Maritime News from gCaptain.com

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What Jobs Are Done With Dynamic Positioning? – Pt. 4

News from gCaptain - Tue, 08/31/2010 - 06:53

Part 4 in our series continues on with a look at Dynamic Positioning and how it is used on more conventional, deep sea vessels.

Make sure to look at Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3 as well!

Shuttle Tankers

Used for running product between FPSO’s & the beach,  shuttle tankers now conduct the loading on DP, as opposed to the more traditional mooring techniques.

In the past shuttle tankers were conventional single hulled vessels modified for offshore loading.  These days they are purpose built DP Class 2 vessels.  Generally they will be twin screw with independent rudders, two bow & two stern thrusters, one of which will likely be a retractalbe azimuth type.

3 reference systems will be used for class 2 operations.  DGPS in north america is the standard, while in the North Sea DARPS in more commonly used. (FACT CHECK)Artemis & acoustics will make up the other two.

DP operation of these ships is based on the weather vane principle, meaning that the tanker will try to maintain position that keeps the environmental forces at a minimuum, thereby reducing power output.

The artemis can be kept on the FPSO & used as a relative reference so that the shuttle tanker will stay a set distance off, even though both vessels are influenced by the sea state.  This helps to prolong the life of the product hose & reduces the risk of the vessels making contact.

Advantages to using shuttle tankers as opposed to pipelines:

  • No need for connections of pipelines
  • Storage right on the vessel, which can also be DP operated
  • No mooring costs
  • Easy & quick hookup, connection & disconnection
  • Safe distance can be maintained from FPSO
  • Weight & cost savings as certain equipment can be relocated or removed from vessel
  • Due to weather vaning, the system can operate in extreme conditions

Traditionally a shuttle tanker would be moored either to a buoy or directly to the FPSO.  Mooring in DP takes an extra step out of the equation, making the operation intrinsically safer.

Cruise Ships

The cruise industry continues to embrace DP technology.

Due to the high profile nature of the industry, cruise liners have traditionally been on the leading edge of environmental protection policies.  There will be an officer onboard strictly in charge of this policy & will ensure that there is Zero Discharge from the vessel.

Cruise liners often trade in tropical locations with fragile marine ecosystems.  By utilizing DP instead of anchoring off an island it saves damage & disruption to the subsea environment.

Additionally, with the size of the vessels ever increasing, using DP to aid in docking operations increases the safety of the job & can reduce the time taken to complete the operation.

Cargo Vessels

The case for DP onboard cargo ships is much the same for that of the cruise ships.

Reducing anchor usage results in less damage to the marine environment & can allow for a less stressful wait at the pilot anchorage. Cargo ships may need to turn or manouvre in tight quarters to access an assigned dock.

Running DP also reduces the need for tugs which can make the operation run smoother & cost less.


Categories: Maritime News

Scots Scalloper Scalping Seafarers?

News from gCaptain - Tue, 08/31/2010 - 03:47

Look past the UK Maritime Accident Investigation Branch’s comment “From the state of the vessel, and the way in which it was being operated, it could be construed that the owner (of the Annan, Scotland-based scalloper Olivia Jean) was showing a total disregard for the safety and welfare of his employees and share-fishermen on board” and its criticism of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency “In the case of Olivia Jean, the MCA’s ability to establish and impose the regulations has been ineffective, and the owner was able to operate the vessel in flagrant breach of existing regulations" and one comes across just a hint of the dreadful and abusive conditions that applied on the vessels of Olivia Jean Ltd and TN Trawlers.

Set aside the painful hour a seafarer with ribs broken by a parted trawl wire and, at the time, undetermined internal injuries, had to wait until assistance was called for, an the appalling lack of concern for safety, read this extract:

“At the time of the accident, Olivia Jean was being operated by a crew of nine, of whom seven were foreign nationals on fixed term contracts. Some of the crew had come to the UK expecting to work on merchant vessels on deep sea trades. Instead, they found themselves working excessive hours contrary to the regulations for employed crew, in an arduous work environment, in a trade for which they had received no training. Having expected 4 month contracts, they had been told that their contracts were of 18 months duration. There was no crew agreement on board Olivia Jean, and the company was holding all of the Ghanaian crewmen’s papers and passports, allowing them no opportunity to leave his employ.”

That is not seafaring. That is slavery. There’s little surprise that potentially fatal accident should occur, and have occurred, on vessels in this company’s fleet,

Britain’s fishing fleet now depends on foreign nationals to man its vessels. How many of those seafarers are subject to this level of unethical exploitation is unknown but MAC has an uncomfortable feeling that Olivia Jean is just the tip of a very unpleasant iceberg.

MAIB Report

Categories: Maritime News

Funny Sh*t My Captain Says

News from gCaptain - Mon, 08/30/2010 - 13:46

A friend who knew my father recently sent me a book titled Sh*t My Dad Says (HarperCollins 2010). Well not only was it really funny but, apparently, I am not the only one with a blue collar Dad from a big city as the book is currently number 1 on the NYTimes bestseller list.

This got me thinking about two of the most popular threads ever posted to the gCaptain forum:
Best Captain Quotes
Best Bosun Quotes

So as a tip of the hat to justin Halpern we are changing the name of the threads and adding a new one for the guys working on oil rigs offshore: Funny Sh*t my Toolpusher Says

Do you have a funny quote heard aboard ship that wasn’t said by either the Capt. Bos’ or Pusher? Feel free to post it as a comment below…. who knows, maybe gCaptain will get a book deal out of this and have to pay each of you royalties (keep dreaming) !?

Categories: Maritime News

Farmers Almanac’ Winter 2011

News from gCaptain - Mon, 08/30/2010 - 10:46

Yesterday the Farmers Almanac released their predictions for the 2011 Winter. We know we are not dealing with NOAA here but fun to look at nevertheless.  Here is what it looks like.

“For the coming year, the Farmers’ Almanac predicts that Old Man Winter will exhibit a “split personality.” The eastern third of the country, (New England down to Florida and as far west as the lower Ohio River and Mississippi River Valley), will experience colder-than-normal winter temperatures. Across New England, where relatively balmy temperatures prevailed during the winter of 2009–2010, the upcoming winter will be the equivalent of a cold slap in the face, as we forecast much colder-than-normal temperatures.” farmersalmanac.com

Categories: Maritime News

Maritime Monday 229: It Came From Beneath the Waves

News from gCaptain - Sun, 08/29/2010 - 20:05

 

A new expedition to the Titanic, now falling apart on the Atlantic floor — set out recently, and has begun imaging the wreck. Team PR man Ed Cunning writes in:

What you will see is A bird’s eye view sonar image looking down at Titanic’s bow taken by the Waitt Institutes AUV, "Mary Ann," operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, in an expedition lead by Premier Exhibitions, Inc. Visible are the mast, superstructure, openings for the one and two funnels, as well as the Grand Staircase. This image is one small section of a larger map being created that extends some 15 nautical miles squared.

The team of experts said they will be using some of the most advanced technology available to create a portrait of the ship unlike any that has been created before "virtually raising the Titanic," and posting images from their mission at the website www.expeditiontitanic.com.

MSNBC – First new images of Titanic debris field emerge

ABOARD THE JEAN CHARCOT – As we continue to float two-plus miles above the wreck of the Titanic, there was a significant scientific development Friday.

The Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) nicknamed “Ginger” and “Mary Ann” that were launched earlier this week to crisscross the ocean floor and retrieve information have now come home to the ship.

They left on a pre-determined route: “Ginger” traveled north and south and “MaryAnn” traveled east and west.  As they traveled about 40 yards above the sea bed, following a pattern like “mowing the yard,” the two AUV’s fired outside-scan-sonar.

Woods Hole Oceanographic teams working with the Waitt Institute, which owns the AUV’s, have now downloaded the side-scan sonar. The picture that is emerging is a first of its kind, stunning image of the five-mile, by three-mile area where the Titanic came to rest.

RMS Titanic and Fictional Titan Comparisons

Similarities Between the Ships, Coincidence or Synchronicity?

The novel Futility, about the Titan, was written fourteen years before the RMS Titanic sank. Both were the largest ships afloat, and both hit icebergs and sank in April.

The year 1998 marked the one-hundredth anniversary of Morgan Robertson’s novel Futility, which was based on the 1898 sinking of the Titan. The date also marked the first anniversary of James Cameron’s film, Titanic, which was based on the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic. The two ships shared remarkable similarities aside from their names; both were the largest ships of their day and both sunk after striking icebergs.

 

Tranquility – Fiddling, dancing and taking shade near Lower Manhattan via Tugster »

Indonesia: Volcano Erupts for First Time in 400 Years A volcano on the Indonesian island of Sumatra erupted for the first time in 400 years, spewing a vast cloud of smoke and ash into the air and sending thousands of people fleeing from their homes.

More than 18,000 people have been evacuated from several affected villages to towns outside a 3.5-mile “danger zone”, following the eruption of Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra.

The government has distributed 7,000 masks to refugees and set up public kitchens so people can cook food, said Priyadi Kardono, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency.

Students Help Launch Drifting Transmitter

Their mission: To deploy a drifter buoy, a data-gathering sphere that will transmit information about ocean temperatures, possibly for up to 400 days.

Monterey Bay – After the essays came the stickers: Every student on board — five from Monterey High School and five from Notre Dame — got to sign one. So did every crew member and passenger on the Fulmar. Once all the stickers were signed, they were glued onto the drifter buoy, ready for launch.

Jaclyn and her best friend, Kaitlyn Williams, lifted the 30-pound sphere. On the count of three, they tossed it into the calm waves of the Pacific to ride the California Current. Depending on the life of its batteries, catching good currents and not being caught by fishermen, the buoy, called the Blue Ocean Film Festival Drifter No. 2, will transmit data about its itinerary and sea surface temperature.


10 Best ‘It Came From the Deep Sea’ Monster Movies

DEEP SEA NEWS – Over at MoviesOnline a post is up listing the 10 best ‘It came from the deep sea’ monster movies.  I am not sure I agree with the list.  Where is Mega Shark and Giant Octopus? What about MEG? 

So readers what are your favorites?  Please provide a Youtube link to a trailer or movie clip if you can.

Oh, hey…

Deep Sea News also publishes stuff that’s actually about science and shit!  This week wrapped up a series about dispersants in the Gulf:

Big Picture: Now that the oil well is capped…

Feeling nostalgic for Deepwater Horizon Spill photos?

Between April 20 and July 15, 2010, a generally accepted estimate of nearly 5 million barrels (200 million gallons) of crude oil emerged from the wellhead drilled into the seafloor by BP from the now-destroyed Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.

Now that the flow of oil has been stopped, the impact of all the spilled oil and natural gas is still being measured. The current moratorium on deep water remains in place as reports from varying scientific groups are at odds about the extent of the remaining oil, and some fishing restrictions have already been lifted. As BP finalizes its work in killing the well, here is a collection of photos from around the Gulf of Mexico over the past couple of months, as all of those affected enter the next phase of this event.

Bill Barratry’s blog: If You Can’t be Good, Keep it Covered

IN a survey of 2,000 HIV-positive individuals in the Philippines conducted seven years ago, more of them turned out to be seafarers than prostitutes.

That’s a skewed sample, of course, as the country concerned must surely have a higher number of seafarers per head of population than anywhere else on earth, but it does bring home a facet of life at sea that rarely gets frank acknowledgement.

It might not be quite the done thing to say it, but yes, seafarers sometimes do make use of the services of the people now designated commercial sex workers, at least in polite circles. Not for nothing are brothels a common sight in port cities across the planet, in the first world as much as the developing nations. The world’s maritime labour force is still overwhelmingly male. And men cooped up on a ship for weeks on end are inevitably going have something on their mind when they finally do get a few hours shore leave, and it is not in all cases an overpowering desire to attend a church service or write home to their widowed mum…

Blount Boats Wins Casco Bay Ferry Contract

Blount Boats, Warren, R.I., has been awarded a nearly $3.4 million contract to build a new ferry for Maine’s Casco Bay Lines. The ferry is being built with a Recovery Act stimulus grant awarded Maine in July last year.

August 24, 2010 – Set to enter service in fall 2011, the new vessel is to replace the 65 ft Island Romance, which was built in 1973. The new ferry will be 100 ft long and able to carry 399 passengers — 100 more than the Island Romance. It will be equipped with electronically controlled diesel engines that meet the latest EPA standards.

Website Mainebiz quotes Paul Pottle, the Maine Department of Transportation’s project manager for the ferry, as saying Blount Boats was officially awarded the job Friday after it submitted the lowest bid. It quotes Mr. Pottle as saying the second lowest bid of $4.3 million was from Washburn Doughty & Associates of East Boothbay, Maine, with the third lowest bid being submitted by Steiner Shipyard Inc. of Bayou La Batre, Ala.

via Marine Log

Deep Water Writing: Discharged

There is a trait inherent to working in the Merchant Marine which one must anticipate and accept; every task or endeavor, no matter how simple, routine or pre-planned has the potential to become a massive pain in the ass. This trait is surely minimized by personal experience, preparation and a good inspection and maintenance schedule but still, some things will always go awry, especially when it’s your last day at sea.

At the end of my last hitch the morning started just as usual, early. I was up before my normal wake up call of 0320 anticipating what would hopefully be my last day at work for several months with a muted excitement trying not to jinx myself. My bags were packed and staged for a rapid exodus and I had taken out as many variables as possible by electing to not have the management company arrange my travel but instead rely on family to pick me up at the dock.

The Flipper Factor: Smart, Fast Marine Mammals are Guarding Our Military Bases

Some time this year up to 20 marine mammals will make their debut in Puget Sound, patrolling the waters of Hood Canal, on the lookout for agents of al-Qaida or any other enemy who might try infiltrating the Trident Submarine Base at Bangor.

Craig Welch has the story in the Seattle Times:

Sgt. Andrew Garrett trains a bottlenose dolphin equipped with a tracking device in the Arabian Gulf. While the military has deployed dolphins and other marine mammals since the 1960s, they will be brought to the Trident Submarine Base at Bangor for the first time this fall. (Photo courtesy US Navy.)

99 Bottles of Beer: Global Brewing Traditions 2500 B.C. to the Present is a rich display revealing the striking unities and diversities of human cultures as they come together to celebrate the fruit of the grain.

Go for the Brewing Objects, Stay for the Canoe

The small but dense exhibit, "99 Bottles of Beer: Global Brewing Traditions 2500 B.C. – Present" brought me to the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at UC Berkeley, and it’s a wonderful museum to visit. (The objects in the beer exhibit are fascinating–everything from ancient brewing devices to modern cap lifters, from all over the world.)

The museum is small, admission is free, and it’s packed with exhibits, including "The Conservator’s Art: Preserving Egypt’s Past" which explains in detail differing conservation treatments, how they conserve objects, and just how much such operations cost.

photo courtesy of the Colton company.

Hawsepiper: Gone, But Not Forgotten

Scratch two more ITB’s off the list of active US tankships.

SMT’s two ITB’s (Integrated Tug/Barge- a ship with the ability to separate the house and Engine room from the forward hull), have gone for scrap.

This isn’t new news, of course- when ships sit around for 6 months gathering dust, then suddenly load with grain or rice, it’s a fair bet that the breaker’s yard lies at the end of the next discharge. These were interesting ships. They were designed to be classed as tugboats, since they were separable from the tank vessel. They weren’t designed to operate separately, as the catermaran-stlye tug portion was neither seaworthy nor stable when separated from the ‘barge’.

Kennebec Captain: Vessel Encounters Drunks. Which Rule Applies?

The story is that four drunks in a boat forced a Washington State Ferry to take evasive maneuvers to avoid hitting them. What was interesting about the article was the comments section. It was largely a back and forth as to which rule applied. Was it a  narrow channel?  Special circumstance? Do ferries on the regular run  have special privileges and so forth. Here is a sample:

Correct  me if I am wrong, but according to marine rules I believe a sail boat under sail has the right of way over motorized marine traffic. The ferry was required to maneuver around the sail boat not the other way around.

This is a case of knowing just enough to be dangerous…

Manu’s Scripts: Vulture Culture

Although this piece is predicated on the Chitra collision in Mumbai, it is not my intention to judge events there; that would be presumptuous and premature. Before we jump in to condemn, as some seem to be doing already, it is worth remembering that any Master worth his salt has had his fair share of near catastrophic incidents- I certainly have had mine- and know that sometimes the difference between a near miss and a sensational casualty is plain dumb luck.

Naval History Blog: Commissioning the Otter Cliffs Radio Station, 28 August 1917

On 28 August 1917, the Navy commissioned a long-distance radio station at Otter Cliffs, on Mt. Desert Island, Maine. The station was the project of Alessandro Fabbri, a sportsman and inventor who was an early devotee of the then-new field of long distance radio communications. After World War I began, Fabbri cleared the site, built the station, and offered it to the Navy on the condition that he be commissioned and placed in charge. The Navy agreed, and the station’s first officer in charge was Ensign Fabbri, United States Naval Reserve Force.

The station’s isolation from radio noise and location far up the East Coast made it the best site in the Navy for trans-Atlantic communications. After the war the station continued in use into the 1930s, but the buildings were not maintained and eventually became an eyesore.

Oil Spill Panel Leader Says Drilling Ban Should End Early, Calls for Leasing Policy Overhaul

The Hill

William Reilly, a leader of the commission probing the BP oil spill, said the federal ban on deepwater oil-and-gas drilling should be lifted before its scheduled Nov. 30 expiration.

Asked if he believes the Interior Department ban should end early, Reilly replied, “I do.” The co-chairman of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling spoke in an interview that aired Sunday on Platts Energy Week.

He cited the report that the Bipartisan Policy Center provided the panel last week on the moratorium. The think tank’s analysis concluded that Interior has imposed enough safeguards to allow drilling to safely resume.

Old Wooden Lehigh Valley Barge #79 & the Tugboat Pegasus

Two old wooden classics that are as busy as any other working harbor vessel are open to the public!

The Lehigh Valley Barge #79 (1914)  is the last of its kind: a wooden covered barge which used to transport anthracite coal in our harbor. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and under the direction of David Sharps, it is now the Waterfront Museum, and presents readings, concerts, circus acts, and currently, a painting exhibition.

Paul Watson Program in Friday Harbor

from Bitter End

Expecting a megalomaniac, I was pleasantly surprised with Watson’s presentation.  It was free form.  He started out with a systematic, non scientific presentation on ecology and our place in the world.

He cited numerous statistics in support Sea Shepard’s activities and made no apologies for their confrontational approach.  There was less pimping of Whale Wars than I expected.

Puget Sound Maritime: Seattle Sketcher Covers Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln

Seattle Times sketch artist Gabriel Campanario has been sketching, and writing about, Everett-based aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln this week. His work is well worth checking out »

Shipping PR & Marketing All Mixed Up

By Ryan Skinner via 59° 56′ N

It’s a fact: Most companies in the shipping/marine sector don’t have the kind of wherewithal to hire separate managers for PR things and for marketing things. Generally, the marketing person is going to get the PR responsibilities.

The results aren’t pretty. An editor of a major maritime publication wrote me recently:

from my experience, a lot of the PR people that I deal with are still sending me things layered with ‘leading’ this and ‘innovative’ that, which leaves me spending an unnecessary amount of time getting the useful information out. It’s not everyone, but some seem to think it’s part of their job to get as many superlatives into the press as they can.

Size Will Matter in Middle East

PORT STRATEGY – Saudi’s Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) in Jeddah Islamic Port is betting on the outlines of the Middle East’s maritime industry being substantially pushed by the bigger sizes of vessels entering the market.

“The canal capacity and depth is clearly going to be a game-definer in the container terminal industry,” said Jang Kwan Young of RSGT. “Terminals will have to allow for these newer supersize container vessels that require deeper drafts to transport the maximum amount of goods in the most efficient manner.”

Capacity is set to expand at RSGT, the newest container facility at Jeddah Islamic Port, with the arrival of another batch of cranes, an investment intended to maintain RSGT’s place in the regional economy.

Tim’s Times

Took the ship into dry dock last Monday for a lick of paint and a service on the engine, the preparation is quite intense getting all the floors covered and checking all the jobs that need to be done. The intensity lifts a notch when bringing the ship into the actual dock itself there is no room for making mistakes, and no excuses either.

Fortunately the weather gods were smiling on me with a westerly breeze, sunshine, good visibility. After a few “dead slow asterns” and a “dead slow ahead” hard a starboard,thrust here and there we got a few lines out and made fast in the dock. There wasn’t much chatting done in the last 15 minutes of the operation only a few commands squawked across the UHF, “put out your headline” “heave your aft spring” and the likes. The coffee had gone cold in the mug, but I was happy anyway.

Tragic Death of Wolfgang Schroeder

CLAY MAITLAND – It was sad to hear of the recent deaths of three leisure fishermen who were lost when their 25ft craft caught fire and sank off Bantry Bay in Ireland. A fourth occupant of the boat survived although injured , and was rescued by helicopter.

One of the fatalities, whose name will strike bells in the memory of mariners throughout the world, was Captain Wolfgang Schroeder, who had been master of the containership Zim Mexico III, which knocked down a container crane when manoeuvring in Mobile, Alabama in March 2006, killing an electrician who had been working on the gantry.

Unofficial Coast Guard Blog: Piracy, It’s Just Business

According to the BBC, the British Government has blocked American backed UN sanctions against two kingpins of the Somali piracy organizations.  The article goes on to describe how the EU forces on scene released pirates caught in the act, because it was simply to hard to prosecute.

I don’t know about you, but I’m finding this attitude troubling.

Death to Humans! Visions of the Apocalypse in Movies and Literature

A list of some of our favorite dystopian views of human society facing extinction

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN – All things must come to an end, but we humans have an endless fascination with the inevitable. Our September 2010 special issue and our web exclusives explore some of those endings. Writers and filmmakers, of course, have been tackling apocalyptic themes for decades, at times using them to highlight emotional aspects of sacrifice, heroism and dedication, to varying degrees of success.

The staff at Scientific American came up with a list of movies and books that show what human civilization would be like if it got short circuited by some sort of catastrophe.

 

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Monkey Fist is a smack-talking, potty mouthed, Yankee hating, Red Sox fan from Portland, Maine.  In addition to compiling Maritime Monday, she blogs about nautical history, marine science, art, current events, and coastal New England life on Casco Bay Boaters blog & Tumblr. (NEW!)
Submit story ideas, news links, photographs, or items of interest to her at MM@gcaptain.com.  She can also out-belch any man.

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Categories: Maritime News

Ship Photo of the Week – San Francisco, CA

News from gCaptain - Sun, 08/29/2010 - 18:32

This weeks photo was taken by gCaptain Staff from a roof top in downtown San Francisco, California. It is of a Container Ship operated by Yang Ming passing through San Francisco Bay.

Categories: Maritime News

Marshall Islands Admits Error In Deepwater Horizon Manning

News from gCaptain - Fri, 08/27/2010 - 12:52

During yesterday’s deepwater investigation hearings a document was released by the Marshal Islands, flag state of the Deepwater Horizon, regarding the rig’s designation for purposes of meeting minimum safe manning requirements. The letter states the following (in part):

The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Classified and certified the DEEPWATER HORIZON as a A1, Column Stabilized Drilling Unit, AMS, ACCU, DPS-3 (the highest rating for dynamically positioned vessels), Self-propelled MODU which was designed, built delivered and confirmed as such in a written affidavit issued to the Administration in preparation for registration in the Marshall Islands. The Minimum Safe Manning Certificate (MSMC) application submitted by Transocean to the Administration also identified it as such.

During the course of registration in December 2004, and, as a result of a clerical error, the Maritime Administrator used the wrong MSMC template resulting in the issuance of an MSMC for a Self-Propelled MODU instead of a DPV Unit…

It’s clear that the Marshall Islands has some of the strictest requirements of any flag state when it comes to the manning of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units and the standards to which they hold Transocean rigs. Further, the manning requirements of the Marshall Islands are higher than that of Panama, the Deepwater Horizon’s original flag state. What remains unclear is if Transocean actually followed the requirements of a DPV designation.

According to Marine Notice 7-038-2 the primary difference in the manning of a Self-Propelled MODU, one that is anchored or otherwise fixed at location but can depart under their own power, and that of a Dynamically Positioned Vessel is the need for a full compliment of licensed marine engineers at all times regardless of the activities being performed below the derrick. But it remains unclear if the Transocean personnel working in the Horizon’s engine room where, in fact, licensed engineers. In a statement made to gCaptain a representative for the Marshall Islands expressed the registries commitment to manning MODU with licensed engineers and offered the following statement:

For the entire time the Deepwater Horizon was registered with The Marshall Islands their minimum safe manning certificate met or exceeded national & international standards for both modus and dynamically positioned vessels and, as far as the registry is aware, Transocean always met or exceeded those levels.

The primary question now is whether Transocean will turn to the Global SantaFe standard of providing a full compliment of licensed marine engineers to each rig or will continues its practice of employing non-licensed personnel as watchstanders aboard their MODUs registered with different flag states.

Categories: Maritime News

What Jobs Are Done With Dynamic Positioning? – Pt. 3

News from gCaptain - Fri, 08/27/2010 - 09:40

Moving on with our series; What Jobs Are Done With DP?

Make sure to read Part 1 & Part 2 as well!  All comments are welcome.

Pipe Lay

Laying Pipe subsea is a much more active form of DP & installations come in different forms.  You may see a simple hard lay style pipe barge or an enormous flexible lay vessel, such as Allseas “Solitaire”.

This style of work requires the operator to be constantly making adjustments to the vessels position using the DP console.

Types of Pipelay

As it concerns DP vessels, there are 3 styles of pipelay that you may encounter:  S-Lay, J-Lay & Flexible Reel

S-Lay

If it is an S-Lay installation then the vessel will move forward one pipe length (12m or 24m) every few minutes so that a new piece can be welded on to the end of the line.  Meanwhile, the last joint welded will move down the assembly line where it gets X-Rayed & Mag Particle tested, or some other type of NDT.

The name is derived from the fact that the pipe makes 2 bends, forming an S shape, on its way to the sea floor.

The pipe will be fed into the water off of a Stinger, which extends far past the stern.  This allows the pipe to be controlled as it is deployed, as well as controlling the curvature made by the pipe as it enters the water.

J-Lay

With a J-Lay installation, the pipe is lifter into an installation tower where it is welded in line.  The angle of which the pipe enters the water can now be much steeper & with reduced stress on the pipeline.  This allows installation in much deeper water.

Flexible Reel

This style is used to install either small diameter or flexible pipe.  The welding of the pieces is done ashore.  They are then rolled onto the reel, which is installed onboard the vessel in either a horizontal or vertical fashion.  If installed horizontally then the pipe will pay off the reel in an S-Lay fashion & if installed vertically it will pay off in a J-Lay fashion.

This style of installation reduces both cost & time, as the welding is done in the yard & the vessel is able to move continuously forward while paying out pipe.  Some vessels are equipped with multiple reels that can be swapped over at sea, thus lengthening their time at sea before resupply is required.

Points to Consider

The tension on the pipe being held by the vessel will act as an external force on the DP system & must be taken into consideration by the operator.  This tension is controlled by rollers onboard the vessel as well as by the forward pull of the vessel itself, controlled by the DPO.  This is especially important in an S-Lay installation.

The point at which the pipe touches down on the sea floor will need to be carefully monitored for survey purposes.  This can be done in some cases by the vessel itself or else by a dedicated ROV chase boat.  Keep in mind that the point where the pipe line actually touches the sea bed may be miles away from the ship!  Some vessels are installed with Modeling Software that can accurately show the pipes shape as it is in the water.

Depending on the depth that the pipe is installed, it may require concrete mats to be laid over top of it, in order to keep the pipeline in place & to ensure it is not snagged & dragged by an anchoring vessel.

Here is a video showing some flexible pipelay in action onboard the Lorelay

Click here to view the embedded video.

Cable Lay

Cable lay works very similar to pipe lay, with the vessel moving forward under operator control as the cable is being paid out.

The submarine cable will in most cases need to be buried, so that it is not fouled by an anchor or fishing nets.  This can be done in 2 ways.

  1. During the cable lay operation with use of a trenching plough
  2. After the cable is laid on the seabed, using an ROV

With the first method, the cable is fed into a trenching plow which is deployed off the vessels stern on a davit.  This will be towed behind the vessel on the sea floor, digging a trench into which the cable is placed.  It will close the trench up behind it, thus protecting the cable.

Some of these trenching machines may be fitted with jetting equipment & all of them will be equipped with beacons, in order to monitor its position sub sea.

Burying to cable after it has been laid will generally be accomplished by using an ROV equipped with jetting equipment, although in some cases this job would be done by a diver, for short distances.

As with pipe laying, a cable lay vessel will be equipped with tensioning equipment which will help control the speed at which the cable is paid out, but will also act as an external force on the DP that the operator will need to be aware of.

Both of these operations involve a lot of DPO input & the bridge will be working closely with the deck & survey team in order to complete the sub sea installation in accordance with the job scope.

Categories: Maritime News

M/V Nordic Barents set to take on Northern Sea Route

News from gCaptain - Fri, 08/27/2010 - 08:26

A historic event is set to take place in Northern Norway in early September, as a bulk carrier with a non-Russian flag will use the Northern Sea Route as a transit trade lane for the first time. One of the only modern heavy ice-class bulk carriers, the MV NORDIC BARENTS, will carry a cargo of 41,000 tons of iron ore concentrate through Arctic and Russian waters to China.

Russian authorities are said to have given this project their first-ever approval for a foreign flagged vessel to ship a cargo in transit from a foreign port to a foreign port through Russian waters.

The international shipping industry is excited and optimistic about this new development in the maritime industry. Behind this transit voyage is a strong Nordic-Russian partnership between Norwegian Tschudi Shipping Company, Danish Nordic Bulk Carriers, and Russian Rosatomflot.

This development signifies great strides between the Nordic countries and Russia, hopefully opening doors to new shipping, mining, and trade opportunities as well as to Nordic Bulk Carriers in this crucial region.

Felix H. Tschudi, Chairman of the Norwegian Tschudi Shipping Company, explains, “The Northern Sea Route can be of great importance for the companies in northern Scandinavia and on the Kola Peninsula, which ship oil, gas, minerals, and other raw materials to the increasingly important Asian markets.”

The MV NORDIC BARENTS is an ice-class 1a ship, the highest conventional ice-class, and was the only ship classification that Russian authorities would allow for the transit. Not all ships are equipped for such a route, leaving only a few select vessels capable of handling the task.

The northern sea route to China is a historic transit across the Arctic, and is shorter than traditional shipping routes generally sailing through the Suez Canal. Through the use of this waterway ships will save on time, fuel, and co2. According to partners, the route has the potential to generate significant savings for both cargo and ship owners with no threat of piracy.

“The Northern Sea Route shortens the distance to China by about one third,” Managing director in Nordic Bulk, Christian Bonfils, explains. “We are pleased that parties from three traditional seafaring nations made the transit possible through extraordinary commitment from all involved parties.”

Two Russian icebreakers, operated by Rosatomflot, will escort the ship on its voyage.

The Tschudi Shipping Company, through its subsidiary Tschudi Arctic Transit and Nordic Bulk Carriers, who work closely with Russian maritime authorities, are the leading pioneers behind the Nordic-Russian partnership and the historic Northern Route.

Nordic Bulk Carriers A/S is a Danish, privately controlled, shipping company, operating bulk carriers worldwide. The company is specialized in operating ice class ships, as well as operating cargoes such as cement, steel scrap, and fertilizers.

Rosatomflot, the atomic icebreaking fleet, has been providing regular shipping of Russian and foreign cargoes along the Northern Sea Route since 1959, possessing the full spectrum of industrial means necessary for complex repairs and vessel maintenance.

The Centre for High North Logistics (CHNL) is an international non-profit organization focusing on developing transport solutions for the High North.

Edited by Miranda Max, gCaptain staff

[Photo courtesy Nordic Bulk Carriers]

Categories: Maritime News

What Jobs Are Done With Dynamic Positioning? – Pt.2

News from gCaptain - Thu, 08/26/2010 - 04:08

Part 2 in our series about the jobs that are done with Dynamic Positioning Vessels.  You can view the first part of the series HERE.

ROV Boats

Another important task offshore is ROV support.

An ROV, or Remote Operated Vehicle, is a tethered robot designed to perform tasks underwater.  They are controlled via the tether by a Pilot onboard the vessel.  ROV’s are highly maneuverable & are equipped with Manipulator arms so they can perform subsea jobs such as hooking up cranes & operating valves.

Many times you will see supply boats converted for ROV work, so they will have a Class 1 DP system.  The level of risk to human life or the environment is much lower on an ROV vessel, so redundancy is not necessarily required.  A portable ROV spread is installed on the working deck that consists of the ROV & its TMS (Tether Management System), a launching davit, hose reel, power pack & control station.

DP systems have an ROV Follow function, in which the vessel will “tag along” with the ROV as it flies along its route.  It does this by referencing off of the ROV’s beacon, then ensuring that it stays within a defined radius.  As an Operator using this function it is important to keep in mind that the ROV pilots cannot see the surrounding area so could fly you right into harms way!

ROV follow mode would generally be used during an operation such as Pipelay touchdown monitoring.  In this case, the ROV boat follows the pipelay vessel & the ROV surveys the exact point where the pipeline touches the bottom.  The ROV needs to be in constant forward motion so it makes sense to have the vessel tag along.

Other jobs, such as working off a platform, will be more restricted in movement & the DPO’s will move the vessel as required in AUTO-DP mode.

As with all jobs utilizing DP, communication between all parties is of the utmost importance.

DSV


Dive support vessels come equipped with the gear needed to support deep sea divers in performing underwater installations & associated tasks.  If the job is too deep or dangerous then an ROV can be sent instead, but a human diver can obviously perform with greater spacial awareness & dexterity.

It is important to note that most DSV’s will additionally be equipped with one if not 2 ROV’s.  They also have cranes capable of lifting the heavy loads to the subsea worksite.

With a person being tethered to the vessel it is required that the DP be a Class 2 or greater system due to the risk to life.

DPO’s onboard a DSV will work closely with the dive department who will relay requests for vessel movements from the diver.  Much of the time the crane will also be in the water offering support to the diver, so communication between all working parties is very important.

Maintaining redundancy must always be at the front of the DPO’s mind when working with divers & any status changes must be relayed promptly.

These vessels can have multiple operations going on at one time & it is the DPO’s duty to retain situational awareness of all aspects of the operation.  Helping you in this is the fact that the ships work permit system will also be run through the bridge, so there should be no jobs going on that the bridge team is not aware of.

Additionally it falls to the bridge team to be aware of any other vessels in the fleet & be in communication with them when required.

Multi Service Vessels

It should be noted that Dive & ROV operations are often combined on purpose built MSV’s.  As with Dive vessels these will also be equipped with one or more large cranes, with the largest being on multi service construction vessels, such as the newly launched OSA Goliath.

While the Goliath doesn’t have a dedicated Dive Spread installed, it has a moon pool in place to give a third party client the ability to install one.

Categories: Maritime News

Photo of The Week – U.S.C.G. shows off at Red Bull’s Flugtag

News from gCaptain - Wed, 08/25/2010 - 12:20

U.S. Coast Guard photo by PA2 Matt Schofield

This week’s photo is brought to us by members from Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles.  Here they watch as their rendition of an HH-65C Dolphin helicopter flies off the flight deck during the 2010 Red Bull Flugtag held on Aug. 20, 2010 in Long Beach, Calif.. The Flugtag, which means “flying day” in German, challenges participants to build and pilot homemade flying machines.

While the mock HH-65C Dolphin did not make it far before plunging into the waters, the USCG was able to show off the real thing by performing an over flight and rescue demonstration with a real MH-65 Dolphin in front of the 105,000 spectators.

Team Coast Guard included LTJG Josh Murphy, AET1 Damon Miller, AST1 Stephen Nicoll, AET3 Dal Blocker and AET3 Corey Mason.

More on this event can be found at the USCG’s official blog, the Coast Guard Compass.

Categories: Maritime News

All I hear Is Drilling, Drilling, Drilling

News from gCaptain - Wed, 08/25/2010 - 12:13

In today’s examination of Harry Thierens, BP’s vice president for drilling and completion, Deepwater Investigation board chairman Captain Hung Nguyen uttered strong statements about safety and the culture of deepwater drilling. While he made a few critical mistakes, like suggesting that having a separate OIM and Captain is standard industry practice (it is not), other points where right on target like the express need for a MODU like the Deepwater Horizon to have a Fast Rescue Boat aboard. Then there where his comments that where simply…. how do we put it…. strong in nature. The following are some of the key comments that he made:

“Not a lot of things are well coordinated here. This operation is a three legged stool with an OIM, Master and Companyman. With Haliburton recommending one thing and BP going with another.”

In terms of Transocean segmenting duties between performance and asset managers, separate technical departments (subsea, drilling, etc) and marine authorities he commented; “There are a lot of stove pipes in terms of drilling, marine systems, maintenance, etc. But I don’t see how these segments are coordinated onshore.”

“There where a lot of lessons learned during the Piper Alpha incident that have not been followed thru to today. Does the industry just expect this sort of thing to happen every 25 years, is the industry ok with that?”

And, most strongly he stated… “It seems like everything I hear is Drilling, Drilling, Drilling A lot of things of importance when we go into an emergency phase, or even before that, are not being coordinated. Who is concentrating on Marine Firefighting?”

gCaptain has brought up marine firefighting issues since our inception and, more recently has supported individual ideas like stand-by emergency vessels, lessons to be learned from previous incidents and the importance of maintaining a continuity of information but the USCG’s comments today suggest the need for a major shift in the thinking of marine safety offshore, a paradigm shift.

If gCaptain was running an offshore drilling company we would immediately put a second E on HS&E to make sure these departments concentrate on Health. Safety, Environment and Emergencies. The USCG is sending strong signals on the direction in which it will push change, if the industry wishes to retain control of their own fate they need to step in front of this move and begin concentrating on major emergency management starting today.

Categories: Maritime News

RADM Philip Greene ‘78 Named 11th USMMA Superintendent

News from gCaptain - Wed, 08/25/2010 - 11:38

Via email comes news that the US Merchant Marine Academy has a new incoming Superintendent

A KINGS POINTER FOR KINGS POINT

RADM Philip Greene, Jr. ’78 Named 11th Superintendent of U.S. Merchant Marine Academy

KINGS POINT, N.Y. – U.S. Maritime Administrator David T. Matsuda announced today the selection of Rear Admiral Philip Greene, Jr. USN ’78 as 11th Superintendent of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point. Matsuda addressed the entire Regiment of Midshipmen, faculty and staff this afternoon on campus. Greene is scheduled to begin his term on Monday, August 30, 2010 .

Greene, a two-time Outstanding Professional Achievement Award winner at the USMMA, is a Master Mariner and Flag Officer in the U.S. Navy. He has had a distinguished naval career including two ship commands, Post Graduate School , Naval War College , a Department Head tour at the U.S. Naval Academy and obtaining his unlimited masters license.

Greene, who will leave his current position as Director, Navy Irregular Warfare Office, becomes the third U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduate to be named Superintendent. He joins RADM Thomas A. King ’42 (1980-1987) and RADM Paul L. Krinsky ’50 (1987-1993) as the only Kings Point graduates to oversee the institution.

In his current capacity at the Navy Irregular Warfare Office, Greene was tasked to develop new plans and strategies to combat the emerging dynamic styles of warfare. Under the newest Defense Department definition, “irregular warfare” considers any “indirect and asymmetric” tactics as well as conventional military and “other capacities” intended to “erode an adversary’s power, influence and will.”

From 2008-2009, Greene commanded the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa where he led operations to build regional security capacity and counter extremism in the Horn/East Africa. Prior to this assignment Greene served in Naples, Italy, as director for Policy, Resources & Strategy, U.S. Naval Forces Europe/Africa. (from Navy.mil Bio)

Greene relieves Dr. Shashi N. Kumar, who is serving his second term as Interim Superintendent. Dr Kumar will resume his full-time duties as the Academy’s Academic Dean. The U.S. Maritime Administration has yet to release an official Change of Command date.

Best wishes to RADM Greene in his new assignment!

Categories: Maritime News

What Jobs are Done with Dynamic Positioning?

News from gCaptain - Tue, 08/24/2010 - 20:37

Image via Kongsberg

What kind of work is done using Dynamic Positioning?

What started out as a technology designed to position drillships in deep water has trickled down through the offshore industry & can now be found installed on all types of vessels.  It is being used today in capacities never imagined back when it was first invented.

In this series we will take a look at how the technology is being utilized & some examples of ships on which it is installed.

Drill Ships

DP began with the drill ships so that is where we will start as well.

As explained in my Previous Article on gCaptain, the first vessel equipped with DP was the Eureka, owned by Shell.  Although designed as a drill ship she ended up performing mostly coring operations.  10 years later the SEDCO 445 was delivered as the first purpose built DP drill ship.  The 445 is still working in the field today, owned by Transocean & renamed the Deepwater Navigator.

Since then drill ship technology has progressed through to todays 6th generation drill ships, such as the Discoverer Clear Leader.

What are the DPO’s duties?

A drillship is connected to the sea floor most of the time.  The vessel needs to stay within a certain position radius to ensure that the angle on the drill string does not get too great.

The DPO pays close attention to the weather & prevailing conditions & ensure that the vessel stays on the minimum power heading when possible.  When the vessel automatically adjusts her heading to this effect it is known as “weather vaning”.

She will be equipped with a class 3 DP system, due to the large potential for environmental damage should something go wrong.

In a Red Light situation where the vessel is unable to hold position or is driving off, the drill string may have to be disconnected remotely.  This is a complex task, as the well needs to be shut, the landing string closed & pressure needs to be bled off before unlatching.

This could be potentially avoided if a quick thinking DPO sees the problem right when it occurs & is able to take steps to mitigate the severity.

PSV’s & AHTS

The workhorse of the offshore, these ships perform a variety of tasks, from setting or recovering anchors, to running all description of supplies between the beach & rigs or vessels offshore.

These vessels provide the drilling fluids, fuel & tools necessary for running the jobs offshore.  In some cases they act as Hot Shots, delivering critical supplies needed to keep the job running.

In other cases they spend long hours Standing By, either waiting to receive a load or just to support as needed.

Supply boats will normally be equipped with Class 1 systems, as the primary use is station keeping.  Much of the time spent on DP is just standing by in the field, waiting on the call.  Although the requirements differ from company to company, it is generally required to be used when coming alongside another vessel for cargo transfers.

The DP console will be stationed close to the aft bridge, so you can look out over the working deck.

Many companies these days specify that operations with the potential for damage to the environment, such as transfering fuel or other fluids, be carried out on DP, making its installation mandatory.

Working on supply boats can be a good way to obtain DP time when trying to obtain your license, however as it is a class 1 vessel the ticket will be Limited & you will still require some time onboard a class 2 or 3 vessel to complete the Training Requirements.

Here is a clip of the M/V Seacor Cougar while on DP

Click here to view the embedded video.

Categories: Maritime News

Deepwater Horizon Hearings Resume In Houston Texas

News from gCaptain - Mon, 08/23/2010 - 20:51

The Deepwater Horizon hearings resumed today with a new presiding officer, high level witnesses and a new location; Houston Texas. But the most interesting item of the day was boredom as the proceedings stretched from 09:00 until after 20:00, as the growing list of Parties In Interest, each had time to ask plenty of questions.

For those who have been following the hearings from the beginning, not much new information was presented except for scant details of a DP drive-off aboard Transocean’s new-build flagship the Discoverer Clear Leader and more information on the similar blowout that occurred in December of last year. The blowout was the most interesting as its severity was enough for Transocean managers in Greenway Plaza, Houston to approve changes to the company’s Well Control Manual but, apparently, not worrisome enough to share the information with Transocean managers at its Park 10, Houston office.

Overall the witnesses presented themselves in favorable light with only one major mistake being made, this time by the Deepwater Horizon’s rig manager, Paul Johnson, who said that “If the rig’s fixed firefighting equipment isn’t capable of fighting the fire, then we call the Coast Guard and let them put it out”.  As most mariners know, the United States Coast Guard is in the lifesaving business but does not have the equipment, expertise, or the proper resources to fight out-of-control rig fires.

Mariners, in particular, got a fair shake today as all three managers, two with Transocean and one with BP, were clear in their support of actions taken by the Deepwater Horizon’s crew.  Transocean Operations Manager Daun Winslow made it clear however, that while he would not hesitate to place Jimmy Harrell or Captain Curt Kutcha in command of another Transocean rig.  He noted that Captain Kutcha “would probably be sent overseas for publicity reasons”. A former Transocean employee calls his bluff stating “Transocean very rarely fires anyone, rather they send you to a place like Nigeria or India in hopes that you quit. Why else would this ‘punishment‘ pertain to the captain but not the OIM?”.  Transocean’s lawyers declined to comment on Mr. Winslow’s remark.

The hearings resume tomorrow morning at 08:00 and can be watched on CSPAN-2 or online at CSPAN.ORG.

Categories: Maritime News

Maritime Monday 228:

News from gCaptain - Mon, 08/23/2010 - 07:51

A print by Jenny Odell called 195 Yachts, Cargo Ships, Tankers, Barges, Riverboats, Hospital Ships, Cruise Lines, Ferries, Military Ships, and Motorboats

Fireboat John J. Harvey running over kayakers in Cold Spring, NY. From Jessica DuLong via Facebook; photo by Bernie Ente.

Tugster: Gazela in Atlantic Basin 1 » & Gazela in Atlantic Basin 2 »

Restoring the Last Wooden Whaler – The world’s last surviving wooden whaling vessel, the Charles W. Morgan, is pictured on a railway at Fairhaven, Mass., in 1916. Restorers are spending $10 million to turn the museum piece into a working ship.  See the Photos »

A Quest to Make the Morgan Seaworthy

MYSTIC, Conn. — The shipbuilders are long dead, their knowledge gone. The shipyard no longer exists. No blueprints survive, nor ship’s models.

But the Charles W. Morgan is still here — the world’s last surviving wooden whaling vessel, built in 1841. And restorers are spending $10 million to turn the museum piece into a working ship able to ply the unruly sea. They plan to sail the ship on its first voyage in nearly a century, opening a new chapter in its long career.

Built in New Bedford, Mass., a bustling port known as the whaling capital of the world, the Morgan sailed the globe for eight decades in pursuit of leviathans, escaping fire and cannibals, Confederate raiders and Arctic ice. She brought home thousands of barrels of whale oil that lighted homes and cities. She also delivered tons of baleen, the horny material from the mouths of certain whales that was made into buggy whips and corset stays. In 1941, its centenary, the Morgan was towed to Mystic Seaport for museum display and in 1966 was named a national historic landmark.

Bodies of water bring us comfort, euphoria, life…

Water is the fundamental precursor of life and one of our most valuable resources, but most of us don’t think of it that way. We think of failed attempts to water ski and boiling hot days. Days at the beach or floats down the river. Water and heat work together to give us excuses to detach, relax, and forget. Soak it up.

You Mean 70% of the Oil is Still  THERE?

As you know, we’ve completely solved the Gulf oil spill and we can all go back to dreaming about puppies and sunshine (note sarcasm).  Not so, according to five prominent scientists at the University of Georgia and Skidaway Insitute of Oceanography—in a new report released today by Georgia Sea Grant, they estimate that 70-79% (that’s 2.9 to 3.2 million barrels) of the Deepwater Horizon oil still remains at or below the surface in the Gulf of Mexico.

It seems like Sea Grant Georgia had the same response as I did when they heard the chipper optimism of the government report released on August 2nd—they didn’t believe for a minute that three-quarters of the oil had disappeared.

US Judge Throws Out Piracy Charges Against 6 Somalis

A U.S. judge has dismissed piracy charges against six Somali men accused of attacking a U.S. Navy ship off the Horn of Africa in April, although the group still faces several lesser counts.

Attorneys for the men had argued the defendants’ actions did not amount to piracy because they did not board or take control of the USS Ashland in the Gulf of Aden or take anything of value from it.  U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson in the eastern city of Norfolk, Virginia agreed Tuesday, ruling that the government failed to establish that any of the “unauthorized acts of aggression” committed constituted piracy under the law.

Prosecutors accused the six of opening fire on the USS Ashland from a small skiff.  The U.S. vessel returned fire, sinking the skiff and killing one occupant.  All others on board were captured.  The U.S. Justice Department has declined to comment on the case.

Baltic Trading: Cheap Vessels Pay the Dividend

While most drybulk shipping firms contract their ships for months or years into the future, Baltic charges customers the spot market price based on the weekly average of the Baltic Index. That aligns its revenue directly with what the Index is doing.

Baltic’s fleet is managed by Genco, so Baltic is a kind of a virtual company, formed to acquire ships cheap and to pay out dividends. You might think now’s a bad time to do such a thing, given that the Baltic dry index is down some 8% from a year earlier, reflecting factors such as a pullback in iron imports by China’s steel industry that have hurt demand for shipping and, hence, prices.

Baltic declared its first quarterly dividend, 16 cents per share, on August 9th when it reported Q2 revenue of $6.99 million, slightly ahead of Street estimates of $6.6 million, and profit per share of 12 cents, in line with expectations.

Harbor; New Bedford, Massachusetts

Boston: 3 East Coast Ports Agree to Shipping Collaboration Plan

NEW BEDFORD, Mass – A plan to strengthen and promote the connection between New Bedford and two other East Coast ports was officially recognized by the U.S. Department of Transportation last week, opening the door to potential federal funding, city officials announced Monday.

The collaboration between the ports of New Bedford, Baltimore and Canaveral, Fla., was one of six initiatives named by the transportation department’s Maritime Administration, a designation that allows the ports to apply for federal funding to assist in research development and market analysis, officials said.

“Making better use of our rivers and coastal routes offers an intelligent way to relieve some of the biggest challenges we face in transportation — congestion on our roads, climate change, fossil fuel energy use and soaring road maintenance costs,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a statement.

“There is no better time for us to improve the use of our rivers and coasts for transportation.”

China Proposes Maritime Hotline with Japan

BEIJING, Aug. 17 — China has proposed setting up a maritime emergency hotline with Japan to prevent civilian and military clashes in the East China Sea and other waters, sources with both governments have said.

The measures raised by Beijing also include an annual meeting, a conference to discuss emergency situations, and sharing frequencies and signals used by ships and airplanes during emergencies, Kyodo News reported on Sunday. Beijing has already established hotlines with Seoul and Washington.

Yin Zhuo, a major general of the Chinese navy, told China Daily the emergency system is designed to avoid both civilian and military clashes, the potential for which has been increasing in recent years.

Coast Guard Makes Over Maritime 911 System

The Coast Guard has a new system designed to help it respond faster to help people in distress. The prime contractor for Rescue 21 is General Dynamics. Don Wilt is the Senior Director for federal civil programs for General Dynamics C4 systems. He says the system uses a vast network of antennae along almost the entire coastline of the U.S.

Dave Barry: Blub Story a Very Deep Experience

Miami Herald – I’m swimming about 20 feet below the surface of the Atlantic, a major ocean. I’m a little nervous about this. For many years my philosophy has been that if God had wanted us to be beneath the surface of the ocean, He would never have put eels down there.

But I’m not panicking. That’s the first thing you learn in scuba class: Don’t panic! Just DON’T DO IT! Even if a giant eel comes right up and wraps around your neck and presses its face against your mask and opens its mouth and shows you its 874,000,000,000,000 needle-sharp teeth, you must remain COMPLETELY CALM so you’ll remember your training and take the appropriate action, which in this case I suppose would be to poop in your wet suit. I don’t know for certain, because in my training we haven’t gotten to the section on eels.

Eighteen-Nation Military Maneuvers Focus on Panama Canal Security

PANAMA CITY, Panama, Aug. 18 (UPI) — Military commanders and troops from 18 countries including the United States mounted extensive naval exercises focused on defending the Panama Canal against terrorist activity that could threaten maritime traffic.

In what defense industry analysts saw as a potential major opportunity to showcase the latest innovations in maritime security, more than 2,000 civilian and military personnel pooled resources for the 12-day exercises that will explore how best to secure the Panama Canal. The waterway currently handles about 5 percent of global trade. Backed by the government of Panama and the U.S. Southern Command, the event is rated as one of the largest multinational maritime training exercises in the world.

Extremely Drunk Captain Stopped From Sailing

Empty whiskey bottles found on the ship’s bridge

Tasman Pathfinder was due to leave Wellington for Tauranga on Thursday morning, after arriving from Timaru the day before. However, Maritime New Zealand authorities cancelled the sailing after the ship’s master was found heavily intoxicated by the local pilot, who was to take the ship out of the harbour.

Maritime New Zealand would not name the master yesterday but confirmed he was drunk. It is understood he is a Korean national and has been stood down. Wellington harbourmaster Mike Pryce said the master was extremely drunk. “I understand he was conscious but not well.”

Fire Won’t Delay Expedition to Titanic

AUG 19; VOCM – Officials with the expedition to the Titanic say a fire on their research vessel won’t delay the plans. A small fire broke out in the hold of the ship Tuesday night while some welding was being carried out. It was quickly extinguished, and there were no injuries. Officials say the expedition is still scheduled to leave from St. John’s this Sunday.

From Nat Geo:

“Everyone has their own opinion” as to how long Titanic will remain more or less intact, said research specialist Bill Lange of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.

With Lange as optical-survey leader, a new expedition sets sail Sunday from St. John’s, Newfoundland (map)—roughly 350 miles (560 kilometers) from the ship’s 2.4-mile-deep (3.8-kilometer-deep) resting place (Titanic wreck-site map).

The goal: to virtually preserve Titanic in its current state and to finally determine just how far gone the shipwreck is, and how long it might last.

Thousands of high-resolution photos and video will be combined with acoustic and sonar mapping data to form a 3-D replica of the site, allowing scientists and armchair explorers to probe it in detail. (Explore a 2004 photomosaic of the Titanic wreck.)

Some of the cargo ships mothballed on the River Fal in Falmouth, Cornwall, have now been here for nearly two years. Photos by Adam Gerrard

Fleet of Huge Ships Mothballed by the Recession Becomes Unlikely Tourist Attraction

The last time a similar amount of hardware was sitting in this river, it all sailed off to occupied France and defeated the Nazis.

But, today, this pile of steel is going nowhere. Indeed, some of it has been going nowhere for so long that it is now part of the local landscape.

What was once regarded as an eyesore is now drawing in tourists who will happily sit for hours just staring at this vast barometer of the state of the world economy.

The more cargo ships that are tied up here on the River Fal and the longer they sit here doing nothing, the worse the state of international trade. And some of these monsters have now been here for nearly two years.

And yet, in the past few days, a couple of these ships have fired up their engines for the first time in a year and set off to do a spot of work…

Maersk Reports Six-Month Income of $2.31B

A.P. Moeller-Maersk, owner of the world’s largest container-shipping line, raised its full-year earnings forecast after increases in freight rates and global trade helped the company restore first-half profit.

Net income in the first six months of the year was $2.31 billion compared with a loss a year earlier, the Copenhagen-based company said in a statement. That beat the average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales rose 20 percent.

Maersk, which maintains its Northeast region in Madison, is recovering from its first annual loss in at least half a century after the shipping market contracted in 2009 for the first time since containers became the world’s standard means of carrying freight in the 1970s. Maersk said yesterday that net income before minority interests in 2010 will exceed $4 billion, compared with a forecast last month of profit above $3.5 billion.

Maine Maritime Named Top 50 Engineering College

MarineLink – Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) has been listed in the rankings of the nation’s top baccalaureate colleges for the northern region in the 2011 edition of “Best Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report.  The college was also ranked among the nation’s top 50 engineering colleges in the category of “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs.” Based solely on a survey of engineering deans and senior faculty conducted during the spring of 2010, Maine Maritime Academy was ranked 42nd in the undergraduate engineering category.

Maine Maritime Academy was ranked for the fourth consecutive year in the section titled, “Best Baccalaureate Colleges (By Region)”. MMA was placed as 9th overall in the listing of public and private colleges located in the north, a region defined in the publication as spanning from Maine to Maryland. In the last two editions, MMA was placed at 10th, and the previous year as 14th within the overall regional category.

In all four editions, MMA has held on to the third position within the regional list as a top public college within its regional category. Placing behind two federally run academies, Maine Maritime Academy was the first state-funded college to appear on that list in each of the four most recent editions.

Naval Victory Celebrated by Medal

It is perhaps ironic that the War of 1812 began over a dispute concerning private American vessels. A rising and well-paid American merchant marine attracted foreign sailors, especially English, much to the annoyance of the London authorities who needed every man available for the ships opposing the French fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. British warships began stopping American merchantmen and arresting anyone thought to be a deserter from the Royal Navy.

The U.S.S. Constitution was built in 1797 at a Boston shipyard and was of the heavy frigate class of warships, carrying 44 powerful guns. She was the first major ship built under the new United States and was meant, among her other duties, to protect American shipping from the Barbary pirates operating from the northwestern coast of Africa.

New Bedford, MA 2010 Working Waterfront Festival

Saturday, September 25th 11-7  (whaleboat races from 8-Noon)
Sunday, September 26th 11-5

More than simply a celebration, the Working Waterfront Festival is a unique opportunity for the public to get a firsthand look at the culture of fishing and for the commercial fishing community to tell its own story. The event presents all that goes into bringing seafood from the ocean to the table in a way that is hands-on, educational and fun. We encourage you to listen and watch, but also to taste, touch and converse.

Chris Baker; Tugboat Captain

Chris Baker pilots tugboats for Staten Island-based McAllister Towing, one of New York City’s two towing outfits. Back in May, our crew joined Captain Baker as vessels from the United States and Canadian Navies called to port for Fleet Week 2009. Captain Baker’s tug, the Rosemary McAllister, helped dock the U.S.S. Iwo Jima, an 844-ft Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, and the U.S.S. Roosevelt, a 500-ft Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.

Oyang 70 which sunk in the Southern Ocean 400 nautical miles from Dunedin.

One Confirmed Dead, Five Missing after S. Korean Fishing Boat Sinks Near New Zealand

SEOUL, Aug. 18 — A South Korean fishing boat sank in waters off New Zealand early Wednesday, leaving one Indonesian crew member dead and five others, including the vessel’s South Korean captain, missing, an official said.

The other four missing crew members are Indonesian, the foreign ministry official said. Search and rescue operations are under way, but chances are low that the missing would be rescued alive from the cold waters, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Photographer Lee Mawdsley: You Want to See These Pics

This picture shows the hybridization of plastic garbage with marine life – algae and tiny invertebrates have made a home on plastic that has been floating in the North Atlantic for decades. Now scientists say the plastic is disappearing.

A Portrait of the Bizarre Future of Marine Life

This picture shows the hybridization of plastic garbage with marine life – algae and tiny invertebrates have made a home on plastic that has been floating in the North Atlantic for decades. Now scientists say the plastic is disappearing.

You have probably heard about the North Atlantic garbage patch, a region where discarded plastics and other garbage swirl around on the surface of the ocean, imperiling the wildlife who mistake it for plants and eat it. Scientists have found hundreds of starved birds and fish, who died with plastic in their bellies. But a new scientific study shows that the garbage gyre hasn’t gotten any bigger, despite existing for over two decades. Where is all the extra garbage going?

Researcher Kara Lavender Law and colleagues have been studying the gyre for decades, collecting scraps of plastic between 1986 and 2008, by towing nets along the ocean’s surface. They painstakingly counted particles of plastic by hand, trying to determine whether the amount of garbage had changed over time.

Their work is the subject of a study released today in Science. The release explains »

San Diego: Volunteer Falls to His Death on the Historic Star of India

07/19/2010 / San Diego, CA — A volunteer died after falling from the mast aboard a historic sailing ship, the Star of India. The Maritime Museum of San Diego volunteer fell 50-feet to his death on Sunday, July 18, 2010 at about 10:00 a.m., as reported by KSWB.

San Diego Fire Rescue officials reported that Gregory Vance Gunshaw, 68, of Coronado, was using a safety harness when something snapped, causing the man to plummet 50-feet from the rigging into the water, hitting his head on the historic ship along the way. Gunshaw was reportedly conducting an annual test on the ship with another co-worker when the accident occurred.

Scotland: Historic Tall Ship Heading for Greenock

Historic tall ship Glenlee will be towed to Greenock  for renovation at Garvel Dry Dock. The Port Glasgow-built ship will be away from her post at Yorkhill Quay, Glasgow, for almost three weeks.

She is expected to set off for renovation  being towed by two tug boats provided by Clyde Marine Services of Greenock. It will be the first time in 10 years that the ship has made this journey or been taken out of the water.

Whilst in dry dock, the ship’s hull will be cleaned, blasted and ultrasonically tested and the rear deckhouse will be resized to be more in-keeping with the original design.

Sealegs Amphibious Vehicle Test Drive

The tide is low, so there’s a patch of thick mud some 40 yards wide standing between us and the water’s edge of Massachusetts’ Duxbury Bay. For most boaters, the only option is to wait for hours until the tide fills back in enough to cover the boat ramp. But not for us.

We just fire up the Sealegs amphibious craft and charge straight into the muck. By the time we’re crossing the mud flats, more than a dozen curious onlookers have gathered to watch. By the look on their faces, they’re impressed: The convenience of this boat isn’t lost on them.

No water, no problem. This boat is an ideal way to get to the water during low tide, perfect for rescue professionals who need to access challenging terrain and more safely and efficiently transfer victims from the water to waiting ambulances. It’s also just fun.

Ship Pilot in Cosco Busan Spill Out of Prison

The pilot of a cargo ship that struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, causing a massive oil spill, is out of prison after completing his 10-month sentence.

SAN FRANCISCO –Authorities say John Cota was released from custody on Monday night. Officials have not named the prison where he served his term.  Cota was piloting the Cosco Busan ship in heavy fog on Nov. 7, 2007, when it sideswiped a bridge tower. More than 50,000 gallons of oil leaked into the bay, contaminating 26 miles of shoreline.

Cota pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of illegally discharging oil in the bay and killing thousands of birds. He was sentenced in July 2009.  Prosecutors say Cota made several errors that day, including deciding to embark in the heavy fog.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Unearthed Ship in NYC Offers Clues to Colonial Life

August 18, 2010; NPR – They call it the mystery ship: a wooden vessel that may have sailed the Hudson River and the East Coast, transporting goods between the flourishing Colonies. Its remains were found last month in the ruins of the World Trade Center in New York City. They’ve since been moved to a science lab in Maryland, where each day brings new discoveries.

The first thing that hits you when you lean toward the enormous tanks filled with water, where scientists use small brushes to clean the timbers, is the smell — a bit like rotten eggs. Or, as Nichole Doub, head conservator at the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory, says, “that deep-woods smell after a really heavy rain.” But after weeks of being “up to our knees and elbows” in it, she says, perhaps she’s become desensitized to it.

The complex on the shore of the Patuxent River is full of dark, wet timbers from the mystery ship. The largest piece of the ship, called the apron, weighs in at 540 pounds. Doub puts the vessel’s size at about 60 feet. She guesses it was a work boat, very solidly built, and used to transport cargo during the 1700s.

US Coast Guard, Sierra Leone Law Enforcement Complete Joint-Maritime Exercise

Defence Web – US Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk, in partnership with a Sierra Leone Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET), have completed their African Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership (AMLEP) operations beginning of August.

During this most recent phase of operations, AMLEP supported a seven-man Sierra Leone LEDET including four naval officers, two police officers and a civilian fisheries officer attached to the police. During Mohawk’s three-week patrol in the territorial waters and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Sierra Leone, Mohawk and the embarked LEDET conducted boardings of vessels suspected of illicit maritime activity. During their deployment Mohawk and the embarked LEDET found no violations.

http://goodmorninggloucester.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/chickity-check-it-doug-maxfield-speaks-the-truth-about-fishing/

Human Decomposition Comics from Mary Roach and Ariyana Suvarnasuddhi

If you’ve lived or worked around the water for any length of time, you’ve more likely than not been privileged to be in the vicinity when a floater was fished out of the drink.  First, there’s doubting the evidence of your senses: “Is that really what I think it is?”  Then, acceptance, the moment when even the hardest old salt turns into a teenage girl: “OMG OMG OMG!!!!”

You stare open mouthed, a mixture of revulsion and fascination.  The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out… Or in the case of a Marylander like myself, the crabs.  Critters of all varieties take delight in the smorgasbord of mortal delights. Mana from heaven! The call goes out and the beasties move in.  Slow moving water, warm weather, and time also leave their calling cards.

Gazing into the bubbling, half-empty eye sockets, it’s hard to imagine that probably less than a fortnight ago, this buoyant zombie was probably up walking around; running errands, taking care of business, and generally living their lives until they had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, big time.  Thus goes the way of all flesh.  Bon Appétit!

BOING BOING – Following up on the castration comics, here’s another pair of panels by Ariyana Suvarnasuddhi, inspired by my books (in this case, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers). This one draws on the stages of human decomposition. Ariyana zeroed in on food images and references in the chapter, using a visit to a sushi bar to illustrate phenomena like “skin slip” and end-stage soupiness (not a technical term).

Taking place in Stormalong Harbor, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack is a truly demented and wonderful cartoon that airs on Cartoon Network.  A young boy named Flapjack (left) who was raised inside a talking whale named Bubbie, rescues a shipwrecked crusty old pirate named Captain K’nuckles (right), and the misadventures begin.

If you aren’t already watching, you should be. more »

Unidentified Russian Crew – What do you notice when you look at pictures like this?  Look at their faces, aren’t they incredible?  I try to imagine what their voices sounded like, how they moved.  Judging by their clothing, they all seem to have different duties.  Do they know one another well? Have they ever had a fist fight?  Monkey Fist’s NEW Tumbler page »

POUR 15 MINUTES D’AMOUR

Monkey Fist is a smack-talking, potty mouthed, Yankee hating, Red Sox fan from Portland, Maine.  In addition to compiling Maritime Monday, she blogs about nautical history, marine science, art, current events, and coastal New England life on Casco Bay Boaters blog & Tumblr. (NEW!)
Submit story ideas, news links, photographs, or items of interest to her at MM@gcaptain.com.  She can also out-belch any man.

Maritime Monday Archives »

Categories: Maritime News

Waterspouts in Novorossiysk

News from gCaptain - Mon, 08/23/2010 - 06:06

There was an awful waterspout the other day in Novorossiysk.

Categories: Maritime News

Ship Photo of the Week – Cordova, Alaska

News from gCaptain - Sat, 08/21/2010 - 16:37

This weeks photo come to us from off the cost of Cordova, Alaska. courtlevephoto.com

Categories: Maritime News

Seized With Max Hardberger – A Nautical Book Review

News from gCaptain - Fri, 08/20/2010 - 21:32



It’s every mariner’s dream not just to command but commandeer, to sail without SOP’s and to have an owner that’s not only happy when you mark arrival on time, but ecstatic that you arrived at all.

Rather today’s captain faces an onslaught of emails, sat calls and other forms of nuisance from managers who don’t understand the simple formula Distance / Max Speed = We Just Can’t Get There Any Faster! But while most of us can only dream of turning off the ECDIS to point the bow by stars, we can live vicariously through the sea stories of Max Hardberger, captain for hire.

From the cold war docks of Vladivostok to the cool breeze of Trinidad, Max steals ships from ports most wouldn’t volunteer to visit, then sails through storms and scalawags to deliver them back to a rightful owner. And with a spirit unique to American Mariners he implements Red Hand epoxy, Smith & Wessons, cheater pipes and whatever else it takes, to get the job done.

So while you stand in boredom on the Bridge or ECR, staring at computer screens and email messages that make you want to take the old man’s gun to your head… Instead pick up a copy of Seized and step into Max’s shoes. The book sometimes frustrates with a lack of the gritty detail aboard ship and, occasionally, too much detail ashore, but mostly it’s a fun story of true adventure.

You can visit Max’s official website at www.maxhardberger.com and purchase a copy of his latest book Seized – A Sea Captain’s Adventures Battling Scoundrels and Pirates While Recovering Stolen Ships in the World’s Most Troubled Waters – at Amazon.com.

Categories: Maritime News

Dude, you can get YouTube on the ECDIS!

News from gCaptain - Fri, 08/20/2010 - 03:25

High-speed Internet connectivity on merchant ships and unintended consequences

By Ryan Skinner (email)

Since early this year, ships running at least one make of ECDIS can download navigational charts and chart updates at sea, via Internet download. OK, last year’s wreck won’t show up on ENC updates from hydrographic offices for another two or three years yet anyway, but this is progress, damnit. Don’t question it.

DNV’s OK’d it, as well. They will type-approve an ECDIS that uses Internet connections for updates, provided a) there is a firewall, b) there is an anti-virus strategy, and c) there is an electrical Internet kill switch. Of course, all of this assumes that the greatest threat is from outside.

I’ve heard from more than one source that this is not the case. One major shipping company had an ECDIS crash because the officers were using it to surf the Internet while en route (perhaps they were studying the company’s HSE policy online). The fuming manager said that they would fix this by allowing the machine to access only one url, that of the chart update provider.

Is it a shock to imagine an officer bored out of his mind jimmying the ECDIS to serve him YouTube videos? To me it wouldn’t even be a shock to hear that the flight crew of an airliner overflew their destination because they were tweeting about Justin Bieber. Better that than arguing about airline policy.

There’s a fear of technology at work here. It’s the same kind of thing that led employers ten years ago to hesitate to give their office workers Internet access. It’s alive today when they cut off access to YouTube, Facebook or Skype (I was told by one executive that his company wouldn’t let him use the last one because “it’s free and it works, unlike our enterprise solution.”)

Hell, give seafarers Internet connections broader than the New Jersey turnpike, if they want. If they can’t pull it up on the ECDIS, you can be sure they’re going to pipe it into their iPhones or Androids. The fact is this: They might be looking at porn and strike a bridge. They might also access countless tools to make them even better and more accountable officers. The Internet doesn’t kill people (OK, sometimes it does).

The fellow running the IMO’s e-Navigation working groups told me they’re putting the focus on what they call a “single window”. Let’s not split hairs here; that’s the ECDIS. This window’s going to be full of good stuff, and soon. And it’ll be up to every mariner to use it as he likes. In fact, I hope that seafarers come equipped with their own system in the future (like Norwegian pilots).

Imagine when a master can just show up with her ECDIS under her arm, plug into any ship and she has everything in the digital and physical world she needs, right there. A reality, you think?

Categories: Maritime News
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