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

MEBA TELEX TIMES                      AUGUST 18, 2006

The Official Union Newsletter

NUMBER 33

In this issue...
NASSCO delivers LEGEND...ATC shipping continues unabated... Members aid rescues...It's a breeze! We get wind of a galeforce amount of news and forecast a torrential maritime downpour. Like a bolt from the blue, our thunderous new edition strikes like lightning and blows you away as we track the latest MEBA advisories. All hail! Not just a tempest in a teapot, the Telex Times takes the world by storm!

NASSCO DELIVERS ALASKAN LEGEND
BP Shipping Ltd. took delivery today of the fourth and final newbuild tanker constructed for the company at San Diego's NASSCO Shipyard. The ALASKAN LEGEND, like the other three newbuilds will be operated by Alaska Tanker Company and crewed with MEBA officers.

An MEBA contingent led by President Ron Davis was on hand last week at the yard for the ship's naming ceremony. He was joined by L.A. Patrolman Mike Nizetich and San Francisco Representative Jim Anderson among others. Mrs. Shirley Anne Massey, the wife of Morehouse College president and BP board member Dr. Walter Massey, was the ship's sponsor and she broke the traditional bottle of champagne against it.

The ALASKAN LEGEND is double-hulled, diesel-electric powered, equipped with 20 separate cargo tanks, and has all of its cargo transfer piping inside the hull rather on its decks to reduce the chance of accidental spills. The ship is capable of carrying up to 1.3 million barrels of crude oil and will operate between Alaska and western U.S. ports.

The first three Alaska-class ships are already in service with MEBA aboard: the ALASKAN FRONTIER, ALASKAN EXPLORER and ALASKAN NAVIGATOR.  The Alaska-class tankers are is 287 meters (941 feet) long, have a beam of 50 meters (164 feet) and a design draft of 18.5 meters (61.5 feet). The ship's total carrying capacity is 190,000 metric tons at its design draft.

PIPELINE CORROSION WON'T AFFECT ATC SHIPPING
The pipeline corrosion that forced BP to shut down an Alaska oil field won't interrupt MEBA shipping, President Ron Davis was told last week. Davis met with officials of both BP as well as Alaska Tanker Company last Saturday.

BP began shutting down production at its Prudhoe Bay oil field after discovering severe corrosion in pipelines. They announced that they will need to replace 16 miles of pipe. Pres. Davis received confirmation that there would be no disruption in schedule for the ATC ships operating between Alaska and California. MEBA crews the officer billets aboard the six ATC vessels.

HORIZON CONSUMER MARINERS NET AWARDS
Donald Sacca told the Telex Times about a pair of mariners working aboard the HORIZON CONSUMER managed by MEBA-contracted company Horizon Lines: On August 8, 2006, two crew members of the SS HORIZON CONSUMER each received a silver, I-Beam wristwatch as part of a new Horizon Lines safety award program in an informal presentation attended by nearly two dozen fellow shipmates. Third Engineer Charles "Chuck" Kellett and Bosun Lawrence Kunc were chosen by Captain Kent Flick for their long-term commitment to safety in the workplace. Captain Flick noted, before handing out the awards, that both recipients have displayed exemplary safety-consciousness and led by example, living and working a safe life, during their long tenure at Horizon Lines and aboard the HORIZON CONSUMER. Lawrence has sailed aboard the CONSUMER for five years. Chuck has been on a regular rotation with the ship since the vessel's launch almost 32 years ago.

The "Team Safety MVP" wristwatches were given out as part of a program implemented aboard the CONSUMER by direction of Horizon Lines, LLC to stimulate safety awareness and reward individual safety achievement or performance. Captain Flick stated that more safety awards were to be distributed over the next ten month period, but that longevity with the company or ship would not necessarily be a factor for future awards. Horizon Lines recognizes a safe workplace as a core value and the establishment of a safe working environment that will contribute to preventing injuries as a prime objective of the company. The HORIZON CONSUMER is currently operating between California and Hawaii.

MEBA MEMBERS ASIST IN RESCUE OF STRICKEN SAILBOAT CREW
On Monday evening the Cape May-Lewes Ferry M/V TWIN CAPES, teeming with MEBA members, aided in the rescue of two crewmembers of a stricken sailboat. The vessel was on its regular run leaving the Cape May, NJ terminal enroute to the Lewes, DE side. Unbeknownst to the crew, a catamaran sail boat had capsized in the Delaware Bay. At 6:24 p.m., TWIN CAPES crewmember Mark Vogelsong reported to the pilot house that a man was drifting in the water. With C/E Mark DeSorbo heading up the Engine Department, Captain Peter Dudley and Pilot Joseph Napoleon immediately brought the vessel about and the man was spotted in 3-4 foot waves about 100 yards off the vessel's port side. Captain Dudley contacted the United States Coast Guard who immediately dispatched a 25 ft. vessel to the scene - approximately 1.5 miles from the Cape May shoreline. As the TWIN CAPES maintained station within 40 feet of the man in the water, he indicated to crew members that a woman was with him and somewhere in the water. At 6:37 p.m., less than 15 minutes since the initial alarm, the Coast Guard retrieved the man from the water. Just two minutes later, TWIN CAPES Boatswain Gayle Carter spotted the woman in the water some 300 yards away. The TWIN CAPES got underway to her position and directed the Coast Guard to her location. By 6:42 p.m. both recreational sailors were safely aboard the Coast Guard vessel. They were taken to the Cape May Ferry terminal where they were checked by paramedics and released. The capsized catamaran was not recovered.

HORIZON HAWAII AIDS DISTRESSED BOAT
The HORIZON HAWAII, a MEBA-contracted containership operating between the U.S. and Puerto Rico for Horizon Lines, came to the aid of a stranded sailboat off the coast of Puerto Rico last week. MEBA sails aboard the Horizon ships in the engine room. MM&P crews the deck level and SIU represents the unlicensed crew.

The Kokomo Cat, with four persons aboard, had placed a distress call to the U. S. Coast Guard after it incurred damage to its sails and was without diesel fuel to operate its engine. The Coast Guard contacted the HORIZON HAWAII at 3 a.m. and asked for assistance in locating the small craft as it was relatively close to the containership's heading. The crew soon spotted a light in the seas and made radio contact with the sailboat. The event took place approximately 40 nautical miles north of the North West tip of Puerto Rico.  "After radio contact with the Kokomo Cat, the decision was made to make every effort to get fuel to the sailboat whose sails were unusable" said Mike Parr, Captain of the HORIZON HAWAII. The HORIZON HAWAII is a 670-foot containership and maneuvering the vessel alongside a stranded small craft presents significant challenges. The HORIZON HAWAII crew was fully deployed to accomplish this task.

"We had two engineers in the engine room for maneuvers in order to safely place our ship between the wind and the seas for the Kokomo Cat. We gave them a heaving line to bring their empty jerry cans on board so we could fill them with diesel" recounted Captain Parr. The refueling cans were then returned to the stranded craft and the Kokomo Cat was underway under its own power. The operation was completed shortly after 5 a.m. the HORIZON HAWAII resumed its course for its next port call in Jacksonville, FL.  "Horizon Lines is extremely proud of its mariners and their commitment to serve, whatever the task," said John V. Keenan, Senior Vice President and Chief Transportation Officer for Horizon Lines.

COAST GUARD EXTENDS DOCUMENT EXPIRATION DATES FOR KATRINA-AFFECTED MARINERS
The Coast Guard is temporarily extending mariner credential expiration dates for those affected by the flooding of the New Orleans Regional Examination Center. Following Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans REC, which provided credentialing services to approximately 29,000 mariners in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana and 14 percent of mariners nationwide, was completely flooded. Vital records and equipment were destroyed and the facility was rendered inoperable for a considerable period of time.

As a result, many mariners in the area are in possession of merchant mariner's documents, licenses and/or certificates of registry that either have expired or may expire before the Coast Guard will be able to process these mariners' applications for renewal or upgraded credentials. Eligible mariners can have their credential expiration dates extended for up to one year. Further information can be obtained from Donald J. Kerlin, Deputy Director, Coast Guard National Maritime Center (NMC), Arlington, VA, (202) 493-1006.

MEBA FLEET CAN SUPPORT CORCORAN MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
MEBA members again are gearing up to support a fallen MEBA Brother once again as the 5th annual Jay Corcoran Memorial Golf Tournament approaches.

Jay was a popular MEBA member for 22 years who sailed out of the West Coast. On September 11, 2001, he was on his way back to catch his ship, the APL THAILAND, when his airplane was hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center. Since then, a memorial golf tournament has been set up in his name to benefit Norwell, Massachusetts high school students. Norwell was Jay's hometown. The tournament takes place on September 22 at Bay Pointe Country Club in Onset, Massachusetts. Members can sponsor holes for the tournament at $100 apiece. If MEBA members on each of our vessels band together and pledge $100, this could be the most successful tournament ever.

Checks should be made payable to the Jay Corcoran Memorial Scholarship Foundation and mailed to Tom Piepenbrink, 46 Higgins Rd., Kingston, MA 02364. For more information call Tom at (781) 585-2667, Rick Lundstedt at (781) 585-3318 or MEBA Boston Union hall Rep. Bill Campbell at (617) 261-2338. Bill can be e-mailed at wcampbell@d1meba.org.

GREEK SHIPPING COMPANY GUILTY OF OIL POLLUTION
A Greek shipping company pleaded guilty this week in a Los Angeles court to illegally discharging oil and obstructing a Coast Guard investigation. Danaos Shipping Co. admitted to a felony charge of obstruction and a misdemeanor charge of negligently discharging oil.

The oil discharge came from an ocean-going cargo vessel called the APL GUATEMALA that was anchored in the Port of Long Beach in July 2001. On July 3, 2001, GUATEMALA crewmembers observed oil leaking from the starboard side of the vessel. Instead of notifying the National Response Center, they poured detergent into the water in an attempt to disperse the oil and hide the spill.

That same morning, divers hired by Danaos inspected the ship and noticed oil actively flowing from the vessel. One diver who observed oil actively flowing from the vent holes in the APL GUATEMALA's sea chest informed a Danaos official on board the ship. The Danaos officials directed the diver to remove the oil from the sea chest and to falsely state on his report that he had only inspected valves, not investigate an oil spill.

As part of a plea agreement, Danaos has agreed to be sentenced to a term of organizational probation of three years, to implement and fund an Environmental Management System/Compliance Plan, to commit no further violations of international agreements that prohibit oil discharges, and to pay full restitution to the victims of the offense, including the Coast Guard and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They also have has agreed to pay a criminal fine of $500,000, with $250,000 of that fine to be devoted to community service projects.

C/E ON GREEK SHIP ADMITS MAGIC PIPE TRICK
The chief engineer of a Greek shipping vessel has pleaded guilty to a criminal water-pollution charge, admitting that he directed crew members to install a "magic pipe" that allowed the ship to dump oil into the ocean. Ioannis Georgios Vafeas pleaded guilty before a U.S. District Judge to a felony count of failing to maintain accurate records relating to the handling and overboard disposal of oil-contaminated sludges and wastewaters.

Vafeas was the chief engineer of the M/T GEORGIS NIKOLOS, which arrived at the Port of Long Beach on June 4, 2006, equipped with a hose to bypass the ship's oil water separator. He also admitted that he orchestrated a number of acts to conceal the unlawful discharges of pollutants from the U.S. Coast Guard. Vafeas said he destroyed a "sounding notebook" that contained waste tank measurements; that he ordered members to hide the magic pipe, as well as paint-chipped and oil-stained valves; and that he directed crewmembers to throw a magic-pipe adaptor overboard into the waters of the Port of Long Beach. With his sentencing scheduled for October 30th, Vafeas faces a statutory maximum penalty of six years in federal prison.

PUBLIC MEETING ON FATE OF SAVANNAH THIS MONDAY IN N.C.
The Maritime Administration will discuss future plans for the retired Nuclear Ship SAVANNAH at a public meeting this Monday (August 21) in Wilmington, N.C. Possible plans for the ship could include making it into a museum. The agency is looking to decommission the SAVANNAH, originally launched July 21, 1959, during the Eisenhower Administration as the world's first nuclear-powered commercial vessel. It served as a museum from 1981 to 1994, and was moored at the James River Reserve Fleet until recently, when it was taken to Colonna's Shipyard in Norfolk for topside and interior repairs. The ship's active sailing life ended in 1971, at which time all nuclear fuel was removed from the ship.

The public meeting takes place at Office Showcase/Classroom B, University of North Carolina at Wilmington on Monday. It starts at 6 p.m. and is open to the public.

NEXT REGULAR MONTHLY MEETINGS
Tuesday, September 5 - Baltimore, Boston, Houston, Jacksonville, San Francisco, Seattle;
Wednesday, September 6 - Calhoon School, Charleston, New Orleans, Portland;
Thursday, September 7 - Los Angeles, New York, Norfolk, Tampa;
Friday, September 8 - Honolulu.

--------FINISHED WITH ENGINES---------