MarEx Newsletter | Greece Searches Ship for North Korean Weapons, Two Workers Burned in BP Refinery

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September 28th, 2010 Vol. 8, No. 72

Greece Searches Ship for North Korean Weapons Officials say Greek authorities searched a cargo ship Tuesday, suspected of carrying weapons from North Korea to Syria. The Associated Press reports that officials are opening containers looking for materials that could have “dual use,” or violate the UN arms embargo on North Korea. Last June the United Nations banned the export of all weapons by North Korea. The ship is a French owned, German flagged cargo carrier, and the inspection is taking place in the port of Piraeus. Read More>>>Back to Top Coast Guard Team Engages in Firefight On September 14, a boarding team from the USCG cutter ESCANABA was involved in a shootout with suspected drug smugglers while attempting to board a vessel in international waters off the coast of Nicaragua. The boarding team was pursuing a speedboat, in the Escanaba's small boat, when the suspects onboard began shooting. The team returned fire and continued the chase. The suspects entered Nicaraguan waters where the team lost them. No Coast Guardsmen were injured and the vessel sustained no damage. Information reported by The Navy Times Read More>>>Back to Top Recent Opinion Pieces by Tony Munoz In case you missed them, here are the most recent Op Ed's from MarEx's Editor-in-Chief, Tony Munoz. The US Drilling Moratorium --The Economic Impact (Crude Awaking -3) Thursday, September 23rd, 2010 OPED by Tony Munoz, Editor-in-Chief of the Maritime Executive Magazine and MarEx Newsletter The September 16, 2010 US Inter-Agency report on the economic effects of the deepwater drilling moratorium on the Gulf Coast economy begins by stating there has been little impact. This is based on conversations with rig companies and review of unemployment insurance claims (UI) that show only about 2,000 rigworkers have ... Read More> ***** ... Read More>>>Back to Top Honoring a Hero U.S.S. Jason Dunham (DDG 109) Naval Ship Commissioning to take place at Port Everglades in November Hero is a word often used. On rare occasion, it describes an ordinary person who does something extraordinary. Marine Corporal Jason Dunham was a real hero, one who gave his life on the battlefield to save two of his fellow Marines. Dunham threw his Kevlar® helmet and his body on a live grenade in April 2004 during Operation Iraqi Freedom in Karabilah, Iraq, sustaining massive injuries. He died eight days later. Jason was 22. His selfless and heroic act was honored posthumously with the Medal of Honor in 2006 and ... Read More>>>Back to Top Coast Guard Nabs Nearly 963 lbs. of Cocaine MIAMI -- The Coast Guard intercepted nearly 936 pounds of cocaine from a vessel about 21 miles south of Isla de Providencia, Colombia, Sept. 17, 2010. While conducting a law-enforcement patrol, the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba located a suspicious 35-foot center-console vessel. The suspects aboard the vessel jettisoned the contraband then beached the vessel and fled on foot, evading capture. Escanaba crewmemebers retrieved 15 bales and two backpacks containing nearly 936 pounds of cocaine from the water. The contraband was transferred to U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency agents Friday at Base Support Unit Miami. During fiscal year 2010, the Coast Guard has intercepted nearly ... Read More>>>Back to Top Man Pleas Guilty to Sexually Assaulting 13-Yr-Old Girl on Cruise The Rochester Democrat reported Monday, that Lucas G. Wickes, 25, of New York plead guilty in federal court to abusive sexual contact with a 13-yr-old girl. The crime is a felony and carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. In January 2007 Wickes engaged in sexual conduct with the 13-yr-old after the Disney Wonder left Port Canaveral, FL for a cruise in the Caribbean. A criminal complaint reports that Wickes ran into the girl as she left a teen club on the ship and he ordered her to come with him. The girl says she believed he was a security officer and followed ... Read More>>>Back to Top Pirates Abandon Ship, Four Suspected Pirates to Be Prosecuted in Kenya EU NAVFOR reports that the Panama flagged MV LUGELA was hijacked on Saturday, 900 miles east of Eyl, Somalia. Late Sunday the Greek owners of the cargo ship reported the ship had been released and that the Ukrainian crew of 11 was now in control of the vessel. EU NAVFOR says it is monitoring the situation. Also on Monday, EU NAVFOR welcomed the decision of the Kenya authorities to prosecute four suspected pirates, interdicted by the EU NAVFOR Spanish warship SPS GALICIA. On 24 September, the boarding team from the EU NAVFOR Spanish ship SPS GALICIA approached a suspicious Kenyan dhow off the ... Read More>>>Back to Top Multraship to Take Delivery of New Damen Tug from Vietnam Leading towage and salvage specialist Multraship has bolstered its fleet of specialized tugs and multi-purpose vessels with the addition of the Damen newbuilding ASD 3213 tug Multratug 3. On September 30, the vessel will embark on its delivery voyage from Vietnam, where it was built by Damen Shipyards, to Terneuzen, Multraship’s home port in The Netherlands. Thereafter it will be employed principally in the River Scheldt area in a harbor towage and salvage role. With a maximum bollard pull of 94.7 tonnes, an overall length of 32.14 m, and a beam of 13.29 m, the vessel is capable of a speed of 14.3 knots. Multraship managing director Leendert Muller ... Read More>>>Back to Top World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Open for Business Thursday, September 23, the Thanet offshore wind farm off the British coast, boasting 100 Vestas V90 wind turbines, opened. The wind farm covers 13.5 square miles and is situated 7.4 miles offshore, northeast of Margate where the English Channel meets the North Sea. The turbines are expected to produce 300 megawatts, capable of supplying electricity to more than 200,000 homes a year. Vattenfall, a Swedish energy company who has spent $1.38 billion on the project, will manage all operations. Thanet Wind Farm Facts The connection of Thanet’s 300MW of capacity in 2010 will boost UK offshore wind capacity by more than 30% and will produce on average enough ... Read More>>>Back to Top Marad Announces $7 Million in Marine Highway Grants U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Announces $7 Million in Grants to Jumpstart America’s Marine Highway Initiative WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, last week, announced $7 million is being awarded to the Mississippi Department of Transportation, the Virginia Port Authority and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority to support the transportation of marine cargo between U.S. ports. The announcement comes just five weeks after unveiling the America’s Marine Highway program, a new initiative to move more cargo on U.S. waterways. The money will help expand an existing marine highway operation in the Gulf of Mexico between Texas and Florida and one on the East Coast between Richmond and Hampton Roads ... Read More>>>Back to Top An Introduction to Bunker Credit Risk A Book By Adam Dupré Overview An Introduction to Bunker Credit Risk is both a very timely and highly useful tool for those responsible for making credit decisions and assessing counterparty risk when buying or selling marine fuels. Presenting a complex subject in a simply-written and highly-effective format, this book also provides a comprehensive foundation for anyone involved in any aspect of credit management. The book is written by Adam Dupré, the head of Ocean Intelligence Pte Ltd, one of the four main marine credit reporting companies, who is intimately involved in the day to day business of credit risk within the maritime environment. ... Read More>>>Back to Top 13 Dead After Navy Rescue Attempt The Navy’s destroyer WINSTON S. CHURCHILL was towing a boat out of the shipping lanes and back to Somalia when the boat capsized, throwing the 85 Somali and Ethiopian passengers overboard. Thirteen drowned and 11 are missing. The warship sent out a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) to bring food and water to the passengers. When the RHIB got close, passengers rushed to the side of the boat, causing it to capsize. Crew on board the warship’s RHIB rescued 61, and is providing food and water to the rescued onboard the warship. The Navy has not yet decided where to return them. The skiff, floating with ... Read More>>>Back to Top 2010 World Maritime Day Observance Challenges for International Shipping and the Year of the Seafarer The timing for this event in Vancouver is to take advantage of a joint meeting of major global shipping interests: OCIMF, ITOPF and INTERTANKO. The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) will be joining them to produce this World Maritime Day Observance. NAMEPA has been promoting World Maritime Day in North America for the past five years, and have engaged in a dialog with both Canada and the United States (Transport Canada and the United States Coast Guard) with the intent to alternate between the two countries and the coasts. It seemed obvious to us that Vancouver would ... Read More>>>Back to Top Two Workers Sustain Burns at BP's Texas City Refinery Two employees at BP’s Texas City, Texas refinery have been hospitalized for steam burns, after working on a pipe still. The pipe still is a stack of pipes that carry steam and petroleum products through the refinery. The refinery was under review the next day, where personnel form the Houston-area BP refinery spent the day reviewing safety measures. This review wasn’t because of the previous days incident; it was part of a program implemented after a 2005 explosion at this same refinery, which killed 15 workers and injured 170. One of the two injured, was flown to the University of Texas Medical branch in Galveston, Texas. ... Read More>>>Back to Top Lloyd's Register's CEO to Run in the Historic 2500th Athens Marathon CEO Richard Sadler to Celebrate Lloyd's Register's 250th Anniversary by Leading a Company Team in the 2,500th Running of the Athen's Marathon Donations to support the activities of the Hellenic Merchant Marine Academies Lloyd’s Register’s Chief Executive Richard Sadler will be leading a four-strong company team of dedicated athletes on the historic 2,500th running of the Athens marathon on October 31 in a bid to raise money for marine academies in Greece. Sadler, a founding member of the Marathon 2500 Anniversary Committee, will be joined by three colleagues from the different business sectors and regions where Lloyd's Register provides independent technical support to its clients. Read More>>>Back to Top Shipper-Carrier Panel Takes on Tough Issues in U.S. - Asia Trade The Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (WTSA), a research and discussion forum of major container shipping lines in the U.S.-Asia trade lane, has formed a 16-member advisory board to solicit input from a broad cross-section of freight shipper interests that make up the lines’ customer base. The newly-created advisory panel is the direct outgrowth of a series of shipper meetings convened by WTSA in the past two years, bringing shipping lines and their customers together for ongoing consultations on issues of mutual interest. Objectives include strengthening overall long-term shipper-carrier relations; addressing specific short-term contracting, operational and service issues, many related to the recent global recession; and exploring best practices in areas of day-to-day ... Read More>>>Back to Top MITAGS Introduces the Continual Improvement Workshop Series Successful Safety Management - A Practical Primer This 2 Day workshop is an overview of important Safety Management topics. This course combines in-depth knowledge with a practical approach to provide a better understanding of the safety management system process. Sucesful Safety Management – A Practical Primer Has your safety management system grown into a monster that is difficult to manage and understand? Have we lost the meaning and intent by overcomplicating with special interest and bureaucracy? Can we reduce the paper and be safer? Together, let’s explore the benefits of getting back to basics to ensure successful safety management. Objectives Read More>>>Back to Top Austal Commences Construction on JHSV 2 Less than one year after beginning fabrication of Spearhead (JHSV 1), Austal has commenced construction on Vigilant (JHSV 2), the second of up to ten 103-meter Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV). On July 22, 2010, the official Keel Laying Ceremony was held at Austal’s shipyard for Spearhead (JHSV 1) which is on schedule for launch in June 2011 and delivery in December 2011. Austal was selected as Prime contractor in November 2008 to design and build the first JHSV, with options for nine additional vessels expected to be exercised between FY09 and FY13. Since then, Austal has received construction contracts for JHSV 1, JHSV 2, and JHSV 3 and Long Lead Time ... Read More>>>Back to Top 2010 Environmental Achievement Awards Dinner The 2010 Environmental Achievement Awards Dinner is Thursday, November 11, 2010 at the Ronald Reagan Bldg. & International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Wash., DC 20004 (Located at the corner of 13th Street & Pennsylvania Ave., NW). Note: This is a Government Building and ALL attendees must show your ID at the Security Desk. Also, if you enter the bldg. at the 13th St. & PA Ave. entrance, you will have a short walk down the hall to the Horizon Ballroom (where the reception will be held) and around the corner to the elevators to the Rotunda where the dinner will be held. Agenda: 1800-1900 – ... Read More>>>Back to Top

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MarEx Newsletter | The Economic Impact of the US Drilling Moratorium, BOURBON Crew Kidnapped

Please Click Here if you are unable to view the newsletter September 23rd, 2010 Vol. 8, No. 71 The US Drilling Moratorium --The Economic Impact (Crude Awaking -3) OPED by Tony Munoz, Editor-in-Chief of the Maritime Executive Magazine and MarEx Newsletter The September 16, 2010 US Inter-Agency report on the economic effects of the deepwater drilling moratorium on the Gulf Coast economy begins by stating there has been little impact. This is based on conversations with rig companies and review of unemployment insurance claims (UI) that show only about 2,000 rigworkers have lost their jobs. The Department of the Interior (DOI) estimates there were a total of 80,000 offshore oil production, construction and drilling workers in the GOM, and fewer than 10,000 of these workers were employed on rigs affected by ... Read More>>>Back to Top BOURBON Confirms Kidnapping of Crew BOURBON confirms the kidnapping of 3 French crewmembers from the Addax offshore oil field off the Nigerian coast. In the night of the Tuesday 21st to Wednesday 22nd September 2010, the BOURBON ALEXANDRE and its 16 crewmembers, were subject to a joint assault from several speedboats. Three crewmembers, of French nationality, have been kidnapped; the 13 other crewmembers remain on board and no injuries have been reported. Bourbon Alexandre, carrying a French flag, is an AHTS Vessel (Anchor Handling Tug Supply). BOURBON has contacted all families and will keep them informed. The Crisis Unit of BOURBON in Marseilles, in coordination with the Emergency ... Read More>>>Back to Top Longshoremen Protest Job Losses at Broadway Terminal Two hundred longshoremen picketed at Camden, New Jersey's Broadway Terminal Tuesday, to the loss of more than 400,000 labor hours, the equivalent to more than 200 full time jobs. The loss of work comes after an announcement from Del Monte that they were switching terminals, moving from Broadway to Gloucester Terminals L.L.C., a private family owned terminal. Del Monte plans to send 75 ships a year, 500,000 tons of cargo, to Gloucester Terminals L.L.C. Del Monte typically sailed two ships a week to Camden. The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), in an effort to keep Del Monte at Camden, offered to reduce Del Monte's annual lease from ... Read More>>>Back to Top Brazilian President on Hand for Turnover of Reconstructed Flood Damaged Berth at the Port of Itajai APM Terminals will refit the repaired and rebuilt berth for installation of STS Cranes at the Terminal de Containers do Vale do Itajai S/A. Itajai, Brazil – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (known as Lula) visited the Port of Itajai in Brazil's Santa Catarina State on Monday, September 13th, for the official handover of the reconstructed Berth 2 to the Itajai Port Authority. APM Terminals Itajai S/A which owns and operates a terminal concession in that port, will now take over the 273 meter Berth 2 from the Port Authority and continue and finish the reconstruction with the installation of crane rails and electric power infrastructure for quayside ship-to-shore cranes. ... Read More>>>Back to Top UK's Shipping Emissions Six times Higher Than Expected Says New Report The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, recently released the following: Carbon dioxide emissions produced by UK shipping could be up to six times higher than currently calculated, according to new research from The University of Manchester. (Full report, pdf) As the shipping industry's emissions are predicted to continue to grow in the future, the UK will fail to meet its commitment to avoid dangerous climate change if additional cuts are not made to other sectors. According to a University of Manchester study, the global shipping industry, despite being traditionally viewed as one of the most energy efficient means of transport, releases increasing amounts of ... Read More>>>Back to Top Activists Have Now Attached "Survival Pod" to Drill Ship Anchor Greenpeace reports that its activist have climbed aboard a Chevron –operated drill ship off of Britain's Shetland Island to put a halt to its planned drilling operations. Two activists attached themselves to the rung of the anchor chain of the STENA CARRON on Tuesday. The 228-meter drill ship was en route to Lagavulin oil field where it was going to begin exploratory drilling. Greenpeace says this on their website, "Our activists are taking action against a massive oil platform owned by Chevron, stopping it from drilling a deep water well off the Shetland Islands." Wednesday, Greenpeace reported that their two activists had returned to their ship Esperanza. And inflatable ... Read More>>>Back to Top Serial Polluter Fined $4 Million for Covering Up Deliberate Discharge of Oil and Plastics $750,000 of Penalty to Fund Projects Benefitting Chesapeake Bay BALTIMORE - U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Irika Shipping S.A., a ship management corporation registered in Panama and doing business in Greece, today to pay a $4 million penalty, which includes a $3 million criminal fine and $1 million in organizational community service payments that will fund various marine environmental projects. Judge Motz also sentenced Irika to serve the maximum of five years probation, subject to following a compliance program that includes audits by an independent firm and oversight by a court appointed monitor. Judge Motz further ordered today that four crew members that notified authorities about illegal ... Read More>>>Back to Top New Center to Advance Rights of Seafarers Today heralds the launch of Seafarers' Rights International, a unique and groundbreaking resource dedicated to advancing the legal protection of seafarers worldwide. Seafarers' Rights International will use high level research and analysis to raise awareness of the legal concerns of seafarers, and will work to improve the protection of seafarers in national and international laws. It has been funded by a start-up grant from the ITF Seafarers' Trust charity and is an independent organization. David Cockroft, General Secretary of the ITF said: "The success of an independent body such as Seafarers' Rights International is crucial to identifying and tackling the rights of seafarers and that is of interest to ... Read More>>>Back to Top Simmons Urges Oil & Gas Industry to Capitalize on Its World-Class Technology Innovations Oil and gas companies are being urged to harness the opportunities to develop major game-changing technologies. Nick Dalgarno, managing director of Simmons and Company International Limited in Aberdeen, gave advice to the industry when he addressed delegates at a city conference showcasing technology yesterday. (Wednesday, Sept 22). He said the industry must rise above the challenges associated with risk aversion which have historically affected it and which may result from the recent Macondo incident in the Gulf of Mexico to capitalize on the opportunities: "The Macondo incident has inevitably heightened liability issues and will trigger a move towards de-risking projects. In an industry which has always ... Read More>>>Back to Top Steering Blunder Led to the Sinking of the Titanic Louise Patten, granddaughter of Charles Lightoller, the only senior officer to survive the sinking, told the Montreal Gazette, the Titanic hit the iceberg because of a steering mistake. It was always thought that the Titanic hit the iceberg because it was moving too quickly that fateful night but according to Patten, a junior crew member was ordered to turn the wheel left but accidentally turned it right. Patten's grandfather also said that Bruce Ismay, chairman of the White Star Line, owner of the Titanic, ordered them to continue sailing despite poor visibility. The error was corrected just minutes later, but it was too late and the ... Read More>>>Back to Top Belwind Wind Farm: The Furthest Offshore in the Deepest Waters The Belwind wind farm will be constructed on the Blight Bank, 46 km off the coast of Zeebrugge, Belgium. The wind farm lies farther from the coast than any other offshore wind farm. Van Oord has been awarded the contract for the engineering, procurement and construction of the first part of the project. The developer and client is Belwind nv. The activities involve the construction of the foundation of 55 wind turbines, all infield, subsea cables in between the wind farms, the subsea export cable, a 165 Mega Watt offshore high voltage station and placement of 55 turbines. This is Van Oord's second EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract for Offshore Wind ... Read More>>>Back to Top Gibdock Completes Offshore Vessel Upgrade Gibraltar's Gibdock shipyard has successfully completed a challenging maintenance and upgrade program on the 6430bhp DP2 class ROV/Subsea Service and Platform Support vessel, Toisa Vigilant. The 2005-built, 3426dwt vessel spent over three weeks at the yard in July and August this year for a diverse package of works. As John Taylor, Gibdock production director, explains, "This project was essentially two contracts in one as we carried out separate jobs for the owner, Sealion and charterer, WesternGeco, in parallel." For Sealion, Gibdock undertook a series of conventional docking works, including the extensive overhaul of the MAK 8L26 main engines, the two bow thrusters and two stern thrusters. In addition the ... Read More>>>Back to Top GE-Satcom Reveals Triple-Play Service for Merchant Vessels Launch follows successful pilot testing of high-end satellite-based phone, Internet and TV service GE - Satcom has unveiled the commercial launch of a satellite-based communications service designed to support a range of value-added services for merchant vessel operators. The project was originally developed and co-piloted in close collaboration with a Hamburg-based German fleet operator whose insight into the needs of commercial shipping and its crew were critical to the solution design. A six month pilot was first carried out on board a large container vessel operating between ports in Asia, Africa and Europe, and following successful acceptance the service has now been scheduled for commercial roll out to ... Read More>>>Back to Top SAARPSCO Establishes World Headquarters in Victoria SAARPSCO, The South Asia and Africa Regional Port Stability Cooperative, establishes world headquarters in Victoria to protect the welfare of the international maritime community. The Seychelles is achieving international acclaim for leadership in the global effort to predict and prevent threats to maritime security throughout the Indian Ocean region and beyond. SAARPSCO, The South Asia and Africa Regional Port Stability Cooperative, was initiated in 2008 by the United States Coast Guard in close partnership with concerned South Asian and African nations, expressly to combat piracy, enhance port security, thwart human and drug trafficking, enforce lawful fishing practices, create sophisticated vessel tracking systems, promote international maritime communication, and to preserve ... Read More>>>Back to Top Trinity International Services Elevates Dean Burgess to Managing Director Scotland's largest independent catering firm, Trinity International Services, has announced the promotion of operations boss Dean Burgess to managing director. The offshore specialist, which boosted its turnover to more than £14million in 2009, is targeting continued global growth as activity in the energy sector continues to increase following the downturn. Mr Burgess, 59, has extensive global experience having led contracting and operations for a variety of major operators and other service sector leaders in Baku, Azerbaijan; Kazakhstan, and Equatorial Guinea as well as the UK. Having stepped-up to managing director he will continue to work alongside Trinity chairman Stuart C MacBride, and will lead its activities ... Read More>>>Back to Top The Latest News from MAN Diesel & Turbo Follow the links below to learn more about the latest projects and products from MAN Diesel & Turbo. MAN 32/44CR Engine Adopts Selective Catalytic Reduction to Crack Tier-III The environmental performance of its engines is a key consideration for MAN Diesel & Turbo. MAN Diesel & Turbo launches PrimeServLube A range of own-brand PrimeServLube premium lubricating oils launched by MAN Diesel & Turbo is formulated to the group's demanding specifications for high, medium and low speed engines. PrimeServ PIN Intelligently Optimises Maintenance Schedules MAN Diesel & Turbo's PrimeServ after-sales division is choosing SMM 2010 in Hamburg to unveil ... Read More>>>Back to Top Click Here to Unsubscribe Copyright © 2010 The Maritime Executive. 3200 S. Andrews Avenue, Suite 100 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316