Uscg Marine Safety Office News

Maritime attorney David Russo provides a valuable primer for maritime stakeholders faced with a marine casualty. Because it isn’t a question of if, it is a question of when. Will you be ready? When there is a marine incident, the vessel owner/operator has two risks of exposure: to both civil and criminal liability. These risks can arise from a number of variables, including but not limited to (a.) a pollution event, (b.) a death or injury, (c.) unseaworthy vessels (including inadequate crew or procedures)…

Understanding the maritime threat requires an historical review of criminal and terrorist elements. A closer look at the methodologies of terrorism gives greater insight to the maritime condition as it stands today. Some threats have remained for years, others are practiced daily in far away places; distant from the comfort we call our homeland. "Terrorism and the Maritime Transportation System" will not pretend to provide answers to all of the threats we face - only provide greater magnification for understanding.

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.

A fire-damaged lifeboat from the Bow Mariner drifts Feb. 29, 2004, after the vessel sank the night before off Chincoteague, Va. The U.S. Coast Guard flights continues off the coast of Virginia to search for survivors and to survey the state of the fuel oil spilled from the chemical tanker which exploded and sank Saturday evening. The vessel, T/V Bow Mariner, a Singapore-flagged chemical tanker, had left Linden, New Jersey for Texas City, Texas, carrying a partial cargo of 3.2 million gallons of ethanol.

A fire-damaged lifeboat from the Bow Mariner drifts Feb. 29, 2004, after the vessel sank the night before off Chincoteague, Va. The U.S. Coast Guard flights continues off the coast of Virginia to search for survivors and to survey the state of the fuel oil spilled from the chemical tanker which exploded and sank Saturday evening. The vessel, T/V Bow Mariner, a Singapore-flagged chemical tanker, had left Linden, New Jersey for Texas City, Texas, carrying a partial cargo of 3.2 million gallons of ethanol.

USCG Marine Safety Office (MSO) New Orleans is operating at Hurricane Condition Four due to approaching tropical storms Bonnie and Charlie (the name should have been Clyde). Condition Four means that hurricane force winds are possible within 72 hours. The maritime industry is urged to review their hurricane plans to ensure the safety of their personnel and property. Vessels should plan their transits so as to avoid heavy weather to the extent possible. Bridge closures on the Inner Harbor Navigational Canal may begin up to 48 hours before hurricane landfall. (HK Law).

USCG Marine Safety Office (MSO) New Orleans is operating at Hurricane Condition Two due to approaching tropical storms Bonnie and Charlie. Condition Two means that hurricane force winds are possible within 24 hours. The maritime industry is urged to review their hurricane plans to ensure the safety of their personnel and property. Vessels should plan their transits so as to avoid heavy weather to the extent possible. Bridge closures on the Inner Harbor Navigational Canal may begin up to 48 hours before hurricane landfall. (HK Law)

USCG Marine Safety Office (MSO) Puget Sound will conduct a maritime transportation security enforcement forum in Seattle on October 14. Topics on the agenda include facility security, declarations of security, port state control, ballast water management, domestic vessel security, and vessel-facility interfaces. (HK Law)

In preparation for gale force winds from Tropical Storm Cindy, USCG Marine Safety Office New Orleans has set Port Condition ZULU. In addition, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GICW) has been closed from the Inner Harbor Canal to Mile Marker (MM) 60 east of Harvey Locks, Long Beach, Mississippi. Vessels and facilities are urged to take appropriate precautions. (HK Law)

With the passing of Tropical Storm Cindy, USCG Marine Safety Office New Orleans has cancelled port Condition ZULU – at least for now. The GICW has also been reopened. (HK Law).

USCG Marine Safety Office (MSO) New Orleans issued a Marine Safety Bulletin reminding mariners to exercise extreme caution during the high water levels currently experienced on the Mississippi and other rivers. Caution is particularly called for during fleeting operations and transits of narrow passages, such as bridges.

After many years of work, the USCG published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the Outer Continental Shelf Activities, 33 CFR Subchapter N, in December. This subchapter regulates oil and mineral development and production activities on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). It includes Mobil Offshore Drilling Units (MODU), platforms, Floating Production Systems (FPSs), and would add a host of vessels providing various support activities. A major rewrite of this subchapter was last done nearly 20 years ago and is considered long overdue because of changes in technology, particularly of the last ten years. This new proposal has…

USCG Marine Safety Office New Orleans issued Marine Safety Bulletins reminding the maritime community that security zones are in effect for waters of the Mississippi River in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Unless permitted by COTP New Orleans, vessels are prohibited from operating between Mile Marker 88 to Mile Marker 103 in the vicinity of New Orleans and from Mile Marker 229 to Mile Marker 234 in the vicinity of Baton Rouge. Recreational vessels and fishing vessels navigating the Intracoastal Waterway across the Mississippi River are encouraged to use the Algiers Locks instead of the Harvey Locks so as to avoid lengthy delays. (5/22/03). Source: HK Law

USCG Marine Safety Office Jacksonville issued a Marine Safety Information Bulletin