MarEx eNewsletter - June 18, 2009

June 18th, 2009 Vol. 7, No. 24 The Maritime Component of Health Care Reform? International Medical Islands floated as one potential consequence of the socialized health care reforms now being considered by U.S. lawmakers. Unlikely? Don't bet against it. Under the loose category of unlikely, futuristic, far fetched and pie-in-the-sky ideas, a new phase in American health care could emerge in ... Read More>>>Back to Top MarEx Mailbag: This week's Mailbag contains just a couple of letters. One references our lead editorial from last week and the other, a tongue-in-cheek entry about classifications for submarines. Last week, our lead piece referenced the maritime agenda in Washington, the importance of that agenda, and the likelihood of ... 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 fourth podcast recounts our June 11th lead editorial referencing legislative issues facing the maritime industry. Tune in and listen now. All eyes are on two major stories inside the beltway this ... Read More>>>Back to Top Horizon Lines Reaches Puerto Rico Class Action Settlement Agreement CHARLOTTE, NC (JUNE 12, 2009): Horizon Lines, Inc. (NYSE:HRZ) today reported that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the plaintiffs in the Puerto Rico class action antitrust litigation, and also entered into a credit agreement amendment with its lender group. Puerto Rico Class Action Settlement ... Read More>>>Back to Top IMO Says No Weapons for Mariners The Maritime Safety Committee of IMO said flag states should not allow mariners to use weapons for personal protection or to protect the vessel. Revised guidance on combating piracy agreed by IMO Maritime Safety Committee: Revised guidance on combating piracy and armed robbery against ships was agreed ... Read More>>>Back to Top U.S. Supreme Court Rules NO TAX on Tankers in Valdez Conoco Philips challenged City of Valdez on property taxation of its tankers calling the Port of Valdez. In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court struck down the tax on oil tankers assessed by the city of Valdez, saying it was unconstitutional. The port town at the end ... Read More>>>Back to Top The Rally for Rose One of ours' needs help—Rose Connell of Seabulk Tankers, Inc needs a kidney- please help in some way. The Rally for Rose web site (http://www.rallyforrose.com) has informative information about the causes of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), symptoms for its early detection and the important functions of the ... Read More>>>Back to Top Discovery Channel to Air Dramatization of the "Maersk Alabama" Attempted Hijacking Show to feature interviews with ship's officers from MM&P The Discovery Channel will be airing a dramatization of the "Maersk Alabama" attempted hijacking. The program will be shown on Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 10:00 PM. Beyond this, the Maritime Institute of technology & Graduate Studies MITAGS) ... Read More>>>Back to Top EMSA releases Maritime Accident Review 2008 Lisbon-based European Maritime Safety Agency says 670 accidents occurred and 82 seafarers were lost in and around EU waters during 2008 Today, coinciding with the official opening of its headquarters in Lisbon, the Lisbon-based European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) releases its second annual Maritime Accident Review. This ... Read More>>>Back to Top MarEx May/June PRINT Edition is in Distribution! The latest MarEx print edition, featuring another decidedly international theme on the cover, provides unique focus on the global shipbuilding markets, the Classification Societies that impact these businesses, innovative and green construction products - and so much more. As always, you get our now familiar regular features, too. Read More>>>Back to Top Liability Lessons from the Maersk Alabama Darren Friedman and Lauren Smith of Maltzman Foreman, P.A. weigh in on legal implications of a lawsuit in the wake of the recent piracy incident in the Gulf of Aden. On April 8, 2009, the U.S. flagged container ship, Maersk Alabama, was attacked by pirates in the ... Read More>>>Back to Top McQuilling Weighs in on Tankers: Weekly Note # 13 (June 17 2009) Suezmax Tankers: The Real Winner? The recent strength in the Suezmax freight markets as compared to other tanker sectors encourages one to ask: "What tanker project represents the best investment?" Of course, if we had the answer to that question, it's likely we wouldn't be writing these ... Read More>>>Back to Top Captain Jerry A. Aspland to be Honored at Fund Raiser The 2009 Maritime Industry Salute dinner and ninth annual "Great Tug Boat Race" fund-raising event benefiting the International Seafarers Center (ISC) of Long Beach-Los Angeles is being held aboard the RMS Queen Mary, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, and will honor Aspland. The ISC is the last open ... Read More>>>Back to Top Global Maritime Information Sharing Symposium (GMISS) Held in Washington on June 17th Maritime agencies collaborated on policies to streamline government. When it comes to streamlining government, policy lags behind technology - far behind. In this week's series of workshops, several of the agencies that manage America's maritime affairs collaborated on recommending interagency policies that enable government agencies to share ... Read More>>>Back to Top U.S. Appeals Court Orders Exxon to Pay Interest on Exxon Valdez Oil Spill U.S. Appeals Court sets damages and interest on 1989 oil spill. The appeal court ordered Exxon to pay $507.5 million in damages and approximately $480 million in interest for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince Williams Sound. The court reaffirmed the amount of interest set ... Read More>>>Back to Top U.S. Coast Guard Issues Marine Safety Alert Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship warns maritime community with Alert entitled, "Avoiding propulsion loss from fuel switching: American Petroleum Institute Technical Considerations." Washington, DC (June 16, 2009): Ships switch fuel oil from residual fuels to distillate fuels in order to reduce emissions. The ... Read More>>>Back to Top GAO: Audit Reaffirms Coast Guard's Position that ALJ Program is Fair Statistics in Government Accountability Office report show merchant mariner rights protected in administrative law hearings The U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report last Friday detailing its findings following a review of the Coast Guard's Administrative Law Judge Program that was requested by Congress and welcomed by ... Read More>>>Back to Top FMC Moves to Dismiss its Court Challenge of LA/LB Clean Trucks Agreement FMC: injunctive remedy under section 6(g) of the Shipping Act has become moot due to intervening events in the ATA litigation and Port of Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners took action that substantially eliminated the differences between the two Ports' exemptions from its Clean Truck Fees and incentives to ... Read More>>>Back to Top Celebrating 118 Years of MMA by Honoring Alumni After presenting a brief history of MMA, its growth from ships and sail to modern day technologies, Admiral Rick Gurnon addressed what the Massachusetts Maritime Academy does best: cultivate students to excel and produce graduates who become industry leaders. Last week, MMA Department Heads recognized graduates who ... Read More>>>Back to Top Schat-Harding Sets New Standards With New Freefall Boat Lifeboat and davit manufacturer Schat-Harding has completed the first freefall drop with its new design of lifeboat for the offshore sector, the FF1200 which, according to the manufacturer, sets new standards for freefall boats. Schat-Harding CEO Ove Roessland says, "We were acutely aware that, in order to ... Read More>>>Back to Top Appeals Court Ruling Clarifies Prestige Decision Reinstates ABS counterclaims based on Spain's negligence, indicates grounds for dismissal New York(12 June 2009): The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has issued a Summary Order remanding the suit, brought against ABS by the Kingdom of Spain relating to the loss of the ... Read More>>>Back to Top EMAIL UNSUBSCRIBE Copyright © 2009 The Maritime Executive. 3200 S. Andrews Avenue, Suite 100 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

MarEx eNewsletter - June 11, 2009

June 11th, 2009 Vol. 7, No. 23 On the Back Burner (Again) As Congress inches along towards the July 4th break, a lot is happening on the maritime front. But, you won't hear about any of it. Looking back on last November's contentious and prolonged presidential and congressional elections, I can't help but remember the impassioned zeal with which ... Read More>>>Back to Top MarEx Mailbag: This week's Mailbag is heavy. All letters reference our lead editorial from last week, which addressed another OPED piece from the Sunday May 31, 2009 Washington Post. In his opinion piece, Richard K. Bank compares the woes of automaker GM to that of the U.S. Merchant Marine. ... Read More>>>Back to Top Kistefos & Trico Disagree on Preliminary Voting Results at Annual Meeting Trico Marine Services claims that stockholders re-elected company's director nominees. Kistefos fires back: Preliminary Voting Results Show an Overwhelming Majority of Stockholders Want Change. In a pair of competing – and sometimes conflicting – press releases issued yesterday, both Trico Marine Services, Inc. and Kistefos AS, the ... Read More>>>Back to Top Multraship and URS Refloat Grounded Tanker off Vlissingen Vessel refloated using six tugs, four connected to the grounded tanker and two pushing from the side. NETHERLANDS-based salvage specialist Multraship Salvage and Belgian salvage specialist URS Salvage & Maritime Contracting have successfully refloated the 25,654 gt oil tanker Akti N after the Liberian-flag vessel ran aground ... Read More>>>Back to Top INTERTANKO's Welcome at Release of Hebei Two Tinged with Disappointment at Failure to Exonerate INTERTANKO is delighted that Captain Jasprit Chawla and Chief Officer Syam Chetan, Master and Chief officer of the Hebei Spirit, have finally been released after being held in Korea for 550 days since the accident in December 2007, and will be returning home within days. That these ... Read More>>>Back to Top MITAGS Announces Pilot Course Convening Dates MITAGS announces its new Pilot Course convening dates for 2009. MITAGS--"The Leader in Maritime Training"--releases its new training schedule for marine pilots, for more information go to the PDF below: Read see the available dates click HERE. Read More>>>Back to Top DHS Updates Public and Industry on Status of the Ballast Water Discharge Standard Rulemaking The ballast water rulemaking is currently under review at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Assuming there aren't any major issues with the rule, according to their guidelines OMB must clear on significant rulemakings within 90 days of the May 15, 2009 submission. Download and read previous MarEx print ... Read More>>>Back to Top Ben Strong Highlights the Virtues of Amver for MarEx Readers National Maritime Day provides perfect backdrop for this Year's Amver Awards. "Amver is about saving lives," says Strong. What better way to celebrate National Maritime Day than paying tribute to the over 400 U.S. ships participating in the Amver system. That is just what happened at the ... Read More>>>Back to Top 2009 International Maritime eLearning Symposium Join Robert Jaffin from American Public University and Tina Woehling from the Global Maritime and Transportation School for a Wednesday Morning Roundtable discussion: "THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS" Day & Time: Wednesday, July 22, 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM Topic Summary: Traditional universities, ... Read More>>>Back to Top THE UN-COMFORT ZONE with Robert Wilson Pack Mentality When my son was two years old, we got a Samoyed puppy, and for the next 18 months they were the best of friends. Then the dog changed. Suddenly she started growling at my son and biting him. At first I thought that maybe he ... Read More>>>Back to Top Korean Corporate Owner of Cargo Vessel Sentenced to Pay $2.2 Million for Conspiracy and Falsifying Records Captain Timothy Close, Commander of U.S. Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg: "The U.S. Coast Guard will pursue all such cases and will continue to work closely with the U.S. Attorney and the Department of Justice to prosecute offenders." WASHINGTON (5 June 2009): U.S. District Court Judge Richard ... Read More>>>Back to Top INTERTANKO Encourages IMO to set Target Levels to Reduce GHG Emissions Early establishment by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) of target levels for the energy efficiency for new ships essential, says INTERTANKO. Setting such targets would become part of the discussions on the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships which is currently under consideration by the ... Read More>>>Back to Top Bureau Veritas Publishes Class Rules for Submarines New rules to provide a self-supporting set of independent guidelines which can be updated on a regular basis in line with operational experience. LEADING international classification society Bureau Veritas has published its rules for the classification of naval submarines, which cover verification by an independent third party ... Read More>>>Back to Top Monthly Retail Import Volume Still Below 1 Million Containers April was the third-slowest month in the past five years despite a slight improvement over March, says National Retail Federation and IHS Global Insight. WASHINGTON (June 9, 2009): Import cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports remained below the 1 million mark in April and ... Read More>>>Back to Top Hellenic Holds its Own Despite Piracy, Unrest and Poor Investment Climate Performance achieved in the context of a dire global investment climate, a significant increase in piracy attacks off Somalia and violence and unrest in other parts of the world. A healthy operating surplus, offset by investment losses, resulted in a marginal overall deficit after tax for the ... Read More>>>Back to Top James River Reserve Fleet Ship Sold for Recycling Obsolete vessel, tentatively scheduled for departure on July 2, 2009, fetches purchase price of $20,001. The vessel is The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration has sold a ship for recycling to International Shipbreaking Ltd. of Brownsville, Texas. The Suribachi, a breakbulk AE21 class ammunition ship, built ... Read More>>>Back to Top United States Coast Guard Marine Safety Alert Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship issues Safety Alert referencing Compact Fluorescent Lights (02-09). This Safety Alert serves to inform the maritime industry that energy saving Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) or lighting, sometimes known as radio frequency (RF) lighting devices may interfere with certain communications ... Read More>>>Back to Top Bisso Lufesa Salvages Luxury Passenger Vessel The steel-hull M/V PARRANDA caught fire and sank Jan. 14 in 19.8 meters (65 feet) of water in the national park off Bartolome Island in the Galapagos Islands.. Bisso Lufesa, a full-service marine contractor, successfully salvaged a luxury passenger vessel that sank in the environmentally pristine Galapagos ... Read More>>>Back to Top Coast Guard [Docket No. USCG–2009–0446] Merchant Mariner Medical Advisory Committee; Vacancies DHS and U.S. Coast Guard announce notice of committee establishment and request for applications. SUMMARY: The Secretary of Homeland Security is establishing the Merchant Mariner Medical Advisory Committee (MMMAC) under authority of 6 U.S.C. 451 and shall operate under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act ... Read More>>>Back to Top McQuilling Services, LLC Weighs in on Global Tonnage Supply Marine Transport Advisors Weekly Note No. 12 (June 9 2009) asks: Tonnage Overhang or Capacity Constrained? For some time now the specter of a looming tonnage supply overhang has been an unwelcome reality in the shipping industry across most sectors. While the global economic downturn has brought ... Read More>>>Back to Top EMAIL UNSUBSCRIBE Copyright © 2009 The Maritime Executive. 3200 S. Andrews Avenue, Suite 100 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316