Overconfidence, Poor Training Sank El Faro: NTSB Report
The sinking of the U.S. freighter El Faro in 2015 with the loss of 33 lives came after an overconfident captain set the ship and its poorly trained crew on a collision course with a hurricane, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its final report on Tuesday. It was the worst U.S. maritime disaster in 30 years. National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt said at the end of a day-long hearing that tracking the loss of the ill-fated ship on Oct. 1, 2015, was like watching a brewing storm.
Cindy's Remnants Drench Gulf Coast, Wreaking Havok
The remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy brought tornadoes and flooding to the U.S. Gulf Coast on Thursday and its heavy rains will drench much of the eastern United States in coming days, forecasters said. Flooding and road closures stretched from east Texas into northwestern Florida after Cindy made landfall early on Thursday near the Louisiana-Texas border and weakened to a tropical depression, the National Weather Service said. Cindy is expected to dump 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 cm) of rain as it heads north and east into the Ohio Valley and the Appalachian Mountains through Saturday, said Brian Hurley, a weather service meteorologist. Totals could reach 9 inches (22.5 cm) in some areas. "We're looking at quite a bit of rain. That's going to be the main threat," he said.
U.S. to Crack Down on Ocean Noise that Harms Fish
The ocean has gotten noisier for decades, with man-made racket from oil drilling, shipping and construction linked to signs of stress in marine life that include beached whales and baby crabs with scrambled navigational signals. The United States aims to change that as a federal agency prepares a plan that could force reductions in noise-making activities, including oil exploration, dredging and shipping off the nation's coast. "We've been worried about ocean noise for decades, since the 1970s," said Richard Merrick, chief science adviser to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fisheries agency and a key author of the agency's more detailed 10-year plan to be released publicly later this year.
Norovirus Outbreak on Fred. Olsen Cruise Ship
An outbreak of the norovirus stomach bug has sickened 160 people aboard a Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines ship docked at Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. health officials and the company said on Friday. The norovirus outbreak took place aboard the Britain-based line's Balmoral during a transatlantic cruise, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement. The CDC said 153 passengers and six crew members had fallen ill from norovirus, whose symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea.
Climate Change Link to Extreme Weather Easier to Gauge - U.S. report
Scientists are better able to measure how climate change may cause extreme weather such as droughts, heat waves and heavy rain, but research does not clearly tie wildfires, tornadoes and hurricanes to global warming, the top U.S. scientific organization said on Friday. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine said in a 144-page report that a host of factors could be behind weather events, including normal variations and atmospheric circulation. Extreme events are harder to explain, since they are rare and data are limited, said the honorary group chartered by Congress to perform studies for the federal government.
Tug Sinks off Long Island; One Dead, Three Rescued
A tugboat sank off New York's Fire Island on Saturday, and one crew member died and three were pulled from the icy water by the U.S. Coast Guard. The vessel, the Sea Bear, went down off Fire Island as it was returning to New York from the area's Shinnecock Inlet, said Coast Guard duty officer Mark Averill in New Haven, Connecticut. The Sea Bear notified a vessel service it was taking on water, and the Coast Guard dispatched rescue boats and a helicopter, he said. Hindered by heavy fog, the Coast Guard found three crew members in the 37 Fahrenheit water after about 45 minutes of searching. They were wearing protective immersion suits. The body of a fourth crew member, who was not wearing an immersion suit, was pulled from the water, Averill said.
WWII Wrecks Found 30 Miles off US Coast
The wreck of a World War Two German U-boat and a freighter that sank 72 years ago have been discovered off the North Carolina coast by U.S. researchers, officials said. The submarine, the U-576, and the Nicaraguan-flagged freighter Bluefields were found about 30 miles (48 km) off Cape Hatteras in an area known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic for its number of wrecks, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said on Tuesday. The discovery underscores how close the battle for the Atlantic Ocean came to U.S. shores and is a rare view into the underwater battlefield landscape of World War Two, researchers said. "These two ships rest only a few hundred yards apart and together help us interpret and share their forgotten stories…
ABS: Approval in Principle for Floating Renewable Energy Plant
ABS has issued its first Approval in Principle (AIP) for a new concept renewable energy design in which a moored spar uses ammonia in a closed-cycle process to produce electrical power for a commercial utility grid. Unlike wind, tidal or solar power the advanced design for this Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) system can deliver constant output 24 hours a day. “This concept combines proven offshore principles with off-the-shelf power, technology and proprietary innovations, all assembled in a unique way,” says Ian Simpson, ABS Director of Offshore Technology and Business Development, Americas Division. Developed by OTEC International (OTI) LLC of Baltimore, Maryland, the approach converts liquid ammonia into gas in a heat exchanger using warm ocean surface water.
