Regulatory Compliance Services News

This month’s featured INSIGHTS executive is Steven A. Candito, President and CEO of the National Response Corporation (NRC). He has extensive experience with OPA 90 compliance issues with particular focus on vessel owner and insurance matters. Candito was previously an attorney with Haight Gardner Poor & Havens, specializing in maritime litigation and environmental law. He also served as a marine engineer aboard Exxon USA’s domestic tanker fleet from 1980 to 1985. Candito is a graduate of Hofstra University School of Law and the United States Merchant Marine Academy.

National Response Corporation (NRC), a portfolio company of J.F. Lehman & Company, announced today the completion of the acquisition of Emerald Alaska, LLC from Emerald Services, Inc. NRC is a commercial provider of United States Oil Pollution Act of 1990 regulatory compliance services as well as a global provider of specialized environmental and emergency response solutions. Headquartered in Great River, N.Y., with regional offices throughout the U.S. and internationally, NRC has more than 1,000 employees globally. Emerald Alaska is a provider of environmental and emergency response solutions to the oil and gas industry in the state of Alaska.

The Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR), a member of the YCF Group of companies and exclusive administrator of the world’s largest quality ship register, has appointed Christian Mollitor to the position of vice president. This newly created role represents a return to LISCR for Mollitor. Having formerly held the position of Assistant Department Head of Seafarer Certification and Documentation, he left the registry in 2001 to further develop his career. This…

Descartes Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Integrated Export Systems Business; Adds a Robust Freight Forwarder and Customs Broker Community Specializing in Processing Shipments Originating in Asia. Descartes Systems Group, the global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Integrated Export Systems, Ltd. and IES Asia Limited (collectively referred to as "IES") for approximately US$35 million in cash. IES provides software-as-a-service solutions that help freight forwarders, non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs), and customs brokers manage their businesses and improve profitability.

When the ABS-classed ATP Octabuoy semisubmersible, which is intended for installation on the Cheviot Field in the UK North Sea, is completed later this year, it will be the first project for which ABS will have conducted full regulatory compliance services to the UK-HSE scheme.   The unique shape of the semisubmersible's hull provides an extremely deep draft with good motion characteristics. The Octabuoy, named for its octagonal ring pontoon, is designed to minimize the parametric motions (pitch, roll, heave) as a result of the unique geometry of the columns. The unit can accommodate the use of top-tensioned risers for dry-tree completions and provides a favorable platform for the use of steel catenary risers (SCRs).   First production from the Cheviot Field is expected in 2012.

Spectria, a leading technology consulting firm, has developed a prototype of a new, knowledge-management-based information portal called SmartShips®, for Modern Maritime, Inc., a professional services company for the marine industry. Upon full implementation, this new portal, based on Microsoft's new SharePoint knowledge management server, will provide the marine industry's first-ever online regulatory compliance and quality management consulting service based on an easy-to-use enterprise software system. The new Modern Maritime portal model can be applied to other heavily regulated industries where safety, quality and environmental management systems are pervasive.