Gaming Boat Detained for Safety Violations
The Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment has issued a captain of the port order to the Sterling Casino Liner, Ambassador II, and detained the vessel in the Port of Canaveral until it is in compliance with Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requirements. The Coast Guard boarded the Ambassador II when it docked recently and found it exceeded it's maximum capacity of 1,800 passengers. After further investigation of the casino liner, Coast Guard inspectors found of numerous SOLAS requirements, including: safety training requirements, watertight doors and certification for crew members. The Ambassador II is prohibited from carrying passengers…
Port Canaveral Remains Closed
As of 12:30 p.m. today, the Ports of Jacksonville, Fla., and Fernandina, Fla., as well as the intracoastal waterway, are now open to boat traffic. Port Canaveral remains closed because of misplaced aids to navigation and shoaling in the channel. The ports were closed to shipping to minimize the chances of damage to port infrastructure and the marine environment and to allow for the quickest return to normal operations as safely possible. Ordering of ships and barges over 500 gross tons out of port and to sea prevented the potential for millions of dollars of damage and the possibility of a large environmental disaster and waterway obstructions. Along the shoreline, waterfront terminals prepared by taking precautions to prevent cargo and containers from washing into the waterway.
Ship’s Chief Engineer Convicted in Vessel Pollution Case
Mark Humphries, the chief engineer of the M/V Tanabata, an American-flagged car-carrier ship based in Baltimore, was convicted by a jury on one count of conspiracy and two counts of making false statements, announced Ronald J. Tenpas, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Rod J. Rosenstein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. At trial, it was proven that the M/V Tanabata had a removable bypass pipe or “magic pipe” that was used to discharge oily waste without the use of an oily-water separator, a required pollution control devise. The discharges were, however, falsely recorded as having been processed through the separator in the ship’s oil record book, a required log regularly inspected by the U.S.
