Titan Maritime News

The 3rd Annual Conference on Salvage and Wreck Removal in India is to be held on Thursday, July 10, 2014 for the first time in Chennai at the Hotel Vivanta by Taj - Connemara, Binny Road, Chennai 600002. The Conference this year is presented by the Institute of Chartered Ship brokers (East India Branch). 2. examine recent accidents…collisions, groundings, oil spills and other casualties 3.

Team Springs into Immediate Action with Successful Rescue and Salvage of Two Stricken Vessels in Waters Surrounding Australia. To meet the needs of changing market conditions and increased commercial vessel traffic in and around the Great Barrier Reef, TITAN Salvage has established a new office and equipment depot in Cairns, Australia. The presence in the Pacific Southeast enhances the company’s marine salvage, wreck removal and emergency response capabilities in the region. With this new depot, also comes the region’s introduction to new subsidiary TITAN Maritime (Australia) Pty.

MarineNews spoke with Jim Stark, Executive Director of the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association (GICA) about his background in the industry, current projects on the canal, issues facing GICA’s nearly 250 members and his goals for the organization. Can you describe your background and how you came to be Executive Director for GICA? I spent 28 years in the Coast Guard. I’m a commissioned officer and have served all over the country including a considerable amount of time on the Gulf Coast.

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.

Titan Salvage continues to expand globally with the recent addition of a new salvage base and depot in Australia. The facility located in Cairns, Queensland is strategically located to respond to marine and environmental disasters threatening the Great Barrier Reef and other marine casualties throughout the Australasia and South West Pacific regions. As part of the expansion, Titan has exclusively partnered with Perrott Salvage of Cairns, a locally based salvage operator, who will serve as Titan's regional representative.

T&T Bisso, provider of emergency response, salvage and marine firefighting services, is announced the appointment of Mauricio Garrido as president. In his new position, Garrido will undertake the direct oversight of T&T Bisso’s worldwide business activities as well as the hands-on oversight of the company’s global offices. Garrido joined T&T Bisso in 2008 as general manager of the Americas and Europe. He also serves as vice president of Salvage and Emergency Response and as director of Latin American Business Development for Bisso Marine.

James Stark was named Executive Director of the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association (GICA), effective July 6, 2010. GICA’s mission is to ensure the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is maintained, operated and improved to provide the safest, most efficient, economical and environmentally-sound water transportation route in our nation. Stark most recently has been consulting on the response and recovery operations associated with the Deepwater Horizon Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He also served as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistant Administrator for Gulf Coast Recovery.

The 580-ft barge La Princesa remains aground north of Sandbridge Pier in Virginia Beach. Titan Maritime, LLC, continues preparations for salvaging the vessel and will attempt to begin operations when weather and sea conditions permit. Members of the Coast Guard’s Atlantic Strike Team, the Virginia Port Authority’s Maritime Incident Response Team, the Virginia Beach Fire Department’s Hazardous Materials Team and Crowley Maritime Corporation, the barge’s owner and operator, boarded the vessel earlier today to inspect the cargo for leaks and the vessel for structural integrity. As a result of the inspection, the Coast Guard, MIRT, the Virginia Beach HazMat team and Crowley determined that the barge and its cargo currently pose no foreseeable threat to the environment or to the 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.

Measuring 152 x 25-ft. (46.3 x 7.6-m), M/V Bowstring, research vessel that had been abandoned by its owners, was moored outside the M/V Arawak Trader secured to a pier adjacent to the Matthews Bridge in Jacksonville, Fla. On the evening of May 22, 2003, the Bowstring sank and came to rest on rocks, in 16 ft. of water with a port list of 15 degrees. With the vessel’s owners seemingly nowhere to be found, the USCG, Marine Safety Office (MSO), Jacksonville, was faced with a sunken derelict of no value, leaking hydrocarbons and obstructing navigation.

(ASA). Vice President, Donjon Marine Co., Inc. new Secretary/Treasurer. Fairbanks. maritime security, the status of pending U.S. immunity and the salvors' role in environmental protection," he continued. "The association owes many thanks to J. of Donjon Marine Co., Inc., who served as ASA's first President. that we will be ever-grateful," Fairbanks said. representing North America's professional salvors. professionalism and improve marine casualty response in American coastal and inland waters.

Richard Fairbanks, President of Titan Maritime, LLC (Fort Lauderdale, FL), has been named President of the American Salvage Association (ASA). George Wittich, Senior Vice President of Weeks Marine (Cranford, NJ), has been named the association's Vice President, and John Witte, Jr., Executive Vice President, Donjon Marine Co., Inc. (Hillside, NJ), has been named ASA's new Secretary/Treasurer. "We are very excited about ASA's incoming leadership," said Richard Fairbanks. "Among the areas the association will focus on throughout the year are maritime security, the status of pending U.S. salvage regulations, and responder immunity and the salvors' role in environmental protection," he continued. "The association owes many thanks to J.

The M/V Kent Reliant was successfully refloated yesterday at afternoon after a thirteen-day salvage and response operation. The 522-ft. cargo ship, grounded outside San Juan harbor September 18. Titan Maritime salvage company removed most of the fuel oil from the vessel, and oil containment booms were pre-staged in environmentally sensitive areas to ensure minimal impact on the marine environment. Next enough cargo was removed to lighten the vessel so that it could safely be pulled from its grounded position.

The directors of Seattle-based Marine Response Alliance LLC (MRA) announced the signing of an agreement with Marine Hazard Response to join the Alliance as a full and equal member, effective January 1. Marine Hazard Response (MHR), based in Houston, is a joint venture of Wild Well Control, Inc., and Williams Fire and Hazard Control, Inc., and specializes in marine firefighting and the technical management of marine casualties. MHR will now unite with the other MRA member companies-Crowley Marine Services, Inc. (Crowley), Marine Pollution Control Corporation (MPC) and Titan Maritime LLC (Titan)-to provide access to comprehensive emergency response services, offering OPA '90 compliant capabilities for rescue towing, lightering, fendering, salvage and firefighting in all U.S.

Coast Guard Marine Safety Office and Group Miami are overseeing response operations to the grounding of the 544-foot cargo ship Eastwind, which was attempting to enter Port Everglades, Fla. early this morning. Titan Maritime, LLC will focus on refloating the M/V EASTWIND at next high tide, at approximately 12:10 am. Commercial salvage engineers are taking precautions, in the event that fuel tanks are threatened aboard the vessel. These will consist of an internal transfer of heavy oil from a lower tank to the upper wing tanks to reduce the risk of a spill. Currently, no signs of pollution or injuries have been reported. The Coast Guard continues to monitor and assist, to protect the marine environment and ensure that operations are conducted safely.

Crowley Marine Services refloated the passenger ferry Le Conte, which had run aground about 30 miles north of Sitka, Alaska on Monday, May 10. Crowley, under contract with the Alaska Marine Highway System, floated the Le Conte off Cozian Reef. The salvage team made internal and external surveys and the Le Conte is presently being towed to the Ketchikan Ship Yard by the tug Chahunta with Crowley's salvage vessel, the American Salvor, escorting. The 31-year-old ferry was transiting from Angoon to Sitka with more than 100 passengers and crewmembers onboard, when it struck the reef located in Peril Strait. All of the passengers were successfully evacuated by the Coast Guard and local private watercraft immediately following the grounding with only a few people sustaining minor injuries.

The U.S. Coast Guard has awarded a $3.5 million contract to Titan Maritime, LLC, of Dania, Florida to conduct an underwater assessment of the sunken shipwreck S.S. Jacob Luckenbach, and remove any recoverable oil discovered within the fuel tanks of the vessel. The shipwreck was identified in February as the ongoing source of pollution that has periodically oiled thousands of sea birds off the California Coast. The contract award is the culmination of an intensive evaluation and selection process that reviewed proposals from many world-class salvage organizations. Work is expected to begin later this month.

Mauricio Garrido became Titan Maritime LLC’s newest vice president on May 15th. He will report to Richard Fairbanks, president of Titan. As a member of the Titan management ream, Garrido will catalyze the company’s rapid expansion plans by supporting its global salvage response mission. Garrido, former vice-president of Operations at Resolve Marine Group, brings 17 years of solid experience in the marine casualty response industry, including tours with the Military Sealift Command and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as Naval Architect and Marine Engineer. During the early 1990’s, his technical experience was further expanded as he managed major salvage…

Responding to the need for a presence and to assist in the professionalization of the U.S. marine salvage and firefighting response, nine U.S. salvors have joined together to form the American Salvage Association (ASA). The initial group has participated in a vast amount of all of the significant salvage and wreck removal cases that have occurred over the last 10 years in the U.S. The Association's current membership is comprised of: Bisso Marine; Crowley Marine Services; Donjon Marine Co.; Marine Pollution Control; Resolve Marine Group; Titan Maritime Industries; Weeks Marine; Smit Americas; and T&T Marine Salvage. Membership is currently open to any U.S. salvage contractors who are committed to the present and future state of their industry. At the Association's premiere meeting, J.

A Unified Command compromised of federal, state and vessel owner’s representatives are overseeing response operations to the grounding of the 600 foot bulk freight ship Federal Pescadores which was attempting to anchor outside Port Everglades, Fla. The Panamanian-flagged vessel was carrying cement, also has approximately 588 tons of bunker oil and 105 tons of diesel fuel onboard. Titan Maritime, LLC and its subcontractor Resolve Marine Group will focus on refloating the M/V Federal Pescadores at high tide, Sunday afternoon. Commercial salvage engineers began removing fuel oil from the vessel’s double bottom fuel tanks at approximately 11:40 a.m. today to mitigate any pollution risks prior to refloating the vessel. The fuel oil is being transferred to MSRC Barge 452.

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Office San Francisco Bay, the California Department of Fish and Game Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) and Titan Maritime, Inc. continue their steady progress on the assessment and oil removal operations from the sunken 468 ft. cargo ship S.S. Jacob Luckenbach , which sank 50 years ago, 17 miles West of San Francisco. Despite the challenges and risks involved with the operation, the responders have identified 26 tanks and spaces on the wreck containing about 132,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil. To date, about 12,000 gallons of oil have been recovered. During the assessment, many fuel tanks were found to have badly corroded vent pipes which allowed oil to slowly leak into the cargo holds.

Titan Maritime recently had its expertise put to the test with the wreck removal operation of a 426 x 105 x 28 ft. (130 x 32 x 8.5 m), 7,279 grt materials barge. The vessel was transiting the area of Mina Saqr Port in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates on Feb. 3 when it capsized and sank with full load of rock/boulders. Prior to its salvage, the barge had been lying in 105 ft. (32 m) of water, its stern dug into a trench on the seabed over 98 ft. (30 m), with a list to port of 15 degrees. The hull was heavily imploded, cracked open and distorted along almost the total length of the port side shell plating. Significant damage had also been caused to the internal structure of the barge - resulting in most of the longitudinal and transverse bulkheads being breached.

Since its sinking on February 17, 1864, researchers and historians have pondered the above question for more than a century. What we do know, however is that a piece of Civil War history had been lying on the floor of Charleston Harbor off the coast of South Carolina. For all this time, no one, except showman P.T. Barnum (he once offered a $100,000 for the Hunley's recover during the 19th Century) had attempted to recover the doomed sub. Things changed however about 20 years ago, when American author, Clive Cussler, decided that he would try to explain the unexplained — he and his crew of divers from the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) ventured into the Charleston Harbor determined to locate the Confederate sub.