The Ghost Fleet

A bit of background: until the 90s, obsolete ships, including government-owned ships, were 'broken' or scrapped at foreign yards, frequently in the third world. Environmental and worker safety standards were [are] somewhat lacking. The social safety net, however, is almost nonexistant. A Bangladeshi who is not working doesn't receive unemployment protection.

The government agency responsible for scrapping these ships is the Maritime Administration. MARAD was required by law to get best value for scrapped ships; therefore, almost all of them went overseas.

That's changed now. Read it here.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, meathead

They're all a-flutter:
A Seattle Post-Intelligencer investigation found disturbing evidence that efforts to reduce crew work hours, crack down on alcohol use and improve tug escorts are being evaded or undermined.
All along the West Coast -- from Prince William Sound to Puget Sound, to San Francisco to Long Beach -- state and federal regulators are taking steps to reduce requirements for tug escorts.

Radical thought: has anyone checked out how much good tug escorts do? Maybe, just maybe, they're (another) example of the eternal truth of bureaucracy: "It's more important to be seen doing something than it is to do something effective."

Money shot (in the ninth paragraph):
While the amount of oil spilled from tankers has declined sharply in recent years...

Yeah, Yeah?

environmentalists point out that just one catastrophic accident would reverse those numbers.

Not just environmentalists, Chucklehead. Pay attention now, this requires advanced mathematics like addition and subtraction of which [even] journalism majors have heard:
Any major accident will put a lot of oil in the water. That's because the ships are so big. Don't want big ships? Then you do want $5.00/gallon gasoline.

Incidentally, the linked article includes a graph of oil spills. Conspicuously missing is a trend line -- which would show the amount of oil decreasing.

It would be very easy to say this is an example of anti-free-enterprise conspiracies in the press corps, and I'd love to say so. Unfortunately, I'm afraid, the answer's more mundane. Journalists, having the mathematical skills of the typical third grader -- I intend no offense to third graders -- I suspect they person/persons involved don't know what a trend line is, much less its importance.

There's a reason why a journaism degree is a BJ!

Merchant Mariners on the Haggis

You unfortunate creatures who've not met him before should know that Mr. Colin Glencannon is Chief Engineer of Ye Goode Shippe Inchcliffe Castle, Mr. MacQuayle is the Second Resistant Engineer and Mr. Mongomery -- obviously of English Descent -- is the Chief Mate. Their doing were chronicled by one Mr Guy Gilpatrick in the old, 'scuse me, auld Saturday Evening Post.

The Making of the Haggis - Edward Quaintance "The Hunting of the Haggis" Glencannon Afloat, in the Second Glencannon Omnibus by Guy Gilpatrick, Dodd, Meade & Company, New York, 1944, pp 215 - 221

Glencannon: "...the haggis is the fruit o' a romonce o' lang, lang ago, involving the humble pudding and the lordly sossage. It is the culinary triumph o' Scotland, which is to say, o' the entire world! ...oatmeal, onions, and pepper, is that orl there is to it? ...weel, proctically, though in enumerating the ingredients, ye left oot the five-gallon bucket. But once ye've got those four succulent essentials ready at hond, yere haggis is as good as made. All that remains to do, then, is slaughter an ox, ...

MacQuayle: "Not an ox--a sheep! Ye commence by chopping his head off. My Auntie Meg in Killiecrankie always did the job with an auld claymore ... till the rheumatism cromped her style. After that, she'd sneak up on him through the heather and bosh him ower the head with a rock. While the sheep would be laying there groggy, she'd sit hersel' astroddle o' him with a cross-cut saw and ...

Glencannon: "Pairdon, me, ox! Ye hong up yere ox and ye let his bluid drain into the five-gallon bucket. His stoomach, his liver, his heart and all his heavier machinery ye put carefully to one side where the collies canna snotch them. ... Ye take all the parts ye dinna plon to use for glue except the stoomach. Ye hash them up. Ye mix them with yere oatmeal, yere onions and yere pepper. Then ye throw the whole business into the five-gallon bucket, soshing it aroond with a broom hondle or a guid, stoot walking stick until it gives off a scupping sound, lik' when ye wade through the ooze in the botton o' a dry dock. At this point, if ye care to, ye can add a sprig o' pursely and a few leaves o' rosemary, gently crushed betwixt the finger and the thumb, although discriminating haggis eaters o' the auld school maintain that this detrocts from the soobtile and deelicate flavor o' the whole.

Montgomery: "Ugh! Me, I'd add some disinfectant and 'eave the 'ole mess overboard! ... Yus, gorblyme, and I'd 'eave the bucket arfter it!

Glencannon: "...pairmit me to obsairve that I think ye're vurra uncouth. ... (then) ye cook it to a turn, for that, incidentally, ye must use a fire. But feerst ye pick up the ox's stoomach in yere left hond, grosping it firmly aroond the waistline, as in the auld-fashioned Viennese waltz. Then, with yere richt, ye stoof it full o' the stoof ye fish oot o' the five-gallon bucket... Do ye check wi' me, Muster MacQuayle?

MacQuayle: "Dom, no, by no means! Ye dinna stoof the stoofing into an ox's stoomach at all; ye stoof it into a sheep's liver!

Montgomery: "I don't think either of you two Scotch cannibals 'ave got the foggiest notion of 'ow to make yer 'orrid 'aggis..."

On the Water: Smithsonian exhibit in 2008

UNPARALLELED OPPORTUNITY FOR THE MARITIME INDUSTRY
The Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., which is visited by millions of Americans each year, and in a recent Harris Brand-Quality survey was ranked No. 1 in reach and quality in the world, is planning a new public exhibition, On the Water: Stories from Maritime America. Opening is anticipated in 2008.
This major exhibition, together with a website and a teachers’ package that will be distributed nationally, will highlight the all-important maritime influence in American history and then bring that great story right up to the 21st century. Our country began as a maritime nation, and – today – our economy depends on our maritime connections.
Few modern Americans appreciate any of this vital history or realize our critical dependence on maritime commerce. For those who appreciate the history of the sea and want that story told publicly and in a highly visible way, On the Water presents an unparalleled opportunity. Ever since the 1980s, all exhibitions and programs at the
Smithsonian have depended on private support, and On the Water is no different. Only the maritime industry can make this project happen.
On the Water will be on view for a minimum of 20 years, in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, on the National Mall between the Capitol and the White House.
The museum receives 5 million visitors a year, and 7 to 10 million across America access the museum’s exhibitions each year in classrooms and at home computers.
On the Water will cover 8,000 square feet and is organized chronologically into seven sections, from the 17th Century to the beginning of the 21st: “The Atlantic World,” “Maritime Nation,” “Harvesting the Sea,” “Inland Waterways,” “Crossing Oceans,” “Answering the Call,” and “Modern Maritime America.” Project director Paula
Johnson says that more than 200 artifacts, 300 graphics, and many interactive video components are included. In addition, “virtual field trips” – electronically connecting classrooms with real-life maritime experiences – are also planned.
Brand quality is always of interest, and the Smithsonian’s is next to none: Reflecting the Smithsonian’s reach and value to Americans, a 2003 Harris Brand Quality survey of 1,152 world-class brands found that the Smithsonian ranked No. 1 overall in public perception.
For more information about On the Water, contact either Paula Johnson, Project Director, at 202.633.3908 and or Bill Withuhn, at 202.633.1919 and

ACCELERATION OF COAST GUARD DEEPWATER MODERNIZATION PROGRAM URGED

The headline should read: Senators with political incentives urge ACCELERATION OF COAST GUARD DEEPWATER MODERNIZATION PROGRAM
Citing concerns about the safety and efficiency of Coast Guard ships and aircraft, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chairman Susan Collins (R-Me.) and ranking member Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) are renewing their call for an acceleration of the 22-year timetable for the Coast Guard’s modernization program, known as the Integrated Deepwater System.
Question for the class: what are the benefits -- economic and political -- which members of the Committee will reap from Deepwater.
Not, of course, that they're not honorable concerns

Shipbuilders demonstrate [again] that they don't like competition.

The Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus, co-chaired by U.S. Congressman Gene Taylor of Mississippi and Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis of Virginia, sent a letter to the President of the United States expressing the Caucus' concern over a Navy proposal to reopen the construction bidding for next generation destroyer DD(X) to a winner-take-all competition.
The overall cost to the taxpayer will be substantially lower if a shipyard can use the larger economies of scale from a winner-take-all completition.
In the letter, the Caucus spells out the long-term negative effects that the Navy's revised construction strategy could have on shipyards and Navy force structure. The Caucus also urges the President to execute the DD(X) program as outlined in his FY2006 budget request, with Northrop Grumman and Bath Iron Works splitting work in design and ship construction.
This is called a government enforced duopoly. The White House is rocking the boat.
Chief among the Caucus members' misgivings is the threat to the U.S. industrial shipbuilding capacity, which has already suffered major reductions in employment from the anemic shipbuilding budgets of recent years. Citing the potential negative impact on U.S. national security, the Caucus warns the President that the Navy proposal will lead to a single shipyard building our nation's surface combatants, which will forever limit the ability of the U.S to construct destroyers and cruisers at any significant rate. The letter also outlines the unintended consequences of pursuing the re-bidding strategy, mentioning delays in the program and increased costs.
The major shipyards have a good life by dividing the pork-pie among them. Forcing them to get into a free-for-all, dog-eat-dog competitive world would be a lot less fun.
Under the President's FY2006 budget request, Northrop Grumman was scheduled to build the first three DD(X) destroyers at its shipyard in Pascagoula, with Maine's Bath Iron Works shipyard building two additional ships. However, changes to the shipbuilding budget have triggered the Navy to explore a revised bidding process that will create a winner-take-all competition between Northrop Grumman and Bath Iron Works.
There follows a couple of paragraphs and a list of the caucus patting itself on the back.

A real seaman crosses the bar

Halifax Daily News 2005 --March 13, 2005
Icebreaker's captain always kept his cool
Capt. Paul Moise Fournier O.C. Born Saint Moise, Que. May 11, 1913 Died Musquodoboit Harbour, Feb. 6, 2005 "And there are those with long memories, like me, who won't forget 1967, our centennial year, when the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker, the John A. Macdonald - so fittingly named - sailed a westward Arctic passage to assist an American vessel stranded in the ice. In continuing to sail westward, she became the first Coast Guard ship to circumnavigate North America. "Or in a less-than disguised challenge to our sovereignty in the Arctic. When the American supertanker, Manhattan, was escorted in 1969 though the Northwest Passage by the same John A. Macdonald to provide a Canadian presence throughout that voyage. Our point was made." - Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson, July 2, 2002, St. John's, Nfld., 40th anniversary of the Coast Guard.
Capt. Paul Fournier and the icebreaker John A. Macdonald have become legendary in the annals of Canadian Arctic navigation. Supplying native communities in the icebound bays and inlets of the high Arctic in the summer and escorting through ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence during the winter months, Capt. Fournier earned a reputation as a cool "icebreaking skipper." In 1969, he was awarded the Order of Canada and earned the gratitude of the U.S. Coast Guard for his masterful 1967 rescue of the American coast guard cutter Northwind when she lost a propeller blade while working in heavy ice about 800 kilometers north of Point Barrow, a headland of the western Arctic on the shores of the Beaufort Sea. The Northwind was in grave danger of becoming fast in the ice for the winter. The John A. Macdonald faced insurmountable ice until a shift in the wind opened a crack in the ice allowing rescuers to reach the stricken Northwind. The Canadian icebreaker was met by jubilant crowds in British Columbia ports and grateful families of the Northwind crew in Seattle as she made her way down the Pacific coast toward the Panama Canal and then to her home port of Halifax. "The operation required the utmost in ice seamanship, skilful manoeuvring of the vessel and outstanding teamwork from the entire crew of the Macdonald," read the U.S. Coast Guard citation. Capt. Fournier said that his ship was merely returning favours done many times by the U.S. coast guard, and "we're paid to do this job. We try to do our best."
A Montreal Gazette editorial said: "The Arctic has truly been conquered when a ship's master can say the Northwest Passage is all in a summer's work. "The ghosts of a thousand mariners who tried to find the passage without success must have watched the John A. Macdonald smash her way through." But a more momentous task lay ahead. In 1969, with Capt. Fournier again in command, the John A. Macdonald escorted the U.S. tanker Manhattan through the Northwest passage to test the feasibility of transporting oil by ships through the Northwest Passage. Oil had been discovered in Prudhoe bay on the North Slope of Alaska the previous year.
As a young reporter with The Canadian Press, I was on a sovereignty surveillance flight with the Canadian Forces over the Canadian Arctic that August when we flew low over Pond Inlet and spotted the John A. Macdonald cutting a path through the ice for the Manhattan. Crew aboard the Argus were jubilant at the fact that it was Canada's "queen of the ice" as the John A. Macdonald was known, making the historic journey. We flew over the ships several times, taking pictures. At one point during the voyage, when the Manhattan became stuck in the ice, the Macdonald was called to assist. William Smith of The New York Times, who accompanied the Manhattan and later wrote a book about the voyage, said Canadian reporters aboard the Macdonald were elated that the mighty U.S. tanker was calling for help. "The stocky Canadian ship charged through the ice like a horse bucking through deep snow," wrote Smith. "She cut a path across the Manhattan's stern and up the port side. Then she backed off and did the same on the starboard side. The prescription was perfect. The tanker was able to back up far enough to gather momentum. The ice broke in front of her, and the expedition was on the way again."
The Johnny Mac, as the Canadian icebreaker came to be known by the Americans, was called to free the Manhattan on more than a dozen occasions during the three- month journey. Shipmates remember Capt. Fournier as a master in manoeuvring through ice who always had his little black dog, Midnight, with him on the bridge after his wife died. "He was a good icebreaking skipper," remembers Capt. Earl Jennex of Dartmouth, chief officer on the John A. Macdonald for two years. "Very cool. It was like a cup of tea for him."
Capt. Fournier was popular in the Inuit communities which he supplied and he often took tuberculosis victims to hospital in Montreal. Capt. Jennex remembers when they rescued several Canadian scientists off the ice in a howling snowstorm when the men called for help while drifting toward the open ocean and certain death. He retired in 1976, but continued to work as a consultant for oil companies working in the North Sea.

His ashes will be buried in his beloved Port Daniel, Que., in May. The only memorial in his home port is the damaged starboard propeller of the John A. Macdonald, which is on display on the Dartmouth waterfront. The caption reads that on her return from escorting the Manhattan, it was discovered in dry-dock that the ice had broken off two propeller blades.

A long-time denizen of Capitol Hill spills the beans... and the pork.
The Navy League of the US book review:
"If the old maxim “politics makes strange bedfellows” is true, then Winslow T. Wheeler is certainly divorced. His new tell-all exposé, The Wastrels of Defense: How Congress Sabotages U.S. Security, describes a Congressional bureaucracy so infused with political pork that it essentially washes away money publicly foresworn (ed note: sic) to national defense."
Further evidence, not that it's needed, that 'tis more important to be seen doing something than 'tis to concern yourself about the effectiveness of what you're doing.
Gods of the Copybook Heading, are you listening?
Read it all

Pork in the name of security?
A warning from the inimitable Dr. James Carafano of the Heritage Foundation:
"It was right there in the recommendations of the 9/11 commission: Don’t let homeland security become the newest outlet for pork-barrel spending."
Read it all here.

FEC: Your regulatory proposal draws 92 inches
The Online Coaliton has written a letter to the Federal Election Commission over possible regulation of blogs and websites. Acting on the premise that there are very few ideas so good that attention from bureaucrats and lawyers can't mess 'em up, You should read the letter and add your name.http://www.onlinecoalition.com

MERPAC TO MEET ON TRAINING/FITNESS OF MERCHANT MARINE PERSONNEL
The Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (MERPAC) and its working groups will meet to discuss various issues relating to the training and fitness of merchant marine personnel. MERPAC advises the Secretary of Homeland Security on matters relating to the training, qualifications, licensing, and certification of seamen serving in the U.S. merchant marine. All meetings will be open to the public.
MERPAC will meet on Tuesday, April 5, 2005, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Wednesday, April 6, 2005, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. These meetings may adjourn early if all business is finished. Requests to make oral presentations should reach the Coast Guard on or before March 22, 2005. Written material and requests to have a copy of your material distributed to each member of the committee or subcommittee should reach the Coast Guard on or
before March 22, 2005.
MERPAC will meet on both days in the Classroom Building Auditorium of the Calhoon MEBA Engineering School, 27050 St. Michaels Road, Easton, MD 21601. Further directions regarding the location of the Calhoon MEBA Engineering School may be obtained by contacting 410-822-9600.
Send written material and requests to make oral presentations to Mr. Mark Gould, Commandant (G-MSO-1), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 Second Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20593-0001. This notice is available on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.
For further information contact: For questions on this notice, contact Mr. Gould, Assistant to the Executive Director, telephone 202-267-6890, fax 202-267-4570, or e-mail mgould@comdt.uscg.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Notice of these meetings is given under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. 2 (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770, as amended).
Agenda of Meeting on April 5, 2005
The full committee will meet to discuss the objectives for the meeting. The working groups addressing the following task statements may meet to deliberate:

• Task Statement 30, concerning utilizing military sea service for STCW (that's Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping. Comes from the International Maritime Organization; Caesarian honorable men, one and all) certifications;
• Task Statement 47, concerning recommendations on knowledge and practical qualifications for
  engineers at the operational and management levels to serve on steam propelled vessels;
• Task Statement 48, concerning recommendations to develop training and service requirements for personnel with limited engineer licenses to obtain STCW OICEW (that's Officer in Charge of an Engineer Watch, for those of you who don't speak STCW-ese) and unlimited third assistant engineer licenses; and
• Task Statement 49, concerning recommendations for use of a model sea course project in conjunction with an approved program for officer in charge of an engineering
  watch coming up through the hawse pipe.
• In addition, new working groups may be formed to address issues proposed by the Coast Guard, MERPAC members, or the public. All task statements may be viewed at the MERPAC Web site
  at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/advisory/merpac/merpac.htm. At the end of the day, the working groups will make a report to the full committee on what has been accomplished in their meetings. No action will be taken on these reports on this date.
  Agenda of Meeting on April 6, 2005
  The agenda comprises the following:
  (1) Introduction.
  (2) Working Groups' Reports:
  (a) Task Statement 30, concerning utilizing military sea service for STCW certifications;
  (b) Task Statement 47, concerning recommendations on knowledge and practical qualifications for engineers at the operational and management levels to serve on steam propelled vessels;
  (c) Task Statement 48, concerning recommendations to develop training and service requirements for personnel with limited engineer licenses to obtain STCW OICEW and unlimited third assistant engineer licenses;
  (d) Task Statement 49, concerning recommendations for use of a model sea course project in conjunction with an approved program for officer in charge of an engineering watch coming up through the hawse pipe, and
• (e) Other task statements which may have been adopted for discussion and action.
  (3) Other items to be discussed:
  (a) Standing Committee--Prevention Through People.
  (b) Briefings concerning on-going projects of interest to MERPAC.
  (c) Other items brought up for discussion by the committee or the public.

INTERTANKO AND INDUSTRY ALLIANCE PETITION TO JOIN USCG COMPLAINT AGAINST MASSACHUSETTS OIL SPILL ACT
INTERTANKO has allied itself with American Waterways Operators, Chamber of Shipping of America and BIMCO to petition to join the U.S. Government Complaint against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The industry alliance sees the State Oil Spill Act as a threat to safety and to environmental protection.
Which is a polite way of saying that the People's Republic of Taxachusetts has demonstrated the old political maxim, "It's way more important to be seen doing something than it is to worry doing something effective." State regulation of interstate commerce is unconstitutional, and there are enough shysters in the state gov't and legislature that they should know that.
The International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO); the American Waterways Operators (AWO) - the national trade association for the American tugboat, towboat and barge industry; the Chamber of Shipping of America; and the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) formally petitioned this week to join a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Government against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts concerning an unconstitutional
oil spill law enacted there.
Not that these yahoos have clean hands. There have been times -- once or twice -- when the abovementioned retromingent pithecoids have used -- or attempted to use -- government regulation to squash their competition.
The lawsuit, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (Civil Action No. 05-10112 JLT) on January 18, 2005, charges that the Oil Spill Act impermissibly treads on federal jurisdiction, specifically, the jurisdiction of the U.S. Coast Guard, in making rules governing maritime operations in U.S. waters. It also asserts that comprehensive federal regulation already exists in the areas covered by the state Act, and that the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution provides that federal laws and regulations override any attempt by a state government to legislate or regulate in the same areas. This same provision was upheld when INTERTANKO won its long-running legal battle against the State of Washington by a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Locke, 529 U.S. 89 (2000).
Beware, my friends. There are few ideas so good they can't be screwed up through the attention of shysters and politicians
The Act was signed into law in Massachusetts on August 4, 2004 in response to a 2003 tank barge accident that resulted in an oil spill in Buzzards Bay. It regulates oil-carrying vessels travelling in interstate and/or international commerce while such vessels are within the waters of Massachusetts. The industry asserts that such interstate commerce requires a single, clear set of federal regulatory standards that are uniform from state to state and locality to locality, in
order to avoid confusion that could lead to accidents.
We'll let them pat themselves on the back...
INTERTANKO’s members represent, on a tonnage basis, approximately 70% of the world’s independently owned (i.e., not government-owned or oil company-owned) self-propelled tank vessel fleet’. Many INTERTANKO members own or operate tank vessels that currently call at ports in Massachusetts while engaged in interstate or foreign commerce.
In submitting this motion to intervene, INTERTANKO stated that its members who call at Massachusetts ports, or are considering doing so, have been adversely affected by the Act. “Our members are subject to being required to equip, man, operate, deploy, and manage their vessels in accordance with the Act when in Massachusetts waters, in a manner different from federal requirements and requirements in other states and countries. The departure of Massachusetts from an extensive federal regulatory scheme poses a burden on and expense to our members.”
The Association continues to point out that “the lack of uniformity impairs federal control of tank vessel safety standards and presents a threat to international maritime safety, as well as to the lives and property of INTERTANKO’s members, their employees, and to the marine environment.” It adds that its members not calling at Massachusetts ports are adversely affected by the Act “to the extent that the Act’s deviations from federal and international requirements constitute impermissible barriers to their use of Massachusetts ports even when their vessels already comply with federal laws and international treaties.”
#####

MARITIME ACADEMY OBLIGATION
Tired of a few of my fellow maritime academy grads skating their obligation? Here's your chance to sound off:
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The nature of the information collection is described as well as its expected burden. The Maritime Administration (MARAD) published a 60-day notice and request for comments on this information collection in the
Federal Register (69 FR 69668) on November 30, 2004, indicating comments should be submitted by January 31, 2005.
IOW: We published a note on this subject. Commenting period closed 31 Jan.
One comment was received. The commenter asserted that no waivers should be given, except in the case of medically verified disability, and there is an obligation these students assume and they should pay it. In addition, the commenter indicated that taxpayers are burdened by the costs of this education and they deserve recompense. Also, the commenter asked how many students sought waivers last year and on what grounds.
Out of 300 million Americans, we received one comment.
46 CFR part 310 authorizes the Maritime Administrator to grant waivers in cases where there would be undue hardship or impossibility of performance of the provisions of the agreement, due to accident, illness or other justifiable reason. The regulation also allows for deferments in exceptional cases for entry into a maritime-related graduate course of study, or the graduate
may seek approval to accept maritime-related shoreside employment after first seeking afloat employment. The Maritime Administration (MARAD) is cognizant of the obligation of graduates as we review waiver and deferral requests. In 2004, MARAD granted 18 employment determination requests for shoreside employment. These employment determinations were granted for maritime-related shoreside employment on the recommendation from the
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, only after the graduates diligently sought afloat employment and were unable to obtain it.
Comments must be submitted on or before April 6, 2005.
For further information, contact Rita Jackson, Maritime Administration, 400 7th Street SW., Washington, DC
20590. Telephone: (202) 366-0284; fax: (202) 366-7403; or e-mail: rita.jackson@marad.dot.gov.
Copies of this
collection also can be obtained from that office.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Maritime Administration (MARAD).
Title: Request for Waiver of Service Obligation, Request for Deferment of Service Obligation.
OMB Control Number: 2133-0510.
Type of Request: Extension of currently approved collection.
Affected Public: The respondents are students and graduates of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and subsidized students or graduates of the State Maritime Academies who request waivers of service obligations.
Forms: MA-935, MA-936 and MA-937.
Abstract: This information collection is essential for determining if a student or graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, or subsidized student or graduate of a State maritime academy, has a waivable situation preventing them from fulfilling the requirements of a service obligation contract.
Annual Estimated Burden Hours: 9 hours.
Send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention MARAD Desk Officer. Comments are invited on: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed
information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. A comment to OMB is best assured of having its full effect if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication.

The TSA is indeed a test
Courtesy of a much better writer than I:
"The TSA is indeed a test
"Find out just what people will submit to, and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them; and these will continue until they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." -- Frederick Douglass, August 4, 1857. "

Latest use of ADA to make Lawyers Rich(er).
The little gem of propaganda below is courtesy of your tax dollars: see the link here. Note the "dot-gov" url.
National Council on DisabilitySpector v. Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd. —
Background, Legal Issues, and Implications for Persons with Disabilities*
National Council on Disability1331 F Street, NW, Suite 850Washington, DC 20004202-272-2004 Voice202-272-2074 TTY202-272-2022 Fax
Abstract
On February 28, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear argument in Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd., No. 03-1388, a case that will determine whether foreign-flagged cruise ships serving U.S. ports must comply with the public accommodations provisions contained in Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This paper examines the Spector case in detail and concludes that the plain and expansive language of Title III evidences a congressional intent to require cruise ships to comply with Title III (editor note: to the surprise of every four-year-old reading this. The policy analyst writing for this merry band who didn't find a requirement to comply with ADA would be flippin' hamburgers and grateful for the work) Cruise ship owners and operators claim that they and their ships are exempt from the ADA because all of their ships are, with few exceptions, foreign-flagged, and historically under international law, a seagoing vessel need only comply with the laws of the flagging nation when it comes to the regulation of a ship's internal operations. This paper explains that compliance with Title III would not impinge on the internal management prerogatives of cruise lines or conflict with the United States' obligations under international law. Moreover, the contemporary practice of flying what is known as a "flag of convenience" is simply a business decision that only marginally implicates the sovereign interests of the flagging nation. In stark contrast, however, the United States has a significant interest in ending invidious discrimination against persons with disabilities by cruise lines - particularly when cruise lines are headquartered in the United States, base their ships in U.S. ports, draw their clientele almost exclusively from the United States, and advertise and solicit most of their passengers in the United States. In passing the ADA, Congress sought to guarantee "full participation" by persons with disabilities in all aspects of American life. The Supreme Court has an opportunity in Spector to give force and effect to Congress' unequivocal intent by refusing to exempt foreign-flagged cruise ships from Title III of the ADA. To do otherwise would place the Court's imprimatur upon the discriminatory practices of inaccessible cruise lines, and write segregation on the basis of disability into American law.

MEBA TURNS 130 TODAY
The Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA) is celebrating its 130th birthday today, February 23. It was back in 1875 when a collection of local marine engineers' association representatives, fed up with the intolerable working conditions of the day, banded together in Cleveland, Ohio. Boiler explosions aboard steamboats and pathetic working conditions coupled with measly paychecks spurred these trailblazers to unite for the protection of mariners. Early on, our forefathers battled for beneficial legislation to certify and license waterborne engineers. They also prevailed in securing U.S. officers - both deck and engine - aboard U.S.-flagships displacing foreign seamen. Those early struggles and many others paved the way for the worker protections and benefits.
MEBA President Ron Davis made a few remarks on the upcoming occasion. "As members of the MEBA we are honored to recognize our great Union on this momentous 130th anniversary. The longevity of the MEBA stems from the inherent strength and cohesiveness of our members that few other labor unions can claim. We stand upon the shoulders of those who came before us and are privileged to build upon the proud foundation they established. As union members, we know that we must work together from a position of strength and unity so that the members who follow us can prosper from the efforts we put forward today."

The GAO has published a report called, "Process for Reporting Lessons Learned
from Seaport Exercises Needs Further Attention"
Quoth the mavens:
The framework under which federal agencies would manage a port-terrorism
incident is still evolving. The primary guidance for response, the National
Response Plan, was just issued in January 2005, and the National Incident
Management System, the structure for multiagency coordination, is still
being put in place. As a result, it is too early to determine how well the
complete framework will function in an actual incident.

USCG SEEKING APPLICATIONS FOR LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER WATERWAYS
The Coast Guard is seeking applications for appointment to membership on the Lower Mississippi River Waterways Safety Advisory Committee (LMRWSAC). LMRWSAC provides advice and makes recommendations to the Coast Guard on matters relating to the safe navigation of vessels to and from ports on the Lower Mississippi River.
Applications must be completed and postmarked no later than April 30, 2005.
You may request an application form by writing to Commanding OfficerUSCG Marine Safety Office New OrleansAttention: Waterways1615 Poydras StreetNew Orleans, LA 70112;
All application forms must be returned to the following address: Commanding Officer Attn: LMRWSAC Executive Secretary USCG Marine Safety Office, New Orleans1615 Poydras StreetNew Orleans, LA 70112.
For further information, contact LCDR Michael McKean, Executive Secretary of LMRWSAC at (504-628-1555) or LTJG Melissa Owens, Assistant to the Executive Secretary of LMRWSAC at (504-589-4251).

SHIPPING COORDINATING COMMITTEE SCHEDULES TWO MEETINGS
The Shipping Coordinating Committee, sponsored by the Department of State, will conduct two meetings in Washington, DC.
The first meeting, on February 25, is to prepare for the upcoming meeting of the IMO Subcommittee on Flag State Implementation. Topics on the agenda include maritime security, seafarer’s working hours, PSC reporting procedures, and investigation of marine casualties.
The second meeting, on March 16, is to prepare for the upcoming meeting of the IMO Subcommittee on Stability and Load Lines and on Fishing Vessels Safety. Topics on the agenda include large passenger ship safety, the Intact Stability Code, the Offshore Supply Vessel Guidelines, and harmonization of damage stability provisions.

Boy, truer words was never spoke. Or wrote.

After almost 20 years in the government, another 10 on the receiving end of government ministrations before that, I've well and truly had enough of 'stovepiping'.

[Deputy Secretary of Commerce] Bodman told the gathering, "I will tell you, it is very hard for this government to have a vision on anything. We are totally stove-piped, and we live within these compartments. This is not by way of a complaint. This is not by way of an excuse. It is by way of a fact. The emphasis, duh, is mine.