Index

Claims office reopens (4/4)

The Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan’s claims office fully reopened April 3. The department is based at the Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Maryland. The claims office also includes a membership services department.

A few snapshots from the enthusiastic reopening appear below.

To reach the claims office, call 800 252-4674.

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The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has issued the following statement concerning a new online database launched by the International Labor Organization and the International Maritime Organization.

29 March 2006. For immediate release

New ILO/IMO abandonment database, ITF comment

The ITF has welcomed today’s launch by the ILO and IMO of a publicly available database of abandoned crews (at http://www.ilo.org/dyn/seafarers/seafarersbrowse.home).

Jon Whitlow, ITF Seafarers’ Secretary said: “Abandonment is a continuing, daily scandal. We welcome this effort by the ILO and IMO to throw a little more light on the problem. Projects such as this and the excellent Equasis website make the often closed world of shipping more transparent. We hope this new database will also help wake up some of the flag States involved to their obligations.”

He continued: “We look forward to the day when the existing IMO/ILO guidelines on financial security for abandoned seafarers become a mandatory future part of the Seafarers' Bill of Rights or equivalent legislation.”

The new database is hosted by the ILO and is announced at http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/

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The U.S. Military Sealift Command has posted the following article concerning the USNS Mercy, a hospital ship crewed by members of the SIU’s Government Services Division. The release on MSC’s site is located HERE and also includes a photo.

Additionally, recent photos of Mercy crew members (and others in San Diego) were posted here on seafarers.org earlier this month at the link HERE

USNS Mercy Installing New Helo Pad, Hangar

Release Date: 3/27/2006 3:46:00 PM
By Photographer’s Mate Airman Damien E. Horvath, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Pacific

SAN DIEGO (NNS) – A new temporary helicopter shelter is being installed aboard the San Diego-based hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), to improve mission readiness.

Mercy is scheduled to embark on humanitarian assistance missions to Southeast Asia this year, and is seeking a more efficient way of transporting patients and doctors to and from the vessel.

The installation of the temporary helicopter shelter, as well as the embarkation of two H-60S helicopters, allows Mercy to work faster and save money, explained Military Sealift Command's (MSC), Michael Keller, the ship’s chief mate.

“The main reason for having the helicopters on board is to embark the medical staff - doctors, nurses, corpsmen - and put them on the beach," Keller said. "The addition of assigned helicopters enhances the hospital ship's unique capability by allowing the ship to operate flexibly without support."

Keller added that once the Navy staff is on the beach, they can demonstrate various medical procedures at local facilities and ensure future medical successes long after Mercy departs.

Mercy last deployed to the South Pacific in support of Operation Unified Assistance, the humanitarian operation in the wake of the tsunami that devastated the region in December 2004.

“Mercy helped nearly 108,000 people,” stated Keller. “Anything we can do to better prepare ourselves for an upcoming deployment is certainly a worthwhile project."

Mercy is one of two hospital ships in the Navy. Her sister ship, USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) is berthed in Baltimore.

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The SIU-crewed car carrier Jean Anne has been named Professional Mariner magazine’s Ship of the Year in the publication’s annual American Ship Review issue.

Owned by Pasha Hawaii Transport Lines and operated by Interocean Ugland Management, the vessel was praised for its impact on the Hawaii-West Coast trade lanes. It is the largest ship ever built by Halter Marine at its Pascagoula, Miss. facility and reportedly is the first pure car/truck carrier constructed to meet the requirements of the Jones Act.

The 579-foot vessel, which was christened early last year in the port of San Diego’s National City Marine Terminal, can carry cars, trucks and buses and other cargo—including household goods and construction equipment—on a roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) platform and can travel at speeds approaching 20 knots.

On its 10 cargo decks, the Jean Anne holds 4,300 automobiles, and its stern ramp is capable of handling up to 100 tons as vehicles are driven on and off. There are three hoistable decks to handle larger vehicles like buses, 18-wheel rigs or M-1 tanks, which can be lifted upward in sections to provide greater height on the deck below. Smaller vehicles are driven up a ramp leading to an opening in the ship’s side.

The Jean Anne transports cargo from San Diego to the Hawaiian Islands.

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The SIU and its affiliated United Industrial Workers (UIW) once again will participate in the annual Union Industries Show, conducted by the AFL-CIO Union Label and Service Trades Department. This year's event is scheduled to take place May 5-7 in Cleveland.

Seafarers-contracted NCL America and several UIW-contracted shops already have agreed to donate goods or services for the event, which normally draws hundreds of thousands of guests. The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education also will be represented at the show, hosted at the Cleveland I-X Center.

This is the 68th Union Industries Show, and the SIU has participated in the vast majority of them. This year's event is being promoted under the name America@Work, followed by the tag-line "100% Union-Made, American-Made Products, Services and Jobs."

Admission is free.

"This show is living proof that great career opportunities are still available in North America, and here in Cleveland. We invite people to see all the fine products and services that are still made in the U.S. by men and women earning excellent wages and benefits, with their rights and dignity protected by good union contracts," said Charles Mercer, president of the Union Label and Services Department. "America at Work showcases hundreds of successful corporations where management and labor cooperate to provide value to consumers and vital services to our communities. This show is all about the wonderful things that are possible when people work together."

Hundreds of exhibits covering more than 400,000 square feet of floor space will provide a close-up look at the wide range of union occupations and the skills and training required to perform those jobs. Show-goers can chat with skilled workers in many different crafts and trades along with the men and women who serve as instructors in dozens of union apprenticeship and training programs.

This year's show also features airline pilots and travel professionals, air traffic controllers, makeup artists, cake decorators, heavy equipment operators and more.

Show producers expect more than 250,000 visitors.

Crowds also will be drawn by the promise of more than $1 million in giveaways, including a top-of-the-line Harley Davidson motorcycle, new cars from Ford and DaimlerChrysler, groceries, tools, household goods and refrigerators, freezers, washers and dryers.

Members of the American Federation of Musicians will provide live entertainment for visitors as they participate in interactive displays and demonstrations, learning the secrets of theatrical makeup, glass engraving, sheet metal fabrication, "high iron" construction, electrical installations and other fascinating pursuits.

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