Index

Coast Guard REC update (10/3)

The U.S. Coast Guard has issued the following news release:

COAST GUARD RESTORES SERVICES TO MARINERS FROM GULF COAST WITHIN 30 DAYS OF HURRICANE KATRINA

WASHINGTON -- The Coast Guard is opening temporary offices in Morgan City, La., and Memphis, Tenn., to provide services to mariners affected by the closure of the Regional Examination Center in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. The Morgan City office, now open, accepts completed applications and offers fingerprinting services, identity verification, and administration of oaths for mariners.

On Oct. 3, the Coast Guard will open a temporary full-service REC in Memphis, staffed by employees from the REC in New Orleans that flooded after Katrina. This office will be dedicated to restoring services to mariners from the Gulf Coast who were affected by Katrina.

These new offices are being opened to quickly restore services to mariners from the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. When recovery efforts in New Orleans permit unlimited entry into the city, a new office will open in the New Orleans area.

In a further effort to assist mariners affected by Hurricane Katrina, the Commandant of the Coast Guard has waived user fees for duplicate credentials to replace those lost as a result of the hurricane. The waiver only applies to mariners whose homes of record are in Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama and who apply for a duplicate credential before Feb. 28, 2006. The duplicate document will show the same qualifications and bear the same expiration date as the original credential. All other regulatory requirements for issuance of a duplicate credential remain in effect. Mariners meeting the criteria who have already paid the user fee for a duplicate credential may apply to the issuing REC for a refund. A notice of the above waiver will be published in the Federal Register.

The Morgan City office is located at 800 David Dr., Morgan City, La., 70380. It is open weekdays from 9:30 to 4:00. Applicants may reach the office by phone at (985) 380-5150 or by fax at (985) 380-5379.

The Memphis office is located at 200 Jefferson Ave., Suite 1301, Memphis, Tenn., 38103 and may be contacted by phone at (901) 544-3941 (select "1" for New Orleans REC) or by fax at (901) 544-3172. The office will be open weekdays from 8:00 to 4:00 and closed from noon to 1:00 (2:00 on Wednesday). The office will also be closed on the last Wednesday of each month. Both offices will be closed on all federal holidays.

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SIU-contracted American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier (ARC) on Sept. 29 welcomed three additional vessels into its U.S.-flag fleet during a shipboard ceremony in Baltimore.

The car carriers Courage, Honor and Integrity were reflagged under the Stars and Stripes, boosting ARC’s American-flag fleet to eight vessels. The ceremony took place on the Integrity.

All three vessels are enrolled in the U.S. Maritime Security Program.

General Norton Schwartz, commander, U.S. Transportation Command, delivered the keynote address. Also addressing the crowd of approximately 300 people were SIU President Michael Sacco; General John Handy, who recently retired as commander of TRANSCOM; and ARC President and CEO Raymond Ebeling.

“The increase in fleet size plays a critical role in expanding our U.S. mariner base,” noted General Schwartz.

General Handy pointed out that the job expansion for American seafarers “means that when we need seamen to man our military support ships, they will be there.”

Ebeling cited several key reasons why the MSP continues to work so well for America. He touched on the excellent working relationship between labor, business and government. He also credited the crew members and SIU President Sacco, whom he described as “one of the fathers of the Maritime Security Program.”

Sacco commended the other speakers for their support of the U.S. Merchant Marine. He added that the fleet expansion stood out because “what’s good for the U.S.-flag fleet is good for the United States of America.”

Complete coverage of the ceremony will be featured in the November issue of the Seafarers LOG. Included among the photos accompanying this article are images of Seafarers who compose part of the Integrity crew.

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The U.S. Coast Guard has issued the following press release concerning newly revised STCW certificates issued by the agency. The full release appears below and also is available on the Coast Guard web site here

Coast Guard begins using new mariner certification form that includes fraud-resistant features

WASHINGTON – The Coast Guard began issuing a newly revised U.S. STCW Endorsement, Form CG-5611 (Rev. 01-05), yesterday to qualified licensed and unlicensed merchant mariners. Over 59,000 U.S. merchant mariners hold a valid STCW endorsement. Mariners’ existing endorsements will be replaced at the time of their scheduled expiration or when their qualifications are upgraded. The new document contains significant security and accountability enhancements.

The design is based on the U.S. Merchant Marine Officer License (Form CG-2849) and advice by senior intelligence officers at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Forensics Document Laboratory for cost-effective, fraud-resistant features; and the Production and Design Team of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP). The revised U.S. STCW Endorsement exceeds International Maritime Organization standards on anti-fraud measures and forgery prevention features for seafarers’ certificates.

Additionally, a revised U.S. STCW Endorsement information sheet was designed and printed by the BEP and has been distributed domestically to Regional Exam Centers (RECs), inspectors, unions and industry; and internationally to the IMO and foreign national maritime administrations. It was also printed as a "center-fold" in the Summer 2005 issue of the Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council. The magazine’s total distribution is over 10,000 copies.

This effort continues security enhancements to merchant mariner credentials begun in 2002 with the U.S. Merchant Marine Officer License and in 2003 with the Merchant Mariner's Document.

A copy of the Revised U.S. STCW Endorsement Information Sheet can be obtained by registering for a free subscription on the USCG Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/. It is posted on the National Maritime Center’s website, http://www.uscg.mil/stcw. Mariners with additional questions may contact their nearest REC or Mr. Jon Furukawa at (202) 493-1014 or jfurukawa@ballston.uscg.mil.

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The U.S. Military Sealift Command has issued the following news release concerning the Seafarers-crewed USNS Bellatrix. The release appears below and also is available on MSC’s web site here

Mariners build shelters for New Orleans pets

Mariners from the U.S. Navy cargo ship USNS Bellatrix helped Louisiana veterinarians save orphaned pets in New Orleans’ St. Bernard parish, an area devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The 946-foot fast sealift ship, operated by the Navy’s Military Sealift Command, returned to Louisiana soon after Katrina to join relief efforts.

“Most of my crew is from this area,” said Capt. William Nehring, Bellatrix's master. “They couldn’t wait to get back here and help out.”

In their spare time, the 27 civilian mariners who crew Bellatrix used various supplies and spare parts to build cages and shelters for more than 300 cats and dogs separated from their owners. Mariners volunteered to walk and groom the homeless pets.

The ship also took on relief workers – 17 U.S. Marines from the 4th Civil Affairs Group, based in Washington, D.C., two Navy doctors and 10 local veterinarians and vet assistants.

When the outer bands of Hurricane Rita struck the New Orleans area Sept. 24, Bellatrix housed five sick canines in the ship’s massive cargo hold. The homeless pets were sheltered from the wind and rain and received medical attention from vets during the storm.

USNS Bellatrix is a noncombatant, government-owned ship crewed by U.S. mariners who work for a private company under contract to MSC. The ship is usually kept in reduced operating status in Violet, La., with a cadre crew aboard that keeps the ship ready to get underway in four days when needed. Bellatrix carried 135,000 square feet of Humvees, tanks and other combat cargo returning from Iraq for the Army’s 42nd Infantry Division in February.

MSC operates 120 noncombatant, civilian-crewed ships that move combat cargo for U.S. forces, replenish U.S. Navy ships at sea, chart ocean bottoms and strategically preposition equipment and supplies at sea around the world.

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The SIU hall in Houston reopened this morning after sustaining minimal damage from Hurricane Rita. The hall had been closed late last week as a precaution.

Also, the U.S. Maritime Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard, respectively, recently issued news releases concerning their responses to the most recent hurricane.

The MarAd release is available by clicking here

The Coast Guard release is available by clicking here

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