Worker Medevaced from Bulk Carrier Off Louisiana
An ailing shore labor worker was medevaced off an Indian-flagged bulk carrier Thursday near Pointe a la Hache, La., the U.S. Coast Guard said.The Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector New Orleans received a call at approximately 10 a.m. stating a man on board Great Eastern's Kamsarmax bulker Jag Arnav was unresponsive due to unknown circumstances.A spokesperson for Great Eastern Shipmanagement said the man is a shore laborer who was not feeling well while performing hatch cleaning at Magnolia anchorage on the Mississippi River.
Crude Oil Spill Near Port Sulphur, La.
The U.S. Coast Guard said on Sunday it is responding to a crude oil discharge in Rattle Snake Bayou, southwest of Port Sulphur, La.Coast Guard watchstanders in New Orleans received a report from the National Response Center that the well was reported to be leaking.It is unknown when the discharge began, and the amount discharged has not been determined. The well is rated to produce 5,476 gallons of oil per day.Responders are working to locate and secure the source of the discharge. The well's owner Hilcorp has contracted ES&H as an oil spill response organization.
E-Crane Holds Technology Showcase in New Orleans
E-Crane agents and special guests attended the E-Crane Technology Showcase in New Orleans during the first week of December in conjunction with the International WorkBoat Show (IWBS). The three day event consisted of a dinner reception and presentations on the evening on Wednesday, December 3, as well as two site visits on the following days to see actual E-Cranes in operation. E-Crane guests and attendees were also given special access to the WorkBoat Show, and were able to attend the exhibit hall throughout the week.
Tugboat Allides with Inactive Wellhead, Triggers Discharge
The Coast Guard is reponding to limit pollution of the sea in the area 9 miles SW of Port Sulphur (on W. bank of the Mississippi) Louisiana. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a report Tuesday that the 42-foot crewboat Sea Raider, allided with a wellhead owned by Swift Energy, causing the platform to discharge an oily-water mixture. Swift Energy, the responsible party, has contracted a barge to secure the wellhead. Response crews have deployed 1,800-feet of boom to contain the discharged oily-water mixture from the wellhead.
Clarifying In-Port Sulphur Limits
The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) has moved quickly to dispel the apparent confusion currently surrounding implementation of the EU directive requiring all ships to use low-sulphur fuel while at berth in EU ports. EU Directive 2005/33/EC requires that, with effect from January 1, 2010, member states must take all necessary steps to ensure that ships at berth in EU ports do not use marine fuels with a sulphur content exceeding 0.1 per cent by mass. Although reports have been circulating in the industry that, because of the potential safety risks associated with the switchover on ships with unmodified boilers, the deadline may have been put back, IBIA stresses that such is not the case.
USCG Restores Maritime Communications in SE Louisiana
The U.S. Coast Guard restored full maritime radio communications in the Venice and Port Sulphur areas of Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina by using a Disaster Recovery System portable antenna tower, enabling search and rescue operations to continue in the devastated region. "The tower was designed as a critical component of the Rescue 21 command and control system to provide emergency communications following a crisis," said Capt. Robert Mobley, Rescue 21 project manager. The Coast Guard received a transmission from the motor vessel Douglas within days of deploying the system after the vessel struck an object in the southern portion of the Mississippi River. The clear communications transmitted via the system allowed the Coast Guard to respond to the vessel’s emergency.
Post-Hurricane Pollution Recovery Continues
Personnel from the multi-agency unified command here continue to assess, investigate and oversee the cleanup of six major and three medium oil spills caused by damage to facilities after Hurricane Katrina struck southeast Louisiana. Cleanup efforts continue at the following facilities: Chevron Empire Terminal in Buras, La.; Sundown East and Sundown West, both in Potash, La.; Bass Enterprises Production Company Cox Bay facility at mile marker 35 on the Mississippi River; Bass Enterprises Production Company in Pointe a la Hache, La.; Dynegy Venice in Venice, La.; Murphy Oil in Meraux, La.; Shell Pilot Town in Pilottown, La.; and Shell Nairn in Port Sulphur, La.
