Obey News

The Federal Maritime Commission approved a settlement agreement reached between its Bureau of Enforcement (BoE) and Hapag-Lloyd AG (Hapag-Lloyd) where the ocean carrier will pay a $2 million civil penalty to address alleged violations related to their detention and demurrage practices.“To restore full confidence in our ocean freight system, vigorous enforcement of FMC rules is necessary. Specifically, we must ensure powerful ocean carriers obey the Shipping Act when dealing with American importers and exporters.

Robosys’ latest product, Voyager 100, is aimed at commercial and workboat vessels and is currently going through a vigorous system-verification series of tests to check and verify that the system is avoiding collisions by making safe and COLREGS compliant decisions – autonomously.For more than a decade, Robosys has been providing Advanced Navigation Systems for manned and unmanned vessels, offering a 24/7 autonomous Situation Awareness capability to keep vessels safe from collision with other vessels or objects.

My Friend the Sea is a story about growing up at sea, set against the background of ships and the beauty of the oceans. It's a tale of ambition, adversity and dealing with prejudice. Packed full of adventures and stories of traveling the world on ships, visiting far off lands, and meeting all manner of people, including eccentric distant relatives in Australia, a drunken captain, another who was a tyrant, and natives in Fiji, plus shipboard romances, a mutiny, and a growing need for the author to change the way he lives.I am a doctor…

A great deal of debate and speculation surrounds autonomous sailing. While MARIN does not pretend to know all the answers, it is taking practical steps to assist in its development.The introduction of further autonomy in shipping first aims to facilitate much higher safety standards, but at the same time, a reduction in manning. MARIN is focusing on three main areas in relation to autonomous sailing. We believe it is important to study the ship in relation to traffic control, to understand nautical safety issues and the definition of new manning roles…

The Libyan coastguard intercepted a humanitarian rescue ship in the Mediterranean on Tuesday, ordering it to sail to Tripoli or risk being targeted, a Reuters photographer aboard said. The Golfo Azzurro ship operated by Spanish humanitarian organisation Proactiva Open Arms was repeatedly contacted by a Libyan coastguard vessel, according to radio transmissions heard by the photographer. "You are sailing in our waters for months now and you are conducting activities that are causing problems to Libyan state sovereignty," said a man who identified himself as part of the Libyan coastguard, speaking in English. "Therefore I ask you to alter your course towards Tripoli port. If you do not obey the orders right now... you will be targeted," the voice said.

A Spanish aid group operating in the Mediterranean said on Tuesday one of its boats had been barred by Italy and Malta from disembarking migrants rescued two days ago. Humanitarian groups have played a growing role in rescuing migrants who pay criminal gangs for passage from Libya, prompting accusations in Italy that they are facilitating people smuggling and encouraging migration. The groups deny this. It was not clear why the Golfo Azzurro, run by Barcelona-based Proactiva Open Arms, was not allowed to dock in Lampedusa. It is now in international waters. The Italian coastguard could not be reached for comment. "Golfo Azzurro rescued three people 100 miles from the Libyan coast in an (Italian) coastguard operation 48 hours ago and we are still without authorisation to disembark…

Environmental regulations for ships are getting more stringent, but automated sensor technology could help ship operators remain in compliance. The recent agreement signed in Paris, at the UN Climate Change Conference, will require all industries to keep reducing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Although there was no specific mention of shipping, the aim of keeping global temperature rises below 2ºC this century will require the industry to play its part – as it is responsible for about 2% of global CO2 emissions.

Philippine fishermen threw fire bombs at Chinese law enforcement vessels in the South China Sea, China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, after Philippine media said fishermen had been struck by bottles hurled from Chinese coast guard ships. China and the Philippines have long exchanged accusations about each other's behaviour in the disputed South China Sea. China claims most of the energy-rich waters through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims. Philippine media said this week that a group of fishermen had been chased away from Scarborough Shoal by Chinese coast guards who hurled bottles at them. The fishermen then responded with rocks, the reports said.

On February 16, 2016, Judge Carl J. Barbier of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana granted summary judgment in favor of the various commercial oil spill response companies involved in the federal government’s response to the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The responders had been sued by numerous individuals claiming that they incurred damages, including personal injury and/or medical monitoring claims for exposure or other injury resulting from the post-explosion and spill clean-up efforts. Plaintiffs fell into five categories: (1) crew involved in the Vessels of Opportunity (VoO) program…

A Brazilian federal court on Thursday ordered the suspension of activities at Vale SA's Port of Tubarão because of pollution concerns, halting the world's largest iron ore exporter's ability to ship more than a third of its output. The ruling by the court in Vitoria was made as part of a police investigation at the giant man-made port as Vale comes under increasing pressure over its environmental record in Brazil after a dam burst at a mine run by its Samarco joint venture in October, killing at least 17 people.

Whether voluntarily or as required by the International Safety Management Code, the American Waterways Operators’ (AWO) Responsible Carrier Program, or some other rule or regulation, investigations of accidents and near-miss situations are routinely conducted by companies in the maritime industry. This is due to the widespread recognition that careful examination of the root causes of such incidents can help to prevent future occurrences. Faulty procedures, defective equipment, and inadequate training can all be identified in the investigation exercise.

Striking Israeli dockworkers defied a court order on Thursday and shut down the country's two main seaports for a second day in protest at the creation of two new foreign-run ports. Spokesmen for the ports of Ashdod and Haifa said 2,400 workers had left their posts and union leaders had gone underground. Forty ships were stuck at quays or off the coast waiting to be unloaded. "The workers made a serious mistake this time," said Transport Minister Israel Katz. The government, frustrated by labour disputes that have disrupted Israel's trade arteries for years, signed contracts with two foreign companies on Thursday to operate terminals adjacent to the state-run ports of Ashdod and Haifa.

Turkish coastguards found more than 300 refugees, mostly Syrians, when they seized a cargo ship they had opened fired on for failing obey an order to stop off Turkey's western coast, the regional governor said on Friday. Refugee trafficking in the seas around Turkey is a major problem. Turkey itself has kept its borders open to refugees since the start of Syria's civil war four years ago, and around 2 million people have fled across the frontier. Police arrested three crew and found the 337 immigrants after seizing the 59-meter-long vessel late on Thursday as it passed through the Dardanelles strait. The passengers were taken to a nearby sports hall for questioning and health checks, the local governor's office said.

China has to comply with any ruling on competing territorial claims with the Philippines in the South China Sea even if it will not take part in case before Hague court, opined Philippine judge, reports Bloomberg. Philippine Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio said that it doesn’t matter if China doesn’t appear, if the tribunal finds that there is jurisdiction, the tribunal will proceed. His country doesn’t want anyone, any state to resort to armed force in settling this dispute, he affirmed. Earlier in January 2013, China has refused to participate in the case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that the Philippines brought.

USS Tortuga's (LSD 46) Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Thomas Goudreau and Executive Officer, Cmdr. John Fleming, were relieved of their duties Dec. 16, due to loss of confidence in their ability to safely operate and navigate the ship and their credibility to lead the crew. At approximately 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 6, USS Tortuga (LSD 46) made contact with Thimble Shoals buoy (1TS) while enroute to her scheduled anchorage off the coast of Virginia. The allision caused the buoy to become adrift as well as over $2.5M damage to the ship. The ship entered National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) repair facility in Norfolk, where repairs were completed Dec. 11. Following an official command investigation, Commander, Amphibious Squadron Four, Capt.

Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of the boating season and is known as one of the busiest recreational boating weekends on the Ohio River. With approximately 2,000 boaters taking to the water, the increased recreational traffic presents additional safety hazards. Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Cincinnati would like boaters to know special rules are in place for Labor Day and Riverfest and would like to remind people to exercise safe boating practices. The Coast Guard will be enforcing a no-wake zone…

China's capital has ordered more than 50 companies to shut down this year in an effort to cut pollution but pushing factories out could raise objections in surrounding areas reluctant to host Beijing's polluters. Smog-shrouded Beijing and the surrounding province of Hebei have become a front in a "war against pollution" declared by Premier Li Keqiang last month. But experts say efforts to cut coal consumption and industrial output in big cities like Beijing is likely to put pressure on other regions to endure more pollution to keep the economy growing, with overall coal consumption expected to rise by a quarter from 2011 to 2015. "Moving Beijing's plants to Hebei isn't the best way…

Libya may have averted a state collapse by striking a deal with eastern rebels to reopen occupied oil ports, but technical delays and simmering federalist dissent threaten to disrupt production once again. On Sunday, Libya's fragile government reached an agreement with Ibrahim al-Jathran, the leader of eastern rebels, to reopen two oil ports they were holding and lift a nine-month blockade crippling crude exports. Under the deal, Hariga and Zueitina ports will reopen immediately, with the larger Ras Lanuf and Es Sider terminals to be freed by Jathran's men in less than four weeks after more negotiations. Nearly three years after dictator Muammar Gaddafi's fall…

Chinese banks are stuck in a lose-lose legal battle between domestic shipyards and foreign buyers over billions of dollars in refund guarantees that are supposed to be paid out if shipbuilders fail to deliver on time. One in three ships ordered from Chinese builders was behind schedule in 2013, according to data from Clarksons Research, a UK-based shipping intelligence firm. Although that was an improvement from 36 percent a year earlier, it was well behind rival South Korea, where shipyards routinely delivered ahead of schedule the same year. That means Chinese banks may be on the hook to pay large sums to buyers if the yards can't come through per contract, with little hope of recouping the cash from the yards.

India has dropped a plan to prosecute two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen under a tough anti-piracy law, a government lawyer said on Monday, offering a chance to end a diplomatic row between the two countries. Italy had strongly opposed India invoking the law, arguing that it would amount to treating the men as "terrorists" and last week it recalled its ambassador to New Delhi in protest against the delay in the two-year-old case. The sailors, part of a military security team protecting a privately-owned cargo ship, say they mistook the fishermen for pirates and fired warning shots into the water during the incident in February 2012, off the coast of Kerala state.

A U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer accused of rape, sexual assault, cruelty and maltreatment, making a false official statement and failure to obey a lawful order will face a court-martial expected to begin in September in Charleston, S.C. The decision by Vice Adm. Robert C. Parker, Atlantic Area Commander, is based on the recommendation of an Article 32 hearing completed May 22, 2013, that reasonable grounds exist to try Petty Officer 2nd Class Omar Gomez, 35. The charges follow a six-month-long Coast Guard investigation which revealed that Gomez, the sole member charged in this case, engaged in a broad spectrum of sexually related misconduct ranging from rape to inappropriate comments, involving two civilians and six Coast Guard women.

Sea Tow Reports Increased Boating Activity and Calls for Assistance Midway Through July 4th Holiday Week. Incidents Underscore the Need to Follow Commonsense Boating Safety Guidelines. The extended July 4th holiday has been one of the busiest in recent years for Sea Tow Services International Inc., the nation’s leading on-water assistance provider, and its network of Sea Tow locations across the U.S. This increased activity reflects a growing desire among boaters to enjoy the many benefits of the boating lifestyle with friends and family. By midway through the July 4th holiday week, which runs this year from June 29-July 8, 2012, Sea Tow already had received more than 2,200 calls for assistance.

The Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute (GLMRI) has been awarded a $750,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative Grant to help reduce air emissions from a 1,000-ft Great Lakes ore carrier. Dr. Richard Stewart, GLMRI co-director, said the grant enables Key Lakes I, Inc., a Great Lakes vessel operator to repower the M/V Edwin H. Gott during the year-long project. The main engine installation will take place at Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, concurrent with the vessel’s winter layup and drydocking. GLMRI and Key Lakes I, Inc., are partners in the project that will significantly reduce the air emissions for the M/V Edwin H.