MarEx eNewsletter - April 23, 2009

April 23rd, 2009 Vol. 7, No. 16 The Last Straw The collective demands of STCW and Industry have today's mariners (and the ones still to come) stretched to the limit, while leaving maritime educators no easy choices on what to do about it. If you have been following along, then you also know that last week, I ... Read More>>>Back to Top MarEx Mailbag: This week's Mailbag contains letters addressing a variety of issues. Piracy (of course) and maritime education highlight this week's mail output. Last week's lead editorial centered on the Maritime Education Summit and the quarterly MERPAC meeting which took place at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, ... Read More>>>Back to Top Second MarEx Podcast Launched: Newly introduced concept and news vehicle for the MarEx e-newsletter is back with another podcast, this time of MarEx Editor Joseph Keefe's April 19th radio interview where he and others discuss the current piracy situation and what to do about it. Last week, MarEx Editor-in-Chief Joseph Keefe ... Read More>>>Back to Top Pirate Attacks Soared in the First Quarter of 2009 Senator Wants Armed Teams on US Ships—MSC Changes Cruise Schedules Violence against ships and crews is surging in the Gulf of Aden and the east coast of Somalia. A total of 102 attacks took place around the world in the first three months of 2009, up from ... Read More>>>Back to Top Port Security: Focus on the Great Lakes & District 9 SecurePort® 2009 Western Hemispheric Port Security Conference and Trade Exhibition comes to Detroit in June. The venue is appropriate in more ways than one. Based in Cleveland, OH, the U.S. Coast Guard's 9th District jurisdiction extends to each of the five Great Lakes, as well as the ... Read More>>>Back to Top New Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2009 Introduced in Congress Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Senator John Kerry (D-MA) introduced the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2009 to protect passengers against violent crimes, inform them about crime rates aboard cruise ships, and to authorize the U.S. Coast Guard to dispatch personnel to monitor cruise ship waste discharges. Read More>>>Back to Top INTERTANKO Expresses Disappointment at Korean Court Verdict on Hebei Spirit While INTERTANKO welcomes the decision of Korea's Supreme Court to accept the appeal concerning the damage to the Hebei Spirit (the so-called 'destruction' charges), it notes with surprise its decision to dismiss the appeal concerning the charges of pollution, and is disappointed that it appears that the Master and Chief ... Read More>>>Back to Top VT Halter Marine Mourns the Passing of CEO Boyd King MarEx pays tribute to Brigadier General (RET) Boyd E. 'Butch' King, who passed away unexpectedly on Monday, 20 April 2009 at the company's Corporate Headquarters in Pascagoula, MS. Pascagoula, MS, April 21, 2009: VT Halter Marine Inc (VT Halter Marine) this week mourned the loss of its ... Read More>>>Back to Top Case Study: Challenges With Ultra High Pressure Water Jet Re-Coat Projects Gregg Lowes, Industrial Account Manager at Munters Moisture Control Services (MCS) wieghs in on how to properly dry two Ocean-Going Potash Conveyors at Neptune Terminals, Vancouver Harbor Temporary climate control is becoming a regular part of blasting and coating operations throughout industry. Its ability to create ... Read More>>>Back to Top Multraship and Mammoet Complete Croatian Clean Up NETHERLANDS-based salvage specialists Multraship Salvage and Mammoet Salvage have successfully completed the removal of the wreck of a floating dock which sank in June 2007 at the Viktor Lenac shipyard, Rijeka, Croatia. The 165 m Floating Dry Dock No. 7 weighed 7,000 tonnes and sank in 22 ... Read More>>>Back to Top Maritime Leaders Tackle Industry's Security Issues Piracy and new security measures focus of seminar presented by NAMMA and NAMEPA Maritime leaders will gather to discuss critical industry security issues in a seminar being held on May 21st in Washington DC in conjunction with National Maritime Day. Key industry and government representatives will meet ... Read More>>>Back to Top Passenger Vessel Industry Develops "Green" Manual PVA Launches WATERS Program on Earth Day to Share Practical Environmentally Friendly Measures Alexandria, VA (22 April 2009): The Passenger Vessel Association (PVA), the nation's representative of owners and operators of U.S.-flagged passenger vessels of all types, today launched PVA WATERS – "We Are Taking Environmental Responsibility/Stewardship" ... Read More>>>Back to Top Commandant of the Coast Guard Issues Statement on Piracy Adm. Thad Allen: "Piracy has been rightfully called an insult to civilization. The recent pirate attacks on the motor vessels Maersk Alabama and Liberty Sun focused the attention of the American public on what has been an increasingly significant international issue. It is important that the American public and the ... Read More>>>Back to Top MITAGS-PMI Announce "Introduction to Environmental Regulations in the Marine Industry" Course Seminar is applicable to marine personnel and their shore-side support staff. It is especially useful for senior level management. Glen Paine, Executive Director of the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) and the Pacific Maritime Institute (PMI) in Seattle, Washington has announced a new seminar ... Read More>>>Back to Top No News May be Good News for Shipping in UK 2009 Budget LEADING shipping accountant Moore Stephens says the fact that the 2009 UK Budget does not include any measures which significantly affect the shipping sector could be regarded as good news for the industry. April 22, 2009Although the government has been asked to make changes to UK tonnage ... Read More>>>Back to Top OPED: Addressing Piracy (a different view)... A case for arming vessels in pirate-infested waters By CDR JOSEPH A. TENAGLIA, USN (Ret) April 21, 2009: As a maritime security specialist, I have instructed literally thousands of mariners in anti-piracy and anti-terrorism procedures. In class, I have listened to countless hair-raising stories ... Read More>>>Back to Top 2009 International Maritime eLearning Symposium Symposium kicks off with a "Call for Participants" for this year's Conference. The Calhoon MEBA Engineering School will be hosting the 2009 International Maritime eLearning Symposium from July 20th through July 23rd this year at its campus in Easton MD. The conference will bring Shipping Company Executives, ... Read More>>>Back to Top GAO Weighs in on Maritime Security Vessel Tracking Systems Provide Key Information, but the Need for Duplicate Data Should Be Reviewed GAO has released its (March 2009) report Maritime Security: Vessel Tracking Systems Provide Key Information, but the Need for Duplicate Data Should be Reviewed (GAO-09-337). This is a public version of a ... Read More>>>Back to Top Caring for the Victims of Piracy Seamen's Church Institute (SCI), an ecumenical agency affiliated with the Episcopal Church, launches new efforts to increase awareness of the effects of piracy on its mariner victims post-attack. New York, NY (April 16, 2009): In response to recent, high-profile incidents of piracy off the coast of the ... Read More>>>Back to Top Cayman, French Society Sign New Agreement Signing took place at Bureau Veritas headquarters in Paris. GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman – The top management of the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands was recently in France to sign an agreement with Bureau Veritas (BV), the French classification society. "We have official ... Read More>>>Back to Top Sean Connaughton Delivers Keynote Speech at Maritime Education Summit Theme of the summit, which took place at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy on April 16th, was entitled "Trending & Pedagogy for the Future." Former MARAD Administrator and current ABS executive speaks to a wide range of issues facing the maritime community. The Text of Connaughton's Address to ... Read More>>>Back to Top EMAIL UNSUBSCRIBE Copyright © 2009 The Maritime Executive. 3200 S. Andrews Avenue, Suite 100 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316