Office Of The President News

The United States Navy is re-establishing its Second Fleet, responsible for the northern Atlantic Ocean, nearly seven years after it was disbanded as the Pentagon puts countering Russia at the heart of its military strategy.“Our National Defense Strategy makes clear that we’re back in an era of great power competition as the security environment continues to grow more challenging and complex,” Chief of U.S. Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said on Friday.“Second Fleet will exercise operational and administrative authorities over assigned ships…

A group of Philippine opposition senators has sought a public inquiry into the navy’s 15.7 billion peso ($310 million) acquisition of a frigate from a South Korean firm, after media said the president’s closest aide had meddled in the deal. President Rodrigo Duterte is furious at media reports that his longtime special assistant, Christopher “Bong” Go, had intervened to help a South Korean sub-contractor win the right to install a combat management system on the two missile-capable vessels, which are due for delivery in 2020. Go has denied any wrongdoing. The frigate issue cost former navy chief Vice Admiral Ronald Joseph Mercado his job last month.

A U.S. navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Friday, drawing a warning from Chinese warships to leave the area. The U.S. action was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, U.S. officials said. The Chinese Defense Ministry called the move "illegal" and "provocative," saying that two Chinese warships had warned the U.S. destroyer to leave. The guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur challenged "excessive maritime claims" near the Paracel Islands…

The total cost to France of reimbursing Russia for cancelling two warship contracts will be less than 1.2 billion euros, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday. Le Drian said on radio RTL the initial price for the two Mistral helicopter carrier warships had been 1.2 billion euros, but France will have to pay less than that because the ships were not been finished and the contract was suspended. "Talks between President Putin and President Francois Hollande have concluded yesterday. There is no further dispute on the matter," he said. He added that the discussions had been held in an amiable way and that there were no further penalties to pay over the contract, which was cancelled because of Russia's role in the Ukraine conflict.

Thousands of migrants from Bangladeshi and Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar Myanmar are still stranded at sea in south-east Asia in desperate need of food and water. Like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, the Philippines will push back to sea undocumented Asian “boat people” despite a United Nations appeal to Southeast Asian countries to open their ports to the migrants from impoverished Myanmar and Bangladesh. Earlier, United Nations has called on Southeast Asian nations not to push back the boatloads of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar and Bangladeshis - men, women and children who fled persecution and poverty at home, and now face sickness and starvation at sea.

Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry has been appointed president to head the World Maritime University (WMU), as announced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and university. Dr. Doumbia-Henry will be the seventh WMU president and will be the first female in the role. Dr. Doumbia-Henry, who has dual Dominican and Swiss nationality, is currently director of the International Labor Standards Department, of the International Labor Office of the International Labor Organization (ILO). She is expected to assume office as WMU President, in Malmö, Sweden, in July.

On Oct. 20, 1973, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia imposed a total embargo on oil shipments to the United States among other countries in response to their support for Israel during the Arab-Israeli war. Faisal's decision led directly to the introduction of a ban on U.S. crude exports, which remains in force in a slightly modified form and is now the focus of an intense struggle for reform. Following the U.S. mid-term elections next month, Congress will take up the issue again, a debate that would benefit from an understanding of the history behind the ban. On Oct.

The Port of Hueneme Board of Commissioners voted in officers for 2014 at their first meeting of the year held January 13, 2014. Senior Commission member and former five-time President Jess Herrera nominated Commissioner Mary Anne Rooney to take the helm as president. Rooney’s nomination received unanimous Board support and for the first time in the Port’s 77 year history a woman takes the office of Board President. Commissioner Herrera was named Vice President and Commissioner Manuel Lopez was voted Secretary.

A group of investors sued the Colombian government for preventing American salvage group Sea Search Armada from recovering San Jose, a ship that sank in 1708, often referred to as the “Holy Grail of Shipwrecks.” With numerous court rulings throughout the years, the battle has lasted since 1979. In a case filed March 29 with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), a group of American investors claimed the government of Colombia violated their human rights by preventing them from salvaging their jointly owned property, a Spanish galleon sunk in 800 feet of water near Cartagena, Colombia. The investment group, named Sea Search Armada (SSA), brought the suit after more than 20 years of various legal efforts to affirm SSA’s initial agreement with Colombia.

The newly formed Palau International Ship Registry has processed its first two vessel registrations at a historic inauguration ceremony. At the ceremony, held in Singapore on September 28, 2012, the cruise/passenger vessels Amusement World (12,764 GRT) and Leisure World (15,653 GRT) were registered and Palau International Ship Registry was officially launched. The event was attended by Delegate Swenny Ongidobel, Congressman, House of Delegates, Palau National Congress; Delegate Lentcer Basilius…

The federal government - by means of the Office of the President's Chief of Staff, the Office of the General Counsel to the Federal Government, the special secretary of ports, and the National Agency for Waterways Transportation (ANTAQ) - is preparing to launch a set of measures designed to modernise Brazil's port infrastructure. First, auctions will be held for new public terminals, with Manaus, Espirito Santo and Ilheus (and possibly Imbituba) likely to be the terminals first auctioned. ANTAQ has already submitted the draft resolution for organisation of the auctions to the president's chief of staff. The draft provides for the presentation…

U.S.-Canada Arctic Ocean survey partnership saved costs, increased data; 2011 mission concludes joint seafloor survey operations. A recent mission marked the completion of a five-year collaboration between the United States and Canada to survey the Arctic Ocean. The bilateral project collected scientific data to delineate the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the coastline, also known as the extended continental shelf (ECS). The U.S. has an inherent interest in knowing…

The potential for sea tourism and its significance as a key factor in the development of the economies of Greece, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea region will be examined in depth during the Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum, scheduled to take place 21-22 June 2011 at the prestigious Onassis Cultural Centre in Athens. The forum will focus on three key areas of sea tourism: cruise shipping, the yachting industry and inter-island and passenger shipping. The first Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum comes at a time when this form of tourism is showing rapid growth globally…

Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) announced the opening of a new exclusive surveyor office in Ferrol, Spain. The new office becomes the sixth new office to be opened by the Society in 2010, and the third new office to be established by ClassNK in Europe this year. The new Ferrol Office is ClassNK’s fifth exclusive surveyor office to be opened in Spain, joining existing offices in Bilbao, Algeciras, Barcelona and Las Palmas. Since the beginning of this year, the ClassNK register has grown by more than 8 million gross tons to reach a total of more than 177 million gross tons, further cementing ClassNK’s position as the world’s leading classification society. With the opening of the Ferrol Office, ClassNK now maintains a global network of 115 exclusive surveyor offices around the globe.

MCS Kenny Inc., provider of engineering solutions for the subsea industry from optimizing subsea layouts to detailed design of risers, flowlines and umbilicals, has joined the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) Marine Partners initiative as a Marine Affiliate. “There will be no assessment fee for the first fifty MCS Kenny Inc employees signing up for IMarEST professional membership; and we will be working closely with the Institute on a range of activities that will aid the professional development of members of our team. Indeed, before long we will be welcoming a visit to the MCS Kenny Inc office by the Education and Training Manager of IMarEST to provide an optional guidance service to our employees on training…

“The Administration has certainly insisted on transparency when it involves divulging our interrogation techniques to alleged terrorists, but has refused to apply the same standard for the American people when it comes to the readiness of our nation’s defenses. In a move the Washington Post described as ‘unprecedented secrecy,’ Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently instituted a gag order requiring hundreds of Pentagon officials involved in the budget process to sign a non-disclosure agreement barring them from discussing any proposed cuts or expenditures even to members of congress. These were the very individuals who had the expertise necessary to assess any potential damage to national security such cuts could present.

The Executive Office of the President issued a Statement of Administration Policy in which it states that the President’s senior advisors will recommend veto of the Coast Guard Authorization Act (H.R. 2830) if it includes a provision that would require the Coast Guard to provide security around liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. The concern is that the requirement provides an unwarranted and unnecessary subsidy to owners of private infrastructure that is contrary to the existing assistance framework and would divert finite Coast Guard assets from other high-priority missions. Admiral Thad Allen, Coast Guard issued a statement expressing concern about various provisions in the current version of the legislation. Source: HK Law

Tidewater Inc. has promoted Reg McNee, head of the company's Far East division for the last three years, to the office of vice president. McNee joined the company in July 1997, and has most recently been in charge of operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia and Dubai. He will continue to be based in Singapore. Tidewater owns and operates over 570 vessels.

Costa Crociere is expanding its presence in the Benelux countries and in Emilia Romagna. In December 2002, the Genoese company will open one new commercial office in Bologna and one in Brussels, with the aim of significantly strengthening its development on the European market and promoting the Costa trademark in the Benelux countries and in Emilia Romagna. Costa’s new office in Brussels, which is due to open officially towards the end of 2002, will be in charge of sales and promotion of Costa cruises in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. It will be managed by Patrick J. Pourbaix, with his assistants Aurelie Vermeulen, responsible for the French-speaking market, and Eveline Vanderstraeten, responsible for the Flemish-speaking market.

Venezuela's state oil company said Wednesday it has signed a deal with Brazilian industrial conglomerates Eisa and Maua Jurong to build ten oil tankers in Venezuela. The joint venture will produce at least eight Panamax tankers, the largest type of vessel capable of navigating the locks of the Panama canal. PDVSA plans to increase its total fleet to 42 ships by 2012, the statement said. Since taking office in 1999, President Hugo Chavez has worked to forge stronger ties with Brazilian companies while reducing Venezuela's dependence on the United States as its top buyer by trying to find new markets for its heavy crude in Latin America and Asia. Source: AP

The transportation unit of Brazil's state oil company Petrobras said Wednesday that it will pay $1.2b to build 10 oil tankers. Brazil's National Development Bank will finance the shipbuilding project with $1.16m, the press office of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in a statement earlier Wednesday. Silva and Petrobras Chief Executive Sergio Gabrielli signed the deal at the port of Suape in the northeastern state of Pernambuco. The financing is the largest ever by the development bank for Brazil's once-flourishing shipbuilding industry, which the government is trying to revive. The 10 Suezmax tankers will be built by the Atlantico Sul consortium, composed of construction companies Andrade Gutierrez, Camargo Correa, Queiroz Galvao and Aker Promar.