In this issue...
M.E.B.A. on EMORY LAND...One more week for LMSR  résumés...Coast Guard Commandant addresses D.C. Prop Club...Read and learn,  Grasshopper! In a black-belt, Shaolin death-match edition, we unleash our literary fists of fury to bring you a board-breaking issue with plenty of punch. Chop Chop! The competition bows to the Grandmaster of newsletters as we tiger-leap into action, put our best foot forward and go right to your head. Hee-yah! Your maritime Sensei, you'll get a kick out of the Telex Times!

M.E.B.A. ABOARD EMORY LAND
M.E.B.A. is now aboard the USNS EMORY S. LAND, a Submarine Tender that is being brought into the Military Sealift Command fleet from the U.S. Navy. This month, M.E.B.A. and MM&P members were put onboard the ship as part of a riding crew. The vessel is sailing for Bremerhaven where it will officially be changed to USNS status. Right now, M.E.B.A. Chief Engineer Charlie Smith is the lone member aboard but a full M.E.B.A. engine complement will soon be joining him. The ship will continue to be operated by the Government and support Navy submarines worldwide with food, fuel and other supplies.

RÉSUMÉS NEEDED FOR LMSR BID; EXTENSION ALLOWS ONE-MORE WEEK
The MSC is soliciting proposals from interested operators for the operation and maintenance of the eight Watson-Class LMSR vessels. M.E.B.A. is providing economic terms and conditions to its contracted employers who are responding to the Solicitation. As part of the RFP, MSC is asking that résumés be provided with each company's proposal. A recent extension will allow members to have one final week to submit their résumés as part of the bid.

The Companies are seeking qualified Senior Officers (Masters, Chief Mates, Chief Engineers, First Assistant Engineers, Port Captains and Port Engineers) interested in working these ships.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please forward the most current copy of your résumé detailing your work history, USCG License and an itemization of all the training courses you have completed, including gas turbine if applicable. It is preferable to receive the information electronically via email to the M.E.B.A. Contracts Officer at mebahq@d1meba.org or fax to (202) 638-5369. Please forward your information to us by FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2007 so they can be included in time for the Companies bid submissions.

COAST GUARD COMMANDANT ADDRESSES MARINE SAFETY PROGRAM
U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen delivered remarks this week  concerning the agency's marine safety program during a lunch appearance  before the Washington D.C. Propeller Club. Recently, House Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) held a hearing on the program questioning whether Coast Guard was placing a higher priority on its security duties to the detriment of its safety programs.

The marine safety program, one of the oldest core functions of the Coast Guard dating back nearly two centuries, has been under scrutiny following the Coast Guards difficulties with the merchant mariner credentialing program, their Transportation Worker Identification Credential, and reports on a number of marine casualties that cast doubt upon the effectiveness of the Coast Guards inspection programs. M.E.B.A. testified at that hearing which took place in early August.

In his Propeller Club address, Commandant Allen rejected the notion that Coast Guards safety and security operations are alien from each other each feeds into and affects the other. He said that the agency intends to raise its number of marine inspectors and to place additional emphasis, in general, on its safety program to ensure its continued success. They plan to take a hard look at the program, he noted, to make sure that the knowledgeable people they need are in place and that they work in partnership with the industry.

NORTHWEST PASSAGE IS NAVIGABLE
Tamed by the effects of global warming, the formerly ice-laden Northwest Passage, the historically impassable shortcut between Europe and Asia, is now open, scientists announced. Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center said that rising temperatures have melted the pack ice enough to provide enough of a gap for shipping to proceed through the Passage unimpeded. This  could prove to be a timesaver for vessels that currently use the Panama or Suez Canals. The route could also help stoke the oil trade from Alaska and cut the distance to the refineries.

Explorers had tried to traverse the passage for hundreds of years before Roald Amundsen conquered the route in 1903. It took him 3 years. In the 1940's Henry Larsen in the ST. ROCH suffered through two winters trapped in ice in the midst of the passage before reaching the other side. It took him 27 months. In late 2000, the ST. ROCH II completed the same voyage, making a series of leisurely stops, in less than a month.

A spokesman from the Danish National Space Centre said that there has been a 1 million square kilometer reduction of the ice cover on the Passage since 2006. In the ten years previously, there had been a reduction of only 100,000 square kilometers per year. So this substantial ice thaw taking place in just one year, he said, is extreme and merits immediate study.

Arctic sea ice naturally extends its surface coverage each northern winter and recedes each northern summer, but the rate of overall loss since 1978 when satellite records began has accelerated dramatically.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ISSUE JONES ACT SUPPORT
A series of Democratic candidates for President have forwarded brief  statements in support of the Jones Act after responding to a questionnaire issued by the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers. Support for the maritime industry and the Jones Act is a bipartisan affair. However responders to the query, that also included a series of questions on labor, health care and immigration, were unanimously Democrat. Following are the candidates statements to this question: Do you support the requirement under the Jones Act that all vessels engaged in domestic coast-wide trade be built and assembled in the United States?

Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE): The Jones Act is a century old act that has served Americas strategic defense needs well. I have long supported initiatives to keep American ship-building strong. It is crucial that we maintain domestic capacity particularly in industries that are important to our national security.

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC): Yes. For decades, the Jones Act has ensured the construction and operation of a merchant marine fleet capable of meeting our nation's commercial and military needs while simultaneously creating a competitive U.S. shipbuilding industry and thousands of good-paying American jobs. Recently, I strongly urged the U.S. Coast Guard to protect our domestic shipbuilding industrial base and our domestic shipbuilding workers by withdrawing its recent interpretation of the Jones Act, which authorized the manufacturing and assembly of major vessel components offshore.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY): I am strongly committed to using American  products as a way of spurring the creation of new jobs in this country. When we use American products in our coastal vessels, we spur more jobs for hardworking Americans. This policy also ensures that the U.S. is self-sufficient in constructing ships that will be needed in times of war or national emergency. As President, I will fight to limit the alarming trend of off-shoring American jobs to keep jobs in the US by closing tax loopholes  that reward businesses for exporting jobs abroad. We cannot have a strong economy unless we have a strong domestic manufacturing base. I oppose efforts to weaken the Jones Act.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL): I supported the reauthorization of the Jones Act. I know that the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and its members benefit from the job security this law provides. Furthermore, maintaining the American merchant marine fleet is vital to our economy and national security. I would oppose any move to undermine this Act.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT): I am a strong supporter of the principles of the Jones Act. Throughout my career I have advanced and supported legislation that keeps jobs, especially manufacturing jobs, in the United States.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH): As a member of the House, I have signed on as a co-sponsor of House Continuing Resolution 65, a statement of full support for the Jones Act and related statutes.

Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM): Yes, I do. The Jones Act plays a valuable role in sustaining American projects for American workers, as well as ensuring a strong American-made Navy that is invaluable in times of national crisis. There will, from time to time, be the need to grant waivers to the Act under extreme circumstances, such as threats to our energy and national security, whether from human or natural sources. Without the Jones Act, however, the U.S.-share of global commercial shipbuilding, which at one point had reached zero percent, would return to that level.

AFL-CIO LAUNCHES ELECTION WEBSITE
The AFL-CIO recently launched Working Families Vote 2008, an Internet site intended to help union workers and their family members get involved in selecting Americas next president. The site provides a voter guide showing all presidential candidates (Republicans as well as Democrats) and their positions on issues vital to working families. It includes links to video clips of interviews and speeches via YouTube. You can visit the site at www.aflcio.org/issues/politics.

COOPERATION IN ADDRESSING MALACCA STRAITS PIRACY CONCERNS
A new framework has been reached, in which the Littoral States of the Straits of Malacca (Indonesia and Malaysia) and Singapore will work together with the international maritime community to combat piracy. This initiative was cemented at a meeting called by the International Maritime Organization. The agreement will provide a regular platform for the parties to exchange views, jointly undertake projects and make voluntary monetary contributions. The Straits have become notorious as a playground for piracy. Attacks have decreased in recent years due to the continued vigilance of the Littoral States. This agreement represents continued progress against the high seas lawlessness rampant in that area.

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.