Mary Landry News

The United States Merchant Marine Academy Hosts 7th Annual Women on the Water Conference. Last week, The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) in conjunction with the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) hosted the 7th Annual Women on the Water (WOW) Conference. The annual conference, which is hosted by a different U.S. maritime academy each year, brought together over 125 maritime professional mariners and maritime academy cadets. The three day conference began with opening remarks from Maritime Administrator Paul N. Jaenichen, Sr. He welcomed the audience of mostly women by thanking the attendees. Mr. Jaenichen went on to explain; “Today, our nation relies on maritime transportation more than ever before -oceangoing vessels carry nearly 70 percent of U.S.

WISTA Annual Luncheon at CMA’s Shipping 2012 presents action-packed program. Bahamas signs Washington Declaration, lessons learned from Deepwater Horizon, and a Flag Ceremony farewell to USCG Vice Commandant Brice O’Hara. WISTA USA President Jeanne M. Grasso presided over an action-packed program at this year’s WISTA USA Annual Luncheon held at the beginning of CMA’s Shipping 2012 conference in Stamford, Connecticut. “I don’t think we could have made this year’s luncheon more exciting, interesting, or robust”, stated Grasso, a Blank Rome LLP Partner and President of WISTA USA.

WISTA USA President Jeanne M. Grasso said that Rear Admiral (RADM) Mary Landry (United States Coast Guard (USCG) Retired), the Federal On-Scene Coordinator during the first days of the Deepwater Horizon incident, will be the keynote speaker at this year’s WISTA luncheon held on March 19th at the beginning of the Connecticut Maritime Association’s Shipping 2012 conference. This is the 7th year that WISTA has held this luncheon, which kicks off the annually successful CMA event.

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization, announced that its Annual Tribute to the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Eighth District, The Guardian of the Heartland Dinner, will take place on Friday, April 15, 2011. The event will honor several aircrews from Air Station New Orleans, and Aviation Training Center Mobile for their actions during the explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon on April 20, 2010. Coast Guard efforts included evacuating the most critically injured rig workers from the Damon Bankston…

Stonington, Conn. – The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that its Annual Tribute to the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Eighth District, The Guardian of the Heartland Dinner, will take place on Friday, April 15, 2011. The event will honor several aircrews from Air Station New Orleans, and Aviation Training Center Mobile for their actions during the explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon on April 20, 2010.

DRD Towing Company, LLC., a marine company located in Harvey, La., pled guilty in federal court on Sept. 8 before U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle to a felony violation of Ports and Waterways Safety Act and a misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten. In addition, Randall Dantin, age 46, a resident of Marrero, La. and co-owner of DRD Towing also pled guilty to a separate charge of obstruction of justice. According to the court documents, DRD Towing Company, LLC. pled guilty to creating hazardous conditions by (1) assigning employees without proper Coast Guard licenses to operate certain vessels…

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released peer reviewed results from the first round of its own independent toxicity testing on eight oil dispersants. EPA conducted testing to ensure that decisions about ongoing dispersant use in the Gulf of Mexico continue to be grounded in the best available science. EPA’s results indicated that none of the eight dispersants tested, including the product in use in the Gulf, displayed biologically significant endocrine disrupting activity. While the dispersant products alone – not mixed with oil - have roughly the same impact on aquatic life, JD-2000 and Corexit 9500 were generally less toxic to small fish and JD-2000 and SAF-RON GOLD were least toxic to mysid shrimp.

“Today, I’ve spoken with National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen, as well as Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, and senior White House advisors John Brennan and Carol Browner regarding the ongoing efforts to stop the BP oil spill. From the beginning, our concern has been that the surest way to stop the flow of oil – the drilling of relief wells – would take several months to complete. So engineers and experts have explored a variety of alternatives to stop the leak now. They had hoped that the top kill approach attempted this week would halt the flow of oil and gas currently escaping from the seafloor. But while we initially received optimistic reports about the procedure, it is now clear that it has not worked.

U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen meets with Rear Adm. Mary Landry, the federal on-scene coordinator for the Deepwater Horizon response, and other local, state and federal members participating in the unified command to discuss leveraging every available resource to respond to the BP oil spill and minimize the associated environmental risks, Saturday, May 1, 2010. Allen will serve as the national incident commander for the Department of Homeland Security's continued, coordinated response. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael De Nyse)

The members of the Houston Chapter of The Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association have invited the public to attend a luncheon for Rear Admiral Mary Landry Commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District on Tuesday, October 6, 2009, at 12:30 pm at the Sheraton Brookhollow (3000 North Loop West Fwy Houston, Texas 77092). This event is underwritten by AET Inc Limited as well as:BG Americas and Global LNG, Fowler Rodriguez Valdes-Fauli, SeaRiver Maritime Inc., and Texas A&M University at Galveston. RSVP Deborah Lawson at 713 658 3905 or [email protected]. Ticket prices for this event are $25 prepaid and $35 at the door. Register and pay online at: www.lawsonlegal.net/WISTAHouston.html

The members of the Houston Chapter of The Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association have invited the public to attend a luncheon for Rear Admiral Mary Landry Commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District on Tuesday, October 6, 2009, at 12:30 pm at the Sheraton Brookhollow (3000 North Loop West Fwy Houston, Texas 77092). This event is underwritten by AET Inc Limited as well as:BG Americas and Global LNG, Fowler Rodriguez Valdes-Fauli, SeaRiver Maritime Inc., and Texas A&M University at Galveston. RSVP Deborah Lawson at 713 658 3905 or [email protected]. Ticket prices for this event are $25 prepaid and $35 at the door. Register and pay online at: www.lawsonlegal.net/WISTAHouston.html

A Greek citizen who oversaw the engineering department on board a Dominica-flagged bulk cargo ship pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in New Orleans for violating environmental laws designed to prevent pollution from ships and making false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard, the Justice Department announced. Georgios Stamou, the chief engineer of the M/V Theotokos, pleaded guilty to one felony violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and one felony violation for making a false statement. Stamou is the third crewmember to plead guilty to crimes related to pollution from Theotokos while on the high seas. The captain of the ship, Panagiotis Lekkas, and the second ranking officer, Charles P. Posas, both pleaded guilty to multiple felony counts on July 15, 2009.

A Greek citizen, Panagiotis Lekkas, the captain of the bulk cargo ship the M/V Theotokos, pleaded guilty to four felony counts in federal court in New Orleans for violating anti-pollution laws, ship safety laws and obstructing a U.S. Coast Guard investigation, the Justice Department announced. Additionally, a Philippine citizen, Charles P. Posas, the second highest officer onboard the M/V Theotokos, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of lying to the Coast Guard and violating recordkeeping laws aimed at reducing the risk of marine invasive species. Posas is the first individual ever charged under the anti-invasive species law, a law designed to mitigate the introduction of marine invasive species into waters of the United States.

The Coast Guard was notified by Bouchard Transportation that the amount of oil spilled into Buzzard's Bay on April 27 was approximately 98,000 gallons, not the 14,700 gallons Bouchard had originally reported. "Obviously, the difference is significant, and like everybody else, we want to know why," said Captain Mary Landry, the coast Guard federal on scene coordinator for the spill response. For most oil spills in U.S. waters, the responsible party - in this case, Bouchard Transportation - reports to the Coast Guard how much product they think spilled from their vessel. The initial estimate of oil spilled in this case was determined on the night of the incident within the first few hours of the spill by the tankerman aboard the barge.

had originally reported. scene coordinator for the spill response. For most oil spills in U.S. waters, the responsible party – in this case, Bouchard Transportation – reports to the Coast Guard how much product they think spilled from their vessel. hours of the spill by the tankerman aboard the barge. contributed to the inaccurate reading. terminal in Sandwich, Mass., later that week. The Coast Guard determines the official amount of oil spilled during its comprehensive investigation of the incident, which is still ongoing. Coast Guard’s first priority is to minimize damage to the environment by focusing its efforts and oversight on clean up operations. approximately 4.1 million gallons, were at risk and acted accordingly.