Office Of Investigations And Analysis News

A recent marine casualty resulting in an injury of a crewmember on board a foreign freight vessel brought to light a potentially dangerous situation involving the turntable pin on accommodation ladders, the U.S. Coast Guard pointed out in a recent safety alert developed by the Investigators of Sector Delaware Bay and distributed by the Office of Investigations and Analysis. Currently, there are no established timelines or requirements to replace turntable pins. Without proper and periodic examination and replacement…

The evidence and industry subject matter experts both say ‘yes.’In its recently released SAFER SEAS DIGEST, Lessons Learned from Marine Accident Investigations (2017), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports investigating numerous accidents across all modes of transportation where a properly implemented safety management system (SMS) could have prevented injuries, loss of life, or material damage. That document spans analysis of casualties across the full spectrum of all manners of marine craft, blue water and brown, foreign and domestic.Different authorities and subject matter experts (SME) differ on how they might explain a SMS, but it all adds up to one thing. But, what is a Safety Management System?

Princess Cruise Lines Ltd. was sentenced to pay a $40 million penalty – the largest-ever for crimes involving deliberate vessel pollution – related to illegal dumping overboard of oil contaminated waste and falsification of official logs in order to conceal the discharges. The sentence was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for the Southern District of Florida in Miami. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Patricia A.

Company agrees to pay $1.2 million penalty; $300,000, will fund Long Island Sound projects. Singapore-based Odfjell Asia II Pte Ltd and one of its senior crew members pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Hartford, Conn., for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), announced Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division Robert G. Dreher, United States Attorney Deirdre M. Daly and Rear Admiral Daniel B. Abel, Commander of the First Coast Guard District in Boston.

United States Coast Guard Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy Marine Safety Advisory 01-12 June 21, 2012 Washington, DC; Recommendations for Recreational Diving Operations Occurring from Commercial Passenger Vessels. This advisory is addressed to Passenger Vessel Operators, Owners and Crewmembers providing commercial transport and support services to recreational divers, and reminds them of safety responsibilities to themselves and their passengers. Additionally, this advisory is intended to provide recommendations and lessons learned from recreational diving casualty investigations, and promote awareness of industry best practices.

Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship issues Marine Safety Alert (01-12 April 5, 2012). Uninspected 6 or 12 pack Vessels - Rules Apply Know Them! The Coast Guard's Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety has become aware of instances where recreational type boats are being manufactured and sold but do not meet federal construction requirements. In some cases persons holding Uninspected Passenger Vessel (UPV) Operator licenses are operating such vessels while carrying passengers for hire.

U.S. Coast Guard's Safety Strategy Incorporates Tightly Focused Training at Carefully Chosen Venues. The U.S. Coast Guard opened seven National Centers of Expertise in 2009, locating three alone on the busy Gulf Coast, The concept of national centers of expertise – or “centers of excellence” – dates back to the 1960s when technology became more advanced and required new skill sets. The U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps all operate such hubs, as do federal agencies, foreign governments and industries ranging from manufacturing to health care.

United States Coast Guard Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship Marine Safety Alert 07-11 December 14, 2011 Washington, DC. Listen & Live / Develop & Follow Smart Safety Procedures.This alert reminds all maritime personnel of the dangers associated with working around or near moving machinery. A recent marine casualty resulted in a death onboard a Great Lakes ore carrier. Two crewmembers had been working on clearing the vessel's sump pump bilge piping within a cargo conveyor belt tunnel. The piping ran vertically along the bulkhead adjacent to the conveyor belt.

RECALL NOTICE ON MD2010 & MD2012 model 22LB Inflatable Personal Flotation Devices. The United States Coast Guard strongly urges mariners and boaters alike to check their Mustang Survival PFDs. Mustang Survival is voluntarily recalling all model number MD2010 and MD2012 This recall is being issued for the inspection and repair of an inflator installation inconsistency thatSurvival has developed a solution that corrects any affected product and prevents re-occurrence of this issue. The inspection and repair can only be performed at a Mustang Survival factory. This recall notification is for only the MD2010 and MD2012 22LB buoyancy inflatable PFDs. No other Mustang Survival products are affected as they utilize different inflator mechanisms.

MARINER'S SAFETY ENDANGERED WHEN VHF RADIO DISTRESS ALERTS BY DIGITAL SELECTIVE CALLING (DSC) LACK LOCATION AND IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION. As the Coast Guard's new marine radio network Rescue 21 becomes operational throughout the U.S., rescue centers can now receive instant distress alerts from commonly used DSC-capable VHF marine radios. However, approximately 90% of VHF DSC distress alerts received by the Coast Guard do not contain position information, and approximately 60% do not contain a registered identity. The Coast Guard cannot effectively respond to a DSC distress alert sent from such a radio. * no position information is known. FIRST Obtain a Maritime Mobile Installation Identity (MMSI) and enter it into your radio.

This Safety Alert addresses safety issues relating to air receivers on Uninspected Towing Vessels (UTV), but may apply to air receivers on any vessel. Air receivers, regardless of specific use onboard a UTV, contain extreme amounts of potential energy; an uncontrolled release of this energy may lead to serious injury, death and catastrophic vessel damage. Although this issue involves basic safety and good marine practice, too many related problems have been recently discovered. Not long ago, an air receiver unexpectedly ruptured with terrible results onboard an UTV on the Upper Mississippi River. A crewmember was seriously injured and paralyzed.

This U.S. Coast Guard safety alert addresses critical concerns uncovered during an ongoing marine casualty investigation and should be of vital interest to Ship Builders, Classification Societies, Owner / Operators and others involved with vessel operations. A machinery space fire onboard a relatively new vessel was effectively responded to and extinguished by the vessel’s quick response team firefighters using portable extinguishing equipment. However, before it was declared completely extinguished and approximately five hours after the fire started, the master of the vessel made the decision to release CO2 from the vessel’s fixed firefighting system. It failed to operate as designed.

The following U.S. Coast Guard safety alert addresses concerns discovered during an ongoing marine casualty investigation and may be of interest to ship builders, classification societies, owner / operators and others involved with vessel operations. A machinery space fire onboard a relatively new vessel was effectively responded to and extinguished by the vessel’s quick response team firefighters using portable extinguishing equipment. However, before it was declared completely extinguished and approximately five hours after the fire started…

A partial propulsion failure occurring on a commercial vessel can result in significant injury and damage when the movement of the vessel is unchecked and an allision or collision occurs. In some circumstances a significant amount of hull damage can occur at very slow speeds, while in others, multiple fatalities may occur. Owners and operators, and those responsible for vessel maintenance, specifically steerage and propulsion systems may find the following information useful and recognize the need to examine their own vessel's equipment and maintenance systems. Although the following speaks to a specific propulsion system, the noted lessons are useful for any type. The vessel was equipped with cycloidal drive units fore and aft.

Irika Shipping S.A., a ship management corporation registered in Panama and doing business in Greece, pleaded guilty on July 8, 2010 before Maryland U.S. District Court Judge Frederick J. Motz, to felony obstruction of justice charges and violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships related to concealing deliberate vessel pollution from the M/V Iorana, a Greek flagged cargo ship that made port calls in Baltimore, Tacoma, Wash., and New Orleans. According to the multi-district plea agreement arising out of charges brought in the District of Maryland, Western District of Washington, and Eastern District of Louisiana, Irika Shipping has agreed to pay a $4m total penalty…

Ships switch fuel oil from residual fuels to distillate fuels in order to reduce emissions. The Coast Guard expects ships will switch fuel more frequently to comply with new emission reduction regulations. When switching fuel oil, some ships have experienced propulsion losses linked to procedural errors or fuel oil incompatibility. API developed a paper titled “Technical Considerations of Fuel Switching Practices” that discusses problems that lead to propulsion loss while switching fuel. It is available at http://marineinvestigations.us. This document may be useful to vessel owners, operators, and engineers interested in preventing fuel system failures and propulsion casualties while meeting current and future exhaust emission control requirements.

The United States Attorneys from five judicial districts with major ports today announced criminal charges against Evergreen International, S.A. (Evergreen), one of many Evergreen-related companies involved in the container ship business. Under the terms of a plea agreement, Evergreen will pay $25 million, the largest-ever amount for a case involving deliberate vessel pollution, and plead guilty to felony charges brought in Los Angeles; Newark, NJ; Portland, OR; Seattle; and Charleston, SC. Evergreen pleaded guilty today to 24 felony counts and one misdemeanor - five counts from each federal district involved in the case - for concealing the deliberate, illegal discharge of waste oil and for a negligent discharge in the Columbia River.

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.

Patrick K. Brown, a former Chief Engineer of the M/V Fidelio was arraigned today on a six count indictment related to deliberate vessel pollution that was originally returned by a federal grand jury on July 26, 2007. The indictment was announced by Ronald J. Tenpas, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment & Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. According to the indictment, Brown was a U.S. licensed Chief Engineer and was responsible for managing and supervising the engine department, including compliance with laws regulating the discharge of oil from the ship.

American-based ship operator, Pacific-Gulf Marine, Inc. deliberate acts of pollution involving a fleet of four ships, in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships. U.S. District Judge William M. Nickerson sentenced PGM to pay a $1 million criminal fine, $500,000 for community service and serve three years of probation under the terms of a rigorous Environmental Compliance Program (ECP), which is subject to court approval. oil-contaminated bilge waste without the use of an oily water separator, a required pollution prevention device. Instead, the ships used secret bypass pipes, sometimes referred to as a "magic pipe," to circumvent the oily water separator.

The Chief Engineer of a Panamanian registered container ship was sentenced today in federal court to charges of conspiracy, obstruction, destruction of evidence, false statements and violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships in connection with the use of a secretly concealed "magic pipe" used to deliberately discharge tons of sludge and oil contaminated waste overboard. Michael J. Sullivan, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts; Sue Ellen Wooldridge, Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division; Rear Admiral David P. Pekoske, Commander, First Coast Guard District; and William Schenkelberg, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Region of the U.S.

The U.S. Coast Guard Office of Investigations and Analysis issued a Safety Alert stating that certain “Strike First” fire extinguishers are being recalled. The fire extinguishers are the 2.5 and 5 pound dry chemical type. The valve stem seats on a number of these assembled between December 2002 and February 2004 may prevent the extinguisher from discharging properly when the lever is activated. Retro-fit kits are available free of charge from the manufacturer. Source: HK Law

MSC Ship Management (Hong Kong) Limited—a Hong Kong-based container ship company—has agreed to plead guilty to charges that it engaged in conspiracy, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, false statements and violated the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, the Department of Justice announced today. Per the terms of a plea agreement that must be approved by the court, MSC Ship Management will pay $10.5 million in penalties. This is the largest fine in which a single vessel has been charged with deliberate pollution and the largest criminal fine paid by a defendant in an environmental case in Massachusetts history. According to the plea agreement…