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

MEBA TELEX TIMES           NOVEMBER 07, 2008

The Official Union Newsletter

NUMBER 45

In this issue...
Union voice crucial in Obama victory...MSC takes over latest T-AKE...M.E.B.A. Civmar honored...In a bigger and boulder issue, we wipe the slate clean, take nothing for granite and chalk up a chiseled, concrete edition that'll hit you like a ton of bricks. Don't get in deep schist with petrified, gravel-faced newsletters. We reduce them to rubble and send those marble-eyed fossils back to the stone age! A chip off the old block, the Telex Times is ready to rock!

UNION VOTE HELPS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE FOR OBAMA
Union voters supported President-elect Barack Obama 67 percent to 30 percent over Sen. John McCain. In the top-tier battleground states the difference was even more stark, with union members going for Obama 69 to 28-a 41-point margin. While McCain won among voters ages 65 and up, active and retired union members older than 65 went for Obama by a 46-point margin. McCain garnered the most support from veterans, however union veterans went for Obama by a 25-point margin. 60 percent of union members and 56 percent of Working America members said the economy was a top issue. 21 percent of voters were in a union or union household.

In union-heavy Midwestern states, where Bush had come close and McCain campaigned hard, the efforts of union volunteers helped put them solidly in Obama's column. Obama won by 13 points in Wisconsin, 16 points in Michigan, 10 points in Minnesota and 11 points in Pennsylvania.

More than 250,000 union volunteers devoted their time and energy to reaching out to their fellow union members-educating them on issues, informing them about candidates and getting out the vote. Some 10 million door knocks, 70 million phone calls, 27 million worksite fliers and 57 million union mail pieces made the difference in races from the White House to state legislatures.

Many maritime-friendly politicians -- both Republicans and Democrats - won their Congressional races with M.E.B.A. support. We will detail those races in a future issue.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says that last night's results show the continued strength of the union movement and the widespread desire for change in this country. "The union movement put its full efforts into its largest political mobilization ever, and the results are clear. It's a historic victory for working families and a chance to pass policies that will pull us out of our economic crisis and make real changes in real people's lives."

MSC TAKES DELIVERY OF LATEST M.E.B.A.-CREWED T-AKE
The Military Sealift Command took delivery of the dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS AMELIA EARHART in a small ceremony at San Diego's NASSCO Shipyard last week.

EARHART, named in honor of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, is the sixth in the Lewis and Clark-class of underway replenishment ships. These T-AKEs 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, on station and combat ready for extended periods of time. M.E.B.A. engineers serve aboard all of the T-AKEs.

"EARHART and the other dry cargo/ammunition ships are relieving ships that have been sustaining our Navy task forces at sea for nearly 40 years," said Tim McCully, deputy commander of MSC's office in San Diego, Sealift Logistics Command Pacific. "This allows MSC to continue our tradition of reliable service to the fleet."

In early December, the 689-foot EARHART will go on a short "shakedown cruise" where the ship's crew will test a range of shipboard operations. The vessel will operate mainly in the Pacific Ocean out of Guam and is anticipated to begin conducting missions for MSC in summer 2009.

PROTECTION TEAMS AVAILABLE FOR SHIPS TRANSITING GULF OF ADEN
The European Union (EU) has initiated a 'Close Support Protection' system for vessels transiting the Gulf of Aden. The French navy will be the first to offer this service. They will provide protection teams onboard two merchant vessels at a time. The rest of the ships intending to follow this 'group of protected vessels' can do so without the protection teams onboard.

The presence of the warships should deter pirates from attacking any vessels in the group. Vessels can also call the nearby warships for assistance when attacked by pirates.

Technical agreement between ship-owners and French navy has to be established prior to the protection team being embarked. Protection is free. Civilian vessels willing to benefit from such escorts have to make contact 10 days before slot For further information contact the French Force commander staff for Indian Ocean Tel: 00 33 4 94 02 89 49/E-mail: alindien@free.fr

M.E.B.A. OFFICER RECEIVES NAVY LEAGUE AWARD
Military Sealift Command civil service mariner and M.E.B.A. member Theodore "Scotty" Robinson was honored last week at the annual Navy League Sea Services Awards ceremony in Kansas City, MO.

Brother Robinson received the Captain Arthur L. Johnson Award for Inspirational Leadership for his instrumental role in the successful transition of rescue and salvage ship USNS GRAPPLE from military to civilian crewing following the ship's decommissioning and delivery to MSC in 2006. As GRAPPLE's 1st assistant engineer, Robinson demonstrated unsurpassed knowledge and experience in leading his team through a complex but seamless transition. Robinson streamlined parts procurement, trained new engineers on how to operate the platform, established operating policies and practices, and reassembled the ship after a 75-day habitability modification and regular overhaul maintenance period.

According to civil service Capt. Randall Rockwood, MSFSC port captain who represented MSC commander Rear Adm. Robert D. Reilly, Jr. at the ceremony, the awards given out by the Navy League represent a high point in the career of civil service mariners.

GREEK CHIEF, COMPANY GUILTY OF ILLEGAL OIL DISPOSAL
Casilda Shipping, Ltd., the Maltese company that owned the RIO GOLD (a 23,000 ton ocean-going cargo ship registered in Malta); Genesis Seatrading Corporation, the Greek operating company; and Mr. Pantelis Thomas, the vessel's Chief Engineer and a citizen of Greece, all pleaded guilty and were sentenced last week for conspiring to falsify waste oil disposal records related to the intentional disposal of waste oil into the ocean while in international waters.

Casilda Shipping, Ltd. was sentenced to pay a fine of $750,000 and to serve three years of probation. Genesis Seatrading Corporation was sentenced to serve three years of probation and to comply with an extensive three-year Environmental Compliance Plan. Mr. Thomas was sentenced to serve three years of probation and pay a $5,000 fine. In pleading guilty, defendants admitted to using a magic pipe to bypass the anti-pollution equipment on the ship and discharge waste oil directly into the ocean. Defendants concealed their illegal overboard discharges by making false entries and omissions into the ship's on-board records.

The violations came to the attention of the U.S. Coast Guard after the RIO GOLD docked in Oakland on May 26, 2008, when four crew members reported the illegal activities. A subsequent inspection of the RIO GOLD uncovered the "magic pipe" disassembled and stored away, along with evidence of its consistent use.

COAST GUARD ADVISORY ON INSPECTION OF FUEL OIL QUICK-CLOSING VALVES
The U.S. Coast Guard is strongly recommending that owners and/or operators, vessel engineers, marine inspection personnel and others involved with the technical examination of machinery space equipment fully understand the critical nature and importance of fuel oil quick-closing valves (FOQCVs) and associated systems. FOQCV systems must be well maintained and tested in the same way they would be used in an emergency (e.g. close all valves on each system at the same time). Crewmember knowledge, testing, maintenance and repair, system operation and limitations, documentation, and spare parts are essential elements to review during an effective evaluation of an FOQCV system.

During a fire onboard the USNS SHUGHART on March 5, 2004, more than half of the FOQCVs failed to close properly, which prevented the ship's service generators from being secured. The investigators found that the valves had not been well maintained and the testing protocol used onboard the ship did not test the valves properly. During testing, valves were closed using a hydraulic hand pump system; the quantity of oil within the system should be sufficient to close all of them. However, there is no way to determine that the system contains enough oil to close all the valves, if prior to completing the testing some of the valves are reset! International and domestic regulations require that positive shutoff valves located outside the fuel tank be arranged with a means to be closed remotely from outside the compartment. These positive shutoff valves may be valves that are remotely closed gradually (e.g. turning a mechanical reach rod) or power operated.

FOQCVs are positive shutoff valves and they may be the final means of securing the fuel to a flammable liquid fire. It is absolutely critical that the ability to close the valves be maintained at all times. The periodic maintenance necessary to ensure proper operation of the FOQCVs must be given the highest priority, and completed as required. Records of completed maintenance and testing should be kept on board the vessel. Because FOQCVs and other positive shutoff valves on fuel tanks have the potential to prevent loss of life and/or critical equipment during a fire, the importance of verifying their proper operation cannot be overstated. As a result of the USNS SHUGHART casualty, the U.S. Coast Guard Office of Systems Engineering developed recommended inspection procedures for the testing and operation of FOQCVs which follow. The U.S. Coast Guard strongly recommends that owners and/or operators, vessel engineers, marine inspection personnel and others ensure:

a) The valve operating system is capable of remotely closing all valves in the event of a fire. It is imperative the system is tested as designed. It may be designed to close valves sequentially or simultaneously. Also, there may be manual input such as a hydraulic hand pump operation required at the remote control station. There is no defined time limit to close the valve; the time required will depend on the size of the valve and the system design.

b) There should be technical manuals on board containing diagrams and information that describe the system components, recommended spare parts requirements, maintenance and operation. Schematics and drawings of the systems should also be available.

c) All machinery space workers should be able to identify the valves and how to close them locally and remotely in an emergency. They should be able to demonstrate substantial knowledge of the system, its importance and operation. Ship engineers should be familiar with the technical manual and the associated maintenance requirements for all of the system components.

During Coast Guard inspections, engineers should be able to explain to the marine inspector the important aspects of the manual, as well as the general maintenance requirements of the system and provide information as to when it was last performed. Further, they should be able to explain how the valves are reset following closure. A good test of a crew member's general knowledge of fire fighting would be to ask them details of the technical items noted above with an emphasis on why these valves are important. The domestic regulations enforced by the U.S. Coast Guard for positive shutoff valves are contained in 46 CFR Part 56.50-60(d), Subparagraph 3. These regulations are available through the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) and may be downloaded without cost from the GPO's internet website http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.html.

P.A.F. CONTRIBUTIONS NET ADDITIONAL REWARDS
With a grueling election period finally coming to a close, it's a good time to see your donations to M.E.B.A.'s Political Action Fund at work. M.E.B.A. continues to use the Fund to educate Members of Congress about the importance of our industry, broaden our relationship with maritime-friendly politicians and to help elect those who recognize the significance of the U.S. Merchant Marine.

However, less than 20% of the membership currently contributes to the P.A.F. If the U.S. Merchant Marine is to continue to remain healthy, we need greater participation in this important Fund.

In an effort to enlist more participation and encourage members to contribute, the P.A.F. has announced that it has expanded the rewards program that gives special mementos to those members who make generous contributions to the Fund. If you have helped out the P.A.F. in this calendar year, you may want to contribute just a little bit more before December 31, 2008 so you can be eligible for the following fabulous prizes:

Contribution Special Gift

$100-$249 Silver M.E.B.A. medallion (challenge coin)

$250-$499 Gold M.E.B.A. medallion (challenge coin)

$500-$999 Logo Painted Gold M.E.B.A. medallion (challenge coin)

$1,000 + M.E.B.A. custom watch OR a great M.E.B.A. multi-tool/mag-lite set OR a set of M.E.B.A. Meat Lover's steak knives (Your choice).

To help guarantee the future of our Union, please contribute to the M.E.B.A.'s Political Action Fund!

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETINGS
Monday, December 8 - Boston, Jacksonville, Seattle;
Tuesday, December 9 - Baltimore, Houston, San Francisco;
Wednesday, December 10 - Calhoon School, Charleston, New Orleans, Portland;
Thursday, December 11 - L.A., New York, Norfolk, Tampa;
Friday, December 12 - Honolulu.

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