Marine Casualty Reports – Clarified
So you think you know when to make a marine casualty report? There has been a lot of confusion over the years as to when to make a marine casualty report with regard to certain incidents. Yet, although the Coast Guard constantly urges industry to make required reports, it has never promulgated national guidance to promote consistency in reporting based on uniform interpretation of the regulatory standards – until now. Specifically, the Coast Guard issued a Notice of Availability and Request for Comments (Notice) on January 14…
“Immediately” Means Now!
U.S. By Frederick B. Most commercial mariners and their vessel operating employers probably know that when certain significant vessel-related events occur, these must be reported to the U.S. Coast Guard. In my experience, however, there is widespread uncertainty in the marine industry about what must be reported and, more significantly, when. Many companies learn the hard way about these requirements and end up paying healthy fines — anywhere from several hundred to thousands of dollars — for failing to “immediately,” as the regulations require, report such events.
Seatrans AS Increases Safeguards
Concateno, a European chemical, drug and alcohol testing provider, has been selected by Norwegian shipping company, Seatrans AS, to monitor the potential exposure of its seafaring crew to benzene. Concateno provides a unique service for monitoring personnel for benzene, and its maritime test service was runner up in the Safety at Sea Seatrade Awards last year. Appointed by Seatrans, Concateno will establish and implement an effective program to test and monitor benzene levels among crew members and assess the risk of exposure onboard Seatrans vessels.
