The surface of the water was covered in ice and then clearly it got warmer and melted. As it melted, the mooring buoys popped up taking the ice around it out of the water, leaving them with ice halos.You can find a copy of the suit here. (Direct Pdf link here)San Francisco sues everyone re oil spill - The Office of the City Attorney issued a press release stating that it filed suit under state law against parties allegedly responsible for the November 7 oil spill in San Francisco Bay. In addition to financial compensation, the suit seeks an injunction requiring defendants to implement a plan to assess, monitor, and remediate all damages caused by the spill. Defendants include the owner, operator, manager, pilot, and John Does 1-100. (12/10/07). - Dennis Bryant
14. The true names or capacities, whether individual, corporate, associate, or otherwise, of DOE I through DOE 100 are unknown to plaintiffs, who therefore sue such defendants by such fictitious names, and who will amend this complaint to show their true names and capacities when ascertained. Plaintiffs are is informed and believe and thereon allege that each of the defendants designated as a DOE is responsible in some manner for the wrongs herein referred to and thereby proximately caused injuries and damages as alleged herein. - Link (page 7)
Prosafe comprises a parent company and two business divisions: Floating Production and Offshore Support Services. Floating Production is a leading owner and operator of Floating Producition, Storage and Offloading vessels (FPSOs). Offshore Support Services is the world's leading owner and operator of semi-sumbersible accommodation/service rigs.
Prosafe has more than three decades of operational experience from the world’s largest oil and gas provinces. With an excellent uptime record, a solid financial performance and the ability to offer innovative in house technology and cost-efficient solutions, the company has positioned itself as a provider of high quality services. - Prosafe
Prosafe is the world’s leading owner and operator of accommodation/service rigs. The company owns eleven semi-submersibles and one jack-up. Operations comprise bareboat charters in the Gulf of Mexico and time charters in the North Sea, west Africa, the US Gulf, Australia and off Sakhalin Island, Russia.
Accommodation/service rigs have traditionally been used wherever there is a need for additional accommodation, engineering, construction or storage capacity offshore. Typically, these rigs will be employed for installing and commissioning new facilities, upgrading or maintaining existing installations, hooking-up satellite fields to existing infrastructure, and removing installations.
The rigs are positioned alongside the host installation and are connected by means of a telescopic gangway, or personnel can be transported to and from the unit by boat or helicopter. These rigs boast substantial accommodation capacity, with berths for 245-812 people, have high quality welfare and catering facilities, medical services, storage, workshops and offices, deck cranes, and the necessary equipment and systems for ensuring the safety of the personnel living on board. - Prosafe
This Weeks Items:
Eagle Speak has the story of the US Navy putting the squeeze on the terrorists holding ships hostage off Somalia.
Eagle Speak also remembers the anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and links to others who have also posted on the event.
Steeljaw Scribe has a dramatic illustration of how the Royal Navy has shrunk in size. Not pictured is the loss in knowledge as the number of Navy sailors has also shrunk. So even if you can get more ships, just where do you get the sailors to crew them? (As we have learned earlier, in the case of New Zealand, you grab them from your allies.)
Additional comments on the decline and neglect of the Royal Navy cen be found at Captain's Quarters.
gCaptain has a photo of the wave damage on the Matson KAUAI. Also, gCaptain, partnering with Sea * Fever, has entered the world of podcasting with their first maritime podcast.
Commenter BigFish answers my request for some details on arresting a ship:
Arrest of ships : It is a somewhat complicated matter and you need to know a little bit of maritime law to understand all the intricacies. It depends upon the applicable law in the country of arrest (or even in the State, for federal countries such as the US), whether the country is signatory of specific international conventions and the rest of it. Have a look here and scroll down to pick up your favorite country :
http://www.shiparrested.com/publications.jsp
Hope it will assist ! - MM 87
Thanks much for the comment! Now perhaps someone can comment on how Greenpeace has so far managed to avoid getting their ships arrested as part of collecting on lost income from their blockading of ships.
Life of a Sea Wife explains the difficulty in planning the holidays while your husband is looking for a ship.
BitterEnd has "Right of Innocent Passage" noting that the right is often exercised around the US-Canadian border.
Maritime Calamities has "Investigators seek captain after mid-sea collision" concerning the Australian fishing trawler REXANDRA which was hit by an as-yet unnamed foreign-flag containership.
Opinion Journal has a story about visiting where parts of the USS ARIZONA that were removed from the vessel during construction of the memorial are stored.
EU Referendum covers the results of an audit of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in which the policy is declared a failure and then recommends more of the same.
Maritime Accident Casebook has an example of the dangers of enclosed spaces in "The Case Of The Electric Assassin"
Sea * Fever has the video investigative report on the accident on the tall ship PICTON CASTLE leading to the death of Laura Gainey.
Chaotic Synaptic Activity has in his weekly series 'Monday Maritime Matters' the story of US Army Private George Watson who has been honored by the Navy by naming the USNS WATSON after him. (If you check his site late enough in the day you should also be able to catch this week's edition.)
Energy Daily covers the very ambitious suggestion to "Dam The Red Sea And Release Gigawatts"
International Marine Consultancy has "Towage is not Transportation"
The country of Denmark has been working on a plan to turn itself into a shipping Center of Competence (More so than it already is) and they want foreigners to go work in the maritime Industry there. It helps to welcome foreigners into your country when there is a labor shortage, which Denmark is currently suffering from. However, it is good to know before you move that one of the reasons for the shortage of labor is because skilled Danes are fleeing their Country's shockingly high 63% income tax rate. The International Herald Tribune covers the story in "High income taxes in Denmark worsen a labor shortage".
OCRA Marine has "EU Sends Letter To Member States Failing To Comply To Marine Laws".
Tugster covers ATBs.
Kiwi at Sea is pulling rocks up from the sea floor.
International Herald Tribune also has "Rural Britain wants to put itself off the GPS map"
Some communities have begun putting up signs warning drivers to ignore their GPS devices on rural roads. But signs seem to be less and less effective as people increasingly rely more on GPS systems and less on maps, common sense or their own eyes.
"We've heard some very hilarious stories where people just blindly follow the sat. nav. instructions," said Vince Yearley, a spokesman for the Institute of Advanced Motorists, using British shorthand for "satellite navigation." "Like if the sat. nav. says, 'drive into this muddy field,' they think, 'that's weird,' but they do it anyway." - IHT
And yet, people think it is a good idea for VTS to pilot ships from an office ashore. At least the seafarers will have someone to point a finger at when the accident happens.
Cruise Bruise has "Star Princess Cruises To Antarctica". I did mention in Maritime Monday 86:
The large cruiseship STAR PRINCESS is heading off to Antarctica in January. But be warned, the ship is not Ice-classed (Class: +100A1).
Go read Cruise Bruise's take on the subject. Seems there is no shortage of people willing to sign up, despite a lack of marketing the adventure. He makes a good point, I only found it by using Google.
Shipping Times (UK) has coverage of backing by the Scottish Government for a medal to honor hundreds of Scots who perished when the RMS LANCASTRIA was sunk during WWII.
The RMS Lancastria was a Cunard liner sunk on June 17, 1940 during World War II with the loss of an estimated 4,000 plus lives. It is the worst single loss of life in British maritime history and the bloodiest single engagement for UK forces (in terms of lives lost) in the whole of World War 2, claiming more lives than the combined losses on Titanic and Lusitania. - Wikipedia
You can find the LANCASTRIA Association here.
Marine Buzz has "Christmas at Sea program by Seamen’s Church Institute"
Marex Newsletter has "Global Trade Environment in 2008: Potential Issues Looming to Disrupt Global Supply Chains"
The Horses Mouth has a great photo of a sailboat 'crewed' by harbor seals. No mention if the condition of the boat is a result of their presence or if that is what attracted their attention.
Vat19 has video showing how to tie "8 Knots You Should Know"
Fogonazos has photos of "The Salton Sea disaster"
Ross Fotheringham has posted photos of one of the Washington State Ferries in heavy Seas. Hope the cars on the car deck had their windows rolled up. This way you'll limit getting salt water to just the outside and undercarriage as well as inside the ventilation system.
Greenpeace (You have been warned) labels Japan as a 'Tuna Destroyer'. Don't bother trying to leave a comment unless you are going to praise their actions. They are heavy handed with their comment delete key, even if the criticism is constructive. While we are talking about Greenpeace, how is it that (according to Equasis) the RAINBOW WARRIOR has not had a port-state inspection since early 2003? (The ship is registered in the Netherlands.)
70 South covers the renaming of the Sea Shepherd's whaling protest ship from ROBERT HUNTER to STEVE IRWIN, yes that Steve Irwin. Last whaling season the ship ran into flagging problems (Their registration was revoked as no country was interested in being responsible for the damage the ship was attempting to inflict on Japanese whaling vessels). The ship is currently registered in the Netherlands with IMO number 7340370 as a 'Fishing Support Vessel'. Lloyds withdrew as classification society earlier this year with no replacement noted. I wonder why it took so long as they have had surveys outstanding since at least 2004. Their other vessel, the FARLEY MOWAT continues to be flag-less, which should make it easier for the Japanese if they ever decide to shoot holes in the hull.
While watching CBS's Amazing Race last night, it was interesting to see how many of the teams had no clue how to row a boat:
UK – Safety Digest 3/2007 - The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) released its Safety Digest 3/2007, [Note: PDF Document] summarizing recent marine accidents. The three overriding safety concerns for merchant shipping are found to be fatigue, complacency, and poor bridge teamwork. (12/1/07). - Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage (Used with Permission)
Mutiny at Indian Register - MUMBAI 03 December – Around 40 qualified surveyors of Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) have tendered their resignations, protesting at mismanagement. They have asked the IRS board to remove their chairman Capt JC Anand and managing director S Kumar and get professionals to manage the organisation. Sources said many officials had left IRS over the past year, complaining at mismanagement. The shipping directorate (DGS) had recently entrusted IRS with additional responsibilities including certification for Indian-flagged ships. IRS has been undertaking certain flag state control functions such as surveys and certification and some other statutory obligations on behalf of DGS. IRS, an independent technical organisation with board members from shipping ministry – including the DGS secretary, chairmen of port trusts and an SCI director, was set up in 1975. It is an associate member of the International Association of Classification Societies and has provided classification for 1,100 ships, including 10% foreign-flagged ships. - Fairplay Homepage (Used with Permission)
We recognize that servicers will not be able to make confirmed contact with all borrowers, particularly those in Segment 2 who meet the FICO test and for whom detailed analysis is not required. ASF is of the view that borrowers who fall within the eligibility criteria for a fast track loan modification should not fail to receive a modification solely due to the servicer’s inability to obtain a signed agreement. Generally, it would appear reasonable for a servicer to deem a borrower to have consented to the terms of the modification, if notice of the modification has been sent to the borrower, and the borrower has made two monthly payments under the loan as modified after receiving notice of the modified terms in accordance with the modification.Where the borrower has not signed an agreement evidencing the modification, there may be a question during periods when the fixed rate under the modification is greater than the adjusted rate that would have applied under the original mortgage note. If appropriate, the servicer may determine that the rate that should be charged during such periods should be the lower adjustable rate. - Mortgage Agreement (PDF Document, page 8)
For loans that require payment of interest only prior to the initial reset, followed by amortizing payments, the rate would be kept at the current rate during the modification term, but the borrower would be required to make an amortizing payment beginning after the reset date. - Mortgage Agreement (PDF Document, page 9)
You read it here first. The DC housing market will pop and it is going to be a dramatic event. - FFI - 20 August 2005 (Note: Surely, there were other 'first' voices.)
"It's a big misconception to think that (mortgage) resets are responsible for the delinquencies," Laperriere said.
Of the subprime loans made in 2006 and scheduled to reset in 2008, some 25 percent are already delinquent, he said.
"What's driving the delinquencies is that people can't afford the initial payments," Laperriere said.
That's a problem Paulson's plan won't fix. - Bloomberg (Found at Housing Bubble Blog)
Many of these loans have already being sold at deeply discounted prices, so the new loan-holders have a good deal of margin to cut the home owners a break and still make a profit.
Another possibility for the banks, given that the 'professionals' seem to have the opinion that this is just an 'anomaly', is to offer home loans in excess of the current value of these homes. In other words permit mortgages with a total value in excess of the current market value of the home. After all, if the value of the home is going to continue rising over time, as they claim, then why not put them into a better loan with a lower payment, that after a short time, a combination of appreciation and (hopefully) mortgage payments will have the value of the loan at a point less than the value of the home.
Of course, if the houses aren't actually worth what they were when they were sold and now your 'homeowners' are walking away from their obligations, they can always partly write off some of the principal of the loan. It would be kind of like agreeing to a short sale, without selling the property. This has an additional benefit of not requiring a buyer since almost nobody is interested in buying a house at the moment. So they might as well do whatever possible to keep those already in the houses, in them and paying off their mortgages.
So, there is no shortage of creative solutions to this mess of their own creation as you can see from my suggestions above. Surely, Wall Street, the mortgage industry and the banks can come up with something even more creative. And best of all, it won't involve the Government.
However, I don't think anyone should rush in to save those in trouble. Many of these people are doomed to be foreclosed on regardless of what you do for them; Write-off the loan and give them a clean title? Great, now they can extract more equity out of the house with a new mortgage or home equity loan. Hell, Senator Clinton is calling for a three-month halt to foreclosures. That's a great Christmas present; Three months-rent free, and at the end of that time period, they still have to get around to evicting you. Of course, the list of those to be evicted would have grown greatly during that time. This kind of action will help nobody except perhaps win a couple of votes for Senator Clinton. This example also points out a big problem in all of this, in that many people who are having problems right now, are not doing much about it. They are not getting rid of their luxury cars. They don't seem to be doing much of anything other than abandoning their mortgage payments. Many are abandoning them well before the interest rate resets that they are talking about freezing. Also, many are investors and other who have loans other than the type that will be covered, so if something is to be done, it will probably have to be an industry-wide solution, as the Government one is going to be limited, if anything at all:
The plan would also seemingly exclude borrowers who hold option-ARMs that aren't subprime. These are loans that start with extremely low "teaser" rates before rising dramatically a few years into the loan.It has also been reported that homes that were bought as investments - as opposed to for the purpose of living in - would be excluded.
More than 50% of the increase in delinquent mortgages are actually investor-related, said Wachovia senior economist Mark Vitner. "It's hard to conceive how many people are actually going to meet this criteria. There's nothing at all in there that addresses investors," said Vitner, who added he doesn't support an investor bailout. - CNN
More thoughts at the following Blogs, both of which provide no shortage of examples of homeowners in trouble who have nobody to blame but themselves:
More Financial Malpractice from the Union Tribune - Bubble Markets Inventory Tracking
Politicians and Bush say ‘F-you’ to RESPONSIBLE Americans and extend the housing bubble 5 more years (at least) - Housing Bubble Casualty
After 19 years in prison, Finland’s longest-serving life prisoner, triple murderer Nikita Joakim Fouganthine, 42, has been granted parole, starting from July 1st 2008.
In practice, Fouganthine will be out of prison already in February-March next year, because he will have to serve a probationary period before full parole is granted.
Currently Nikita Fouganthine, formerly known as Juha Valjakkala, is serving a life sentence in Kuopio prison, after killing a family of three in Åmsele, Sweden, in 1988. - Helsingin Sanomat
OK, technically speaking, did not exactly escape. He just left without permission:
Leaving an open institution is not considered as an escape. If a prisoner has left the institution without permission, he can be ordered as a disciplinary punishment a loss of served time at most 20 days. In 2005 18 (27 in 2004) prisoners left an open institution without permission. - Prison Service
He must have had a good reason to leave, because being in prison in Finland is almost like not being in prison at all. I guess he has served his 20 days for escaping. The police suspect that he stole a car to get away, not that you would know it given that he is being freed so quickly after his last escape attempt. So I guess he got no punishment for that.
Now don't worry about having a convicted murderer on the loose, he is going to be monitored:
Fouganthine, like all parolees, will be strictly monitored for example by GPS localisation using a mobile phone. - HS
Yeah, like he can't just leave his phone behind or let the battery die. He was being 'strictly monitored' at the open institution and yet he managed to escape for days. At the time, it was admitted that placing him in an open institution was a mistake. Yet, now they plan to place him back into an open society.
I give this guy less than one year before he is arrested again. I also suspect that he'll leave Finland within a month.
Apparently Swedes are somewhat pissed that he is being let go. It was three Swedes that he brutally murdered. However, it is the Nordic 'forgiving' attitude that is partly the reason for his release, and the reason why he was never executed for his crimes. This is an attitude that Sweden has subscribed to. So it should not be a surprise to anyone that he is being let go. What is surprising is how long he was actually kept behind bars. We probably have the murderer to thank for due to his multiple escape attempts. However, he should not be held fully responsible for any further crimes he commits once released. It is the system that is partly responsible from this point forward.
Finnish Triple-Murderer Escapes from an 'Open Institution' - FFI 29 Nov 06
Life prisoner Nikita Fouganthine to be paroled in near future - Helsingin Sanomat
Westwood provides superior transportation services to a broad spectrum of customers. With our new generation of combination Container and Breakbulk “Con-Bulk” vessels, we incorporate the latest technology to safely handle and transport a variety of cargo.
Offering fixed-day liner service for forest products and oversized cargo provides advantages normally found only with container carriers. With direct calls to more ports in Japan and Korea than any other container carrier, Westwood provides logistics advantages not found with the competition. - Westwood Shipping Lines
Westwood is owned by paper giant Weyerhaeuser.
This Weeks Items:
Eagle Speak has "IMO to Somalia: "Do something about piracy!""
Also be sure to check out Eagle Speak's weekly series "Sunday Ship History: Big Inch and Little Big Inch" covering one of the US's responses to the u-boat threat at the start of WWII.
Chaotic Synaptic Activity's 'Monday Maritime Matters' covers the origins of NOAA, whose founder was also honored through the naming of the USNS ALBERT J MYER (T-ARC 6).
The November Edition of Marine Log is online:
Click the image to open the book.The deadline is 31 December.Invitation to Nordic Photo Contest for Seafarers 2007 - Don't forget the Nordic Photo Contest for Seafarers 2007, including a Swedish part contest! All Nordic seafarers and, regardless of nationality, all other crew members of Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish flag vessels are welcome to take part in the contest. - Link
The 4th price in the Nordic Photo Contest - Guðmundur Birkir Agnarsson, skolskeppet Sæbjörg (Iceland) - Link
Stars and Stripes has "China canceled USS Kitty Hawk’s visit, denied request to refuel two minesweepers".
Robin Storm has "US Coast Guard HH-60 crew receives award for May 7th rescue"
gCaptain hits the nail on the head with his post titled "Ridiculous Item of the Month - Madatory VTS Instructions". (Kind of like doing what your GPS navigator tells you but including when to slow down and speed up.)
gCaptain also has an example of why seafarers need to be highly trained in "USCG Cruise Ship Medivac - Video". Of course the gold star goes to the Helo pilot, but he would not even have attempted this had he not been able to trust the Ship's officers to place the ship in a position for him to approach in the first place. As you can see, there is not much room for error.
Sea * Fever has "“Laura Gainey was an unlucky victim of the risk that she took by electing to go to sea”" including serious allegations of coverup during the investigation of her being washed overboard from the tall ship PICTON CASTLE.
Information Dissemination has "6th Fleet Focus: Russian Submarines Training Off Norway"
EU Referendum calls the EU's Galileo GPS Program the "Lie in the sky" suggesting that the EU still is greatly underestimating the cost to get their own GPS System up and running, considering that the US is planning to spend even more than them, just to upgrade their existing system.
Wikipedia has an entry on the SS CITY OF FLINT:
SS City of Flint, a freighter of the United States Merchant Marine, was the first American ship captured by the Germans during World War II. Under the command of Captain Joseph H. Gainard, City of Flint first became involved in the war when she rescued 200 survivors of the torpedoed British passenger liner SS Athenia (Note: the first British ship to be sunk by Germany in World War II.) on 3 September 1939. The Athenia was torpedoed by the German submarine U-30 that afternoon, and sent out a distress signal. Several ships responded. The Captain of HMS Electra, LCDR Sammy A. Buss, was Senior Officer Present, so he took charge. He sent the destroyer HMS Fame on an anti-submarine sweep of the area, while Electra, another destroyer HMS Escort, the Swedish yacht Southern Cross, the Norwegian cargo ship Knute Nelson, and the City of Flint rescued the survivors. Between the ships, about 980 passengers and crew were rescued; only 112 people were lost, and Athenia sank the next morning. - Wiki
Go read the whole amazing story of the capture of the FLINT, read who we can thank for freeing the ship and it's fate.
Steeljaw Scribe has "Красная Звезда в четверг (Red Star Thursday)" which includes news of delays for Russia's new SSBN (submarine) Class.
Maritime Links Editor's Blog has "Updated Post-Graduation Requirement for Kings Point". Essentially, new graduates have to sail, either US or on foreign flag (those companies with agreement with MARAD). This leaves related shoreside positions open (reserved) for state-school graduates. Of course the requirement is merely the minimum. My resignation request for the Navy Reserve has been 'in-process' for a year now.
Tugster has great photos of an ITB (Integrated Tug-Barge) in drydock. Go and take a look, and wonder, just where is the hull of the 'tug'?
CDR Salamander has more money-funding problems for the Navy's shipbuilding program. Well the problem does not appear to be lack of money, but the obscene cost of what they intended to do with it. (And when I say obscene, that is in the context of how the Government spends. i.e. $8,000 for a screwdriver that they normally pay $800 for and we pay $2 for.)
SAILORS, MARINERS & WARRIORS LEAGUE has the newest US Army ship; the USAV MAJ. GEN. ROBERT SMALLS (LSV-8). Yes, the US Army operates boats and ships. Makes you wonder who is in charge of their shipbuilding program? Maybe they can help out the Navy with it's shipbuilding disaster.
Marine Buzz has interesting photos of launching a ship with large inflatable rubber tubes. It is a very novel idea.
Shipping Times (UK) has "HMS DIAMOND launch - in pictures and video". It is pretty amazing to see thousands of people attend a ship launch. I have to confess, I have never been to one, although not from any lack of desire to.
Tim at Tims Times was waiting to join a ship last week. Apparently, he was not looking for coffee during his wait.
Bitter End has the latest on the mess that is the Washington State Ferry System.
Marex Newsletter has "Cosco Busan "Arrested"" (Yes, ships too can be arrested. Can someone provide a decent link explaining the process?)
Never Sea Land has news that the Fiji Island Vatu Vara is up for sale. Seems expensive for being so remote, but I guess its all relative, and the reason why someone will want to pay the asking price. Still, it doesn't look like your getting lots of island for the buck. I can think of better things to do with that much money.
THE PRIVATE ISLANDS BLOG has "Health Island Bahrain"
Sound of Cannons has "Law Of The Sea Treaty: Lets Get Rid Of This"
The Monitor has "SOLAS will retire classics". SOLAS is the International Maritime Organization's 'International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea'. The classics are the world's classic cruiseships. SOLAS is being updated and he lists many of the older cruise ships that are on it's hitlist.
English Russia has "The On-Ground Ferry" Go take a look at road conditions in Russia. (This reminds me of 'Shore pilots', basically a guide to navigate you around while on shore leave.)
Shipping Law Times has "Criminal Prosecution of Seafarers in India" noting that seafarers are 'sitting ducks' and easy targets, but you knew that already.
Navy Newsstand has:
Welcome home.071129-N-2143T-001 BREMERTON, Wash. (Nov. 29, 2007) - Submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) pulls into its new homeport at Naval Base Kitsap Bremerton. Land's arrival from La Maddalena, Italy, completes its change of homeport after eight years of providing mobile fleet support to submarines and surface ships in the 6th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Maebel Tinoko (Released) - Link
Cyprus-Forum provides an example of what happens when asinine politics gets in the way of solving practical logistical problems. (See below for a second example.)
The BBC covers environmental concerns about China's massive Three Gorges Dam project.
Haight's Maritime Items has:
Fairplay Daily News has:Washington – surface-water runoff is largest contributor to pollution - The Washington State Department of Ecology issued a news release stating that surface-water runoff from land is generally the largest contributor of toxic chemicals to the waters of Puget Sound. The agency conducted a study on the Control of Toxic Chemicals in Puget Sound. The data regarding relative contributions from the various sources of contaminants is intended to help guide decisions about how to most effectively direct resources to resolve toxic contamination issues. Interestingly, the report finds that oil spills directly into surface waters during the past six years were a relatively small source of toxics compared to the amount of oil that reaches Puget Sound from surface runoff. Note: It remains to be seen whether government agencies will ever devote as much effort to deterring and penalizing land-sourced water pollution as they devote to penalizing ship-sourced pollution, even though the evidence consistently shows that land-sourced pollution is the greater threat. (11/30/07). - Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage (Used with Permission)
AND:Congress rethinking 100% scanning - NEW YORK 28 November – Many in the US Congress now realise that trying to impose scanning requirements on foreign ports was a mistake and the measure may be reversed – but not just yet. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine told Sea Sentinel this week that many of the proponents of the 9/11 Implementation Act now understand that the 100% scanning mandate is unworkable and they would be willing to repeal it, but Capitol Hill insiders said that it is unlikely such a vote could come before next November’s elections – for political reasons. “Getting Congress to change laws is hard,” says author and former Coast Guardsman Stephen Flynn. He adds that many people overseas see US diktats such as the scanning measure as “schizophrenic”. He says they cannot understand how a country that denied terminal ownership to a foreign company like DP World on security grounds now wants foreign companies – including DP World – to scan US-bound cargoes. Collins, who is ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and her counterpart in the House, New York Republican Peter King, both told the Maritime Security Expo yesterday that maritime security will be better achieved through co-operation between the industry and government than by governmental edicts. - Fairplay Homepage (Used with Permission)
Submissions for future editions:ITF speaks out on weighty issue - LONDON 22 November – The under-declaration of container weights is a problem “crying out for investigation”, says the ITF. “This is a widespread problem,” claims ITF spokesman Sam Dawson. “The fact that the weight of containers is under-declared, or containers carrying hazardous cargo are not declared as such, endangers workers right along the supply chain. Dockers, truckers and their unions are working jointly to… lobby international organisations for a cross-sectoral safety regulation.” He was responding to Shipping Australia CEO Llew Russell’s claims that the issue is becoming a major problem in New South Wales. “A couple of tonnes may not seem a lot to an individual exporter, but multiplied by many containers it can seriously affect ship loading and safety,” he told Safety At Sea International. Captain Neale Rodrigues, director of Loss Prevention at Charles Taylor & Co, offered his opinion on possible solutions: “The ideal would be to ban shippers who persistently overload containers, but this is not always practical. The reality is that the ship needs to double check all the cargo they receive, and perform additional stability calculations after loading, if there is time." - Fairplay Homepage (Used with Permission)
"You don't get points just for opening your mouth. You have to tell me something I don't know." (or something like that.)
Do you know what math curriculum your child is being taught? Are you worried that your third-grader hasn’t learned simple multiplication yet? Have you been befuddled by educational jargon such as “spiraling,” which is used to explain why your kid keeps bringing home the same insipid busywork of cutting, gluing and drawing? And are you alarmed by teachers who emphasize “self-confidence” over proficiency while their students fall further and further behind? Join the club. - Michelle Malkin
California, ever on the cutting edge of educational reforms, enthusiastically embraced Fuzzy Math in the early nineties only to watch state math scores plummet. In 1996, California registered one of the worst scores of all 50 states on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. By the end of 1997, the State Board of Education realized its mistake and produced sensible standards that encouraged more traditional math instruction. Other states that experimented with Fuzzy Math have started to see the light as well. “The pendulum is swinging back to the more traditional approach to education,” says one administrator in Massachusetts. - CITY
"The efficient US guns managed to hit all three boats (one large and two smaller ones), and one of the ABs was ordered to cut the towing line. This changed the whole situation", says Niels Nielsen. "The hi-jackers’ plan was that they would leave the ship at about 20 nautical miles from the shore with their loot, nothing more, according to their original plans and confirmed by their conversation during the days onboard."
The loss of three boats made the hi-jackers rather desperate as the boats were hired from somebody else, and now they had to cover the losses. So instead of leaving the Danica White they were forced to take the ship and claim a ransom to gain money to pay for the boats. - Scandinavian Shipping Gazette
In a report, the maritime authority said the captain did not follow standard procedure and post a crew member to scout for pirates when the Danica White sailed into waters off the Somali coast, where the risk of hijackings is big.
The captain was alone on the bridge when the pirates arrived in three small boats and, unnoticed, boarded the ship from astern, the report said. - International Herald Tribune
So why was the Captain alone? (An even bigger unanswered question is why was the Captain standing a watch?) Scandinavian Shipping Gazette has more details:
Bad watch keeping on the Danica White - SSG-RINGKØBING. The outlook and watch keeping was too slack on board the Danica White, when it was on the voyage from Sharjah to Mombasa in June. That was the main reason for the capture is the conclusion from the Danish Maritime Authorities’ Investigations group. The captain had some disciplinary problems with some of the crew members on board, who did not want to take part of the watch keeping during the voyage. Instead they did maintenance and cleaning in the accommodation. No one on board discovered the hi-jacker’s before they actually was standing on the deck of Danica White and lead to a 82 days capture off the coast of Somalia.
“This is like when a thief breaks into your house. No one is responsible for the incident”, says shipowner Jørgen Folmer, H. Folmer & Co, to several newspapers in Denmark to the question if he feels guilt for what happened. Published: 22.11.07 15.42 - Scandinavian Shipping Gazette
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Rescued passengers of the Explorer arriving on King George Island, Antarctica. Even its captain and chief officer, who had stayed to operate the bilge pumps in the hope of salvation, had long ago evacuated when the Chilean Navy said the little red ship had gone down. - NY Times
Go and see what became of the liferafts. (Theoretically, the crew would have pulled them up onto the ice, or at least tried...)
No fears for those looking to follow in their wake, in thinking that the opportunity is now lost. The large cruiseship STAR PRINCESS is heading off to Antarctica in January. But be warned, the ship is not Ice-classed (Class: +100A1). At least the EXPLORER was ice-classed. (Class: 
1A1 ICE-A(for max draught 4.20 m) Passenger Ship). Oddly enough, the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ENDEAVOUR that came to the rescue is being presented as a research vessel. It is actually a cruise ship, and is even older than the EXPLORER.
Some people might be shocked that the ship would have sunk from what was reported to be a 'fist-sized' hole. Well, the smallest hole will sink any size ship, given enough time and access to enough of the ship. Now this hole might have resulted in rapid flooding, depending on how far under the waterline it was located. Here is a flow chart for holes according to depth underwater.
The other issue is watertight integrity between compartments. If only one compartment was holed, then I would suspect that the ship would have stayed afloat, provided that the listing was not too great. Seeing that it was about 90 minutes after being holed that the order to abandon ship was given, I would suspect that they managed to check the watertight integrity of the compartments. However, once the order was given to abandon ship, the available manpower to fight the flooding was surely quickly diminished as those most able to keep the ship afloat would also be those most needed to man the lifeboats. (Just my opinion, what actually happened is a story for the Captain to tell.)
Sea * Fever covers another sinking, this one the intentional sinking of the TEXAS CLIPPER in order that she can spend the rest of her days serving as an artificial reef.
Robin Storm has the development of improved radars that can see monster waves, giving ships some time to react.
Third Party Logistics covers the World Bank's 2007 Logistics Performance Index rankings. Click the map to go right to the World Bank's ranking page. The US scored 14th. Finland ranked 15th.
RIDE ABOARD INTREPID DURING HER RETURN TRIP - Enter yourself for a chance to win a trip for you and a guest aboard Intrepid as she sails back to Pier 86 in Manhattan. All entries must be completed by February 28th, 2008. Must be 18 years or older to enter. Ten (10) entrants will be selected and notified via email and phone. Estimated date of Intrepid’s return trip is September 26th, 2008. - Homepage
CBP – Hawaiian coastwise cruises - The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) proposes new criteria to be used to determine whether non-coastwise-qualified vessels are in violation of the Passenger Vessel Services Act when engaging in cruise itineraries in which passengers board at a US port, the vessel calls at several Hawaiian ports, and then the vessel proceeds to a foreign port for a brief period before returning the passengers to the original US port of embarkation. The proposed criteria would find such voyages to be violative of the Act unless: (1) the stop in the foreign port lasts at least 48 hours; (2) the amount of time at the foreign port is more than 50% of the total time at the US ports of call; and (3) the passengers are permitted to go ashore temporarily at the foreign port. Comments on the proposal should be submitted by December 21. 72 Fed. Reg. 65487 (November 21, 2007). - Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage (Used with Permission)
EU threat to Croatian yards - ZAGREB 20 November – The Croatian shipbuilding industry is under threat of significant change because of the high level of subsidy it receives, according to a Bloomberg report. Subsidies, currently amounting to 2.6bn kuna ($517M), are a key issue in Croatia’s entry talks to join the European Union. Shipbuilding is an important industry in Croatia and the country boasts at least 10 sizeable yards of which six are state-owned – and of the latter only the Uljanik yard is operating without subsidy. Croatia is the world’s sixth largest shipbuilder employing 11,000 people. There are fears that yards will have to close if Croatia is successful in its entry negotiations. Earlier this month the European Commission said that Croatia needed to make substantial efforts to restructure its shipbuilding industry. With an election due on November 25, this is a very topical issue. The prime minister, Ivo Sanader, is delaying any decision on the yards until after the vote. His party aims to make each shipyard viable without subsidy and his main competing party has similar ideas, but such action only suggests major lay-offs, which would make unemployment – already 14.1% – the highest in the EU. - Fairplay Homepage (Used with Permission)
