John Walker News

AqualisBraemar LOC ASA Group's (ABL Group) operations in the USA announced the new appointment of Sean Murphy as Senior Surveyor based in Boston, adding to ABL’s strengths in both the local maritime and offshore renewables industries.Murphy is a chartered naval architect and marine engineer, and a graduate of Webb Institute with a masters in engineering management from Duke University.He has extensive experience in marine casualty investigations for various interests, serving as an expert witness in his field.

Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Wyoming (SSBN-742) arrived at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) on January 9 for refueling and upgrades as part of a 27-month Engineered Refueling Overhaul (ERO). In a first for the shipyard, Enlisted Women at Sea ship alterations will be performed on board, modifying the layout of berthing areas. Other work will be similar to the shipyard's ERO currently being conducted on USS Rhode Island (SSBN-740), allowing the Wyoming project to leverage off experience gained during that overhaul project.

Fortis Inc. will host its inaugural U.S. Investor Day on Wednesday, April 1, 2015 in New York. The event will take place at The New York Palace hotel, 455 Madison Avenue at 50th Street (Spellman Room). Registration (and a continental breakfast) will begin at 7:30 a.m. (Eastern) on April 1, 2015 with management presentations scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (Eastern). Institutional investors, analysts and members of the financial community interested in attending can register in advance by contacting Annette Carberry at Fortis via email at [email protected] or via telephone at 709.737.2822. A live and archived audio webcast of the event will be available on the Corporation’s website at www.fortisinc.com.

FortisBC – a subsidiary of Fortis Inc. has officially started construction of its $400 million Tilbury LNG Facility expansion project today. The company is adding 1.1 million gigajoules of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to storage and 34,000 gigajoules per day of liquefaction capacity. FortisBC marked the occasion with a ground-breaking ceremony attended by The Honourable Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia; Delta Mayor Lois Jackson; as well as Scott Hamilton, MLA North Delta; and Vicki Huntington, MLA South Delta. FortisBC Energy Inc. operates the only two LNG facilities in Western Canada. The existing Tilbury LNG Facility opened in 1971 and has safely operated in Delta, B.C. for the last 43 years.

Braemar (Incorporating The Salvage Association), announces important new additions to its worldwide team of marine surveyors and consultants, as well as the opening of two new locations. In the New York office, John Walker will be joining Braemar SA as Chief Surveyor, P&I and Legal Services Manager for the Americas, bringing with him experience in marine consultancy at a senior level. Also new to the New York office is Luca Bruga, a naval architect, who will be joining as a Staff Surveyor.

The CPE Certified Port Executive Program welcomed four new graduates at the completion of their program in Ottawa September 21, 2012. The new graduates join alumni of over 100 port, transportation and military personnel who have participated in the program since its creation in 2010. This port management program is a five day course designed to provide participants with a professional education opportunity related to the operations of ports, vessels, marine terminals and the related transportation system.

GL Noble Denton Launches Marine Casualty Investigation Operations in Seattle. GL Noble Denton has expanded its Marine Casualty Investigation (MCI) practice in North America by launching operations in Seattle, a primary hub for marine insurance. The new base will allow the company's team of experienced surveyors to meet the growing demand for marine casualty investigations off the West Coast of the US and Canada. Activity in the cruise and offshore energy industries is rapidly developing in the region and GL Noble Denton's local presence will allow them to respond quickly to meet client needs.

Mr John Walker has been appointed as head of GL Noble Denton's growing Marine Casualty Investigation practice for the Americas region. Based in the New York office, John leads a team of expert marine engineers, master mariners and naval architects. His team play a key role in determining the cause and extent of machinery damage, fires, collisions, groundings, salvage operations and other marine incidents. John brings nineteen years of professional experience in vessel engineering, project management and marine accident investigation to his role.

One can only be troubled by the fact that there was at least one confirmed American fighting for the Al Qaeda. This young American, John Walker, was attending an Islamic school in or near Saudi Arabia when he became embroiled in the Al Qaeda (probably with his classmates). This means the extremist Islamic teachings that build terrorist mentality are not just in the Madrasus of poor Pakistan but are located in middle and upper class locales of Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Islamic world. The arrest in October of Armed Farid Rizk in a well appointed intermodal container bound for Canada must give one pause. The container was equipped with satellite phone, laptop computer and all the comforts of home. He had credentials giving access to airports in Canada, Egypt and Thailand.