Two dead in Baltic Sea lifeboat accident
Sydney Morning Herald – Sydney,New South Wales,Australia
Two people died and one was seriously injured in a lifeboat accident onboard a container freight ship in the Baltic Sea, officials said.
Another freighter hits bottom in Muskegon
Kalamazoo Gazette – MLive.com – Kalamazoo,MI,USA
The grounding of the Indiana Harbor was followed by that of another 1000-footer, the American Integrity, on Sept. 10. It wiggled free after about an hour,
Navy submarine collides with cargo ship off Diu
NEW DELHI: The collision of an Indian attack submarine, INS Sindhugosh, with a large foreign-owned cargo ship in the Arabian Sea last Monday could have meant a cold watery grave for the 53 sailors on board the underwater vessel.
Fishing vessel stranded near the rocks in outer New Bedford (3:01 pm)
SouthCoastToday.com – New Bedford,MA,USA
He noted that the Western-rig scalloper is not yet damaged, though it sits high on rocky ground. The vessel’s crew is checking for signs of damage or
09 Jan 2008
JAKARTA 9 January – Indonesia’s Department of Transportation (DOT) blames human error for half the country’s maritime mishaps last year. Of the 79 ship accidents in 2007 that killed 558 people, 54 cases were reportedly caused by people either lacking the training to man vessels or simply being uncertified for the task at hand.
However, DOT spokesperson Umar Aris …
Standard P&I Club in wake-up call over fines and risk of jail
INFLUENTIAL mutual, the Standard P&I Club, has warned that shipping boardrooms are seriously underestimating the impact of a “breathtaking” level of fines and jail sentences imposed by the Marpol anti-pollution convention.
The Bermuda-incorporated protection and indemnity club has called on ship operators to heed the legislation it has dubbed a “multi-million dollar problem”, if they want to avoid escalating fines and their employees being sent to jail.
Standard has added its voice to a rising chorus of concern among industry representatives and insurers over the rapidly rising level of pollution-related fines and the criminalisation of seafarers in the US.
BIMCO and Intertanko last year published guidelines to members on compliance with Marpol, or the International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Ships.
GAO – terrorism & energy commodity tankers
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report addressing challenges in preventing and responding to terrorist attacks on energy commodity tankers. The lengthy report focuses on liquefied gas carriers, but actually covers tankers carrying crude oil and refined products in addition. It recommends better planning by the Coast Guard and other agencies for a growing security workload; ensuring that ports plan deal with the economic consequences of an attack; integrating terrorism and response plans; and developing performance
Australia – caution re use of GPS and DGPS
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) issued a notice reminding mariners that even GPS and DGPS are not infallible and should not be used as the sole means of position-fixing. Older GPS receivers lack certain capabilities. Further, GPS read-outs are based on the WGS-84 geodetic datum, with the result that GPS data may not translate accurately onto charts using other datums. Note: The inability of most GPS receivers installed before 1 July 2003 to conduct Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM) is known, but not well publicized. This means that the older receivers will continue to utilize signals from a GPS satellite even when the satellite is malfunctioning (newer receivers automatically discount such erroneous signals). Older GPS receivers also lack course over ground and speed over ground output and are less able to cope with signal interference. Marine Notice 29/2007 (12/21/07).
American Maritime Safety (AMS) Files Amicus Curiae (“Friend of the Court”) Brief in the United States Supreme Court
AMS brief in support of Exxon Mobil’s argument before the Supreme Court that the $2.5 billion it was ordered to pay in punitive damages in the Exxon Valdez case – one of the largest awards ever against an American company – was in conflict with more than 200 years of maritime law.
Israel ‘plotted to blow up freighter’ / Plan to keep N. Korean …
The Daily Yomiuri – Osaka,Japan
JERUSALEM–Israel plotted to blow up a smuggling vessel in the Mediterranean Sea in 1991 in an attempt to block transport of ballistic missiles from North
New sharing website kicks off industry-wide asset integrity programme
Step Change in Safety has launched its 2008 programme to improve asset integrity on offshore installations with the creation of a unique sharing website.<br /><br />The first of its kind, the website aims to increase the sharing of good practice, improve companies internal learning processes and enhance communication within companies and across Industry on the key issues surrounding process safety and asset integrity....
http://www.oilandgas.org.uk/media/view-press.cfm/458
Posted by Bob Couttie 
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