Emergency Response Center News

A proposed “Blue Fund” to help combat illicit ship pollution in the Mediterranean is set to be studied by States and stakeholders working to protect the Mediterranean marine environment.According to a press note from  International Maritime Organization (IMO), this was agreed at a meeting of the regional network for law enforcement officials of the Mediterranean, known as Mediterranean Network of Law Enforcement Officials relating to MARPOL within the framework of the Barcelona Convention (MENELAS) - organized by REMPEC, the IMO-administered pollution emergency response center in the Mediterranean.The meeting in Valletta, Malta (15-16…

Captain Stuart Miller has rejoined Crowley Maritime Corporation’s TITAN Salvage operations team as salvage master, bringing with him over 30 years of worldwide, hands-on maritime and salvage experience. Capt. Miller will be based in the United States, but will deploy worldwide for salvage, wreck removal and other emergency response operations. “TITAN Salvage is pleased to welcome Capt. Stuart Miller back home to our operations team,” said Chris Peterson, vice president. “Capt. Capt.

Strategic acquisition validates Orolia's McMurdo Group as premier supplier of COSPAS-SARSAT search and rescue solutions, establishes U.S. McMurdo Group, a global company in end-to-end search and rescue (SAR) and maritime domain awareness (MDA) solutions, today announced the successful acquisition of Techno-Sciences, Inc. (TSi), a provider of SAR satellite ground stations, integrated emergency response center systems and coastal surveillance solutions. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. TSi’s Beltsville, Maryland location becomes the U.S. Headquarters for McMurdo Group, a division of Orolia (NYSE Alternext Paris – FR0010501015 – ALORO), global specialist in critical Global Navigation Satellite System solutions.

Holland America Line said it will retrofit the VDR system of its entire fleet of 15 ships (which annually offers more than 500 cruises to 415 ports of call in 98 countries) with the INTERSCHALT VDR G4, opening up a wealth of new technical possibilities. "Replayer", VDR G4's online monitor, provides a detailed picture of the ship's position in real time on a chart and can transfer this playback to a notebook or a smartphone so that the captain can access an overview of the current situation at all times even from his cabin.

Samina Mahmood, former commercial manager for TITAN Salvage, has been appointed manager for Marine Response Alliance, an association of U.S. emergency responders providing OPA 90 Salvage Marine Firefighting (SMFF). MRA, founded in 1994, combines experts in all facets of emergency response with salvage, firefighting and lightering equipment in all Captain of the Port Zones. Alliance members include TITAN, Crowley, Marine Pollution Control and McAllister Towing & Transportation.

Marine Response Alliance (MRA), an association of U.S. emergency responders providing OPA 90 Salvage Marine Firefighting (SMFF), has relocated from Pompano, Fla., to Houston to be situated with international salvage partner TITAN Salvage. Conveniently located near George Bush International airport, the new office boasts a 102,500 square-foot maintenance and warehousing facility with 4.61 acres of outside storage. Built to suit, the facility includes a state-of-the-art Emergency Response Center manned 24/7, the only one of its kind in the United States.

Crowley Maritime Corp.’s solutions group, project logistics and global freight management team, and subsidiary TITAN Salvage have relocated to a shared, custom-designed office and warehouse facility in Houston. The new consolidated location at 15894 Diplomatic Plaza Drive is expected to foster company-wide synergies, expand TITAN and Crowley’s customer base and create new business opportunities among the three groups. Together, these businesses, which are founded in engineering, project management and logistics, will ultimately be able to provide better, more value-added customer solutions.

A Scottish company has launched onto the global shipping market the first comprehensive software product designed to combat the increasing problem of modern-day piracy at sea. •    The cost of piracy in 2011 is estimated at $7 billion / £4.46 billion (including increased security spend and ransom payments). •    The numbers of hostages and size of individual ransom demands also increased over the same period. Marine MTS, based in Aberdeen, has developed Sentinel, which tracks user vessels remotely. As well as helping the user plot a safe route through problem areas, the software will automatically alert emergency or military services should something unusual happen on board.

As BP, the National Response Team, and an army of volunteers respond to the Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico, NOIA member companies are lending their resources in an unprecedented cooperative effort to stop the flow of oil and prevent further damage to the environment. These resources include land-based and offshore facilities, aircraft, marine vessels, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), a containment dome, subsea tooling, subsea video, dispersant, personnel, and technical expertise on suction systems, blowout preventers, dispersant injection, well construction, containment options, subsea wells, environmental science, emergency response, spill assistance, well intervention, and drilling and well competence.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is to collaborate in efforts to mount a coordinated response from UN agencies and other concerned parties, including regional Governments, to the oil spill currently affecting the coastal and marine environments of Lebanon and Syria. The spill, estimated to be one of the largest ever to affect the Mediterranean, follows an incident in mid-July in which an oil storage unit at a power plant in Jiyyeh, 30 km south of Beirut, sustained bombing damage during the current conflict. Theme: --Select Story Tmeme-- Anchor Handling Tugs Articulated Tug Barge (ATB) Ballast Water Management Barges Bulk…

The Coast Guard is advising all mariners to take safety precautions while it works with local, state and other federal agencies to prepare for Isidore. The service is constantly monitoring the storm and coordinating any necessary response with emergency and law enforcement officials. to affect rescue operations after the storm," said Capt. Bradford Black, chief of operations for the Eighth Coast Guard District. The best safety measure is to keep away from the water completely. Capt. Jake Korn, chief of search and rescue for the district. The Coast Guard is recalling essential personnel to fulfill any search and rescue, aids to navigation and environmental safety missions following the storm.