US Authorities Make Checks on Oil Tanker Arrived from Russia
U.S. authorities have stopped an oil tanker traveling from Russia to New Orleans to check whether it is Russian in origin, a source confirmed to Reuters.The Vitol-chartered vessel was shipping intermediate oil products including vacuum gasoil and fuel oil from Russia's Taman port to New Orleans last week, according to a trading source and shipping data.The products were due to reach a Valero refinery in the New Orleans region, two sources said.The cargo was stopped by U.S.
California: Crews Battle Benicia Dock Fire
According to a report from the Times-Herald, Benicia firefighters fought a dock fire for several hours Friday night and Saturday morning. A boat from Valero Refinery, the tugboat Millennium Fire, and Fireboat 295 from East Contra Costa Fire Protection District helped extinguish the blaze under the dock surface. A Benicia Public Works heavy equipment crew also helped by opening the pier's surface to help firefighter access. Vallejo, Valero and Fairfield fire departments, along with the U.S. Coast Guard, provided mutual aid and helped bring the fire under control by about 12:30 a.m. Saturday. Source: Times-Herald
General Maritime Fined $1m
A federal judge in Corpus Christi, Texas, has sentenced General Maritime Management (Portugal), the operator of a fleet of tanker vessels, and two crewmembers of the motor tanker Genmar Defiance for making false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard and failing to maintain an accurate Oil Record Book designed to prevent pollution of the world's oceans as required by United States and international law, the Justice Department announced. The court sentenced General Maritime Management (Portugal) LDA, on March 13, to pay a $1m fine. In addition, the company was sentenced to serve five years of probation. Special conditions of the probation require the company to rehire the whistleblowers if they reapply for employment…
Two Towboats Sink
The Coast Guard is responded yesterday after two towboats, with four people sank, while tied alongside the dock on the Atchafalaya River in Krotz Springs, La. At just after 4 a.m. the Coast Guard received a call that the MISS MARJORIE, a 50-foot towing vessel, and the AMY SUE, a 62-foot towing vessel, were tied together and moored to the dock at the Krotz Springs Valero Refinery, when the deckhand noticed the MISS MARJORIE taking on water. The deckhand woke up the captain and crew just before the MISS MARJORIE sank, subsequently sinking the AMY SUE as well. Three crewmembers safely jumped to the pier while the forth, the captain, swam safely to shore.
