Rear Admiral Peter Brady Retires from Maritime Authority of Jamaica
Maritime Authority of Jamaica’s Director General, Rear Admiral (ret’d) Peter Brady, has retired, with the position being accepted by Bertrand Smith, formerly the MAJ’s Director of Legal Affairs.Brady has served in this role since the Maritime Authority’s inception in 1999.As Director General, he was primarily responsible for elevating Jamaica’s maritime status regionally and globally. He spearheaded several major initiatives by the MAJ including the development of Jamaica as a shipping hub with attendant services such as bunkering and drydocking…
Containership Fire Extinguished in South Africa
The joint effort undertaken by a Disaster Management team at the Port of Ngqura has helped to avert a potential maritime disaster and ultimately saved the container vessel APL Austria, which caught fire last weekend. Transnet National Ports Authority, Transnet Port Terminals, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Fire Department, South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), South African Police Services (SAPS), National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) and a stevedoring company, worked together to battle the blaze, and the fire was eventually extinguished on Wednesday, February 15.
Recipitents of Australian Search and Rescue Awards
Five Tasmania Police officers will be recognised for their outstanding contribution to search and rescue tonight at this year’s Australian Search and Rescue Awards in Sydney. Since 1996, the National Search and Rescue Council, which is made up of representatives from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), Australian Defence Force and state and territory police services, has presented the Australian Search and Rescue Award to those who have made a significant contribution to Australia’s search and rescue ability or saving of a human life. The winning officers were involved in the rescue of three fishermen off Tasmania’s south west coast on 3 January 2014 in extreme weather conditions.
IMO Honors Acts of Bravery
American rescuers and a Chinese seafarer have been presented with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea 2013, during a special ceremony held on November 25, 2013 at IMO Headquarters in London. Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Randy J. Haba and Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Daniel J. Todd of the United States Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, were nominated by the Government of the United States…
Pirates Beware as Somalia State-building Begins
“There is definitely unimaginable change in Somalia from a war situation to an increasing peaceful situation,” says UN top envoy. “It may be more difficult, it may be more challenging, [but] we have moved from transition to transformation which entails peacebuilding [and] around it is state-building,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, told a news conference in Nairobi, in neighbouring Kenya, of the UN’s future role in a country that had been torn apart by more than 20 years of internecine warfare. The UN envoy paid tribute to the UN-backed African Union force in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali forces…
New Pacific for the Thames
VT Halmatic has recently secured an order for a Pacific 28 rigid inflatable boat (RIB) from the Metropolitan Police Service. The new boat will join the Metropolitan Police Services existing Pacific 24 RIBs and will be used to patrol the River Thames and its approaches. Already proven in service with the UK Ministry of Defence the powerful Pacific 28 is capable of operating in extreme conditions. Power will be provided by twin Yamaha marine diesels, to give an operational speed of over 40 knots.
