Nordbay has a bad day
FEBRUARY 3, 2016 — The Coast Guard yesterday responded to a vessel allision at mile marker 104.3 on the Mississippi River near New Orleans. The 116,104 dwt, 2007-built Cyprus flagged tanker Nordbay
FEBRUARY 3, 2016 — The Coast Guard yesterday responded to a vessel allision at mile marker 104.3 on the Mississippi River near New Orleans. The 116,104 dwt, 2007-built Cyprus flagged tanker Nordbay
FEBRUARY 1, 2016 — The North Carolina Department of Transportation says that at approximately 10:40 a.m. on Saturday, January 30, the Ferry Division vessel M/V Roanoke ran soft aground on its way
JANUARY 21, 2016 —Kongsberg Maritime has delivered a complete new CCTV system to the U.S. Coastguard for its Heavy Ice Breaker vessel Polar Star (WAGB-10). The delivery follows a successful CCTV System
Oceanfleet Shipping Limited is a Greek shipping company that operates the 29,513 dwt Liberian-flag general cargo ship M/V Ocean Hope.
The two engineering officers indicted are the vessel’s Chief Engineer, Rustico Yabut Ignacio, 65, of the Philippines; and the Second Engineer, Cassius Flores Samson, 51, of the Philippines.
According to the indictment, in 2015 Samson bypassed pollution prevention equipment with an unauthorized hose connection, or “magic pipe,” to discharge oil sludge generated by the M/V Ocean Hope directly into the sea. Samson also ordered crew members on numerous other occasions to pump oily mixtures from the vessel’s bilges into the sea using the ship’s general service pump rather than processing these mixtures through the vessel’s pollution prevention equipment.
To hide the illegal discharges, Ignacio and Samson allegedly maintained a fictitious oil record book that failed to record the disposal, transfer, or overboard discharge of oil from the vessel. The oil record book also contained false entries stating that pollution prevention equipment had been used when it had not.
The indictment further alleges Ignacio and Samson ordered subordinate crew members to lie to the U.S. Coast Guard during an inspection in Wilmington, NC. The crew members were allegedly instructed to deny knowledge of the connection of the pipe used discharge sludge and to tell the Coast Guard that Oily Water Separator had been used as required under international law to process oily mixtures before discharge when they knew it had not.
Both engineering officers were charged with violating the federal Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships for failing to record overboard discharges in the vessel’s oil record book, conspiracy for their agreement to violate federal law, obstruction of justice for presenting false documents intended to deceive the Coast Guard and witness tampering for ordering subordinate crewmembers to mislead and lie to the Coast Guard.
Samson was also charged with false statements and obstruction of justice for lying to Coast Guard inspectors about the discharges.
The U.S. Coast Guard, Sector North Carolina, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Banumathi Rangarajan with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and Trial Attorneys Shane N. Waller and Brendan Selby with the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section are prosecuting the case.announced Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
DECEMBER 4, 2015 — The Coast Guard says it “continues investigating” a 24,516 dwt, 2001-built bulk carrier that has been at anchor in Duluth, MN, since November 5, for alleged violations of
NOVEMBER 19, 2015—SAFE Boats International, Bremerton, WA, will build a series of Type-F Riverine Interceptor Vessels under a contract with the Colombian Navy and Coast Guard. Under the contract, SAFE Boats will
The delivery of the 154 ft patrol craft came just four days after the commissioning of the 14th FRC, Heriberto Hernandez, in a ceremony in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The FRC is designed to patrol coastal zones and conduct missions such as drug and migrant interdiction; ports, waterways and coastal security; fishery patrols; search and rescue; and national defense. The 154-foot FRCs have a flank speed of 28 knots, a range of 2,950 nautical miles and feature stern cutter boat launch; advanced command, control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment; and improved seakeeping and habitability. They are replacing the service’s 110-foot patrol boats, which entered service in the 1980s.
Bollinger is building the ships using a proven, in-service parent craft design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708. It has a flank speed of 28 knots, state of the art command, control, communications and computer technology, and a stern launch system for the vessel’s 26 foot cutter boat.
Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who distinguished him or herself in the line of duty. The fifteenth vessel is named after Coast Guard Hero Joseph Napier.
Joseph Napier, Keeper of St. Joseph Life-Saving Station 6, showed his true heroism and courage as he risked his life and led his crew into gale-force winds to rescue the men of the wrecked schooner, the D.G. Williams in October 1877. Napier demonstrated his courage during multiple rescues as a career lifesaver of the Great Lakes.
“We are very pleased to announce the delivery of the latest FRC built by Bollinger Shipyards, the Joseph Napier, to the 7th Coast Guard District in Puerto Rico. We are looking forward to honoring and celebrating the heroic acts of Joseph Napier at the vessel’s commissioning,” said Bollinger’s President & CEO, Ben Bordelon
“The expansion of our management team reflects the accelerated pace of growth across the organization,” says Harley Marine Services CEO Harley Franco. “Don and Steve represent our ongoing commitment to our customers, employees, and investors to ensure Harley Marine’s recent and projected growth is supported by a team of seasoned executives. We expect to do big things in the coming years and we’re building a world class team to support those activities.”
Prior to joining Harley Marine Services (HMS),Martin (shown at right) was the Vice President and General Counsel for
Delta Western and Hawaii Petroleum, where he oversaw all aspects of safety, risk management and regulatory compliance for the fuel distribution companies. Previously, he served as the Director of U.S.-flag shipping for ConocoPhillips and held positions with Crowley Maritime Corporation, Exxon Shipping Company, and Olympic Tug & Barge, a subsidiary of HMS. He has a combination of hands-on marine experience including positions from Second Officer through Captain and commercial and legal experience in shore side senior management positions. He attended the University of Washington, California Maritime Academy, and holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of the Puget Sound.
Carlson joins HMS from Alaska Marine Lines (AML), where he served as General Manager of Marine Engineering. Prior to joining AML, he was with with Kvichak Marine and the U.S. Coast Guard. Carlson 
retired from the Coast Guard at the rank of Captain, after 24 years of service, with his last assignment being Chief of the Office of Naval Engineering where he oversaw engineering and logistics support to the entire Coast Guard fleet of over 230 ships and 1,500 boats. He has advanced degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture from the University of Michigan, an executive development program certificate from the University of Washington, and a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Washington.
Coast Guard spokesman CAPT Mark Fedor said during a press conference in Miami this morning that one body was found in a survival suit in a 225-square mile debris field near the Bahamas. The body was “unidentifiable” and was not recovered. CAPT Fedor said the Coast Guard also recovered one of the ship’s two lifeboats with no one on board. He said that the Coast Guard was still hopeful of finding survivors among the 33 crew on board. Despite the difficult conditions of being subjected to 140 mph winds and 50-foot waves, “I’m not going to discount someone’s will to survive,” says Fedor.
According to Fedor, there were 46 survival suits on board and each lifeboat is certified to carry 43. “These are trained mariners and they know how to abandon ship.”
The search for survivors will continue with aircraft and commercial ships in the area.
The Coast Guard said Sunday evening that the search teams, which also include personnel and resources from U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy, have covered more than 70,000 square miles.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, with involvement from the U.S. Coast Guard, is expected to conduct a full investigation. Fedor says the Coast Guard is also expected to conduct its own investigation.
The El Faro, owned by Tote Maritime, was built in 1974 and updated in 1992 and 2006. It was carrying 391 containers and 294 trailers and cars.
OCTOBER 5, 2015—The U.S. Coast Guard is reporting that it has located a debris field of in the vicinity of the U.S.-flag containership El Faro’s last known position 35 nautical miles northeast