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

MEBA TELEX TIMES       APRIL 10, 2009

The Official Union Newsletter

NUMBER 15

In this issue...
ALABAMA crew on its way home...CMES e-Learning symposium... FRC elected...Hi-ho! In an animated, World of Disney edition we present a newsletter Magic Kingdom where maritime dreams come true. Avoid cartoonish, Goofy competitors that run a Mickey Mouse operation. Those Fantasyland Dumbos have noses longer than Pinocchio! Wish upon a star, sprinkle some pixie dust, and pick up the Prince Charming of weeklies with a fairytale ending. Jiminy Cricket! The happiest place on earth, the Telex Times is a Cinderella story!

MAERSK ALABAMA TO RETURN STATESIDE FOLLOWING ORDEAL
In the days and weeks ahead, the full story will be made public of the Somali pirates' siege on the vessel MAERSK ALABAMA and the crew's heroic efforts to repel them. The important part of the story is that all 20 crewmembers are now safe including the five M.E.B.A. members aboard. M.E.B.A. represents the four engine officers on this Maritime Security Program ship and also supplied the Second Mate on the vessel for the ALABAMA's latest voyage via our Pass-Through agreement with the MM&P. The 12 unlicensed crewmembers during the voyage are SIU members and the other three deck officers, including Captain Richard Phillips, are members of the MM&P.

The Maersk Line Ltd. vessel is bareboat chartered to Waterman Steamship. Once the vessel reached Mombasa, Kenya and unloaded the food aid cargo, Maersk made arrangements to swap out the crew and return the mariners to the U.S.

Our Union is very proud of the Officers and crew of the MAERSK ALABAMA -- who have provided direct evidence on a national stage - of how our highly skilled U.S. merchant mariners continue to successfully navigate the complexities and inherent dangers of working aboard ship.

CALHOON SCHOOL TO HOST MARITIME e-LEARNING SYMPOSIUM
The Calhoon M.E.B.A. Engineering School is hosting an International Maritime eLearning Symposium that will take place from July 20th through July 23rd at the campus in Easton, Maryland. The symposium was set up to coordinate maritime eLearning objectives for shipping companies, regulatory bodies, maritime academies, and training centers. The event will draw in shipping company executives, maritime regulators, training administrators, and faculty from around the world to discuss and experience the latest trends and technologies in eLearning for the maritime industry.

Acting Maritime Administrator Jim Caponiti will speak about "The Looming Challenges Facing Maritime Educators" and the Coast Guard's Mayte Medina, who also serves on the U.S. Delegation to the IMO is scheduled to talk about "Future IMO Training Requirements." Of course, expert M.E.B.A. instructors will be on hand including Captain Dan Noonan, the School's Distance Learning Manager, who will make a presentation on "A Primer on Developing and Implementing a Port State Approved Distance Learning System".

Additional information can be obtained from the Calhoon School's website at www.mebaschool.org.

FRC COMMITTEE ELECTED
A six person rank and file Financial Review Committee was elected at April's membership meetings which concluded on Thursday. The committee will assemble at M.E.B.A. Headquarters on April 21 to review Union finances from the 2008 calendar year. Committee members will include Dominic Walsh (Baltimore), Brian Evjen (Houston), Bill Thomas (New Orleans), Bill Cadden (New York/New Jersey), Robin Buick (San Francisco/Oakland) and Richard Wagner (Seattle).

The six members will travel to M.E.B.A. Headquarters in Washington D.C. on Monday, April 20, 2009. The actual meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 in the Conference Room at M.E.B.A. Headquarters. It is anticipated that the business of the FRC will be completed by Thursday, April 23 with travel home scheduled for Friday, April 24.

NEW COMMANDER OF COUNTER-PIRACY TASK FORCE Rear Adm. Michelle Howard has
assumed command of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 2 during a ceremony held on board the USS BOXER. She relieved Rear Adm. Terence McKnight, ESG 2's commander since November 2007. In addition to relieving McKnight as the ESG 2 commander, Howard assumes command of several U.S. 5th Fleet task forces, including Combined Task Force (CTF) 51 and 59, as well as CTF 151, an international maritime coalition created to disrupt, deter and thwart piracy.

MMC, TWIC PROCESSING NEWS
All merchant mariner credentials issued after April 15, 2009 will be printed in the new consolidated Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) format, regardless of when the application was submitted. Over 25,000 credential applications have been submitted to the Coast Guard over the past few months and are currently being processed. Many of these applications will be completed prior to April 15, 2009 and will be issued in the format of a separate license, MMD, STCW Certificate or Certificate of Registry, as appropriate. Credentials issued on or after April 15, 2009 will be printed in the new MMC format. As mariners conduct credential transactions after April 15, 2009, credentials will be issued in the new MMC format.

The Coast Guard published a final rule on March 16, 2009 consolidating the credentials issued to merchant mariners into a single credential and reducing the burden on mariners by limiting the number of times they need to appear in person to provide fingerprints and proof of identity. The regulation consolidates the credentials issued to merchant mariners into a single credential.

The regulation also streamlines the application process for the MMC by removing the requirement that all mariners appear at one of 17 Regional Exam Centers, so long as they have already enrolled for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) at one of 149 TWIC Enrollment Centers.

- If you have not applied for your TWIC, do so now. Regardless of whether your credential was issued before the April 15, 2009 deadline no Merchant Mariner Credential is valid after April 15, 2009 without a valid TWIC.

- After April 15, 2009, the Coast Guard will not accept MMC applications without proof of either having applied for or been approved for a TWIC. The Coast Guard will contact mariners if their TWIC status can not be verified electronically. Submit a copy of your TWIC card or receipt with your application even if you are applying before 15April as it will save time in the verification, evaluation and issuance process.

- Regardless of the application date, after April 15, 2009 the NMC will not issue any credentials unless that mariner holds a valid TWIC, or has been approved for issuance of a TWIC, as verified by TSA.

THICK ICE HAMPERS RESUMPTION OF LAKES COAL TRADE
Only three coal cargos moved on the Great Lakes in March, likely the lowest total in a decade or more. The slumping economy played a role in the anemic total - only 116,259 tons - but the heavy ice on the Lakes prompted many vessel operators to delay putting vessels into service. While some vessels have ice-strengthened bows, freighters need icebreaking assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard. The ice formations in March were significant and vessel operators were concerned there would be a repeat of the opening of the 2008 season when ice-related damages to vessels totaled more than $1.3 million. One company held back four vessels and in total forfeited 20 steaming days. Another company that usually sends out a number of vessels once the locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan open on March 25 decided to not begin operations until the first week of April because of concerns about their ability to transit in the thick ice.

"It is unfortunate that the U.S. Coast Guard's icebreaking assets on the Great Lakes are inadequate to meet the needs of commerce," said James H.I. Weakley, President of Lake Carriers' Association. "We know the crews on those icebreakers do the very best they can, but five of the Coast Guard's eight icebreaking assets were built in the late 1970s and experience has shown they are prone to mechanical problems. Two other vessels were not designed with icebreaking as their primary mission. A vessel operator will not send a freighter that cost tens of millions of dollars into heavy ice when there is no assurance that icebreaking assets will be able to maintain the shipping lanes and respond in a timely manner to a vessel beset in ice. That's why it is so important that Congress pass H.R. 1747, The Great Lakes Icebreaker Replacement Act introduced last month by Congressman James L. Oberstar (D-MN). That bill would fund construction of a twin to the heavy icebreaker Mackinaw launched in 2006. That vessel has proven extremely capable and a twin would greatly increase the Coast Guard's icebreaking capabilities on the Great Lakes."

Further exacerbating the problem is that Canada has significantly downsized its icebreaking fleet on the Lakes. In the early 1980s, Canada had seven icebreakers stationed on the Lakes. The fleet now numbers two vessels.

NY REP. NAMED GREAT LAKES LEGISLATOR OF THE YEAR; DREDGING CRISIS DISCUSSED
Congressman Brian M. Higgins (D-NY) has been honored for his support of Great Lakes shipping by the largest coalition representing the industry. The Congressman was named Great Lakes Legislator of the Year by the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force (GLMTF). Rep. Higgins formally received the award at last week's Task Force briefing in Washington D.C. M.E.B.A. officials, including President Don Keefe, Secretary-Treasurer Bill Van Loo and Cleveland Rep. Torey Zingales along with other staffers were in attendance.

Perhaps nothing better illustrates Rep. Higgins' commitment to Great Lakes shipping than his vote in favor of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007. The bill called for accelerated dredging of the Great Lakes so vessels could carry more cargo each trip. "The Port of Buffalo, like so many on the Great Lakes, is hampered by the dredging crisis," said James H.I. Weakley, GLMTF 1st V.P. and President of Lake Carriers' Association, the trade association representing U.S.-flag vessel operators on the Great Lakes. "According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, more than 1.1 million cubic yards of sediment must be removed from Buffalo Harbor to restore the port to project dimensions."

"Congressman Higgins' service on the House's Coast Guard and Marine Transportation Committee was also vital to the continued safety and efficiency of Great Lakes shipping," said John D. Baker, GLMTF 2nd V.P. and President Emeritus of the ILA's Great Lakes District Council. "The U.S. Coast Guard's icebreaking mission is key to cargo moving at the beginning and end of the shipping season. The Lakes needed his voice on that Committee." Higgins' vote for the economic stimulus package was also a vote for Great Lakes shipping.

"I am honored to receive this award," said Rep. Higgins. "Even though Great Lakes shipping is a cornerstone of our economy, it is underutilized. If we move more cargo on the Lakes, that will relieve some of the congestion on our highways and rail lines. I will continue to work in Congress for laws and policies that promote Great Lakes shipping, the greenest form of transportation."

Task Force members also discussed the need to use the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for its intended purpose - to help end the dredging crisis on the Great Lakes. Decades of inadequate funding for dredging has resulted in vessels having to carry less than full load. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates it needs $200 million to restore the Great Lakes navigation system to functional dimensions.

The Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund is the depository for a Federal tax levied on shipping. It has been in effect since 1987. "We need approximately $200 million to clear the dredging backlog on the Great Lakes," said Thomas Buck, President of Carmeuse Lime & Stone. "The fund collects $1.1 billion annually, but only spends $700 million. That leaves a surplus of nearly $5 billion. It's time to put the "trust" back in the Trust Fund."

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

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