Shoreside safety inspections

Captains,

Shipboard inspections are familiar to most mariners, but when it comes to containerized cargo, USCG conducts compliance inspections road-side. Multi-agency truck inspections are effective for both maritime and highway safety.

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NORFOLK, Va. – The Coast Guard, along with other federal, state and local agencies, conducted a joint operation at Hampton Roads port facilities Tuesday and Wednesday.

Inspections were conducted at the Norfolk International Terminal, AP Moller-Maersk facility and Portsmouth Marine Terminal. Similar joint operations were simultaneously conducted at the Maryland Port Administration's Seagirt and Dundalk Marine Terminals.

Agencies that took part in the Hampton Roads operation included: The Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, National Cargo Bureau, Virginia International Terminal Port Police VPA, Virginia Emergency Management division, Hampton Police Department, Chesapeake Police Department, Norfolk Police Department and the Norfolk Fire Department and HAZMAT team.

The operation involved the inspection of trucks as they entered and left the marine terminals with shipments from both domestic and international locations. Inspections included verifying proper truck and container documentation, structural integrity of shipping containers, licensing, customs and fuel tax compliance and hazardous material markings, packaging and segregation.

Containers overboard

Captains,

Too many containers are lost overboard. Seaboard's Intrepid lost 30 off the Florida keys. Now they are a hazard to navigation.

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MIAMI – Coast Guard crews are responding to a report Tuesday of about 30 containers that fell off the deck from Seaboard’s 544-foot container ship Intrepid, approximately 30 miles south of Key West, Fla., Monday.

Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Key West Command Center were notified at approximately 5 p.m. Monday from the master of the Intrepid stating the shipping containers had fallen in the water and were reported to have sunk.

Personnel from Seaboard shipping are determining the contents of the overboard containers. Seaboard shipping is currently working with Coast Guard Sector Miami personnel to conduct a full assessment of the vessel to ensure safe return to the Port of Miami. Once at the port, an in-depth survey will be conducted to facilitate the safe removal of the cargo.

The Coast Guard advises all mariners transiting through the area to proceed with caution and report any container sightings to the Coast Guard.