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

MEBA TELEX TIMES               OCTOBER 20, 2006

The Official Union Newsletter

NUMBER 42

In this issue...
Work on next OSG tanker begins...Maritime Security council meets... Davis on DOL committee...Tim Brown, Colin Veitch honored...Hot under the collar, we grit our teeth and storm off with a gasket blowing edition fuming with all the news that's fit to be tied. Flying off the handle, we blow our stack and provoke a blood boiling issue that comes at you fast and furious. Don't go away mad - just go away...with the latest Telex Times! It's all the rage!!

STEEL CUTTING STARTS ON NEXT OSG TANKER AT AKER
Aker Philadelphia Shipyard has commenced production on a fourth tanker that will be built for OSG Shipping and crewed with MEBA officers upon completion. Aker just recently launched the first double-hulled tanker in the series which will be called the OVERSEAS HOUSTON. That ship will officially be named in a ceremony next month, and will be delivered to OSG in the fourth quarter of this year.

Steel cutting for the latest ship, the fourth under construction concurrently, was performed on one of the yard's two state-of-the-art plasma cutting machines. The vessel is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2008.

Consistent with the build method for all the vessels in the series, the first steel plates cut for the ship will be used in construction of the engine room of the 46,000 deadweight ton product tanker.

DAVIS TAPPED FOR DOL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEBA President Ron Davis will be part of a Department of Labor trade policy advisory committee. The Labor Advisory Committee (LAC) for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy helps develop U.S. trade objectives that benefit American workers. Specifically, the advice of the Committee is used to negotiate objectives and bargaining positions before the U.S. enters into a trade agreement with a foreign country; the operation of a trade agreement once entered into; and other matters arising in connection with the development, implementation and administration of U.S. trade policy. Of note, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, SIU President Mike Sacco already serve on the Committee which is chaired by Machinists President Thomas Buffenbarger.

The Committee also includes Presidents of the Air Line Pilots, Steelworkers, Auto Workers, and Communications Workers among others. Of note, MM&P President Tim Brown was also just appointed to the Advisory Committee. The U.S. Trade Representative (Susan Schwab) and Labor Secretary (Elaine Chao) made the appointments. The post will also afford the opportunity for two additional MEBA liaisons (Secretary-Treasurer Bill Van Loo & MEBA Deputy General Counsel William Doyle) representatives to support Pres. Davis in his capacity as a LAC member. MM&P's liaisons include their Executive Assistant Mike Rodriguez and Director of Special Projects Richard Plant. The liaisons will assist their respective Presidents in helping the Committee protect and advance the interests of U.S. mariners.

NCL'S VEITCH NAMED PROP CLUB MARITIME PERSON OF YEAR
In recognition for his efforts to build a vibrant and successful U.S.-flag cruise fleet, Colin Veitch, President and CEO of NCL Corporation has been honored by the International Propeller Club of the United States as the 2006 Maritime Person of the Year. He was presented with the award at the organization's 80th Annual International Convention in Norfolk, Virginia. The honor is presented annually to a person who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in furthering and promoting the maritime industry. Under Veitch's leadership, the company's NCL America brand has revitalized the U.S.-flagged large passenger cruise ship industry, operating the only three large U.S.-flagged cruise ships in the world. MEBA officers crew those three vessels in all licensed positions.

In July 2004, NCL America christened PRIDE OF ALOHA, the first new U.S.-flagged cruise ship in nearly 50 years. In June 2005, PRIDE OF AMERICA followed and at the time, became the largest U. S.-flagged passenger ship ever built. NCL America again made U.S. maritime history in May 2006 by christening PRIDE OF HAWAII, the largest, most luxurious and most expensive U.S.-flagged cruise ship in history. "It is a great honor to be recognized by the Propeller Club for my work in the U.S. maritime industry," Veitch said. "Many people have contributed to the success of NCL and NCL America, and I would like to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to everyone on the NCL team, and particularly our partners in maritime labor and in the U.S. government. Without their support, I would not be receiving this award."

MM&P's BROWN HONORED WITH MPC AWARD
The Maritime Port Council of Greater New York & Vicinity honored MM&P President Tim Brown last Saturday with the Paul Hall Award of Merit. SIU President Mike Sacco presented the award to Capt. Brown. This award is given to individuals who have made important contributions to the development of the labor movement and the maritime industry. MEBA President Ron Davis was a recipient of this honor in 2002. The Paul Hall Award is part of a trio of awards given at the annual MPC ceremony that honors labor, industry and
government. Maritrans, Inc. CEO Jonathan Whitworth was named the "Management Man of the Year." The Government "Man of the Year" was doled out to Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY). Congratulations!

MEBA WORKS ON SECURITY ISSUES AT MARITIME COUNCIL CONFERENCE
MEBA took part in an intensive 2 ? day conference this week working with the Maritime Security Council to help enhance important regulations to protect mariners, ships and ports. The Council is set up to advance U.S. security by working with maritime interests and serving as a liaison with the government sector. The Council enjoys high-level representation with the Customs and Border Patrol, Coast Guard and other Government and international agencies.

MEBA was the lone representative of maritime labor at the conference which featured numerous guests and speakers involved in a series of panels. Headlined by Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen, speakers and panelists also included port security expert Stephen Flynn, Coast Guard, DOT and MarAd representatives and even Dubai Port World's David Sanborn. Sanborn was a nominee for MarAd's top job before a national furor over DP's foreign ownership (in their bid to manage six U.S. ports) helped jettison the nomination. Conferees addressed every aspect of maritime security including the upcoming implementation of the new Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) system that is being put together with the assistance of the maritime industry. MEBA continues to work with Coast Guard to help perfect security enhancements while ensuring mariner protections.

Dr. James Carafano, a security expert for the Heritage Foundation discussed future legislative efforts to help bolster seaport protections beyond the SAFE Port Act recently passed by Congress. He noted that it was likely that Congress would take up some sort of bill that would help curtail foreign investment in U.S. assets. He also noted how Coast Guard has multiplied its missions in the wake of 9/11 and that the agency's funding will continue to grow accordingly. Sanborn pointed out that the one positive to arise from DP World's aborted effort to manage the six U.S. ports was the country's new awareness of the importance of safety at our seaports. Regarding that issue, he asserted that the push to proliferate the crop of radiation scanners at seaports is extremely expensive but that the cost should be borne by a combination of Government, industry and customers.

The international view of maritime security measures was also represented at the conference. Thomas Timlen, the head of security and international affairs at BIMCO noted that the worldwide focus on buttoning up weaknesses at ports due to terrorism concerns have helped stifle drug smuggling to a degree. He said that piracy and stowaway issues still remain problems though both have seen declines due to various initiatives.

GAO CONCERNS ON TWIC
The Government Accountability Office released a report on transportation security titled: DHS Should Address Key Challenges before Implementing the Transportation Worker Identification Credential Program. As has been reported in the Telex Times, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is developing the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) to ensure that only workers that do not pose a terrorist threat are allowed to enter secure areas of transportation facilities. The maritime sector is the first transportation mode slated for the new credential. TSA completed TWIC program testing in June 2005 and is moving forward with implementing the program in the maritime sector by the end of this year. GAO evaluated the status of the TWIC program by examining (1) what problems, if any, were identified during TWIC program testing and what key challenges, if any, do the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and industry stakeholders face in implementing the program; and (2) to what extent, if at all, did TSA experience problems in planning for and overseeing the contract to test the TWIC program. GAO interviewed DHS officials and industry stakeholders, reviewed documentation regarding TWIC testing, and conducted site visits to testing locations.

According to the GAO, DHS and industry stakeholders face three major challenges in addressing problems identified during TWIC program testing and ensuring that key components of the TWIC program can work effectively in the maritime sector.

• Enrolling workers and issuing TWIC cards in a timely manner to a significantly larger population of workers than was done during testing of the TWIC program.
   
• Ensuring that the TWIC technology, such as biometric card readers, works effectively in the maritime sector. TSA has obtained limited information on the use of biometric readers in the maritime sector because most facilities that tested the TWIC program did not use these types of readers.
   
• Balancing the added security components of the TWIC program with the potential impact that the program could have on the flow of maritime commerce.

The GAO made several recommendations. First, before implementing TWIC in the maritime sector, TSA should develop and test solutions to problems identified during testing to ensure that key components of the program work effectively and strengthen contract planning and oversight practices before awarding the TWIC implementation contract. DHS reviewed a draft of this report and concurred with GAO's recommendations.

STUDY WARNS ON MARITIME TERRORISM
Cruise ships and ferry boats need more protection against terrorist attacks that could kill and injure many passengers and cause serious financial losses, according to a new RAND Corporation report. "Attacks on cruise ships and ferry boats would meet the interrelated requirements of visibility, destruction and disruption that drive transnational terrorism in the contemporary era," said Peter Chalk, one of the report's co-authors. "Recognizing this is essential to any comprehensive regime of maritime security." The report concludes it is not adequate to base maritime counterterrorism efforts only on increasing port security and the security of cargo container ships, rail cars and trucks that transport goods into and out of United States ports.

"Focusing solely on securing the container supply chain without defending other parts of the maritime environment is like bolting down the front door of a house and leaving the back door wide open," said Henry Willis, a RAND researcher and a co-author of the report. The study by RAND, a nonprofit research organization, also says a maritime terrorist attack is likely to create complicated liability issues that will slow efforts to compensate victims of an attack. "We need to examine closely the challenges that a maritime attack would create for our civil justice system," said Michael Greenberg, another of the report's authors. "Tort liability is supposed to compensate victims while providing appropriate security incentives for firms. But ambiguous liability standards in the maritime terrorism context raise the prospect that the civil justice system may neither be effective as a compensation mechanism, nor in generating clear incentives for the private sector."

The report, titled "Maritime and Terrorism: Risk and Liability," was produced by the RAND Center for Terrorism Risk Management Policy. RAND researchers prepared the report by considering different types of terrorist attacks that could strike maritime activities. The authors assessed each scenario for its likelihood, its potential impact on the loss of life, and the potential economic impacts. They also considered the likely application of civil liability in the aftermath of different attacks.

Researchers point out that their review of more than 30 years of terrorist activity shows that less than 2 percent of international terrorist attacks have hit maritime targets. Historically, this is because it has been difficult to successfully carry out maritime terrorist attacks and because such attacks have rarely caused the large loss of life or generated the heavy news coverage that terrorists seek, the study says. The report acknowledges that the contemporary relevance of these factors is in a state of flux but that relative prioritization of risks in the maritime domain remains underdeveloped. The largest maritime disaster would involve the detonation of a nuclear device smuggled through a major domestic port inside a shipping container. However, the report stresses that the likelihood of such an event occurring is far lower than for other types of attacks. Though considerably less catastrophic than worst-case scenario, the report argues that attacks on passenger ferries or cruise ships would be more probable. These attacks might involve on-board bombs or biological contaminants inserted into the food supply, according to researchers.

NEXT REGULAR MONTHLY MEETINGS
Monday November 6 – Boston, San Francisco, Seattle;
Tuesday, November 7 – Baltimore, Houston, Jacksonville;
Wednesday, November 8 – Calhoon MEBA School, Charleston, New Orleans, Portland;
Thursday, November 9 – Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, Norfolk, Tampa.
 

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