Responder Immunity
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA – also known as the Clean Water Act), as amended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), contains a responder immunity provision. That provision states, in pertinent part:(A)A person is not liable for removal costs or damages which result from actions taken or omitted to be taken in the course of rendering care, assistance, or advice consistent with…
Detained Oil Tanker in Equatorial Guinea to Return to Nigeria
An oil supertanker accused by Nigerian authorities of attempting to illegally load crude before leaving its territorial waters is on its way back to the country, a Nigerian Navy spokesman told Reuters on Friday.At the request of Nigerian authorities, Equatorial Guinea detained the Heroic Idun, a vessel capable of carrying 2 million barrels of oil, on Aug. 17 for sailing without an identifying flag…
Rear Adm Nunan First Woman Appointed USMMA Superintendent
The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Maritime Administration announced the appointment of Rear Admiral Joanna M. Nunan (U.S. Coast Guard, Ret.) as the next superintendent of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA). Nunan, who spent more than three decades in the U.S. Coast Guard, has commanded units at every level both afloat and ashore. She will begin work at the Academy in a few weeks.Rear Admiral Nunan retired earlier this year as the Coast Guard’s Deputy for Personnel Readiness.
Trade Group Maritime UK Launches Green Skills Project
This Green Careers Week trade group Maritime UK is launching a new green skills project with the aim to help ensure that the maritime industries have the skills required to enable its decarbonization.The project kick starts with the appointment of Kit Williams to coordinate delivery of recommendations from the Maritime Skills Commission's (MSC) Skills for Green Jobs Position Paper. It is being delivered…
Car Carrier Rescues 303 People in the South China Sea
Japanese shipping company NYK said a car carrier it operates rescued 303 people from a vessel in distress in the South China Sea.On November 7, the Japanese-flagged pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) Helios Leader was sailing from Japan's port of Nagoya to the port of Singapore when it received a rescue request from the port authority of Sri Lanka via the port authority of Singapore.A Myanmar-flagged…
Crude Exports Lift Port of Corpus Christi to Q3 Tonnage Record
The Port of Corpus Christi reports it set another tonnage record in the third quarter of 2022, driven in large part by record exports of crude oil.The new quarterly tonnage record of 48.3 million tons surpassed the previous tonnage record set in the second quarter of 2022 of 46.4 million tons, a 4% increase on overall tonnage. The growth primarily was a result of strong exports of United States produced crude oil to Western European buyers who have moved away from Russian crude imports. The U.S.
Offshore Wind in Focus at Recent Mass. Maritime Career Fair
An estimated 400 recruiters from 176 organizations, including many from the offshore wind industry, attended the recent Fall Career Fair at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, a public university with undergraduate degree programs focusing on science, engineering, technology, math and business that blend academics and experiential learning.Students had the opportunity to discover career paths and opportunities…
Fincantieri Delivers Viking's First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cruise Ship
Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri announced it has delivered the first vessel for luxury cruise operator Viking equipped with an emissions reducing hydrogen fuel cell system.Identical to Viking’s other ocean ships, the 47,800 ton Viking Neptune is fitted with a small hydrogen fuel system, making it the cruise industry’s first ship to test the use of hydrogen power for on board operations. “We are especially proud to welcome this newest sister ship to our ocean fleet…
Divers Find Challenger Space Shuttle Wreckage Off Florida Coast
Divers from a documentary crew looking for the wreckage of a World War Two aircraft off the coast of Florida found a 20-foot section of the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded and broke apart shortly after its launch in 1986, NASA said on Thursday.The divers contacted NASA after spotting a large, clearly modern object mostly covered in sand at the bottom of the ocean and bearing the shuttle's distinctive tiles…
ABS Examines Alternative Fuels in Reports for EMSA
An ABS-led consortium, including CE Delft and Arcsilea, published two of up to six reports studying alternative fuels and decarbonization technologies for the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).ABS offered a 360-degree view of biofuels and ammonia, the first two fuels to be published by the consortium. Each fuel was analyzed using various criteria such as greenhouse gas (GHG) impact, sustainability…
DNV Updates Technical Standards for Wind Assisted Propulsion
Classification society DNV has released an update to its Wind Assisted Propulsion Systems (WAPS) technical standard (ST-0511). The major update introduces new methods for evaluating WAPS fatigue strength, as well as the performance of the systems in extreme conditions.While experience in using the systems is still developing, WAPS have already been implemented on commercial vessels to reduce emissions…
Speed Reduction Led to Vessel Collision on the Neches River
A pilot's decision to reduce the speed of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier resulted in reduced rudder effectiveness, ultimately leading to a collision with a moored tug on the Neches River, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found.In November 2021, a state licensed pilot from the Sabine Pilots took navigational control of the 754-foot-long Gas Ares as it was heading to load a cargo of propane and butane at the no.
Maritime Risk Symposium: Full Program Released
The 2022 Maritime Risk Symposium (MRS), scheduled to be held Nov. 15-17, 2022, hosted by Argonne National Laboratory at the Argonne campus in Lemont, Illinois, recently unveiled the full conference program, packed with experts with insights on the challenges facing the inland waterway systems.Click here to read the fulll program for MRS 2022MRS is an annual international event focused on risks involving the global maritime transportation system (MTS). For the MRS, the U.S.
MPC Container Ships Taps zero44 for CO2 Management Tools
Berlin-based zero44 signed a partnership with MPC Container Ships, which will use zero44's digital CO2 management solution for its fleet.Spun off by company builder Flagship Founders in May 2022, zero44 has developed a CO2 management software for commercial vessels. The software focuses on the implications of the CII and the EU ETS regulation.
Russian Oil Cap Doubts Spur Fears of Ships Stranded at Sea
Oil-laden tankers risk being left languishing at sea if insurers do not urgently get clarity on an unfinished G7 and European Union plan to cap the price of Russian crude, two senior industry executives told Reuters.The Group of Seven (G7), which includes the United States, Britain, Germany and France, agreed in September to enforce a low price on sales of Russian oil.U.S. officials said the move, which is due to start on December 5…
Oil Rig Worker Medevaced in the Gulf of Mexico
An ailing worker was medevaced from a Gulf of Mexico oil rig, about 14 miles south of Dauphin Island, Ala., the U.S. Coast Guard said.The Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector Mobile received a call at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday from an oil rig requesting a medevac for a 58-year-old male who was suffering from chest pain.The watchstanders coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard Station Dauphin Island…
Yemen's Houthis Increase Pressure with Oil Port Attacks
Yemen's Houthi group is piling on pressure to extract economic gains in U.N.-led talks for an extended truce deal with attacks on oil ports in government-held areas, which officials say have disrupted crude exports, choking state revenues.Yemen's foreign ministry said in a statement that the Houthis launched a drone attack on the southern Qena port in Shabwa on Wednesday. The group's military spokesman…
UK's Liverpool Port Workers Agree Pay Deal and End Strike
Around 600 workers at Liverpool port, one of Britain's busiest ports, will end strike action after agreeing a pay deal with employer Peel Ports, the Unite union said on Thursday.Unite said workers had voted "overwhelmingly in favor" of pay rises worth 14.3%-18.5% negotiated earlier this week, ending a wave of strike action that began on Sept.
US Coast Guard Cutter William Chadwick Commissioned
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter William Chadwick (WPC-1150) was commissioned Thursday at Coast Guard Base Boston, as the first of six Fast Response Cutters to be stationed in the city.Admiral Steven Poulin, Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, and Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander, 1st Coast Guard District, oversaw the ceremony, as Lt. Cmdr. Tyler Kelley assumed command of the 154-foot cutter and its crew. Under Kelly’s command…
Detyens Scores $21 Million MSC Oiler Overhaul Job
North Charleston, S.C. ship repair yard Detyens Shipyards has been awarded a $21,007,304 contract for a 91-calendar day shipyard availability for the regular overhaul/dry-docking availability of Military Sealift Command's (MSC) fleet replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO 196).The firm-fixed-price contract includes a base period and four options which, if exercised would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $22,090,004.
