Chemical Facilities News

The recovery of the chemical tanker market continued into the second quarter as main drivers were strong US exports and healthy volume development throughout the quarter on main trades, said Odfjell SE.The Clean Petroleum Products (CPP) market weakened which led to a net increase of 20 coated MR's trading chemical/veg-oils during the quarter, hereby increasing supply pressure for chemical tankers towards the end of the quarter, said the company specializing in worldwide seaborne transportation and storage of chemicals and other specialty bulk liquids.The global chemical tanker order book stands at 6.6% of the current fleet. The global deep-sea fleet based on vessels larger than 18,000 dwt grew by net 6 vessels in 2Q19 as 8 vessels were delivered, and 2 vessels were scrapped.

Chevron Corp wants to build or buy a refinery along the U.S. Gulf Coast to process crude oil from its rapidly growing Permian Basin operations, a senior executive said on Tuesday.The company would like to have refining operations on the Houston Ship Channel, in the western part of the U.S. Gulf, to complement an existing eastern Gulf refinery in Mississippi that makes lubricants and other materials, Pierre Breber, Chevron's head of downstream and chemicals, said."Something on the ship channel side could make a lot of sense for our company…

Two members of the Houston Pilots in the United States are to receive the 2017 International Maritime Organization (IMO)  Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea. The pair will be recognized for their role in averting a major tragedy when the ship they were piloting broke down and burst into flames after colliding with mooring dolphins. Despite being surrounded by a towering wall of burning fuel for nearly 90 minutes, pilots Captain Michael G. McGee and Captain Michael C. Phillips showed decisiveness, dedication and ship-handling expertise. As a result of their courageous actions, no lives were lost, serious damage to pier structures and petro-chemical facilities were prevented and a major marine pollution incident was avoided.

Tropical Storm Bill punched the Texas coast with heavy rains and strong winds on Tuesday, the National Weather Service said, just three weeks after floods killed about 30 people in the state. The second named tropical storm of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season made landfall near Matagorda, a sportfishing town near the South Texas Nuclear Generating Station in Bay City, a coastal nuclear power plant. Spokesman Buddy Eller said the plant had prepared for the storm and operations were normal with full staffing. Companies said output from oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, which pumps about a fifth of all domestic crude, was unaffected. But BP Plc shut its Mad Dog and Atlantis fields early on Tuesday after a pipeline outage that was expected to be fixed soon, a source said.

Clean Harbors, provider of environmental, energy and industrial services throughout North America, announced it has based a regional response center here to respond to environmental emergencies throughout the Gulf Coast region. The new facility also augments the company’s natural disaster response and logistical support services for the region, as well as supports existing field services locations in Louisiana and Texas. The response center is a staging area and warehouse for resources and supplies that enables Clean Harbors personnel to quickly respond to land-based and off-shore spills and emergencies at industrial and chemical facilities, as well as petroleum drilling, refining, storage and transportation facilities.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the release of fiscal year 2010 grant application guidance kits for 13 DHS grant programs totaling more than $2.7b—funds for state, local, tribal and territorial governments and private sector entities to strengthen our nation’s ability to prevent, protect, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies. “These grants play a major role in our efforts to work with our state, local, tribal and territorial and private sector partners to build a national culture of readiness and resilience,” said Secretary Napolitano. The grant program guidance kits announced also incorporate the input of DHS’ state…

President Bush’s fiscal year 2009 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) represents $50.5 billion in funding, which is an increase of 6.8 percent over the 2008 fiscal year level – excluding funds provided in emergency supplemental funding. The request targets five areas, detailed in the following release of information from the DHS. The Department of Homeland Security’s main priority is to prevent terrorist attacks against the nation and to protect our nation from dangerous people. DHS will continue to prevent the entry of terrorists while facilitating the legitimate flow of people by strengthening border security efforts and continuing to gain effective control of America’s borders.

At a hearing before the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations of the House Committee on Government Reform, John B. Stephenson, Director of Natural Resources and Environment of the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) testified that chemical facilities may be an attractive target for terrorists. Only those chemical facilities located adjacent to waterways are currently required to prepare and submit security plans. In accordance with the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA), such chemical plant and other waterfront facilities are required to submit security plans to the U.S. Coast Guard. GAO-04-482T (Source: HK Law).

WASHINGTON - Coast Guard Director of Port Security, Rear Adm. Craig E. Bone, testified today on chemical facility security before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “Considering the vast economic utility of our ports, waterways and coastal approaches, it is clear that a terrorist incident against a facility in our marine transportation system could have a disastrous impact on public safety, the environment, our nation’s economy, and international trade. Such an incident, if it were to occur in a strategic port, could also threaten our military mobilization capabilities. An incident at one of the 350 chemical…

Coast Guard Director of Port Security, Rear Adm. Craig E. Bone, testified today on chemical facility security before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. His written statement submitted for the record, follows. "Good morning Madam Chairperson and distinguished members of the Committee. It is a pleasure to be here today to discuss the U.S. Coast Guard’s role in securing the chemical facilities on the navigational waterways of the United States. The men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security remain committed to improving maritime homeland security each and every day through continued interagency cooperation and assistance from our partners at the local, state and international levels, as well as maritime industry stakeholders.

On July 1, 2003 the Coast Guard published in the Federal Register the long anticipated regulations concerning maritime port and vessel security. This is a major rulemaking printed in seven separate individual rulemakings. These rulemakings concern compliance with provisions of the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA) and implementation of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO's) International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code. The regulations incorporate the ISPS Code into the domestic maritime trade. The ISPS Code applies to all port facilities and vessels (MODUs, cargo & passenger vessels subject to SOLAS) in international trade. Any vessel not on the above list must still comply with the new security provisions of 33 CFR Parts 101 and 103.

Just after 10 o'clock on a Tuesday morning in July the call came that a car had rolled off Randall's Island into the East River. Chief Bill Siegel, at his desk at Marine Division Headquarters in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, paused for just an instant then jumped up, grabbed a life jacket and headed for the stairs. Other firefighters were already on their way to the pier where the Kevin C. Kane, was tied up waiting to go. Within four minutes the 52-ft. boat was underway with its five-person crew racing upriver toward the sinking car. The men moved swiftly, yet calmly to set the stern deck pipe to pump water in an effort to gain an extra knot or two of speed. Seventy years ago, fireboats ruled New York Harbor. Much has changed since the first half of the 20th century when the more than 430 sq.