Who Let The Dogs Out?

Who let the dogs out is what the crew of the Amver participating Polish research vessel Baltica were thinking Thursday January 28th after rescuing a pooch from an ice floe in the Baltic Sea.

According to United Press International, the Baltica, an Amver participant since 2005, launched an inflatable boat when they spotted the dog floating on the ice in sub-zero temperatures. In an interview with UPI, second engineer Adam Buzinski said "It was obvious the dog was very weak." "He almost went under the surface of the water." The dog floated over 70 miles down the Vistula River in Poland before entering the Baltic Sea. The crew named him Baltic.

Search and rescue authorities typically request commercial vessels to respond to more traditional maritime or aeronautical emergencies at sea. "This incident continues the tradition of Amver ships' unselfish-willingness to save lives at sea and ensuring no call for help goes unanswered. It is heartwarming to see the effort taken by the vessel Baltica to save one of man's best friends," said Captain David McBride, Chief of the United States Coast Guard Office of Search and Rescue.

Are you ready to help when called upon? Enroll in Amver today and who knows who (or what) you may save!

Video courtesy of Sky News and YouTube

Port Security In Haiti

All of our Amver partners headed to Haiti should be aware of the recent United States Coast Guard International Port Security Program Advisory 1-10. The advisory recommends vessels headed for Haiti take several precautions including:

• Taking measures consistent with the ship's security plan equivalent to Security Level 2.
• Ensure that each access point of the ship is guarded and that the guards have total visibility of the exterior (both landside and waterside) of the vessel.
• Attempt to execute a Declaration of Security
  
• Log all security actions in the ship's log
• Report the actions taken directly to the cognizant U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port prior to arrival to the United Stats.

Photo credit: Fotolia

Related articles by Zemanta

• Repairing Port-au-Prince Harbor with Laptops and GPS (gcaptain.com)

Happy (one of several) Birthday Coast Guard

If you aren't reading Bryant's Maritime Consulting Blog you should. Dennis Bryant skillfully collects the most interesting and timely maritime news stories and packages it for early delivery. You can add the blog to your reader or subscribe by email (which is how Amver does it).

Today Dennis correctly points out that January 28th is the anniversary of the Congressional Act establishing the United States Coast Guard. Yup, the Life Saving Service was combined with Revenue Cutter Service in 1915!

Photo credit: USCG graphic

Amver Ships Brave Pacific Storm To Assist Fishing Vessel

On Sunday January 25th three Amver ships battled a major Pacific storm to assist a disabled Taiwanese fishing vessel 260 miles north of Midway Island.

Search and rescue authorities in Honolulu received the electronic distress alert for the fishing vessel Shun Fu Yu #86 and immediately sent a Coast Guard C-130 aircraft from Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii. In addition to the aircraft, rescue personnel requested the Amver vessels Zhen Hua 18, Global Spirit, and Eilhard Schulte divert to the location of the fishing vessel as well.

According to vessels in the distress area, sea conditions were treacherous with high winds and waves over 21 feet. The Captain of the Zhen Hua 18, a Saint Vincent and Grenadines flagged ship, agreed to divert despite the rough weather but was later released because his vessel was too far from the distress location and weather conditions were deteriorating.

Coast Guard rescue personnel turned to the Liberian-flagged car carrier Global Spirit to continue towards the disabled fishing vessel. The Global Spirit, managed by World Marine Company of Japan, arrived on the scene but could not rescue the crew due to the severe sea conditions and high freeboard of the car carrier. "We attempted to flash lights at the vessel to determine if they had power," said Captain Cueto of the Global Spirit. "It appeared the fishing vessel did not have power and that people were on the deck wearing life jackets."

Another cargo ship, the Bernard Schulte-managed Eilhard Schulte, diverted to assist. The Liberian-flagged cargo ship arrived on scene and reported rough seas and winds more than 35 knots. The Eilhard Schulte will remain on scene until the fishing vessel's sister ship arrives and takes the disabled vessel in tow.

Are you prepared to assist in a maritime distress? Enroll in the Amver system today and join the ranks of mariner helping mariner. You may be the difference between life and death.

Photo credit: Fotolia

Related articles by Zemanta

• Official: Rescuers reach stranded Russian ship (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Official: Russian Ship With 30 Crew 'Could Sink' (abcnews.go.com)

Welcome Wednesday!

24 ships enrolled in the Amver system in the past week, a week marked by the response to the Haitian earthquake. The Coast Guard has been busy with relief efforts and MARAD has issued an advisory to ships to help better coordinate relief efforts and international trade to Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

With 2010 off to a big start we are glad a steady stream of new ships continue to enroll in the Amver system. Why haven't you enrolled yet? What is your barrier to entry? Is it cost? Did you know the cost of sending an Amver position report is less than $1 a day? That's pretty cheap. Is it you don't want the United States Government tracking your ship? Consider this. Four Iranian ships earned Amver awards in 2009. Remember, we don't use vessel position data for anything other than search and rescue. So what's stopping you? Sign up today!

With that we welcome the following vessels:

• AQUAMARINE PROGRESS
• ANDO
• PRIMUS
• GOLDEN EAGLE
• STEVEN C
• CHEMSTAR MASA
• DILONG SPIRIT
• NAVIOUS VEGA
• ANTAEUS
• GOLAR GRAND
• LUBARA
• MOL EMPIRE
• EGRET BULKER
• DELTA OCEAN
• F.D. VITTORIO RAIOLA
• GLOBAL MERMAID
• NORGAS INNOVATION
• CSCC EUROPE
• ZOUZOU N.
• JUPITER II
• ARCTIC CHAR
• AL SADD
• PANAMANA
• NORD TRADITION

Thank you for continuing to support Amver!

Photo credit: Fotolia

Tanker Disasters Book Available

If phrases like force majeur and place of refuge excite you or you are interested in such maritime disasters as Erika, Prestige, or Castor then Eric Wiberg's new book Tanker Disasters; IMO's places of refuge and the special compensation clause deserves a place on your bookshelf (you can purchase it here). Don't dismiss this book as a snooze fest yet!

The book is an analysis of over 65 modern ship casualties and oil spills. In particular analyses the role of the Prestige and Erika on formulating a list of Places of Refuge by various coastal states, as encouraged by the International Maritime Organization. These oil spills had far-reaching consequences and led to public outrage and indirectly to the democratic downfall of the Spanish government, whose response to the Prestige sinking was deemed slow and ineffective. The government forced the disabled ship away from land, where it broke up and sank, causing some US$6 Billion in coastal and environmental damage to the Atlantic coasts of Spain and France. Written by the holder of a license in Maritime Law, experienced captain and former tanker operator, in fulfillment of a Masters in Marine Affairs degree, this paper has been requested by all the parties to a long-standing multi-billion-dollar legal action, including the classification society, the ship's flag state, and lawyers representing various governments involved. It tests hypothesis and draws conclusions, most of them contrary to the expected result, using honed academic methodologies and original data. Illustrated with black and white photographs, charts, graphs, and diagrams.

Eric will be happy to discuss his book with you over a beer at the upcoming Connecticut Maritime Association's Shipping 2010 conference in Stamford, CT March 22-24. Shucks, he may even sign your copy!

Jacket art used with permission of the author.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Cleanup under way in 462,000-gallon oil spill off Texas (cnn.com)

MARAD Advisory For Ships Headed To Haiti

In a recent notice to mariners the United States Maritime Administration, or MARAD, announced the activation of some naval ships and provided guidance for other ships coming into Haiti. Many of the vessels bringing relief supplies are part of the Amver system.

According to the advisory, shipping companies engaged in relief efforts to Haiti or the Dominican Republic, or engaged in trade with these nations, are requested to have the master provide a report to the the shipping coordination center, naval ocean processing facility, Dam Neck, VA prior to entering the reporting area.

This basic information will ensure safe passage of commercial ships and the safety of the U.S. Coast Guard and other naval forces in the area. Like Amver, this reporting request is voluntary.

You can read MARAD Advisory 2010-01 here.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Related articles by Zemanta

• MARAD Orders More Ships to Assist in Haitian Relief (gcaptain.com)
• Haiti: CG Continues Evacuations, Clears Port (gcaptain.com)