"Daily News" Posted on the Maritime Executive Website
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May 26, 2005
Tugboat Captain Pleads Guilty
Franklin Hill, 53, of Jacksonville, Florida, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston for violating the Clean Water Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, for his part in the Buzzards Bay oil spill. Apparently, Hill left the wheelhouse unattended, while working on deck tending a tow line.
Hill was the captain on Bouchard Transportation's "Evening Tide," which was carrying 4.1 million gallons of fuel oil from Philadelphia to a plant in Sandwich when it drifted out of the channel and ran over rocks. An estimated 98,000 gallons spilled into the bay, killing 450 migratory birds, closing shellfish beds, and polluting beaches in the worst spill in Buzzards Bay since 1969.
Prosecutors are recommending that Hill spend 10 to 16 months in prison, but Hill's attorney is seeking a much shorter time in jail or probation. Hill was granted a delay in the sentencing by U.S. District Magistrate Robert B. Collins, so that Hill could work for the next 90-days in the Gulf of Mexico ferrying crew members out to the oil rigs.
Bouchard Transportation recently paid $9 million in criminal fines for violating environmental laws.
May 27, 2005
Port of LA and China Shipping Settle Dispute
The Los Angeles Harbor Commissioners have approved a permit amendment that paves the way for the City of Los Angeles to settle a damage claim filed by China Shipping Holding Co Ltd, the Port of Los Angeles said in a statement.
Under the proposed settlement, which still requires city council approval, China Shipping will receive $22.2 million for compensation of damages relating to court-ordered construction delays at its Los Angeles berth facility and for costs of relating to environmental mitigation.
The proposed settlement will include an immediate $10 million reimbursement to China Shipping for costs associated with the construction delay and environmental costs. The port also will credit China Shipping with an additional $12 million in rent-related compensation, it said.
'This settlement starts to bring closure to permit issues related to China Shipping that date back to the (former mayor) Richard Riordan administration, and we are pleased to be settling it at a substantial discount to the $72.68 million claim,' said Harbor Commission President Nicholas Tonsich.
The settlement will also allow China Shipping and the port to enter an accord in which the company will be granted the right to use berths 97-109 for operation as a container terminal for 25 years, with the possibility for three five-year extensions.
Since mid-2004, China Shipping has operated under a nonexclusive berth assignment under an interim agreement. As a tenant and shipping line calling at the port, China Shipping paid the port combined wharfage and rent in excess of $18 million in 2004.
China Shipping Holding Co is wholly owned by Shanghai's China Shipping (Group) Co.
May 31, 2005
Security exercise at California ports
U.S. Coast Guard and naval forces descended on the nation's largest commercial ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach last week for a weeklong homeland security exercise that tested mine-warfare response capabilities, port security, and coordination among agencies.
The San Diego-based U.S. 3rd Fleet and the Coast Guard's Pacific Area Command, headquartered in San Francisco, ran the operation called "Lead Shield III" and "Rogue-Ex V," a joint exercise in Southern California from May 20 to 27.
This type of exercises began in 2003 at Port Hueneme, California, but the new exercise will include more forces and expand on response training said a Coast Guard spokesman in San Francisco. "Each operation gets a little bit more involved."
The participants responded to simulated terrorists attacks that detonated mines in the harbor, which could threaten the busy port and vessels. Navy and Coast Guard ship-boarding teams conducted enhanced maritime interdiction operations off the coast as well.
About 1,200 personnel, 19 commands, and six vessels, including countermine ships "Devastator" and "Scout" and the guided-missile frigate "Crommelin," joined operation. The Coast Guard cutter "George Cobb," mine-hunting helicopters, navy ordnance disposal and mine clearance teams, Coast Guard maritime security teams, and two navy dolphins, which are part of the navy's marine mammal teams, were also involved. The military forces partnered with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, which also included the Department of Homeland Security's 9th Civil Support Team.
June 1, 2005
Federal Judge Again Rules Against EPA on Ballast Water
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco granted motions by Michigan, New York, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania to intervene in the case against the Environmental Protection Agency. The states sought to intervene because they wanted to be involved in the remedy that will force the federal government to adopt ballast water regulations.
In 1999, the Ocean Conservancy and four other environmental groups petitioned the EPA to repeal ballast water exemptions. The EPA has allowed ships to discharge ballast water without obtaining permits. The environmental groups claim that the Clean Water Act prohibits discharge of pollutants, including biological materials such as invasive species into U.S. waters without a permit.
The EPA denied the petition and the environmental groups filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco.
"The judge clearly realized that a real-world remedy is needed to protect our greatest natural resource," Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox said in a statement.
A bill on Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm's desk would require ocean going ships to obtain a permit to enter Michigan ports beginning in 2007.
June 2, 2005
State of Florida Buys Off Coastal Petroleum from Offshore Drilling
Coastal Petroleum owns the last offshore drilling leases that the State of Florida issued in the 1940s. After a 15-year battle, Governor Jeb Bush and the state government approved a $12.5 billion pay-off to prevent drilling in its coastal waters.
Coastal Petroleum has fought to be compensated or be allowed to drill offshore. The State of Florida banned offshore drilling in 1990. The company wanted a much large settlement, but recent court decisions have sided with the state against Coastal, and this led to a more moderate payment.
Bush applauded the agreement, and said he hopes the state's protections -- which extend up to 11 miles offshore -- will eventually be applied to federal waters which are further out at sea.
The deal is a victory for Bush, who has fought to prevent drilling off Florida, even while his brother President Bush has tried to expand oil exploration in other states.