Fosc News

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA – also known as the Clean Water Act), as amended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), contains a responder immunity provision. That provision states, in pertinent part:(A)A person is not liable for removal costs or damages which result from actions taken or omitted to be taken in the course of rendering care, assistance, or advice consistent with the National Contingency Plan or as otherwise directed by the President relating…

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA, often called the Clean Water Act), as amended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), provides:If a discharge, or a substantial threat of a discharge, of oil or a hazardous substance from a vessel, offshore facility, or onshore facility is of such a size or character as to be a substantial threat to the public health or welfare of the United States (including but not limited to fish, shellfish, wildlife, other natural resources…

Many people today are frustrated with the current U.S. political process as we endure various government stalemates on budgets, Supreme Court appointments, and, of course, the Presidential election. The general theme is voters are angry with the political establishment and, as a result, outsiders like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are doing well in the polls. Much of this anger is directed at the influence big money donors and lobbyists have over the process. Thus, Trump who has committed to self-financing his campaign and Sanders…

On February 16, 2016, Judge Carl J. Barbier of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana granted summary judgment in favor of the various commercial oil spill response companies involved in the federal government’s response to the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The responders had been sued by numerous individuals claiming that they incurred damages, including personal injury and/or medical monitoring claims for exposure or other injury resulting from the post-explosion and spill clean-up efforts. Plaintiffs fell into five categories: (1) crew involved in the Vessels of Opportunity (VoO) program…

Hornblower Cruises & Events (HCE) has just named Gordon Loebl Senior Vice President, Marine Operations, according to Chairman and CEO Terry MacRae. Loebl will be responsible for supporting Hornblower Cruises & Events’ multiple home ports; overseeing facilities, capital projects and associated budgets; establishing and maintaining relationships with regulatory agencies; directing the corporate engineering and project team; ensuring safety standards; participating in new business development; and leading efforts to develop and utilize new technology. In this hands on executive management position, Loebl’s focus will be on the development and growth of Marine Operations throughout the Hornblower group of companies.

On January 22, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Proposed Rule on dispersants. The Proposed Rule drastically changes the EPA’s approach to dispersants and could imperil proven and effective means of responding to marine oil disasters. The Proposed Rule seems to be written from the perspective that dispersants are dangerous and should not be used and seeks to establish new toxicity and other standards. This approach may have the practical effect of prohibiting the use of dispersants when needed.

Putting to rest the fears and misconceptions about what responder immunity means and what it will eventually do. It’s all good. As many in the response industry, and in many cases the marine industry in general appreciate, there has been an extended effort to enact an enhanced responder immunity regime following the lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon incident. It is hard to believe that we only recently observed the fourth anniversary of this unfortunate incident. And…

The U.S. Coast Guard federal on-scene coordinator (FOSC) for the Deepwater Horizon Response completed the transition to the “Middle Response” (“Middle R”) process and opened active National Response Center (NRC) cases for three miles of coastline in Louisiana. “Our response posture has evolved to target re-oiling events on coastline segments that were previously cleaned,” said Capt. Thomas Sparks, the FOSC for the Deepwater Horizon Response. “But let me be absolutely clear: This response is not over – not by a long shot.

The U.S. Coast Guard hosted the 2013 Spill of National Significance Executive Seminar at its headquarters Monday. As a follow up and identified best practice to the 2012 Spill of National Significance (SONS) Executive Seminar, the Coast Guard hosted the 2013 Executive Seminar to explore national level policy issues associated with Arctic spill response and to exercise national-level coordination of Senior Officials during an Arctic SONS. Over 75 senior government officials and advisors representing over 20 federal agencies and departments participated in this year’s SONS capstone event.

The Coast Guard Marine Industry Training Program offers incredible opportunities for Coast Guard employees to intimately learn specific facets of the marine industry. Participants of the program work directly for industry partners for up to 1 year. In addition to building superior government/industry working relationships, the program affords industry sponsors an opportunity to share detailed business considerations and limitations, so that Coast Guard regulatory activities most effectively promote safety, while limiting undue burden on the maritime industry.

The Benefits to the Scope of Coverage in an Expanded Responder Immunity Regime are many. The response industry has been extremely supportive of a coalition effort to work with Congress to enact enhancements to the current responder immunity provisions enacted by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (“OPA 90”). Unfortunately, however, Congress has not taken immediate action following the Deepwater Horizon incident, which occurred almost 3.5 years ago, like it did following the Exxon Valdez incident in 1989 to enact legislation to remedy deficiencies identified as a result of the incident. Congress acted in approximately 18 months following the Exxon Valdez incident.

Not long after specialized tank ships were developed, enabling the carriage of large quantities of oil and petroleum products, groundings, collisions, and other casualties started causing significant oil spills. In those early days, there was no financial incentive to clean up such spills. To the extent that there was a response, it was often by Good Samaritans, a term derived from a parable found in the Bible at Luke 10:25-37 about a stranger from Samaria who, with no thought of reward, came to the aid of an injured robbery victim in Judah.

FOSC for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in New Orleans approved a joint plan from BP and Transocean. The Federal On-Scene Coordinator for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in New Orleans approved a joint plan from BP and Transocean Thursday. The joint plan was required by Coast Guard Capt. Duke Walker to identify the source of a sheen located in the Gulf of Mexico that has been associated with Macondo 252 oil. The Notice of Federal Interest informed BP and Transocean that they may be responsible for costs related to identifying the source of the sheen and cleanup. The proposed joint plan includes satellite observations and mobilizing remotely operated vehicles to examine the original Macondo well area including the wreckage, debris, and the riser on the sea floor.

At the legislative hearing on the use of dispersants in the BP oil spill, Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator of the U.S. Chairman Mikulski, Ranking Member Shelby and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on the role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill response. My testimony today will provide you with an overview of EPA’s role and activities in the affected Gulf Coast region following the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon mobile offshore drilling unit explosion and resulting oil spill as well as a summary of our primary environmental activities, including dispersant use, waste management, and beach cleanup.

“Currently 15 foreign-flagged vessels are involved in the largest response to an oil spill in U.S. history. No Jones Act waivers have been granted because none of these vessels have required such a waiver to conduct their operations as part of the response in the Gulf of Mexico. “While we have not seen any need to waive the Jones Act as part of this historic response, we continue to prepare for all possible scenarios, and that's why Admiral Allen provided guidance to process necessary waivers as quickly as possible to allow vital spill response activities being undertaken by foreign-flagged vessels to continue without delay should that be necessary.

The U.S. Coast Guard Federal on Scene Coordinator for the BP Deepwater Horizon response and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding concerning worker safety and health issues related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response in the Gulf of Mexico. The MOU solidifies the close working relationship between the Coast Guard and OSHA and establishes a specific mechanism for coordination between the Deepwater Horizon FOSC and OSHA. OSHA and the FOSC recognize the importance of close cooperation among all agencies that have responsibilities during the oil cleanup efforts. The MOU furthers joint efforts to monitor compliance with safety standards and to protect workers.

The American Salvage Association (ASA) and the United States Coast Guard have executed the Marine Salvage and Firefighting Quality Partnership with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the association and the Coast Guard. Admiral Brian Salerno, Assistant Commandant for Plans & Policy for the U.S. "The parties will interpret and implement this Memorandum so as to supplement and not adversely affect this regulatory relationship." and "The parties shall seek to achieve its purpose primarily through: ... ASA and the Coast Guard have had a long, successful history of partnering on projects, including Industry / U.S. Coast Guard Cross Training…

Maritime Reporter solicited the opinions of two of the leading marine salvage companies to discover trends and challenges facing marine operators in the near future. The 2003 National Maritime Salvage Conference, sponsored by American Salvage Association (ASA), will take place September 9-11, 2003 at the Marriott Crystal City in Crystal City, VA. For more information visit www.americansalvage.org. George E. Senior Vice President Weeks Marine, Inc. MR: How has the industry/your company changed since 9-11? Wittich: The salvage industry has a critical role to play in assisting the various government entities manage their maritime security mission.