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Calendar

July 2010

Upcoming Events

Week A: Rules of the Road
August 09, 2010 - August 13, 2010

Radar Renewals
August 10, 2010

Radar Renewals
August 12, 2010

Radar: Original Endorsement
August 16, 2010 - August 20, 2010

Celestial Navigation -- Ocean Endorsement/STCW
August 16, 2010 - August 20, 2010

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WWII Merchant Mariners

Don't forget the "Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act" (S663 & HR23). This legislation needs to be acted upon soon if it is to have any significance. For more information as well as links to Representatives, go to www.usmm.org.

Question of the Week

In the News

Not that many years ago, a maritime event -- collision, grounding, rescue -- could go unnoticed by the most of the landbound public. And then came the Internet.

Freighters Collide in Naruto Strait (3/28/2010)
South Korean Naval vessel explodes and sinks in the Yellow Sea (3/27/2010)
Seaman dies as Freighters collide in the Aegean (10/04/2009)
Chinese Sub Collides with Sonar Array Towed by US Naval Vessel (6/11/2009)
Maersk Master Rescued in Swift Firefight. Three Pirates killed, One in Custody (4/12/2009)
Somali Pirates Seize US-Crewed Vessel; US Crew Retakes Ship (4/8/2009)
2 US Navy Vessels Collide in the Strait of Hormuz (3/20/2009)
Small Cargo Vessel and Yacht Collide off English Coast in Thick Fog (3/20/2009)
Container Ships Collide in Dutch Port (3/18/2009)
Ship loses 30 containers in Cyclone Hamish off Australia (3/11/2009)
16 Missing in Collision off Japan (3/10/2009)
13 Missing in Collision off Jakarta (3/04/2009)
NTSB Releases Cosco Busan Allision Report (2/18/2009)
Destroyer hits small vessel (2/15/2009)
Russians Sink Chinese Cargo Vessel (2/14/2009)
Collision off Dubai (2/10/2009)
US Navy Frigate Runs Aground (2/8/2009)
Nuclear Submarines Collide (2/6/2009)

In the News

Collisions, groundings, piracy, rescues -- bad things, inexplicable things and, as in the freeing of Capt. Richard Phillips, very good things happen. Here is our record of such events as they come to our attention. Read More

On the Quarter

onthequartercomment

Barbecues in LaPaz? Flags of Convenience? Is 'acronym' an acronym? We are pretty sure our ruthlessly inquisitive father was born to blog, so we've invited him to do it here, in "On the Quarter." Read More

National Maritime Center

The National Maritime Center in Martinsburg, West Virginia, is the US Coast Guard's processing center for all mariner licensing and credential transactions. The website provides information for new mariners, continuing mariners, returning mariners -- license and STCW requirements, applications, policy and guidance. It also enables the mariner to check on the status of his or her pending application. Read More

Regulation Watch

capitol Mariners increasingly find themselves beset by regulations from a variety of sources. We will try to alert you here to significant changes (proposed and enacted) to maritime laws, affecting licensing requirements, examination procedures and documentation requirements as found in the Federal Register, USCG Navigation and Inspection Circulars (NVICs), Policy and Guidance Statements. Read More

Towing Licenses

Obtaining a Towing License

p-e-and-tugs-2 Over the last several years there have been significant changes in the licensing requirements for operators of towing vessels. It used to be that licenses authorizing operation on inspected vessels would satisfy the requirements for most towing vessels of lesser or equal tonnage. This is no longer the case. There are now several ways to become an officer on a towing vessel, ranging from the entry level Apprentice Steersman to service-in-training while holding a previously issued license. Read More