Bryant’s Maritime Blog–17 May 2011

Headlines: Indian Ocean – mothership attacks warship, four pirates killed; USCG – review of ballast water discharge standard; Columbia River – security zone for vessels carrying hazardous cargoes; NTSB – EPIRBs should broadcast vessel position data; House – bill introduced to amend SAFE Port Act; Senate – bill introduced to amend OCSLA; California – changes proposed to fuel sulfur rule; Pacific Northwest – oil spill planning and response; Arctic Council – Arctic SAR Agreement; ReCAAP – robbers target barge under tow; New Zealand – help for applicants for MEC3 COC; and UK – revised criteria for sale of trust ports.

May 17, 2011

Bryant’s Maritime Blog
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. “It is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” – William Shakespeare.

Indian Ocean – mothership attacks warship, four pirates killed

The Government of Denmark issued a press release stating that one of its warships, patrolling the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia, was approached by and fired upon by a pirate mothership. The warship returned fire, killing four pirates. The surviving 24 pirates were captured and 16 Iranian hostages were freed. (5/16/11).

USCG – review of ballast water discharge standard

The internal review of the Coast Guard’s draft final rule regarding the ballast water discharge standard has been completed and the draft is being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. OMB review of this rulemaking is expected to take 3-4 months with a revised date of expected publication in summer 2011. (5/16/11).

Columbia River – security zone for vessels carrying hazardous cargoes

The US Coast Guard promulgated a final rule establishing a 500 yard security zone around vessels carrying hazardous cargoes in the Sector Columbia River Captain of the Port (COTP) Zone. The rule comes into effect on June 16. 76 Fed. Reg. 28315 (May 17, 2011).

NTSB – EPIRBs should broadcast vessel position data

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a Marine Accident Brief relating to the sinking of a commercial fishing vessel in the Atlantic Ocean on March 24, 2009 with the loss of six lives. The probable cause of the casualty was flooding originating in the lazarette through an access hatch that had been left open during rough weather, contrary to safe shipboard practice. The investigation also revealed that the location of the casualty was initially uncertain, even though the EPIRB had been activated. The NTSB recommends that, for commercial vessels required to carry 406-MHz emergency position-indicating radio beacons, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandate that those EPIRBs broadcast vessel position data when activated. MAB-11/01 (5/16/11).

House – bill introduced to amend SAFE Port Act

Representative Boustany (R-LA) introduced the Notice of Arrival Act or NOA Act (H.R. 1844) to amend the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006 to clarify that a notice of arrival is not required for certain documented vessels unless arriving from a foreign port or place. (5/11/11).

Senate – bill introduced to amend OCSLA

Senator McConnell (R-KY) introduced the Offshore Production and Safety Act of 2011 (S. 953) to authorize the conduct of certain lease sales in the Outer Continental Shelf, to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to modify the requirements for exploration, and for other purposes. (5/11/11).

California – changes proposed to fuel sulfur rule

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) posted a Notice of Public Hearing to consider amendments to the state regulations for fuel sulfur and other operational requirements for ocean-going vessels within California waters and 24 nautical miles of the California baseline. The public hearing will be held in Sacramento on June 23. The proposal, if adopted, would include within the regulated area, waters within 24 nautical miles of the Santa Barbara Channel Islands. It would also change the implementation date for Phase 2 of the program (when ocean-going vessels would be limited to using distillate fuels containing no more than 0.1% sulfur) from January 1, 2012 to January 1, 2014. The change would more closely align the California requirements with recently adopted federal standards and provide vessel operators with more flexibility to acquire compliant fuels. (5/5/11).

Pacific Northwest – oil spill planning and response

The Pacific States – British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force released its report titled “Review of Planning and Response Capabilities for a Marine Oil Spill on the U.S.-Canadian Transboundary Areas of the Pacific Coast”. The 262-page report covers response command, planning, operations, logistics, and financial issues pertaining to a transboundary spill, focusing on the Alaska/British Columbia and British Columbia/Washington border areas. (5/9/11).

Arctic Council – Arctic SAR Agreement

The Arctic Council posted the Arctic SAR Agreement, officially titled the “Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic”. The Agreement was signed at a Ministerial Meeting on May 12 in Nuuk, Greenland. It provides for, among other things, exchange of information on search and rescue (SAR) resources and capabilities. The US Coast Guard is designated as the competent authority for the United States. (5/12/11).

ReCAAP – robbers target barge under tow

The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre issued an Incident Alert stating that, at about 0105 hours on 15 May, while being towed through the Singapore TSS, a barge was boarded by robbers from a sampan. When the robbers were observed by the crew of the tug, the master turned on the tug’s lights and increased to full operating speed. The robbers left after about 40 minutes, taking various ropes. Some containers were also broken into. (5/16/11).

New Zealand – help for applicants for MEC3 COC

Maritime New Zealand posted Help for applicants for a Marine Engineer Class 3 (MEC3) Certificate of Competency (COC). (5/16/11).

UK – revised criteria for sale of trust ports

The UK Department for Transport posted a Consultation Letter regarding proposed revised criteria that the Government will regard as particularly relevant when deciding on the appropriateness of the sale of a major trust port under the Ports Act 1991, whether under a voluntary or compulsory process. Comments should be submitted by 27 June. (5/16/11).

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 – May 2011

Redistribution permitted with attribution