Maritime Monday 90

Welcome to this Christmas Week edition of Maritime Monday.

You can find Maritime Monday 40 here. (Published 1 January 2007)

You can find last week's edition here.

This Weeks Photo:
Sorry, no photo this week. It is a victim of a fallen tree, a frozen computer and a couple empty bottles of California Champagne.

This Weeks Items:

Eagle Speak covers the US Navy's actions off Africa in "Somalia: Pirate Crackdown"

Also be sure to check out Eagle Speak's weekly series "Sunday Ship History: The Heroes of Wake Island"

The Wall Street Journal's Opinion Journal has "Why TR Claimed the Seas - The importance of a strong Navy."

David Osler at the Lloyd's List Newsroom Blog comments on the possibility of the global credit crunch effecting ship finance. (Note: No Registration or subscription required to read their blog)

The MarEx NEwsletter has "The MarEx Mind Reader: All I Want for Christmas is . . ."

gCaptain points to some animated shiphandling techniques.

gCaptain also has comments on the recently released report on the EMPRESS OF THE NORTH grounding, which places blame on the deck officer on watch.

Professional Mariner has "Crown Princess officer was 'a bit nervous'"

Never Sea Land has an amazing photo of an ice-covered yacht that has to be seen to be believed.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher is blogging from the Greenpeace vessel ESPERANZA as it chases after the Japanese whaling fleet.

Captain Geir-Arne's Photo Gallery has shipyard photos of what will be the SEABOURN ODYSSEY.

Here is an extensive photo essay of an Eskimo whalehunt. (Found via Messing About In Sailboats) I think the planet would not have as much a problem with the Japanese hunting whales if they did it like this. Check this one last and just let the photos stream to your monitor.

American Shipper has "If a silent ship alert is activated, who would hear it?"

Tims Times talks about the first non-nuclear icebreaker to make it to the North Pole.

Maritime Accident Casebook has "The Case Of The Tongues of Fire"

IMC Brokers has video of "ITC tugs ‘Sumatras’ and ‘Sirocco’ towing a VLCC"

Chaotic Synaptic Activity covers the story of Medal of Honor recipient Admiral Issac C. Kidd, Sr. USN in his weekly series Monday Maritime Matters.

SAILORS, MARINERS & WARRIORS LEAGUE covers the rescue of the crew of a Russian Cargo ship with photos in "12 Rescued From Russian Ship Stranded In Arctic"

Never Sea Land has the first reported attempted act of piracy in the UK since the 1820's.

Indian Shipping News has "Indian yards still talk expansion despite subsidy uncertainties"

Robin Storm has "Saved from the Angry Atlantic". Be sure to check out the photo near the end.

Sea * Fever has "FotoFriday - Christmas Is Coming"

Marine Buzz covers Norway's plans to build the world's first tunnel for shipping traffic.

Marine Buzz also has "California goes for Commercial Wave Power"

Bellona has "Nerpa shipyard sent reactor compartments to dry storage facility"

By now, everyone knows about the Ice Roads, but have you heard about ice tramways? Go to English Russia to find out.

The Horse's Mouth has photos of kite-assisted boats.

Haight's Maritime Items has:

Hearing on oil spills from non-tank vessels - On December 18, the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries & Coast Guard of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation conducted a hearing on Oil Spills from Non-Tank Vessels. Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) noted the success of OPA 90 in reducing spills from tank vessels, but noted that the incidence of spills from non-tank vessels have not declined as much, asking whether standards for these vessels should be strengthened. Admiral Thad Allen, Commandant, US Coast Guard, discussed efforts to make fuel tanks on vessels less susceptible to damage and proposed increasing the limit of liability for damages caused by oil spills from non-tank vessels. Ms. Mary Glackin, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) discussed the agency’s role in oil spill response. Ms. Susan Fleming, Government Accountability Office (GAO), recommended that the Coast Guard determine whether liability limits should be changed by vessel type and submit a report to Congress. Mr. Mike Cooper, Washington Oil Spill Advisory Council, recommended that the federal government delegate additional authority to the various states to reduce the risk of oil spills. Mr. William Deaver, Totem Ocean Trailer Express, explained steps taken in the design, construction, and operation of the company’s ships to reduce the risk of pollution. Dr. Dagmar Etkin, Environmental Research Consulting, discussed ways to reduce the risk of oil spills. She also noted that it is rare that more than 25% of spilled oil is recovered. (12/18/07). - Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage (Used with Permission)

Fairplay Daily News has:

Arison warns of US cabotage plan - MIAMI 20 December – Carnival chairman Micky Arison believes a new US cabotage plan would force his brands to reroute and “put some ports out of business”. During a conference call, Arison was asked about potential fallout from a Customs & Border Protection (CBP) proposal to require a 48-hour foreign port call for US-homeported, foreign-flag cruise voyages that stop at one other US port. If the rule is limited to the Hawaii trade, Arison said the CBP rule “would be devastating for Los Angeles and particularly for San Diego 2E” If the rule is applied country-wide, “it would be devastating for Seattle and Key West and will affect other ports”. In all cases, he explained, Carnival brands could switch to a different itinerary to comply with the new rule. In the case of Hawaii, Carnival brands “could not continue to operate California-to-Hawaii cruises” but could switch to an Ensenada homeport. If Seattle-to-Alaska cruises require an excessively long Canada call, Carnival brands could switch from a Seattle to Vancouver homeport. “This would really be felt by US ports – and it would put some ports out of business,” he warned of the rule proposal, which is now being aggressively challenged by the cruise lobby and US port sector. - Fairplay Homepage (Used with Permission)

Submissions for future editions:

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