Salvage And Firefighting Services News

The directors of Marine Response Alliance LLC (MRA or Alliance) announced that McAllister Towing and Transportation Co., Inc. (McAllister) has joined the MRA as a full and equal member. McAllister is now united with the other MRA member companies—Crowley Marine Services, Inc. (Crowley), Marine Pollution Control Corporation (MPC), Titan Maritime LLC (Titan) and Marine Hazard Response (MHR)  (a joint venture of Wild Well Control, Inc. and Williams Fire and Hazard Control, Inc.) to provide OPA-90 Salvage and Marine Firefighting services to the maritime community.

The directors of Seattle-based Marine Response Alliance LLC (MRA) announced that Titan Maritime LLC has joined the alliance as a full and equal member, effective immediately. Titan joins the other MRA member companies Marine Pollution Control Corporation (MPC) and Crowley Marine Services, Inc., to provide comprehensive emergency response services, offering OPA '90 compliant capabilities for rescue towing, lightering, fendering, salvage and firefighting services in all U.S. Captain of the Port zones. Anticipated shifts in the focus of federal regulation and recent developments in state regulation, particularly on the U.S. West Coast, have prompted MRA to expand and strengthen its capabilities.

The U.S. Coast Guard issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would, if implemented, revise vessel response plan (VRP) salvage and marine firefighting requirements for tank vessels carrying oil. The proposal would clarify salvage and firefighting services that must be identified in the VRP. The resource providers must be specifically identified and must be integrated into the response organization. The NPRM includes tables indicating how soon various activities are to occur, based on the location of the incident. Firefighting equipment and other resources identified must be compatible with the vessel and its cargo. Comments on the proposal should be submitted by July 9, 2002. The Coast Guard plans to hold several public meetings in conjunction with this NPRM.

A new Coast Guard proposal that would require tank vessel owners to augment their spill response plans with prearranged salvage and firefighting resources would cost industry nearly half a billion dollars to implement, the Coast Guard estimates. The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), published in the May 10 Federal Register, is intended to stimulate the development of a robust private salvage and firefighting capability in the United States. The NPRM would require holders of approved tank vessel response plans to amend their plans to included pre-contracted access to an extensive suite of salvage and firefighting resources, all capable of being on scene within specified response times.

On Tuesday, September 24th, 2002 California State Senator Tom Torlakson honored Titan Maritime, its subcontractors, the USCG, and the California Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) for their success with the underwater oil cleanup of the freighter SS “Jacob Luckenbach”. Senator Torlakson presented Titan with a plaque in recognition for their successful efforts in protecting the sensitive California coastline and the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary from further oil pollution damage from this wreck. Titan has just completed a contract with the U.S. Coast Guard to recover oil from the SS “Jacob Luckenbach”, an ocean freight vessel built in 1944.