COAST GUARD SEEKING APPLICATIONS FOR TSAC
The Coast Guard is seeking applications for membership on the Towing Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC). TSAC advises the Coast Guard on matters relating to shallow-draft inland and coastal waterway navigation and towing safety.
Application forms should reach us on or before May 27, 2005
You may request an application form by writing to
Commandant (G-MSO-1)
U.S. Coast Guard
2100 Second Street, SW.
Washington, DC 20593-0001
Or you may call (202) 267-0214; or fax (202) 267-4570.
Send your original completed and signed application in written form to the above street address. This notice is available on the Internet at
http://dms.dot.gov in docket USCG-2005-21002
and the application form is also available at
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/advisory/index.htm (click on “ACM Application'').
For further information contact: Mr. Gerald Miante; Assistant Executive Director of TSAC, telephone (202)267-0214, fax (202) 267-4570, or e-mail gmiante@comdt.uscg.mil.
25 April 2005
TSAC SETS MEETING FOR MAY 4-5
TSAC SETS MEETING FOR MAY 4-5
The Towing Vessel Inspection Working Group of the Towing Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC) will meet to discuss matters relating to specific issues of towing safety. The meetings will be open to the public.
The Towing Vessel Inspection Working Group will meet on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Thursday, May 5, 2005 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The meetings may close early if all business is finished.
Written material and requests to make oral presentations should reach the Coast Guard on or before April 27, 2005. Requests to have a copy of your material distributed to each member of the Working Group should reach the Coast
Guard on or before April 27, 2005.
The Working Group will meet at the Arlington Hilton, 950 North Stafford Street, Arlington, VA 22203. Send written material and requests to make oral presentations to Mr. Gerald Miante, Commandant (G-MSO-1), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 Second Street SW., Washington, DC 20593-0001. This notice and related documents are
available on the Internet at
http://dms.dot.gov under the docket number USCG-2005-21001.
For further information contact: Mr. Gerald Miante, Assistant Executive Director of TSAC, telephone 202-267-0214, fax 202-267-4570, or e-mail gmiante@comdt.uscg.mil.
The Towing Vessel Inspection Working Group of the Towing Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC) will meet to discuss matters relating to specific issues of towing safety. The meetings will be open to the public.
The Towing Vessel Inspection Working Group will meet on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Thursday, May 5, 2005 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The meetings may close early if all business is finished.
Written material and requests to make oral presentations should reach the Coast Guard on or before April 27, 2005. Requests to have a copy of your material distributed to each member of the Working Group should reach the Coast
Guard on or before April 27, 2005.
The Working Group will meet at the Arlington Hilton, 950 North Stafford Street, Arlington, VA 22203. Send written material and requests to make oral presentations to Mr. Gerald Miante, Commandant (G-MSO-1), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 Second Street SW., Washington, DC 20593-0001. This notice and related documents are
available on the Internet at
http://dms.dot.gov under the docket number USCG-2005-21001.
For further information contact: Mr. Gerald Miante, Assistant Executive Director of TSAC, telephone 202-267-0214, fax 202-267-4570, or e-mail gmiante@comdt.uscg.mil.
22 April 2005
Our brethern shield in danger's hour...
MARAD - Welcome to U.S. Maritime Administration
From John Jamian, Acting Maritime Administrator:
Memorial Day National Moment of Remembrance
As Acting Maritime Administrator, I encourage you to participate in the National Moment of Remembrance, taking one minute at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, to remember the sacrifices of America’s fallen, from the Revolutionary War to the present. This honors not only members of the Armed Services, but also the U.S. Merchant Marine and other civilians whose devotion has preserved and defended our heritage of freedom. Yes, I emphasized "Merchant Marine."
To which we append, amen.
From John Jamian, Acting Maritime Administrator:
Memorial Day National Moment of Remembrance
As Acting Maritime Administrator, I encourage you to participate in the National Moment of Remembrance, taking one minute at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, to remember the sacrifices of America’s fallen, from the Revolutionary War to the present. This honors not only members of the Armed Services, but also the U.S. Merchant Marine and other civilians whose devotion has preserved and defended our heritage of freedom. Yes, I emphasized "Merchant Marine."
To which we append, amen.
What the hell's the ITF
MarEx Newsletter: "
ITF Gains Ten Percent Pay Increase for Seamen
On January 1, 2006, 'able seamen' will receive a rate increase of $1,550 per month, which equates to a ten percent increase. The concept of this benchmark increase was opposed by many shipowners who argue that there should not be a globally applied wage because of the socio-economic conditions in their home countries, most of whom come from developing areas. "
"ITF" is International Trade Federation, a critter of the United Nations. This wage raise has the effect of forcing 'just-barely-satisfactory' shipowners into the ranks of the unsatisfactory shipowners. Further, like all minimum wage schemes, it reduces hiring -- especially from the desparately improverished areas of the world.
BUT, this action completely fulfils the bureaucratic imperative: it's much more important to be seen doing something than it is to do something effective.
ITF Gains Ten Percent Pay Increase for Seamen
On January 1, 2006, 'able seamen' will receive a rate increase of $1,550 per month, which equates to a ten percent increase. The concept of this benchmark increase was opposed by many shipowners who argue that there should not be a globally applied wage because of the socio-economic conditions in their home countries, most of whom come from developing areas. "
"ITF" is International Trade Federation, a critter of the United Nations. This wage raise has the effect of forcing 'just-barely-satisfactory' shipowners into the ranks of the unsatisfactory shipowners. Further, like all minimum wage schemes, it reduces hiring -- especially from the desparately improverished areas of the world.
BUT, this action completely fulfils the bureaucratic imperative: it's much more important to be seen doing something than it is to do something effective.
15 April 2005
Go ahead, make my day....
Press report describes a private security firm providing armed escorts through the Straits of Malacca, 08 Apr. The Singapore based Background Asia Risk Solutions has its own armor plated vessel that accompanies boats anywhere between Sri Lanka and the South China Sea for around 50,000 US dollars a mission. The firm was established nine months ago and reports having provided 12 escort missions. The firm’s boat has yet to engage in any combat with pirates but states they have warned off several suspicious vessels by using loud hailers, flares, and spotlights.
Pound to a ruble, the retromingent pithecoids of the surrounding nations will try and put a stop to this. They won't protect the ships, but they will protect their sternframes.
Source: Informa Group, formerly LLP, Llp Limited, London
Pound to a ruble, the retromingent pithecoids of the surrounding nations will try and put a stop to this. They won't protect the ships, but they will protect their sternframes.
Source: Informa Group, formerly LLP, Llp Limited, London
Billion bucks of floating steel
Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard, Formerly Facing Closure, Signs $1 Billion Double-Hulled Tanker Deal;
OSG, Inc. agrees to long-term charter.
Former President Bill Clinton Delivers Keynote Remarks At Shipyard
Oh, yeah. The kind of people that buy/borrow/operate tankers are likely to be really impressed by the running mate of the author of Earth in the Balance.
The team that rescued Kvaerner’s Philadelphia Shipyard (KPSI) from closure in 2001 today announced a $1 Billion, 10 double-hulled tanker deal and the formation of a new wholly-owned, U.S.-based subsidiary that will charter the environmentally-sound ships in the growing Jones Act domestic shipping market. The ships will be chartered for at least five years at a cost of more than $500 Million after delivery to Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (NYSE:OSG) for service in the Jones Act domestic shipping market.
A ceremonial contract-signing was held in the heart of the shipyard along the Delaware River. It was attended by more than 1,000 workers, customers, suppliers, and friends of the Yard, including former President Bill Clinton, who served as the keynote speaker. He signed into law the 1993 National Shipbuilding Initiative that mightily helped a struggling American maritime industry through streamlining regulations and a $220 million new technology support package. President Clinton said he was proud to play a role in the successful, bi-partisan public-private partnership that set the stage for the shipyard revitalization.“I never lost faith in the American shipbuilding industry and neither did so many of our public servants, workers and private businesses,” said President Clinton. “I salute the men and women of Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard for showing all of us once again that it is possible to achieve great things even in the face of seemingly impossible odds. Today’s announcement is good news for the workers here, for America’s maritime industry and for the environment.” On the site of America’s first naval base, completely rebuilt by Kvaerner to world-class specifications, company officials were also joined by Gov. Ed Rendell, Mayor John F. Street, U.S. Representative Curt Weldon, and numerous other local, state, and federal government officials who came together under the red-white-and-blue banner, “Building the Future”. There were several major positive announcements for the region and America’s commercial shipbuilding industry. These included:• Kick off a new, five-year, 10-ship (plus an option for two additional vessels), $1 Billion Product Tanker Program, believed to be the largest of its kind in American commercial shipbuilding. KPSI will build efficient, cleaner-burning, environmentally sound double-hulled tankers for the domestic Jones Act market. The leading-edge ship design is being provided through an exclusive, five-year agreement with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. The order, which includes an option for two additional tankers, calls for the fist delivery in 2006 and order completion by 2010. • Formation of ASC (American Shipping, Inc.) as part of Kvaerner ASA, which will in turn own KPSI and charter the new tankers to domestic customers, including major oil and chemical producers and suppliers. Brad Mulholland, the former President of Matson Navigation Company, Inc is serving as CEO of the new subsidiary. He said the new, MT-46 Veteran Class, 46,000 dwt tankers will be among the most efficient tankers ever built• ASC’s first new customer, pending the approval of both company boards of directors, is OSG, the second largest publicly listed tanker owner in the world (measured by number of vessels.) Its fleet totals 99 and with this charter, it would be doubling the size of its Jones Act fleet. • News that the turnaround initiated in December 2001, under Kvaerner’s new management, headed by Mr. Røkke, is succeeding. He rebuked previous management plans to close the yard and focused significant energy and resources on building a stable future supported by steadily increasing efficiency and productivity, KPSI recently declared its first annual profit for calendar year 2004 It has sold its first four ships to Matson with two ships in service and reporting excellent results. The next KPSI-built Matson container vessel is scheduled to be christened May 21.• Start of construction of a new permanent office building on the KPSI site replacing temporary trailer offices the company has occupied since acquiring the facility in 1997. This is another tangible sign that KPSI is “here and here to stay.”Mr. Røkke, the self-made industrialist who believed from the outset that the Philadelphia yard could aggressively compete in the Jones Act market, thanked President Clinton for his contributions to the American maritime industry and to the health and safety of the world. He praised the shipyard’s tireless supporters and the dedication and determination of shipyard workers and the job they are doing to make Kvaerner Philadelphia a more efficient – and profitable – business.“I am proud to be able to show how well the people at the yard have stood up to the challenge of turning this Navy yard into the most competitive yard in the Jones Act market”, he said. “Based on the foundation of bold political decisions in the 1990s, a committed work force now produces great ships, built efficiently and with love and care. I lived and worked in the United States for 15 years, and I know this is a can-do country. We have proven that we are the can-do shipyard in the United States.”Gov. Rendell, who as Mayor of Philadelphia, helped attract Kvaerner to the city and forge a landmark public-private economic development partnership said, “Thousands of jobs have been created and are continuing to be created through our joint efforts. With the help of so many elected officials, including my predecessor, Gov. Ridge, and countless others, Kvaerner Philadelphia stands as a model to the rest of America of how you can transform a former military base into a successful major employer and economic engine that benefits not just one region, but an entire nation.”The Governor noted that more than 140 KPSI workers were rehired and retrained after they lost their jobs in the Naval Shipyard closing.“The proposed bareboat charters of ten newbuild Jones Act product tankers by subsidiaries of OSG represent a significant commitment,” said Morten Arntzen, President & CEO of OSG. “For the Jones Act fleet to grow, it will require yards like KPSI and shipping companies like OSG that are committed to quality and willing to think and act creatively and boldly. The ten ship program is OSG’s first giant step to building a world-class U.S. flag shipping business.”David Meehan, Kvaerner Philadelphia’s CEO, and a Pennsylvania native, said, “This is a proud moment for us as a company that is building the highest quality ships our nation’s maritime economy depends on”. He said while performance and productivity are continually improving, the KPSI team recognizes they are in a fiercely competitive market place. “In this business you are only as good as the next ship you build so we strive for continuous improvement in every area, from productivity to profitability.” Meehan also noted that the new fleet of tankers meets the international standards for double-hulled tankers which must be in service by 2015, replacing an aging fleet of single-hulled tankers. He said the disastrous crude oil spill from a single-hull tanker in the Delaware River last year is a stark reminder to his team of the vital need for their new ships.He also praised the contributions of Manny Stamatakis, the former Chair of the Delaware River Port Corporation (DRPA), and now Chair of the Philadelphia Shipyard Development Corporation (PSDC) and others who have worked to preserve and promote the highest standards of shipbuilding at the Kvaerner yard. About Kjell Inge RøkkeMr. Rokke, the Main Shareholder of Kvaerner ASA, is an entrepreneur, an industrialist, and an internationalist. His career in business began in 1982 in Seattle, Washington, with the purchase of a fishing trawler and that led to his building a network of leading worldwide fisheries. A builder of businesses in diverse sectors, ranging from shipbuilding to materials handling, he has invested significantly in the United States and Norway. His business interests include the Aker Group, Norway’s largest employer in the private sector and Kvaerner, the parent company of both KPSI and newly-formed ASC. The Aker Group is a global technology and service provider to the oil, gas energy and process industries, the fifth largest shipbuilding group in the world, and one of Europe’s leading providers of fresh fish to consumer markets.
© Kværner ASA - Fjordallèen 16, P.O.Box 1423 Vika, N-0115 OSLO, Tel +47 24 13 00 00 Disclaimer
OSG, Inc. agrees to long-term charter.
Former President Bill Clinton Delivers Keynote Remarks At Shipyard
Oh, yeah. The kind of people that buy/borrow/operate tankers are likely to be really impressed by the running mate of the author of Earth in the Balance.
The team that rescued Kvaerner’s Philadelphia Shipyard (KPSI) from closure in 2001 today announced a $1 Billion, 10 double-hulled tanker deal and the formation of a new wholly-owned, U.S.-based subsidiary that will charter the environmentally-sound ships in the growing Jones Act domestic shipping market. The ships will be chartered for at least five years at a cost of more than $500 Million after delivery to Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (NYSE:OSG) for service in the Jones Act domestic shipping market.
A ceremonial contract-signing was held in the heart of the shipyard along the Delaware River. It was attended by more than 1,000 workers, customers, suppliers, and friends of the Yard, including former President Bill Clinton, who served as the keynote speaker. He signed into law the 1993 National Shipbuilding Initiative that mightily helped a struggling American maritime industry through streamlining regulations and a $220 million new technology support package. President Clinton said he was proud to play a role in the successful, bi-partisan public-private partnership that set the stage for the shipyard revitalization.“I never lost faith in the American shipbuilding industry and neither did so many of our public servants, workers and private businesses,” said President Clinton. “I salute the men and women of Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard for showing all of us once again that it is possible to achieve great things even in the face of seemingly impossible odds. Today’s announcement is good news for the workers here, for America’s maritime industry and for the environment.” On the site of America’s first naval base, completely rebuilt by Kvaerner to world-class specifications, company officials were also joined by Gov. Ed Rendell, Mayor John F. Street, U.S. Representative Curt Weldon, and numerous other local, state, and federal government officials who came together under the red-white-and-blue banner, “Building the Future”. There were several major positive announcements for the region and America’s commercial shipbuilding industry. These included:• Kick off a new, five-year, 10-ship (plus an option for two additional vessels), $1 Billion Product Tanker Program, believed to be the largest of its kind in American commercial shipbuilding. KPSI will build efficient, cleaner-burning, environmentally sound double-hulled tankers for the domestic Jones Act market. The leading-edge ship design is being provided through an exclusive, five-year agreement with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. The order, which includes an option for two additional tankers, calls for the fist delivery in 2006 and order completion by 2010. • Formation of ASC (American Shipping, Inc.) as part of Kvaerner ASA, which will in turn own KPSI and charter the new tankers to domestic customers, including major oil and chemical producers and suppliers. Brad Mulholland, the former President of Matson Navigation Company, Inc is serving as CEO of the new subsidiary. He said the new, MT-46 Veteran Class, 46,000 dwt tankers will be among the most efficient tankers ever built• ASC’s first new customer, pending the approval of both company boards of directors, is OSG, the second largest publicly listed tanker owner in the world (measured by number of vessels.) Its fleet totals 99 and with this charter, it would be doubling the size of its Jones Act fleet. • News that the turnaround initiated in December 2001, under Kvaerner’s new management, headed by Mr. Røkke, is succeeding. He rebuked previous management plans to close the yard and focused significant energy and resources on building a stable future supported by steadily increasing efficiency and productivity, KPSI recently declared its first annual profit for calendar year 2004 It has sold its first four ships to Matson with two ships in service and reporting excellent results. The next KPSI-built Matson container vessel is scheduled to be christened May 21.• Start of construction of a new permanent office building on the KPSI site replacing temporary trailer offices the company has occupied since acquiring the facility in 1997. This is another tangible sign that KPSI is “here and here to stay.”Mr. Røkke, the self-made industrialist who believed from the outset that the Philadelphia yard could aggressively compete in the Jones Act market, thanked President Clinton for his contributions to the American maritime industry and to the health and safety of the world. He praised the shipyard’s tireless supporters and the dedication and determination of shipyard workers and the job they are doing to make Kvaerner Philadelphia a more efficient – and profitable – business.“I am proud to be able to show how well the people at the yard have stood up to the challenge of turning this Navy yard into the most competitive yard in the Jones Act market”, he said. “Based on the foundation of bold political decisions in the 1990s, a committed work force now produces great ships, built efficiently and with love and care. I lived and worked in the United States for 15 years, and I know this is a can-do country. We have proven that we are the can-do shipyard in the United States.”Gov. Rendell, who as Mayor of Philadelphia, helped attract Kvaerner to the city and forge a landmark public-private economic development partnership said, “Thousands of jobs have been created and are continuing to be created through our joint efforts. With the help of so many elected officials, including my predecessor, Gov. Ridge, and countless others, Kvaerner Philadelphia stands as a model to the rest of America of how you can transform a former military base into a successful major employer and economic engine that benefits not just one region, but an entire nation.”The Governor noted that more than 140 KPSI workers were rehired and retrained after they lost their jobs in the Naval Shipyard closing.“The proposed bareboat charters of ten newbuild Jones Act product tankers by subsidiaries of OSG represent a significant commitment,” said Morten Arntzen, President & CEO of OSG. “For the Jones Act fleet to grow, it will require yards like KPSI and shipping companies like OSG that are committed to quality and willing to think and act creatively and boldly. The ten ship program is OSG’s first giant step to building a world-class U.S. flag shipping business.”David Meehan, Kvaerner Philadelphia’s CEO, and a Pennsylvania native, said, “This is a proud moment for us as a company that is building the highest quality ships our nation’s maritime economy depends on”. He said while performance and productivity are continually improving, the KPSI team recognizes they are in a fiercely competitive market place. “In this business you are only as good as the next ship you build so we strive for continuous improvement in every area, from productivity to profitability.” Meehan also noted that the new fleet of tankers meets the international standards for double-hulled tankers which must be in service by 2015, replacing an aging fleet of single-hulled tankers. He said the disastrous crude oil spill from a single-hull tanker in the Delaware River last year is a stark reminder to his team of the vital need for their new ships.He also praised the contributions of Manny Stamatakis, the former Chair of the Delaware River Port Corporation (DRPA), and now Chair of the Philadelphia Shipyard Development Corporation (PSDC) and others who have worked to preserve and promote the highest standards of shipbuilding at the Kvaerner yard. About Kjell Inge RøkkeMr. Rokke, the Main Shareholder of Kvaerner ASA, is an entrepreneur, an industrialist, and an internationalist. His career in business began in 1982 in Seattle, Washington, with the purchase of a fishing trawler and that led to his building a network of leading worldwide fisheries. A builder of businesses in diverse sectors, ranging from shipbuilding to materials handling, he has invested significantly in the United States and Norway. His business interests include the Aker Group, Norway’s largest employer in the private sector and Kvaerner, the parent company of both KPSI and newly-formed ASC. The Aker Group is a global technology and service provider to the oil, gas energy and process industries, the fifth largest shipbuilding group in the world, and one of Europe’s leading providers of fresh fish to consumer markets.
© Kværner ASA - Fjordallèen 16, P.O.Box 1423 Vika, N-0115 OSLO, Tel +47 24 13 00 00 Disclaimer
08 April 2005
Another eternal truth unveiled
Quoted in Government Computer News:
Senator Richard Shelby: "Given the amount of information agencies collect, [having] Chief Privacy Officers makes sense."
Congresscritter Tom Davis: "The Shelby legislation contradicts existing infomation policy currently executed by the CIOs."
Eternal Truth: The validity of a statement is inversely proportional to the amount of bureaucratese in the statement.
Senator Richard Shelby: "Given the amount of information agencies collect, [having] Chief Privacy Officers makes sense."
Congresscritter Tom Davis: "The Shelby legislation contradicts existing infomation policy currently executed by the CIOs."
Eternal Truth: The validity of a statement is inversely proportional to the amount of bureaucratese in the statement.
03 April 2005
Pirates sail Indonesian seas after tsunami
The pirates, believed by analysts to be part of a northern Indonesian crime syndicate, emerged just after operations wound down by more than a dozen foreign navies deployed to Indonesia's northern Aceh province at the peak of the tsunami relief effort.
The good old days when pirates were hung by the first law enforcement agency to lay their hands on them are, alas, gone.
A string of bold attacks by armed bandits in the Malacca Strait is stoking fears of a new wave of sea piracy in one of the world's busiest waterways, fueled by desperation in tsunami-ravaged northern Indonesia.
The three attacks in two weeks bore the trademark style of pirates who have stalked the strait for decades: grappling hooks were hurled as the bandits clambered aboard, abducting crew at gun point and then vanishing in speedboats, demanding ransom.
"It's going to get worse because the money from piracy is so good," said the managing director of a Singapore shipping company whose ships have been ransacked by bandits in the past and who has negotiated with pirates for the release of abducted crew.
"All they have to do is pirate three or four vessels a month. Each averages about $100,000 for them, so they can bring about $4 million a year. That's a lot of money and they can well afford to pay people off," said the shipper, who declined to be identified.
The latest hits were bolder than most of the attacks of 2004 and shattered two months' of peace in the strait, through which pass about a quarter of global trade and nearly all oil imports for Japan and China, since the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami.
"Clearly the tsunami effect was to stop activity but now it's resuming and it's mainly criminal elements based on the east coast of Indonesia," said Clive Williams of the Strategic and Defense Studies Center at the Australian National University.
Three attacks in two weeks
The International Maritime Bureau's Southeast Asian piracy reporting center in Malaysia got first word of the attacks on Feb. 28 when bandits wielding machine guns ransacked a tugboat in Malaysian waters and shot its chief engineer in the leg before abducting its captain and chief officer for ransom.
Twelve days later, gunmen armed with rocket launchers stormed a fully laden chemical tanker, briefly taking control of the ship before making off with the captain and chief engineer. They were held until a ransom was paid, a regional maritime official said. Within 48 hours, 10 bandits speaking in an Indonesian dialect fired at a Japanese tugboat before boarding the ship in northern Malaysia and abducting two Japanese crew and a Filipino. They were later freed after an apparent ransom was paid.
© EITB24 - 2005
David Shirlaw
Editor SeaWaves Magazine
http://www.blogger.com/www.seawaves.com
(TEL) 604-924-5401 (FAX) 604-924-5403
The good old days when pirates were hung by the first law enforcement agency to lay their hands on them are, alas, gone.
A string of bold attacks by armed bandits in the Malacca Strait is stoking fears of a new wave of sea piracy in one of the world's busiest waterways, fueled by desperation in tsunami-ravaged northern Indonesia.
The three attacks in two weeks bore the trademark style of pirates who have stalked the strait for decades: grappling hooks were hurled as the bandits clambered aboard, abducting crew at gun point and then vanishing in speedboats, demanding ransom.
"It's going to get worse because the money from piracy is so good," said the managing director of a Singapore shipping company whose ships have been ransacked by bandits in the past and who has negotiated with pirates for the release of abducted crew.
"All they have to do is pirate three or four vessels a month. Each averages about $100,000 for them, so they can bring about $4 million a year. That's a lot of money and they can well afford to pay people off," said the shipper, who declined to be identified.
The latest hits were bolder than most of the attacks of 2004 and shattered two months' of peace in the strait, through which pass about a quarter of global trade and nearly all oil imports for Japan and China, since the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami.
"Clearly the tsunami effect was to stop activity but now it's resuming and it's mainly criminal elements based on the east coast of Indonesia," said Clive Williams of the Strategic and Defense Studies Center at the Australian National University.
Three attacks in two weeks
The International Maritime Bureau's Southeast Asian piracy reporting center in Malaysia got first word of the attacks on Feb. 28 when bandits wielding machine guns ransacked a tugboat in Malaysian waters and shot its chief engineer in the leg before abducting its captain and chief officer for ransom.
Twelve days later, gunmen armed with rocket launchers stormed a fully laden chemical tanker, briefly taking control of the ship before making off with the captain and chief engineer. They were held until a ransom was paid, a regional maritime official said. Within 48 hours, 10 bandits speaking in an Indonesian dialect fired at a Japanese tugboat before boarding the ship in northern Malaysia and abducting two Japanese crew and a Filipino. They were later freed after an apparent ransom was paid.
© EITB24 - 2005
David Shirlaw
Editor SeaWaves Magazine
http://www.blogger.com/www.seawaves.com
(TEL) 604-924-5401 (FAX) 604-924-5403
29 March 2005
USCG PROPOSING TO MAKE PERMANENT ’94 SUSPENSION OF THE CRASH STOP REQUIREMENTS IN TANKER ESCORT RULES
The Coast Guard is proposing to make permanent the 1994 suspension of their crash stop requirements in tanker escort rules. Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management Facility on or before June 27, 2005. You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket number USCG-2003-14734 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S. Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one of the following methods:
(1) Website: http://dms.dot.gov.
(2) Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(3) Fax: (202) 493-2251.
(4) Delivery: Room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is (202) 366-9329.
(5) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
If you have questions on this proposed rule, call Lieutenant Sam Stevens, G-MSE-1, telephone (202) 267-0173, e-mail: SStevens@comdt.uscg.mil. If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Ms. Andrea M. Jenkins, Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone (202) 366-0271.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Participation and Request for Comments We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting comments and related materials. All comments received will be posted, without change, to http://dms.dot.gov and will include any personal information you have provided. We have an agreement with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to use the Docket Management Facility. Please see DOT's ``Privacy Act'' paragraph below.
Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include your name and address, identify the docket number for this rulemaking (USCG-2003-14734), indicate the specific section of this document to which each comment applies, and give the reason for each comment. You may submit your comments and material by electronic means, mail, fax, or delivery to the Docket Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES; but please submit your comments and material by only one means. If you submit them by mail or delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and material received during the comment period. We may change this proposed rule in view of them.
Viewing comments and documents: To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time and conduct a simple search using the docket number. You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Background
This rulemaking addresses ``unfinished business'' from 1994. In 1994, we published the final rule entitled Escort Vessels for Certain Tankers under docket number CGD 91-202, which adopted 33 CFR part 168 (57 FR 30058, Aug. 19, 1994). The rule drew on a study to determine the capabilities of escort vessels to control disabled tankers. The study was published in two parts (59 FR 1411, Jan. 10, 1994; 60 FR 6345, Feb. 1, 1995). Preliminary data for the second study became available after publication of the final rule, but before the rule took effect. This preliminary data indicated that it might be dangerous to implement the final rule's crash stop provision, 33 CFR 168.50(b)(2). Therefore, on November 1, 1994 (59 FR 54519), we suspended the crash stop provision before it could take effect with the other provisions of part 168. No further action was taken with respect to the crash stop provision, and it remains suspended today.
As long as the crash stop provision's suspension remains in effect, we must continue to report the CGD 91-202 rulemaking on the Uniform Regulatory Agenda of the United States, the Federal Government's official list of ongoing regulatory projects. CGD 91-202 appears in the most recent edition of the Agenda at 69 FR 73240 (Dec. 13, 2004). Twice each year, the Coast Guard spends valuable administrative time maintaining its Uniform Regulatory Agenda reports, whether or not a reported project is active.
For the reasons given under “Removal of Crash Stop Provision,” the Coast Guard maintains the position it first adopted in 1994, that the crash stop provision should not be implemented. Therefore, it is the Coast Guard position that the crash stop provision's 1994 suspension should be made permanent, thereby allowing us to complete the CGD 91-202 rulemaking.
Since 1998, the Coast Guard has used the Department of Transportation's Docket Management System (DMS) to make its rulemaking documents widely available to the public. DMS assigns unique docket numbers to each rulemaking, and the format of those docket numbers is not compatible with the Coast Guard's pre-1998 conventions for numbering dockets. Therefore, if we are ever to complete CGD 91-202 in a way that makes our actions visible to the public through DMS, we must complete it under a new, DMS-compatible docket number. For that reason, we opened the current rulemaking under DMS docket number USCG-2003-14734. In essence, when we complete USCG-2003-14734, we will also complete CGD 91-202.
(1) Website: http://dms.dot.gov.
(2) Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(3) Fax: (202) 493-2251.
(4) Delivery: Room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is (202) 366-9329.
(5) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
If you have questions on this proposed rule, call Lieutenant Sam Stevens, G-MSE-1, telephone (202) 267-0173, e-mail: SStevens@comdt.uscg.mil. If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Ms. Andrea M. Jenkins, Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone (202) 366-0271.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Participation and Request for Comments We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting comments and related materials. All comments received will be posted, without change, to http://dms.dot.gov and will include any personal information you have provided. We have an agreement with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to use the Docket Management Facility. Please see DOT's ``Privacy Act'' paragraph below.
Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include your name and address, identify the docket number for this rulemaking (USCG-2003-14734), indicate the specific section of this document to which each comment applies, and give the reason for each comment. You may submit your comments and material by electronic means, mail, fax, or delivery to the Docket Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES; but please submit your comments and material by only one means. If you submit them by mail or delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and material received during the comment period. We may change this proposed rule in view of them.
Viewing comments and documents: To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time and conduct a simple search using the docket number. You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Background
This rulemaking addresses ``unfinished business'' from 1994. In 1994, we published the final rule entitled Escort Vessels for Certain Tankers under docket number CGD 91-202, which adopted 33 CFR part 168 (57 FR 30058, Aug. 19, 1994). The rule drew on a study to determine the capabilities of escort vessels to control disabled tankers. The study was published in two parts (59 FR 1411, Jan. 10, 1994; 60 FR 6345, Feb. 1, 1995). Preliminary data for the second study became available after publication of the final rule, but before the rule took effect. This preliminary data indicated that it might be dangerous to implement the final rule's crash stop provision, 33 CFR 168.50(b)(2). Therefore, on November 1, 1994 (59 FR 54519), we suspended the crash stop provision before it could take effect with the other provisions of part 168. No further action was taken with respect to the crash stop provision, and it remains suspended today.
As long as the crash stop provision's suspension remains in effect, we must continue to report the CGD 91-202 rulemaking on the Uniform Regulatory Agenda of the United States, the Federal Government's official list of ongoing regulatory projects. CGD 91-202 appears in the most recent edition of the Agenda at 69 FR 73240 (Dec. 13, 2004). Twice each year, the Coast Guard spends valuable administrative time maintaining its Uniform Regulatory Agenda reports, whether or not a reported project is active.
For the reasons given under “Removal of Crash Stop Provision,” the Coast Guard maintains the position it first adopted in 1994, that the crash stop provision should not be implemented. Therefore, it is the Coast Guard position that the crash stop provision's 1994 suspension should be made permanent, thereby allowing us to complete the CGD 91-202 rulemaking.
Since 1998, the Coast Guard has used the Department of Transportation's Docket Management System (DMS) to make its rulemaking documents widely available to the public. DMS assigns unique docket numbers to each rulemaking, and the format of those docket numbers is not compatible with the Coast Guard's pre-1998 conventions for numbering dockets. Therefore, if we are ever to complete CGD 91-202 in a way that makes our actions visible to the public through DMS, we must complete it under a new, DMS-compatible docket number. For that reason, we opened the current rulemaking under DMS docket number USCG-2003-14734. In essence, when we complete USCG-2003-14734, we will also complete CGD 91-202.
28 March 2005
Beware the bite of a chained dog!
Journal of Commerce -- March 25, 2005
Mariners victims of new rules: SCI
New anti-terror and environmental regulations are increasingly treating today's merchant seamen like pirates, said Douglas Stevenson, director of the Center for Seafarer 's Rights of New York and New Jersey, an arm of the Seamen's Church Institute.
Let us repeat the mantra of the bureaucrat:
"It is more important to be seen doing something than it is to do something effective."
Stevenson, a retired U.S. Coast Guard commander, said foreign crews are being kept in the United States, sometimes in jail, because they were on board ships (schedules) when an accident occurred that spilled oil, the Connecticut Post reported.
They're being held as material witnesses to pollution crimes," he said during a shipping conference in Stamford, Conn., and that in at least one California case, a crew was actually shackled by federal marshals and kept in jail.
Assuming God made lawyers, this is what God made lawyers for: when you're dealing with an agency that's Judge, Jury, and Executioner, you should have a mantra of your own: "Talk to my lawyer."
Mariners victims of new rules: SCI
New anti-terror and environmental regulations are increasingly treating today's merchant seamen like pirates, said Douglas Stevenson, director of the Center for Seafarer 's Rights of New York and New Jersey, an arm of the Seamen's Church Institute.
Let us repeat the mantra of the bureaucrat:
"It is more important to be seen doing something than it is to do something effective."
Stevenson, a retired U.S. Coast Guard commander, said foreign crews are being kept in the United States, sometimes in jail, because they were on board ships (schedules) when an accident occurred that spilled oil, the Connecticut Post reported.
They're being held as material witnesses to pollution crimes," he said during a shipping conference in Stamford, Conn., and that in at least one California case, a crew was actually shackled by federal marshals and kept in jail.
Assuming God made lawyers, this is what God made lawyers for: when you're dealing with an agency that's Judge, Jury, and Executioner, you should have a mantra of your own: "Talk to my lawyer."
Of note: at a meeting sponsored, in part, by the Coast Guard, a maritime attorney said much the same thing.
Stevenson also said security companies are charging seafarers exorbitant fees in order to gain access to land facilities in ports under new security regulations.
26 March 2005
US NAVY REORGANIZATION
The maritime world, especially the policy world, may love the Navy or not but may not ignore.
From Power and Control:
"The Cold War model designed in response to the needs of the Cold War and the lessons learned from the Pearl Harbor attack was to have 1/3 of the ships deployed, 1/3 being refitted, and 1/3 training for deployment. This was designed to prevent a sneak attack from destroying our Navy while at the same time giving the sailors enough time at home to maintain a semblance of family life for career officers and enlisted."
From the Defense Industry Daily
From Power and Control:
"The Cold War model designed in response to the needs of the Cold War and the lessons learned from the Pearl Harbor attack was to have 1/3 of the ships deployed, 1/3 being refitted, and 1/3 training for deployment. This was designed to prevent a sneak attack from destroying our Navy while at the same time giving the sailors enough time at home to maintain a semblance of family life for career officers and enlisted."
From the Defense Industry Daily
25 March 2005
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.
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.
22 March 2005
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!
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..."
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..."
21 March 2005
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
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
18 March 2005
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
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
17 March 2005
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.
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.
16 March 2005
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.
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.
15 March 2005
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
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
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