Shipboard fires still threaten passengers

Captains,

Marine safety specialists in the USCG watched the most recent passenger vessel fire with great interest just days after noting the 30th anniversary of the loss of the C/S Prinsendam due to a fire. Fortunately in both cases, the passengers and crew were all saved.

RADM W

Fire-Hit Ferry In Baltic Sea 'Is Now Safe'

8:36am UK, Monday October 11, 2010

Richard Williams, Sky News Online

A 650ft ferry set on fire in the Baltic Sea by an explosion on its upper decks is no longer at risk of sinking, officials say.

The ferry was anchored off the southern tip of the Danish island Langeland

Hundreds of passengers were rescued as firefighting ships sprayed the Lisco Gloria with water to keep it from breaking apart and spilling some 170 tons of fuel.

But Dirk Reichenbach, spokeswoman for Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies, said the blaze was now under control.

The 249 people aboard the vessel were collected by six ships, with three taken to hospitals by helicopter for treatment and another 28 suffering minor injuries.

The Lithuanian-flagged ferry was traveling from the German port of Kiel to Klaipeda.

Deepwater Horizon accident

Captains,

I was dispatched to the Deepwater Horizon response Unified Area Command post in Robert LA on April 29 and continue to serve there as Deputy Federal On-Scene Coordinator with RADM Mary Landry. Yesterday, we finally received good news that the outflow of crude oil from the severed riser is being diverted into an injection tube an flowing to a surface ship. It had been free flowing for 3 weeks since the MODU Deepwater Horizon sank about 50 miles southeast of the Mississippi Delta in the Gulf of Mexico.

I hope to post a series on the Deepwater Horizon incident and our response and investigation. This incident is likely to have far reaching consequences for maritime professionals working in the offshore, deep water drilling, oil spill response, and Gulf of Mexico fishing industries.

Let us never forget the 11 brave workers on the MODU Deepwater Horizon who lost their lives in the explosion following the uncontrolled blowout on that occurred on 19 April 2010.

RADM W