Port Zones News

Subchapter M, the United States regulatory code dealing with towing vessels and requirements for towing vessel safety, has officially been in place since July 20, 2016, when the U.S. Coast Guard finalized Sub M rulemaking.Since the rules were finalized there have been a couple of important hammer dates. In spring and summer 2018 the first certificates of inspection (COI) were issued. COIs are central within the Sub M program. A vessel needs a COI to legally operate. (All vessels were required to comply with Sub M by July 20, 2018.

U.S. salvage industry update: Coast Guard recognition and continuous improvement for the domestic salvage industry and its working professionals.Professional salvors are called in when the ship’s crew is overwhelmed – the last resort to protect lives, minimize environmental impacts and save the ship and cargo. These salvage masters, divers, firefighters, naval architects, heavy lift operators and other salvage team members regularly go into harm’s way and consistently perform incredible feats. They commit their lives and livelihoods to this work.

Late last year, the Transportation Research Board released a major study that was undertaken “in response to the rapid development of domestic sources of energy and questions about the safest ways to move these products.” The Study Committee examined the operational responses of the three primary modes impacted by the fracking revolution – rail, pipeline and maritime. A primary observation of this work was that that the “Marine Transportation System Offers a Model for Robust Safety…

On April 18, Rear Admiral Anthony “Jack” Vogt, Assistant Commandant for Response Policy, released an update on the status of the most recent U.S. Salvage and Marine Firefighting (SMFF) industry verification initiative. According to the report, the Coast Guard has conducted 58 scenario-based SMFF verifications within the last year across 19 different Captain of the Port Zones, with 16 different vessel owners and operators. To date, all results have been found to be satisfactory and reflect compliance with the Coast Guard’s Salvage and Marine Firefighting regulations. “The latest report from the Coast Guard on the marine salvage industry’s…

The President and CEO of the MPA, Sylvie Vachon, together with the Minister for Maritime Affairs, Jean D’Amour, the Mayor of Montreal, Denis Coderre, and the Mayor of the Borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Réal Ménard, today announced the signing of an agreement for the establishment of an industrial port zone (IP Zone) in Montreal. The members of the local committee mandated to establish the Montreal Zone IP are: the City of Montreal, the City of Montreal East, the Montreal Metropolitan Community, CargoM and the relevant departments and agencies. Under this agreement, the government will fund up to 70% of costs associated with implementing the related development plan, to a maximum of $125,000.

Nearly 500 people descended upon the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis Nov. 16-17 during the 14th annual Indiana Logistics Summit to hear over 20 speakers discuss global logistics issues and their impacts on the regional economy. "Global Connections" was the theme and attendees heard how Québec's $9 billion maritime strategy will impact Indiana as well as how railroads are adjusting to the fossil fuel implosion. Dr. Robert E. Martínez, Vice President for Business Development and Real Estate for Norfolk Southern Corp., the fourth largest railroad in the U.S. with the most extensive intermodal network east of the Mississippi River, kicked off the conference with a keynote address dealing with the future of the rail industry. In ever-changing markets, Dr.

Since 16 June 2016, HAROPA - Port of Le Havre, # 1 French port complex, displays itself in three dimensions through the development of its software package S-WiNG©. The occasion for the professionals and the general public to virtually plunge into the environment of the Normandy port, to go into the heart of its daily activities and draw a wealth of information from them. time from a computer, a tablet or a smartphone. Every vessel present in the harbour waters is represented according to its category (container ships, oil tankers, bulk carriers, roll-on/roll-of ships, dredgers, tugs, barges, liners, ferries, etc.) with its draught, according to the real water level, the swell and the weather.

Port of Le Havre displays itself in three dimensions through the development of its software package S-WiNG. The occasion for the professionals and the general public to virtually plunge into the environment of the Normandy port, to go into the heart of its daily activities and draw a wealth of information from them. On the port of Le Havre, vessel movements are now freely accessible and can be visualized by everyone, in 3D and in real time from a computer, a tablet or a smartphone.

Samina Mahmood, former commercial manager for TITAN Salvage, has been appointed manager for Marine Response Alliance, an association of U.S. emergency responders providing OPA 90 Salvage Marine Firefighting (SMFF). MRA, founded in 1994, combines experts in all facets of emergency response with salvage, firefighting and lightering equipment in all Captain of the Port Zones. Alliance members include TITAN, Crowley, Marine Pollution Control and McAllister Towing & Transportation.

Marine Response Alliance (MRA), an association of U.S. emergency responders providing OPA 90 Salvage Marine Firefighting (SMFF), has relocated from Pompano, Fla., to Houston to be situated with international salvage partner TITAN Salvage. Conveniently located near George Bush International airport, the new office boasts a 102,500 square-foot maintenance and warehousing facility with 4.61 acres of outside storage. Built to suit, the facility includes a state-of-the-art Emergency Response Center manned 24/7, the only one of its kind in the United States.

In 2008 the USCG issued the tanker final rule for salvage and marine firefighting (SMFF) under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. This rule primarily required tank ships and barges carrying oils as defined in the 33 CFR 155 as cargo to pre-contract qualified salvors to promptly respond to a marine casualty in U.S. waters. While tankers were the primary focus of the new rules, Non-Tankers – defined by the USCG as any vessel over 400 gross tons – waited quietly for a likely turn with SMFF requirements.

Rear Admiral Joseph A. Servidio is Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy overseeing Inspections and Compliance, Marine Transportation Systems, and Commercial Regulations and Standards. Theses directorates include waterways management, navigation and boating safety, commercial vessels, ports and facilities, merchant mariner credentialing, vessel documentation, marine casualty investigation, inspections, and port state control. His previous assignments include numerous postings in marine inspection, marine safety and investigation billets. Servidio is a graduate of the U.

Maritime casualties have always been tackled by a relatively small, egotistical, passionate and intrepid group of mariners called “salvors.”  Salvage as history knows it, however, may be taking a sharp turn as a result of the new game rules being injected by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90). Back in 2008 the USCG issued the tanker final rule for salvage and marine firefighting (SMFF) under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. This rule primarily requires tank ships and barges…

Barents Observer reports that Murmansk might not achieve its much-desired Special Economic Port Zone goal, after all. Regional authorities in Murmansk have worked hard for the establishment of a free economic port zone, planned as a key element in the region’s bid for new investments and industrial initiatives linked with the upcoming oil and gas boom in the Barents Sea. Now, however, the project is in jeopardy because of key stakeholder Gazprom’s reluctance to engage in the initiative. Gazprom argues that the special status zone will not be in its interests because it does not allow for raw material processing. The company plans for the building of a huge regional LNG plant as part of the Shtokman project…

The Coast Guard has stood up a Maritime Transportation System Recovery Unit, Tuesday, in response to rising water levels on the Inland River System that have impacted commercial traffic. The MTSRU is comprised of experts in maritime mobility, incident response and port operations who work with stakeholders to restore the commercial capacity of a waterway following a natural or manmade disruption. As a result of high water in the Inland River System, the Coast Guard has established multiple safety zones and implemented vessel restrictions in several locations. There are no waterway closures at this time. Restrictions are in place to help ensure the safe facilitation of maritime traffic and may vary according to geographic Captain of the Port zones.

Resolve Salvage & Fire (Americas), the emergency response division of international maritime emergency services contractor Resolve Marine Group, announced that the U.S. Coast Guard has approved Resolve to help oil tanker vessel owners comply with new OPA90 requirements by the February 22, 2011 deadline. The USCG has already begun issuing Interim Operating Authorizations (IOA) for tank vessels that cite Resolve in their OPA90 Vessel Response Plans. With an IOA in hand, Resolve client vessels will be permitted to continue carrying  petroleum cargoes in U.S.

The directors of Marine Response Alliance LLC (MRA or Alliance) announced that McAllister Towing and Transportation Co., Inc. (McAllister) has joined the MRA as a full and equal member. McAllister is now united with the other MRA member companies—Crowley Marine Services, Inc. (Crowley), Marine Pollution Control Corporation (MPC), Titan Maritime LLC (Titan) and Marine Hazard Response (MHR)  (a joint venture of Wild Well Control, Inc. and Williams Fire and Hazard Control, Inc.) to provide OPA-90 Salvage and Marine Firefighting services to the maritime community.

Donjon-SMIT, LLC’s Board of Directors announced that its new Salvage, Lightering and Marine Firefighting (SMFF) services package is now complete and includes a new Coast Guard-approved and International Group of P&I Club–accepted contract. Providing the first of its kind rate sheets and a funding agreement, Donjon-SMIT believes vessel owners will benefit from the extent of the contract which fairly protects the interests of both shipowner and salvor. Also included in Donjon-SMIT’s package is its 2011 retainer fee rate structure for tank vessels operating under the new OPA-90 salvage regulations that go into effect in early 2011. Donjon-SMIT offers fleet discounts and a damaged stability program capability within this structure.

The U.S. Coast Guard announced that the first week of enforcement of compliance with the Transportation Worker Identification Credential Program in Coast Guard Captain of the Port Zones Northern New England, Boston, and Southeastern New England has resulted in only 23 denials of entry to port facilities out of the nearly 20,000 port workers, longshoremen and truckers required to comply with the program by the region's enforcement deadline of Oct. 15, 2008. Coast Guard field units in the region reported a successful kick-off of the compliance phase of the national maritime security program…

The TWIC compliance date for owners and operators of facilities located within U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port Zone Port Arthur, Texas, has been extended until April 14, 2009, from the original compliance date of Nov. 28, 2008. This extension was granted due to disruption of enrollment and port activities in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Ports affected by the April 14, 2009 compliance date include, among others, San Juan, Arecibo, Mayaguez, Guanica and Ponce, Puerto Rico;St. Thomas and Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; Port Arthur, Sabine Pass, Beaumont, Orange, Houston, Galveston, Freeport, Texas City and La Porte, Texas; Lake Charles, La.; Santa Barbara, Ventura, Port Hueneme, Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Newport Bay Harbor, Calif.; and Guam.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued an update to its status report on the implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. The TWIC Dashboard shows that (as of 31 October) 617,586 maritime workers have enrolled for a TWIC and that 405,699 cards have been activated. On Oct. 21, the government facility that houses the TWIC system experienced a building-wide power outage. Though power was quickly restored, the part of the system that facilitates card activations was affected. TWIC program enrollment and pre-enrollments are still available nationwide, and TSA encourages workers to enroll for their TWICs. While TSA worked to resolve the issue, workers nationwide were not able to activate their cards until Nov. By the week of Nov.

One million port and longshore workers, truckers and others at ports across the nation have enrolled in the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. The program's goal is to ensure that any individual who has unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities and vessels has received a thorough background check and is not a known security threat. Today, 36 of the 42 Captain of the Port Zones across the country require workers to have a TWIC. All ports must be in compliance with credential requirements by April 14, 2009. Port security personnel are trained to ensure workers have valid cards and Coast Guard officials are conducting random compliance inspections at these ports.

The Marine Response Alliance (MRA) is pleased to announce Ms. Margaret Kaigh Doyle has been appointed General Manager of the Alliance effective May 18, 2009. Doyle has over 20 years of experience in the maritime industry and the majority of her career has focused on representing the interests of various sectors in the industry including ship owners and operators, government agencies as well as salvage and firefighting organizations. Prior to joining the MRA she worked as a senior tanker analyst at Marsoft, a Boston-based maritime consulting company.