Port Bureau News January 2012
www.txgulf.org
Down on the Docks GHPB Stevedoring Companies Replacing Your Defective TWIC Card at No Cost New Trucking Regulations: Point/Counterpoint
Spotlight on Jeff Hakala Vice President—Ceres Global
Outbound under the I-610 Bridge Photo Credit: Captain Louis Vest, Houston Pilots Association
Port Bureau Staff Bill Diehl Jeannie Angeli David Cooley Al Cusick Cristina Gomez Janette Molina Patrick Seeba
Board of Directors *Tom Marian—Chairman *Dennis Hansell—1st Vice Chair. *Mike Drieu—2nd Vice Chair. *John Taylor—Secretary /Treas. *Robert H. Blades *Alec Dreyer *Charles H. Flournoy *Capt. Steve Conway *Capt. John G. Peterlin III *Capt. Richard Russell *Steve Stewart *Nathan Wesely Jim Black Ken Burnett Celeste Harris Jason Hayley Kevin Hickey Guy W. Hitt Charlie Jenkins Shareen Larmond Kathy Murray Jerry Nagel Vinny Pilegge Nolan Richardson Lloyd Schwing Tim Studdert Lawrence Waldron Armando Waterland Don Welch *Denotes Executive Committee Members
Photo Credit: Captain Lou Vest, Houston Pilots Assn.
Captain’s Corner
No Brian Cushing in the Pro Bowl?!
00
Brian Cushing is the outside linebacker for the Houston Texans and one of the top players on the number two defense in the National Football League. But did he get the nod towards the Pro Bowl this year after 110 tackles, 4 sacks, two interceptions and 2 forced fumbles? No. This is disturbing, but before discussing how this relates to maritime commerce I first need to come clean and tell you that Brain attended my sister’s wedding and is a cousin to her husband. So although Brian doesn’t know me Photo: David Bray Photography from any other painted-face-jersey-wearing fan, I am quick to let everyone Photo: David J. Phillip, AP know that we are related when he plays well. … When he doesn’t, I blame my sister for marrying poorly. I’ve heard the argument that Brian did not make the Pro Bowl because—well, we are not on National TV much and there is a general lack of awareness of the Houston Texans unless you are from here and they’re your hometown team. Well lack of awareness doesn’t only hurt your chances at Pro Bowl selection, but it also hurts when you’re competing for Congressional appropriations as well, and this is where I draw my not-so-subtle analogy to maritime commerce. There is a general lack of awareness of the value of our ports to our national economy. I say this because while we’ve been advocating for support for the legislation (H.R. 104 and S. 412) to obligate Congress to use harbor maintenance taxes on harbor maintenance, the lions share of our current support lies with Congressional delegations in our port regions. Even though we’re up to 150 sponsors in the House and 30 in the Senate, we have not had a great deal of success of explaining to our inland Congressional representatives the necessity of our ports to their economies. Right now for dredging, it’s the fourth quarter and we’re looking at a third-and-long. The hard won deepening and widening efforts made on the Houston Ship Channel in 2005 are disappearing and the demand for better water transportation in this nation is being cast aside in a blind rush to gain headway on deficit reduction. We need to muster our best two minute offense if we are going to convince our leaders that they are making short term, extremely detrimental decisions to our long term global prosperity by neglecting the very tools that keep us on the field. Our Texas ports bring consumers everything from golf balls to gasoline, produce good-paying jobs for more than 2 million Americans and generate more than $48 billion in wages. Our Texas Ports alone generate $285 billion of annual economic activity nationwide. Global trade represents 1/3rd of our national GDP and more than 95% of that tonnage comes in over water. Yet when the President sets his goal to double exports within the next five years to help our economy, no mention is made of how our ports are going to move that commerce. Exports represent American jobs and an influx of money from foreign investors and consumers. Houston is at the forefront of the United States export market, but much like our football team—which spent most of November in first place in the AFC, and has already beat three playoff teams this year—“we don’t get no respect”. The attached chart shows just how important the Port of Houston is to our national export picture: 15% of the nation’s exports leave from our docks—this is clearly Pro Bowl quality. Our national goal is to double exports, but how are we going to win if we let our ports silt in? There are lots of components to a successful football team, just as there are lots of things we need to do to bolster our national economy, but I see transportation infrastructure like a good defense: it’ll get you through the good times and bad. I am headed onto the field (Washington DC) the 6-8th of February to advocate for Pro Bowl recognition of our Ship Channels, if you would like to join me, I could use your help, please call (713) 678-4300. As for Brian, we hope to still feature him in the Diehl family reunion touch football game this summer. I think I can beat him to the corner. I look forward to working with you in a happy and prosperous New Year.
US DOT Takes Action to Ensure Truck Driver Rest Time and Improve Safety Behind the Wheel A Message from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration WASHINGTON - On Thursday, December 22, 2011, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a final rule that employs the latest research in driver fatigue to make sure truck drivers can get the rest they need to operate safely when on the road. The new rule by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revises the hours-of-service (HOS) safety requirements for commercial truck drivers. "Trucking is a difficult job, and a big rig can be deadly when a driver is tired and overworked," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "This final rule will help prevent fatiguerelated truck crashes and save lives. Truck drivers deserve a work environment that allows them to perform their jobs safely." As part of the HOS rulemaking process, FMCSA held six public listening sessions across the country and encouraged safety advocates, drivers, truck company owners, law enforcement and the public to share their input on HOS requirements. The listening sessions were live webcast on the FMCSA Web site, allowing a broad cross-section of individuals to participate in the development of this safety-critical rule. "This final rule is the culmination of the most extensive and transparent public outreach effort in our agency's history," said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. "With robust input from all areas of the trucking community, coupled with the latest scientific research, we carefully crafted a rule acknowledging that when truckers are rested, alert and focused on safety, it makes our roadways safer." FMCSA's new HOS final rule reduces by 12 hours the maximum number of hours a truck driver can work within a week. Under the old rule, truck drivers could work on average up to 82 hours within a seven-day period. The new HOS final rule limits a driver's work week to 70 hours. In addition, truck drivers cannot drive after What Port Bureau Members are Saying: working eight hours without first taking a break of at “If the FMCSA intends to carry through with this, it will take an least 30 minutes. Drivers can take the 30-minute estimated 10% more trucks on the road to handle the current break whenever they need rest during the eighthour window. volume of freight tonnage” The final rule retains the current 11-hour “We can see domestic carriers have to increase the size of daily driving limit. FMCSA will continue to conduct their fleets, juggle schedules, and hire more drivers—drivers data analysis and research to further examine any who are already in short supply and tough to find.” risks associated with the 11 hours of driving time. “If a driver gets back from a run at 2am on a Saturday mornThe rule requires truck drivers who maximing, he may not be able to drive until 5:01 am on Monday, so ize their weekly work hours to take at least two nights' rest when their 24-hour body clock demands to anyone doing a long haul, that can be a pretty big concern.” sleep the most - from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. This rest requirement is part of the rule's "34-hour restart" provision that allows drivers to restart the clock on their work week by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty. The final rule allows drivers to use the restart provision only once during a seven-day period. Companies and drivers that commit egregious violations of the rule could face the maximum penalties for each offense. Trucking companies that allow drivers to exceed the 11-hour driving limit by 3 or more hours could be fined $11,000 per offense, and the drivers themselves could face civil penalties of up to $2,750 for each offense. Commercial truck drivers and companies must comply with the HOS final rule by July 1, 2013. The rule was sent to the Federal Register and is currently available on FMCSA's Web site.
Point
Obama Administration’s Final Hours-of-Service Rule Puts Safety in the Backseat A Response from, and reprinted with the permission of the American Trucking Association Arlington, Va. – On Thursday, December 22, leaders of the American Trucking Associations expressed their frustration and disappointment that the Obama administration issued an unjustified final rule governing hours-of-service that will do nothing to improve highway safety, but will very likely increase the risk of truck-involved crashes. “Today’s announcement of a new rule on the hours-of-service is completely unsurprising. What is surprising and new to us is that for the first time in the agency’s history, FMCSA has chosen to eschew a stream of positive safety data and cave in to a vocal anti-truck minority and issue a rule that will have no positive impact on safety,” ATA President and CEO Bill Graves said. “From the beginning of this process in October 2009, the agency set itself on a course to fix a rule that’s not only not broken, but by all objective accounts is working to improve highway safety. Unfortunately, along the way, FMCSA twisted data and, as part of this final rule, is using unjustified causal estimates to justify unnecessary changes.” “Even with an uptick in truck-involved fatalities in 2010, since the current rules went into effect in 2004, fatalities have fallen 29.9%, even as overall miles traveled for trucks has risen by tens of billions of miles,” said ATA Chairman Dan England, chairman of C.R. England, Salt Lake City. “No one can dispute these facts. “By forcing through these changes FMCSA has created a situation that will ultimately please no one, with the likely exception of organized labor,” England said. “Both the trucking industry and consumers will suffer the impact of reduced productivity and higher costs. Also, groups that have historically been critical of the current hours of service rules won’t be happy since they will have once again failed to obtain an unjustified reduction in allowable daily driving time. Further, it is entirely possible that these changes may actually increase truck-involved crashes by forcing trucks to have more interaction with passenger vehicles and increasing the risk to all drivers.” “This rule will put more truck traffic onto the roadways during morning rush hour, frustrate other motorists and increase the risk of crashes,” Graves said. “By mandating drivers include two periods between 1 a.m. And 5 a.m. as part of a 'restart' period, FMCSA is assuring that every day as America is commuting to work, thousands of truck drivers will be joining them, creating additional and unnecessary congestion and putting motorists and those professional drivers at greater risk. The largest percentage of truck-involved crashes occur between 6 a.m. and noon, so this change not only effectively destroys the provision of the current rule most cited by professional drivers as beneficial, but it will put more trucks on the road during the statistically riskiest time of the day. “If there is a positive in this rule, it is the lengthy period of time before it becomes effective,” Graves said of the 18-month delay in the rule’s compliance date. “This will give ATA time to consider legal options. And, by delaying implementation of this rule, the agency is acknowledging there is no safety crisis on our highways.” The ATA is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation’s freight.
Counterpoint
Port Bureau Partners on the Docks Stevedores and Terminal Operators Ceres Gulf 6021 Fairmont Parkway, Ste 240 Pasadena, TX 77506 Contact Jeff Hakala Jhakala@ceresglobal.com (713) 991-1500
Ceres Gulf Ceres’ mission is to provide reliable and responsible stevedoring and terminal services that are dependable and consistent with their customers’ requirements and expectations. At each of Ceres’ container terminal handling operations, they offer costeffective stevedoring, roadability services for truckers, container repair, maintenance, cleaning, monitoring, inspection, tripping, stuffing, stripping, weighing, and more.
Ceres’ Houston operations include the city dock terminals with 47 acres of leased terminal facilities including 19,200 feet of berth space with access to on-terminal rail, container cranes, 24 reefer plugs, and over 110,000 square feet of warehouse space. The Barbours Cut facility includes 230 acres and 6,000 feet of berth space from the Port of Houston Authority with container cranes, reefer plugs, on-terminal rail access and 255,000 square feet of warehouse space. Ceres has been an aggressive adopter of advanced technology since the installation of their first computerized system in the 1970’s. Now, their EDI keeps customers informed of bookings, manifests, carrier and freight releases, gate and vessel activity and more.
Chaparral Stevedoring Company Chaparral Stevedoring 1717 Turning Basin Dr. #200 Houston, TX 77029 Contact Irby Banquer ibanquer@ayership.com (713) 674-6700
Gulf Stream Marine 10000 Manchester Ave. Ste. C Houston, TX 77012 Contact Rick Ragusan rickr@gulfstreammarine.com (713) 926-7611
The Chaparral Stevedoring Company is an employee-owned stevedoring company founded in 1966 . The company’s specialty is the discharge of steel and the handling of wind turbines.
Gulf Stream Marine Since 1990, Gulf Stream Marine has been building relationships with customers vendors and employees to protect customer cargo and ensure safe, flexible materials handling. With stevedoring operations at Houston’s Manchester, Industrial, Woodhouse, and Greensport terminals as well as in the ports of Freeport, Corpus Christi and Brownsville, Gulf Stream is one of the largest privately owned stevedore companies in the Gulf Region.
To ensure that Gulf Stream meets the needs of a complete range of cargo from project cargo to trees, and containers to bulk, Gulf Stream is oriented to handle loads on deep draft vessels, barges, rail trucks, and hazardous materials. Offering marking, banding, sorting and bundling services, Gulf Stream meets customer fabrication and off-schedule job requirements with their on-site machine shops and company engineers, customer lift gear, high capacity ground transport, and 24/7 labor availability.
Jacintoport International 16398 Jacintoport Blvd. Houston, TX 77015 Contact David Labbe david_lobbe@seaboardmarine.com (713) 821-5415
Jacintoport International, LLC Jacintoport International LLC ("Jacintoport") is a cargo handling and stevedoring firm, headquartered in Houston, Texas, operating from a secure 62-acre terminal with 690,000 square foot ultra-modern, automatic power ventilated, heavily insulated warehouse. With 1,830 feet of lit berth space, dozens of forklifts, yard hustlers, chassis, a crane fleet with 250 ton capacity, 100,000 square feet of dockside covered storage and heavy duty tractors and trailers, Jacintoport’s facilities offer an alternative
labor source whose flexibility generates considerable cost savings. Jacintoport is proud of their no-hidden-costs, all-inclusive rate structure and commitment to working on the customer’s schedule. Jacintoport boasts of having the only automated cargo handling system in North America capable of handling import/ export cargos of bagged goods and unitized boxes. This Spiralveyor conveyor sysLoading Bagged Cargo at Jacintoport tem hands cargos with computer controlled conveyor loading facilitating quick turnaround and reduced loading costs. Operating within the Port of Houston Authority, Jacintoport workers also handle stripping and stuffing of containers, cross-docking, USDA, FDA and Russian certification, as well as trichinosis certification, fumigation, temperature and humidity control, and specialized material handling. With a management team committed to providing safe and secure facility for employees and visitors, the C-TPAT validated modern facility is guarded twentyfour hours a day and is also covered with a digital camera surveillance system that records all gate entries and departures. Jacintoport offers the latest in computerized inventory control and electronic reporting to complement full service terminal and stevedoring capabilities. As a result, Jacintoport is proud to say that the customer is always in control.
Ports America
Ports America
Ports America Moving a Container
As the largest terminal operator and stevedore in the United States moving over 12.7 million TEUs, 4.3 million vehicles, 1.6 million cruise ship passengers and 8.9 million tons of general cargo every year, Ports America strives to provide clients with a competitive advantage by combining the flexibility of global connections with the efficiency of local expertise. Operating terminals in eighteen US ports and providing stevedore services in over forty, Ports America’s mission is to provide creative and innovative infrastructure solutions for ports, cargo carriers and cargo owners. P.O. Box 1969 La Porte, TX 77572-1969 Contact Norman Lamb Norman.Lamb@portsamerica.com (832) 615-7200
In Texas, Ports American operates terminals in Houston, Galveston, Beaumont, Freeport, Corpus Christi, Port Arthur and Bayport. Ports America’s operations encompass over 500,000 square feet of warehousing space, over a thousand acres of terminal space and container freight stations for stuffing and stripping intermodal equipment. In Houston, Ports America operates top loaders, empty handlers, cranes up to 300 tons, maintains storage facilities for ISO tanks, operates up to 23 wharf cranes (9 post-panama) for the Port of Houston Authority, and maintains over 500 chassis slots at Bayport alone. The Galveston operation includes two ro-ro terminals, and in Beaumont, Ports America is a contract stevedore for the U.S. Army handling long term project cargo, vehicles and large oddly shaped cargos. With their commitment to providing a safe environment for employees, contractors and visitors, and capabilities to handle containers, ro-ro, breakbulk, grain, other bulk cargo and passengers, Ports America can move whatever comes across the docks.
The Richardson Companies
Richardson Stevedoring & Logistics
8500 Clinton Drive, Gate 1 Houston, TX 77029 Contact Nolan Richardson Nolan@richardsoncompanies.com (713) 673-1110
Richardson Stevedoring and Logistics was established in 1969 and remains a family owned and operated business where customers can expect responsible and reliable service. Operating out of facilities at the Port of Houston, Galveston, Laredo, the inland rail Port of San Antonio, and the Alabama State Docks in Mobile, Richardson specializes in break-bulk and steel products using the company’s heavy lift cranes, lift trucks, and a large fleet of flatbeds. At the Turning Basin, Richardson’s freight assignment at Dock 32 ensures that they’re ready to move high-andheavy cargo, and have several yards of dry storage available. They also operate as a Foreign Trade Zone to handle cargo moving in and out of the United States.
Tying Down a Load on a Richardson Truck
Richardson Stevedoring & Logistics is part of the Richardson Group of Companies including Richway Transportation, A Richardson Employee Prepares to Move Steel Pipe Robin International Transport, and R Warehousing & Port Services, so in addition to getting cargo off the ship, Richardson is a direct discharge, Customs-bonded, DOT certified motor carrier serving the Gulf Coast, Midwest, and East Coast.
Schröder Marine Services
Schroder Marine Services
P.O. Box 5161 Houston, TX 77056 Contact Jürgen Schröder jrschroder@schrodermarine.net (713) 926-9355
Schröder Marine Services is a family owned and operated service company specializing in consulting, breakbulk stevedoring, and freight handling. The company prides itself on creating custom tailored solutions and in offering quality “old-world” customer service.
Jürgen Schröder, President, began as a seaman and climbed to executive roles in numerous companies – building over 45 years of experience in the Port of Houston. He opened Schröder Marine 25 years ago, and began the company's present operations in the Turning Basin Terminal. Currently, they are the primary stevedore for Chipolbrok, a regular global liner service outfitted with 640 ton capacity cranes for handling heavy machine, power plant, mining, drilling, and other equipment. This company’s success is founded on solid relationships and longstanding trust—earned by efficient, proactive team members who are dedicated to seeing projects through to completion safely and cost-effectively. Schröder Marine is Quality You Can Trust.
Shippers Stevedoring Company
Shippers Stevedoring Company
With 24/7 operations, Nolan Williamson, Darrel Harrelson, and Bill Martinez supervise cargo movement in the SSC yard at the Turning Basin the multinational and multilingual team at Shippers Stevedoring Company has a reputation for flexibility and responsive service. Shippers Stevedoring maintains a fleet of vehicles including Ro/Ro and terminal tractors, forklifts, and cranes with up to 300 ton capacity. Their eight acre secured, paved and fully equipped container yard allows Shippers Stevedoring Company to conduct maintenance and repairs on containers while another 16 acre yard offers over 1,800 feet of rail siding, long and short 11811 East Freeway, Ste. 660 Houston, TX 77013 Contact Nick Stratigakis Nick@sscusa.com (713) 451-5777
term cargo storage, and cargo consolidation. SSC’s facilities also offer Container Freight Stations and handle bulk cargo operations. In La Porte, Shippers operates Integrated Marine Services, LLC, a 45 acre intermodal equipment and depot service center offering direct pickup/drop-off of empty containers to/from vessels, container and chassis repair, storage, cleaning and monitoring. Using the wireless yard manager hand-held unit, a digital web-based interface allowing customers access to equipment, activity and booking data, Shippers is committed to ensuring that customer needs are met every time. In 2005, Shippers Stevedoring Company recognized the need for a wind energy program and began investing in equipment and facilities to handle the long and heavy loads of nacelles, towers and blades for wind power generators. Now, hardly a week goes by without a load of wind cranes moving in, out, or through Shippers Turning Basin facility. The International Longshoremen’s Association Founded in 1877 the International Longshoremen’s Association is the largest union of maritime workers in North America, representing 65,000 longshoremen on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, major US rivers, Puerto Rico and Eastern Canada. The South Atlantic and Gulf Coast District ILA, representing workers from Texas to North Carolina, provides labor to companies like Ceres Gulf, Richardson S&L, Chaparral, and Ports America. Hired by stevedores to move cargo, these checkers, longshoremen, warehousemen, clerks, samplers, weighers, timekeepers, boatmen, engineers, hoisters and more represent much of the boots-on-the-ground labor force moving cargo in the Port. Regional Longshore, Warehouse, Clerks and Checker Locals of the ILA Local 20 170 Members Galveston Longshoremen Local 24 777 Members Houston Longshoremen Local 28 594 Members Pasadena Warehousemen Local 30 125 Members Freeport Longshore and Warehousemen Local 1351 341 Members Houston Clerks, Checkers, Timekeepers & Weighers Local 1504 27 Members Galveston Warehousemen & Loaders Local 1665 59 Members Galveston Clerks, Checkers, Samplers and Weighers Local 1817 25 Members Freeport Timekeepers, Clerks & Checkers
A Marine Safety Information Bulletin from USCG Sector Houston-Galveston Please note that Sector Houston-Galveston has changed the phone number for making urgent afterhours updates to commercial vessel arrival information. Between the hours of 0600-1800, continue to call the vessel arrivals desk at (713) 671 -5100 x9008/9009. From 1800-0600, please contact the Sector Houston-Galveston Command Center at (713) 671-5113. You can also continue to send your notice of arrivals and updates electronically at D08-PF-VTSHouston-Targeting@uscg.mil. The Sector will continue to publish a cleared-to-enter list twice daily on Homeport at approximately 0930 and 1700. This MSIB pertains to Sector Houston-Galveston Marine Inspection Zone and Captain of the Port Zone as defined in 33 CFR 3.40-28(a). This includes the Houston Ship Channel (HSC) port area, the Port of Texas City, the Port of Galveston, and the Port of Freeport, excluding Port Arthur and Lake Charles, Louisiana. In an effort to improve efficiency in afterhours processing of Notice of Arrival updates sent to the Sector HoustonGalveston Captain of the Port (COTP) zone as defined above, Sector Houston-Galveston requests that owners, operators, or agents contact the Notice of Arrival Duty Officer at the above phone numbers when: I. II. III. IV.
Submitting an NOA update between 1800 and 0600 and The Arrival is scheduled in less than 24 hours and The COTP zone has changed to Sector Houston-Galveston or The port of Arrival within the Sector Houston-Galveston COTP zone has changed from/ to a port within the HSC from/to the Port of Freeport.
The Sector is committed to working with industry on the safe and effective flow of vessels in the COTP Zone. Please contact LCDR Aaron Demo, Targeting and Arrivals Coordinator at (713) 671-5197 or via e-mail at Aaron.W.Demo@uscg.mil with any questions.
Thompson Assumes Presiding Officer Position The Houston Pilots have elected Captain Robert Thompson as the Presiding Officer for 2012, replacing Captain Steve Conway who held the position during 2011. Other elected members of the Executive Committee include Captain Larry Wheatley and Captain Steven Nelson
Port of Houston CEO Alec Dreyer to Step Down Excerpts from his official statement: I am pleased to announce that I have received a letter of exoneration from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. … The DA’s office found that I complied with the law, followed Port policies, and did nothing out of the ordinary. I personally requested this investigation to clear my name … I feel it is vitally important for the public to know the truth. I came to the Port of Houston to apply my business experience in public service. We’ve achieved a great deal in my time here, most notably by helping this Port prepare for significant growth coming as a result of the expansion of the Panama Canal and the ongoing demographic shift to the Texas triangle. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished. This experience, however, has shown me that the political arena is not where I want to be. … I’m happy to serve until a replacement is found. I’ve enjoyed my work at the Port and I think it’s important that this organization continues to apply good business practices to encourage prosperity, to capitalize on this growth, and to create jobs for this region.— A. Dreyer, PHA
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Notice Regarding Improperly Encoded TWIC Cards
Replacing your Defective Card at No Cost
The integrated circuit chips (ICCs) on approximately 26,000 previously issued Transportation Worker Identification Credentials (TWICs) were improperly encoded and may not work with TWIC card readers. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will replace these cards at the card holder’s request at no cost. How to determine if your card has the encoding problem, and instructions for how you can obtain a replacement card, are described below. Important: If your card has this issue it is still valid and provides evidence of your eligibility for unescorted access to secure areas. This issue only affects your card when using it with some readers. If you determine your TWIC has this issue, and depending on how you use your TWIC, you may decide not to replace it, or replace it later at a more convenient time.
TWIC Card Rule Changes
Released in late December, USCG Policy Letter 11-15 outlines policy changes for mariners who do not require unescorted access to a secure area of a vessel. Referencing Section 809 of the Coast Guard Authorization act, the policy letter exempts mariners who serve on certain vessels that do not require a vessel security plan from the requirement to obtain a TWIC card to renew their Merchant Mariner Credentials.
Problem Description: Every TWIC contains a Federal Agency Smart Credential Number (FASC-N) on its ICC. The FASC-N uniquely identifies each card. When your TWIC is read by a card reader, the FASC-N is one of the pieces of information the reader obtains from the card.
Due to a card production system error, the number of characters in the FASC-N on some TWICs was While full implementation of this directive may require regshortened (truncated), causing readers to not recognize ulatory changes, the USCG has devised a policy letter to allow for faster compliance. When conducting inspections, the Coast Guard the card as a valid TWIC. The system error causing the will change its enforcement policies so that a mariner who does not FASC-N to be truncated was corrected on April 5, 2011. hold a TWIC or holds an expired TWIC but current MMC may not be TWICs issued after that date do not have truncated FASC -Ns. TWICs issued before April 5, 2011 could potentially considered in violation of the applicable regulations. have this issue and as a result, TWIC readers could have problems reading these cards. TSA will issue a replacement TWIC at no cost to you if you have a card with a truncated FASC-N. TSA is maintaining and posting a list of those affected TWICs. TSA recommends that you access this list to determine if your credential has a truncated FASC-N (see below for more information).
How to tell if your TWIC is affected by this issue: The TWICs that have this problem can be identified by the 8-digit Agency Serial Number (ASN) that is printed on the back of the TWIC. The ASN is on the bottom left side of the back of the card (on the same line as the numbers ‘7099’ which appear on the bottom right.) The ASN is shown in the red box in the illustration to the right. If the ASN on your TWIC matches a number on the TSA list, then your card has a truncated FASC-N and you may need to obtain a replacement depending on how you use your card.
If you currently do not use your TWIC with a card reader, then you do not need to get a replacement right away—you will be able to get one later.
If you currently need to use your TWIC with a card reader and you are experiencing problems, you should get a replacement TWIC as soon as possible.
How to get a replacement TWIC: If your TWIC is identified on the TSA list of cards with truncated FASC-Ns you can receive a no-cost replacement by calling the TWIC Help Desk at 1-866-347-8942, Monday through Friday, 8AM to10PM Eastern. Please identify that your card has a truncated FASC-N, and the Customer Service Representative will assist you with ordering a replacement. You must designate the enrollment center where you will pick up your replacement TWIC.
Port Watch
Tom Marian—Buffalo Marine Service
Confidence, Cars and Chemicals May Make for a Better 2012
The Christmas surge that wasn’t continued unabated through November as Texas ports experienced their 4th consecutive monthly decline in terms of vessel arrivals. Ironically, as things were heating up in malls across the country in terms of customer activity, there were some unseasonably quiet days on the Houston Ship Channel. Yet again, the Port of Houston registered its second softest month with 10% fewer vessel arrivals against October’s totals. In terms of raw numbers, Houston is still enjoying a 4.5% rise over 2010, but 2011’s improvement has been shrinking since mid-summer. Outside of the region’s most active port, things were not as bleak and in a few instances quite heartening. With the exception of Freeport - which saw another 3% decrease in monthly activity and 7% for the year - all of the other ports held their own – at worst. The port of Texas City eked out a 2% gain which added to its 8% year-over-year increase. The port of Corpus Christi bounced back nicely from its slowest month of the year with a 10% positive swing for vessel arrivals. Finally, the comeback port of the month was, far and away, Galveston. The former safe haven for the notorious pirate Jean Lafitte, jumped 42%. Unfortunately, this significant increase was not enough to offset the Oleander City’s vessel arrival deficit against 2010’s shipping count, since the numbers are nearly 2% off for the year. Houston Ship Channel’s brownwater activity was down by another 559 tows but in terms of raw numbers this only represented a one half of one percent monthly drop. The silver lining is that the local tow count remains 5% greater than 2010’s figures. In fact, preliminary estimates for the month of December are very positive as it appears that there is much movement in the liquid inventory arena. This was certainly true with respect to Houston’s chemical tanker count which surged 11%; further solidifying its year-to-year gains which currently stand at 14%. Perhaps all of those chemicals were being transported to facilitate car production as the port tallied its highest monthly car carrier count for the year. The month-tomonth move from 8 car carriers to 11 in November resulted in the 2011 total exceeding 2010 for the first time this year. If cars and chemicals were the only categories measured November would have been a month to crow about; however, that is where the rainbow faded as movements of every other port of Houston vessel type dropped. Some of these decreases were proverbial thuds. Tank vessels were down by 15% and posted the lowest daily average numbers for the year (i.e., February’s raw number was lower but daily average was higher); LPG vessel movements, which had been very solid for the last 4 months declined by 20%; General cargo vessel counts which had been experiencing double-digit increases over last year lapsed by 13%; Bulk carrier arrivals which hit a nadir last month eclipsed even that poor showing with an additional 2% drop; and Brownwater’s cousin – integrated tugs and barges - also had the misfortune of posting its lowest monthly numbers for the year with a heart-wrenching 37% monthly fall. Finally, container vessel counts rounded out the monthly losses with a 3.5% monthly negative change. On the whole, the numbers are down but there seems to be enough positive signs to warrant much of the confidence the media has been hyping since the Christmas season kicked off. To some extent, there is adequate year-end port activity to justify a positive outlook for 2012, but beyond the veneer of glad tidings there may be the reality of wishful thinking. Then again, isn’t that what consumption is all about – anticipation that things are getting better? So, 2012 awaits us as a blank slate and - with the exception of Mayan calendar devotees – may be well worth the wait.—T. Marian, Buffalo Marine
Spotlight on Jeff Hakala
Vice President, Texas Ports—Ceres Global
“We’re here to provide good customer service when they need it most.” During Katrina, Jeffrey Hakala certainly put that mantra into practice. Working in New Orleans at the time, Jeffrey evacuated to Houston, but kept his mind on his customers who would need stevedore services as soon as the port was reopened. Within two weeks of the hurricane, the Port of New Orleans reopened and Jeffrey commuted to the battered region several times a week. Leaving Houston at 0400 to arrive at 1000, Jeffrey worked to serve his customer’s needs while the port was up and running before departing to return home before the city curfew went into effect. “That’s the dedication our customers expect. That we move their cargo quickly, cost-effectively, and most of all: reliably” Jeffrey Hakala was born and raised in Negaunee, located on the upper peninsula of Michigan, less than twenty miles from Lake Superior. In high school, he received an assignment from a teacher to write about an occupation, and after thumbing through a career guidebook in the school library, he wrote to the Merchant Marine Academy to learn more about the Marine industry. When he mentioned going to the Academy to his guidance counselor, the counselor suggested he enlist instead, but Jeffrey went through the long process of acceptance, admission, and graduated in 1975. After graduation, Jeffrey began working ashore at a number of East and Gulf Coast ports with Atlantic & Gulf Stevedores who would merge with I.T.O. Corporation in 1980 and eventually become Fairway Terminal Corporation in the West Gulf. Deciding to move on, Jeff started his own company—Innovative Marine Concepts. With Innovative Marine Concepts, Jeffrey developed a computer system to receive gate-move data about containers and chassis from marine terminals in order to handle per diem and damage billing for steamship companies. Initially self-taught, Jeffrey is now a Microsoft Certified Professional, and while his initial programs are over 20 years old, he still works on little projects to help track repairs and fill other niche requirements to provide better customer service and improved quality of operations. He’s also worked as a developer with Tyco Submarine Systems to develop on-board crewing and payroll systems. After working in Baltimore for a number of years, Jeffrey took a job with Ceres in New Orleans in July of 2004. In August 2010, Jeffrey brought his talents to Houston where Ceres works with the local International Longshoreman’s Association to unload and move cargo across the docks. While he handles a lot of containerized cargo, the interesting movements are often the high-and-heavy cargos that make Houston the center of break-bulk in the Americas. “A good example? A massive pressure vessel we moved; after getting it off the ship, we put it on a barge, and had to build a place to discharge it, arrange for trucks to move it from the discharge center to the plant where it was installed, and along the way, we arranged for everything from permits to taking down telephone wires and cables so that it could pass.” Jeffrey and his wife E.J. have two grown children, Jamie and Jeremy, and when he’s not busy working, he enjoys riding his Harley Davidson Fatboy, skiing, and reading.. Ceres Global’s mission is to provide reliable, independent and responsible stevedoring and terminal services that are dependable, high quality and consistent with their customers’ requirements and expectations. Ceres is dedicated to providing the highest quality, most reliable, cost-effective stevedoring, terminal operations, and ancillary services in the business of transportation. The Ceres proactive approach to business, always making the customer a priority, has contributed to longstanding, solid working relationships. Anticipating potential problems, offering quick response and solutions and staying one step ahead of the customers’ job requirements are the standards in which Ceres operates daily and the key to their success. With operations ranging from Hueneme, CA to the gulf coast to the Northeast Atlantic coast, Ceres has grown and expanded its scope of operations every year for almost half a century.
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