Commandant Thad Allen News

Make no mistake about it: the Arctic is open for business. The cumulative environmental footprint of oil exploration outfits, merchant shipping, mining, eco-tourism and the cruise ship trades is thus far minor, but the potential for an exponential increase in commerce – especially if the climate trends now affecting the region continue – is seemingly limitless. For the maritime industry, the down side to this is as big as the most promising business opportunity to come along in decades. The utility of a Northern Sea Route that follows the Siberian coastline, producing impressive time and fuel savings, a reduced emissions footprint, and elimination of canal transit fees for shippers moving goods between Europe and Asia has already been proven.

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk in conjunction with the Connecticut Maritime Association and supported by The Connecticut Audubon Society and Mystic Aquarium will host an evening seminar on the challenges of responding to a major oil spill. The program, while shaped by the three organizations, is in fact the product of a high school student led initiative entitled e3. Standing for education, environment and energy the initiative is the result of a desire to develop something positive on a local level to the tragic spill going on in the US Gulf. The evening seminar will demonstrate some of the heroic and practiced response efforts being applied by industry and local communities to the environmental attack.

The following is a transcript from a May 1, 3:52 p.m. EDT, press briefing by Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen, and Assistant to the President for Homeland Security John Brennan on ongoing response to the oil spill following the Deepwater Horizon incident. ADMIRAL ALLEN:  Thank you, Denis. Good afternoon to you all. This afternoon it was announced that I would be the National Incident Commander for this continuing response. I'd like to provide some context at the outset and make a couple of comments about myself personally and some background that I have. And then John Brennan will make some remarks. Regarding this incident, as you all know…

On October 16th, the United States will host, along with the International Maritime Organization, the 2009 World Maritime Day Parallel Event. This is the first and probably only time, that we will be the Parallel Country. Because of its position at the IMO, our United States Coast Guard is the lead agency, with support from the State Department, the Environmental Protection Agency, MARAD and NOAA. This event provides us with a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate to the world the strength and depth of the American-based maritime community. The United States is the largest trading partner in the world, and therefore the largest global maritime participant. For too long, we have not allowed our collective presence be visible.

Commandant Thad Allen, in a recently signed letter, announced that the United States will be the host of the 2009 World Maritime Day Parallel Event being held in New York City and around the country on October 16. The event will be marked in New York with a delegate conference, a “Green Ship” Exhibition, Student Science Fair and a reception. At the urging of Commandant Allen, activities with marine environmental protection themes will take place in ports around the nation marking the event. “We are honored to be the hosts of the 2009 International Maritime Organization (IMO) World Maritime Day Parallel Event. The Parallel Event is an opportunity for the maritime community to come together with the public to celebrate the contributions of the maritime industry…

Scheduled to take place on Thursday, October 16, 2008 at the in , the Annual Salute will honor a select group of Coast Guard members with the Coast Guard Foundation Awards for Heroism. The gala will be emceed by Robert J. Flynn, a director of the Coast Guard Foundation and president of Mallory Jones Lynch Flynn & Assoc. Inc., and feature ceremonial music by the United States Coast Guard Band. Speakers will include Commandant Thad Allen who will also present awards, and Atlantic Area Commander, Vice Admiral Robert J. Papp, who will present colors. In addition to celebrating exemplary service, the event will raise funds to support the Foundation’s important projects and programs including the Evergreen Fund college scholarship for children…

Organized by the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) and the North American Maritime Ministry Association (NAMMA), World Maritime Day Observance will be held in on October 23th at the Union League Club. This event will be the third World Maritime Day Observance held in the United States, which will be hosting the parallel World Maritime Day event in 2009. This year’s theme is “IMO: 60 years in the service of shipping”, which follows previous years’ focus on environmental issues. NAMEPA joins the North American Maritime Ministry Association in hosting the event which commences with a worship service at Church of our Saviour on , followed by a luncheon presentation of NAMMA’s annual Seafarer Salute and Joe Gerson Humanitarian Awards at the Union League Club.

U.S. Coast Guard has awarded the Foss Maritime Company its most prestigious environmental honor: the 2008 William M. Benkert ‘gold’ award for marine environmental protection. It is Foss’ second major ‘green’ award in less than a month. In early June, Foss won the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Excellence Award for development of its low emission ‘Green Dolphin’ hybrid tug, the first time a maritime operating company has ever received the EPA’s honor. Foss also received a Commendation – Environmental Award from BP Shipping, and honorable mention for the ’s 2008 Marine Environmental Business of the Year award. Foss Maritime President Gary Faber and other top company officials were in , CA., to receive the Benkert award from Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen.

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) last week called on the Coast Guard to strengthen standards for preparedness and recovery in the wake of the Cosco Busan oil spill. Senator Feinstein urged the Commandant of the Coast Guard to update the prepared contingency plan for the San Francisco area. Senator Feinstein also urged the Coast Guard to require that all ships carrying a large amount of fuel be double-hulled. Senator Feinstein’s letter comes in the wake of a disappointing preliminary report released by the Coast Guard last week, which analyzed the response to the Cosco Busan spill.

By a vote of 426-0, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2722, the Integrated Deepwater Reform Act, authored by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. The legislation will strengthen the management of the Coast Guard's Deepwater procurement program, which has been marred by failures in contractor performance and Coast Guard management. "I am pleased that my colleagues joined me with such overwhelming support in passing this bill. H.R. 2722 offers the necessary steps to address the disappointing outcomes from procurements we have witnessed from the Deepwater program up to this point.

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on the Integrated Deepwater Program Reform Act, H.R. 2722. The legislation, authored by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, would strengthen the management of the Coast Guard's Deepwater procurement program-which has been marred by failures in contractor performance and Coast Guard management. Management of the Deepwater Program, a $24b, 25-year program through which the Coast Guard will replace or rehabilitate all of its cutters and aircraft, was awarded in 2002 through a performance-based contract to a private sector team comprised of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, now known as the Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS).

U.S. Coast Guard will beef up oversight of a $24 billion modernization project run by a Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. joint venture, amid mounting delays, soaring costs and design flaws, sources familiar with the move said on Monday. The venture, Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS), will continue work on the program to overhaul Coast Guard ships, helicopters, airplanes and communications, known as Deepwater. But the Coast Guard will take over responsibility as the "lead integrator" or program manager, a move aimed at answering recent lawmaker demands. The Coast Guard also plans to announce the permanent retirement of eight 123-foot patrol boats that were pulled from service late last year due to hull problems, the sources said.

In the wake of Coast Guard Commandant’s Thad Allen’s report to Congress regarding the Coast Guard and the 2008 budget, question linger as to the progress and future direction of the Integrated Deepwater System (IDS), the Guard’s far-reaching but recently embattled plan to replace or modernize major Coast Guard cutters, offshore patrol boats, fixed-wing aircraft, multi-missioned helicopters and the communications equipment, sensors, and logistics systems. In his appearance before the U.S. It appears that all options are open regarding the future of the contract. We need to evaluate all options, and we haven't made a decision yet, Allen said, according to a Bloomberg report. We're asking, can the contract be modified to meet some of the goals expressed in the hearing?

According to reports, the U.S. Coast Guard may not renew its $24 b contract with Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. to modernize the service's aging ships, the Coast Guard's top eofficial said. The service is considering a number of options as it negotiates with the two companies about renewing their contract to continue the Deepwater modernization program, Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen told reporters after a Senate subcommittee hearing. The $3bcontract extension would start in June and continue for 43 months. Senators from both parties said the Coast Guard has done a poor job of managing a program which, since its 2002 inception, has experienced delays, cost overruns and design flaws.