Emergency Preparedness News

A volunteer fire department in western Indiana has increased its capabilities to respond to incidents on lakes and waterways after getting an unexpected grant.The Bellmore Volunteer Fire Department purchased its first boat through funding from Marathon Pipe Line (MPL), a subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum’s midstream segment, MPLX.The department’s chief said he had considered budget cuts to make the purchase possible before MPL surprised him with a check for all the necessary funding.Bellmore…

Lloyd’s Register (LR) has certified Nova Scotia recycling facility, R.J. MacIsaac (RJMI), according to the requirements of the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.RJMI has become first Canadian facility to be issued a Statement of Compliance (SoC) to the Hong Kong Convention for international ship recycling standards, which is scheduled to enter into force in June 2025.RJMI was required to demonstrate that its environmental protection, workforce safety and emergency preparedness systems surpass the stringent conditions of the convention.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced on Tuesday that nine ships have been enrolled in the Tanker Security Program (TSP), a newly created public-private partnership program that makes U.S.-flag commercial product tankers available to support U.S. armed forces and national economic security.“Today we are announcing the first ships to join the Tanker Security Program, which will help strengthen both our supply chains and our national security…

Moorestown, N.J. based Gallagher Marine Systems (GMS) and Wilton, Conn. based ECM Maritime Services (ECM) have merged as of June 30, 2023, forming a single maritime regulatory consulting, compliance, emergency preparedness, security and response firm.All key personnel from both companies will remain intact as the combined companies integrate software platforms, workflows and staff into a combined organization. In the interim, both GMS and ECM operations will continue unchanged.The collective company will be led by current GMS president and former ECM employee, Thomas Wiker.

The US Coast Guard has published Marine Safety Information Bulletin 05-23, Fire Safety on Small Passenger Vessels and announced a concentrated inspection campaign.The Bulletin encourages owners and operators to do a self-assessment of the fire safety of their vessels and provides a checklist evaluating fire safety and emergency preparedness on board.MSIB 05-23 also announces that the concentrated inspection campaign, which will focus on fire safety aboard small passenger vessels…

Danish police have over the weekend received reports of drone activity near the Roar gas field in the North Sea, a police spokesperson said on Tuesday. The Roar field is next to Denmark's largest gas field, Tyra, both of which are operated by TotalEnergies.Denmark has, like some other countries in the region, raised its emergency preparedness level for its power and gas sector after several countries said two Russian pipelines to Europe leaking gas into the Baltic Sea had been subject to sabotage.

A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) announces an intended acquisition for its subsidiary Maersk Training of the Norwegian company, ResQ, a supplier of safety training and emergency preparedness in Norway.ResQ has five survival centers in Norway to cater for training in the North Sea and offers more than 70 course titles, while the crisis management part consists of a full emergency response setup. ResQ has 67 permanent employees and over 300 temporary resources spread across the country."ResQ is a well-managed business with renowned competencies within training services.

Katadyn Desalination, LLC announced it has won a three-year contract to deliver lifesaving, hand-operated desalination devices for the U.S. Navy.Katadyn Desalination is part of the Katadyn Group, provider of reliable, sustainable and simple solutions for safe drinking water treatment. Whether outdoors, at sea, for emergency preparedness, humanitarian or tactical missions or industrial applications, clean water becomes a reality with Katadyn products. The brand’s product line ranges from mobile water filter systems and chemical disinfectants…

Three new multipurpose vessels ordered from the Abeking & Rasmussen ship and yacht shipyard (A&R) in Lemwerder by the German government for the Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV) will be equipped with SCHOTTEL propulsion systems. Planning and design as well as tendering and continuous construction supervision are carried out by the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute (BAW), Ship Technology division.Maneuverability, high bollard pull, increased availability combined with maximum propulsion efficiency are important for these vessels.

Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) announced Dr. Tom Coolbaugh has joined the team as the Program/Facility Manager for Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility. He will have oversight of the day-to-day operations, maintenance and testing at the facility, while ensuring facility users’ needs are met.Dr. Coolbaugh recently retired after 32 years with ExxonMobil Corporation, most recently as the Technology and Advocacy Advisor in the Emergency Preparedness and Response organization.

As COVID-19 and a historically weak energy market wreaks havoc on maritime, Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO Maritime, DNV GL, tells Maritime Reporter & Engineering News in its May 2020 edition that this could be the beginning of a Renaissance period for the industry. "Everything will be looked at with new eyes, it’s going to be a renaissance for the maritime world and I think we’ll have a lot of innovation and new ideas," said Ørbeck-Nilssen. "Things that we’ve traditionally done for years simply will not hold up…

Dutch dredging and marine services giant Boskalis has acquired the U.S.-based maritime emergency response specialist Ardent Americas.Ardent, created by the 2015 merger of salvage divisions of Svitzer and Crowley, specializes in emergency preparedness and response, wreck removals, subsea services and decommissioning for the offshore oil and gas industry. Ardent Americas was a subsidiary of Ardent Global Marine Services, headquartered in IJmuiden, the Netherlands.Boskalis has also…

Byron E. Vernicos has been appointed exclusive Agent for Ardent for the Greek and Cypriot market.Ardent is a global specialist in emergency preparedness, emergency response, waste management, wreck removal, subsea services and decommissioning, servicing the marine and oil and gas industry. Byron E. Vernicos is a shipbroker who specializes in the offshore and maritime market since its establishment in 1978. Main focus areas are salvage, offshore vessels employment including deep sea towage and period charter, sale and purchase and other related activities.

The U.S. Coast Guard and local agencies are searching for three crew members missing following a collision between two towing vessels on the Mississippi River at mile marker 123, near Luling, La., Sunday.The Coast Guard said its watchstanders in New Orleans were alerted at 5:37 a.m. on Sunday that towing vessels RC Creppel and Cooperative Spirit had collided and that four members of the RC Creppel were missing.The Cooperative Spirit was reportedly transiting upbound on the river when it entered a barge fleeting area and allied with barges before colliding with the towing vessel RC Creppel, causing the RC Creppel to sink and barges to…

The end of 2019 promises to be a busy, and potentially discordant, legislative and regulatory period for the United States maritime industry as both Congress and the Executive Branch look to take decisive action, with both positive and negative potential impacts depending on your perspective. With appropriation and authorization bills still pending, and various open regulatory actions, there are significant opportunities for maritime stakeholders to influence policy outcomes.Funding Fights Continue in CongressOn October 31…

Ardent has announced a refocus of its strategy and a relocation of its headquarter.Ardent will refocus its strategy away from decommissioning towards its core business of emergency management and wreck removal. It has a market leading position in these areas which it intends to build further. Ardent will also move its headquarter from Houston, USA, to Ijmuiden, the Netherlands, where the new CEO, Oliver Timofei, and CFO, Jens Jaeger, are based.These moves will continue the positive momentum experienced in emergency management (emergency preparedness & emergency response) and wreck removal over the last 4 years and make Ardent more customer centric. Ardent will continue to provide its Global Preparedness Cover offerings as well as its OPA90 SMFF services for the USA.

A key  International Maritime Organization (IMO)-supported international center responsible for co-ordinating efforts to protect the marine environment in the north-west Pacific Ocean is to expand its areas of work, following a high-level meeting in Seoul.MERRAC (the Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Center), is the focus for cooperation between China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation on preventing spills, and ensuring an effective joint response to any spills that do occur in the region.According to the UN body, at the latest meeting of focal points (28-30 August), the four countries agreed to enhance their cooperation by identifying new areas of work for MERRAC…

The largest cohort of 27 port masters, harbour masters and middle managers from maritime and port authorities from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and Oceania attended the sixth Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) Academy’s Port Management Program (PMP).Developed and organized by MPA Academy, the five-day Program will be delivered by industry practitioners as well as senior officers from the MPA. Some of the key subjects that will be covered during the Program include maritime safety, port planning, digitalisation of the maritime industry, emergency preparedness and crisis communication. The Program includes lectures, practical sessions and site visits.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) is supporting regional cooperation on oil and hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) spills in the Northwest Pacific region.IMO’s Roel Hoenders is taking part in meetings of the Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Centre (MERRAC) taking place in Incheon, Republic of Korea (17-20 July).The Centre was originally established by IMO and UNEP to create effective cooperative measures to spill response under the Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP).Roel Hoenders presented IMO’s recent work and achievements in environmental protection, highlighting ratification and implementation of the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness…

Emergency preparedness and response in the oil and gas sector was at the core of a workshop held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea (7-10 May). The aim of the workshop was to strengthen the country's capacity to prepare for and respond to marine pollution from oil spills. This workshop follows on from a series of events developed with the Republic of Equatorial Guinea with a view to making recommendations to improve the national preparedness and response system in the country, including a more robust national oil spill contingency plan. The course also focused on the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC), which deals with pollution incidents, either nationally or in cooperation with other countries.

The mobilization of up to 2,400 women and men who will work to hook-up, finalize and eventually start-up the Johan Sverdrup field in the North Sea.Later today approximately 150 people – plus crew from the flotel-operator ProSafe – will sail away onboard the floating accommodation vessel "Safe Zephyrus" from Mekjarvik outside Stavanger with the North Sea as their destination.When the flotel arrives at the Johan Sverdrup field this weekend, this will mark the beginning of the offshore…

Norwegian suppliers Framo, Maritime Partner, Norbit Aptomar, and NorLense have come together to create the OSRV (Oil Spill Recovery Vessel) Group to offer a complete oil spill response solution. “Our aim is to be a one-stop-shop where we pool our efforts and act as a total systems supplier of safe, highly functional, and well-tested technology. The emergency response equipment has undergone thorough testing and quality assurance drawing on 40 years of oil spill response experience,” says Jørgen Brandt Theodorsen, Area Manager, Oil & Gas Pumping Systems, at Framo.

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…