ballast water management situation and industry efforts to step up and solve the problem of invasive species. This week's featured archive MarEx print article is taken from our September 2007 edition, which ... Read More>>>Back to Top Cost Estimating & Managing Shipyard Production SPAR Newsletter details benefits from extended application of modularized ship components and other new cost estimating features for cost models for both new construction and ship repair. SPAR's Scuttlebutt newsletter (click HERE to view the newsletter) describes cost and schedule benefits from extended application of modularized ... Read More>>>Back to Top Lloyd's Register Classification News: Two Key Statutory Alerts (Nos. 29 & 30) Classification News delivers up-to-date information on issues requiring urgent and immediate dissemination to the marine industry; in this case, United States Vessel Discharge Permits and Counterfeit emergency escape breathing devices. • United States Vessel Discharge Permits With effect from December 19, 2008, discharges which ... Read More>>>Back to Top Harley Taps EBDG to Design Series of Oil Barges Elliott Bay Design Group LLC (EBDG) recently announced that it has been awarded multiple contracts to design oil barges ranging in size from 31,500 to 83,000-barrel capacity for Harley Marine Services (HMS) of Seattle, WA. The series of projects began in January 2007 with the contract to ... Read More>>>Back to Top Freight Operations – Seven Paths to a Working Capital Goldmine New report from J.P. Morgan, authored by Bernie Hart, examines the valuable role visibility and data quality play within the realm of global freight transportation processes. It outlines seven ways an organization can mine global freight spend and improve cross-functional business decisions. Effective management of freight services ... Read More>>>Back to Top NAVSAC to Meet in Washington, DC on 10 December 2008 SUMMARY: The Navigation Safety Advisory Council (NAVSAC) will meet in Washington, DC, to discuss various issues relating to the safety of navigation. The meeting will be open to the public. DATES: NAVSAC will meet on Wednesday, December 10, 2008, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday, ... Read More>>>Back to Top Seventh Annual Shipping Industry Tripartite Meeting in Beijing International trialogue between ship owners, shipbuilders and classification societies focuses on proactive steps to improve the design, construction and operability of ships to benefit the environment, the safety of ships and seafarers, and the quality of life at sea. Topics high on the agenda include practical measures to reduce Green ... Read More>>>Back to Top 6th Annual Marine Money Istanbul Ship Finance Forum set for April 30th 2009 As Marine Money follows the turbulent behaviour of the financial and shipping markets with great attention, they also announce, together with anchor sponsor Geden Lines, the Finance forum will take place at the Swissotel - The Bosphorus, Istanbul. Turkey has seen five years of expansion in shipping ... Read More>>>Back to Top Maritime Administration Announces Model Maritime High School Curriculum Program continues effort to identify and train next generation of maritime workforce. Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton today announced a new maritime high school curriculum that will help prepare the next generation of high school graduates for the tens of thousands of maritime jobs that will be ... Read More>>>Back to Top Coast Guard Operation Focusing on Towing Vessel Safety in New England BOSTON - Coast Guard personnel throughout New England recently launched an operation to ensure that commercial tugs are following rules, regulations and licensing procedures. The intent of the operation, dubbed Big Tow, is to identify areas of Uninspected Towing Vessel concentrations and examine the vessels to verify ... Read More>>>Back to Top Maritime Groups Appeal for Blockade and Naval Action in the Gulf of Aden Pirates having serious effect on maritime commerce. Fears that the surge of pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia will have a serious effect on world trade maritime groups are urging the United Nations to take immediate action. At a maritime safety conference on ... Read More>>>Back to Top No News May be Good News for Shipping in UK Pre-Budget Report LEADING shipping accountant Moore Stephens says the fact that the pre-budget report issued by the UK government on November 24 does not include any measures which significantly affect the shipping sector could be regarded as good news for the industry. Although the government has been asked to ... Read More>>>Back to Top The International Association of Independent Tanker Owners Weighs in on Piracy INTERTANKO: Somalia piracy options include security cordon. As the current scourge of piracy off Somalia's coasts escalates dramatically since the Sirius Star was hijacked in the Indian Ocean, we have already: • called on governments to provide naval and other military support (such as ... Read More>>>Back to Top U.S. Oil Tanker Firm Pays Additional $3 Million for Pollution Penalty in Eastern District of Texas DOJ: $37 million penalty is the largest-ever involving deliberate vessel pollution and was announced on Dec. 19, 2006 in Boston. BEAUMONT, TX (24 November 2008): Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (OSG) pleaded guilty and was sentenced today in federal court in Beaumont, Texas. As part of the sentencing, ... Read More>>>Back to Top EMAIL UNSUBSCRIBE Copyright © 2008 The Maritime Executive. 3200 S. Andrews Avenue, Suite 100 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

MarEx Newsletter - November 20, 2008

November 20th, 2008 Vol. 6, No. 47 Hot New Job Postings from FastStrem! The Impact of Oil Price Volatility on the Maritime Industry: A double-edged sword Falling bunker prices are only part of the big-picture equation. I had the good fortune to be in Washington, DC last week on business and was able to time my schedule so as to attend a joint Kings Point / Propeller Club function in Arlington. The luncheon ... Read More>>>Back to Top Featured MarEx Print Article: CMES – Online, Long distance and Leading the Way Taken from our August 2008 print edition, Managing Editor Joseph Keefe vets and evaluates the first U.S. Coast Guard-approved long distance learning STCW course. It shouldn't be surprising that an internationally certified (DNV) Maritime Simulator and Training Center is the recognized leader in distance learning for professional ... Read More>>>Back to Top Are Guns the Answer to Attacks on Vessels? Stuart Flynn, vice president business development at global maritime security service provider, Securewest International, weighs in on the all-important question of how to best combat piracy and further protect vulnerable commercial maritime assets. * * * Not only is piracy at an all time high but, during recent ... Read More>>>Back to Top Pirates Seize Seven Ships in 12 Days The prize: A Saudi supertanker with 2 million barrels of crude oil. The 1,080-foot supertanker, MV SIRIUS STAR, owned by Dubai-based Vela International Marine Ltd., was hijacked approximately 450 nautical miles off the Kenyan coast. Warships will not be diverted from the Gulf of Aden, say spokespersons ... Read More>>>Back to Top Navigating the New Medical Standards REC veteran Andy Hammond weighs in and cautions mariners to provide sufficient documentation that their medical condition is being treated properly AND that they could perform the normal duties of the license held or applied for. When the Staten Island Ferry crashed into the dock in October ... Read More>>>Back to Top "To the Shores of Tripoli" – U.S. Deals with Pirates "Millions for defense, but not a cent for tribute!" The U.S. refuses to pay ransoms and tributes to pirates. For centuries the four Barbary States of North Africa-- Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli—had plundered commercial shipping. The European powers with great fleets and powerful navies paid tributes ... Read More>>>Back to Top WA Department of Ecology: Trident Seafoods Penalized for Second Bowfin Fuel Spill OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) has fined Seattle-based Trident Seafoods $30,500 for an oil spill in December 2007 that sent almost 500 gallons of fuel into the Hylebos Waterway in Commencement Bay. The spill happened while the company's tender vessel Bowfin was tied up ... Read More>>>Back to Top GO TO SEA!: IMO Launches Campaign to Encourage Entrants to Shipping Industry IMO, collaborating with many other interested parties, has launched Go to Sea! – a campaign to attract entrants to the shipping industry. (11/14/08). According to the International Maritime Association (IMO), even though the global implementation of the STCW Convention can ensure that seafarers are properly educated and ... Read More>>>Back to Top U.S. Coast Guard Issues ALCOAST 568/08 Rear Admiral James A. Watson, U.S. Coast Guard Director, Prevention Policy, updates Coast Guard's marine safety personnel plans for 2009, which includes among other things, a nationwide civilian hiring drive. The Coast Guard's ALCOAST also includes an effort to recruit experienced mariners from all portions of the ... Read More>>>Back to Top California Executive Agrees to Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging on Contracts with the U.S. Navy and Others WASHINGTON (November 17 2008): The former president of a California marine products company has agreed to plead guilty for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids and allocate customers with respect to marine products purchased by the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard and other public and private entities, ... Read More>>>Back to Top GAO Issued Important Maritime Security Report in Late 2007 GAO reminds maritime security colleagues that a possibly overlooked but nevertheless valuable guide to preventing and responding to terrorist attacks on energy commodity tankers is still available. Given the recent events in the Gulf of Aden -- specifically the recent incident where Somali pirates have hijacked a ... Read More>>>Back to Top Maritime Administration Releases Technical Report on the Impact of High Oil Prices on Freight Transportation October 2008 report focuses on both the national impact as well as the impact in five critical corridor markets which include over 95 percent of the US population and an even higher share of its total production and consumption. • MARAD Assessment: on Modal Shifts: ... Read More>>>Back to Top SEAWAY NOTICE NO. 8 – 2008: Closing of the 2008 Navigation Season Mariners are reminded that there is always a possibility that severe climatic conditions may occur during the closing period. Should this happen, there is a chance that the dates outlined below, for the Montreal-Lake Ontario Section or the Welland Canal, may not be met. Closing Dates Read More>>>Back to Top Maritime Administration, American Bureau of Shipping Sign Research Agreement NEW YORK (November 17, 2008): Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton and Robert D. Somerville, Chairman and CEO of the American Bureau of Shipping, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to coordinate research efforts on major marine transportation environmental issues and to share information to promote the development of a vital ... Read More>>>Back to Top U.S. Coast Guard Issues Two Safety Alerts Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship issues MARINE SAFETY ALERTS 12-08 (Watertight Doors) and 11-08 (Fishing Vessel Stability). • 12-08 (WATERTIGHT DOORS) This Safety Alert addresses the importance of properly maintaining and closing watertight doors. Unfortunately, marine casualties, often resulting in loss ... Read More>>>Back to Top Shipping Confidence Levels Dive as Rates Look Set to Continue Downward Trend The latest Shipping Confidence Survey by Moore Stephens has revealed a significant drop in overall confidence levels in the market, and an increased expectation that rates in the tanker, dry bulk and container ship sectors will fall in the next twelve months. 19 November 2008: On a ... Read More>>>Back to Top Liberty Shipping Sends Letter to International Shipholding Intends To Nominate an Alternative Slate of Directors at ISH's Next Annual Meeting LAKE SUCCESS, NY: Liberty Shipping Group LLC today sent the following letter to the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of International Shipholding Corporation (NYSE: ISH), announcing that it intends to nominate a ... Read More>>>Back to Top INTERTANKO launches Version 3 of its Questionnaire 88 Updated version of its landmark Questionnaire 88, the industry standard for ship assessment by charterers, brokers, agents, suppliers, is launched. On the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Questionnaire 88 (Q88), INTERTANKO has revised its industry standard questionnaire. In February this year, INTERTANKO's Vetting Committee revived ... Read More>>>Back to Top EMAIL UNSUBSCRIBE Copyright © 2008 The Maritime Executive. 3200 S. Andrews Avenue, Suite 100 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316