John Morris News

Andrew Jones has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Thomas Miller (Asia Pacific) Ltd with effect from April 2013. He will be responsible for providing services to all Thomas Miller’s managed Clubs in the region, particularly the UK P&I, the TT, the UK Defence, and ITIC. Andrew brings more than twenty years experience of P&I management and claims experience to the Hong Kong team. A law graduate, he joined Thomas Miller’s London office in 1991 specializing in handling personal injury and other people claims, taking the leadership of the UK P&I Club’s specialist people claims syndicate in 1999. In 2004, Andrew was appointed Operations Director for P&I in Europe and subsequently Chief Operating Officer of Thomas Miller P&I Ltd in 2007.

Hyde Marine’s chemical-free, IMO Type Approved ballast water treatment solution packs performance in a smaller footprint. That’s good news for small vessel operators who may soon find themselves impacted by a problem that previously was thought to be a “bluewater” issue. The notion that ballast water treatment and invasive species are both strictly the domain of big, bluewater liners coming from the Far East and other exotic locales quickly went out the porthole last November when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its long-awaited, updated draft Vessel General Permit (VGP) rule. The new rules potentially bring regulations to bear on vessels as small as 79 feet LOA and others, depending on service and routing.

Draft USCG ballast water rule now finalized, according to OMB. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) completed its review of the Coast Guard's Ballast Water Discharge Standard regulations in accordance with Executive Order 12866, and changed its designation from an Interim Final Rule to a Final Rule on February 24, 2012. The Coast Guard is preparing it for publication in the Federal Register, and expects to complete the administrative process within 30 days. John Morris of the U.S. Coast Guard's Environmental Standards Division said in a prepared statement, "We are not at liberty to discuss details of the rule until it is actually published, but wanted to clear up confusion about its status.

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., a leader in the field of worldwide deep ocean shipwreck exploration, announced the addition of George J. Becker Jr. as COO. Becker brings more than 30 years experience in major leisure industry profit center development, management, marketing, staffing and operations. A skilled new business developer and team builder, he will be leading Odyssey Marine Exploration through the next phases of the company's growth. Becker, formerly chairman and CEO, Sea World of Texas, president and CEO of Sea World of California and president and CEO of Sea World of Florida, is also a recognized professional in forging public-private sector relationships to accelerate economic development opportunities and support business education initiatives.