Bryant, Dennis
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Opinion: Shame on Port States for the Treatment of Seafarers
Port states benefit greatly from the vessels that call at their ports, loading and unloading cargoes with great efficiency and speed. The items manufactured in those states and sold overseas keep many of their citizens gainfully employed. The items imported supply stock for the stores of their nation and provide goods for their citizens. The physical ports utilized by the vessels are employment magnets…
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Marine Salvage and SMFF Regulations
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA, often called the Clean Water Act), as amended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), provides:If a discharge, or a substantial threat of a discharge, of oil or a hazardous substance from a vessel, offshore facility, or onshore facility is of such a size or character as to be a substantial threat to the public health or welfare of the United States (including but not limited to fish…
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This Day in Maritime History: RMS Titanic Strikes Iceberg
Late on the night of April 14, 1912, the “unsinkable” passenger ship RMS Titanic, on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, struck an iceberg. It sank about three hours later, at about 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912. Of the 2,224 persons on board, 1,514 lost their lives.In the century that followed, ships are better-constructed. They carry more lifeboat capacity than there are persons on board. They have radios for instant communication with shore and with other ships.
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The Maritime Industry and COVID-19
The COVID-19 epidemic, which was first called the novel Coronavirus and then the 2019-nCoV, is spreading fast around the world. It is more contagious than the 2002 SARS outbreak, its cousin, but not as lethal. Unfortunately, its impact on the maritime community seems to already be greater than that of SARS.Ships are being required to submit Maritime Declarations of Health prior to arrival. Ships that…
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Risk & Reward of The Internet of (Maritime) Things
The Internet of Maritime Things (IoMT) is coming! Start planning now.The Internet of Things (IoT) is already with us. You can get a doorbell camera that allows you to see on your smartphone who is at or approaching your front door. You can also get a refrigerator that keeps track of items inside and will advise you when you are running low (maybe on beer). It can also automatically place orders with your local grocery store for replenishment.
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Maritime Recordkeeping is Serious Business
In addition to fuel, modern ships also run on paper or their electronic equivalent. Vessels are required to keep written or electronic records of many things – and the list is growing.There is the traditional Ship’s Log, which records the vessel’s position, course, speed, weather, and unusual events to name a few. The Oil Record Book (ORB) has been around for a long time and tracks all movement of oil throughout the vessel…
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Maritime Cyber Alert
For some years now, the maritime sector has experienced breaches of various computer and information technology (IT) systems. Primarily, these breaches have been collateral damage. The maritime sector has almost never been the intended target. That does not mean that the damage has been minor. In June 2017, A.P. Moller-Maersk suffered a major cyber-attack. The malware had been designed by Russian hackers to disrupt the Ukrainian power sector.
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Maritime Fatigue: Just another band aid?
On 24 January, the IMO issued updated guidelines on fatigue. This is just another in a long series of band aids that attempt to cover over the problem without providing a solution. Fatigue is a long-standing weakness in the maritime industry. It is recognized as a major or contributing causal factor in the majority of maritime casualties. As is well-known, fatigue is caused by a lack of sleep and relaxation. These, in turn, are the result of too few people being tasked with too much work.
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Proposed Deepwater Port in Gulf of Mexico
The Maritime Administration (MARAD) issued a notice stating that a public scoping meeting will be held on 20 March in Lake Jackson, Texas to receive comments on the proposed deepwater port (DWP) in the Gulf of Mexico to be constructed and operated by SPOT Terminal Services LLC. Written comments must be received by 5 April. 84 Fed. Reg. 8401 (3/7/19) https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-03-07/pdf/2019-04101.pdf(Bryant's Maritime Newsletter)
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Analysis: Government Proposal 'Ill-informed' on Maritime Matters
On June 22, 2018, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a federal government reorganization proposal entitled “Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century”. The 132-page document is subtitled ‘Reform Plan and Reorganization Recommendations’. I have not read the entire report, but I have examined those portions that relate to maritime issues. I find those portions to be uniformly ill-advised.Associate Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
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Resilience & the Maritime Industry
Resilience is defined generally as the ability to recover quickly from setbacks. Setbacks are inevitable. Individuals and entities are best judged by their resilience – their ability to get back on track after experiencing a reversal. The best way to recover from a setback is to anticipate the setback in advance and plan a recovery strategy. At the most basic level, this is something we do all the time.
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The Treatment of Foreign Seafarers
The United States effectively treats foreign seafarers more harshly than any other group that enters the country without breaking the law. The general rule is that all persons who are not U.S. nationals or permanent residents must have a visa to enter the United States. Persons desiring to become U.S. citizens or permanent residents must obtain an immigrant visa. Most other persons desiring to enter the United States for a limited period of time must obtain a nonimmigrant visa.
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GPS Spoofing and the Potential Perils to Ships at Sea
Simple annoyance or potential security threat? Spoof is defined as “a hoax or swindle.” In the world of electronic networks, a spoofing attack is a situation in which one program successfully masquerades as another by falsifying data and thereby gaining an improper advantage. We have all heard of, and possibly fallen victim to, fraudulent card readers (often inserted on self-service fuel pumps). The fraudulent card readers copy security information from the credit card…
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Maritime Labor Convention 2006 and the U.S.
The Maritime Labor Convention 2006, sponsored by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and better known as MLC 2006, will enter into force on August 20, 2013. It has been ratified by 35 nations as of the date of the preparation of this article, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Panama, Singapore and Spain. The United States has not ratified MLC 2006, and it is unclear whether it ever will – not so much as of objection to its various provisions, but more due to sheer inertia.
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OFAC Iranian Financial Sanction Update
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has amended the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations to implement various statutory changes. The amendments come into effect immediately. 78 Fed. Reg. 16403 Story courtesy of www.brymar-consulting.com.
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DOI Assess 2012 Arctic Drilling
The Department of the Interior (DOI) issued a press release stating that the assessment of Shell’s 2012 Arctic operations has been completed. The Report found that Shell entered the 2012 drilling season without having finalized key components of the program and did not maintain strong, direct oversight of its key contractors. Story courtesy of www.brymar-consulting.com.
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Places of Refuge
The concept of force majeure has been broadly accepted since mariners initially encountered the perils of the sea. Persons and governments ashore have been obligated, at least by natural law, to accept and succor those in distress at sea. Concomitant with force majeure is the notion of providing a ship in distress with a place or port of refuge. A place of refuge is where a ship could go to avoid or ameliorate the peril and then depart at the earliest opportunity.
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Shipping and Sanctions: What You Need to Know
Economic sanctions, imposed by national and international governments for a variety of political reasons, can be snare traps for unsuspecting maritime enterprises. For the maritime industry, port calls in any nation against which sanctions have been imposed should be undertaken with caution. As this article illustrates, there are additional ways to run afoul of economic sanctions, but trading in a prohibited manner with a sanctioned nation is the most common.
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Arctic Shield 2012: USCG Mounts Historic Arctic Effort
While it seems that half the world is monitoring the oil and gas exploration activities of Royal Dutch Shell (Shell Oil) on the United States outer continental shelf (OCS) in waters of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off the north coast of Alaska, another historic event is occurring in those same waters: Arctic Shield 2012. The US Coast Guard is assembling its largest ever effort in the Arctic during the period July through October 2012.
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North American Emission Rules for Ships to Enter Force
On 1 August 2012, enforcement of the North American Emissions Control Area (ECA) is due to commence. This third and largest ECA (the other two encompass the North Sea and the Baltic Sea areas) was first proposed by Canada and the United States on 27 March 2009. France quickly joined in on behalf of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, its territory off the Atlantic coast of Canada. The proposal was approved…
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