SUNY Maritime College Names ABS Chairs
The State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College has selected Dr. Richard Burke and Dr. Christopher Clott as its inaugural ABS chairs following a comprehensive search that drew an expansive range of applicants, the college announced today. Made possible through the financial support of ABS (formerly the American Bureau of Shipping), which provided an endowment of $3 million dollars, the positions aim to allow SUNY Maritime to remain “first and foremost” in the maritime education and training field.
Australian Bio-Robots to Explore in the Indian Ocean
CSIRO will be releasing a fleet of floating bio-robots between Christmas Island and Madagascar next week to measure biological indicators in the Indian Ocean including dissolved oxygen, nitrate, organic matter and particles. A bio-robot is a robot which can measure properties relevant to biology like organic matter. Four bio-robots, each worth up to $100,000, are being dropped into masses of spinning water. It will be the first time CSIRO has used the new BioArgo robotic floats to measure this massively under-sampled part of the world. "These can tell us about the growth of plankton, how much carbon they take up, how much gets used up the food chain and how much gets buried," CSIRO project leader Dr Nick Hardman-Mountford said.
New Director of Center for Maritime Policy and Strategy
Capt. Richard W. Sanders, Ph.D., a member of the Permanent Commissioned Teaching Staff at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and professor of chemistry, has been named Director of the Center for Maritime Policy and Strategy, or CMPS, as of June 1, 2013. Sanders is a 1987 honors graduate of the Academy and received his doctorate in chemistry from the University of Connecticut in 2002. Previously, he has served as the Associate Dean of Academics, Chair of the Department of Science, and Chief of the Chemistry Section. In addition to his academic and teaching contributions, Sanders has directed the Academy’s Coastal Sail Training Program and is an active diver in New England waters. He and his family reside in Lisbon, CT.
'USS Guardian' Latest News
The M/T Jascon, due to arrive from Singapore next week, intends to lift the heavy section of the grounded USS Guardian clear of the reef. The Jascon is equipped with a DP system which will enable it to maintian position without anchoring. Meanwhile another Singapore vessel Smit Borneo is currently at the site and can lift smaller pieces weighing up to 500 tons that have been cut off from the Guardian, reports 'The Philippine Star'. The US Navy has hired the services of salvaging ships M/T Trabajador 1 of Malayan Towage and Salvaging Corp.
