Weekly News Summary For July 31-August 6, 2006:
Supreme Court Strikes Down State Oil Spill Law
Washington, D.C.—The American Waterways Operators (AWO) hailed a court decision July 25 that declared a 2004 Massachusetts oil spill statute unconstitutional.
A lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice challenged the constitutionality of the law, which was enacted in response to a 2003 accidental tank barge oil spill in Buzzards Bay. Justice’s lawsuit asserted that the Massachusetts oil spill law tried to make law in areas that are reserved exclusively to the federal government.
The U.S. District Court in Massachusetts said in part: “The challenged provisions of the Oil Spill Prevention Act are pre-empted, invalid and unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause of the United Sates Constitution. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is therefore permanently enjoined from enforcing the challenged statutes.”
Thomas Allegretti, president and chief executive officer of AWO, said he was “gratified” that the court upheld the U.S. Coast Guard’s regulatory authority regarding vessel operations in U.S. waters….
Marine diesel engines are exempt from the new Environmental Protection Agency emission control regulations and are allowed to burn the lower-priced high-sulfur diesel fuel. But a shortage of fuel may force some boats to run on the higher-priced low-sulfur fuels.
Brian Rafferty, vice president of Custom Fuel Services, discussed the shortage of lower-priced high-sulfur fuels and the difficulty his company has had getting supplies for customers.
Rafferty explained that high-sulfur diesel contains about 5,000 parts per million (ppm.) of sulfur, compared to 500 ppm. for low-sulfur and 15 ppm. for ultra-low-sulfur.
With Marathon Oil of Garyville, La., switching to production of ultra-low-sulfur fuel, Rafferty says there are only two sources of high-sulfur diesel for the marine industry available on the Lower Mississippi River—Exxon in Baton Rouge, La., and Vallero in Krotz Springs, La….
Chances are you’ve either seen or heard about public law 108-293, which requires the Coast Guard to prescribe electronic chart regulations by January 1, 2007.
In anticipation of this date, many have wondered exactly what would be required once we ring in the New Year. Some have suggested that vessel owners and operators must have electronic chart systems (ECS) installed and operational by this date. However, before you head off to the neighborhood ECSes ’R Us for your newest high-tech purchase, I want to clarify or maybe even dispel some of the erroneous information I’ve heard mariners and those in the U.S. maritime industry may have been receiving.
Nobody would argue the fact that ECS regulations are definitely forthcoming in the not-so-distant future. Does this mean that the effective date would necessarily be January 1? No, it doesn’t. If you’ve had a chance to read the law you’ll notice that the key words in the subsection of the law that mandate this requirement are “under regulations prescribed by the secretary” (in this case the Coast Guard’s secretary). The “effective” word is in a subsequent subsection directing the secretary to prescribe those regulations by January 1, 2007….
Work on the Harvey Canal on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway has been extended to August 31. As a result, the canal will remain closed just south of the LaPalco Bridge.
The bridge will be closed seven days a week, 24 hours a day to facilitate the completion of the new sector gate structure during the 2006 hurricane season. After August 31, the canal will reopen at its authorized navigable width of 125 feet.
During this closure period, traffic on the canal north of the LaPalco Bridge must enter and exit via the Harvey Lock at the Mississippi River. Traffic on the canal south of the LaPalco Bridge must enter and exit via the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The Algiers Canal and Lock can be used as an alternate route during the workweek….
Brady’s Landing, Houston, Texas hosted two back-to-back christenings last month. The vessels, the Capt. J.A. Morgan and the Melvin R. Todd, are a part of Blessey Marine Services’ continued building campaign. With the recent additions, the company now has a fleet of 46 towboats.
The mv. Capt. J.A. Morgan was christened on June 28. Sneed Shipbuilding, Channelview, Texas, built the vessel for Blessey, which is headquartered in Harahan, La.
The Capt. J.A. Morgan, a sister ship to the mv. Joe Ray Beaubouef, is 75 by 30 by 10 feet with an 81/2-foot draft. The hull was built with capacity for 30,000 gallons of fuel, 15,000 gallons of water, 400 gallons of lube oil and 400 gallons of slop oil. Fitted with Cummins KTA 38-MO engines, the twin-screw towboat is rated at 1,700 hp. Cummins Southern Plains Inc. provided the engines and two 75 kw. 3VTA 5.9-DM Cummins generators.
Reintjes WAF 562, vertical offset, reverse reduction gears with a ratio of 5.947:1 were supplied by Karl Senner Inc., Kenner, La….
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