Environmental Awards honor 1,601 ships

The average number of years operating without incident for ships and vessels that received awards is 6.9 years. Three hundred and sixteen of the vessels have logged more than ten years each of environmental excellence.

U.S. Coast Guard, RADM Paul F. Thomas, Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy participated in the award ceremony in Washington, DC, and congratulated the award recipients and the industry as a whole for the extraordinary performance.

Kathy J. Metcalf, President of CSA said, “These awards celebrate the dedication to environmental excellence of our seafarers and the company personnel shore-side who operate our vessels to the highest standards. In today’s world, it seems our industry only gets front-page news when spills or other environmental problems occur. It is encouraging to see how many vessels go for years achieving environmental excellence. It should be clear to the American public that we in the maritime industry take our stewardship of the marine environment very seriously.”

The awards are open to all owners and operators of vessels that operate on oceans or inland waterways. The CSA Board encourages all operators and owners to take advantage of this opportunity to recognize their crew and shore-side operating personnel and encourages all operators and owners to consider participating in next year’s program.

Among companies owning multiple award winning vessels were Crowley Maritime Corporation and Foss Maritime.

You can download the complete listing of vessels receiving the awards HERE

NTSB: El Faro bridge found, VDR still missing

 The main wreckage of the TOTE cargo ship that went missing during Hurricane Joaquin was found by a search team on board the U.S. Navy tug USNS Apache on October 31, located at a depth of about 15,000 feet in the vicinity of the last known position near the Crooked Islands in the Bahamas.However, the bridge deck had become separated and the search for it — and the VDR — has continued since then.

Optimarin passes U.S. BWTS testing milestone

NOVEMBER 11, 2015 — Norwegian ballast water treatment system (BWTS) specialist Optimarin says it has become the first UV system supplier to meet the most stringent USCG marine water requirements, positioning it

Royal Caribbean orders another seven BWTS retrofits

 

The seven retrofit installations will bring the total number of Hyde Guardian and Guardian Gold systems fitted on RCL group vessels to twenty-seven, including both newbuilds and retrofits.

Hyde Marine has already completed retrofits on over ten RCL vessels, and the orders issued for this next series of vessels will ensure the supply of treatment systems through 2016 in accordance with the compliance dates for each vessel.

The cruise line is one of seven Hyde Marine customers that have installed ten or more Guardian systems.
“Hyde Marine has been a valuable partner in assisting us as we navigate the new regulatory requirements for ballast water treatment,” said Michael Jones, Vice President Supply Chain Management, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “Our crews are pleased with how easily and reliably the system operates, and with how seamlessly they integrate with existing automation systems.”

“Hyde Marine is very pleased to expand upon our successful partnership with RCL,” said John Platz, President Hyde Marine. “This clearly demonstrates our customer’s continued satisfaction with our products and service, and helps RCL to ensure compliance and commonality in their fleet.”

Hyde Marine has sold more than 430 of its ballast water treatment systems to date. The Hyde Guardian Gold BWTS uses space-efficient filtration and ultraviolet disinfection to treat ships’ ballast water to prevent the spread of invasive species from port to port.

DESMI Ocean Guard BWTS picked for Maersk newbuilds

NOVEMBER 9, 2015 — Aalborg, Denmark, based DESMI Ocean Guard A/S is to supply 14 RayClean ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) for a series of new container vessels to be built at

First four-stroke in boxship retrofit to burn LNG

NOVEMBER 6, 2015 — German feeder containership operator Wessels Reederei and MAN Diesel & Turbo have now signed a contract covering the retrofit of the four-stroke 8L48/60B main engine in the 1,000

Radio Holland and Bio-Sea partner on BWTS installation

NOVEMBER 5, 2015 — Radio Holland and French ballast water treatment system (BWTS) manufacturer Bio-UV are collaborating to offer global integration solutions for ballast water treatment. Radio Holland will provide its installation

First LNG containership transits Panama Canal

NOVEMBER 4, 2015—The Isla Bella, the world’s first LNG-powered container vessel, transited through the Panama Canal on October 30. The transit by the Isla Bella marks a milestone for the maritime industry

Searchers may have found sunken El Faro

NOVEMBER 1, 2015—The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board reports that a search team on board the U.S. Navy tug USNS Apache has found the wreckage of a ship that they believe to be

CARB: compliance problems with ultra low sulfur fuel oil

ARB staff has found that, without taking precautions, there is a high likelihood of a violation of the sulfur limit with these fuels.

Based on reviews of bunker delivery notes, these fuels, as purchased, are generally reported to be below, but close to, the 0.1% sulfur regulatory limit. However, shipboard in-use samples collected and tested by ARB staff have sometimes been found to exceed the regulatory limit.

The discrepancy could be due to shipboard contamination with high sulfur fuels in tanks or pipes, or other factors.

The ARB this week issued a notice to alert vessel operators that there is a risk of exceeding the sulfur limit when using these fuels, and to suggest possible steps that operators can take to reduce the likelihood of noncompliance.

Download the notice HERE

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