In this issue...
Ballots mail out...Ocean Ranger pilot program begins...Good progress on maritime security...In a hot-melt adhesive edition, we stick to the point and hold fast with the quick-setting news of the week. Don't get stuck with non-binding newsletters that can't hold it together. We give them a pasting and cement our reputation with an issue that you'll get attached to. Your all-purpose maritime bonding agent, the Telex Times will keep you glued to your seat!

BALLOTS MAIL OUT
Ballots for the 2007 District No. 1-PCD, M.E.B.A. election were mailed by the American Arbitration Association to members in good standing on Saturday, September 1. Those members should receive the ballots within a week.

Members will have until November 30th to fill them out and return them to a depository in Washington D.C. where they will be collected by an Impartial Administrator and an elected rank and file tallying committee on December 3, 2007 and tabulated.

M.E.B.A. OCEAN RANGERS IN PLACE FOR PILOT PROGRAM
M.E.B.A. officers have helped begin the implementation of Alaska's new Ocean Ranger pilot program aboard foreign-flag cruise ships entering state waters.

A 2006 citizens' initiative calling for Ocean Rangers to be aboard each Cruise ship while in Alaska waters specified that licensed marine engineers were required. Our members snatched up the jobs off the open board and began work immediately. The pilot program is taking place at the tail end of Alaska's cruise season. If everything runs smoothly there should be a substantially more Ocean Ranger jobs available to members at the beginning of next year's cruise season in Alaska when the full program is set to begin.

The M.E.B.A. engineers and other observers are predominantly going aboard at one port and disembarking at the next. While on the ship, they work through a schedule of observations that includes inspecting wastewater systems, reviewing environmental records and serving as on-board contacts for Alaska's Department of Conservation.

The Conservation Department will hold a public meeting later this fall to review and evaluate the results of the interim observer program and to describe plans for completing the transition to the full Ocean Ranger program beginning with the 2008 cruise ship season. Details on pay and benefits for these jobs have been sent to each of the M.E.B.A. Union halls.

GAO FINDS "SUBSTANTIAL" PROGRESS ON MARITIME SECURITY
A report issued this week by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds that although the Department of Homeland Security failed to meet half its performance expectations since the agency was established four years ago, it has made real progress in the area of maritime security. GAO Comptroller General David Walker testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday and pointed out that, "There were 171 different performance expectations of which we judged that 78 were generally achieved, 83 generally not achieved, and 10 that we did not assess." The DHS has issued a lengthy statement disagreeing with the methods GAO used in conducting its probe. GAO found that the DHS was most lacking in areas of improving emergency preparedness and information sharing. However, maritime security was found to be a shining area of progress.

DHS responsibilities in this area concern port and vessel security, maritime intelligence, and maritime supply chain security. The GAO identified 23 maritime security performance expectations and found that DHS has "generally achieved" seventeen of them and has "generally not achieved" four others. There were two areas in which GAO was unable to make an assessment.

The Government watchdog agency found that DHS successes occurred in such areas as developing national plans for maritime security and for maritime response and recovery. They have done good work, the report says, in ensuring that ships complete vulnerability assessments and have security plans in place as well as in screening and collecting information from incoming vessels in order to assess risks. However, the GAO reports that DHS has lagged behind in developing regional port-specific plans for recovery, in implementing a national facility access control system for port-secured areas, developing a long-range vessel tracking system to improve maritime domain awareness and in developing a program to screen incoming cargo for radiation. The DHS statement this week took issue with GAO's criticism of the vessel tracking system progress saying that the report unfairly criticizes the ongoing development of this multi-year program because it hasn't yet achieved total implementation. They say that the DHS/Coast Guard expects that the initial long-range tracking capability for that program will be up and running later this year.

DHS ANNOUNCES WEST COAST MARITIME RADIATION DETECTION PROJECT
The Department of Homeland Security's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office has announced the implementation of its West Coast pilot program that will provide maritime radiation detection capabilities for State and local authorities in Washington's Puget Sound and California's San Diego areas. The three-year pilot program involves the development of a radiation detection architecture that reduces the risk of radiological and nuclear threats that could be illegally transported on recreational or small commercial vessels. The program will be conducted in close coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection.

The Detection Office anticipates investing roughly $10 million in the pilot program. The Puget Sound region and San Diego, with DHS assistance, will leverage existing federal grant funding to support small vessel radiation detection programs and the procurement of recommended equipment.

They expect to deploy non-intrusive, passive detection sensors, such as human-portable radiation detection equipment, mobile sensors, and fixed-position detectors. The goal of the program is to evaluate the efficacy and begin to facilitate the use of radiation detection equipment by local authorities and maritime partners as part of their routine operations in the maritime environment.

The West Coast maritime pilot program is underway at Puget Sound, with initial assessment activities beginning in July, and will start soon in San Diego.

WORK CONTINUES ON NUCLEAR SHIP SAVANNAH
The Maritime Administration is making progress on the Nuclear Ship SAVANNAH as the vessel evolves from a rotting hulk into an environmentally safe museum piece ready for its next incarnation. MarAd awarded a $4 million contract to a Norfolk Ship repair outfit that will continue needed dry-docking and maintenance work on this National Historic Landmark vessel. The SAVANNAH was the world's first and only U.S.-built nuclear-powered merchant ship and was crewed by M.E.B.A. officers back in its heyday in the 1960s. It is currently moored in the BAE ship repair facility in Norfolk, VA.

M.E.B.A., under our contract with Keystone Shipping, is also participating in the preservation of the vessel. The major work to be done on the ship is a full surface preparation and coating of its exterior from top to bottom. Other work includes detailed inspection of the ship's double bottom ballast tanks, repairs to the ship's cargo hatch covers, and minor exterior repairs to ensure the weather tight integrity of the ship. The ship's propeller will be removed during the drydocking as well. A long-term plan for the ship has not yet been revealed but the current work will enable a series of options for the ship's future.

The SAVANNAH is expected to remain at the BAE facility into the early part of 2008.

PORT ENGINEER NEEDED
Horizon Lines is looking to hire an experienced Port Engineer for the T-AGS program. This is your last chance to apply for the position! The job will require a combination of home-based work with frequent travel involved. Government procurement policy experience is preferred, along with the ability to be vetted with a secret clearance. For more information, please call the Norfolk Representative at (757) 440-1820.

M.E.B.A.-CREWED MSC SHIPS REPLENISH NEAR BAHIA MALAGA
The Hospital ship USNS COMFORT conducted vertical replenishment operations with supply ship USNS SATURN recently off the coast of Bahia Malaga. Both ships are crewed with M.E.B.A. civilian mariners. The COMFORT is on a four-month humanitarian assistance deployment. And have treated thousands of patients in seven countries so far. It will visit 12 countries before its mission is completed.

Using MH-60S Knighthawk helicopters from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28, COMFORT received more than 200 pallets of cargo which included medical and dental supplies as well as food and ship's store items for the crew. COMFORT has purchased food, ship's store and cleaning items from local host nations, but with few sources in South and Central America for familiar American merchandise, SATURN delivered a variety of essential and morale-lifting cargo for the crew. The ship will continue its mission throughout September and October, visiting the partner nations of Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname.

GREEK TANKER COMPANY DUMPED OIL, LIED ABOUT IT
Ionia Management, a Greek company that manages a fleet of tanker vessels, has been convicted for its role in the overboard dumping of waste oil from the M/T KRITON into international waters as well as for and its efforts to impede the U.S. Coast Guard and other authorities from learning of the dumping.

After a trial lasting two weeks in New Haven, Conn., the company was convicted on 13 counts of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, three counts of falsifying records in a federal investigation, one count of obstruction of justice, and one count of conspiracy. The maximum fine on each count is $500,000, for a total maximum fine of $9 million. Sentencing is scheduled for November 28.

The company, which was already on probation in the Eastern District of New York, was convicted of falsifying records to conceal the illegal discharge of oil-contaminated waste and of using and presenting false oil record books and other documents to the Coast Guard in port calls in the District of Connecticut, Southern District of Florida, Eastern District of New York and the Virgin Islands. It was also convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice by destroying the flexible rubber bypass hose used to dump waste overboard, while the Coast Guard was onboard the KRITON conducting its investigation.

NEXT REGULAR MONTHLY MEETINGS
Tuesday, October 9 - Baltimore, Boston, Houston, Jacksonville, San Francisco, Seattle;
Wednesday, October 10 - Calhoon School, Charleston, New Orleans, Portland;
Thursday, October 11 - L.A., New York, Norfolk, Tampa;
Friday, October 12 - Honolulu.