Commencing 1 September 2011, my Blogspot blog will no longer be updated. Instead, readers should go to the blog on my official website, located at http://brymar-consulting.com/?page_id=6 . I apologize for any inconvenience, but my official website has the same information and more.
Headlines:
RMI – Deepwater Horizon investigation report;
IMO – BMP4 released;
ACPIL – meeting;
USCG – cargo security risk reduction meeting;
USN & USCG – teaming up to fight piracy;
OFAC – enforcement information;
US Virgin Islands – container inspection;
US & Panama – PANAMAX military exercise;
Somalia – pirates to release kidnapped family and hijacked freighter; and
Coast Guard executes convicted murderer – August 17, 1929.
August 17, 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. Remembering the future.
RMI – Deepwater Horizon investigation report
The Maritime Administrator for the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) released the 216-page DEEPWATER HORIZON Marine Casualty Investigation Report. On 20 April 2010, the RMI-flag mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) Deepwater Horizon experienced an explosion and fire that resulted in the loss of eleven lives and the sinking of the MODU in the Gulf of Mexico. The investigation finds that the proximate cause of the casualty was a loss of well control resulting from a deviation from standards of well control engineering, a deviation from the well abandonment plans submitted to and approved by the Minerals Management Service (MMS), and a failure to react to multiple indications that a well control event was in progress. (8/17/11).
IMO – BMP4 released
The fourth edition of Best Management Practices for Protection against Somalia-based Piracy (BMP4) has been released electronically. It provides the most current suggested planning and operational practices for ship operators and masters transiting the High Risk Area. (8/16/11).
ACPIL – meeting
The Advisory Committee on Private International Law (ACPIL), sponsored by the Department of State (DOS), will meet in Washington, DC on September 22 and 23. Topics on the agenda include electronic commerce, regional inter-American issues, and US federalism issues in implementing private international law conventions. 76 Fed. Reg. 51119 (August 17, 2011).
USCG – cargo security risk reduction meeting
On August 18, the US Coast Guard will host the second of its two public meetings to consider options for reducing the risks related to transport, transfer, and/or storage of certain dangerous cargo (CDC) in bulk within the US Marine Transportation System. The listening session will be at the Hobby Airport Hilton in Houston, from 8:00 a.m. through 1:00 p.m. For those unable to attend in person, the session will be Webcast. During this session, individuals can submit questions live via Twitter at hashtag #cdcsecurity and via phone at (866) 801-5169 participant code 8091496. 76 Fed. Reg. 41278 (July 13, 2011).
USN & USCG – teaming up to fight piracy
The US Navy issued a news release stating that a US Coast Guard Advanced Interdiction Team (AIT) has embarked on the guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57) engaged in counter-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean. The 12-mmber AIT, comprised of maritime law enforcement specialists, work with the destroyer’s visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) team to gather and build evidentiary packages required for prosecuting piracy and other maritime crimes. (8/16/11).
OFAC – enforcement information
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued Enforcement Information concerning civil penalties collected recently for alleged violations of US economic sanctions. Among those on the new list is CMA CGM (America) LLC. The company remitted $374,400 to settle allegations of violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, the Iranian Transactions Regulations, and the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations. (8/16/11).
US Virgin Islands – container inspection
The US Coast Guard issued a news release stating that a multi-agency strike force operation (MASFO) at St. Thomas Harbor, US Virgin Islands, screened 121 shipping containers and physically inspected another 53 containers and portable tanks. The primary objective was to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations pertaining to the safe shipment of cargo. Findings were negative for illegal drugs or contraband, but seven containers holding hazardous materials were detained due to insufficient markings and inadequate placarding. (8/16/11).
US & Panama – PANAMAX military exercise
The Department of Defense (DOD) issued a news release stating that a multi-national military exercise is being held to test plans to defend the Panama Canal. Co-sponsored with the Panamanian Government, PANAMAX is a joint combined operation focused on defending the vital waterway. The exercise will continue through August 26. (8/16/11).
Somalia – pirates to release kidnapped family and hijacker freighter
The official website of Denmark issued a news release stating that a Somali pirate reports that a deal has been reached for release of a Danish family and their two deckhands who were hijacked and kidnapped in the Gulf of Aden on February 24. The family of two adults and three children (along with two deckhands) were sailing their yacht around the world when the yacht was boarded by Somali pirates. The seven individuals were later transferred to the M/V Dover, which had also been hijacked. Reports indicate that ransom was $3 million for the Danish hostages and was $4 million for the M/V Dover. (8/15/11).
Coast Guard executes convicted murderer – August 17, 1929
James Horace Alderman was a notorious smuggler of alcoholic beverages – a rum runner – during the heyday of the Prohibition Era. He called himself the “King of the Rum Runners” in South Florida. In some ways, he was a miniature Al Capone. To many in the area, he was a folk hero, supplying booze that was withheld by the federal government. He dispensed equal parts of charity, corruption, and violence throughout the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, while smuggling liquor from the Bahamas to South Florida. On August 7, 1927, the 75-foot Coast Guard patrol boat CG-249, based in Fort Lauderdale, was transporting Secret Service agent Robert Webster to the Bahamas to investigate reports of counterfeit US currency. Half-way across, the patrol boat encountered a speedboat headed the other direction. Boatswain Sydney Sanderlin, the officer in charge of the patrol boat, directed the speedboat to halt. The speedboat, operated by Alderman and with an accomplice onboard, tried to flee. Alderman ignored the first warning shot, but stopped when the patrol boat fired its machine gun. Sanderlin sent one of his crew onboard to check the situation. The crewman quickly found 20 cases of liquor stashed in the engine space. Sanderlin ordered Alderman and his accomplice onto the patrol boat, after checking to ensure that they were unarmed. While Sanderlin went to the bridge to call his headquarters for instructions, Alderman asked a crewman for permission to go back aboard the speedboat to retrieve his jacket; the crewman assented. Alderman retrieved not only his jacket, but also a pistol. When Alderman returned to the patrol boat, he shot Sanderlin in back, killing him instantly. Alderman then grabbed Sanderlin’s .45 caliber pistol. Alderman shot and severely wounded a second Coast Guardsman (he died four days later). Alderman ordered the remaining federal officers onto the speedboat and directed his accomplice to get the speedboat underway. When the accomplice experienced engine trouble, Alderman turned to inquire as to the trouble. The unarmed federal officers jumped him. Alderman shot the Secret Service agent, killing him instantly. He shot and wounded another Coast Guardsman, who survived. By then, the federal officers had overwhelmed Alderman. His accomplice gave up without a struggle. After a speedy trial, Alderman was convicted of three counts of murder in the first degree within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States and was sentenced to suffer death by hanging. His appeal to the US Supreme Court was denied, as was his request for clemency from President Herbert Hoover. The judge directed that Alderman be executed in the Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale. The County Commissioners, concerned about potential fallout from executing a local folk hero and about potential adverse impact on tourism, declined. The judge then ordered that the execution be performed at the nearest federal facility to the jail – which happened be Coast Guard Base 6 in Fort Lauderdale. At 5:00 a.m., on Saturday, August 17, 1929, the US Coast Guard carried out the judge’s order, hanging James Horace Alderman from a hastily constructed gallows in the seaplane hangar, two years and ten days after he committed his murders.
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 – August 2011
Redistribution permitted with attribution
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