Maritime Monday 150

The following is posted by Fred Fry:

Welcome to this 150th edition of Maritime Monday.

You can find Maritime Monday 100 here. (Published 02 March 2008)

You can find last week’s edition here.

You can find links to all the previous editions at the bottom of this post. You are encouraged to participate using the comment link/form at the bottom of the post. If you have photos or stories to tell, do email me at [email protected].

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This Week’s Photos:

This week’s photos come from the website of German Shipowner Ernst Jacob:

It is the policy of Ernst Jacob (GmbH & Co KG) – as ship owners and ship managers – to provide safe and environmentally friendly service of consistent quality to the satisfaction of it’s clients and principals in compliance with contractual obligations, relevant national and international regulations, and the recommendations of the ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 standards in order to create a fair profit. – More

* NELL JACOB *

* NELL JACOB *

* OLIVER JACOB *

* COLIN JACOB *

* FOUR SCHOONER Cargo Manifold *

* MARGARA Deck *

Their homepage can be found here.

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This Week’s Items:

EagleSpeak has “Iran: Iranian Navy goes “international”“.

gCaptain has “How Do Mariners Pay For Training?“, “NTSB Board Meeting on Cosco Busan Allision” and the related post “Press Release from NTSB Board Meeting“.

Technically Incorrect explains the real cause of the seabed markings in the Atlantic that were suggested in the news this last week as the possible location of Atlantis in “Atlantis found on Google Earth? Er, no“.

In this case, what users are seeing is an artifact of the data collection process. Bathymetric (or sea-floor terrain) data is often collected from boats using sonar to take measurements of the sea-floor…The lines reflect the path of the boat as it gathers the data. The fact that there are blank spots between each of these lines is a sign of how little we really know about the world’s oceans.”

Molten Eagle looks at the odds of rescuing sub crews from submarines that sink to the bottom in “Out of Their Depth“.

BarentsObserver has “Russia prepares law on Northern Sea Route“. So when are they going to try and tax those who use the route? How long before the first ship is arrested by the Russians? This is a likely possibility given how Russia has seized ships off their Western Coast, even those clearly in International waters.

The Canberra Times has coverage of a police raid in “Sea Shepherd evidence ‘could be sent to Japan’“.

Australian Federal Police have raided anti-whaling flagship the Steve Irwin, seizing records and videos that could help Japan to prosecute the activist Sea Shepherd group.

An armed squad seized 157 of Discovery Channel’s raw videos, and navigational records from the ship in Hobart. The videos show the Sea Shepherd’s clashes with Japanese whalers and may be given to the Japanese Government. A federal agent said yesterday’s raid resulted from a formal referral from Japanese authorities and that police were undertaking preliminary inquiries into this summer’s Southern Ocean confrontation.

Yahoo News has an update with “Cyprus: Iran ship can leave without suspect cargo“. So how about showing the world what was included in the cargo?

Bloomberg has “North Korea Seizes Russian Cargo Ship Near Missile Test Range “.

The ship was en route to Vladivostok from the South Korean port of Pusan on Feb. 17 when it veered toward Cape Musudan to avoid a storm, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. North Korean sailors boarded the vessel the next day and escorted it to the port of Kimchaek.

The Old Salt Blog has “The Wreck of The SS Richard Montgomery – a WWII Time-bomb?“. The ship was carrying thousands of tons of high explosives.

Casco Bay Boaters Blog has an example that our Congress has no monopoly on stupidity with “Maine Rep. Tom Watson Wants to Ride on YOUR Boat” as he submits legislation to require all boaters to wear lifejackets when on the water.

The exceptions in this law are much more dangerous than some other types of boating. For example you won’t have to wear a lifejacket when going to your mooring in a small zodiac or while in a canoe owned by a children’s summer camp?!

US Merchant Marine Veterans has “Assistance for US Merchant Marine Veterans of WW II“.

Applications being mailed to gain recognition as veterans are repeatedly rejected by the National Maritime Center because they cannot find records (trip discharges and/or logbooks) that show service for the periods required and they accept little else. Alternate methods to prove employment must be provided in order for these seamen to become veterans. This can be accomplished through administrative legislation at no cost.

Kind of our Government’s shame that this was not resolved decades ago. Even worse, the National Maritime Center can’t find the records because MARAD destroyed them in the ’70’s!.

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BBC News has “Danton wreck found in deep water“.

French battleship sunk in 1917 by a German submarine has been discovered in remarkable condition on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea.

Never Sea Land has video “Marine critters that keep us safe (?)“. So go get a summary overview of the MARK 6 Dolphin and Mark 6 Sea lion systems.

The US Navy has the slide show “Year in Pictures 2008” (Found via Neptunus Lex).

The Maritime Executive has “Obama’s New Deal: Good Deal, No Deal or the Real Deal?” noting the large amount of ‘stimulus’ money for the Maritime Industry.

The Washington Times has more ‘stimulus’ money with: “Bill allots millions to Filipino vets abroad“.

Bryant’s Maritime Blog has “Alaska – power grab in Arctic waters?” and “Alaska – Arctic pilotage proposal“.

Hellenic Shipping News has “$1.8bn Oman port on track despite turmoil“.

Shirlaw News Group has “Chilean ship loaded with gold sinks in S Atlantic“. $110 million, gone, for now.

Puget Sound Maritime has “Two baby orcas spotted near Victoria BC“.

Shipgaz has “Maritime pollution should be a criminal offence“.

The European Parliament’s transport committee wants to make maritime pollution a criminal offence. Even minor cases of pollution should be made criminal if they are repeated, committed deliberately or caused as a result of serious negligence. Penalties should apply to anyone involved in the pollution, from shipowners to classification societies.

Imagine if this kind of ‘ideology’ migrated to everyday life…

An Unofficial Coast Guard Blog has ““Without Rescue 21, they’d all be dead.”“

The Merchant Marine Express has “Drama while departing for Sea!“

HAWSEPIPER is the third man living on a two-man barge in “mmm…Sunday“. At sea and up river.

AMVER Blog has “Rescue At Sea; A Survivor’s Account“. (Found via Professional Mariner)

iCommandant – Web Journal of Admiral Thad Allen has “Marine Insurers Meeting with Coast Guard Commandant“.

Bob Couttie’s Maritime Accident Casebook has “MAIB Tired of Fatigue – “UK must go it alone”“. 6 on / 6 off watchkeeping is an invitation to trouble. Or am I wrong?

MarineBuzz has “Calculate Sea Route Distance in Google Maps” and “Waterjet Fast Attack Crafts INS Carnicobar and INS Chetlat Commissioned at Chennai“.

Lloyd’s List Newsroom Blog has “Death toll must be cut“.

WHILE the shipping community may have differing views on inerting tanker cargoes to prevent explosions, it is united in its concern about the increase in the number of seafarers killed when they enter enclosed spaces on ships.

Wired asks a barge question with ‘what would you do with 405 tons of oil storage?‘

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Mr. Boat Blog has a video tour of Royal Caribbean’s OASIS OF THE SEAS which is currently under construction in “Worlds Largest Cruise Ship = 11 Love Boats.“

US Naval Institute Blog has “The Coast Guard’s Role in Building Legal Capacity in Africa“.

Space Mart has “Scientists Find Black Gold Amidst Overlooked Data” noting a valid application for Google Oceans.

About half of the oil in the ocean bubbles up naturally from the seafloor, with Earth giving it up freely like it was of no value. Likewise, NASA satellites collect thousands of images and 1.5 terrabytes of data every year, but some of it gets passed over because no one thinks there is a use for it.

Scientists recently found black gold bubbling up from an otherwise undistinguished mass of ocean imagery. Chuanmin Hu, an optical oceanographer at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, and colleagues from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (UMass), found that they could detect oil seeping naturally from the seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico by examining streaks amid the reflected sunlight on the ocean’s surface.

Theo Spark has more video of real life turned into model-looking animation with “Amazing: Bathtub Video…..” It’s ’tilt-shift’ video.

SAILORS, MARINERS & WARRIORS LEAGUE has “Saudi Frigate Provides Protection For Turkish Ship“. I think the Saudis can keep their frigate home. They can do much more good fighting those supporting terrorism in their own backyard.

Sea * Fever has “Ten shipwrecks that capture MSNBC’s imagination“.

BitterEnd has “The Rise of the Drug-Running Remote-Controlled Semi-Submarines“.

MaritimeSales had an ex-Soviet “Whiskey Class” Submarine” for sale. It went for $550,000.

IMC Brokers explains “Dynamic Positioning” and includes a good video summary on the subject as well.

Breakbulk Industry News has “Wallenius Wilhelmsen opens Chennai unit“.

Kings Point Waterfront has photos and video of an “Icebreaking Training Trip” up the Hudson River.

The Yankee Sailor has returned to blogging.

Tugster has photos on how New York City gets it’s road salt by barge.

Information Dissemination has “Update on EU Piracy Effort“.

Cruise bruise has “Three Jailed After $1.3 Million Heist Aboard Cruise Ship“. The ship was the OCEAN DREAM and they just walked off the ship with the money.

YouTube has great video posted from a ship that is tossed about in a storm and loses a good portion of their deck cargo in “perils of the sea“. The crew on the bridge don’t sound to be too concerned out it. Then again, they were limited in what they could have done at that point. Surely, the video is good stuff for the insurance companies.

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Haight’s Maritime Items has:

Shifting my flag – After 13 years with Holland & Knight and 10 years publishing this electronic newsletter, I am shifting my flag to the Internet. Today is my last day with the law firm and my last day as editor of this newsletter. Henceforth, you can reach me at my blog – Bryant’s Maritime Blog

[ http://bryantsmaritimeblog.blogspot.com ]. (Fred Note: Story linked above)

While the blog may superficially resemble the newsletter, there will be important differences. First, it will not show up in your e-mail’s In Box. Rather, you will have to go to it on the Internet. Therefore, you may wish to put the site on your Favorites list. Then again, maybe not – your choice. Second, while the blog will attempt to keep track of maritime developments (as did the newsletter), it will allow for a dialogue. Thus, if you wish to comment on a topic in the blog, or just wish to sound off, this will provide you with a forum. While I will retain editorial control, I will try to not stifle criticism, only irrelevancy and redundancy. Third, plans call for the blog to eventually include advertizing. Please support the blog site by clicking on some or all of the advertisements that interest you. I understand that some of my long-suffering readers may have trouble accessing the blog. Perhaps if you tell your IT Staff that the blog is both work-related and boring, they will grant access rights.

I have enjoyed the practice of law, particularly with the wonderful people at Holland & Knight. I have enjoyed editing the newsletter, and receiving your occasional constructive criticism (the blog will allow for even more of that). I have taken special pleasure in the notes received from many of you the past several days since I first announced my departure. Time prevents me from responding individually to each one. So, all the best to each and every one of you. If you wish to chat less publicly, you can reach me at: [email protected]. (2/20/09). – Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage (Used with Permission)

Fairplay Daily News has:

Cry of ‘murder’ in ship deaths – A DIPLOMATIC row grew today between Russia and China over the deaths of eight crew from a dry cargo ship – including an accusation of “murder”.

Russian rescue and salvage teams were at work today in the Sea of Japan looking for missing seafarers and the cargo ship New Star, which Russian authorities believe has sunk.

Hong Kong’s J-Rui Lucky Shipping told the English-language news portal china.org.cn that the Russian account of the incident was false.

“The story the Russia authorities fed to the press is a cover-up that turns black into white,” the company said. “Their account does not mention the fact that their warship fired on our cargo ship. What they are portraying as a rescue was in fact an act of murder.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu urged Russia to spare no effort in its rescue operations and to investigate swiftly.

Lieutenant Colonel Natalia Rondaleva of Russia’s Federal Security Service FSB said yesterday that the rice vessel had unlawfully fled the port of Nakhodka, in the Vladivostok region.

The Sierra Leone-flagged ship left on 12 February “without receiving a permit from the border guard and illegally crossed the Russian frontier”, she told reporters, speaking for the local branch of the FSB.

It was chased by Russian border vessels after the buyer of its rice found the cargo spoiled. New Star was then hit by a heavy storm in neutral waters, had engine failure and started sinking.

The ship was abandoned, and the 16 crew members boarded life rafts. Eight of them were rescued by the pursuing Russians. – Fairplay Homepage (Used with Permission) [Fred Note: Video of the incident can bee seen at gCaptain Here]

AND:

Seafarers threaten run on banks – CROATIAN seafarers are threatening to withdraw €400M ($506M) from domestic banks if its government refuses to alter how they are taxed.

“We demand that the government counts the days seafarers spend on their way to and from ships, as well as days when they are ill and days when they are training,” Predrag Brazzoduro, head of the Croatian Seafarers’ Union, said on the union’s website.

Seafarers must now spend at least 183 days a year at sea to qualify for tax benefits. But Brazzoduro said the recession will prevent seafarers from going to sea that many days this year.

He has said the union, which represents 20,000 seafarers, will withdraw its deposits in Croatian banks if Zagreb refuses its demand. – Fairplay Homepage (Used with Permission)

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Submissions for future editions:

Please submit articles for inclusion in next week’s edition using the following submit form at Blog Carnival. You are also welcome to email stories and photos to [email protected] for inclusion in future editions as well as suggest areas of coverage.

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Previous Editions: As linked below or click on the tag ‘Maritime Monday’ for all gCaptain editions.

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