Port Tampa Bay Announces Re-Opening

Port Tampa Bay Announces Re-Opening

Port Tampa Bay has resumed vessel operations and our port’s shipping channels are officially re-opened, with vessel movements restricted to daylight hours, the port announced on Saturday.

Throughout the storm, Port Tampa Bay coordinated with federal, state, and local agencies, as well as the maritime community, to respond to the impacts of Hurricane Milton.

In coordination with the Port Heavy Weather Advisory Group, and following detailed assessments of the port, waterways, and channels, the U.S. Coast Guard has reopened the port and set the port condition to normal, with a daylight hour restriction and one-way travel. Port staff fully assessed the docks, wharves, and terminals for safety.

Some of the first vessels to return will be fuel tankers, cruise ships and vessels carrying perishable cargo.

There will be changes to the following cruise schedules: Carnival Paradise, Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas, Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas, Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas and Margaritaville at Sea Islander.

Coast Guard Seeks Public’s Help Developing Mass Casualty at Sea Lifesaving Device

Costa Concordia after the initial disaster

Here’s a scenario for you… a cruise ship is sinking at sea and hundreds, if not thousands of people are in need of immediate rescue. Due to conditions, lifeboats are inoperable or infeasible. What’s the best option for rescue? That’s a question the Department of Homeland Security needs your help figuring out.

In collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has released the “Mass Rescue Operations Lifesaving Device Broad Agency Announcement” solicitation seeking the public’s help in coming up with innovative technology to respond to mass-casualty events at sea.

The solicitation asks innovators, industry, academia, and laboratories to submit solutions for a large capacity-floating device to keep survivors out of the water during mass rescue operations.

The U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) will provide technical support to DHS S&T throughout the effort to help with the development of the device.

“We’re looking forward to working with the public to help develop their innovative ideas into a practical and useable design,” said RDC Commanding Officer, Capt. Dan Keane. “If successful, the mass life-saving device will give first responders additional capability and capacity to respond quickly to a mass rescue situation.”

Specifically, the solicitation seeks an effective solution for providing short-term lifesaving and rescue assistance in disasters that render existing systems, such as onboard lifeboats, inoperable or infeasible. The Coast Guard wants to develop a non-standard, one-time use, large capacity, an ultra-lightweight floating device that will be deployed from air or vessel during a mass rescue operation to mitigate the loss of life.

For example, if a large ferryboat or cruise ship is unexpectedly stranded or sinking, the ship’s staff may not be able to deploy the lifeboats. Coast Guard aircraft or vessels could respond and deploy mass rescue devices at the scene to better maintain passengers until all can be rescued.

“The purpose of a large-capacity floating device is to solely keep survivors out of the water during a mass rescue operation,” said S&T Program Manager Angela Blair. “The commercial marketplace already has large, flotation devices, but these are too heavy to be deployed from a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter or easily lifted over a vessel’s bulwark for deployment.”

White papers are due by 2 p.m. EDT on August 5, 2021.

“The Coast Guard is excited to work with industry to develop this cutting edge, mission-critical, lifesaving capability,” said Tom Gorgol of the Coast Guard office of search and rescue.

For more information, visit the mass rescue solicitation on SAM.gov.

Cruise Ships to Dock at Port of Los Angeles Without Passengers

The Port of Los Angeles is expecting cruise ships but without passengers, in the coming weeks, according to a port press release.

The visits for fuel, supplies, and services are part of the cruise lines’ operations to reestablish the ships in U.S. waters as a prerequisite to meet federal regulations in order to resume cruising in the future. 

The port said it continues to closely monitor the situation and is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), California Department of Public Health, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and other emergency and public health agencies. 

Princess Cruises, Holland America, and Norwegian Cruise Line cruise ships are scheduled to send ships arriving in Los Angeles this week and through the new year, periodically docking at the Los Angeles Cruise Terminal for fuel, food, supplies, and/or services. No vessels will be carrying passengers.

The Port of Los Angeles is expecting more than two dozen cruise ship calls through early February.

In addition to increased precautions to minimize community spread of and exposure to COVID-19, cruise ship safety implementations while at berth include Passenger Ship Safety Certificate (PSSC) training and Marine Evacuation System (MES) replacement.

Port Everglades Expansion On Track

Port Everglades is advancing $1.6 billion in infrastructure improvements that are underway and expected to be completed in the next five years, according to a press release.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is certainly impacting this year’s bottom line, but we are fortunate that Port Everglades’ diversified business sectors of cargo, cruise and petroleum can address a dip in one business sector and be balanced out with stability in other revenue-generating business sectors. As a result, Port Everglades has a history of financial success and has budgeted for several sizeable construction projects that are moving forward at a rapid pace with little disruption from the virus,” said Port Everglades’ Glenn Wiltshire, Acting Chief Executive & Port Director.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the preconstruction engineering and design phase of deepening the Port’s navigation channels from 42 feet to 48-50 feet and widening narrower sections of the channel for safe vessel passage.

In February 2020, this project received $29.1 million in funding under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers FY 2020 Work Plan. The funding will be used to build a new facility at U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Lauderdale so the Intracoastal Waterway can be widened by 250 feet. Currently, this chokepoint in the channel puts operating restriction on large Neo-Panamax cargo ships, which affects their ability to transit past docked cruise ships. The Coast Guard Station reconfiguration is the first phase of the larger dredging project.

Port Everglades is also building a new parking garage to serve Cruise Terminals 2 and 4. The new 1,818-space garage is currently under construction, with a Fall 2020 completion date. It will feature an air-conditioned bridge with moving walkways to deliver guests to Terminal 2, Princess Cruises’ prototype Ocean Medallion terminal. The Northport Garage, where passengers now park, will be dedicated to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Center.

Carnival’s Princess Cruises to Pay Record $40 Million Over Illegal Dumping, Cover Up

Caribbean Princess. File photo: CC BY-SA 3.0

Story by https://gcaptain.com/

Carnival Corporation’s Princess Cruise Lines has agreed to plead guilty to seven felony charges stemming from illegal oil dumping at sea and intentional acts to cover it up, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday.

Princess will pay a $40 million penalty – the largest-ever criminal penalty involving deliberate vessel pollution. 

The charges are tied to the Caribbean Princess cruise ship which visited various U.S. ports in Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands and Virginia.

Factual Statement

• Illegal discharges took place on the Caribbean Princess dating back to 2005, one year after the vessel started operations, as part of a conspiracy to violate the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and to obstruct justice.

• Different bypass methods were used over the course of time, including a “magic pipe” used to transfer oily waste overboard.

• After learning that an engineer had blown the whistle, senior ship engineers dismantled the bypass pipe and instructed crew members to lie.

• Prior to the MCA boarding, the chief engineer and senior first engineer ordered crew members to lie. Following the MCA’s inquiry, the chief engineer held a sham meeting in the engine control room to pretend to look into the allegations while holding up a sign stating: “LA is listening.” The engineers present understood that anything said might be heard by those at the company’s headquarters in Los Angeles, California, because the engine control room contained a recording device intended to monitor conversations in the event of an incident.

• When using the magic pipe, engineers processed sea water through the oily water separator in order to create a digital record to account for the missing waste.

• Shore-side management failed to provide and exercise sufficient supervision and management controls to prevent or detect criminal violations by Caribbean Princess crew members.

• A perceived motive for the crimes was financial – the chief engineer that ordered the dumping off the coast of England told subordinate engineers that it cost too much to properly offload the waste in port and that the shore-side superintendent who he reported to would not want to pay the expense.

• Princess engineers on the Caribbean Princess indicated that the chief engineer responsible for the discharge on Aug. 26, 2013, was known as “broccino corto” (a person with short arms), an Italian expression for a cheap person whose arms are too short to reach his wallet. Some expressed the same opinion of the shore-side superintendent.

• Graywater tanks overflowed into the bilges on a routine basis and were pumped back into the graywater system and then improperly discharged overboard when they were required to be treated as oil contaminated bilge waste. The overflows took place when internal floats in the graywater collection tanks got stuck due to large amounts of fat, grease and food particles from the galley that drained into the graywater system. Graywater tanks overflowed at least once a month and, at times, as frequently as once per week. Princess had no written procedures or training for how internal gray water spills were supposed to be cleaned up and the problem remained uncorrected for many years.

• Princess discovered “stub pipes” along the entire length of the ship for the apparent purpose of pumping gray water overflows into the bilges back into the graywater system and subsequently overboard.

Whistleblower

The U.S. investigation was launched after information was provided to the U.S. Coast Guard by the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) indicating that a newly hired engineer on the Caribbean Princess reported that a so-called “magic pipe” had been used on Aug. 23, 2013, to illegally discharge oily waste off the coast of England.

According to the Justice Dept., after the incident the whistleblower quit when the ship reached Southampton, England. The chief engineer and senior first engineer ordered a cover-up, including removal of the magic pipe and directing subordinates to lie. But the MCA shared evidence with the U.S. Coast Guard, including before and after photos of the bypass used to make the discharge and showing its disappearance. The U.S. Coast Guard conducted an examination of the cruise ship upon its arrival in New York City on Sept. 14, 2013, during which certain crew members continued to lie in accordance with orders they had received from Princess employees.

Cover Up

According to papers filed in court, the Caribbean Princess had been making illegal discharges through bypass equipment since 2005, one year after the ship began operations. The discharge on Aug. 26, 2013, involved approximately 4,227 gallons, 23 miles off the coast of England within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone. At the same time as the discharge, engineers simultaneously ran clean seawater through the ship’s overboard equipment in order to create a false digital record for a legitimate discharge.

According to the Justice Dept., Caribbean Princess used multiple methods over the course of time to pollute the seas. Prior to the installation of the bypass pipe used to make the discharge off the coast of England, a different unauthorized valve was used. The valve was later found by investigators in Houston, Texas, on March 8, 2014 during an inspection of the ship.

Other Ships

In addition to the use of a magic pipe, the U.S. investigation uncovered two other illegal practices which were found to have taken place on the Caribbean Princess as well as four other Princess ships – Star Princess, Grand Princess, Coral Princess and Golden Princess.

One practice was to open a salt water valve when bilge waste was being processed by the oily water separator and oil content monitor in order to prevent the oil content monitor from otherwise alarming and stopping the overboard discharge. This was done routinely on the Caribbean Princess in 2012 and 2013, the Justice Dept. said. The second practice involved discharges of oily bilge water originating from the overflow of graywater tanks into the machinery space bilges. This waste was pumped back into the graywater system rather than being processed as oily bilge waste. Neither of these practices were accurately recorded in the oil record book as required by law. All of the bypassing took place through the graywater system which was discharged when the ship was more than four nautical miles from land.

Princess, headquartered in Santa Clarita, California, is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise company. As part of the plea agreement, cruise ships from eight Carnival brands (Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line N.V., Seabourn Cruise Line Ltd. and AIDA Cruises) will be under a court supervised Environmental Compliance Program (ECP) for five years.

“The pollution in this case was the result of more than just bad actors on one ship,” said Assistant Attorney General Cruden. “It reflects very poorly on Princess’s culture and management. This is a company that knew better and should have done better. Hopefully the outcome of this case has the potential not just to chart a new course for this company, but for other companies as well.”

In addition to the criminal information, a plea agreement and joint factual statement were filed Thursday in court in Miami. Photographs of some of the evidence provided by the whistleblower and obtained by the government were also filed in federal court.

In the factual statement, Princess admitted to the following:

If approved by the court, $10 million of the $40 million criminal penalty will be devoted to community service projects to benefit the maritime environment; $3 million of the community service payments will go to environmental projects in South Florida; $1 million will be earmarked for projects to benefit the marine environment in United Kingdom waters.  

“The conduct being addressed today is particularly troubling because the Carnival family of companies has a documented history of environmental violations, including in the Southern District of Florida,” said U.S. Attorney Ferrer.  “Our hope is that all companies abide by regulations that are in place to protect our natural resources and prevent environmental harm.  Today’s case should send a powerful message to other companies that the U.S. government will continue to enforce a zero tolerance policy for deliberate ocean dumping that endangers the countless animals, marine life and humans who rely on clean water to survive.”

WATCH: Celebrity Infinity Slams Into Pier in Ketchikan, Alaska

The Celebrity Cruises cruise ship Celebrity Infinity ran into a little bit of trouble pulling up to a pier in Ketchikan, Alaska on Friday afternoon.

Video of the incident posted online shows the ship approaching the #3 berth at the Ketchikan cruise ship dock before crashing into the pier almost in slow motion, but hard enough to cause visual damage to the ship and what looks like major damage to the pier. 

Weather on scene was reported to be gusting at 45-miles per hour when the incident occurred. 

The U.S. Coast Guard said it was alerted to the accident on Friday afternoon by the ship’s pilot. No injuries or pollution have been reported. 

“The Coast Guard is grateful no one was injured as a result of this accident,” said Lt. Dianna Robinson, command duty officer at Sector.  “Our personnel are working to determine the cause of this accident and will work with local partners to ensure the continued safety of those using the cruise ship docks.”

17 Hurt When Cruise Ship Hits Seaway Lock Wall in Upstate NY

17 Hurt When Cruise Ship Hits Seaway Lock Wall in Upstate NY

Cruise Ship Saint Laurent.

Authorities say a cruise ship has crashed into a wall in a lock on the St. Lawrence Seaway in upstate New York, injuring 17 people and forcing the draining of the lock.

The U.S. Coast Guard says the 286-foot Saint Laurent was headed from Montreal to Toronto when it hit a wall in the Eisenhower Lock in Massena, near the Canadian border, around 9:45 p.m. Thursday. There were 274 French passengers and crew aboard.

St. Lawrence County emergency officials say none of the injuries are serious. Officials tell WWNY-TV in Watertown that all 17 were treated at the Massena hospital and released.

Officials say the water has been drained from the lock, and the ship will remain there with both lock doors closed until it can be moved.

The Saint Laurent is owned by International Shipping Partners.

The crash remains under investigation.

Serenade of the Seas Departs After Being Delayed From Water Pipe Bursting

Serenade of the Seas Departs After Being Delayed From Water Pipe Bursting

A broken water pipe shorting out an electric switchboard is being blamed for a partial power loss on Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas.

Max Power, a passenger who is currently doing back to back to back cruises on the Serenade of the Seas, first reported of the incident on the Facebook group “Royal Caribbean Crown & Anchor Society”.  Heavy rain was first blamed for the switchboard being shorted out but it is now being blamed on a broken water pipe above the theater according to Max.

The front of the ship was without power early on Saturday morning.  Due to the damage from the broken water pipe, 400 passengers who were scheduled to board the ship in New Orleans today will not be able to board.

At least 175 passenger cabins are currently out of service.  Passengers who had their cruise canceled will receive a full refund and a 100% credit towards a future cruise.

Royal Caribbean sent out the following text message to passengers who were to board the Serenade of the Seas today:

Urgent Notification: Serenade of the Seas Check-In Update

Hello, this is Royal Caribbean International.  We would like to provide you and update regarding your sailing today onboard Serenade of the Seas out of New Orleans. The U.S. Coast Guard is currently onboard inspecting the ship.  We are waiting for authorization from the Coast Guard to begin boarding.  Because the cruise terminal in New Orleans is very limited in space, we ask that guest explore the local area until we can being boarding. We will contact you again once we have received permission to being the boarding process.  We appreciate your patience and understanding, ad we look forward to welcoming you aboard.

An hour later, another text message was sent by Royal Caribbean letting passengers know that the U.S. Coast Guard had given them permission to begin the boarding process.

The Serenade of the Seas will now spend the night in New Orleans while crew members repair the damage.  The ship was scheduled to leave this afternoon on a 7 night cruise to the Bahamas and Key West, Florida.

Update: The Serenade of the Seas left New Orleans early Sunday afternoon and will sail a shortened six night cruise to the Bahamas.  Passengers who had their cruise canceled will receive a full refund and a future cruise certificate equal to their cruise fare.

Coast Guard bill expands cruise crime reporting

A provision of the reauthorization bill for the U.S. Coast Guard will require reporting of all alleged crimes on cruise ships, even if investigations have not concluded.

The idea was one of several advocated by retiring U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) , who held several hearings on cruise safety matters as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.

The provision, labeled Section 321, calls for the Secretary of Transportation to maintain a website that provides a numerical accounting of missing persons and alleged crimes on cruise ships “without regard to the investigative status of the incident.”

It says the figures should be updated quarterly, identify each cruise line by name and include the approximate number of passengers and crew carried by each line during the quarterly period.

The rule also requires the site to be in a “user-friendly format,” that employs off-the-shelf technology.

Cruise crime data is currently published on a U.S. Coast Guard site, based on FBI statistics that do not include cases still under investigation. Rockefeller has argued that the figures underrepresent the number of crimes the agency tracks. Cruise lines have begun independently reporting the number of alleged crimes on their own.

CLIA has argued either figure shows that cruise lines are relatively safer than jurisdictions on land that report crimes. 

The main purpose of the omnibus reauthorization bill is to fund Coast Guard activities for 2015 and 2016.

Rockefeller seeks to tie cruise reforms to Coast Guard bill

By Tom Stieghorst

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D.-W.Va.) signaled his intent to attach his cruise industry consumer protection legislation to a bill to reauthorize the U.S. Coast Guard, strengthening its chances of consideration.

Rockefeller introduced his Cruise Passenger Protection Act last year, but despite co-sponsorship by several Democratic senators it has not been passed out of committee.

At a hearing of the U.S. Commerce Committee, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said in his opening remarks that he thought it would be best as a stand-alone bill and not in connection with the Coast Guard authorization act.

Later in the hearing, Rockefeller disagreed, saying, "Everybody knows that the Coast Guard reauthorization is a bill Congress has to pass. If you separate this, the Coast Guard bill will pass and the cruise ship bill will get flushed down the toilet.

"My job as chairman is to make sure we don't play the game that way," Rockefeller said.

The Coast Guard bill sets funding for the agency for the next two years and has numerous other provisions supported by various constituencies. It passed the House in April without the consumer measures, but a conference committee could adopt the Rockefeller provisions if they are included in the Senate's bill.

The measures would make it easier for consumers to report crimes and make complaints about problems on cruise ships, according to Rockefeller, while simplifying ticket contracts and publishing more information about crimes and other problems on cruise ships.

"These aren't crazy ideas," Rockefeller said. "They are common-sense protections that consumers already have if they travel in airplanes or by rail."

Cruise industry representatives who testified at hearings last year said the provisions were regulatory over-reach or problematic for other reasons.

No industry representatives appeared at this year's hearings. Witnesses included passengers or their relatives who experienced crimes, medical emergencies or mechanical breakdowns on ships, plus a Miami lawyer who has sued cruise lines over such issues.

Coast Guard to propose cruise ship video surveillance rules

By Tom Stieghorst

Nearly four years after passage of a comprehensive cruise safety law, the U.S. Coast Guard is getting ready to propose a rule for three of the trickiest provisions in the legislation.

The proposed rule, expected out in June, will outline how cruise lines can comply with a requirement in the Cruise Vessel Safety and Security Act that they deploy technology for “capturing images of passengers or detecting passengers who have fallen overboard.”

Also addressed in the rule will be how a cruise ship’s video surveillance system should be operated to document crimes on the ship and assist in their later prosecution.

Advocates of the law say the provisions will make passengers feel more secure about taking a cruise.

But the cruise industry has raised red flags about the cost and practicality of applying the law. In one instance, a cruise line told auditors at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that just doubling the time it keeps video footage from 14 to 28 days would cost an extra $21.8 million.

Most of the 15 provisions in the 2010 act, such as peepholes in cabin doors and standard rail heights, had been translated into Coast Guard guidance by June 2011.

The remaining ones involved complex technologies and, in some cases, language in the law that didn’t set a clear benchmark for gauging compliance.

In the case of detecting when persons fall overboard, the law called for compliance “to the extent that such technology is available.”

The Coast Guard asked for input from cruise lines, CLIA and passenger advocacy groups to help formulate its rule.

A recent report by the Miami Herald found that at least 28 passengers went overboard on cruise ships between October 2010 and June 2013. Rapid detection of persons going overboard would clearly enhance safety, but cruise lines say the jury is still out on automated detection systems.

CLIA told the Coast Guard that the technology to capture images of overboard episodes exists, but not the ability to detect them in real time. CLIA said vessel movement, sun glare, salt spray encrustation and weather all make instruments unreliable.

If detectors either fail to report incidents, or report false incidents, that would raise the cost, liability and burden on passengers.

Still, several cruise lines are testing various technologies. One unidentified cruise executive told the GAO that if companies are required to go to the expense of installing detectors, they should not produce inaccurate results that would increase operating costs.

Video surveillance is another area where technology exists, but its application is open for debate. Victim advocacy groups say existing cameras should be monitored continuously for crime, and recorded images should be stored for up to 90 days.

CLIA recommended a risk-based approach that would take into account differences among vessels, cruise lines and itineraries and said video should be stored for a week, nearly matching the average cruise length of 7.2 days.

Coast Guard officials told GAO auditors that when the rule is issued in June, rather than being prescriptive it is likely to be performance-based — outlining what is to be achieved — to allow for some flexibility in implementation.

Carnival strikes deal with EPA on emissions

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Corp. has reached an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to avoid using costly low sulphur fuels on 32 of its 102 ships.

The fuels are the main way the cruise industry is expected to meet stricter air pollution rules of the North American Emissions Control Area that take effect in 2015.

Under the agreement, Carnival will install exhaust scrubbers on the ships during a trial period, an alternate way to curb emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides and particulates.

Carnival said it will spend $180 million to buy and install the equipment for some ships sailing for Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Cunard Line. Which ships will get the technology has not been announced. Carnival has been testing a scrubber on Cunard's Queen Victoria ship.

In addition to the EPA, the U.S. Coast Guard and Transport Canada support for the program, Carnival said. Armed with those key endorsements, it will now ask flag states that oversee various ships to allow the trial to proceed.

As part of the agreement, Carnival committed its ships to use shore power or less polluting marine gas oil for fuel while docked in U.S. ports.

Previously, the EPA had rejected a cruise industry proposal that would have let some ships burn high sulfur fuel as long as average emissions were lowered in a geographic area to meet the standard.

An agreement on the Emissions Control Area (ECA) is critical to cruise markets like Alaska, where cruises operate almost entirely within the 200 mile ECA zone, and costs for low-sulphur diesel can be double the charges for traditional fuel.