James Watson News

ABS announced it was assigned Recognized Organization (RO) status by the Canadian Department of National Defense (DND). ABS is now authorized to survey non-combatant vessels and undertake certification activities in key hazard areas identified by the Naval Ship Code.“ABS was selected as the exclusive classification organization for all non-combatant vessels in service with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in 2017 before expanding our class and certification services to the entire Canadian Coast Guard fleet in 2018—and now we have been assigned RO status by the DND…

ABS has updated its Guide for Building and Classing International Naval Ships (INS Guide), expanding its guidance to strengthen safety and protection against a range of threats.“ABS is a world leader in naval classification and our 2019 INS Guide takes this to the next level,” said ABS Senior Vice President for Global Government, James Watson. “Naval vessels face an increasingly sophisticated range of threats and the ABS guidance is evolving to keep pace with the challenges they face, supporting more reliable and mission-ready fleets.”The Guide features new sections on Mission Threats Protection which consist of new notations to demonstrate a vessel meets the Allied Naval Engineering Publication (ANEP) 77 standard…

ABS has been approved by the American Waterways Operators (AWO) to carry out audits of its Responsible Carrier Program (RCP), a safety management system for tugboat, towboat and barge companies, requiring AWO member companies to undergo periodic management and vessel audits conducted by an independent third party. Towing vessel operators serving the inland waterways, coasts and harbors are looking closely at their fleets to determine the best way to meet the new U.S. Coast Guard Subchapter M regulations establishing vessel safety and inspection requirements.

[Press Release] ABS announced the publication of the ABS Guide for Building and Classing Subchapter M Towing Vessels. The Guide is designed to aid domestic owners comply with new U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) requirements governing towing vessels that operate in U.S. inland waterways. “As a trusted advisor to industry, ABS stays at the forefront of changing regulatory requirements so we can offer the best guidance to our clients and other industry stakeholders,” says ABS Americas Division President James Watson. The new Guide addresses requirements for lifesaving appliances, fire protection, machinery, piping, electrical, structure and stability/load line.

SHIPPINGInsight announced the agenda and identified keynote speakers for the fifth Fleet Optimization Conference & Exhibition. The annual event will take place October 18-19, 2016, at the Stamford Marriott Hotel and Spa in Stamford, Conn. Capt. Michael Wilson, president & COO of Laurin Maritime (America), will serve as conference chairman. John D. (Jack) Noonan, COO of Chembulk Tankers, and Capt. Norbert Aschmann, CEO of Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, will deliver the keynote addresses on Days One and Two.

ABS, a leading provider of classification and technical services to the global marine and offshore industries, announces the realignment of its Americas Division operations to create two new regions – Canada and Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. This realignment strengthens localized leadership to help ABS members and clients take advantage of expanding opportunities. “ABS recognizes that the expansion of the Panama Canal, increased Arctic operations and growth in LNG markets present pivotal opportunities for our members and clients, and we are proactively realigning operations to strengthen our world-class service delivery to support them,” says ABS Americas President and COO James Watson. “Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean are areas of tremendous potential.

Proactive effort shows commitment to safety and environmental protection. ABS, a provider of maritime shipping and offshore classification services, has been selected by Kirby Corporation to provide classification and International Safety Management certification for 11 push boats. Under the requirements proposed, but not yet enacted, by the United States Coast Guard, towing vessel companies will be required to receive a Certificate of Inspection and comply with a new set of regulations relating to the construction and operations of safety equipment and recordkeeping. The proposed regulation states that adoption of ABS class with ISM certification will show compliance with the new requirements.

So what’s keeping ship operators awake at night these days? Plenty, it seems. Sluggish recovery from a lingering worldwide recession, unsustainable debt loads, endemic overcapacity in most shipping trades, punishing freight rates, rising costs of fuel and regulatory compliance and a lingering sense that ships are not running as efficiently as they could. The last two topics – reducing fuel costs while complying with emission regulations and improving ship operating efficiency – will take center stage at SHIPPINGInsight 2014, scheduled for Sept. 30 – Oct. 2 in Stamford, Conn.

When talk turns to marine propulsion and the host of surrounding topics – emissions, efficiency, fuel consumption – we turn to class for answers. While there are just two questions, the ensuing answers from leaders at ABS, BV, ClassNK, DNV GL, LR and RINA are voluminous & enlightening. The stricter environmental regulations and rising fuel costs lead to technology development in design, size, propulsion and operations. This goes well beyond LNG as fuel, and we believe we will see a more diversified mix, with batteries, hybrids, methanol and so on.

Acting Maritime Administrator, Paul “Chip” Jaenichen will open the “Winds of Change in Shipping” conference being hosted by NAMEPA (North American Marine Environment Protection Association) in Houston along with the WGMA (West Gulf Maritime Association) on February 19, 2014. The next day, February 20th, NAMEPA is partnering with NOIA (National Ocean Industries Association) to present the “Winds of Change in Offshore Oil and Gas”. Adding even more luster to this period is the inaugural Lloyd’s List North American Awards Dinner on February 19th, where winners of 17 categories will be presented.

When ABS, the global provider of maritime classification services, announced that James A. Watson had been named President and Chief Operating Officer of their Americas Division, it wasn’t hard to see why. Likewise, there were few if any other candidates for the job with as well rounded a CV, and with the breadth of knowledge spanning the full range of maritime issues. Formerly the Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and before that, Watson served as the U.S.

Brian Salerno was sworn in on August 26 as the Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Salerno retired as a Vice Admiral in the U.S. Coast Guard in 2012, after more than 36 years of active duty service. He is the third Director in BSEE's history, following James Watson and Michael Bromwich. He stated to employees that, "It is an honor and a privilege to join you today at BSEE. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve as the BSEE Director and work alongside you in your efforts to ensure safe, secure, and environmentally sound offshore operations." bsee.gov

As part of President Obama’s commitment to promoting safe and responsible offshore oil and gas development, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director James Watson today announced another key step to strengthen both human safety and environmental protection on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. The proposed rule, which will be published in the Federal Register tomorrow, implements best practices and updates regulations regarding production safety systems and equipment used to collect and treat oil and gas from offshore production facilities.

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director James Watson and Acting Assistant Secretary for Lands and Minerals Management Tommy Beaudreau convened a meeting today in Houston, Texas, with senior executives from the offshore oil and gas industry to continue the dialogue on improving safety in offshore operations, particularly in shallow water in the Gulf of Mexico. The meeting follows three loss of well control incidents in shallow water operations since February.

With an eye to future resource extraction in Alaskan waters, Clay Maitland, Founding Chairman of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA), has announced the program for its Environmental Intelligence in Maritime Senior Leadership Roundtable. The Leadership Roundtable will be held in Anchorage, Alaska on August 8th, 2013, at the Captain Cook Hotel. The caucus will begin at 1:30PM with a keynote delivered by Congressman Don Young and will focus on “Drilling Preparedness in the Arctic”. Recent attempts to proceed with drilling in the Arctic have been met with challenges. Federal agencies, as well as private industry, have been working to better understand and meet these challenges.

ABS announced that James A. Watson, Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), will join ABS as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Americas Division on September 2, 2013. In this role, Watson will have operational responsibility for activity in North, South and Central America and the Caribbean. Watson will take over from Robert Gilman, who will move to the ABS Group (ABSG) of Companies as Senior Vice President and Head of Technical Inspection Services within the ABS affiliated company, ABSG Consulting.

The Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) will host a public forum on offshore energy infrastructure hurricane preparedness and response on Thursday, June 27, 2013, as part of its efforts to improve the safety of offshore oil and gas operations. “In our continuing efforts to be fully prepared for hurricane season, we are bringing together representatives from the government, oil and gas industry and environmental community to discuss our actions to protect offshore energy infrastructure and the environment during a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico,” said BSEE Director James Watson. In the aftermath of the 2005 hurricane season, platforms toppled and pipelines were ripped from the seafloor.

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Joseph Servidio, Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director James Watson signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for regulating mobile offshore drilling units (MODU) on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). “The Coast Guard and BSEE share the goal of keeping our oceans clean and offshore workers safe,” said Servidio. Under the current regulatory system, both the U.S. Coast Guard and BSEE have shared responsibilities for the regulation of safety management systems on the OCS.

As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above approach to domestic energy development, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director James Watson today announced the Bureau is taking steps to establish an independent Ocean Energy Safety Institute (Institute) to further enhance safe and responsible operations across the offshore oil and gas industry. The Institute will provide a forum for dialogue, shared learning and cooperative research among academia, government, industry and other non-government organizations in offshore-related technologies and activities that ensure safe operations with limited impact to the environment.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s (BSEE) Director James Watson released the Bureau’s final Safety Culture Policy Statement. The non-regulatory statement defines nine characteristics that are indicative of a robust safety culture. The policy statement will inform BSEE’s regulatory approach to lead the offshore oil and gas industry beyond a checklist-inspection approach toward a systemic, comprehensive approach to compliance. "The human factor is the critical element in offshore safety,” Director Watson said. “Prescriptive regulations can reduce risks to worker safety and the environment, but they alone are not enough.

U.S. Coast Guard ond Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement sign agreement to improve offshore oversight. U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Joseph Servidio, Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director James Watson and announced today at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas a new Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that will strengthen the working relationship between the two agencies on the management of safety and environmental protection responsibilities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), Noble Energy, Inc. and the Helix Well Containment Group (HWCG) participated in the exercise. A full-scale deployment of critical well control equipment was employed to assess  Noble Energy’s ability to respond to a potential subsea blowout in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. BSEE Director James Watson confirmed that the HWCG capping stack deployed for the exercise met the pressurization requirements of the drill scenario, marking successful completion of the exercise.

MWCC to Deploy Capping Stack for Exercise in the Gulf. As part of the Obama administration’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the oil and gas industry’s ability to respond in the event of a deepwater blowout and ensure that offshore oil and gas production can continue to expand safely and responsibly, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today charged the Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) with conducting a live drill this summer to deploy critical pieces of state-of-the-art well control equipment in the Gulf of Mexico.