Maritime Monday 177

The following is posted by Fred Fry:

Welcome to this 177th edition of Maritime Monday.

You can find Maritime Monday 127 here. (Published 15 September 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 ship recycler Esco Marine:

Esco Marine is a 88 acre full service marine yard and recycling operation located in Brownsville, Texas. We specialize in recyclable metals and the proper disposal of obsolete maritime vessels. Esco Marine’s vessel scrapping operations emphasize both worker safety and environmental responsibility.

* GULF SHIPPER *

* GULF FARMER *

* RESOLUTE *

* USS ORTOLAN *

Their homepage can be found here.

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This Week’s Items:

EagleSpeak has “Somali Pirates: Video of Pirate Shooting at Navy Helicopter“.

Also be sure to check out EagleSpeak‘s weekly series “Sunday Ship History: Presidential Protection“

gCaptain has some examples of sub-standard shipping in “Paris MOU Rankings – A look at what’s “Caught in the Net”“.

Towmasters: the Master of Towing Vessels Assoc. Forum has “Freedom To Crew Change!“

Confining us and not allowing us to conduct the normal and legitimate business of our vessels (crew changes, grub shopping, delivery of stores, or just trying to get some exercise by walking to maintain our health and sanity) via their Coast Guard-approved facility security plans is also flat-out illegal. Nevertheless, marine terminals and facilities have simply ignored the law and regulations, specifically 33 CFR § 200(b)(9) and 33 CFR § 105.270, getting away with it because no one with the juice to do something about it would. But on August 17th at least one Coast Guard sector commander, in Houston, has taken a stance against these practices in Port Security Information Bulletin # 04-09 – Access to Ships Through Facilities. It’s a shot across the bow, warning the facilities that the required CG-approval of their security plans may be rescinded if they lack the required mariner-access provisions.

EU Referendum covers the US Coast Guard’s activities off Africa in “A force for good“. The ship mentioned in the post is the USCGC LEGARE.

In small measure, that help is there – not enough, but it is something. But it is not the EU that steps up to the plate … it could not and, even if it could, it would not. No, the help comes from another nation state, the United States.

US Naval Institute Blog has more on the shots fired at the US Navy by pirates in “Gleaning Intent of the Somali Pirates“.

One Free Korea has “UAE Intercepts N. Korean Arms Ship“. Here is one reader’s comment on the news:

Is this the same UAE whom we couldn’t trust to manage our own ports for fear they would compromise terrorist activity? Yeah. That’s what I thought. Looks like they might be more vigilant against real terrorists than most.

Deep Water Writing takes a training course on operating “Fast Rescue Boats“.

59° 56′ N looks at “A happy convergence for box ships: Do-it-yourself globalisation?“

Shipping would benefit immeasurably if two phenomena driven by technology collided: e-wholesaling and pop-up retail. The upshot would be a boom in container shipping – a boom driven not by collossal multinationals but rather a half-billion new merchants.

Shipgaz has bad news for those being held by pirates in “Court rule: No extra compensation to Danica White crew“.

Flags of Convenience has some ARCTIC SEA posts that will just add to the rumors about the ship in “Missiles sold by top Russian officials” and “Arctic Sea: cargo tipped into the Atlantic“.

Information Dissemination has more pondering on the ARCTIC SEA with “Update on Piracy“. Not in the post itself, but in the comments. Here is one comment by one of his readers in support of what I have mentioned before:

When was the last time the Russian/Soviet fleet scrambled ANYTHING out of the Black Sea – – – like they were sitting there, waiting for an EXCUSE to rip out through Gibraltar at >32kts – – – how many ships & submarines? Makes Clancey’s stuff seem plausable.

The Sun (UK) is reporting “Pirated ship ‘had missile cargo’“. I am not sure how much, if any of this story I believe.

A DEADLY cargo of Russian missiles WAS on board the tanker sailed through the English Channel by pirates, a top Moscow naval source said today.

The anonymous source said that it is likely non-nuclear S-300 and X-55 missiles were illegally concealed on the 4,000-ton Arctic Sea alongside its official cargo of timber.

He suspected the cargo was loaded in the Baltic Sea at night after the Maltese-registered ship left Finland with its timber on board.

MarineBuzz has “India: JSW Jaigarh Port of Maharashtra Inaugurated“.

MarineBuzz also has “Decommissioned USS Arthur W. Radford to Become Artificial Reef“.

Houston ship pilot/photographer OneEighteen has “Big Sky Over Galveston Bay“.

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Barents Observer has “Last strontium battery to be removed” from the Barents Region. Of course Russian is excited to have others pay to clean up their mess. Good for the Norwegians that the Russians have more of these nuclear-powered lighthouses needing cleanup elsewhere.

As of January 2009, Norway has granted just over NOK 1.4 billion for nuclear safety work in Northwest Russia.

According to the Norwegian Action Plan on Nuclear Safety; Norway will continue to finance the removal of Russian RTGs from coastal areas. Now, when all RTGs are removed from the Barents Region, the work starts with the RTGs in the Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions. Here, 71 RTGs needs to be removed.

The Merchant Marine Express is dealing with everything on the ship breaking around him in “Meals on the Double!“

HAWSEPIPER: The Longest Climb has to return to his tug in “better than a hangover“. Traveling and working in one day. Been there. Done that.

Maritime Information Centre has “Frontline says 40-45 oil tankers are storing crude“. According to the article, that’s ten percent of the global VLCC tanker fleet. Much better that than being laid up.

Lighthouse News has “Black Sea Lighthouse Conflict Flares Up Again“.

The emotional Russian-Ukrainian tug-of-war over 100 disputed lighthouses heated up this week, as Russia’s Black Sea Fleet arrested a group of Ukrainian bailiffs who were trying to take control of the lighthouse in Khersones, on the outskirts of the Ukrainian Crimean port of Sevastopol.

Trade and Logistics Malaysia has “Steady rise in sea and airfreight in Penang“.

Helsingin Sanomat has “Poisonous algae that glows in the dark detected in Ã…land Islands“.

The bioluminescence phenomenon, also known as “sea fire” is caused by single-cell microalgae, which start to radiate light when the surrounding water is stirred.

IMOWATCH has “Environment Agency stops ship leaving the UK for scrapping“.

The UK’s Environment Agency took swift action on 7 August 2009 (Friday) to stop a tanker ship – the Margaret Hill – from leaving the UK on the suspicion it was due to head abroad for illegal dismantling. This is the first time these powers have been used to stop a ship from leaving a UK port.

Maritime Accident Casebook has “Safety Alert — Exploding Windlass — Your Experiences?“

Britain’s Maritime Accident Investigation Branch has appealed to the industry for information on the catastrophic failure of high pressure hydraulic anchor windlasses in its latest Safety Bulletin following several incidents since 2007, some of which have caused serious injury.

The Maritime asks “Northern Sea Route open for business?“

Save the National Lighthouse Museum has “Contents of National Lighthouse Museum Office in St. George is Thrown in the Garbage.” Worse, the man trying to recover the material was mugged and beaten while trying to retrieve the stuff from the trash, ending up in the hospital.

Puget Sound Maritime has “Port of Seattle responds to misrepresentation“.

Lehigh Valley Ramblings has Congressman “Dent to Honor Fifty Local WWII Merchant Mariners“.

Marenostrum has “Choosing Watches“.

The First and Second Mates pick their watches onboard a sailing ship that has just left port, one chosen alternatively by each mate. I read of a very inexperienced Second Mate who picked the sober ones.

Hellenic Shipping News has an example of that promised ‘change’ in “US “scrapping” row“. (BAN = Basel Action Network)

“This is really shocking. All through the Bush Administration the EPA took action every time we warned them of a pending TSCA violation and their record of enforcement was strong. Now we have elected an environmental president and his administration for the first time in ten years is willing to ignore the law and dump toxic waste onboard US flagged ships on developing countries,” said Jim Puckett, BAN’s executive director.

Tugster has Philly maritime photos in “Other Watersheds 3“.

Maritime Compass has “PRI & NPR on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch“.

The Horse’s Mouth has a photo: “Wednesday Wipeout. [Moments Before It Happened.]“

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Lloyd’s List Newsroom Blog has “Maersk’s high ground“.

AP Moller-Maersk’s results ended up a little better than analysts expected. That does not mean they were good. But such is the nature of this troubled shipping environment that Maersk’s relative stability gives it an advantage, and the company’s chiefs have begun using it cannily.

MarineLog has “Sealift, Inc. to flag in vessel for MSC contract“.

Yahoo News has evidence of sanity with “Dutch girl, 13, blocked from global solo sail“.

Child protection authorities argued it would be irresponsible to let her depart, and the court in Utrecht agreed, saying the trip would put Dekker’s psychological development at risk. She will remain with her parents, who will share custody with the state.

The court voiced “serious concerns” about Dekker’s mental and physical development on the boat, and ordered a psychologist and child protection authorities to examine how she would cope with loneliness, sea winds, lack of sleep and schooling, as well as her general physical safety.

CG Blog has more on this interrupted adventure with “Was this a SAR case waiting to happen?” Hey, if she wants to risk her life once she becomes an adult, go right ahead. My position stands that these ventures are irresponsible regardless of age.

BitterEnd has video of using leverage to your advantage in “Video of the ungrounding“.

English Russia has a Russian Naval vessel destroyed by fire in “BOB – Burn Out Boat“.

English Russia also has photos of “The Northern Fleet Submarines” and cool dreams with “Sochi Will Have Artificial Islands“.

The BBC has “N Korea frees S Korea fishermen“. They were captured on 30 July.

Breakbulk Industry News has “New heavy lift record set by Jumbo Jubilee“.

KTUU.com has “9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling allows Beaufort drilling“.

Barents Observer has “Rusty submarine remains on the seabed“.

Professional Mariner has “Horizon Lines vessels host trials of two new anti-piracy systems“. Here is the link for the ‘Nemisis 5000’ anti Piracy/boarding solution. Powerful waterjets did protect the Japanese whaling fleet from the Sea Shepherds.

The Pilot Boat has photos of “The ice class passenger vessel Akademik Shokalskiy“.

Terra Daily has “Increased Ocean Acidification In Alaska Waters“.

USS STOUT (DDG 55) has their merchant vessel welcoming team with “VBSS Team Training“. (Visit, Board, Search, Seizure)

HollandAmericaBlog has “Mama Lou — Truly an Ambassador“. She’s 85.

She has “lived on board” for the past years on the ms Zaandam and ms Veendam. And soon will be cruising mostly on the ms Ryndam. She has more than 5,000 days and cruises an average of 11 months in a year.

Molten Eagle has “Brazil’s Coming Used Submarine Sale“. Might the buyers be Venezuela and Iran…

70.8% has boatyard photos: “Andy Seedhouse Boats“.

Casco Bay Boaters Blog has violence on the waterfront in “NY Times: In Maine, Tensions Over Ailing Lobster Industry“.

Danger Room has “Russia Scopes Fancy Imports in Window-Shopping Weapons-Buying Spree“.

The Kremlin has announced it wants to buy a Mistral-class amphibious assault ship from France for $1 billion. Russia also wants to license-build several more Mistrals in its own yards. The 20,000-ton helicopter carrier is a basically a half-size, cheaper version of the U.S. Navy’s Wasp- and Tarawa-class assault ships. It has room for a battalion of Marines, their vehicles and enough landing craft to carry them ashore.

THE ISLOMANIAC has “Toberua Island For Sale“. It’s beautiful and just over $4 million.

Never Sea Land has a great infomercial with “An end to your crew problems?“

bigshipfilms has video: “SS United States: Lady in Waiting NEW Extended Trailer” as the documentary becomes available on DVD.

America’s flagship once again faces an uncertain future. We created this new extended trailer for Lady in Waiting as part of an ongoing push to get the film re-broadcast on American Public Television throughout the country. For more information, please visit www.bigshipfilms.com and www.ssunitedstatesconservancy.org

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Fairplay Daily News has:

Ankara urged to protest seizures – TURKISH shippers and exporters are reportedly urging Ankara to confront Georgia over its commandeering of Turkish ships that call at Abkhazia.

Turkey’s Eastern Black Sea Exporters Association, which includes companies doing business with the breakaway republic of Abkhazia, said Georgia holds 10 such vessels – including cargo ships and fishing boats – and detains more than 20 Turkish seafarers, Turkey’s Referans newspaper reported.

Since 1995, Georgia has commandeered more than 100 Turkish ships, the newspaper added.

On 20 August, Fairplay 24 reported on the capture by Georgian border guards of the Cambodia-owned general cargo ship Afro Star, which was carrying 1,255 tonnes of scrap ferrous metal from the Abkhazian port of Sukhumi to Turkey.

A few days before, a 3,560dwt Turkish tanker, Buket, was detained after delivering fuel to Sukhumi.

Ankara officially supports Georgia’s blockade of the disputed Black Sea region, recognised as independent only by Russia and Nicaragua. – Fairplay Homepage (Used with Permission)

AND:

Nigeria tidies shipping register – AT LEAST 350 Nigerian-flag ships have reportedly been struck from the register of the Nigerian Maritime Administration & Safety Agency.

The move is an effort to update the register, removing many because their registration had expired or documents are invalid, the Vanguard publication reported. Included are tankers, passenger ships, cargo barges and fishing craft.

Ships on the register are required to renew their registration every five years – a contentious issue and source of complaint by Nigerian owners.

Captain Nivi Labinjo, president of Al Dawoo Shipping and secretary of the Indigenous Shipowners Association of Nigeria, pointed out that owners in other – 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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