CCGS Ann Harvey 

Seattle March 27, 2007 - The Coast Guard is responding to a call of distress from two people aboard a damaged fishing vessel approximately 35 miles west of Grays Harbor today.

The master of the 58-foot fishing vessel Flamingo, homeported in Grays Harbor, Wash., contacted the Coast Guard at approximately 1:15 p.m. to report he had lost the ship's boom and the vessel's mast was broken.

The Coast Guard Cutter Monsoon, based in San Diego, was on patrol in the area and was diverted to the scene. A small boat crew from Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor was launched and is en route to the scene. An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Astoria launched and reported that the vessel was trailing a sheen in the water.

Charlottesville VA March 27, 2007 - Northrop Grumman Corporation has signed a contract with Norwegian shipowner Odfjell ASA to install new radars and other navigation systems on its fleet of parcel tankers.

The equipment will be supplied and installed by Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit through its worldwide network of service locations.

Initial orders under the contract have been placed for 20 Sperry Marine VisionMaster FT radars to be fitted on ten Odfjell ships. The contract also provides options for additional radar purchases for other ships in the fleet, as well as orders for retrofit of simplified voyage data recorders and electronic chart display and information systems on existing ships.

Charlottesville VA March 27, 2007 - Northrop Grumman Corporation has completed successful demonstration trials of a new, integrated multi-sensor situational awareness, surveillance and response system designed to counter pirate or terrorist attacks.

Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit conducted the live demonstrations in January and February 2007 at the Virginia Advanced Shipbuilding and Carrier Integration Center (VASCIC) on the waterfront at Newport News. US Navy and commercial maritime customers observed the event. During the trials, the system successfully detected, tracked and intercepted two surface craft under several different high- and low-speed scenarios designed to replicate potential real-world maritime threats.

The Sperry Marine ShipSentry system integrates shipboard surveillance systems, including search radars, electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) cameras, spotlights and laser target locators, with the ship’s bridge navigation and electronic charting systems. A target of interest that violates pre-established guard zones is acquired and displayed, along with automatic identification system data, on the watchstander’s screen, integrated with the ship’s installed Electronic Chart Display and Information System-Navy (ECDIS-N) and radars. The system operator can automatically slew the EO/IR and other sensors and effectors to classify, identify and engage the threat. Imagery is also recorded to facilitate training and event analysis.

The ShipSentry system is based on commercial off-the-shelf technology and leverages the Navy’s ECDIS-N and radar programs of record.

"The ShipSentry technology is designed to support standard tactics for layered defense in depth under various rules of engagement," said Nolasco DaCunha, vice president of Sperry Marine. "The system architecture is open-ended and scalable to meet the requirements of the Navy as well as passenger and cargo ships. The fact that it was demonstrated in a land-based configuration demonstrates its applicability to shoreside applications as well."

"We can provide radars, cameras or effectors if these devices are not already installed. If they are available, ShipSentry can make them work as a single system, controllable by one or more operators, depending on the threat level," DaCunha added. "The demonstration trials at Newport News clearly revealed how a highly-integrated suite of sensors and software can dramatically improve situational awareness and enable faster response times to take appropriate actions in countering potential threats."

Sperry will apply the positive feedback from customers witnessing the trial this month, while continuing development of the shipboard protection technology for both commercial and military applications, according to DaCunha.

Dublin March 28, 2007 - Blue Ocean Wireless, an Irish company focused on expanding communication capability in the merchant maritime sector, today announced the launch of the world’s first GSM network for merchant maritime vessels.

Blue Ocean Wireless is a joint venture between private investment firm, Claret Capital, and Irish technology communications company, Altobridge. Blue Ocean Wireless’ service will, for the first time, enable seafarers to use their existing mobile phones on board vessels in deep ocean water in exactly same way that they would do in port or on land. Users of the service will be able to make and receive voice calls, send and receive SMS text and email messages and browse the Internet using their existing handset. The service will be directed at more than one million seafarers serving as crew on more than 40,000 merchant ships in service worldwide.

Blue Ocean Wireless will, together with Inmarsat, the leading global satellite communications service provider, and a leading mobile network operator, provide a global GSM mobile service specifically focused on crewmembers of merchant ships. This technology can also be applied to Superyachts and other merchant vessels.

Blue Ocean Wireless will also make it possible for ship owners, insurers and Government authorities, as well as shipping suppliers and customers, to track individual shipping containers on board merchant vessels as they traverse the globe using RFID technology. Global logistics managers will be able to independently and reliably monitor, from home base, the status of their shipment containers at all times. This will include the location of the container and other aspects of its condition such as temperature, humidity and, particularly important for security, whether it had been opened or otherwise interfered with.

Domhnal Slattery, Chairman of Blue Ocean Wireless commented "We are delighted to announce the launch of this service today. We have conducted extensive full-scale ocean trials of the system, which have confirmed not only the robustness of the product but also the level of potential demand. The ability to communicate with friends and families is immensely important to seafarers given the length of time they are obliged to spend away from home. The reaction from the crews of the ships on which we conducted the trials was tremendously positive and we are confident that there will be a strong market for the product."

He concluded "We are extremely pleased to have Inmarsat as a key partner in this process because of its remarkable track record in delivering communications and safety solutions to the marine sector along with Altobridge whose unique technology is a key enabler for this product. No other technology can currently provide cost-effective communication for small users groups such as the crew complements on merchant ships. We believe the roll-out of Blue Ocean Wireless’ system will be transformational for the lives of over one million seafarers around the globe."

The Altobridge patent pending unique technology, the Aeronautical & Maritime Gateway Platform enables cellular coverage on ships at sea, at affordable rates. The onboard cellular network connects back to the land based cellular network via the ships existing Inmarsat satellite system.

The Altobridge ground breaking AM Gateway Platform architecture is unique in that it does not necessitate permanent satellite connections. The satellite connection is on demand, subject to end user interaction. The equipment footprint is small and compact; in fact the radio base station itself is the smallest commercial radio base station in the world, based on "nano" technology. Installation can be carried out by traditional maritime installation and commissioning engineers.

Spring Harbour Breakout on the Lower North Shore 

Quebec City PQ March 28, 2007 - The Canadian Coast Guard would like to notify local residents and those using the shores of the Lower North Shore that it intends to begin its spring harbour breakout operations, from Harrington Harbour to Blanc-Sablon, on or about April 4th.

The CCGS Des Groseilliers and Ann Harvey will break ice in Harrington Harbour, Tête-à-la-Baleine, La Tabatière, Saint-Augustin and Blanc-Sablon.

Owners of any facilities on the ice should move them safely ashore. The Coast Guard strongly recommends that pedestrians, fishers and snowmobilers leave the ice when they notice the icebreakers in the immediate vicinity. The ice may move, and this may create a real danger for anyone in the area of these vessels.

The Des Groseilliers and Ann Harvey have a red hull with a transverse white band and a white funnel bearing a maple leaf.

Vancouver March 28, 2007 - Polaris Minerals Corporation is pleased to announce that the first Panamax-class bulk freighter will begin loading at the Orca Quarry on March 31, 2007 for shipment to San Francisco Bay. This announcement complements the first load of sand and gravel sold from the Orca Quarry, shipped by barge to the Vancouver area on March 22, 2007.

The CSL Acadian, a new generation 79,000 ton capacity self-discharging vessel operated by CSL International Inc., will begin loading at Orca Quarry on March 31, 2007 and is expected to arrive in San Francisco Bay, on April 3, 2007. After anchoring at common anchorage No.9, the ship will be met by a fleet of barges operated by, and on behalf of, Shamrock Materials, Inc. The ship will off-load approximately 33,000 tons of sand and gravel into the barges, which will be towed to Shamrock's receiving terminal, located on the Petaluma River at Petaluma. Shamrock is a leading San Francisco Bay Area ready-mix concrete producer, and has a long term, exclusive supply and distribution agreement for Orca Quarry products within the Northern Bay area.

Mr. Marco Romero, President and CEO of Polaris, said: "I am pleased to announce the commencement of shipments of sand and gravel from the Orca Quarry to California. It is fitting that this shipment will meet the requirements of our first customer, Shamrock Materials, which has been a supporter of our business plan since 2005. Shamrock has invested in an extremely efficient marine terminal dedicated to receiving sand and gravel from the Orca Quarry for decades to come. With each shipment of our high quality materials, we will be repaying that trust."

After lightering onto Shamrock's barges, the partially laden vessel will proceed to another customer's terminal in the Bay Area to off-load the remainder of its cargo.

Mr. Romero continued: "While our initial business plan was built around shipping construction aggregates into California using Panamax vessels, we are pleased to have commenced deliveries to our first customer in the Vancouver ready-mix concrete market. On March 22 we loaded sand and gravel into our customer's barges, which were the first sales under a five year supply agreement."

Coast Guard Responds to Grounded Vessel

Tampa March 27, 2007 - The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the grounding of a 378-foot Panamanian-flagged freight vessel that happened about 400 yards east of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay after the the vessel reportedly lost main propulsion at about 5 a.m. today.

Two 25-foot response boats and one 41-foot boat from Sector St. Petersburg responded to the scene and the Coast Guard Captain of the Port established a safety zone restricting vessel traffic in the main shipping channel of Tampa Bay. Vessel traffic from Port Manatee to Eggmont Channel is closed to inbound and outbound vessel traffic. Vessels traveling north of Port Manatee are not affected by the safety zone. Additionally a 100-yard safety zone is in place around the Antilles II.

No injuries, pollution or damage to the bridge were reported in conjunction with the incident. The Antilles II is reported to have a cargo of 10,000 metric tons of phosphate and 78 metric tons of fuel and 20 liters of lube oil. The ocean bottom in the area where the Antilles II grounded is reported to consist of limestone, oyster beds and mud.

Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg Command Center received a call at about 5 a.m. from a Cooperative Vessel Traffic System (CVTS) watchstander, reporting that the Antilles II was aground south of the shipping channel.

Coast Guard marine inspectors and investigators will investigate the incident to determine the causes of the grounding.

"While not a routine event, the loss of power by vessels is an event we and our partner agencies have planned and trained for," said Captain Joseph Servideo, commander of Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg.

"Today's joint response demonstrates the benefits of that planning and training."

Aker American Shipping expands exclusive cooperation with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard

Philadelphia March 28, 2007 - Aker American Shipping has, through its subsidiary Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, Inc., signed an agreement with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. Ltd. extending the current relationship to include additional tankers as well as containerships. This further solidifies the strong partnership between Aker American Shipping, a leading Jones Act ship owner, and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, a leading global shipbuilder.

Under an agreement signed in 2004, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) has been providing design and procurement services for a series of ten 46,000 dwt tankers currently being constructed at Aker American’s shipyard in Philadelphia. The new agreement covers an additional six tankers, which mirrors an agreement in principle for additional charters with Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (OSG) that Aker American Shipping announced in February 2007, as well as exclusive rights for containerships.

"With our first product tanker delivered and four more already under construction, our shipyard is planning for the future. We have agreements in place for a series of up to 16 product tankers and are preparing for the possibility of returning to another arena where we have proven ourselves - container vessels. As with the product tankers, we will continue to apply flexibility and creativity in vessel ownership," said Dave Meehan, President and CEO of Aker American Shipping. "Hyundai Mipo Dockyard has been an excellent partner and is a premier provider of vessels in their market. Likewise, Aker American Shipping is determined to become a premier player in the U.S. Jones Act market, and, working together, we are strengthening both the Jones Act market and shipbuilding expertise in the United States."

Mr. Y.H. Bae, Executive Vice President at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, commented, "We have been impressed by Aker Philadelphia Shipyard’s capabilities over the past two years. They are leaders in constructing vessels to meet the needs of the U.S. Jones Act market, with a steady record of accomplishments. The relationship between Aker and Hyundai is very important to us and we view the successes of Aker Philadelphia Shipyard as our own successes."

Fremantle March 27, 2007 - In May 2006 Transas Marine Pacific working in partnership with Transas Marine UK and our local distributor (Electrotech Australia) completed latest VTS installation in Australia – at the Port of Fremantle.

Transas’ first VTS system in Australia was installed in 2000 at Port Headland. Since then Transas and Electrotech Australia have maintained close contact with all ports in Australia and this, along with the quality, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of our VTS systems, resulted in this latest contract.

Fremantle Ports conducted a comprehensive review of all the systems available on the market, and decided that the Transas Navi-Monitor system the most cost-effective available. The new system includes the latest ORS3 Radar Processor system for maximum target detection and tracking performance, along with the tried-and-tested Navi-Monitor VTS software. It also includes an additional standalone Navi-Monitor VTS Playback Station, a Navi-Monitor Remote Terminal and VTS Internet Access Server.

Commenting on the contract, Captain Ashley McDonald said: "I want to take this opportunity to thank Electrotech [and Transas] for their tireless work in seeing a successful installation and commissioning achieved at Fremantle Ports. The work involved in getting it right – particularly with the Kwinana site – was significant and I believe they were very professional in all their dealings with the port. This is a view shared by our supply staff, our engineers and our end users."

Referring to the installation, commissioning and training, Captain McDonald added: "I was most impressed with the level of commitment shown by Electrotech and Transas in getting the system finely tuned and set up according to our needs. It is rare to see the standard of customer service shown from the beginning of the tender process right through to commissioning."

The Fremantle upgrade was one of a number of successful VTS projects for Transas in Australia and New Zealand in 2006/2007. Other happy customers include the Port of Auckland and Picton Harbour (Marlborough).

In July 2006 Transas and our partner in New Zealand, Electronic Navigation Limited, successfully completed the upgrade of the VTS in the Port of Auckland (originally installed in 2000). The new state-of-the art system now includes the latest Navi-Harbour software, two radar systems with associated equipment (one is a remote site) and an impressive looking operator workstation with four VTS displays. The Captain John Barker the Senior Pilot said of the new system "From day one the Port of Auckland has been impressed with the System, particularly the target tracking performance. I have no hesitation in recommending Transas Navi-Harbour systems to any port/harbour planning to procure a VTS or vessel monitoring system in the future".

In December 2006 Transas UK installed a Navi-Harbour system in the Port of Picton. A comprehensive and independent risk assessment of port operations was undertaken by Marico Marine between 2005-2006. It concluded that a modern vessel monitoring system was needed to reduce the risk of serious accidents involving ferries and other vessels transiting the difficult waters between the Port of Picton and the Port of Wellington. The Transas system integrates data from four AIS receivers strategically located around the area, and presents the Port Authority with valuable information that they use to enhance navigational safety. Over the next few years it is anticipated that the system will expand to include multiple radars and other sensors such CCTV.

Boston March 28, 2007 - A Coast Guard Station Southwest Harbor boat crew rescued two fishermen from a life raft after their vessel sank in Frenchman's Bay, Maine, near Egg Rock around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. The vessel's master was detained after failing drug and alcohol tests.

Rescued were Malcolm Dow, vessel operator, and Tom Trip, crewmember of the fishing vessel Luke & Jodi, home ported in Jonesport, Maine.

An emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) transmitted a distress signal from the Luke & Jodi to the Coast Guard around 10:19 p.m. Tuesday. The Coast Guard contacted the vessel's owner, who indicated the vessel was moored. After the EPIRB continued to signal, the Coast Guard determined the vessel was actually underway. Around 11 p.m., Coast Guard Sector Northern New England issued an urgent marine information broadcast alerting boaters of a possible vessel in distress as Coast Guard Station Southwest Harbor launched a 47-foot motor life boat and Air Station Cape Cod launched an HU-25 Falcon Jet.

The boat crew arrived on-scene about 11:30 p.m. as the vessel sank and found two strobe lights from the floating EPIRBs. The boat crew then rescued Dow and Trip, both in their survivals suits, from a life raft. The survivors and equipment were transported to Station Southwest Harbor. Both men, from Trenton, Maine, were evaluated by emergency medical personnel and did not require further medical care.

Alcohol and drug tests were administered by Maine Marine Patrol officers at the Bar Harbor Police Department. Dow, the boat operator, failed both tests and had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit of .04 for commercial vessel operators. Dow was arrested by the Maine Marine Patrol.

This rescue highlights the critical importance of fishing vessel safety gear. The crew's proper use of this equipment significantly contributed to their surviving this sinking.

Washington March 28, 2007 - The National Transportation Safety Board reaches its 40th anniversary on April 1.

The NTSB opened its doors April 1, 1967. On that day, the Bureau of Safety was removed from the Civil Aeronautics Board and became the foundation for the new accident investigation agency. Since then, the NTSB has investigated about 130,000 aviation accidents and thousands of accidents in the other modes of transportation: highway, rail, marine and pipeline.

"I have often said that the NTSB is one of the best bargains in government," NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said. "With fewer than 400 employees, the Safety Board is responsible for investigating more than two thousand transportation accidents a year. In our 40 years, our independent investigations have played an important part in improving the safety of every mode of transportation. As a result of the efforts of the Safety Board and other government agencies, manufacturers, operators and stakeholders, the United States enjoys a safe transportation system that is the envy of the world."

The NTSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and major accidents in the other modes of transportation. It is not a regulatory agency; its major product is the safety recommendation, each of which represents a potential safety improvement. In its 40 years, the NTSB has issued some 12,600 safety recommendations, with an average acceptance rate of 82 percent.

The transportation system has seen many changes since the mid-1960s and experienced substantial growth. The safety of those systems also has increased dramatically, as two of the major modes illustrate.

Aviation safety has improved, in part, because investigations now feature digital flight recorders with many hundreds of parameters, where foil recorders 40 years ago provided only 5 parameters and had to be read out by hand. Equipment or operational problems can now be more readily and confidently identified. Turbine engines are so reliable that twin-engine aircraft are now allowed to fly for thousands of miles over open water. Computers have led to the development of extremely realistic flight simulators, allowing pilots to be trained to handle virtually any conceivable flight condition. Systems developed and installed on airliners - resulting at least in part from NTSB recommendations - have virtually eliminated mid-air collisions and controlled flight into terrain crashes in this country for aircraft so equipped.

If the air carrier accident rate were the same today as it was in 1965, the United States would average a fatal airliner accident every 10 days. Except for the terrorist attacks of 2001 - which were deliberate criminal acts - no year since 1990 has seen more than 4 fatal scheduled air carrier accidents in the United States. The annual number of general aviation crashes has dropped by two thirds in the last 40 years.

Highway safety has improved dramatically in that period of time as well. Although the number of highway fatalities has fallen only 17 percent in the last 35 years, the extremely large increase in miles driven has resulted in a drop in the fatality rate of about 70 percent. "We have made great strides in the last 40 years in improving highway safety through the broad acceptance of seat belts and realization that drunk driving cannot be tolerated by our society," Chairman Rosenker said. "But we still lose over 43,000 of our fellow citizens every year on the roadways and this must be stopped."

While acknowledging some long-term safety challenges the NTSB continues to address - like operator fatigue and railroad anti-collision systems - Rosenker applauded the work of those who have staffed the Safety Board over the decades. "I am confident that in the years to come the National Transportation Safety Board will continue to be at the forefront of identifying safety problems in the transportation system and recommending changes to eliminate them. I think our nation has been well served by the career professionals who comprise the dedicated workforce of the NTSB. I congratulate them and all who have come before them over the last 40 years."