The U.S. Coast Guard issued the following notice on Feb. 9. A related announcement from late January is available HERE UPDATE: Hearing set for Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation into EL FARO sinking The U.S. Coast Guard will conduct a public Marine Board of Investigation hearing into the…
Feb
10
Feb
10
The SIU was saddened to learn of the passing earlier this week of Gen. Duane Cassidy, USAF (Retired). According to news reports, Cassidy died Feb. 8 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at age 82 A longtime friend of the SIU and an ardent backer of the entire U.S. Merchant…
Feb
10
The U.S. Maritime Administration has issued the following advisory: Advisory No: 2016-01 Date Issued: FEB 10, 2016 To: ALL OPERATORS OF U.S. FLAG, EFFECTIVE U.S. CONTROLLED VESSELS, U.S. MERCHANT MARINERS AND OTHER MARITIME INTERESTS Subject: ZIKA VIRUS PRECAUTIONS 1. U.S.-FLAG OPERATORS ARE REQUESTED TO FORWARD THIS ADVISORY TO THEIR SHIPS…
Feb
05
SIU-Contracted Crowley Maritime issued the following news release on February 5. Crowley Christens Second of Four, Newly Built, LNG-Ready Product Tankers for Use in U.S. Coastwise Trade As part of the company's industry-leading, vessel build program, Crowley Maritime Corp. christened the second of four new, Jones Act product tankers yesterday at the South…
Feb
05
The Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center issued the following update on Feb. 5. To access it (in PDF format) directly on the NMC website, click HERE. Updates to Pay.gov Merchant Mariner User Fee Webpage On February 5, 2016, Pay.gov released a significant update to the Merchant Mariner User Fee Payment…
Feb
05
The International Transport Workers’ Federation, to which the SIU is affiliated, issued the following news release on Feb. 5. David Heindel, quoted in the release, is the SIU’s secretary-treasurer in addition to chairing the ITF Seafarers’ Section. ITF: Raid on CSL Melbourne a ‘National Error’ Commenting on the raid on…
Feb
02
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued the following news release on February 1. WHO statement on the first meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR 2005) Emergency Committee on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations The first meeting of the Emergency Committee (EC) convened…
Feb
01
February 2016The head of Alaska Tanker Company (ATC) recently announced a significant safety milestone – and he credited the SIU for helping achieve it. In a written message late last year, Anil Mathur, CEO of Seafarers-contracted ATC, reported that the company’s employees had completed 20 million man-hours – spanning…
Feb
01
February 2016The Export-Import Bank, commonly called Ex-Im, has released its Fiscal Year 2015 Annual Report highlighting its support of more than $17 billion in U.S. exports and an estimated 109,000 American jobs. The bank also announced it has transferred $431.6 million in deficit-reducing receipts to the U.S. Treasury’s General…
Feb
01
February 2016Jones Act Vessel Independence Means More Jobs for SIU Members Even before ringing in the new year, Seafarers had cause for celebration as General Dynamics NASSCO launched the first ship in a series of ECO Class tankers for the SEA-Vista fleet. A ceremony took place Dec. 12 at…