Maersk Line, Limited replaces MSP ships (10/1)

SIU-contracted Maersk Line, Limited has issued the following news release.

MAERSK LINE, LIMITED REPLACES MARITIME SECURITY PROGRAM SHIPS

Transfers Executed for Six Replacement Vessels;
Planning Continues for Transfer of Other Vessels

Washington, DC – October 1, 2004. Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) announced today that it has signed agreements with the Maritime Administration that will transfer six Maritime Security Program (MSP) operating agreements to modern containerships that will replace six existing MSP vessels built in the 1980s and managed by U.S. Ship Management, Inc. (USSM). The new replacement vessels are: Sealand Intrepid, Sealand Lightning, Sealand Charger, Sealand Comet, Sealand Meteor and Alva Maersk. The replacements were approved by the Maritime Administration and U.S. Transportation Command and represent a significant improvement in the ability of MLL’s U.S.-flag fleet to serve its military and commercial customers.

“This is a major milestone in MLL’s plan to enroll newer, faster and larger U.S.-flagged vessels into the maritime security program,” said Ken Gaulden, MLL’s senior vice president for marketing and government relations. “The end result will be a much improved MSP.”

MSP age limits require that older vessels be replaced in the current program before reaching 25 years of age. The first of the new replacement vessels will enter U.S. flag later this month. The replaced vessels will continue to operate under U.S. flag until their replacement begins operating under U.S. flag with a U.S. crew. The disposition of the six replaced vessels will be determined in the near future, but they are ultimately expected to be operated in Maersk’s international fleet.

All vessels will be integrated into MLL’s existing U.S.-flag fleet operations, streamlining operations and creating efficiencies in MLL’s global network of intermodal assets, including terminals, cranes, logistical platforms, computerized management systems, containers and chassis. The transfers will strengthen the MSP for military purposes and enhance the U.S.-flag presence in international shipping.

About Maersk Line, Limited
Maersk Line, Limited is based in Norfolk, Virginia, and is one of the Department of Defense’s primary shipping contractors. It has been a reliable partner for the government in peacetime and war for almost 30 years. The company operates vessels registered in the United States in full compliance with U.S. laws and regulations. It manages a fleet of nearly 50 ships in commercial and government service, including vessels requiring Top Secret security clearances. Maersk Line, Limited, a subsidiary of Denmark’s A.P. Moller/Maersk A.S., is independently controlled by a board of directors comprised entirely of U.S. citizens, with retired vice chief of naval operations and supreme allied commander, Atlantic, Admiral Harold W. Gehman, serving as Board Chairman.

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General elections for the union’s officers will take place this year. Voting will begin Nov. 1 and continue through Dec. 31.

In the case of members eligible to vote who believe they will be at sea during the Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2004 voting period, absentee ballots are available.

The SIU constitution ensures that members who are eligible to vote and who find themselves in this situation may vote. Procedures are established in the SIU constitution to safeguard the secret ballot election, including the absentee ballot process.

Here is the procedure to follow when requesting an absentee ballot:

• Make the request in writing to the SIU office of the secretary-treasurer, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746.

• Include in the request the correct address where the absentee ballot should be mailed.

• Send the request for an absentee ballot by registered or certified mail.

  The registered or certified mail envelope must be postmarked no later than midnight, Nov. 15, 2004 and must be received at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 no later than Nov. 25, 2004.

• The secretary-treasurer, after confirming eligibility, will send by registered mail, return receipt requested, to the address designated in the request, a ballot, together with an envelope marked “Ballot” and a mailing envelope no later than Nov. 30, 2004.

• Upon receiving the ballot and envelopes, vote by marking the ballot. After voting the ballot, place the ballot in the envelope marked “Ballot.” Do not write on the “Ballot” envelope.

• Place the envelope marked “Ballot” in the mailing envelope which is imprinted with the mailing address of the bank depository where all ballots are sent.

• Sign the mailing envelope on the first line of the upper left-hand corner. Print your name and book number on the second line. The mailing envelope is self-addressed and stamped.

• The mailing envelope must be postmarked no later than midnight Dec. 31, 2004 and received by the bank depository no later than Jan. 5, 2005.

Seafarers who have at least 260 days of sea time in the past 24 months are eligible to apply for full book membership in the union. This of course includes members who were in the NMU when that union merged into the SIU’s Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District (in 2001).

Members are encouraged to apply at any SIU hall. Please bring discharges or pay vouchers (or both) verifying the required sea time, along with two passport-size photos. In order to apply for full book membership, dues must be current, initiation must be paid in full and the member must be in good standing. There is a $10 fee for each application; processing typically takes two to three weeks.

Sea time for any member working on equipment that formerly was covered by an NMU agreement and now is covered by an SIU/NMU contract counts toward eligibility for application.

Members are reminded that, among other potential benefits, full book membership helps allow Seafarers the right to vote for candidates for union office and the right to run for union office. This is an election year for the SIU.

For more information, please contact your port agent. Click here for a list of SIU halls.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has announced that maritime unions and shipowners’ groups “will join together on World Maritime Day tomorrow, 30 September, to highlight the denial of shore leave to seafarers that has been an unfortunate feature of post 9/11 security measures.”

The federation and the Round Table of International Shipping Associations (BIMCO, ICS/ISF, INTERTANKO and INTERCARGO) are sending a letter outlining their concerns to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The full ITF statement and the text of the letter are available on the ITF site here

Scroll down past the second set of logos to read the letter.

The U.S. Military Sealift Command today issued the following news release concerning SIU-contracted 3PSC, LLC. The release also is available on MSC's web site here

Navy awards $5 million ship contract to small business

The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command awarded a one-year contract to 3PSC, LLC, a small business based in Cape Canaveral, Fla., for the operation and maintenance of two of nineteen large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ships, which all moved combat cargo for the global war on terrorism. Each of these government-owned, civilian-crewed ships is designed to rapidly deliver more than 300,000 square feet of equipment and supplies to deployed U.S. forces around the world.

The $5.2 million contract contains four one-year options. If all options are exercised, the total value of the contract will exceed $27.2 million. Under this contract, 3PSC will be responsible for operating, maintaining, repairing and crewing the ships with qualified U.S. civilian marine officers and crews, as well as providing ashore and afloat technical support.

The contract was awarded under MSC's Small Business Utilization Program, which gives small businesses the opportunity to compete for government contracts. As a federal agency, MSC encourages small and disadvantaged businesses to participate in its procurements, allowing them to be competitive in their field and gain experience working on large projects.

The two LMSRs under contract to 3PSC – USNS Gordon and USNS Gilliland --
are usually kept pier side in reduced operating status in Newport News, Va., with cadre crews onboard to keep the ships ready for action, should they be needed. Gordon and Gilliland are two of nine ships in MSC's 19-ship LMSR fleet dedicated to the rapid transport of combat equipment to U.S. forces around the globe. These ships can be activated and underway in 96 hours or less, each able to deliver more than six football fields of equipment to U.S. military war fighters in the field abroad.

The LMSRs have been the prime movers of combat cargo for U.S. military units involved in the global war on terrorism. An estimated 95 percent of the equipment and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces moves by sea.

MSC operates more than 110 noncombatant, civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships at sea, chart ocean bottoms, conduct undersea surveillance and strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world.

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