New Leader at IBU Helm Fter Two Months of Ballot- While Regional Director, Columbia River Regional Di- Aing, Marina V
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Organized 1885 Official Organ of the Sailors’ Union of the Pacific Volume LXXX No. 12 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA Friday, December 22, 2017 General Dynamics NASSCO begins construction of Matson’s Captain, ‘safety culture’ blamed new Kanaloa-Class vessels for the sinking of the El Faro atson announced, last month, the start of construction at ship captain’s unwill- San Diego’s NASSCO shipyard on two new combination transportation,” said Robert with the hurricane. container and roll-on/roll-off (Con-Ro) vessels for its ingness to listen to his Sumwalt, the board’s chairman. “Although up-to-date weather MHawai’i fleet that are scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter A crew’s suggestions to The El Faro, which means information was available on the of 2019 and second quarter of 2020, respectively. change course from the path lighthouse in Spanish, sank ship, the EI Faro captain did not Matson is calling these vessels the “Kanaloa Class”, in honor of a raging hurricane. A weak between Jacksonville, Florida, use the most current weather of the ocean deity revered in the native Hawaiian culture and will corporate safety culture that and San Juan, Puerto Rico, af- information for decision mak- name each of the new vessels after predecessor ships from its left crewmembers ill-prepared ter losing engine power in the ing,” NTSB investigator Mike 135-year history. The first vessel will be namedLurline , the sixth to deal with heavy weather; Category 3 storm. The NTSB Kucharski said at the meeting, Matson vessel to carry that name, while the second vessel will be An old ship with outdated retrieved the ship’s voyage data held in Washington, D.C. “The its fifth named Matsonia. lifeboats, open to the elements. recorder, or “black box,” from captain did not take sufficient The Kanaloa-Class vessels are being built on a 3,500 TEU vessel All these factors contrib- the sea floor near the Bahamas, action to avoid Hurricane Joa- platform, which is 870 feet long, 114 feet wide (beam), with a deep uted to the sinking of the El 15,000 feet under the surface. quin, thereby putting El Faro draft of 38 feet and enclosed garage space for up to 800 vehicles Faro in the fury of Hurricane The device held 26 hours of and its crew in peril.” or breakbulk cargo. Joaquin on October 1, 2015, data, including audio of con- The board also criticized the In addition, the new vessels will have state-of-the-art green which killed all 33 people on versations on the ship’s bridge “weak safety culture” of ship technology features, including a fuel efficient hull design, en- board, the National Transpor- as the frantic crew struggled to owner TOTE Maritime, Inc., vironmentally safe double hull fuel tanks, fresh water ballast tation Safety Board (NTSB) save the ship and themselves. including the lack of employ- systems and dual-fuel engines, meaning that they will be able to announced this month. The While the board found no ee training for dealing with operate at speeds up to 23 knots on either conventional fuel oils or report concludes a two-year fault with El Faro Captain heavy weather situations and liquefied natural gas (LNG) with some adaptation for LNG. These investigation into the worst Michael Davidson’s decision flooding. A hatch had been left advancements are important to Hawai’i as a means to reduce fuel U.S. maritime disaster in mod- to leave Jacksonville, they open, allowing water from the consumption, and will result in significant emissions reductions ern history. did blame his reliance on an roiling sea to flood an interior over time. The NTSB issued 53 safety emailed weather forecasting hold; this led to the ship listing, “Construction of these new ships underscores Matson’s com- recommendations along with system that contained hours disrupting the flow of oil to the mitment to serve Hawai’i with the largest, most reliable and envi- its findings, which investiga- old data, rather than online engines. Once the freighter ronmentally friendly vessels for the long-term,” said Ron Forest, tors hope will be adopted by updates from the National lost engine power, it was at the Matson President. “The Kanaloa Class is designed specifically to the industry, maritime safety mercy of battering swells. meet Hawai’i’s freight demands while reducing our environmental Hurricane Center. Investigators impact and improving our efficiency for decades to come.” inspectors and weather fore- believe, based on his decisions Also, the ship’s wind gauge casters to make the seas safer Construction is also underway on two all container Aloha-Class and recorded comments, that was broken and the 40-year-old vessels for Matson at the Philly Shipyard. The first vessel, theDan - for future generations. he wasn’t aware of the delay container ship’s open lifeboats iel K. Inouye –named after the late U.S. Senator from Hawai’i– is “I hope that this tragedy at in the data, and that instead of would not have protected the expected to go into service in the fourth quarter of 2018 and the sea can serve as a lighthouse skirting the storm, he sent the crew, even if they had been able Kaimano Hila in the first quarter of 2019. to guide the safety of marine El Faro on a collision course to launch them. New leader at IBU helm fter two months of ballot- While Regional Director, Columbia River Regional Di- Aing, Marina V. Secchitano Secchitano was on the U.S. rector Brian Dodge, Southern was elected President of the Coast Guard’s Towing Safe- California Regional Director Inlandboatmen’s Union of the ty Advisory Committee, the John Skow, Alaska Regional Pacific (IBU) on December 15, San Francisco Harbor Safety Director Josh Stephenson, handily defeating incumbent Committee, a delegate to the Region-7 Regional Director President Alan Cote and chal- San Francisco Labor Council, Richard Gurtiza, Puget Sound lenger Gary Bucknum. a delegate to several California Regional Director Peter Hart, Sister Secchitano joined the Labor Federation conventions, and Hawai’i Regional Director IBU in 1977 and began work- a Trustee of the San Francisco Donovan Duncan. Robert Es- ing for the Golden Gate Bridge Bay & Vicinity Port Maritime trada ran unopposed for San Periodicals’ postage paid at San Francisco, CA (USPS 675-180) postage paid at San Francisco, CA Periodicals’ Highway and Transportation Council and a founding direc- Francisco Regional Director, District/Ferry Division. She tor of the Water Emergency succeeding Secchitano. Transportation Authority. got involved with the Union The IBU represents over Marina V. Secchitano being sworn and served 25 years as San Unopposed and re-elected 3,600 mariners working on in as IBU President, the first Francisco Regional Director, to three-year terms were IBU ferries, tugs, barges, dredges woman to lead a maritime Union an elected post. Secretary-Treasurer Terri Mast, and other vessels. in the United States. ESU News: Page 7 Page 2 WEST COAST SAILORS Friday, December 22, 2017 Rodolphe Saadé takes the helm as CMA CGM board chairman CMA CGM’s (Compagnie Maritime The French ocean carrier attributed the d’Affretement-Compagnie General Mar- strong growth in revenues and positive itime) board of directors has appointed earnings primarily to an 11.6% increase in the shipping company’s current Chief container volumes carried to 4.98 million Executive Officer, Rodolphe Saadé, to TEUs thanks to strong growth in volumes serve as both Chairman of the Board and carried through the OCEAN Alliance and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM on the Asia-U.S. and Asia-Europe routes, Group, which American President Lines as well as on most of its north-south is a subsidiary, and his father, Jacques and intraregional routes. An increase in Saadé, as Founder Chairman. freight rates at the beginning of the year Rodolphe Saadé was named Chief Ex- has continued through the third quarter, ecutive Officer of the Marseilles-based the firm said, spurring a 14.4% increase firm back in February, and prior to that, in average revenue per container carried. he served as Executive Officer of the Through the first three quarters of 2017, company. Rodolphe succeeded founder CMA CGM posted a total net income of Jacques as CEO, who continued on as $629 million. Chairman of the company. Highlights of the third quarter included: Rodolphe Saadé initially joined CMA • The July 25 signing of a 25-year CGM in 1994 in the United States, after agreement for the operation of a container founding a company selling water coolers terminal in Cameroon, alongside Bolloré in the Middle East. He then worked in Transport & Logistics and the Chinese Hong Kong before coming back to Mar- group CHEC, which will enable CMA seilles to head a shipping service linking CGM to strengthen trading on routes to North China to Japan. and from Africa; Onboard the Manoa in Seattle this month to change lifeboat falls were SUP members From 1997 to 2000, he was in charge of • The September 14 announcement of Leszek Jeziorski, Norm Christianson, Scott Ericson, Zenon Labudda, and Ray Ramirez. a succession of different services. a partnership with Aix-Marseille French Brother Christianson recently retired but was brought back to the point of production In 2008, when a CMA CGM subsidiary Tech, through which CMA CGM said it for this job due to his expertise. cruise yacht was hijacked, he led negotia- intends to contribute to the development tions with the pirates, which ended in the of the region’s already intense digital release of hostages. ecosystem and continue its digital trans- In 2009, he took over responsibility of formation; Pilot Boat capsize in Finland kills two the group’s financial restructuring, while • The September 19 signing of an order Two people went missing after a pilot boat capsized in the Gulf of Finland on De- in 2015 and 2016, he led the company’s ef- for nine containerships of 22,000 TEUs cember 8, and rescue divers worked for eight hours to determine if survivors might fort to acquire NOL/APL and negotiations that will be powered by liquefied natural be trapped within the vessel’s upturned hull.