MARINE ENGINEERS' BENEFICIAL ASSOCIATION (AFL-CIO)
         "On Watch in Peace and War Since 1875"

MEBA TELEX TIMES       JULY 17, 2009

The Official Union Newsletter

NUMBER 29

In this issue...
Matson contract ratified...N.M.E.B.A. support for Trumka...Piracy has doubled over last year...Sick to death of lifeless competitors that bury you under with stiff and expired articles that should be laid to rest? Prepare to meet your news maker! We resurrect the latest info, help you earn your wings and put you on Cloud Nine with an angelic issue that brings you to the maritime promised land. Glory be! Your weekly salvation, the Telex Times is so divine, you'll think you've died and gone to heaven!

MATSON CONTRACT RATIFIED
A contract with Matson Navigation for members sailing aboard ships in the company's fleet (other than the CV2600 class ships) was ratified last week at the regular membership meetings. The A3 contract covers members for four years and two months retroactive to June 16th of this year. It provides wage increases, improved medical and pension provisions and increased contributions to Training, JEC and AMC, among other things. A deal was also reached with the company in the wage re-opener for the Matson CV2600 vessels. That agreement was not subject to a ratification vote.

M.E.B.A. is also working to finalize an agreement covering Matson Port Engineers by the end of the month. The old contracts expiration date was extended to July 31, 2009. M.E.B.A. anticipates presenting the new agreement to the membership for a ratification vote during the August membership meetings.

NATIONAL M.E.B.A. PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR AFL-CIOS RICHARD TRUMKA
This week, the National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association pledged support for Richard L. Trumka to become the next president of the AFL-CIO. After serving as secretary-treasurer for the AFL-CIO since 1995, Trumka will be running for the presidency, a position currently held by John Sweeney. The tireless efforts of John Sweeney to advance the labor movement will be forever appreciated and he can rest assured that labor will continue to be served should Richard Trumka be elected to succeed him, said M.E.B.A. President Don Keefe. I look forward to continuing the relationship we have had with Rich in order to advance the rights of those serving in the Merchant Marine as well as all of those in the broader labor movement, Keefe added.

PIRACY DOUBLED IN FIRST HALF OF YEAR
Piracy attacks around the world more than doubled to 240 from 114 during the first six months of the year compared with the same period in 2008, the ICC International Maritime Bureaus Piracy Reporting Center (IMB) announced. As in the last quarterly report, the rise in overall numbers is due almost entirely to increased Somali pirate activity off the Gulf of Aden and east coast of Somalia, with 86 and 44 incidents reported respectively, the report said.

The years second quarter saw 136 reports of piracy compared with 104 in the first three months of 2009, an increase of almost a third. A total of 78 vessels were boarded worldwide, 75 vessels fired upon and 31 vessels hijacked with some 561 crew taken hostage, 19 injured, seven kidnapped, six killed and eight missing. The attackers were heavily armed with guns and knives in the majority of incidents. Violence against crew members continues to increase, the report concluded.

Nevertheless, the presence of navies in the Gulf of Aden from several countries have made it difficult for pirates to hijack vessels and has led them to seek new areas of operation such as the southern Red Sea and the east coast of Oman, where Somali pirates are believed to be responsible for a spate of recent attacks. The report said that attacks off the eastern coast of Somalia had decreased in recent months after peaking in March and April, with no attacks reported in June. But the Piracy Reporting Center attributed the decline to heavy weather associated with the monsoons that are expected to continue into August. The center said vigilance should nevertheless remain high during this period. Nigeria continues to be a high risk area, with 13 incidents reported in the second quarter to the IMB and at least 24 other attacks which have not been directly reported.

Attacks in Southeast Asia and the Far East increased 100%, from 10 in the first quarter to 21 in the second quarter, confirming a similar trend seen in 2008, with the difference being that the attacks in the first quarter were against vessels at anchor, while during the second quarter they were against vessels at sea. Two incidents have been recorded for the Malacca Straits in 2009, although none were reported for the second quarter. In Indonesia the second quarter saw only two incidents compared with six in the corresponding period last year. The continued efforts of Indonesian authorities should be noted for bringing piracy and armed robbery down in their waters, the report said.

FIRST PROSECUTION FOR BALLAST WATER LAW VIOLATION
A Filipino Chief Mate aboard the Greek cargo ship M/V THEOTOKOS has entered a guilty plea to violations of the Non-indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act. Charles Posas admitted to two felony counts of lying to the Coast Guard and violating recordkeeping laws aimed at reducing the risk of marine invasive species. Posas is the first individual ever charged under the anti-invasive species law. In addition, the Captain of the ship, Panagiotis Lekkas, pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, one count of obstruction of justice and two counts of violating the Ports and Waterways Safety Act. The vessel is owned by Liberia-based Mirage Navigation Corporation and is managed by Polembros Shipping Limited. Sentencing for both individual defendants is set for Oct. 14, 2009.

In the summer of 2008, during a passage from the Suez Canal to China, Lekkas and Posas suspected that the aftpeak ballast tank was leaking, but the crew was unable to confirm a leak during an inspection. Later, while at a dock, offloading cargo in China, Lekkas and Posas observed an approximately 24-inch crack in the ships rudder stem. It was evident that water had passed through the crack because water was streaming out of it from inside of the ship. Lekkas reported the crack to company personnel, but failed to write a written report. Lekkas did not report it to the Coast Guard until he was confronted by Coast Guard inspectors in New Orleans. In court documents, Lekkas admitted that he knew the crack could have adversely affected the safety and safe handling and operation of the vessel. No repairs were undertaken on the rudder stem crack until the Coast Guard ordered it  repaired upon its discovery.

Through further investigation, the Coast Guard also found fuel was migrating from the deep fuel tanks into the forepeak ballast tank. In mid-September 2008, Lekkas and Posas learned that fuel oil may have been leaking into the forepeak ballast tank because it was reported that the sounding tapes were dirty with oil. After opening the tanks hatch, two inspections confirmed the presence of oil in the forepeak tank. Following this discovery, Captain Lekkas ordered the crew to undertake a cleaning operation that initially involved skimming the surface of the water in order to remove the oil. In order to facilitate further cleaning, Lekkas ordered the level of the liquid in the tank lowered by pumping it directly overboard through the ballast pump. As the liquid level was lowered the crew could clean more of the tank, with the cleaning operation expanding to rags and a portable pump. The discharged ballast liquid was contaminated with oil.

When the vessel was about two days out from arriving in New Orleans, in late September 2008, it was clear that oil was continuing to leak into the forepeak tank. Prior to entering the Mississippi River and about a day out from New Orleans, Lekkas ordered two fitters to fabricate and install an obstruction device onto the forepeak tanks sounding tube so that during Coast Guard inspections, when taking a sounding, the results would only reveal water and not the presence of oil in the tank. The obstruction device consisted of a rubber hose with a metal stopper at the bottom end. Before being affixed to the sounding tube, the rubber hose was partially filled with water.

On Oct. 1, 2008, the Coast Guard boarded the M/V THEOTOKOS near New Orleans in order to inspect the ship. During the inspection, the Coast Guard oversaw the sounding of the forepeak tank which indicated the presence of water in the tank but did not reveal the oil. Later, as part of the inspection, the Coast Guard had the crew open the hatch to the forepeak tank which revealed approximately one meter of oil in the tank. During the initial inspection, confined spaces safety regulations prevented the Coast Guard inspectors from retrieving the obstruction device. Although the inspection lasted another two days, Lekkas ordered the fitters to remove the rubber hose from the tank and restore the sounding tube to its original condition. The removal occurred before the Coast Guard had an opportunity to enter the tank.

In addition to the obstruction regarding the sounding pipe, Lekkas admitted in court documents that he knew about the fuel leak into the forepeak tank well before coming to New Orleans and that he chose not to report the leaks to the Coast Guard. Lekkas further admitted that the fuel migration may have adversely affected the safety of the M/V THEOTOKOS or the environmental quality of U.S. ports and shores because the oil contamination in the ballast system meant that captain could not have utilized the ballast system, with its attendant direct overboard discharges, without polluting the marine environment.

Additionally, during the inspection, a Coast Guard inspector asked to see complete ballast records for the THEOTOKOS. Posas responded by physically handing the inspector a copy of the Sept. 27, 2008, ballast report. Posas prepared, signed and maintained these reports as part of his duties as chief officer. In court documents Posas admitted, that at the time he presented the ballast report to the Coast Guard inspector, he knew that the form was false.

POSTPONED -- TLC SPECIAL ON MAERSK ALABAMA PUSHED TO AUGUST
The Learning Channel (TLC) has postponed a new one hour special spotlighting the MAERSK ALABAMA crew which warded off four Somali pirates attempting to hijack the ship last April. It had recently been announced that the show would air this Sunday. However, it has now been rescheduled to August 16.

TLC filmed interviews with many of the ships crew and their families to get a perspective on the incident not seen before on television.

MAERSK LINE EARNS SUSTAINABLE SHIPPING AWARD
Maersk Line has been named Sustainable Shipping Operator of The Year for challenging the shipping industry and bringing about significant reductions in energy consumption and emissions. The award, presented by Sustainable Shipping (www.sustainableshipping.com)  at an awards ceremony in London this week, was given to Maersk in recognition of the efforts it has made in reducing the environmental impact of its business operations. Maersk Line has proved that the two-stroke engines on its container vessels are able to run continuously at low loads ensuring a more flexible and energy-efficient vessel operation.

In 2007, Maersk Line initiated a comprehensive study on 110 vessels, which shows that despite traditional policy on 40-60% as minimum engine load, it is safe to go as low as 10%. This makes it possible for containerships to sail at half speed, thereby reducing not only fuel costs significantly, but also CO2 emissions.

"We are dedicated to minimizing our environmental footprint and conducting our business in a sustainable fashion. Therefore we are very pleased to win the award as Sustainable Shipping Operator. We have challenged the myths in the industry and with research documented that the savings potential of slow steaming is a lot bigger than previously thought," says Søren Stig Nielsen, Senior Director and Head of Sustainability in Maersk Line, who received the award on behalf of the company. Being able to select any given speed down to 10% engine load, enables a more flexible voyage and schedule planning as well as vessel savings amounting to 10-30% fuel and CO2. For a post-Panamax container ship it amounts to saving USD 1 million equal to 3,500 tons fuel and 10,000 tons CO2 per year.

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETINGS
Monday, August 3 - Boston, Jacksonville, Seattle; Tuesday, August 4 Baltimore/Calhoon School (at CMES), Houston, San Francisco (Oakland);
Wednesday, August 5 - Charleston, New Orleans;
Thursday, August 6 - L.A. (Wilmington), New York (New Jersey), Norfolk, Tampa;
Friday, August 7 - Honolulu.

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