Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG1944
The War Shipping Administration has established new rules for medical examinations for merchant seamen. The new directive requires a complete annual physical examination for all seafarers shipping aboard WSA ships in addition to the regular signing-on physical. The WSA designated that the U.S. Department of Public Health and its facilities be in charge of implementing the new regulations. It also established that any seaman who does not pass a physical examination can appeal the rejection in accordance with the provisions of his collective bargaining agreement.
The WSA also established a requirement that seamen be required to take immunization shots when their vessels will be proceeding into pestilence areas.
1966
Earl Shepard, vice president in charge of the Atlantic Coast, has been assigned the responsibility of meeting SIU Atlantic and Gulf Coast manpower needs. The Vietnam War has put great pressure on the existing SIU manpower, but the SIU has always provided enough men to man the needed ships. The SIU, through its extensive upgrading and training programs, is able to provide a pool of manpower to meet sudden crises, such as the Vietnam call-up. The break-out of vessels from the reserve fleet has meant that more jobs are available to SIU men, and the union has effectively filled them.
1994
SIU members in the port of San Juan, P.R. last month helped pull a grounded oil tanker to safety without spilling any of the 13 million gallons of fuel oil the runaway-flag vessel was carrying. Seafarers aboard tugs operated by Crowley Maritime moved the Greek-flagged, Liberian-owned Mantinia safely into Guayanilla Bay. The 749-foot ship had been grounded in sand.
Other SIU members were standing by with oil containment booms and skimming equipment in case of a spill. SIU tankermen also were on hand in case the Mantinia needed to be lightened before the move.
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