Gonzales News

Push boat operator Plimsoll Marine announced it has taken delivery of the fourth vessel in a series of newbuilds from Master Marine, Inc. “Plimsoll Marine strives to provide the Lower Mississippi River with premier push boat services utilizing the industry’s most modern and capable fleet of vessels. The delivery of the Steel Skipper marks another milestone in that effort,” said Angus R. Cooper III, President, Cooper/T. Smith. “Our ongoing investment in building and maintaining…

The world faces "very prolonged" disruptions to shipping cargo flows, an executive at leading ports operator ICTSI said, as logistical headaches such as truck shortages weigh on backed-up supply chains and rebounding trade drives up volume.Major bottlenecks have formed across the globe in recent months due to a surge in demand for retail goods from people stuck at home under pandemic-related lockdowns and logjams impacting the supply of container ships and boxes to transport cargo.The situation has been particularly severe in major retail markets such as the United States…

Edward Schwarz, Vice President for ABB Marine and Ports, received the United States Merchant Marine Academy’s Rear Admiral Lauren S. McCready Award as the 51st recipient.Edward A. Waryas, Jr., Board Member for NYSE-traded KNOT Offshore Partners, LP as the 43rd recipient of the award and co-chair of the award’s committee made the announcement.The Lauren S. McCready Award is intended to recognize graduates of the United States Merchant Marine Academy who have made significant technical…

The captain of the World War Two-style tourist "duck boat" that sank on a Missouri lake during a storm in July killing 17 people was charged on Thursday with misconduct, negligence and inattention to duty by a federal grand jury, prosecutors said.Kenneth Scott McKee, 51, of Verona, Missouri, was charged in a 17-count indictment, one count for each of the passengers who died when the vessel sank on July 19.McKee was captain of the vessel operated by Ripley Entertainment Inc, which ran duck boat tours in Branson…

About 500 people gathered at the Long Beach Convention Center for the event, which brings together a panel of shipping and trade experts to offer their perspectives on industry trends and how they affect the San Pedro Bay port complex. One of the panelists, Drewry Maritime Research Senior Quantitative Economist Mario Moreno, predicted Asia-U.S. trade will grow 6.8 percent in 2018, the fastest pace in more than half-a-dozen years. He also estimated the overall U.S. economy will expand 2.8 percent. While President Donald Trump and China have proposed higher tariffs, an all-out trade war between China and the United States appears unlikely, according to Moreno. “Both nations have a lot to lose,” Moreno said.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu on Friday ordered an evacuation of some areas and a mandatory curfew ahead of Tropical Storm Nate.   The curfew will be in effect from Saturday evening to Sunday morning, the mayor said at a news conference. Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi declared states of emergency as the storm twisted toward the U.S. Gulf Coast on Friday after killing at least 22 people in Central America.   Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales

Wood Group PSN Inc., a Nevada corporation headquartered in Houston, was ordered to pay $9.5 million in two separate cases involving its conduct in the Gulf of Mexico. Specifically, Wood Group PSN was ordered to pay $7 million for falsely reporting over several years that personnel had performed safety inspections on offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico in the Western District of Louisiana, and $1.8 million for negligently discharging oil into the Gulf of Mexico in violation of the Clean Water Act after an explosion on an offshore facility in the Eastern District of Louisiana, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeff Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana Stephanie A. Finley, and U.S.

The Mississippi River, a major artery for U.S. commercial barge traffic, was expected to crest in Tennessee on Friday and Arkansas over the weekend as it pushed south toward the Gulf of Mexico, officials said. The river is predicted to rise just below 40 feet (12.2 meters) in Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday afternoon, above the 34 feet at which the city considers it a flood event, while it is expected to crest in Helena, Arkansas, on Sunday, according to Jeff Graschel, a hydrologist at the National Weather Service. Officials expect levees in other states along the lower Mississippi to contain the river's high levels. The swollen Mississippi…

A ship management company has pleaded guilty and was sentenced October 27, 2015 for deliberately concealing pollution discharges from the ship directly into the sea and for falsifying its oil record book, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson along with Rear Admiral David R. Callahan, Eighth District Coast Guard Commander. Chandris (Hellas) Inc. is headquartered in Greece and operated the M/V Sestrea - an 81,502 ton cargo ship that made calls in multiple ports in Texas. Chandris pleaded guilty to a violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships for failing to properly maintain an oil record book as required by federal and international law, as well as a violation of making a false statement for making a false entry in the ship’s oil record book. Shortly following the plea, U.S.

Malaysia confirmed early on Thursday that a piece of a wing washed up on an Indian Ocean island beach last week was from Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, the first trace of the plane found since it vanished last year with 239 people on board. "Today, 515 days since the plane disappeared, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts have conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed from MH370," Prime Minister Najib Razak said in an early morning televised address. "I would like to assure all those affected by this tragedy that the government of Malaysia is committed to do everything within our means to find out the truth of what happened," Najib said.

The board of commissioners for the Port of Greater Baton Rouge recently elected officers for 2014. Officers elected include Blaine Sheets, Ascension Parish, president; Clint Seneca, Iberville Parish, vice president; Corey Sarullo, Iberville Parish, secretary; and Bobby Watts, East Baton Rouge, treasurer. Blaine Sheets, president, is president of Specialized Industrial Maintenance in Gonzales and is a former member of the Board of Commissioners for the Pontchartrain Levee District. Clint Seneca, vice president, is the chief deputy assessor for the Iberville Parish Assessor's Office.

A week after typhoon Yolanda hit the country and affected about 12 vessels in Palawan, another ship was reported to have ran aground at the said province and is yet to be extracted from its agrounding position. MV Catalyn-A, owned and operated by San Nicolas Lines, Inc., was hit by strong winds and big waves at the height of typhoon Yolanda which caused the vessel to run aground. When the weather cleared a few days later, Ronald Gonzales, clearing officer of MV Marlsan-1 reported to Coast Guard Station (CGS) Coron that they have received a radio message from the distressed vessel in the morning of November 12. Immediately, the CGS Coron personnel proceeded to MV Banton Pearl moored at the Port of Coron to verify the report through their VHF radio. It was then confirmed by Capt.

In the small village of Guiuan, located in Eastern Samar province, villagers lined up outside the gate of a runway awaiting food, water and medical supplies to be delivered by helicopters from the 'George Washington Strike Group' (GWSG) in support of Operation Damayan. Guiuan was heavily affected by Super Typhoon Haiyan, which clocked winds up to 195 miles per hour (mph) with gusts up to 235 mph. Houses that were once big and colorful, are now gray and battered. Uprooted palm trees are now makeshift shelters, and water faucets are now showers.

Miami Man Convicted for Obstruction of Justice and False Statements for Certifying Ships Safe for Sea. A federal jury in Miami yesterday convicted a Miami-based ship surveyor for lying to the Coast Guard and for falsely certifying the safety of ships at sea, announced Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division at the Department of Justice; Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Rear Admiral William D. Baumgartner, Commander, 7th Coast Guard District; and Jonathan Sall, Special Agent in Charge, U.S.

Examining key industry drivers is the focus of the 17th annual Hellenic-American and Norwegian-American Chambers of Commerce annual conference, often called the New York Shipping Conference. Entitled “Challenges & Opportunities for the Shipping Industry: Is There a New Normal?” the conference will present the macro shipping and economic overview, the impact of increasing environmental regulation on the shipping market, the availability of capital and its many forms, the growing influence of China and India on Shipping, and shipowners’ points of view. The event will be held on Tuesday, February 8th at the Waldorf-Astoria (a new venue for this event) starting at 0815 with conference registration and coffee.

The board of commissioners for the Port of Greater Baton Rouge recently elected officers for 2009. Officers elected include Alvin Dragg, Ascension, president; Raymond Loup, West Baton Rouge, vice president; Jerald Juneau, East Baton Rouge, treasurer; and Larry Johnson, West Baton Rouge, secretary. Dragg, who was elected president, represents Ascension Parish on the board of commissioners and has served two terms as president previously over the past two decades. He is a life-long resident of Gonzales and is a former Entergy Corporation executive.

South Carolina based Eco-Tankship, Inc. is contemplating a bid to oppose the auction of Enron Corp's "enrononline" trading division. The auction, approved last week by Southern District of New York bankruptcy court judge Arthur Gonzales, has been scheduled for January 10, 2002. Alexander Schizas President and CEO of Eco-Tankship has notified counsel for the creditors committee, the debtors in possession and the US trustees of Eco's interest in moving to oppose the sale. The particulars of the opposition surround Schizas' request for full disclosure by Enron regarding the auction. Schizas' group contends that Enron must disclose that they do not have proprietary rights to the Internet based trading of Liquefied Natural Gas in its physical form and as futures and options on futures.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Russell (DDG 59) returned home to Naval Station Pearl Harbor on April 7 after a three-month deployment with Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group (CSG). Cmdr. Brad Cooper, commanding officer of Russell, said he is very proud of the command’s flexibility and motivation to support its tasking. “We deployed in early February with the Ronald Reagan Strike Group as part of a surge deployment [of] forces moving to the Central Command region. The Reagan was the backbone of Western Pacific, engaging allies, participating in bi-lateral and multi-lateral exercises, and engaged in the U.S. Seventh Fleet maritime influence strategy,” Cooper said. Russell, which deployed Feb.

Louisiana Economic Development, local economic development organizations and federal agencies are combining forces to host free Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone Workshops in five Louisiana communities. The seminars will offer local business owners, developers and practitioners a detailed view of how to take advantage of the post-hurricane incentive package. Experts from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other state and local agencies will inform participants on the tax breaks and bonding options available under the GO Zone Act. These workshops will be particularly valuable for small businesses that may not have considered GO Zone incentives to help restore or expand their companies.

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) Office for Law Enforcement (OLE) special agents have seized 80 short tons of albacore tuna, worth over $141,000 , from a Cambodian-flagged longline fishing vessel, the Long Man Yun #66 in Pago Pago, American Samoa, for allegedly violating U.S. laws. of the Commerce Department. On August 1, the Long Man Yun #66 was observed within the U.S. on its deck. the vessel=s working deck. vessel arrived at dock on September 30. It is a violation of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act for a foreign fishing vessel to fail to stow its fishing gear below deck when it is transiting U.S. waters.

In addition to managing his regular duties, the executive officer (XO) of the USS Guardian (MCM 5) is preparing to be the first surface warfare officer to "fleet-up" to commanding officer (CO). Lt. Ted Essenfeld, who arrived at the ship in January 2007, will lead the way in what will be a Navywide standard for surface warfare officers in line to become commanding officers. Under the fleet-up plan, officially set in motion in December 2005, XO’s serve 18 months and then transition to CO, for their command tour on the same ship. For Guardian, which is an O-4 command ship, it will only be 15 months for Essenfeld before he becomes commanding officer.