First dive charter service to Cuba by U.S. flagged passenger vessel since 1962
The M/V Spree obtained a license from the U.S. Department of Commerce to commence multiple education and research trips and the charterer, the Gulf Reefs Environmental Action Team (G.R.E.A.T.), was granted permission by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to conduct...
Shipping giant, Maersk, sees significant drop in profits; set to lay off 4,000 employees
Møller-Maersk is feeling the effects of continued significant low economic growth and has reported a 48% drop in its third quarter profits. Consequently they have announced they will be cutting about 4,000 land based jobs and will be re-organizing their operations to...
Maritime Milestone: Panama canal has world’s first LNG-powered container vessel enter its locks
On October 30, 2015 the world's first LNG-powered container vessel, the Isla Bella, transited through the Panama Canal. With a 3,100 TEU capacity, the American-flagged vessel reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by 98 percent, sulfur oxide emissions by 97 percent and...
Panama will start issuing Nairobi Wreck Removal Certificates (NWRC) as of November 18, 2015
The Panama Maritime Authority has announced they will commence issuance of Nairobi Wreck Removal Certificates as of November 18, 2015, 3 months after the accession was deposited at IMO and several months after the convention was adopted by the Central American...
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Scheduled maintenance postponed by the canal authority to expedite transit through the Panama Canal
Some relief expected for vessels transiting the Panama Canal as scheduled maintenance has been postponed to expedite transit. High volumes of ships trying to transit the canal during the last weeks of September and the first weeks of October along with the scheduled...
The loss of the EL FARO seems to be the only significant loss this past hurricane season
This loss emphasises the need for a real conservative hurricane plan that is adhered to by owners and crew. On this occasion the pressures of "Just in time" deliveries influenced the loss of 32 lives and a $31 million dollar hull plus its cargo.
Flood threat in Midwest and Northeast due to Patricia remnants
The weather channel has advised that between one and two inches of rain was expected from the Tennessee valley into the Ohio valley and lower Great Lakes early Tuesday. Three inches of rain was possible in some areas.
Dutch ship sinks after collision with tanker off of Belgium’s coast
A Dutch cargo ship sunk after colliding with a gas tanker early Tuesday off of Belgium's Zeebrugge coast. All 11 crew members were rescued. Full story from the Miami Herald: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article37921278.html
Federal Industry Minister James Moore hit back at criticism of the Canadian Coast Guard’s handling of the Vancouver oil spill, saying that it is “highly inappropriate for politicians to point fingers and make political jabs” before all the facts are known.
- Oil spill response by coast guard blasted by B.C. premier
- Vancouver spill: was the response fast enough?
Moore was responding to comments made earlier Friday by B.C. Premier Christy Clark and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, who called into question the judgment and effectiveness of the coast guard’s emergency response to Wednesday’s spill.
“The public expects serious issues to be handled in a serious tone,” Moore said.
“I think it is irresponsible for people to dial up anxiety and fear.”
Earlier, Robertson had called the response efforts “totally inadequate,” while Clark had suggested it might be time to hand over lead responsibility for such emergencies to the province, saying that there would be “no expansion of heavy oil out of this port until we have world-class fuel response. Period.”
Polluter pays
But Moore called the response to the spill “very impressive,” saying that an 80 per cent containment and cleanup within 36 hours had been achieved, and that showed Canadians could have confidence in the protocol.
Moore also said that Canadians could rest assured that the cost of the cleanup operation would not be borne by taxpayers.
“Polluter pays is the law of the land in Canada, ” he said. “Those who are responsible will pay.”
One of the big issues for the City of Vancouver has been the 12 hours it says it took to be notified about the spill. Roger Girouard, the coast guard assistant commissioner overseeing the operational response, noted that the city’s first responders and other city agencies had been notified earlier, and the expectation was that those agencies would pass the information up to the city leadership.
“It’s an easy fix,” he said, adding that “it will never be an issue again.”
Girouard also said that the equipment and expertise held at the recently closed coast guard station at Kitsilano, on English Bay, would have made “not one iota of difference in the response.”