PMM Online News – Page 115 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

05 Feb

Port of Oakland Chief Delivered State of the Port

Pacific MaritimeNews, PMM Online News

At this year’s State of the Port Address, Port of Oakland Executive Director Wan spoke of handling last year’s challenges, which have included stabilizing finances despite a $60 million deficit created by the impact of COVID-19, setting up COVID-19 testing sites at the Oakland International Airport and supporting impacted Jack London Square restaurants and port tenants with rental payment assistance. “I am grateful to our Port employees and Port Board of Commissioners, from the moment that the Grand Princess cruise ship pulled up, through threatened power black outs, apocalyptic red skies and social reckonings; our port was guided by calm,…

05 Feb

USCG, Russian Federation Sign Plan

Pacific MaritimeNews, PMM Online News

U.S. Coast Guard and the Russian Federation’s Marine Rescue Service officials have inked an updated joint contingency plan to fight pollution in the Bering and Chukchi Seas. The two agencies on Feb. 1 signed the 2020 Joint Contingency Plan of the United States of America & the Russian Federation in Combating Pollution on the Bering & Chukchi Seas, which allow them to collaborate on a response plan to instances of pollution in the water space bordering the U.S. and Russia. In the U.S., the Coast Guard’s Seventeenth District Commander and Sector Anchorage is responsible for the operational aspects of the…

05 Feb

NOAA Satellites Helped Rescue 304 People in 2020

Pacific MaritimeNews, PMM Online News

NOAA satellites were instrumental in saving 304 people in the U.S. last year, the organization announced recently. NOAA has polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites that participate in the Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking system, or COSPAS-SARSAT. The system relies on a worldwide spacecraft network to find and spot distress signals coming from emergency beacons generated from aircraft, boats and Personal Locator Beacons, NOAA said. Once a distress signal is located by a NOAA satellite, that data is passed on to the SARSAT Mission Control Center at NOAA’s Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland, and then sent to Rescue Coordination Centers.…

02 Feb

Governors Should Prioritize Port Workers for COVID-19 Vaccines, AAPA Says

Pacific MaritimeNews, PMM Online News

Port workers should have early access to COVID-19 vaccines, the American Association of Port Authorities said. In a letter from AAPA and nine other groups to the National Governors Association, the organization is pushing for port workers to be prioritized for the vaccines and spotlighted the significant impact to local and national economy. “Acknowledging the myriad demands you are managing due to the persistent effects of the pandemic, we respectfully propose a means for alleviating a substantial area of concern - the potential for supply chain disruptions, delays in vaccine distribution, and further adverse economic impacts, locally, regionally, and nationally,”…

02 Feb

New San Diego Port Board Chairman Lays Out Priorities for 2021

Pacific MaritimeNews, PMM Online News

At a recent Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners meeting, Chairman Michael Zucchet laid out his priorities for the port for the year, which include working with stakeholders and community members to weather the impact caused by the coronavirus pandemic and guiding the transition of leadership of two new commissioners, the retirement of President and CEO Randa Coniglio and the arrival of incoming President and CEO Joe Stuyvesant. Zucchet, who takes over for Ann Moore, the board’s 2020 chairwoman and Chula Vista representative, also spoke of the port’s Climate Action Plan, the Maritime Clean Air Strategy and strides…

02 Feb

Formal Hearing Set in Fishing Vessel Sinking

Pacific MaritimeNews, PMM Online News

The U.S. Coast Guard is expected to hear evidence surrounding the sinking of the 130-foot crab fishing vessel Scandies Rose. Homeported in Dutch Harbor, Scandies Rose sank around 10 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2019, near Sutwik Island, Alaska. Two of the seven crew members aboard were rescued, but the remaining people were not found after a more than 20-hour search by Coast Guard members that encompassed 1,400 square miles. The hearing will delve into the conditions that may have affected the vessel before and during the sinking, including “weather, icing, fisheries, the Scandies Rose’s material condition, owner and operator organizational structures and culture, the regulatory…

02 Feb

Man the Ship and Bring Her (back) to Life

Pacific MaritimeNews, PMM Online News

By Dave Abrams, Publisher If anyone has witnessed the commissioning of a new ship, the words “Man the ship and bring her to life” is the call for the crew to board the ship, raise the colors and bring her one step closer to going to sea. In my Navy career, I had the opportunity to bring several Ready Reserve Force ships back to life that were in “mothballs”, but without any pomp and circumstance. Just a signature in the logbook indicating the vessel met the operational requirements of the Navy. As you may have read in the January 12/13…

29 Jan

Washington Maritime Innovation Accelerator Program Launches

Pacific MaritimeNews, PMM Online News

Eleven start-up companies are expected to participate in the State of Washington’s Maritime Innovation Accelerator program. The program launched by Maritime Blue, a statewide group of those in the maritime industry, the state Department of Commerce, and the Port of Seattle, is designed to nurture the firms developing new technology and advancements in the maritime industry, which generates an annual economic impact of more than $37 billion and approximately 69,500 jobs. “Now is a crucial moment to support and invest in the innovation clusters and clean technologies that will strengthen Washington’s economy and create good jobs for the future in…

29 Jan

Port of Grays Harbor Partners on COVID-19 Vaccination Site

Pacific MaritimeNews, PMM Online News

The Port of Grays Harbor has teamed up with county health, hospital and community members to establish a site for administering COVID-19 vaccinations to residents beginning this week. The port collaborated for weeks with the Grays Harbor County Public Health COVID-19 Incident Management Team, Grays Harbor Community Hospital and the U.S. Coast Guard to secure a site within the seaport complex. Vaccinations are being offered only by appointment only and prioritizes county residents who fall under Phase 1A and Phase 1B Tier 1 of the Washington State Department of Health’s Vaccination Distribution Plan such as high risk health care workers,…

29 Jan

USCG Cutter Polar Star Patrolled Bering Sea Border

Pacific MaritimeNews, PMM Online News, Vessel Profiles

Crew members of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star recently joined a Russian Border Guard AN-26 aircraft crew in patrolling the 1,700-mile area along the Bering Sea that borders the U.S. and Russia. The Russian Border Guard Directorate for the Eastern Arctic District and the Coast Guard Seventeenth District in Juneau, Alaska, were in communications before the crews headed out in support of agreements that allow them to work together on various operations such as search and rescue and illegal fishing enforcement. "The United States Coast Guard works diligently to maintain a unique cooperative relationship with the Russian Border Guard in…