Headlines: National Commission – advance release of chapter from report; Houston – tallow spill closes portion of Ship Channel; MARAD – OIG report on Title XI program; and EMSA – newsletter.
January 6, 2011
Bryant’s Maritime Blog 
Bryant’s Maritime Consulting - 4845 SW 91st 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. Keep misbehaving.
National Commission – advance release of chapter from report
The National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling issued a news release stating that it is posting in advance of release of its full report a chapter that contains the key findings from its extensive investigation into the causes of the blowout of the Macondo well. Among the findings from the posted Chapter 4 is the following:
The well blew out because a number of separate risk factors, oversights, and outright mistakes combined to overwhelm the safeguards meant to prevent just such an event from happening. But most of the mistakes and oversights at Macondo can be traced back to a single overarching failure – a failure of management. Better management at BP, Halliburton, and Transocean would almost certainly have prevented the blowout by improving the ability of individuals involved to identify the risks they faced, and to properly evaluate, communicate, and address them.
The National Commission also posted a table showing examples of decisions that increased risk at Macondo while potentially saving time. The full report will be released on January 11. (1/5/11).
Houston – tallow spill closes portion of Ship Channel
The US Coast Guard issued a news release stating that it has closed the upper end of the Houston Ship Channel, from City Dock 16 to the Buffalo Bayou Railroad Bridge, to navigation in order to respond to a tallow spill. A shoreside storage tank was breached and approximately 15,000 gallons of tallow (animal fat) entered the Channel via a storm drain. (1/5/11).
MARAD – OIG report on Title XI program
The Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued the report of its recent audit of the Maritime Administration (MARAD) Title XI loan guarantee program. The OIG found that its prior recommendations had not been effectively implemented. The report recommends that MARAD commission a business process review of the program and ensure that information needed to oversee borrower compliance with program requirements is readily accessible. CR-2011-024 (12/7/10).
EMSA – newsletter
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) posted its January newsletter. This issue discusses, among other things, plans for tenders to be launched for oil spill response vessels in the Black Sea, West Mediterranean, and Bay of Biscay, as well as training on ro-pax stability. (1/5/11).
If you have questions regarding the above items, please contact the editor:
Dennis L. Bryant
Bryant’s Maritime Consulting
4845 SW 91st Way
Gainesville, FL 32608-8135
USA
1-352-692-5493
dennis.l.bryant@gmail.com
© Dennis L. Bryant – January 2011
Redistribution permitted with attribution
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment