Systems Receives

Cummings: Administrative Law Functions Should be Separate from Coast Guard

Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Chairman of Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, convened the Subcommittee to examine the Coast Guard's administrative law system. At the conclusion of the hearing, he released the following statement: "Today, the Subcommittee received testimony regarding the Coast Guard's administrative law system from two former Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) suggesting that during their tenure, they worked in an atmosphere that did not support their exercise of judicial independence in the consideration of cases. "Additionally, serious allegations were raised that, if true, would imply that patently improper actions may have been committed to direct an ALJ to decide matters in the Coast Guard's favor. "Such testimony is obviously deeply disturbing and, if true, would suggest that the scales of the Coast Guard's administrative law system are not evenly balanced." The Subcommittee received testimony from Mr. Peter A. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Rosemary Denson, and Ms. Jeffie Massey, each of whom is a former Coast Guard Administrative Law Judge (ALJ); Mr. Abraham Dash, a Professor Emeritus of Law at the University of Maryland School of Law; Mr. William Hewig, an attorney who represents mariners before the Coast Guard's administrative law system; and Rear Admiral Brian Salerno and Captain Thomas Sparks, two senior officers of the United States Coast Guard.

West Coast Ferry Industry at All-Time High

In terms of new deliveries, the West Coast ferry industry will probably not see another period to match the past 18 months for some time. All three of the large government-operated ferry systems in the Pacific Northwest - Washington State, BC Ferries and the Alaska Marine Highway System - received new tonnage, as did a number of smaller operators along the coast. Still under construction are two high-speed vehicle-carrying catamarans for BC Ferries and a single passenger-only high-speed cat

New Workboat Management System Introduced

A system touted as the first fully integrated workboat management system - dubbed GlobeOffshore - will be unveiled by Globe Wireless at the International Workboat Show in New Orleans, to be held Dec. 1-3. GlobeOffshore records vital data onboard the vessel and provides this data in a timely and accurate manner to users onshore. The system allows shoreside users to receive fleet reports, track vessels, and improve incident response time by making all appropriate information automatically

Rutter Receives Wheelmark for VDR

Rutter Technologies Inc. has received authority to affix the Mark of Conformity (wheelmark) that is granted by the EU to its voyage data recorders (VDRs). The wheelmark signifies that the Rutter VDR-100 is compliant with the EU Council Directive 96/98/EC on marine equipment, also known as the Marine Equipment Directive (MED). Now that the first date for mandatory carriage has passed (July 1st, 2002), the VDR has moved from Annex 2 to Annex 1 of the MED and the wheelmark will be required to

WSF Onboard With Last Call

Washington State Ferries has purchased the Last Call Marine system for use in every wheelhouse of their operational fleet. Last Call was developed and is manufactured by S.H. Systems of Everett, Washington. The patent-pending Last Call Marine system records up to sixty seconds of the last transmission received, then amplifies and repeats the message with, yes, the push of a button. The unit simply plugs into the external speaker jack of most any VHF radio

USCG Streamlines Ship Security Process

Beginning January 31, members of the maritime industry required to provide arrival and departure information to the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be able to do so through the submission of one report. The Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) require vessels to submit crew, passenger, vessel, voyage and cargo information for safety and security purposes and for the enforcement of U.S. immigration, import, and export laws, prior to arrival in a U

Flir Systems Gets $6.7M Navy Order

Flir Systems Inc., a maker of thermal imaging systems, on Tuesday said it received an order worth $6.7 million from the Navy. The order is the first under a $35 million infrared imaging systems contract with the Navy. Future orders depend on available defense funding, the company said.

Keppel Singmarine Secures Contract for FSO Vessel

Keppel Singmarine Pte Ltd (Keppel Singmarine) has clinched a $87.2m contract to build a Floating Storage Offloading system (FSO) unit for LUKOIL –NIZHNEVOLZHSKNEFT (LUKOIL-NVN), a subsidiary of the Russian oil company, LUKOIL Oil Company. The 28,000 tons (dwt) Ice-Class FSO is a new design by Marine Technology Development Pte Ltd (MTDTM), the design arm of Keppel Singmarine. The MTD13028FSO-IC FSO is designed with provisions for forecastle deck structure for single point mooring

puraDYN Receives ISO 9001:2000 Certification

puraDYN Filter Technologies Inc., the global bypass oil filtration system provider, has received ISO 9001:2000 certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ISO 9001:2000 is a series of internationally-accepted, multi-part quality management systems for industry-wide standardization applied to manufacturing and service organizations. Jim Gaynor, Director of Manufacturing and Operations, said

CleanBallast Approved by USCG

As one of the first ballast water treatment systems, RWO’s CleanBallast has received the AMS approval .   This certificate is awarded by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and is considered to be the crucial supporting requirement for future purchasing decisions of shipowners and yards.   The AMS approval is just the latest success in a series of achievements RWO accomplished in the past months