Damen Delivering Tug to Cititug in Ecuador
Damen Shipyards Group is delivering an ASD Tug 2813 to Cititug in Ecuador. The vessel, to be named ASD Mater, in honour of the Virgin Mary, will operate in the bunkering terminal of the Port of Esmeraldas.The contract for the ASD Tug 2813 was signed in February this year between Xavier Game, owner of Cititug and Marnix Brouwer on behalf of Damen. The speed of the vessel’s delivery is facilitated by Damen’s practice of building standard vessels for stock – in this case at Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam.Although based on a proven Damen design…
Long Beach Drafts Report on Cement Terminal Improvements
The Port of Long Beach this week released a draft environmental impact report examining proposed modifications to the existing Mitsubishi Cement import facility on Pier F. To gather comments on the recirculated draft EIR, a public hearing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 22, in the City Council Chambers, Long Beach City Hall, at 333 W. Ocean Blvd., 90802. Doors open at 6 p.m. Mitsubishi Cement is proposing to add storage, upgrade unloading equipment and install a new air pollution control system at its terminal, which receives bulk cement and cement-like materials from bulk cargo vessels. The material is stored in a warehouse and silos. It is then transported to concrete batch plants via truck.
Harbor Commission Approves Port Budget - Long Beach
The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners on Monday, July 14, approved an $858 million budget for the Port of Long Beach in the upcoming fiscal year, with two-thirds of the spending set aside for a robust building and modernization program. For the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, 2014, the Harbor Department plans to spend $579 million on capital projects ? part of a decade-long, $4 billion investment in Port upgrades and efficiency improvements. The ongoing Desmond Bridge Replacement Project and Middle Harbor Terminal Redevelopment will continue to be the Port’s largest construction projects. The budget was unanimously approved by the Commission and will be presented to the Long Beach City Council for approval.
Liberian Ocean Shipping Co. Admits Wrongdoing
A Liberian-incorporated shipping company pleaded guilty in federal court in Trenton, N.J., to failing to keep accurate oily water discharge records and using falsified records to conceal the discharge at sea of untreated bilge from one of its cargo ships, the Justice Department announced. Dalnave Navigation Inc., a Liberian company with offices in Athens, Greece, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan immediately after the guilty plea to pay a fine of $1m, the maximum fine allowable for the two counts to which the company pleaded guilty. Additionally, the company agreed to pay a $350,000 community service payment to the congressionally-established National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to be used specifically for the protection…
Guilty Plea, Concealing Vessel Pollution
Panagiotis Stamatakis, the chief engineer on the Cyprus-flagged M/V Myron N, and the second engineer, Dimitrios Papadakis, both citizens of Greece, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Trenton, N.J., to using falsified records that concealed improper discharges of untreated bilge waste from the cargo ship, the Justice Department announced. District Court Judge Peter G. Sheridan for the District of New Jersey scheduled sentencing for Sept. 8, 2009. Stamatakis and Papadakis each faces up to six years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The government's investigation began in September 2008, when inspectors from the U.S. Coast Guard conducted an examination of the M/V Myron N, following the ship's arrival in Gravesend Anchorage, N.Y.
Oil Spill Containment Demonstration Supports Gulf Cooperation, Readiness
Two U.S. Navy ships, along with Bahraini Coast Guard emergency management teams, participated in a proof-of-concept demonstration April 29 off the port of Mina Salman. USS McCampbell (DDG 85) and USNS Catawba (T-ATF 168) executed the proof of concept, which entailed simulating an oil spill and conducting the subsequent containment and recovery. During the demonstration, McCampell Sailors simulated the shipboard responses to an oil spill, including launching rigid-hull inflatable boats, assembling a hose team and using hazardous material (HAZMAT) apparatus, while Catawba Sailors launched an offshore boom (floating barrier) intended to contain a large spill at sea.
INTERTANKO Comments on Revision to Marpol Annex II
Indecision over whether Marpol Annex II products should be recategorised into three categories or five is threatening to obstruct the regulation, resulting in delaying or even losing an opportunity to gain better protection of the environment. The present categorisation system for noxious liquid substances has five categories A,B,C,D and Appendix III. The Appendix III contains products to which the IBC code does not apply and which are therefore unregulated. INTERTANKO believes that it is crucial to achieve the abolition of the unregulated category of products, Appendix III. INTERTANKO believes that tightening up the system and regulating all noxious substances is a price worth paying for enhanced protection to the environment. It is backed in this belief by all its members.
