Gallagher Marine Systems News

An air circulation operation has begun on the 410-foot general cargo vessel Genius Star XI which is currently at anchor off Dutch Harbor, Alaska.The vessel, carrying lithium-ion batteries, caught fire on Christmas Day. In response, the crew released carbon dioxide into hold No. 1 and sealed it over concerns of an explosion.The purpose of the air circulation is to increase air flow in the cargo holds so that personnel can enter. Additional technical experts are enroute to evaluate options for conducting visual inspections.

The US Coast Guard is continuing to assess a fire reported on the 410-foot general cargo vessel Genius Star XI off Dutch Harbor, Alaska.The vessel is carrying lithium-ion batteries, and the fire started on Christmas Day in cargo hold No. 1. The crew released carbon dioxide into the hold and sealed it over concerns of an explosion.The Coast Guard then diverted the vessel to Dutch Harbor while an HC-130 airplane from Air Station Kodiak and Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley (WMEC-39) were dispatched to assist.The Coast Guard confirmed there are no injuries to the 19 crewmembers.

The unified command consisting of the Coast Guard, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, New York City Office of Emergency Management, and Monmouth County Department of Health, received oil sample lab results from the Coast Guard Marine Safety Laboratory Friday, linking together oil spill cleanup efforts in both New York and New Jersey.Vane Brothers Company, as represented by Gallagher Marine Systems, has been identified as the responsible party.

The Unified Command consisting of the U.S. Coast Guard, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Newark Fire Department, and Gallagher Marine Systems has successfully concluded shipboard fire response operations at Port Newark and is transitioning to the investigation and salvage operations.The Grimaldi cargo vessel Grande Costa D’Avorio caught fire Wednesday night around 9:30PM at the Port of Newark, an incident in which two firefighters died Thursday. As of the morning of July 11…

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.

A Unified Command has been established to continue response to the fire aboard Grimaldi cargo vessel Grande Costa D’Avorio, which caught fire Wednesday night around 9:30 PM at the Port of Newark, an incident in which two firefighters died Thursday.The U.S. Coast Guard, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Newark Fire Department, and Gallagher Marine Systems (as representative of the ship operator) have established a Unified Command in Port Newark, supported by a host of federal…

Engineers are assessing the condition of the Golden Ray wreck and salvage equipment after a fire ripped through the overturned and partially dismantled car carrier outside the Port of Brunswick, Ga. on Friday.The fire broke out on Friday afternoon aboard the Korean-owned Golden Ray, which has been aground on its side in the St. Simons Sound outside the nation's second largest car carrier port since it capsized shortly after departing the Port of Brunswick in September 2019.Firefighting…

Salvage crews completed cutting operations to separate the stern section from the Golden Ray wreck in St. Simons Sound, Ga., on Saturday night, and the giant piece of the overturned car carrier will be craned onto a barge and hauled away for recycling.Once lifting preparations conclude, the Barge 455-8 will move into position to receive the separated hull section for transit out of the environmental protection barrier (EPB) surrounding the wreck to nearby Mayor’s Point Terminal for further sea-fastening before transport to Modern American Recycling Services (M.A.R.S.) in Gibson, La.

A specialized heavy lift crane vessel began cutting the first bow section of the capsized car carrier Golden Ray on Friday as salvage crews enter the next phase of operations to remove the overturned vessel from Georgia's St. Simons Sound.The Korean-owned Golden Ray, which capsized after leaving the Port of Brunswick in September 2019, will be dismantled in place and removed in sections. Salvors have installed 16 lifting lugs on the wreck to provide connection points for the U.S.-flagged VB 10…

A containership that was leaking fuel oil through a crack in its hull has left its mooring in Bayonne, N.J. to undergo repairs at different a facility within the Port of New York/New Jersey, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The Liberian-flagged YM Mandate had stopped leaking last week after the spill was reported from the 300 meter long, 6,572 TEU capacity vessel on Tuesday.The Coast Guard said box ship departed the Global Container Terminal Saturday after bunker fuel was removed from the affected tank, the ship was cleaned and a dive survey confirmed no additional damage.

Oil is no longer leaking from the cracked hull of a containership moored in the Port of New Yok and New Jersey, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.A sheen around the Danaos-owned YM Mandate was first reported to the Coast Guard on Monday after the ship arrived at the Global Container Terminal in Bayonne, N.J., from Halifax, N.S.A unified command team consisting of the Coast Guard, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Gallagher Marine Systems is responding since after the Coast Guard confirmed the Liberian-flagged vessel was leaking oil from a crack in its hull.Oil containment boom and absorbent pads are deployed around the 300 meter long, 6,572 TEU capacity YM Mandate, and skimming vessels continue to remove oil from the water.

A containership with a visible crack in its hull is leaking fuel oil at the Global Container Terminal in Bayonne, N.J., the U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday.A unified command team consisting of the Coast Guard, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Gallagher Marine Systems is responding after the National Response Center contacted Coast Guard Sector New York watchstanders, Monday, reporting a sheen near the Liberian-flagged vessel YM Mandate.A nearby Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team (MSST) New York boat crew reported a small crack in the ship’s hull which was leaking fuel oil. Coast Guard investigators confirmed the leak.The 300 meter long…

Operations to remove the overturned car carrier Golden Ray in St. Simons Sound, Ga. have been suspended due to a coronavirus outbreak among responders and safety risks relating to hurricane season, the wreck removal unified command team announced Friday.To date, 10 responders have tested positive for COVID-19 and more than 50 responders, out of approximately 300 personnel, have been quarantined due to contact tracing, according to the St. Simons Sound Incident Unified Command.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is warning people in the waters off the Rockaways to stay away from any tar balls or oil sheens they might see and is investigating to see if they're related to an oil leak from a vessel a few days ago.USCG, along with partner agencies, are responding to reports of oil sheen and tar balls, on the ocean side of Coney Island and Long Island, from Norton Point to Atlantic Beach.Members of the Unified Command for Goethals Oil Spill continue responding to a report of sheening and tar balls received Saturday from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC).During shoreline assessments conducted Sunday afternoon…

John “Jack” J. Gallagher, a maritime industry veteran and environmental services pioneer, passed away on Monday at the age of 89.Jack’s greatest professional passion was his work as a Spill Manager/Qualified Individual, a role in which he had few peers. Jack was known to be fiercely committed to doing everything morally possible to protect his clients, while at the same time doing all within his power to protect the environment. He attended and helped shape the outcome of more maritime casualties and oil spills than can be remembered.Over the course of his long and fruitful career…

Gallagher Marine Systems LLC (GMS) announced today that it has established a new headquarters in Moorestown, New Jersey for its North American operations in a move designed to better serve customers and position GMS for sustainable, long-term growth. According to GMS, the move to larger office space was needed to accommodate its growing staff and services to clients. Highlights of the new office include a larger and enhanced state of the art Incident Command Center and dedicated training center. gallaghermarine.com

Leaders of the maritime industry will convene in Washington, D.C. on June 19 with representatives of the relevant government agencies to have a dialogue addressing concerns with, and ways to improve, the recently published draft National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (NPREP) guidelines. Preparing for the contingency of a maritime casualty has long been a priority of the industry, which has often been at the leading edge of improved standards and training. Therefore…

The Coast Guard Marine Industry Training Program offers incredible opportunities for Coast Guard employees to intimately learn specific facets of the marine industry. Participants of the program work directly for industry partners for up to 1 year. In addition to building superior government/industry working relationships, the program affords industry sponsors an opportunity to share detailed business considerations and limitations, so that Coast Guard regulatory activities most effectively promote safety, while limiting undue burden on the maritime industry.

Response personnel conduct inspections prior to Port Valdez, Alaska, stevedores shifting cargo to facilitate decontamination of the BBC Arizona's deck, June 7-8, 2013. Multiple containers stored on deck, each holding a plastic bladder filled with transformer oil, began leaking during the ship's transit to Valdez. A Unified Command, consisting of the Coast Guard, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, City of Valdez, and Gallagher Marine Systems, LLC, directed containers to be shifted on deck to facilitate removal of bridge parts stored below.

General Maritime Management reported last week that their vessel, the Genmar Alexandra, (oil tanker, built 1992, double hull, 102262 dwt) while safely docked at a terminal in St. Charles, La., was struck by the bulk carrier Bright State, (built 1989, approx. 36000 grt). The collision resulted in a hole in one of the Genmar Alexandra's auxiliary fuel tanks and the release of approximately 500 barrels of fuel oil into the river. There were no injuries and no cargo was lost. General Maritime Management has activated its emergency response plan and its U.S. spill response contractor Gallagher Marine Systems is onsite. Oil containment and recovery operations have been initiated in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Corbett & Holt, LLC and Gallagher Marine Systems, Inc. announced that they have reached agreement on a merger that will combine the two companies. This move is designed to join two of the premier providers of Qualified Individual and spill management team services and compliance support for the U.S. Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) and other U.S. state and national oil and hazardous substance pollution laws and regulations. The companies will continue to operate as Gallagher Marine Systems and Corbett & Holt under a joint management team. The joint management team will be made up of Biff Holt as managing director, Jack Gallagher as Director of response operations, and Charles Corbett as director of technical services.

At its recent Spring meeting, the American Salvage Association (ASA) welcomed a new General Member, 10 new Associate Members, and four new Corporate Associate Members to its ranks. The New General Member is Associated Marine Salvage, Inc., based in and led by Gordon Olson, Vice President. Eva Longobardi, Northeast Diving Services, Inc.

Tens of thousands of gallons of oil leaked into the sea from a barge at Mays Ship Repair Yard, Staten Island: containment, clean-up continues. Upon investigation, the source of the fuel spill was isolated to the #2 port tank of Boston No. 30, which was carrying a max capacity of 112,000 gallons. Boston Marine Transport Inc. personnel are conducting soundings in the barge tanks to determine the actual amount of fuel spilled into the water. Coast Guard Sector New York pollution responders…