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

MEBA TELEX TIMES       JANUARY 11, 2008

The Official Union Newsletter

NUMBER 2

In this issue...
Maersk swaps in newer MSP ships, Bay ships sail on...MSC takes over latest T-AKE...HAYES & WATERS contract is final...Aker starts work on next OSG tanker...Go towards the light! In a last-gasp, final exit edition we kick off a toes-up, drop-dead gorgeous issue to help you pass away the time. Give up the ghost on lifeless, flatlining newsletters that won't let you rest in peace. Cash in your chips, grab a halo and join the majority to meet your news maker! Helping you go to a better place, cross over to the Telex Times " It's to die for!"

MAERSK TO BRING IN TWO NEWBUILDS TO TAKE MSP SLOTS; M.E.B.A. PACT WILL ALLOW BAY SHIPS TO CONTINUE SERVICE
Maersk Line Limited has announced that it is removing two of its older Maritime Security Program vessels out of the MSP and replacing them with two newbuilds. The two new ships being brought in are courtesy of a recent A.P. Moller-Maersk tonnage cooperation agreement with Höegh Autoliners. The HÖEGH MADRID, a pure car/truck carrier, was completed in an overseas shipyard and is scheduled to join the MSP fleet later this month. The HÖEGH PARIS, another PCTC, was built in 2005 and is set to join the fleet in late January. The MADRID will be renamed to the ALLIANCE NORFOLK. The PARIS will soon be known as the ALLIANCE ST. LOUIS.

The vessels being removed from the MSP fleet are the MAERSK NEVADA and the MAERSK NEBRASKA. These are the old "Bay Ships" formerly owned by the First American Bulk Cargo Corporation (FABCC). The NEVADA was formerly known as the DELAWARE BAY and TYSON LYKES before that. The NEBRASKA is the ex-CHESAPEAKE BAY formerly the TILLIE LYKES. However, the "M-Ships" contract that M.E.B.A. signed in 2004 contained a "non-MSP" clause that would allow the continuation of the Bay Ships under the U.S.-flag with M.E.B.A. crews aboard. M-Ships plans to deploy both vessels in the bulk trades carrying grain.

M.E.B.A. President Don Keefe and Contracts Officer Mark Gallagher worked with M-Ships and nailed down final language of the new Memorandum of Understanding. Earlier this week, the deal was sealed with the signature of both parties.

MSC TAKES OVER LATEST M.E.B.A.-CREWED T-AKE
The Military Sealift Command has accepted delivery of the dry/cargo ammunition ship USNS RICHARD E. BYRD which was built in San Diegos NASSCO shipyard. BYRD, designated T-AKE 4, is the fourth in the Lewis and Clark-class of underway replenishment ships which deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to the Navy's underway carrier and expeditionary strike groups, allowing them to stay at sea for extended periods of time.

The T-AKEs will replace some of these aging, single-mission ships such as Kilauea-class ammunition ships and Mars and Sirius-class combat stores ships that are nearing the end of their service lives.

Later this month, the 689-foot BYRD will go on a short shakedown cruise where the ship's crew will test a range of shipboard operations including a mock ammunition transfer that will use shipboard cranes to lift dummy ordnance onto Byrd's deck from barges. This is the first such test ever done aboard a T-AKE. BYRD is anticipated to deploy on its first operational mission this summer. The first ship of the class, USNS LEWIS AND CLARK, recently completed its deployment in the Persian Gulf. LEWIS AND CLARK was  replaced in theater by the second ship of the class, USNS SACAGAWEA.

PROTEST DISMISSAL MAKES HAYES & WATERS CONTRACT OFFICIAL; CONTINUE TO SUBMIT YOUR RÉSUMÉS
Protests filed by two of the losing bidders in a Military Sealift Command management contract solicitation for a pair of Special Mission ships were denied this week. Patriot Contract Services had been announced by MSC as the apparent winner of the Small Business Set Aside bid for the USNS HAYES and the USNS WATERS several weeks back. Just before the deadline, two losing bidders lodged a protest with the Small Business Administration claiming that Patriot did not qualify as a small business and therefore should not have been awarded the contract. The SBA released its decision this week, dismissing the protests saying that Patriot does, in fact, qualify as a small business. Soon after, Patriot received word that the contract award to their company had been made official by the MSC. The takeover schedule should proceed as normal.

Patriot continues to accept résumés for officer positions aboard the two ships. It is anticipated that Patriot will take over the WATERS by the first few days of February followed by the HAYES soon after. A secret security clearance is required for all officers prior to assignment to the ships, so early identification of all officer crewing is vital. The Memorandum of Understanding is available for review at the M.E.B.A. Union halls.

Résumés should list your most recent training and should be sent by e-mail to john.howe@asmhq.com or faxed to him at (925) 296-2051.

The USNS WATERS is a Hydrographic Survey Ship built in 1993 that supports missile range instrumentation and submarine navigation research missions. The USNS HAYES, "the quietest research ship in the world," was converted into an Acoustic Research vessel in 1992.

AKER STARTS STEEL CUTTING ON NEXT TANKER BOUND FOR OSG FLEET
Steel cutting has begun on the next tanker vessel being constructed at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. The vessel, "Hull 011," is scheduled to be named OVERSEAS NIKISKI after Nikiski, Alaska.

Upon completion, the MT-46 Veteran Class product tanker will be chartered to OSG and crewed up with expert M.E.B.A. officers. The first three vessels in the series of twelve double-hulled, environmentally friendly tankers were delivered in 2007, and start of production on Hull 011 brings the number of vessels currently under construction at the yard to four. The ship is set for completion in 2009.

Consistent with the build method for all the vessels in the series, the first steel plates cut for this ship will be used in construction of the
engine room of the 46,000 deadweight ton (dwt) product tanker.

MATSON V.P. CHATS UP KP CLUB
Matson Navigations Vice President for Government Relations Phil Grill regaled a D.C. Kings Point Club lunch crowd this week with an enlightening chat about the company's latest ventures. Beginning with an overview on the company, Grill brought the lunch crowd up to date with some of Matsons progress since 1882 when Capt. Bill Matson began the company's initial voyages in Hawaii. Grill touched upon Matsons recent $500 million fleet replacement program that resulted in the completion of four U.S.-built containerships currently at sea with M.E.B.A. engineers aboard. Those vessels were deployed in Matsons new Guam-China service along with an older ship, the R.J. PFEIFFER. That new venture has proved "very successful," said Grill, though he pointed out that there are no plans in the short term to supplement those vessels in the trade with additional ships. "We're working in other areas to expand," he noted.

He announced that the Matson C-9 containership MOKIHANA has completed its conversion into a combination roll-on/roll-off (Ro/Ro) vessel that now has the capacity to carry 1,200 vehicles. He briefly discussed some of the difficulties shipping companies endure mentioning how they had some prep work performed on the MOKIHANA in an overseas yard - in a move that was pre-approved by the Coast Guard - before the modification of the vessel in an Alabama yard. The Coast Guard is presently dealing with an ongoing challenge, stemming from the prep work, from a domestic shipbuilders group which is trying to strengthen the U.S.-build rules affecting vessel rebuilding and repairing. The MOKIHANA has reentered service and has helped increase the company's Ro/Ro capacity by 120%.

Grill also discussed the company's joint efforts with Horizon Lines to purchase three gantry cranes that will help upgrade the aging infrastructure in Guam and that will allow them to meet projected demand from the $15 million military buildup the Government is planning. They hope to have the cranes in operation by the latter half of this year.

REPORTED PIRACY INCIDENTS ROSE SHARPLY IN 2007
Reported piracy incidents rose 10% in 2007 compared to the previous year, as attacks grew more violent, and increased significantly in Nigerian and Somali waters, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said last week after releasing its annual report.

Attacks on ships numbered 263 for 2007, versus the 239 recorded in 2006, based on statistics compiled by the IMB Piracy Reporting Center in Kuala Lumpur. At the same time, pirates and robbers boarding vessels were better armed and more brazen in assaulting and injuring crew members, with a 35% increase reported in the number of incidents involving guns, with 64 crew injured or assaulted, compared with 17 in 2006.

This significant increase is directly attributable to the increase in incidents in Nigeria and Somalia, said Captain Pottengal Mukundan, IMB Director, adding that pirates in these two countries attacked vessels further out at sea and were better armed and organized, amid a lack of proper law enforcement.

In Nigeria, attacks were concentrated in Lagos, where 25 attacks took place, and in the Niger Delta region. Many attacks were staged by heavily armed groups with political grievances. A total of 42 incidents were reported last year in Nigeria, a large increase from 12 in 2006.

A total of 31 piracy incidents were reported in Somalia, a jump from 10 reported the year before. The most kidnappings anywhere in the world were also recorded on ships in Somali waters in 2007, where pirates held 154 crew hostage in 11 hijackings. The recent intervention by the international community and coalition forces may prove to be the only way to stop the pirates, which have until now shown complete disregard for the law.

While piracy is on the rise in these two countries, it is on the wane in several states in southeast Asia, as national authorities have cooperated to tackle the problem. In Indonesia, where authorities have been extremely vigilant, many of the attacks currently involve lower-level crimes, including theft. Attacks have fallen to 43 reported incidents last year, a steady, year-on-year decline from 121 in 2003. Similarly, attacks in the Malacca Straits, previously a hotspot, have continued to drop since 2004, as well as in Malaysia and the Singapore Straits.

Perhaps the greatest improvement last year in piracy was reported in Bangladesh, where local authorities succeeded in reducing the number of incidents to 15, well below 47 recorded the previous year.

DHS AGENCIES ANNOUNCE ENROLLMENT DATES FOR TWIC IN 10 PORTS
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that enrollment in the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program will begin at 10 more locations in the coming weeks. This program ensures that any individual who has unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities and vessels has received a thorough background check and is not a known security threat.

TWIC enrollment began Oct. 16, 2007 at the Port of Wilmington, Del. The addition of these 10 locations will bring the number of fixed enrollment centers open for enrollment to 59. Ultimately, the program will be rolled out to 147 fixed enrollment sites and will vet more than 1 million workers through 2008.

"TWIC is one of the world's most advanced interoperable biometric systems and raises the bar on port security," said the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) Maurine Fanguy, program director for TWIC. "We are off to a strong start with thousands of workers enrolled and credentials issued."

TSA said the following ports would open their centers next:
Jan. 16: Victoria, Texas;
Jan. 17: Kahului, Hawaii; Portland, Ore.;
Jan. 23: Bourne, Mass.; Green Bay, Wis.;
Jan. 24: Pittsburgh, PA. Texas City, Texas;
Jan. 25: Kauai, Hawaii;
Jan. 30: Salisbury, MD; Toledo, Ohio.

Workers at these ports, as well as another 49 where enrollment has begun, are able to pre-enroll for TWIC on the TSA Web site (www.tsa.gov/twic). Pre-enrollment speeds up the process by allowing workers to provide biographic information and schedule a time to complete the application process in person. This reduces waiting and in-person enrollment times for each individual.

More information on the TWIC program is available at www.tsa.gov/twic and additional information on port security is available at the U.S. Coast Guard's Homeport site at http://homeport.uscg.mil by clicking on the Maritime Security link.

NEW CONTAINER SHIPPING COALITION LAUNCHES PUBLIC AWARENESS DRIVE
In an industry first, a collection of the world's 24 leading container shipping companies has formed a coalition called the Container Shipping Information Service to increase public understanding of the benefits and impact the industry has on daily life. The public awareness effort is a result of recent third-party research of opinion influencers around the world, which concluded that the traditionally quiet industry needs to do a better job of promoting itself. To that end, CSIS aims to show how the industry is vital to the lives of people in the modern world. It also plans to address the industry's role in common areas of concern, particularly the environment, globalization and security.

As a first step, CSIS has created a public website (www.shipsandboxes.com), designed to appeal to a broad audience. Its features include a 'Did You Know?' section and a 'Jargon Buster' that decodes shipping terms. The CSIS is engaged with other major industry trade bodies and aims to complement their existing activities by providing information that is more relevant to a broader public audience.

DIC WILL DEAL HARSHLY WITH NON-DUES PAYING MEMBERS
The District Investigating Committee (DIC) will be convening later this month and are prepared to deal with members who haven't been paying their dues. Any members or applicants two or more years in arrears on their dues and/or service charges will be put under review by the DIC and WILL BE DROPPED from the membership or applicant rolls. If you are in arrears and desire to retain your membership or applicant status, you must contact Headquarters immediately to make payment on your arrearage to return to good standing.

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETINGS
Monday, February 4 - Boston, Seattle;
Tuesday, February 5 - Baltimore, Houston, Jacksonville, San Francisco;
Wednesday, February 6 - Calhoon School, Charleston, New Orleans, Portland;
Thursday, February 7 - L.A., New York, Norfolk, Tampa;
Friday, February 8 - Honolulu.
 

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