MARAD Awards More Than $20 Mln to Small US Shipyards
More than $20 million in grant funding has been awarded to support capital improvement projects at 29 small shipyards in 22 states across the U.S.The funding, awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) Small Shipyard Grant Program, supports capital improvements that foster increased efficiency and economic growth.“These grants are an investment in our country’s small shipyards and will help create good jobs for America’s workers,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L.
Cuban Migrant Crisis: USCG Still Focused on Saving Lives
The crew could not have been separated from the dock for more than an hour. The thick salt air had barely filled their lungs. Cell phone towers in Key West, Florida, were still visible with a squint of an eye. A voice rang out on the back deck, “Two seven zero. Three hundred yards! A crewmember from Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team South, Miami, had spotted what appeared to be Cuban nationals on a make-shift raft, headed for the U.S. The highly trained law enforcement official was one of two TACLET South team members sent to supplement the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Kathleen Moore, homeported in Key West. A voice rang through the 154-foot cutter, “Now set AMIO phase one!” Alien Migrant Interdiction Operations had begun.
CONFINED SPACE: Accident on a Marine Vessel
Was This A Permit Required Confined Space? By Hector V. Pazos, P.E. This accident happened in a large compartment of an Offshore Supply Vessel (OSV), which, because of lack of appropriate ventilation and toxic atmosphere it should have been treated as a confined space. An OSV is a vessel that carries supplies to offshore platforms and rigs drilling for oil and gas in the oceans, such as the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the supplies are carried on the cargo deck, but drilling mud and other chemicals are carried below the cargo deck in a compartment designated as "Bulk Mud Room", which on some OSV's may be 60 to 100 feet long. In this compartment some 10 to 20 large pressurized cylindrical tanks measuring 15 to 18 ft. in diameter and 10 to 12 ft.
OSHA Schedules Maritime Advisory Committee Meeting
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is holding an open meeting of the Maritime Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (MACOSH) and its workgroups in Oakland, Calif., July 31 and Aug. The workgroups will meet on July 31 from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. MACOSH will meet on Aug. 1 from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Oakland, Calif., 94612. and health in maritime industries. Falls, Shipyards, and Outreach and Safety Culture. requirements guidance products, and industry pocket guides. Wallis, acting director, Office of Maritime, U.S. phone: (202) 693-2086. meeting should contact Vanessa L. July 20, 2007, to obtain appropriate accommodations.
