Heard @ Headquarters Archive

OSG tanker delivered by Aker Philadelphia (9/2)

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard issued the following news release and photo on Sept. 1. More information about the yard is available at www.phillyshipyard.com.

SIU members will fill the unlicensed positions aboard the Overseas Anacortes.

AKER PHILADELPHIA SHIPYARD DELIVERS TENTH PRODUCT TANKER (01.09.10)

The tenth Veteran Class MT-46 Product Tanker is the fourteenth vessel built by the shipyard

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard (Oslo: AKPS), a leading U.S. commercial shipyard, delivered to American Shipping Company (Oslo: AMSC) its tenth Veteran Class MT-46 product tanker. The 46,000 dwt vessel, named the Overseas Anacortes, will leave the shipyard in the coming days under the operation of OSG America to transport petroleum products for Tesoro. This vessel is the fourth vessel planned to be utilized by Tesoro.

Following tradition, a small naming ceremony will be held today to bless the ship and name her the Overseas Anacortes, with representatives from Tesoro, American Shipping Company, OSG America and Aker Philadelphia Shipyard all in attendance. The ship will leave Aker Philadelphia Shipyard and join its sister ships in transporting petroleum products on the West Coast.

Aker Philadelphia has two other vessels currently under construction as part of its historical build program. Both are scheduled to be delivered through spring 2011. Please visit www.akerphiladelphia.com for a photo of the Overseas Anacortes as well as updates on the two other vessels currently under construction at the yard.

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard is a leading U.S. commercial shipyard constructing vessels for operation in the Jones Act market. It possesses a state-of-the-art shipbuilding facility and has earned a reputation as the preferred provider of oceangoing merchant vessels with a track record of delivering quality ships. Aker Philadelphia Shipyard is a member of the Norwegian-based Aker family of global companies, leaders in global growth markets including energy technologies, energy resources, maritime technologies, seafood and marine biotechnology.

American Shipping Company (AMSC) owns and leases world-class quality vessels for operation between ports in the United States. When the current series of twelve tankers is completed in 2011, AMSC will own the most modern product tanker fleet in the United States; and it will be the first company in the United States to own shuttle tankers for use in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

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The Labor Department has announced the availability of a Labor Day video message from U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis.

The video, which is 8 minutes and 58 seconds long, is posted on the DOL web site at:

http://www.dol.gov/laborday/

Transcripts of the video (in English and Spanish) are posted at:

http://www.dol.gov/laborday/video-transcripts.htm

Among other comments, Secretary Solis states in the video, “And to those who want to deny workers a voice in the workplace, let me be clear: This Secretary of Labor recognizes, respects and celebrates a workers’ right to organize and bargain collectively.”

In a media advisory about the video, the DOL also reported that a new email address – talktosolis@dol.gov – has been created so that “American workers are able to reply to the secretary.”

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The following was released by the National Maritime Center on Aug. 30. The announcement is available on NMC's web site at http://www.uscg.mil/nmc/announcements/

Merchant Mariner Certificates Suitable for Framing

Since the release of the Merchant Mariner Credential final rule, which consolidated the three previously issued licenses, Merchant Mariner Documents and STCW certificates into a single passport-style Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC), mariners have been asking the Coast Guard to provide a certificate suitable for framing. The Coast Guard recognized this as an important issue to many mariners and decided to honor the mariner by providing a means for mariners to proudly display their professional credentials.

The Coast Guard received approximately 60 comments on the layout and content of the certificate. While some of the comments could not be incorporated, the site is being updated to allow the user to select and order the capacities to be printed on the certificate. The Coast Guard anticipates that this update will be available in late September.

The Merchant Mariner Certificate Suitable for Framing is presently available at: http://homeport.uscg.mil/mmcert.

Mariners who hold or have held a valid Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) can download, save, print and proudly display the new certificate.

Users are reminded that the certificate, which is to be used for display purposes only, is not authorized as a substitute for a valid MMC and will not substitute for the MMC where the requirement to post a credential exists. There is no fee for downloading the certificate.

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The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) recently honored Seafarers-contracted New York New Jersey Rail (NYNJR) by conferring the “Jake Safety Award Certificate with Distinction” for the second year in a row. The award is for any railroad that has no reportable Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) injuries or accidents during the year (2009).

The SIU represents employees at NYNJR – the unique “floating railroad” between Brooklyn, N.Y., Jersey City, N.J., and in the waters of New York Harbor.

NYNJR Managing Director Donald Hutton stated, “This subsequent award is an outstanding reflection of the team efforts of the management and employees. Most railroads earn this award operating safely on land; but our team maintains a safe railroad operation in a land and marine environment. This dual theater of operation places our marine railroad in a very unique safety classification.

“NYNJR remains committed in making sure that this great record of safety continues,” Hutton added. “Once again, the SIU members of NYNJR are thanked for the great safety record.”

According to the ASLRRA, the Jake Safety Award program started in 1995. Its creator and namesake is Lowell S. “Jake” Jacobson, a prior recipient of Railway Age magazine’s Railroader of the Year Award.

Jake started presenting these awards – and funding them with his own money – to call attention to outstanding safety achievements in the short line railroad industry, which previously had gone unrecognized. In 1999, the ASLRRA Safety Committee adopted the Jake Awards, and since then, has continued Jacobson’s legacy of rewarding and spotlighting the high safety standards of the small railroad industry.

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The Maritime Cabotage Task Force has issued the following news release, dated August 25:

U.S. MARITIME INDUSTRY COMMITTED TO CLEANING UP REMAINING GULF OIL

WASHINGTON − America’s Jones Act fleet is committed to completing the clean-up of the Gulf oil spill as swiftly and effectively as possible, the Maritime Cabotage Task Force (MCTF) pledged today. While the DeepWater Horizon well has been capped, it is estimated that 1 million barrels of oil from the spill may remain in the Gulf of Mexico.

“Though the oil well in the Gulf has been capped, the need for considerable clean-up effort remains,” said Mark Ruge, counsel to the MCTF. “The U.S. Maritime Industry is committed to completing the task of cleaning the oil and ensuring we preserve the environment and natural resources that are critical to the economy of the Gulf region.”

The American maritime industry responded to the Gulf spill in an “all hands on deck” manner. U.S. vessels involved in the clean-up include scores of the world’s largest and best equipped oil spill response vessels, dozens of technologically advanced offshore supply vessels as well as thousands of fishing boats and other vessels of opportunity.

Claims that the Jones Act, the foundation of U.S. domestic maritime policy since 1920, has hindered the ability of foreign oil skimmers to share in the clean-up effort are false. In fact, the Jones Act does not apply to and does not constrain skimming outside of three miles from shore. The vast majority of skimming has occurred near the well, which is 50 miles from the U.S. coastline. Within the three-mile limit, the federal government has exercised its authority under a separate existing law and implemented an expedited waiver process to allow capable foreign skimmers to clean up oil.

“Broadly waiving the Jones Act for the oil spill is an unnecessary distraction that would do nothing to advance the clean-up effort or improve the region’s economy,” said Eric Smith, Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, OSG, Inc., and an MCTF Board member. “Foreign oil skimmers are needed and already being utilized under a separate law and waiver process. A broad waiver for foreign vessels would only take work away from those most impacted by the disaster, American workers in the Gulf.”

The Jones Act maritime industry annually generates 500,000 jobs, contributes $100 billion in total economic output, adds $46 billion to the value of U.S. economic output, provides $29 billion in wages, and contributes $11 billion in taxes.

Maritime Cabotage Task Force was founded in 1995 to promote the U.S.-flag fleet engaged in domestic waterborne commerce. With more than 400 members, MCTF is the largest coalition ever assembled to represent the domestic segment of the U.S. Merchant Marine. Nationwide, there are more than 39,000 vessels engaged in Jones Act commerce and they annually move more than 1 billion tons of cargo and 100 million passengers. The Act has been broadly supported by every Congress and Administration since its passage in 1920 and is considered a key element in the nation’s defense capabilities. For additional information on the U.S. Maritime Cabotage Task Force, please visit http://www.mctf.com.

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