Michigan DNR is advertising two full time Assistant Captain positions - one position in Marquette working on Lake Superior and one in Alpena, Michigan working on Lake Huron - see the CanAmGlass Jobs page for more information.

Link: http://agency.governmentjobs.com/michigan/default.cfm

On June 25, 2010 the USGS awarded an $8.2 million contract to the Great Lakes Towing Company (Cleveland, Ohio) for the construction of two large research vessels.  This new vessel construction is being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and has created jobs for 20 additional employees at the shipyard.  These much needed new research vessels will replace the oldest vessels in the USGS fleet with much more capable and efficient vessels, with lower maintenance costs. One vessel will be home ported at the USGS Lake Erie Biological Station in Sandusky, Ohio  while the other will find a home at the USGS Lake Ontario Biological Station in Oswego, New York. Construction of both vessels should be completed in September 2011.  In addition, Great Lakes Towing will be installing a new anchor system on the deepwater research vessel Kiyi stationed in Ashland, Wisconsin.  For more information see "Vessel Building and Rehab" on the USGS Great Lakes Science Center Website.

Link: http://www.glsc.usgs.gov/main.php?content=renovations&title=Events0&menu=aboutus

In February 2010 the International Hydrographic Office (IHO) informed member states of a potentially serious issue with the display of some soundings on ECDIS.  When the user is utilizing either Base or Standard Display in an ECDIS, soundings are normally turned off.  While using these display modes, if there is an isolated sounding that is shoaler than the surrounding depth contours it will not be highlighted in the navigation system. 

 In Full Display mode the isolated sounding is shown and the mariner can see by visual inspection that there are isolated shoals located on the wrong side of the depth contour.  In Standard and Base Display with the safety contour set to 3.6M the isolated shoals are not depicted.  Since the ECDIS does not set off any type of warnings or alarms for these types of soundings in any display mode, it is important that the mariner turn soundings on during route planning and route monitoring to ensure that there are no isolated soundings in the voyage path.   Click Here for more information. 

In order to rectify this situation, NOAA has begun examining its entire ENC suite for these explicit cases and has issued the following notice to mariner to highlight the issue: NOAA Electronic Navigational Charts – Display of Isolated Shoal Soundings 

Mariners are advised that ECDIS may not display some isolated shoal depths when operating in “BASE or STANDARD Display” mode.  Route planning and monitoring alarms for these shoal depths may not always be activated.  To ensure safe navigation and to confirm that a planned route is clear of such dangers, mariners should visually inspect the planned route using the ECDIS configured to display “ALL DATA”.  The Mariner should not solely rely on the automated voyage planning check function.  NOAA is in the process of examining its ENC data for these cases and will issue a notice to mariner for each area that has been examined and updated.

In addition, NOAA will begin by examining and correcting the following ports as its first priority:  1 New York, NY

2 LA/Long Beach, CA

3 Valdez, AK

4 Boston, MA

5 Philadelphia, PA

6 Norfolk, VA

7 Tampa, FL

8 Baltimore, MD

9 Portland, ME

10 Portland, OR

11 San Francisco/Oakland, CA

12 Seattle/Tacoma, WA

13 Honolulu/Pearl Harbor, HI

14 Anacortes, WA

15 Miami, FL

16 Port Everglades, FL

17 Jacksonville, FL

18 Paulsboro, NJ

19 Charleston, SC

20 Houston, TX

21 New Orleans, LA

The rest of the US ENC suite will be examined in the coming months as resources allow.

Link: http://www.canamglass.org/online/events/ENC_NOAAl.pdf

We welcome a new supplier to our "Shipyards and Suppliers" page... Air Services of Cleveland - Marine Division - please see their brochure at the following link:

Air Services of Cleveland

Link: https://www.canamglass.org/storage/reports/events/AIR%20SERVICES%20OF%20CLEVELAND.pdf

The US Coast Guard issued a safety alert advising of a potential problem involving certain ANSUL – High Pressure Carbon Dioxide Fire Extinguishing Systems. There have been several instances where this system has discharged without human intervention. The manufacturer has identified the suspect CO2 cylinder valves as those having a date code between 10-07 and 06- 08. Owners, operators, and masters of ships having such ANSUL systems should immediately check the dates on the CO2 cylinder valves and notify ANSUL if the date code is within the suspect range. Safety Alert 05-09 (7/21/09). (Source: Bryant’s Maritime News)

Vessel Discharges

Final Vessel General Permit

http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=350

The 2008 Vessel General Permit (VGP) regulates discharges incidental to the normal operation of vessels operating in a capacity as a means of transportation. The VGP includes general effluent limits applicable to all discharges; general effluent limits applicable to 26 specific discharge streams; narrative water-quality based effluent limits; inspection, monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements; and additional requirements applicable to certain vessel types.

Recreational vessels as defined in section 502(25) of the Clean Water Act are not subject to this permit. In addition, with the exception of ballast water discharges, non-recreational vessels less than 79 feet (24.08 meters) in length, and all commercial fishing vessels, regardless of length, are not subject to this permit. Click here to find out how to obtain authorization to discharge under the VGP.

Background

On March 30, 2005, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (in Northwest Environmental Advocates et al. v. EPA) ruled that the EPA regulation excluding discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel from NPDES permitting exceeded the Agency’s authority under the CWA. On September 18, 2006, the Court issued an order revoking this regulation (40 C.F.R. 122.3(a)) as of September 30, 2008. EPA appealed the District Court's decision, and on July 23, 2008, the Ninth Circuit upheld the decision, leaving the September 30, 2008 vacatur date in effect. In response to this Court order, EPA developed two proposed permits to regulate discharges from vessels. The district court subsequently extended the date of vacatur to December 19, 2008.

Link: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=350

House Urges New Tug Rules

The speed and reliability of two new survey launches carried by the NOAA hydrographic survey ship Rainier have improved overall survey efficiency and safety levels, according to NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations.

NOAA received the second of two identical launches built by All American Marine of Bellingham, Wash., earlier this year. The new 28-ft. aluminum-hulled boats replaced launches that were in service for more than 30 years conducting hydrographic survey operations along the Alaskan and West coasts.

The new launches can travel at speeds up to 26 knots, more than twice the speed of the vessels they replaced, drastically reducing the travel time to the work grounds. Their improved reliability has greatly reduced mechanical and electrical downtime while updated electronics and new multibeam sonar systems acquire data at nearly twice the density of the older systems. Additionally the launches are more comfortable for the personnel operating the vessels.

The design of the new launch is based on an evolution of the original hull form designed for NOAA in 1975 and was updated by Jensen Maritime Architects. This proven design features sturdy construction and a full keel for survey work in poorly charted waters. Design updates include an open working deck and 200 lb. capacity A-frame that can mount a wide variety of equipment.

The propulsion package consists of a Cummins QSC 8.3 liter 490-hp engine turning a 25”x26” ZF propeller through a ZF 305 gear. Cruising speed is 24 knots and typical survey speeds are approximately eight knots.

The multi-mission designed boats are equipped with a state-of-the-art hydrographic surveying suite, including dual frequency Reson 7125 multibeam sonar, Applanix POS MV positioning and attitude sensor, and a Brooke Ocean MVP-30 moving vessel profiler. NOAA installed and integrated the survey systems before putting both boats into operational use.

NOAA intends to replace the aging fleet of survey launches with six to eight additional vessels purchased over the next four years.

Ref: Marine Technology Reporter 08/06/2008

Article featured in MarineLink.com on April 24, 2006: "NOAA Research Vessel on Vegetarian Diet" Monday, April 24, 2006 in The Huron Explorer.

A 41-ft. former Coast Guard vessel now serving on the Great Lakes is the first modern U.S. research vessel to operate free of petroleum products. Photo credit: NOAA. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) small research vessel is now powered by soybeans. The Huron Explorer, a 41-ft. former Coast Guard vessel now serving on the Great Lakes, is the first U.S. research vessel to operate free of petroleum products. The vessel was given an award by the Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program during an Earth Day Week event on the shores of Lake Michigan. "NOAA has a commitment to stewardship of the environment, and this research vessel, the R/V Huron Explorer, demonstrates that commitment in very practical ways. Environmentally friendly vessels are better suited to tread lightly on the ecosystems they help research," said Stephen B. Brandt, NOAA acting deputy assistant administrator for oceanic and atmospheric research. The "You Have the Power" campaign helps federal agencies reach their energy-saving goals by raising awareness about energy efficiency at federal facilities. The federal government can encourage wise energy use, while simultaneously protecting the environment and conserving natural resources. In 2004, the Huron Explorer, a 41-foot former U.S. Coast Guard vessel, joined the fleet of the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory's other two ships that are used to conduct research on the Great Lakes. The Huron Explorer serves the NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve in Lake Huron. The other two ships, including the 67-foot Shenehon, which is one of the oldest in the NOAA fleet, use some non-petroleum products. The Shenehon began its use of B100 biodiesel in 2000 and was dubbed the "french fry" ship by some. It showed immediate reductions in visible emissions, smoke and offensive odor, with unchanged performance of the main engine or generators. The use of B100 was a significant achievement in demonstrating soy oil as an alternative fuel in marine applications. B20, a 20 percent blend of soy oil with petroleum diesel, has been in use for a number of years in road vehicles, such as cars, buses and trucks. GLERL's Ship Operations Group, headed by Dennis Donahue, expanded the use of bio-hydraulic oil on the Laurentian, an 80-foot research vessel built in 1974. All systems using the bio-hydraulic oil performed satisfactorily without change to pump or equipment performance while contributing to improved onboard storage and reduced inventory. In August 2005, the Huron Explorer completed its transformation from petroleum products to biofuels and lubricants by incorporating rapeseed-based hydraulic oil for its deck crane, winches, transmission and steering gear, and 100 percent soy biodiesel for engine fuel and canola-based motor oil. "We saw dramatic reductions in emissions and improvements to the original 1974 engines in wet exhaust odor and pollution, " Donahue said. "The biodegradable vegetable oils offer an additional level of environmental protection in case of a spill or leak." Donahue added that the switch to agri-products has improved the work environment of the ships' crews and scientists. "These ships have become real-world field studies that can be used to expand field test data and support other ship conversions," said Donahue. Other NOAA boat operations and some private vessels are implementing similar bio-product conversions based upon experiences at GLERL. GLERL plans to convert the Shenehon's remaining systems to agri-products this year and the Laurentian is slated to convert to B100 biodiesel in 2007, making all three of the ships 100 percent petroleum-free.

Link: http://www.marinelink.com/Story/ShowStory.aspx?StoryID=202853