MarEx eNewsletter - November 5, 2009

November 5th, 2009 Vol. 7, No. 44 Politics, Pilots, Pay – and Predictably, Problems… A backlash against perceived excessive pilot compensation may, in the short run, look like the right thing to do. Down the road, the unintended consequences may outweigh the immediate "benefits." It is, apparently, a very good time to push back against state-sanctioned harbor pilots who are seeking ... Read More>>>Back to Top MarEx Mailbag: The mailbag is heavy this week, brimming with interesting and provocative opinions, most of them referencing last week's lead editorial. Last week, our lead editorial referenced the marked shift in U.S. government policy with regard to culling out the obsolete vessels in their three "ghost" fleets (MARAD ... Read More>>>Back to Top OFF THE SHELF: a Book Review Terror on the Seas: True Tales of Modern-Day Pirates by Daniel Sekulich (Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press, 2009). Piracy is much in the news these days, and with good reason. It costs the world economy an estimated $25 billion a year in lost and stolen goods, ... Read More>>>Back to Top Maritime Casualties--November 5, 2009 Pirate Attacks and Bunker Leaks. • M/V Harriette Thwarts Pirate Attack U.S.-flagged ship operated by Sealift Inc., M/V Harriette, evaded a pirate attack and sustained small arms fire 360 nautical miles from Mombasa, Kenya. American Maritime Officers and crew were unharmed in the attack. ... Read More>>>Back to Top Lloyd's Register Cleared to Issue Anti-pollution Certificates to US Flag Vessels U.S. Coast Guard has delegated authority to Lloyd's Register to issue MARPOL Annex VI International Air Pollution Prevention Certificates (IAPP) on their behalf to US flag vessels. The IAPP delegation completes the full suite of delegated authorities available to Lloyd's Register for marine vessels as a recognised ... Read More>>>Back to Top KP Chesapeake Veterans Day Maritime Dinner Program – Wed Nov 11, 2009 Nov 11, 2009 Wed. (MITAGS-Baltimore) KP Chesapeake Veterans Day Maritime Dinner Program 5:30PM Location: The Conference Center at the Maritime Institute, 692 Maritime Boulevard Linthicum Heights, MD 21090 / Tel: (866)-629-3196 Web: http://www.ccmit.org Agenda: 4:30PM: Hosted tour - MITAGS Simulator Technology ... Read More>>>Back to Top Security in the Asia-Pacific: Protecting Port and Maritime Assets The Asia-Pacific Region sea lanes and ports -- key and vital to commercial shipping, trade and military engagement -- present a significant challenge to security professionals. The diverse capabilities and limitations of individual country intelligence and security forces to identify and mitigate potential threats require a pro-active, cost-effective teamwork approach ... Read More>>>Back to Top Europort 2009 Shows No Signs of the Global Recession Brett Keil, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing of the Maritime Executive says Europort 2009 is one of the most impressive shows he's attended in recent memory. BALKENENDE 'STEERS' EXHIBITION EUROPORT INTO AHOY ROTTERDAM Prime Minister impressed by the scale of this maritime exhibition ... Read More>>>Back to Top GAO Releases Report on Safety Effects of Modifying the Age Standard for Commercial Pilots Report concerns aviation issues only, but raises questions to whether this type of thing will extend into the maritime arena as well, especially in the choppy wake of COSCO BUSAN and U.S. Coast Guard's NAVC 04-08. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released the following correspondence: Aviation ... Read More>>>Back to Top Do You Know the Definition of NPDES, MARPOL, VGB and NOI? MITAGS and PMI to host "Introduction to Environmental Regulations in the Maritime Industry-General Permit for Commercial Vessels." The course is designed as a two-day seminar. The first day is an introduction to the environmental aspects of vessel operations and the basic structure of the marine international and federal regulatory environment. ... Read More>>>Back to Top OMSA Applauds IRS Focus on Foreign Vessels Not Complying With U.S. Filing IRS directive further stirs the pot on heated row concerning controversial CBP Jones Act Interpretation proposals. New Orleans, LA: The Offshore Marine Service Association applauds the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) recently posted directive to field officers establishing an issue management team in the wake of an IRS ... Read More>>>Back to Top PLANETDATA / MARITIME SECURITY NEWS PlanetData - The Security News Network is a free news and information resource focused on maritime, global, corporate, cyber, homeland and aviation security, law enforcement and intelligence. PlanetData hosts timely and comprehensive content gathered from over 1,000 online sources, as well as from our editors, contributors and members. This newsletter ... Read More>>>Back to Top COAST GUARD FOUNDATION Re-Activates Disaster Relief Fund Following Airplane Tragedy Non-Profit Organization Issues Call for Assistance to Provide Support the Families of CG-1705. Stonington, Conn. – The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that it has re-activated its emergency Family ... Read More>>>Back to Top MPC to Develop "Proof of Concept" Solution for Heavy Oil Recovery The contract funds Phase I of a potential two phase project. Phase II would include building and testing a prototype unit. Awards for Phase II will be determined following the completion of Phase I. Completion target for Phase I is mid-2010 and for Phase II, late 2011. Read More>>>Back to Top Emery W. Harper: 1936 - 2009 Among many other achievements, Mr. Harper played a major role in the reformation of the US Ship Mortgage Act and the US "Jones Act" governing participation by non-US citizens in the coastwise trade. On Monday, October 26th, our dear friend Emery passed following complications from surgery, leaving ... Read More>>>Back to Top OIG Says CBP Not Doing Enough to Mitigate Threats DHS Office of Inspector General says U.S. Customs and Border Protection has taken steps to mitigate the threat of nuclear and radiological weapons in maritime cargo containers, but could do more. CBP officials say new devices are currently being developed and tested that could help. The new ... Read More>>>Back to Top SNAME Issues Important Technical Bulletin New, 37-page technical bulletin intended to help prevent failure of Oily Bilgewater Systems. JERSEY CITY, NJ (USA): A properly functioning Oily Water Separator (OWS) is required aboard ships by international convention. The OWS controls operational discharges overboard of waste water that accumulates in the bilges of machinery ... Read More>>>Back to Top Increased VAT Liability Warning for European Shipping Companies Moore Stephens warns that, under changes to the VAT international services rules which take effect on 1 January 2010, shipping companies in Europe could incur increased VAT liabilities and costs on certain services bought in from other countries. Gwen Ryder, Head of VAT at Moore Stephens, explains, ... Read More>>>Back to Top U.S. Coast Guard Reminds Mariners to Slow Down to Protect Right Whales Right Whale Ship Strike Reduction Rule Takes Effect Sunday, November 1st. WASHINGTON — The Coast Guard reminds operators of vessels 65 feet or greater in length that the Right Whale Ship Strike Reduction Rule takes effect Sunday, requiring those vessels to slow down while operating in the ... Read More>>>Back to Top INTERTANKO: Round Table Chairmen Meet in London The Chairmen of the Round Table of international shipping associations (BIMCO, International Chamber of Shipping/International Shipping Federation, INTERTANKO and INTERCARGO) met in London this week to discuss a number of matters considered to be crucially important for the Shipping Industry. The following were the resulting agreed positions: Read More>>>Back to Top Winston & Strawn LLP: Briefing House of Representatives Passes Coast Guard Authorization Bill – Again. Follow along for in-depth analysis from Winston & Strawn. On October 23, 2009, the U.S. House of representatives once again passed the authorizing legislation for the U.S. Coast guard with its accompanying 300 pages of diverse maritime ... Read More>>>Back to Top Australian Oil Rig Blaze Remains Stable An uncontrollable fire 155 miles off Australia's coast, gushing tons of crude oil into Timor Sea over the past 10 weeks, is now under control. The West Atlas rig, owned by Atlas Drilling (S) Pte Ltd, caught fire Sunday during the latest attempt to stop the ... Read More>>>Back to Top MITAGS to Host SOCP Meeting Next meeting of Ship Operations Cooperative Program to be held at MITAGS in Linthicum, MD on November 10-11, 2009. Former U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton to give keynote address. Agenda of the next SOCP meeting will focus on the theme of: Air Emissions in the Maritime Industry. ... Read More>>>Back to Top Seven Join the UK P&I Club Board Seven directors were elected to the Board of the UK P&I Club at the AGM in Bermuda on October 26th. Photo: UK P&I Club Chairman Dino Caroussis (far right) welcomes some of the directors newly elected to the Board. From the ... Read More>>>Back to Top Fuel Removal From Capsized Vessel Salvage crews from international salvage company Resolve Marine Group, Inc. have begun recovery work this week on the iron ore carrying vessel 'Black Rose' which sank last month in the Bay of Bengal, India. Resolve's team was awarded the tender by the Paradip Port Trust and ... Read More>>>Back to Top EMAIL UNSUBSCRIBE Copyright © 2009 The Maritime Executive. 3200 S. Andrews Avenue, Suite 100 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316