Tag: US

Gulf of Mexico oil spill has not settled many remaining crucial issues. British oil giant BP's settlement may have satisfied thousands of victims of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill but it has not settled many remaining crucial issues. What's next?

Standards for living organisms The new the US regulations on ballast water management and regular removal of hull fouling will enter into force 21 June 2012, despite the fact that the IMO's International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 (BWM Convention) might not have entered into force due to lack of a sufficent number of raticifications from IMO members states holding the remaining 8.54% of the world tonnage required to reach the total 35% of the world tonnagerequired by the BWM Convention. The current status of ratification is33 IMO Member States, representing 26.46%. All ships intending to discharge ballast water are required to use an approved ballast water treatment system meeting the US ballast water discharge standard equal to the IMO D-2 standard as per below:New shipswith any ballast capacity have to be in compliance on or after 1 December 2013. Existing ships with less than 1,500 m3 ballast water capacity have to be in compliance by the first scheduled drydocking after 1 January 2016. Existing ships with 1,500 - 5,000 m3 ballast water capacity have to be in compliance by the first scheduled drydocking after 1 January 2014. Existing ships withmore than ...

With effect from 21 June, 2012 With effect from 21 June, 2012, the US regulations on ballast water management and reporting (detailed in Classification News 14/2004*) will besuperseded by new regulations which will require ships to treat ballast water and regularly remove hull fouling.Ships calling at US ports and intending to discharge ballast will be required to use an approved ballast water treatment system that meets theUS discharge standard (which is the same as the IMO D-2 standard) in accordance with the following timetable.Ballast water treatment systems are to be approved by the United States Coast Guard (USCG). Alternatively, a system that has an approvalcertificate to the IMO standard issued by or on behalf of a flag administration may be acceptable if the IMO approval has been reviewed andaccepted by the USCG**.An IMO-approved system must have been installed before the date a ship is required to comply with the US requirements (as detailed in the table above) and may be used for five years after this date. A further alternative is for ships to use potable water as ballast if: the water is supplied from the US public water system; the ship obtains a certificate stating that the water meets ...

he vast majority of cargo containers entering the U.S. go unchecked It's been more than a decade since Islamic terrorists attacked the U.S., yet the agency created to protect the nation from another strike is asleep at the wheel, failing to adequately screen the monstrous amounts of cargo that enter the country each day, according to a government report issued this week."Cargo containers that are part of the global supply chain-- the flow of goods from manufacturers to retailers -- are vulnerable to threats from terrorists ," state thegovernment analysts whoassembled data forthe new report.Itmay seem unbelievable to most Americans that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that more than ten years after the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, the vast majority of cargo containers entering the U.S. go unchecked. Incredibly, it's true and the alarming details are outlined in the GAO report published this week by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress.The Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) of 2002 and the Security and Accountability For Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006 required the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to take actions to improve maritime transportation security.Also, the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 ...

India invites US to participate in the country's port development plan India has invited investors from the US to participate in the country's port development plans and earn rich rewards. This invitation was extended by the Union Shipping Minister Shri G.K. Vasan when a business delegation from USA led by Undersecretary to the Government of the United States of America, Mr. Sanchez met him in Chennai today. Foreign Direct Investments in ports are permitted in India under the automatic route. USA is the second largest source of FDI inflows into India.Recalling the maritime cooperation between India and the USA Sh. Vasan said, a Memorandum of Cooperation on Maritime Transport, Science and Technology between the two countries was signed during 2005. It covers a wide area of mutual interest including maritime safety and security, port management and technological developments related to the maritime sector. It also envisages cooperative arrangements between the US Merchant Marine Academy and the Indian Institute of Maritime Studies, which is now a constituent of the Indian Maritime University in the field of maritime training and education.Stating that India train and educate more than 3,000 marine engineers every year on an average the Minister said, there was adequate ...

Multi-purpose service to St. Petersburg kicked off this week Atlantic Ro-Ro Carriers launched a general cargo service between the Port of Tampa and the Port of St. Petersburg..The service kicked off this week with a call at Tampa by the Baltic Merkur, which was loaded at the Ports America terminal with containers, heavy equipment work vehicles and freight trucks.The new monthly service uses a fleet of multi-purpose vessels that can carry a variety of general cargoes such as steel, containers, roll-on/roll-off traffic, project cargoes and bulk commodities. Transit time is 18 days, according to a company statement.Source: Journal of Commerce

US navy has rescued 13 fishermen held hostage by Somali pirates

The pirates did not resist the boarding and surrendered quickly Forces assigned to the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group, rescued an Iranian fishing vessel from Pirates in the northern Arabian Sea, Jan. 5.At approximately 12:30 p.m, an SH-60S Seahawk from the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG 100) detected a suspected pirate skiff alongside the Iranian-flagged fishing dhow Al Molai. Simultaneously, a distress call was received from the master of the Al Molai claiming he was being held captive by pirates.A Visit, Board, Search and Seizure team from the Kidd boarded the Al Molai and detained 15 suspected pirates who had been holding a 13-member Iranian crew hostage for several weeks. The Al Molai had been pirated and used as a "mother ship" for pirate operations throughout the Persian Gulf, according to members of the Iranian vessel's crew. The pirates did not resist the boarding and surrendered quickly."The Al Molai had been taken over by pirates for roughly the last 40-45 days," said Josh Schminky, a Navy Criminal Investigative Service agent aboard the Kidd. "They were held hostage, with limited rations, and we believe were forced against their will to assist the pirates with other piracy operations."According to members of ...

A long-running dispute could undermine confidence A freight transportation analyst is warning escalating tensions between Iran and the United States over the Strait of Hormuz could undermine global supply chains in the near term and shipping development in the Middle East in the long term.London-based Transport Intelligence noted in a report Wednesday the strait not only is a transit point for large numbers of oil tankers and container ships, but that Dubai, the world's ninth-largest port, sits adjacent to the waters."Of more immediate concern to supply chains will be the impact of the war of words on global oil markets," John Manners-Bell said in a briefing report by the trade and transportation analysts."The possibility of the closure of the strait, which acts as a transit for 17 million barrels of oil a day, has been a factor in the rising oil price over recent weeks, despite the weak economic environment. The last thing at the moment that the world's fragile economy needs is a new confrontation in the Middle East.The United States has deployed an aircraft carrier into the region as part of the U.S. and EU stated goal of blocking Iran's oil exports under sanctions imposed as a result ...

Charges for providing false information in federal document US prosecutors are readying criminal charges against British oil giant BP employees over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident that led to the catastrophic Gulf oil spill, The Wall Street Journal reported online.The charges if brought and prosecuted by the US Justice Department would be the first criminal charges over the disaster.Citing sources close to the matter, the Journal said the prosecutors are focusing on US-based BP engineers and at least one supervisor who they say may have provided false information to regulators on the risks of deep water drilling in the Gulf.Felony charges for providing false information in federal documents may be made public early next year, said the Journal.A conviction on that charge would carry a fine and up to five years in prison, the newspaper said.The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has already issued a second list of violations regarding BP's operation of the Macondo well that blew out in April 2010, causing the worst maritime environmental disaster in history.The US drilling safety agency has said it determined BP had failed to conduct an accurate pressure integrity test in one area of the well.And in four different sections ...