MarEx eNewsletter - May 28, 2009

May 28th, 2009 Vol. 7, No. 21 National Maritime Day: New Awareness, New Hopes National Maritime Day is separated from Memorial Day by just three days; recognition of the importance of both events is still worlds apart. Industry officials work to change that reality. "NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 22, ... Read More>>>Back to Top NOAA Says Changes in Vessel Operations May Reduce Risk of Endangered Whale Shipstrikes NOAA: One of the biggest threats to right whales is ship strikes. Boston Pilot Gregg Farmer provides clarity on the matter. Years of study and effort by NOAA and the U.S. Coast Guard will pay off this summer when two changes to shipping lanes into Boston are ... Read More>>>Back to Top MarEx Mailbag: This week's Mailbag contains but one letter, but it is one sent in "fun," referencing our May 21st light synopsis of MarEx Editor Joe Keefe's Ireland holiday. Even the Geneva Convention allows for vacation time (so they tell me). A week in Ireland served to recharge my ... Read More>>>Back to Top 2009 International Maritime eLearning Symposium Two workshops added to the 2009 International Maritime eLearning Conference. •Online Crowd Management and Crisis Management Certification courses are scheduled for this year's conference workshops. Experience first hand the only STCW Level online training available today. Attendees will have the opportunity to take the ... Read More>>>Back to Top NTSB: Expanded Release of Accident Investigations to Begin Next Week In accordance with the NTSB Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Improvement Plan, National Transportation Safety Board Accident Investigation Public documents will be available on Website. Washington, DC (May 28th 2009): The National Transportation Safety Board today announced that it will begin to release all accident investigation public ... Read More>>>Back to Top Coast Guard White Paper Addresses Facility Security Net effect of Coast Guard approved Facility Plans on foreign commercial vessel operations discussed and analyzed The issue of foreign mariner access has been raised by a number of shipping companies. According to the Coast guard, representatives from these companies have stated that they are having a ... Read More>>>Back to Top Former USNS Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg Sunk to Create Artificial Reef Former missile tracker intentionally sunk in the Florida Keys, creating a new artificial reef for sport divers and anglers. The Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg sank in less than two minutes Wednesday morning – about one year later than project supporters would have hoped – after demolition experts ... Read More>>>Back to Top New Generation Azipod Builds on Experience The design of the coming 'next generation' Azipod units (Azipod XO) has drawn on operating experience gathered since ABB originated the concept. • Storied roots: new applications For a product still pushing the boundaries of what is possible in terms of ship manouevrability, and ... Read More>>>Back to Top U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Notice Fuel Systems and Fuel Switching Between Residual Fuel Oil and Marine Distillates The purpose of this Marine Safety Notice is to increase awareness and provide general guidance on fuel systems and fuel switching safety in an effort to prevent propulsion losses. A recent Coast Guard study and ... Read More>>>Back to Top House Foreign Affairs Oversight Subcommittee Meets Today at Mass. Maritime Academy Panel To Hear Testimony From Academy Officials On Anti-Piracy Measures WASHINGTON, DC: The House Foreign Affairs Oversight Subcommittee will meet Thursday May 28, 2009 at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, MA to hear testimony on efforts to fight the spread of maritime piracy. ... Read More>>>Back to Top Great Lakes Region Welcomes SecurePort® 2009 Conference Hosted by Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority, conference kicks off on June 1st. (DETROIT, MI) – SecurePort® 2009 5th Annual Western Hemispheric Port Security Conference and Trade Exhibition (www.secureportamericas.com) comes to Detroit for the first time to turn a positive spotlight on the city, the port and the ... Read More>>>Back to Top MARAD Delivers FY-2010 Budget Estimate to Congress Agency asks for approximately $345.5 million for the fiscal year. Overview of the budget request: * * * The Maritime Administration (MARAD) has a three-pronged mission. MARAD programs advance: (1) economic growth and recovery by providing job-producing businesses with efficient transportation ... Read More>>>Back to Top NOAA Issues Hurricane Season Outlook Commerce Secretary encourages preparedness as NOAA predicts "Normal or Below Normal" Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season and a "Near Normal" Atlantic season. NOAA forecasters say a near-normal Atlantic hurricane season is most likely this year. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke coupled that prediction with a warning to all Atlantic ... Read More>>>Back to Top Dutch Appeals Court Ruling on Inland Navigation Liability Limitation NETHERLANDS law firm AKD Prinsen Van Wijmen says a recent decision of the Court of Appeal in The Hague in relation to limitation of liability on inland waterways will be of interest in maritime jurisdictions throughout Europe, where there is a dearth of case law on the point at issue. ... Read More>>>Back to Top MARAD: Beaumont Reserve Fleet Ship Sold for Recycling American Osprey, an off-shore petroleum discharge tanker, built in 1958 at Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Sparrows Point, Md., brought a purchase price of $12,227.70 The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration has sold a ship for recycling to All Star Metals, LLC of Brownsville, Texas. The American Osprey, an ... Read More>>>Back to Top ITIC Interventions Show Power of Ship Arrest Three cases discussed as ITIC intervenes in dispute resolution process. THE latest Claims Review produced by the International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) provides evidence that, although ship arrest should in many respects be considered a last resort in the dispute resolution process, it remains a powerful weapon ... Read More>>>Back to Top Topaz Executives Honoured The Chief Operating Officer of Topaz Marine, Roy Donaldson was recently elected the new Chairman of IMCA, for its Middle East and India section. International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) is the international trade association representing offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies. Founded in 1972, IMCA is ... Read More>>>Back to Top EMAIL UNSUBSCRIBE Copyright © 2009 The Maritime Executive. 3200 S. Andrews Avenue, Suite 100 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

MarEx eNewsletter - May 21, 2009

May 21st, 2009 Vol. 7, No. 20 On a Slow Bell: Off the Clock, but Still Plugged In MarEx Editor Joe Keefe is back from holiday with some light observations from his recent trip to Ireland. Dublin, Ireland: About 32 years after my first visit to this fine city, last week I returned for a brief one-week vacation. In the summer of 1977, I arrived ... Read More>>>Back to Top MarEx Mailbag: This week's Mailbag is full after being conspicuously absent last week and all letters references our May 7th on line editorial. This week's Mailbag contains about two week's worth of mail, all referencing our May 7th lead piece, entitled, "Piracy Debate changes course in Washington." The article ... Read More>>>Back to Top MarEx Podcast Returns: Newly introduced concept and news vehicle for the MarEx e-newsletter is back with another podcast. Our third podcast recounts our May 7th lead editorial referencing piracy issues. Tune in and listen now. The May 5th Senate subcommittee hearing on piracy provided a very public forum that served ... Read More>>>Back to Top Local Opposition to Gal-Tex Pilot Rate Increase Hardens Galveston Wharf Commission joins West Gulf Maritime Association in unanimously opposing proposed pay hike. Board of Pilot Commissioners to rule on matter soon. Monday's unanimous vote by the Board of Trustees of the Galveston Wharves to object to a proposed rate adjustment requested by the Galveston-Texas (Gal-Tex) ... Read More>>>Back to Top MITAGS & PMI Celebrate Latest Workboat Mate Program (500/1600 GRT) Graduation Ceremony MITAGS and PMI have now graduated highly trained and motivated mate candidates from both campuses. Industry sponsored, and MITAGS/PMI built, Coast Guard "Approved" Workboat Mate Program has provided many new mates to the tug and barge companies of the West coast, and now the East and Gulf coasts. ... Read More>>>Back to Top U.S. Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions Declined by 2.8 Percent in 2008 U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels decreased by 2.8 percent in 2008, from 5,967 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (MMTCO2) in 2007 to 5,802 MMTCO2 in 2008, according to preliminary estimates released today by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). This is the largest annual decline in energy-related carbon ... Read More>>>Back to Top Two Crew Missing after Tanker Catches Fire Two crew members are missing after a tanker caught on fire in Singapore on Tuesday. The M/V Vertex, a Honduras-registered tanker, which was carrying 2,000 tons of used oil, caught fire at anchorage. Local reports said that 17 crew members escaped the fire by jumping into the ... Read More>>>Back to Top 2009 International Maritime eLearning Symposium Two workshops added to the 2009 International Maritime eLearning Conference. •Online Crowd Management and Crisis Management Certification courses are scheduled for this year's conference workshops. Experience first hand the only STCW Level online training available today. Attendees will have the opportunity to take the ... Read More>>>Back to Top Liberty Maritime Urges Government to Better Protect U.S.-flag Vessels President and CEO Testifies Before Congress as Debate on Combating Piracy Continues. WASHINGTON, DC - Liberty Maritime Corporation President and CEO Philip J. Shapiro testified Wednesday on lessons learned from the international piracy crisis and the immediate need to protect American merchant mariners on U.S.-flag vessels. In ... Read More>>>Back to Top U.S. Coast Guard Briefs Two serious incidents on May 19th; both require Coast Guard response. • Coast Guard medevacs man from ship after explosion TAMPA, FL: The Coast Guard medically evacuated a man after an explosion onboard a tanker 30-miles northwest of Tampa Bay at approximately 5 p.m. ... Read More>>>Back to Top MarEx Reader Forwards Link to Merchant Mariner Video YouTube video is both historical and entertaining, complete with some appropriate music. MarEx just received the referenced link shown below from a loyal reader. The video is posted on YouTube and is entirely devoted to a tribute to merchant mariners and the ships they sail on, particularly ... Read More>>>Back to Top Waterways Council Decries President's FY 2010 Inland Waterways Lockage Fee Proposal Cornel Martin urges lockage fee be rejected again and allow for current industry-government initiative to proceed. WASHINGTON, DC: Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) is urging the swift rejection of a proposal to phase out the current inland waterways tax on diesel fuel and replace it with a lock ... Read More>>>Back to Top Brokers Under Pressure on Ship Valuations in Falling Market THE International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) says the fall in the shipping markets has created a number of difficult issues for ship valuers, with brokers in some cases even declining to provide valuations. ITIC's Andrew Jamieson says, "It is inevitable that some principals will simply be disappointed ... Read More>>>Back to Top TOTS from INTERTANKO now e-TOTS from SEAGULL Seagull and INTERTANKO are very pleased to announce there is now an electronic version of TOTS available in the Seagull Training Administrator. In response to many of Seagull's customers and INTERTANKO's members requesting an easier method of adopting INTERTANKO's Training Officer Training Standards (TOTS) initiative, Seagull and ... Read More>>>Back to Top BEST PRACTICES: GAO Weighs in on Shipbuilding High Levels of Knowledge at Key Points Differentiate Commercial Shipbuilding from Navy Shipbuilding Highlights of GAO-09-322, a report to congressional committees: May 2009 • Why GAO Did This Study Cost growth is a prevalent problem in Navy shipbuilding programs, particularly for ... Read More>>>Back to Top Economic Costs of Major Oil Supply Disruption Poses Risk to U.S. National Security While on a net basis the United States imports nearly 60 percent of the oil it consumes, this reliance on imported oil is not by itself a major national security threat, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today. May 13th, 2009: This RAND Corporation Study finds ... Read More>>>Back to Top NSRP Delivers New Ship Design Courses for U.S. Shipbuilding Courses designed for on-line or in-class presentation as part of the continuing education programs. New courses help fill an industry-identified gap in the availability of trained and experienced ship designers. CHARLESTON, SC (May 20, 2009): The National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) Modern Shipbuilding Design project team has ... Read More>>>Back to Top Subcommittee on Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation holds Piracy Hearing Opening Statement of Chairman Elijah E. Cummings at subcommittee hearing on "Piracy Against U.S.-Flagged Vessels: Lessons Learned" on May 19th. Opening Statement of Chairman Elijah E. Cummings On February 4, 2009, I convened this Subcommittee to examine international piracy on the high seas, ... Read More>>>Back to Top EMAIL UNSUBSCRIBE Copyright © 2009 The Maritime Executive. 3200 S. Andrews Avenue, Suite 100 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316