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Y2k News

23 Jul 2019

"IMO Joe" Angelo Honored

Mr. Joseph J. Angelo (Photo: IMO)

The International Maritime Prize for 2018 will be awarded to Joseph J. Angelo, a former United States Coast Guard (USCG) and International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO) senior executive who participated in International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings for many years, providing leadership on a number of key regulatory developments.The IMO Council, meeting for its 122nd session in London (July 15-19) decided to award the Prize to Mr. Angelo, in recognition…

18 Oct 2022

Marine Hybrid quietly arrives … positioned to explode

The Harbor Harvest vessel under construction (CREDIT: Robert Kunkel)

Hybrid is not only here, it is growing, and with that growth it will soon reach far beyond coastal applications.For those who were around for the arrival of Y2K, you will remember the anticipation, preparation and perspiration as the maritime world waited for the failure of communications, navigation, security and machinery associated with the digital change of the clock. The forecasts, now historical urban legend, left the world without a digital catastrophe.We wait now for 2020 and the advent of the IMO maritime emissions regulations.

02 May 2018

Last-minute Tips for Subchapter M

Credit: Eric Norcross

Countdown to Subchapter M: Last-minute tips for choosing the USCG or TPO/TSMS option ...Subchapter M will finally be implemented in the tugboat and towing industry in only a few short months. It has taken over ten years to arrive, but the build-up and in some cases, hysteria, can only be compared to the Y2K scare at the end of 1999. During that period, the world said Y2K would cause computer crashes, commerce to end and daily life to come to a crashing halt.Now, fast forward almost twenty years and enter Subchapter M.

11 Jul 2017

Rucker Named President of Tideworks

Tideworks Technology Inc., a full-service provider of terminal management and planning software solutions, announced that Thomas J. “T.J.” Rucker will assume the role of president effective September 1, 2017, succeeding retiring president Michael Schwank, who led the company for 19 years. Rucker will relocate to Seattle in August to ensure a smooth transition into the role. Rucker is currently vice president of operations at Manzanillo International Terminal (MIT), one of the largest container terminals in Latin America, where he is responsible for managing liner customer relationships, strategic planning and ensuring terminal productivity and KPI performance.

17 Jun 1999

U.S. Coast Guard Says Will Not Close Ports For Y2K

American ports will not be ordered to close between the end of 1999 and the beginning of the year 2000 because of millennium-related computer failure fears, the U.S. Coast Guard said last week. However, the Coast Guard said it would take steps to assess the ability of individual vessels to operate safely and impose restrictions where there were concerns that computer equipment might fail because of the Y2K date changeover. The shipping industry has been asked by the UN maritime agency the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to work through a preparedness checklist.

25 May 2000

Revamped Software Systems Results in Substantial Savings

In a rapidly changing, increasingly technological world, companies are finding it more important to change the way they invest their man-hours and expand their facilities. Bollinger Shipyards has aggressively expanded its physical facilities over the past few years, but realized expansion of the facilities without a thorough revamp of its internal communications systems would be foolish and costly, in the long run. The company employs 1,800 and is comprised of eight shipyards in Southern Louisiana. The most distant offices are still within 120 miles of each other. Until recently, the shipyards were using several different software systems to produce financial and operational information.

10 Sep 2004

The Great Maritime Disruption… that Never Happened

Y2K. Remember the dire warnings four years ago as the world raced towards the stroke of midnight ushering in 2000? Editorials screamed that computer systems everywhere would fail making bank accounts inaccessible, traffic lights inoperable and the whole air traffic control system would come to a screeching halt leaving airplanes without guidance. Y2K disaster preparation "kits" were sold over the Internet as survivalists worried about governments all over the world failing and universal chaos occurring. Despite all these dire predictions from experts and average citizens alike governments, working in partnerships with industry (both large and small), took a very proactive approach, developed solutions and the great cyber meltdown never occurred.

10 Jun 1999

Shipping Firms Urged To Plan For Y2K Failures

Shipping companies are being urged to draw up contingency plans to deal with millennium bug equipment breakdowns over and above preparations they should have already made to be Y2K compliant.

10 Dec 1999

Cruise Lines Face Y2K Supplier Squalls

Cruise Lines Face Y2K Supplier Squalls The world's biggest cruise lines have safeguarded their own computers against Year 2000 glitches, but still face possible electronic squalls arising at food vendors and other suppliers. Carnival, Royal Caribbean and other major cruise lines operating out of North America are stopping short of declaring full victory over possible Y2K disruptions, due to worry about outside vendors, officials said. Telephones going awry, delays by airlines delivering cruise-ship passengers, or outside refrigeration systems breaking down are some of the possible Y2K problems.

10 Dec 1999

Clinton Administration Worried About High Oil Prices

The Clinton administration said that oil prices have soared to "dangerously high" levels, and crude oil could be sold from the nation's emergency stockpile if already-tight supplies are disrupted by Y2K computer problems at the end of the year. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson sent to the White House contingency plans for selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve if necessary. The reserve, created after the 1970s Arab oil embargo, holds about 572 million barrels of oil in underground caverns. While the millennium computer bug problem is a major concern, Richardson also made it clear that the administration was closely monitoring current oil prices with an eye toward possible action if necessary.

05 Nov 1999

Norway's Oil Firms Address Millennium Issues

Oil firms in the final stages of testing for possible millennium disturbances on Norway's offshore oil and gas platforms say they are confident there will no major mishaps at midnight on December 31. Operators say they have tested thousands of components and replaced obsolete systems and controls where potential computer bugs may have lurked. "We cannot guarantee 100 percent but we can say that it is highly unlikely that anything will happen," said Kai Nilsen, spokesman at the state oil firm Statoil. Oil companies, along with the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), began Y2K preparations as early as 1997. In the worst case, the NPD feared that a freak chain of computer failures could trigger an explosion.

10 Sep 1999

Y2K Worries Prompt Cargill To Avoid S. Africa

Cargill U.S.-based commodities giant Cargill Inc. has told South Africa it plans to avoid trading there from mid-December to mid-January because of worries over the country's preparations for the millennium bug, according to press reports. The group's South African subsidiary reportedly sent a letter to the Department of Agriculture in Pretoria, pointing to a "worst-case" assessment by a U.S. computer consultancy analyzing the risks of the bug. "We plan to avoid entering into or executing trades in maize, oilseeds, wheat or any other commodity in the period December 15 to January 15," the letter said. According to the letter, U.S. consultancy Gartner Group puts South Africa in a high-risk category for the bug…

29 Jul 1999

USCG Creates Y2K Web Site

The Pacific Area USCG (covering the western U.S.) has established a Y2K workgroup and web site to help identify potential problems from the millennium bug for the maritime and boating community. The web site (www.uscg.mil/pacarea/pm/Y2K/Welcome.htm) addresses USCG preparedness and what the agency is doing to continue providing services throughout the Y2K adjustment process. It also addresses lessons learned during the contingency planning process and invites readers to share their lessons learned.

20 Aug 1999

Britain To Detain Ships With Y2K Problems

Britain has warned shipowners that vessels calling at British ports could be detained if they have not ironed out millennium bug problems. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said ships’ power, steering or navigational equipment could fail because of the bug, which is expected to cause electronic systems to crash because they cannot process the millennium date change. The agency said its surveyors are already giving guidance on the millennium bug problem to ships they inspect. After Sept. 1, ships that have not identified equipment that could fail or taken remedial action will be recorded in a European database and be targeted for further inspection. After Nov.

17 Aug 1999

USCG Implements Y2K Command Center

Essential Technologies, Rockville, Md., announced the USCG is using its Y2K Command Center software to manage Y2K data submitted to the USCG by marine industry businesses in accordance with USCG Y2K reporting requirements. This initiative is part of a nationwide USCG program designed to collect information about ships and port facilities, and evaluate their Y2K preparations and the potential risk of their operations during Y2K critical periods. This evaluation will determine whether any operational restrictions will be placed on individual operators. Regardless of such restrictions, however, the USCG has said it will keep all ports open.

02 Aug 1999

Oceanroutes Helps Steer Vessels To Safety In Inclement Weather

Provisions for the routing of containerships servicing the Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific trades - specifically Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), have been implemented by WNI Oceanroutes. A leading transportation company, OOCL utilizes all that WNI offers within its services and products hub: Optimum Weather Routing, ORION for onboard guidance and the POLARIS fleet management system. "Together, Optimum Weather Routing and ORION help us maintain schedule and integrity and minimize weather risks," said Alfred H.Y. Cheung, manager Nautical Advisory & Safety Audit Section for OOCL's Ship Management Department. Proven as an imperative tool for schedule and safety management, POLARIS has helped OOCL by furthering its already effective management style and high-tech image.

25 Aug 1999

SINGAPORE RUNS Y2K DRILLS

With the countdown to the end of the year drawing to a close, officials in all maritime related businesses are busily preparing for the coming, potential, problems to from the Y2K bug. Today, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) tested the first of several drills with a shipper involving Year 2000 (Y2K) preparations. The test aboard the Neptune Orient Lines' (NOL) APL Japan, a 64,500 gt container vessel, involved the mock failure of computer-aided functions such as engines, steering mechanisms and shipboard communications. The Port Authority of Singapore has spent an estimated $2.6 million on preparing its computer systems.

18 Aug 1999

Simplified Rates and Low Product Prices for Iridium Services

Stratos announced it is offering a new simplified Iridium airtime rate structure in conjunction with low Motorola and Kyocera equipment prices. Stratos' new Iridium Frequent Caller rate plan offers satellite callers rates ranging from as low as $1.59 to $2.99 - a substantial reduction from current standard rates of $5.52 to $9.03. Previously, Stratos' standard Iridium rate plan for its U.S. customers included up to 15 zones for international calls. The new Frequent Caller plan has only three satellite categories, including calls within North America, from one Iridium subscriber to another and all other satellite calls. Stratos also offers a Standby rate plan for users looking for an Iridium phone for Y2K contingency, disaster relief and other emergency communications.

27 Aug 1999

Singapore Initiates Y2K Readiness Drill On NOL Vessel

As the conclusion of 1999 comes quickly and worries surrounding the unknown effects of the Y2K bug grow stronger, more maritime entities around the globe are increasing the pace of testing and compliance. Last week, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) tested the first of several drills with a shipper involving Year 2000 (Y2K) preparations. The test aboard the Neptune Orient Lines' (NOL) APL Japan, a 64,500 gt container vessel, involved the mock failure of computer-aided functions such as engines, steering mechanisms and shipboard communications. "The objectives of the exercise were to test the preparedness of staff from the MPA and NOL, as well as the Y2K contingency plans of both organizations," MPA's Director-General Chen Tze Penn said.

31 Aug 1999

Y2K Conference Held In New York

"What you're seeing now, is a 'flight to quality,'" said Rear Admiral George Naccara, of the USCG, at the Y2K Luncheon held in New York last month. The Y2K Luncheon, sponsored by the Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey, brought together individuals from three main sectors of the shipping industry, to discuss what steps each had made in designing and implementing a plan to ensure computer systems were "Y2K" (or Year 2000) compliant. John Hill, director of the Application Development Division of U.S. According to Hill, the initial plan was for approximately 180,000 work-hours of programming and testing. Already, he said, the total had exceeded 200,000 work-hours of effort to reprogram the systems. Close to $12 million in expenditures have been necessary.

03 Sep 1999

South Africa's Shipping Industry All Set For Y2K

South Africa's Transport Minister Dullah Omar said the country's aviation and shipping industries will ride out any possible glitches caused by the millennium bug computer problem. "I'm confident that we are on course. The essential part of ensuring Y2K readiness is there," Omar said. "I can say with confidence that there'll be no problems with regard to air traffic. He said one example of South Africa's readiness for Y2K was the recent implementation of a new Belgian-made container handling system named Cosmos, at the Durban, East London, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth harbors. "The introduction of Cosmos was to bring in new computer technology that is Y2K compatible. We need to ensure that airplanes are able to fly and our ports are operating," Omar said.

01 Sep 1999

Proposed & Interim Rules

MarAd is soliciting public comment concerning whether MarAd should amend its cargo preference regulations governing the carriage of agricultural exports. Comments are welcome on the questions listed in this notice or on any other aspect of MarAd's oversight of other governmental agencies' ocean shipping activities under the Cargo Preference Act of 1954, as amended by the Food Security Act of 1985. Present regulations and policies remain in force. This docket does not address the carriage of military cargoes. The USCG proposes to amend the Anchorage Regulations for the Atlantic Ocean off Miami and Miami Beach, Fla. The amendment is needed…

20 Sep 1999

Y2K Clauses: Don't Promise Too Much

While charterparties are, to a large extent based on standard forms, they are also subject to the inclusion of many amendments and additional clauses. These clauses need to be scrutinized with care, as their implications may be more far reaching than initially envisaged. The additional clauses and their effect are also often less well known than the provisions in the standard forms. For some time clauses dealing with possible Y2K problems have been appearing in the market. INTERTANKO is concerned that some clauses require guarantees that an operation is Y2K-compliant. The problem is that in practice it is nearly impossible for any business to know that they are indeed 100 percent Y2K-compliant.