Tag: USA

New regulations to become mandatory from mid-March 2012 On 9 February 2012 the Final Rule establishing the California No Discharge Zone (NDZ) was signed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Final Rule will enter into force 30 days after being published in the Federal Register. It is expected that the new regulations will become mandatory from mid-March 2012 although an exact date has not yet been advised by the EPA.The new regulations will prohibit the discharge of treated and untreated sewage in an area along the California coast from the Oregon border to the Mexican border within California marine waters extending seawards a distance of three nautical miles from the baseline as determined by the Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, and within all tidal enclosed bays and estuaries. The existing California NDZs covering ten bays and marinas remain in effect. The EPA has published a map showing the areas concerned.Foreign flag and United States flagged vessels are affected as follows:Large Passenger Vessels of 300 GT of over, which have berths or overnight accommodation for passengers.Large Oceangoing Vessels of 300 GT or over, including military, governmental, commercial and private vessels, which are equipped with ...

Horizon Lines ordered to pay $1,500,000 Horizon Lines, LLC was sentenced Tuesday in front of the Honorable Richard Seeborg after pleading guilty to felony charges concerning violations of international and national oil pollution laws that occurred on a large container ship called the S/S Horizon Enterprise, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced. As part of a plea agreement, the company was ordered to pay $1,500,000, with $500,000 of the monies going to environmental projects in the San Francisco Bay area.Horizon Lines pled guilty to two counts of making false statements based on their knowing failure to maintain an accurate Oil Record Book in which all transfers and discharges of oil and oily waste are required to be recorded. "Horizon's intentional tampering with its pollution control equipment showed a blatant disregard for the environment," U.S. Attorney Haag said. "This case demonstrates our commitment to enforcing U.S. and international oil pollution laws to protect our natural resources."According to the plea agreement, engineers aboard the S/S Horizon Enterprise intentionally tricked pollution control equipment that would otherwise ensure oily waste does not go overboard. This created the possibility that oily waste could be released into the ocean. To disguise this conduct from the U.S. ...

EPA has recently redrafted VGP for public review and comment The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently redrafted the Vessel General Permit (VGP) for public review and comment. The new VGP will replace the existing 2008 VGP when the latter expires on 19 December 2013.The proposed changes include the following:The addition of fish hold effluent to the 26 vessel discharges covered by the present permitNumeric ballast water discharge limits for most vesselsMore stringent effluent limits for oil to sea interfaces and for exhaust gas scrubber wash waterThe authorisation of electronic record keepingA single annual report in place of the one time report and the annual non-compliance reportIn addition, a Small Vessel General Permit (sVGP) is proposed covering non-recreational vessels of less than 79 feet in length and commercial fishing vessels. This would be introduced after the present moratorium on incidental discharges for such vessels, with the exception of ballast water, expires on 18 December 2013.As small vessel operations differ considerably from those of larger vessels, the proposed sVGP is simpler in its scope and application, covering pollutants that may arise from nine discharge management categories. The permit would also provide for more simplified inspections and reporting than is ...

A contract to supply 10 automatic stacking cranes and 17 customer automatic shuttle carriers Cargotec has won a contract to supply ten state-of-the-art Kalmar automatic stacking cranes and 17 customer specific automatic shuttle carriers to leading terminal services' provider TraPac Inc, in Los Angeles, USA. The equipment will be delivered to TraPac Inc, a subsidiary of Mitsui OSK Lines, in 2012 and 2013. The parties have agreed not to disclose the value of the order. The order has been booked in the third quarter of 2011.Lennart Brelin, Cargotec Executive Vice President, Americas said this order reinforced the company's position as a leading supplier in port automation. "Since 1990, we have steadily developed our track record in the field of port automation and this order would not have been achieved without our recent efforts in port automation. This is our first large automation order in the Americas region and it strengthens our position globally in port automation."Cargotec's strategy is to focus on customers and to invest in attractive customer segments. In June this year Cargotec announced the opening of its Technology and Competence Centre in Singapore which, in cooperation with the Technology and Competence Centre in Tampere, Finland, focuses on developing ...

Irene is a category three hurricane on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale The US Navy, on Thursday, ordered all its ships away from its huge port at Hampton Roads, Virginia, as the eastern US seaboard braced for the destructive-strength Hurricane Irene."Ships will make final preparations overnight in anticipation of getting underway early August 25 (Friday)," a Navy statement said.Vice Admiral Daniel Holloway, commander of the US 2nd Fleet, said that the decision to send the ships from Hampton Roads is based on Hurricane Irene's current track that indicates the storm will produce at least 50 knots of wind and a large storm surge.Irene is a category three hurricane on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale, and is forecast to strengthen to a category four storm with winds of 135 miles (217 kilometers) per hour by the time it reaches the US coast over the weekend.Along the coastline North Carolina, directly in Irene's path as its forecast to skirt north, officials ordered mandatory evacuations for tourists."The forecasted destructive winds and tidal surge is too great to keep the ships in port. There is a much greater potential of not only the ships being damaged, but also the pier infrastructure," said Holloway, adding that the ...

30 million barrels transported within U.S. borders moved on foreign ships U.S. ship owners complain the Obama administration has routinely let oil from federal stockpiles be shipped on foreign-owned vessels, sidestepping federal law.As it rushed to transport millions of barrels to stabilize world oil prices earlier this summer, the administration has waived the 90-year-old Jones Act 46 times, The New York Times reported.The law requires that entirely domestic cargo be carried aboard U.S.-flagged ships except in extraordinary circumstances.The Times says American barges carried oil from the reserve just once this summer, while 30 million barrels transported within U.S. borders moved on ships, with foreign crews, from the Marshall Islands, Panama and other countries.That translated to lower costs and saved time for oil buyers, but took potential work from more than 30 U.S. cargo vessels and as many as 400 crew, U.S. ship owners said."The idea was to create American jobs and help the economy," said Christopher Coakley, vice president for legislative affairs at the American Waterways Operators. "But all the profit from the sale of the oil has gone to traders and oil companies and all the profit from movement of the oil has gone to foreign shippers and crewmen, ...

An honour for its sustainable and environmentally conscious conduct Hamburg Süd has again been honoured for its sustainable and environmentally conscious conduct. First, in late July 2011, it received the Air Quality Award from the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Group (backed by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach). Just a few days later, it was the Gulf Guardian Award of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).The EPA conferred the Gulf Guardian Award on Hamburg Süd in the Binational category within the context of the Gulf of Mexico Programme because the shipping company had participated voluntarily in measures aimed at reducing emissions in the Gulf of Mexico. In these trials, Hamburg Süd called at the ports of Veracruz, Altamira and Houston with its container ship "Cap San Lorenzo" using Low Sulphur Marine Gas Oil (LSMGO), which has a sulphur content of 0.1 per cent.With the Air Quality Award, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach recognised innovative measures helping to reduce emissions and lower air pollution. In the case of Hamburg Süd, the shipping company was one of the leading participants in the Green Flag Programme of the Port of Long Beach, which, in 2010, ...

The project's underwater turbines will generate electricity from ebbing and flowing tidal waters Below the surface of America's coastal waters could be the energy needed to power your clothes drier and other appliances. Some say the tides have the potential to power about five percent of U.S. households by producing nearly 9 GW of renewable energy.A pilot project to test this potential is in the works in Washington State's Puget Sound. The Snohomish County Public Utility District was awarded a $10 million grant from the Energy Department to install two tidal energy turbines on the floor of Admiralty Inlet, a trough of fast-moving water about 35 miles northwest of Seattle. Much like how wind turbines convert wind energy, the project's underwater turbines will generate electricity from ebbing and flowing tidal waters. At peak tidal currents, the two turbines could generate more than 1 MW of electricity - enough to power about 700 American homes.Beyond pumping out electricity, this emerging technology's success also depends on protecting marine life. The Energy Department's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is working with Snohomish PUD to explore if the sound of spinning turbines might affect marine life. Scientists at PNNL's Marine Sciences Laboratory are exposing fish ...

Supplied by the Champer of Shipping of America This is the latest in a series of reports supplied by the Chamber of Shipping of America with the intention of keeping everyone appraised of legislative developments in the US affecting international shipping.Vessel General Permit New York State graywater extension A number of CSA members have notified us that they have recently received a letter from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) that extends the implementation date for compliance with the provisions of the New York State 401 certification to 1 August 2013. This extension is consistent with a similar extension granted with regards to the implementation of ballast water treatment technology requirements granted earlier. Vessel owners which submitted requests for extension should be receiving similar letters in the near future. Those that did submit requests for extension and which do not receive any response should contact NYS DEC Bureau of Water Permits directly at 518.402.8111. While we have been led to believe that all entities that requested the extension received a similar extension, CSA would be interested in receiving any input from vessel owners who did not receive an extension, including any supporting information on why the extension ...

Authorities have closed a loophole US immigration authorities have closed a loophole that so far had prevented foreign maritime workers from acquiring a biometric identification card required for access to restricted port facilities and terminals.The preliminary reaction from industry is that the concession will not benefit foreign seafarers, but instead will be found useful by asmall subset of expatriate foreign nationals employed in US offices or on-dock facilities, as well as foreign oil rig workers employed on the US Outer Continental ShelfSource: Safety4Sea