Bryant’s Maritime Blog – 19 June 2009

Headlines: FMC meeting; Bill introduced re disclosure of maritime transportation security information; Bill introduced re oceans and human health; Failure to plead maritime tort or contract prevents arrest of vessel; Puget Sound oil spill response exercise; Canada – legislation to expand control of Arctic waters; New Zealand – consultation re marine sewage; and UK- 2008 seafarer statistics.

Bryant’s Maritime Consulting - 4845 SW 91^st Way - Gainesville, FL 32608-8135 - USA

Tel: 1-352-692-5493 – Email: dennis.l.bryant@gmail.com – Internet: http://brymar-consulting.com

Note: This blog is one section of the Bryant’s Maritime Consulting website. Visit the site for more extensive maritime regulatory information. Individual concerns may be addressed by retaining Dennis Bryant directly. Much of the highlighted text in this newsletter constitutes links to Internet sites providing more detailed information. Links on this page may be in PDF format, requiring use of Adobe Acrobat Reader. Comments on these postings are encouraged and may be made by clicking the envelope that appears at the end of each posting. Be aware that the daily blog entry is a single posting, even though it contains a number of individual items.

FMC – meeting

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) issued a notice stating that the Commission will hold an open meeting in its offices in Washington, DC on June 24. Topics on the agenda include passenger vessel financial responsibility, the Port of Seattle/Terminal Operator Agreement, and the marine terminal agreements exemption at 46 CFR § 535.308. 74 Fed. Reg. 29211 (June 19, 2009).

Bill introduced re disclosure of maritime transportation security information

Senator Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced a bill (S. 1274) to amend title 46, United States Code, to ensure that the prohibition on disclosure of maritime transportation security information is not used inappropriately to shield certain other information from public disclosure, and for other purposes. Official text of the bill is not yet available. (6/16/09).

Bill introduced re oceans and human health

Senator Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced the Oceans and Human Health Reauthorization Act of 2009 (S. 1252) to promote ocean and human health and for other purposes. (6/11/09).

Failure to plead maritime tort or contract prevents arrest of vessel

In a mercifully short opinion, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the decision of the federal district court vacating an earlier arrest warrant for a ship. The court determined that it lacked in rem jurisdiction over the ship because plaintiff had not pleaded a maritime tort or a contract relating to the ship in its use as such, or to commerce or navigation on navigable waters, or to transportation by sea or to maritime employment. Coutsodontis v. Sea Trade Maritime Corp., No. 08-30959 (5th Cir., June 18, 2009).

Puget Sound – oil spill response exercise

The Washington State Department of Ecology issued a news release stating that it and the US Coast Guard conducted an oil spill response exercise in Puget Sound to evaluate the ability of seven different oil shipping and oil handling companies to effectively use site-specific oil-spill response strategies. (6/17/09).

Canada – legislation adopted to expand control of Arctic waters

Transport Canada issued a target=”_blank”media release stating that amendments to the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act received royal assent on June 11. These amendments increase the area defined as Arctic waters from 100 to 200 nautical miles offshore. (6/17/09).

New Zealand – consultation re marine sewage

Maritime New Zealand has initiated a public consultation regarding maritime sewage discharge regulations. (6/15/09).

UK – 2008 seafarer statistics

The UK Department for Transport issued the report UK Seafarer Statistics: 2008. It shows that during the year there were about 25,200 UK nationals working regularly at sea as seafarers. This was about 2% lower overall than in 2002. The number of certificated officers was 6% lower than in 2007. (6/18/09).

If you have questions regarding the above items, please contact the editor:

Dennis L. Bryant

Bryant’s Maritime Consulting

4845 SW 91^st Way
Gainesville, FL 32608-8135

USA

1-352-692-5493
dennis.l.bryant@gmail.com

http://brymar-consulting.com

© Dennis L. Bryant – June 2009

Redistribution permitted with attribution