A recent decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals, fifth circuit, should remind us all that Oil Record Books (ORB)s are serious documents, and must be one of the most accurate documents the Chief Engineer maintains.  In an article by the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, they highlight that the courts decision in [...]

Washington state has decided to pay $3.65 million dollars to pay for a tug to standby in Neah Bay, the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  Crowley has been contracted to provide the tug.  The Hunter will start, and will be relieved by the Gladiator when it returns from a job up in [...]

Reuters is reporting that a Chinese flagged bulk cargo ship carrying 4000 tons of iron ore capsized in the East Yellow Sea on June 28th.  5 were killed, with 5 others missing.  Reports indicate 4 sailors were rescued in the incident.  I’ve been unable to locate a photo of the vessel, but would be interested [...]

It appears with the increasing cooperation of N. Korea, the U.S. break bulk fleet may be seeing more and more voyages to N. Korea.  All of the major news outlets have been reporting on the arrival of the M/T Baltimore in N. Korea yesterday. nytimes article A file photo of the M/T Baltimore courtesy of  [...]

The actual enforcement of MARPOL Annex VI is now closer to reality with the recent passage of a bill in the U.S. Senate.  Annex VI concerns the prevention of air pollution from ships.  The U.S. has already ratified MARPOL Annex VI, but has yet to define how it would enforce it from the federal level.  [...]