Tag: Gulf of Mexico

Formed to protect the rights of offshore workers in the Gulf of Mexico The ITF Offshore Task Force Group has concluded a two-day meeting in Split, Croatia.The group was formed as a stand-alone body in 1997 and is chaired by Norrie McVicar, previously chair of its predecessor group in the ITF.Originally formed with the participation of US and Mexican trade unions to protect the rights of offshore workers in the Gulf of Mexico, the group has expanded to include unions representing offshore workers around the world and support them in their efforts to develop collective bargaining.Delegates at the Split meeting also came from Asia Pacific and European unions.Danilo Prestint of the Seafarers Union of Croatia, which hosted the meeting, explains that the group's aims are identical to those of the ITF campaign against flag of convenience ships to work for the introduction of ITF acceptable agreements to ensure decent working and living conditions for those working in this industry.To this end, the group works to organise unorganised workers in the offshore oil and gas sector, prevent social dumping, encourage collective bargaining and freedom of union organisation, and ensure conditions of employment in accordance with the ITF.Maritime Union of Australia Deputy ...

Political statements for the Gulf matter When members of Congress want to figure out whats really going on in the Gulf these days, itseasy to tell if they just want to make political statements or get to the truth of the matter.This week, political statements ruled the day. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, turned tradition on its head by first trotting out Gulf politicians and businessmen intent on bashing Obama administration oil drilling policies. The man responsible for ensuring drilling safety was allowed to speak -- last.The hearing,Making the Gulf Coast Whole Again: Assessing the Recovery Efforts of BP and the Obama Administration after the Oil Spill,couldinstead have been called Making the Oil Industry Whole Again: How the Obama Administration Put Safety BeforeProfits.Mississippi Gov.Haley Barbour was the lead witness, and he didnt disappoint. The former energy industry lobbyistmade it clear where his priorities were,telling the committee this was an economic disaster, not an environmental one.; The governor even blamed the media for making oil-coated wildlife look like "chocolate pelicans." And Barbour emphatically told the panel all seafood testing so far has found to be safe whilethe beaches of Mississippiare all clean ...

Consumed in 120 days A technical comment published in the current (May 27) edition of the journal Science casts doubt on a widely publicized study that concluded that a bacterial bloom in the Gulf of Mexico consumed the methane discharged from the Deepwater Horizon well.The debate has implications for the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem as well as for predictions of the effect of global warming, said marine scientist and lead author Samantha Joye, University of Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Arts and Sciences.Based on methane and oxygen distributions measured at 207 stations in the Gulf of Mexico, a study published in the January 21, 2011 edition of Science concluded that "nearly all" of the methane released from the well was consumed in the water column within approximately 120 days of the release.In the current paper in Science, Joye and co-authors from 12 other institutions make the case that uncertainties in the hydrocarbon discharge from the blowout, oxygen depletion fueled by processes other than methane consumption, a problematic interpretation of genetic data and shortcomings of the model used by the authors of the January study challenge the attribution of low oxygen zones to the oxidation of methane gas."Our goal is to ...

The Forest fund is designed to pay developing countries for reducing emissions BP is responsible for the loss of around 5m barrels of oil in the Gulf of Mexico last year and annual carbon emissions greater than 120 developing countries put together, has become the world's first company to try to profit from a new World Bank carbon fund.The oil company on Tuesday joined Britain, Germany and Norway as well as the EU and NGO Nature Conservancy as founding members of a fund designed to pay developing countries for reducing carbon emissions caused by the destruction of their forests.The six initial Forest carbon partnership facility members have so far pledged $156m, with Germany and Norway believed to have donated the most. BP's share has not been made public but is thought to be modest. The company will be allowed to offset its own emissions via the fund, or could buy carbon offsets and sell them on the open market.If global agreement on the UN's major deforestation initiative, known as Redd, can be made in the climate talks which resume next week in Bonn, the carbon fund intiative is expected to grow into a multi-billion-dollar scheme to reward countries who protect ...

The chemicals used are more toxic than the oil spill BP succeeded in sinking the oil from its blown well out of sight and keeping much of it away from beaches and marshes last year by dousing the crude with nearly 2 million gallons of toxic chemicals. But the impact on the ecosystem as a whole may have been more damaging than the oil alone.The combination of oil and Corexit, the chemical BP used to dissolve the slick, is more toxic to tiny plants and animals than the oil in most cases, according to preliminary research by several Florida scientists. And the chemicals may not have broken down the oil as well as expected.Scientists reported some of their early findings last week at a Florida Institute of Oceanography conference at the University of Central Florida. The researchers were funded a year ago through a $10 million BP grant.The initial findings require more research for scientists to reach definitive conclusions. But scientists said they were struck by the studies so far.They added BP oil to a jar of sea water and saw all the oil float to the top. After adding a little Corexit to the mix, the entire bottle of ...

The cause of death was drowning After the Coast Guard suspended search efforts on Friday for crew members following the sinking of fishing vessel the Sandy Point in the Gulf of Mexico, independent salvage divers have recovered the bodies of the 2 remaining crew members off the Mississippi coast.The 163-foot Sandy Point collided last Wednesday with a 600-foot container vessel, the Eurus London, as it was bound for Texas approximately 8 miles offshore Gulfport. The Sandy Point could not withstand the collision, sinking with a total of 16 crew members aboard.A pilot boat had recovered 11 of those crew members from the water transferring them to a safe vessel. Two more crew from Sandy Point made it aboard the Eurus London on their own from the water.Omega Protein Inc., the parent company to the Sandy Point, released a statement explaining that the 2 reclaimed bodies from the salvage team were turned into the Harrison County Coroners office to conduct autopsies for the total of 3 fishermen who died in result of the collision.Harrison country Coroner, Gary Hargrove, has reported that the cause of death for all 3 fishermen was drowning. The men have been identified as 65-year-old Thomas L. Moore, ...

The one sank with 16 persons aboard The Coast Guard is responding to a report of a collision between two vessels. Wendesday, 10 miles south of Gulfport near Ship Island in the Gulf of Mexico.At 8:50 pm, watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Gulfport were notified that a collision had occured between the Sandy Point, a 163-foot fishing vessel, and a 660-foot container vessel, the Eurus London, approximately eight miles offshore Gulfport between Cat Island and Ship Island. The Sandy Point sank, following the collision with 16 persons abroad.A pilot boat safely recoverd 11 people from the water and transferred them to the fishing vessel Frosty Morn. Two additional crewmembers of the Sandy Point made it on theri own to the Eurus London.The Coast Guard is currently searching for three people who were aboard the Sandy Point.The Coast Guard has established a safety zone of approximately 25-square miles between Cat Island and Ship Island south of Gulfport to allow for safe search and rescue and pollution response operations.The cause of the accident is under investigation.Source: USCG

Into effect on May 1 The US Coast Guard issued a notice announcing that, in accordance with IMO Res. MEPC.191(60), the restrictions on discharges from ships in the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR) special area (SA), as specified in MARPOL Annex V, Regulation 5, will come into effect on May 1, 2011.The WCR includes the Gulf of Mexico. Once the restrictions come into effect, no person may discharge, within the SA, garbage from a ship except (under limited conditions) food wastes.To view the Notice please click hereSource: USCG

A cable broke during an exercise On Feb 21, 2011, at 4 p.m. a cable broke when a small boat was to be launched on the "Viking Poseidon" during an exercise in the Gulf of Mexico, ten miles off Galveston.There were three Norwegian crew members on board the boat. Because of fog in the area it was impossible to fly the injured men to hospital in Galveston before Feb 22, so the "Viking Poseidon" proceeded, and the injured men were cared for by first aid personnel on board all the way to hospital.Relatives in Norway has been notified, and they have talked to those injured by telephone. Two of the three remained stationary under medical treatment. It was not clear how deep the boat fell before it hit the water, but it seemed to have been relatively high above the water surface.An internal investigation was launched to find out what caused the accident as well as one by marine consultants. Eidesvik Offshore ASA has notified all of its ships and other shipping companies with the same structure to check the wires to their small boats.Source: Vesseltracker

Intent to begin restoration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a notice of intent to begin restoration scoping and preparation of a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) regarding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.To view the notice please click hereSource: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration