Hallelujah

Captains,

This video Christmas greeting from Quinhagak, Alaska will make you smile no matter where you might be this holiday season. Wishing you a safe voyage home and the best for the new year.

RADM W

Don't play in the shipping lane

Captains,

Ice fishing and shipping don't mix. It's ridiculous for mariners to have to worry about people walking in their path, but at this time of year a catastrophe involving a pedestrian and a ship is possible.

RADM W

Coast Guard warns ice-sport enthusiasts of weakened ice near open shipping lanes

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – The Coast Guard is noticing a developing trend on Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, the St. Mary’s River and other waterways as ice-sport enthusiasts are putting themselves in danger by taking advantage of early and rapid freezing despite active shipping occurring on frozen and partially frozen waterways.

“We recognize people are going to venture out onto the ice, but they need to keep in mind we still have three weeks left in the shipping season, and recreational users of the ice are unknowingly risking their lives by traveling through or near open shipping lanes with broken or weakened ice,” said Mark Gill, director of vessel traffic services for Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie.

Ice Season Begins in the Great Lakes

Captains,

The ice season is underway in the Great Lakes. Most of the aids to navigation have been removed for the winter and the cutters are beginning to break ice. Last year was the heaviest year for ice since 1984. looks like this year could be another doosy.

RADM W

Coast Guard Starts Ice Breaking Operations

Cleveland, OH (Northland's NewsCenter) To ensure the highest state of readiness and the Coast Guard’s ability to complete this critical mission, an additional icebreaker from the First Coast Guard District, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Morro Bay, a 140-foot ice breaking tug, home ported in New London, Conn., has been temporarily assigned to the Great Lakes region. Morro Bay will augment the other Coast Guard icebreakers that call the Great Lakes home.

Morro Bay arrived in Cleveland on Dec. 10.

“We are taking all steps necessary to ensure we are ready to provide the best level of service and keep the fleet moving through the ice,' said Cmdr. Kevin Dunn, chief of waterways management for the Ninth Coast Guard District. “We are ready to respond to emergencies and provide assistance to those who may be effected by ice or flooding.”

Coast Guard Commences Operation Taconite

CLEVELAND – The Great Lakes Coast Guard fleet has commenced Operation Taconite after ice has caused the significant slowing of traffic in the St. Marys River system and other areas in the Lakes.

Coast Guard Cutter Biscayne Bay, homeport of St. Ignace, Mich., and the Coast Guard Cutter Katmai Bay, homeport of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., will be the focus of the first ice breaking operations, with the immediate concern to break small ice formations in the Duluth-Superior area first.

The Coast Guard Cutter Alder, homeport of Duluth, Minn., is currently removing aids to navigation buoys in the lower St. Marys River with the Coast Guard Cutter Buckthorn and replacing them with winter marks.

Coast Guard Sector Detroit begins ice breaking operation early

DETROIT December 15, 2010 – The U.S. Coast Guard commenced Operation Coal Shovel today after colder temperatures caused a rapid development of ice in the eastern Great Lakes.

Originally scheduled to begin Friday, Operation Coal Shovel is the ice breaking operation for the southern part of Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair/Detroit River systems, and lakes Erie and Ontario.

Shipping's GHG emissions - what next?

Captains,

Last week's Cancun conference resulted in some resolutions. I haven't come across anything specific to greenhouse gas emissions from ships, however, December hasn't been void of other news related to ship emissions. A draft IMO regulation, a new tanker design, and a web site that calculates ship efficiencies hit the news.

RADM W

Richard Branson's Carbon War Room Takes Aim at 60,000 Ships

BY ARIEL SCHWARTZTue Dec 7, 2010

Sir Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group and visionary industrialist, has decided to keep tabs on the carbon emissions of the gargantuan shipping industry. Branson's nonprofit Carbon War Room this week announced the creation of ShippingEfficiency.org, a site that ranks approximately 60,000 container ships, tankers, bulk carriers, cargo ships, cruise ships, and ferries with efficiency ratings.

LNG Heralds New Era for Oil Shipments

December 6, 2010 | United Kingdom, London

DNV's new VLCC concept - the "Triality" (image © DNV/Making Waves)

34% less CO2, 80% less NOx, 95% less PM and SOx

Det Norske Veritas AS (DNV) has introduced a new crude oil tanker concept that is fuelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG), has a hull shape that removes the need for ballast water and will almost eliminate local air pollution. This concept vessel also recovers hundreds of tons of cargo vapours on each voyage and represents a major step towards the new environmental era for the tanker shipping industry. The concept vessel, named Triality, has been developed through a DNV innovation project.

As its name indicates, Triality fulfils three main goals: it is environmentally superior to a conventional crude oil tanker, its new solutions are feasible and based on well known technology, and it is financially attractive compared to conventional crude oil tankers operating on heavy fuel oil.

IMO takes action pre-COP16

02 Dec 2010

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has circulated proposed draft regulations to make mandatory technical and operational measures - previously proposed on a volutary basis - to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from ships on international trade.

The move follows a request by a number of States Parties to Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution by Ships (MARPOL) to circulate the draft text.

The circulation of the proposed amendments to all 169 IMO Member States and three Associate Members comes as IMO prepares to participate in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancún, Mexico (COP 16/CMP 6), where it will seek to ensure that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Parties continue to entrust IMO, which is the United Nations specialist agency with responsibility for safety and security at sea and protecting the environment from any negative impact that may derive from shipping, with developing and enacting global regulations to control GHG emissions from ships engaged in international trade.

Ill fated voyage of the S/V Raw Faith

Captains,

A wooden sailing vessel known to people on the waterfront in New England is in danger of breaking up off Nantucket, MA. The three masted S/V Raw Faith's two crewmen were picked out of the water by an USCG HH60 rescue swimmer. The fate of the S/V Raw Faith remains to be determined. She was obviously unseaworthy and sailing short-handed for the winter weather conditions off Nantucket.

RADM W

UPDATE - Coast Guard rescues two from disabled sailing vessel

BOSTON — The Coast Guard rescued two men today at about 2:20 p.m. 100 miles southeast of Nantucket, Mass., after their boat became disabled.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew is bringing both men back to Air Station Cape Cod, located in Bourne, Mass.

The crew of the 88-foot sailing vessel Raw Faith reported their situation to the Coast Guard Monday. The Coast Guard launched several aircraft and diverted two Coast Guard cutters to assist the men.

Additional survival gear was passed to the crew of the Raw Faith today. When the crew made the decision to evacuate the vessel, both men entered the water in survival suits and were hoisted on board an MH-60 helicopter.

The Coast Guard Cutter Reliance, homeported in Kittery, Maine, will remain on scene with the Raw Faith.

Three Good Samaritan cases

Captains,

This was a good week for Atlantic Area good samaritans. These three cases saved a total of 14.

RADM W

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

French containership rescues 4 yachtsmen

The French containership CMA CGM La Scala, which enrolled in the Amver system just this past October, rescued 4 French yachtsmen over 1,000 miles east southeast of Bermuda on Thursday December 2nd.

The CMA CGM La Scala, on a voyage towards the Suez Canal, was contacted by the Coast Guard in Portsmouth, Virginia and requested to divert. When the 1,000 foot container ship arrived on scene the Captain of La Scala reported he could not find anyone in the water. Rescue authorities directed the Captain and crew to search the waters for the four survivors wearing life jackets. The La Scala crew quickly found the survivors and hoisted them to safety.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Rescue of Six Cubans in a Sinking Raft

According to a statement from Royal Caribbean, the raft was spotted at approximately 5:30 p.m. Sunday, as Monarch of the Seas was sailing from Royal Caribbean's private island of CocoCay, Bahamas, back to its Port Canaveral homeport. The five men and one woman were brought aboard Monarch, where they were given food, water and medical treatment.

Per Royal Caribbean's policy, the U.S. Coast Guard was immediately notified, and at 6 a.m. Monday, the six Cubans disembarked Monarch of the Seas onto a Coast Guard vessel. According to Coast Guard Petty Officer Barry Vena, the migrants remain in custody. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will determine their fate. Sabrina Elgammal, a Coast Guard spokeswoman, told Florida Today that "If it's determined that they are migrants, then they will undergo repatriation to the country they hailed from. It is an ongoing investigation."

Four northshore residents rescued after plane goes down in Gulf

Updated: Sunday, December 05, 2010, 6:43 AM

After a small plane went down Saturday in the Gulf of Mexico 170 miles south of New Orleans, the crew of an offshore drilling unit rescued the four southeast Louisiana residents aboard, Coast Guard officials said.

The Coast Guard received a report at about 2:20 p.m. that a Malibu P46 aircraft had been forced to land in the Gulf of Mexico. A helicopter, a boat and an aircraft were all deployed to the scene, according to a Coast Guard press release.

But it was the crew of the West Sirius, an offshore drilling unit in the vicinity, that was able to recover all four people alive from a life raft and take them back to the drilling rig until the Coast Guard helicopter arrived and took the four to West Jefferson Medical Center for further evaluation.

Winners for environmental excellence

Captains,

Congratulations to this year's Benkert Award winners. VADM Mason Brown, USCG Pacific Area Commander, presented the awards, which also honor Rear Admiral 'Mike' Benkert's legacy in marine safety.

RADM W

Coast Guard honors protectors of marine environment

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday the seven recipients of the 2010 Biennial Rear Adm. William M. Benkert, Marine Environmental Protection Award for Excellence, during an awards program at the American Petroleum Institute Tanker Conference held in San Diego.

The award recognizes companies involved in marine facility or vessel operations that have demonstrated sustained excellence and outstanding achievement in protecting the marine environment. It also encourages innovations in operations, maintenance, cargo handling, refueling, training, and provides a means for award recipients to share their successful methods and techniques with others in industry.

Receiving the 2010 Biennial Rear Adm. William M. Benkert, Marine Environmental Protection Award for Excellence are:

• Alaska Chadux of Anchorage Alaska, received the Osprey award in the category of special small.
• Norwegian Cruise Lines, of Miami; Marathon Petroleum Company, of Nashville, Tenn.; and Holland America, of Seattle, received the Gold award. Norwegian Cruise Lines and Holland America were in the foreign vessel category and Marathon Petroleum Company was in the large facility category.

Ocean acidification

Captains,

RADM Titley's remarks at the Blue Planet Forum this week touched on the measurable amount of ocean acidification being observed (along with rising sea levels and climate change) that may be due to the rise in atmospheric CO2. It was good to see the Oceanographer of the Navy dealing with these challenging questions from a scientific and strategic policy perspective.

RADM W

Rear Admiral David Titley prepares to take the stage to speak about rising sea-levels and climate change during the Blue Planet Forum at the Ted Constant Center in Norfolk on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010. (Preston Gannaway | The Virginian-Pilot)

(Reuters) - Acidification of the seas linked to climate change could threaten fisheries production and is already causing the fastest shift in ocean chemistry in 65 million years, a U.N. study showed on Thursday.

Production of shellfish, such as mussels, shrimp or lobsters, could be most at risk since they will find it harder to build protective shells, according to the report issued on the sidelines of U.N. climate talks in Mexico.

It could also damage coral reefs, vital as nurseries for many commercial fish stocks.

"Ocean acidification is yet another red flag being raised, carrying planetary health warnings about the uncontrolled growth in greenhouse gas emissions," said Achim Steiner, head of the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP).

"Whether ocean acidification on its own proves to be a major or a minor challenge to the marine environment and its food chain remains to be seen," he said in a statement.

World's fish supply

Captains,

According to a University of British Columbia study published this week, the world's fish catch increased five fold between 1950 and 2005. The fish catch in 2008 was 79.5 million tons. This has been a good news story for the fishing industry and the world's food supply. But as the graphic below illustrates, the increased tonnage caught is due to expansion of the ocean areas being fished. Now, there's really nowhere else to go, except perhaps into the two polar regions.

I point this out for two reasons. First, it's reasonable to expect fish catch numbers will begin to decrease (even without international catch limits) since the productive fishing grounds have already been exploited. Second, the exploitation areas today are so vast compared to 1950, it's almost unimaginable how regulators will manage catch limits if international limits are agreed to. Nevertheless, I hope the catch tonnage can be managed so that the numbers reach a healthy sustainable level, since the alternative is loss of an incredibly important source of protein and the demise of a profession and key segment of the maritime community.

RADM W

Fisheries expansion

Scientists who mapped the expansion of fisheries say the globe has run out of new fishing areas and that current fishing methods aren't sustainable.

SOURCE: University of British Columbia | The Washington Post - Dec. 3, 2010