Colleen News

Global oil benchmark Brent on Tuesday rose above $89 a barrel for the first time since October, albeit briefly, as oil supplies faced fresh threats from Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy facilities and escalating conflict in the Middle East.Brent futures for June delivery were up $1.35, or 1.5%, at $88.76 a barrel by 11:40 a.m. EDT (1540 GMT) after touching a peak of $89.08.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for May rose $1.27, or about 1.5%, to $84.98 after touching a peak of $85.46…

For Chinese businessman Han Changming, disruptions to Red Sea freight are threatening the survival of his trading company in the eastern province of Fujian.Han, who exports Chinese-made cars to Africa and imports off-road vehicles from Europe, told Reuters the cost of shipping a container to Europe had surged to roughly $7,000 from $3,000 in December, when Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement escalated attacks on shipping."The disruptions have wiped out our already thin profits…

The Philippines and China traded accusations on Sunday over a collision of their vessels near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea as tensions over claims in the vital waterway escalate.The Philippine coast guard accused China of firing water cannons and ramming resupply vessels and a coast guard ship, causing "serious engine damage" to one, while China's coast guard said the Philippine vessel intentionally rammed its ship.China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce…

In the small city of Houma, Louisiana, about an hour southwest of New Orleans, volunteer rescue workers with a “Cajun Navy” group struggled in the wee hours of Monday to navigate streets strewn with trees toppled by Hurricane Ida's ferocious winds.The group had sped down from Lafayette after getting reports of people trapped by the fierce storm's floodwaters. Rob Gaudet, a 52-year-old software developer from Baton Rouge, fielded dozens of distress calls about hard-hit communities."If they can get on the roof, that’s better.

A true family business, Stan and Mary Helen Stephens started operating fishing and hunting charters out of Valdez, Alaska on their first vessel the 26-foot m/v Mary Helen, in 1971. Soon after, the rest of the family joined in, operating tours on the waters around Valdez and in Prince William Sound. They have been promoting the beautiful scenery and important resources of this community ever since, officially as Stan Stephens Glacier & Wildlife Cruises. The business has remained a valuable community asset, contributing economic, educational and environmental benefits to this region.

U.S. passenger vessel operators suffering low ridership and large economic losses amid the COVID-19 pandemic are urging President Donald Trump to include the hard-hit sector in the administration's plans to provide economic assistance to American businesses that have experienced financial hardship due to the coronavirus outbreak.The Passenger Vessel Association (PVA), a trade group representing the domestic passenger vessel industry, shared a letter it sent to President Trump urging him to take immediate action to include U.S.

Colleen Stephens, President of Stan Stephens Glacier & Wildlife Cruises will be President of the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) for 2020, the trade association announced.Elected during the PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2020 held February 3-6, 2020 in Tampa, Fla., Stephens reaffirmed PVA's commitment to continuously improving safety in passenger vessel operations as well as the association's engagement in being good stewards of the environment. "PVA's Green WATERS program…

In November the U.S. House of Representatives’ Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee held a hearing on “Commercial and Passenger Vessel Safety: Challenges and Opportunities.” Testimony covered a range of issues, from recent tragedies such as the Conception dive-boat disaster to antiquated maritime laws.Hearing witness list:Rear Admiral Richard V. Timme, Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy, United States Coast GuardThe Honorable Richard Balzano…

When I came into office as the Passenger Vessel Association’s President for 2019 last January, I announced two strategic goals for our industry: to enhance safety and foster the professional growth of our next generation of leaders. I am proud to announce we have undertaken major initiatives and made progress on each. These goals match my lifelong professional commitment to safety as well as aligning with PVA’s true north: a responsibility to be ever vigilant and proactive in addressing safety.I have been a longtime member of PVA and served in its leadership for years.

Stephen Wang is counting the costs of President Donald Trump's trade war. He had to put down 12 times more cash as a guarantee to U.S. customs that he would pay the bill for tariffs on the Chinese-made pumps, valves and motors he imports.The cost of the guarantee - a U.S. customs bond - has shot up, an additional hit to importers already facing steep customs bills adding up to tens of billions of dollars for tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on incoming Chinese goods…

International Maritime Organization (IMO) has joined leading oil spill experts and stakeholders to discuss future issues concerning oil spill preparedness, response and restoration – at the Interspill 2018 conference and exhibition in London (13-15 March). Speaking at the opening session, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said that “many years of collaborative work between governments and industry, at IMO, have helped reduce dramatically the number of oil spills and the amount of oil spilt from ships”. Lim outlined how individual incidents had been catalysts for significant improvements, through IMO regulations, in areas such as ship design, operation, disposal of engine room wastes, as well as the framework for compensating the victims of pollution incidents.

Gus Gaspardo, President of the Padelford Packet Boat Company, was elected Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) President for 2018 at the PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2018, held January 28-31 in Savannah, Ga. Gaspardo is President of Padelford Packet Boat Co. Inc., St. Paul, Minn. Founded in 1969 by Capt. William Bowell Sr., Padelford provides a wide variety of public cruises and private events on the Mississippi River with three passenger subchapter K vessels at Harriet Island Regional Park in downtown St. Paul.

The question of how to manage emergency preparedness and response in the oil and gas sector was on the agenda at a workshop in Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania (17-20 October). Participants from countries across the East Africa region gathered to highlight good practices in developing national preparedness and response systems, as well as how to improve understanding of risk assessments related to oil and gas development and potential impacts on environment. The group also worked to identify areas for strengthening emergency preparedness and response at national and regional levels. International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Colleen O’Hagan helped to facilitate the workshop and provided an overview of the Organization’s International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness…

Current research and technical developments in oil spill preparedness and response were in the spotlight at a major seminar in Tianjin, China (20-21 September). The International Oil Spill Response Technical Seminar brought together over 150 representatives of national government, oil industry and oil spill response companies. International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Colleen O’Haghan presented on the Organization’s International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC) – the treaty covering measures for dealing with pollution incidents, either nationally or in cooperation with other countries. The seminar was organized by Yantai MSA and CNOOC Energy Technology and Service Safety and Environmental Protection Co. under the GI China Project.

The push to rebuild the U.S. Navy received a boost today when U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Congressman Rob Wittman, R-Va., introduced bicameral, bipartisan legislation that would make it the policy of the United States to achieve the Navy’s requirement of 355 ships. Under the “Securing the Homeland by Increasing our Power on the Seas (SHIPS) Act,” the fleet would be comprised of the optimal mix of platforms, with funding levels subject to annual appropriations. Currently, 276 ships are in the battle fleet.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) has joined countries and stakeholders concerned with protecting the Caspian Sea from oil pollution at a regional meeting in Bandar-e Anzali, Islamic Republic of Iran (16-20 April). Participants are discussing the implementation of the Aktau Protocol on Regional Preparedness, Response and Cooperation in Combating Oil Pollution Incidents and, in particular, finalization of the Regional Caspian Sea Plan on cooperation in combating oil pollution in emergencies. In addition to the meeting, IMO’s Colleen O’Hagan joined participants to observe a comprehensive response exercise combining elements of search and rescue, firefighting and pollution response – undertaken by the Ports and Maritime Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

U.S. investigators stood in silence for 33 seconds on Friday as they concluded the public phase of a probe into the sinking of the El Faro cargo ship during a 2015 hurricane, recognizing each crew member aboard who died. The Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigation, convened for the most serious accidents, heard two weeks of testimony in the last of a series of hearings on the worst disaster involving a U.S.-flagged vessel in more than three decades. Captain Jason Neubauer, the panel's chairman, said it had collected sufficient evidence for a forthcoming analysis.

The U.S. investigation into the deadly sinking of a cargo ship during a 2015 hurricane entered its final hearing on Monday, with ship conditions probed at the start of two weeks of testimony set to examine new detail on El Faro's last hours. The Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigation, convened only for the most serious accidents, is looking for evidence of negligence or misconduct in the worst disaster involving a U.S.-flagged vessel in more than three decades. All 33 crew onboard died when the 790-foot (241-meter) El Faro sank during a hurricane on Oct. 1, 2015, two days after leaving Jacksonville, Florida on a cargo run to Puerto Rico.

The 4,300HP tugs Colleen McAllister (ex-Ellena Hicks, Hull 685) and Katie G. McAllister (ex-Libby Black, Hull 671) have been sold and delivered to new owners Port City Marine Services of Muskegon, Mich., reported Marcon International, Inc. The 124’ x 33.1’ x 19.9’ depth / 18’ loaded draft tugs were built in 1967 and 1966 respectively by Gulfport Shipbuilding Corp. of Port Arthur, Texas for Gulf Coast Transit Company, subsidiary of TECO Transport & Trade, of Tampa, Fla. and mated up with the 420’ x 80’…

President Barack Obama and state governors on Wednesday urged millions of people along the U.S. Southeast coast to evacuate and prepare for Hurricane Matthew as the potentially devastating storm took aim at Florida. Matthew, currently pummeling the Bahamas and the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, was forecast to begin lashing Florida with fierce winds, storm surges and heavy rain late on Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Federal emergency response teams took positions and stockpiled supplies in Florida…

A shipwreck discovered off the coast of North Carolina is likely one of three Confederate blockade runners known to have been lost in the area, archaeologists said on Monday. The remains of the iron-hulled steamer were located on Feb. 27 near Oak Island. It would be the first Civil War-era vessel found in the area in decades, said the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology. Billy Ray Morris, director of the state's underwater archaeology branch, said he expected to be able to positively identify the 225-foot-long (68-metre) vessel when he leads a dive team to examine it on Wednesday. "To turn up a new wreck is a pretty big deal," he said in a telephone interview, adding sonar images showed the vessel to be largely intact.

The widow of one of the 33 crew members killed when the El Faro sank in a hurricane last fall called on Friday for stricter oversight of decisions by shipping companies and their captains to sail in adverse weather. Rochelle Hamm's husband, 49-year-old Frank Hamm of Baltimore, died on Oct. 1 when the El Faro went down off the Bahamas in the worst cargo shipping disaster involving a U.S.-flagged vessel in more than three decades. The U.S. Coast Guard began hearings this week to investigate the sinking.

The captain of the U.S. cargo ship that sank off the Bahamas in a hurricane last fall, killing all 33 people on board, was responsible for decisions that put the vessel in the path of the storm, a shipping company executive testified on Tuesday. Captain Michael Davidson, a veteran mariner from Maine, was at the helm of the 790-foot (241-meter) El Faro for its doomed cargo run between Florida and Puerto Rico. The ship disappeared on Oct. 1 after he reported losing propulsion and taking on water. U.S.