Department Of Health News

The unified command consisting of the Coast Guard, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, New York City Office of Emergency Management, and Monmouth County Department of Health, received oil sample lab results from the Coast Guard Marine Safety Laboratory Friday, linking together oil spill cleanup efforts in both New York and New Jersey.Vane Brothers Company, as represented by Gallagher Marine Systems, has been identified as the responsible party.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has formed a new advisory council to help drive improvements at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), a service academy in Kings Point, N.Y.According to the DOT, establishment of the USMMA Advisory Council fulfills a key recommendation from the National Academy of Public Administration’s (NAPA) November 2021 report entitled “Organizational Assessment of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy: A Path Forward.” Specifically, NAPA’s report recommended…

A probable case of the Omicron variant has been identified in a crew member of a Norwegian Cruise ship that reached New Orleans on Sunday after detecting COVID-19 among some crew and guests, the Louisiana Department of Health said.The probable case was found among 10 people who tested positive for the virus on Saturday, the health agency said in a tweet on Sunday.Another seven cases have since been reported, it added, taking the total number of cases among passengers and crew of Norwegian Breakaway…

A 120-foot dredge barge capsized in the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina, Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Coast Guard Sector Charleston watchstanders received a call at 3:34 a.m. from the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina staff stating the dredge barge rolled over on its side in the marina. There were no persons aboard the Capt Leo II when it capsized, but the dredge barge has a reported maximum potential of 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board. Photos shared by the…

About 800 workers from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Friday will be in the first wave of COVID-19 vaccinations for employees at the United States' busiest seaport complex, which has been hard hit by pandemic-related workforce disruptions and surging imports.Congress members last month joined state and local leaders in urging California officials to hasten COVID-19 vaccinations for employees at the ports amid high-stakes battles over which workers should be prioritized as essential.Such decisions at times are made at the local level…

Philippines and Singapore-based crew specialist CF Sharp has established its own COVID-19 testing center in Manila to speed up its crew change process amid mounting coronavirus case counts and ongoing logistical challenges for seafarers and ship managers globally. Sharp, which earlier this year repatriated more than 12,000 crew members from cruise ships around the world, is now pitching in to assist with crew changes for commercial vessels docked off the Philippine coast and has…

A Panama-flagged bulk carrier with a coronavirus outbreak on board has sailed from its anchorage off Port Hedland and is enroute to Manila, the Philippines.The clearance for the Vega Dream’s departure was given Wednesday by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.The Western Australian Department of Health said it offered assistance to the COVID-19 positive crew "in line with its commitment to humanitarian care", but medical intervention was not required and declined.Prior to embarking on its voyage, the Australian public health experts provided advice to the vessel around infection prevention and control. The shipping agent was also offered access to the Department’s vessel deep-cleaning plans…

Royal Caribbean Group has hired Dr. Calvin Johnson as Global Head, Public Health and Chief Medical Officer, a new role created to lead the cruise line operator's global health and wellness policy, manage its public health and clinical practice and determine the strategic plans and operations of its global healthcare organization.Johnson will also collaborate with the Healthy Sail Panel assembled in response to COVID-19, to ensure the company establishes and implements its protocols and recommendations.Dr.

Several workers on a BP Plc oil platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico have tested positive for coronavirus, the company said on Wednesday, a day after a worker at BP's operations in Alaska also tested positive.The cases are the first recorded among oil workers in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, and follow a positive test at an Equinor offshore project in the North Sea.A case of the coronavirus was also reported at BP's Whiting, Indiana refinery, according to local media reports.More than 850…

A U.S. Coast Guard Academy Cadet has tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a spring break trip to Europe.The cadet, a 20-year-old male, was in Spain along with six other cadets and a civilian friend when they were ordered to return to the U.S. based on the Presidential Proclamation suspending travel from Europe.Upon returning home to Florida, the cadet became symptomatic and sought treatment and screening and was confirmed as positive for the novel coronavirus based on test results received Thursday from a Florida Department of Health Facility.

Two U.S. Navy hospital ships are being prepared to aid shoreside medical facilities that could become overrun by the coronavirus pandemic, the Pentagon's chief spokesman said.The USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy will be deployed "as needed to assist potentially overwhelmed counties with acute patient care" as part of the Defense Department's response to the pandemic, Jonathan Rath Hoffman, assistant to the defense secretary for public affairs, said during a news conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday.The Comfort is now in Norfolk…

Test results from the individuals suspected to be the first cases of COVID-19 in any South African seaport have all come back negative, Transnet National Ports Authority has confirmed.Earlier this week two vessels, the general cargo vessel MV Corona and the cruise ship AIDAmira, were held off port limits outside the Port of Cape Town. The cruise liner was later allowed to dock but its roughly 1,700 passengers and crew remained onboard pending test results from one suspected COVID-19 case and seven others who had possible contact with him.Captain Dennis Mqadi…

Marine terminals at at the United States’ second-busiest seaport have remained open and operating amid the unfolding coronavirus crisis, with regular vessel calls and scheduled work shifts continuing, the Port of Long Beach said.The port said its marine terminals are receiving vessel calls and workers are transferring cargo off and on ships under the health-protective directives established by the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection, with guidance from the U.S.

A cruise ship with 609 people on board has been isolated in Brazil's northeastern port of Recife since Thursday morning after a passenger showed symptoms similar to those of the new coronavirus, according to the Department of Health in Pernambuco state.A 78-year-old Canadian man with fever, coughing and breathing difficulties was sent to a private hospital in the state capital Recife after disembarking.The remaining 318 passengers and 291 crew members will be kept in isolation…

Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday.The Port Authority, which oversees both states' seaports as well as airports and other major travel hubs, said in a statement that Cotton is currently asymptomatic and has self-quarantined at his home while maintaining a full work schedule.Staff members who have had close contact with Cotton in recent…

South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) were awarded a $2 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grant program to upgrade the engines of 12 rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes.The EPA awarded the grant to DHEC, in partnership with SCPA. The funding will equip the Port’s RTG cranes with hybrid battery/genset engine systems, replacing the existing hi-power diesel engines.The new engines will reduce emissions of particulate matter, air toxins and nitrogen oxides up to 96% while reducing annual fuel consumption by over 100,000 gallons.SCPA Chief Operating Officer Barbara Melvin said S.C.

A report entitled “An investigation of air pollution on the decks of 4 cruise ships” studied levels of Particulate Matter (PM) on the decks of four separate cruise ships. While many studies have evaluated the potential impact of ship emissions in port cities, the author – Ryan David Kennedy, PhD, MAES, Department of Health, Behavior & Society, Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health – said in the report that “little is known about how ship engine exhaust may impact the air quality on the deck of a ship.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it is responding to a 30-foot barge which capsized near Surfside Beach, S.C., Wednesday.Coast Guard Sector Charleston is working closely with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the barge's owner to identify any potential environmental impacts.The cause of the incident is under investigation.

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) appointed Preston Khomo, previously Richards Bay Port Manager, as Executive Manager: Ship Repair, to manage and administer the organization’s ship repair resources nationally.Thamsanqa (Thami) Sithole has been appointed as the new Port Manager for Richards Bay. Both appointments are effective July 1.Khomo joined TNPA in 2004 as Head of Infrastructure Development: Port Operations and Consulting at Portcon (the then international arm of Transnet)…

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.

Today SC Ports Authority announced 13 percent year-over-year increases in container volume through the first quarter of the 2015 fiscal year. SCPA handled 150,790 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in September, up 13.4 percent over the same month in 2013. Container volumes are 10.3 percent ahead of plan for the fiscal year, which began in July. From a calendar year perspective, TEUs  are up 11.5 percent over 2013 levels. Charleston breakbulk cargo volumes were also strong in September, with 65,214 pier tons handled during the month.

South Africa's Department of Health has published a Cabinet decision with regards to measures to counter and control the potential spread of Ebola from West African countries where outbreaks have been reported. Cases of the disease have been reported in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria, and recently an increase in the number of cases has been noted in the first three. The Department of Health has taken measures in South Africa to enhance surveillance, distribute guidelines to all hospitals in public and private sectors, designate health facilities for the treatment of patients, deployed personal protective equipment (PPE) to designated facilities…

Scheduled for Thursday and Friday, federal, state, local and Canadian law enforcement partners will be brought together in a multi-agency exercise designed to prepare for and prevent cross-border terrorist and criminal activity on the Niagara River, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. There are no known threats against the area, but boaters may notice increased assets of law enforcement on the water. Organized by The Monroe County Emergency Management Office, the multi-jurisdictional exercise will be sponsored by The Department of Homeland Security.