may2011 news

Port Bureau News May 2011

www.txgulf.org

The United States Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston Vessel Traffic Service Vessel General Permits Marine Firefighting & Salvage Requirements

Spotlight on Captain Marcus Woodring Commander—Sector Houston-Galveston

Captain’s Corner United We Stand—Divided We Fall Competitive cooperation is why Houston is such an effective port community and it has to remain our strategy as we take our services to the next level.

I thought of this competitive cooperation theme this past weekend as I was reading about the housing industry, and how the companies are trying to work to survive the downturn in their industry in an uncharacteristic way—together. The author was amazed that in these difficult times how many companies try to go it alone; building their businesses in isolation from the profession. Their reasons: they don’t have time, they don’t want to give away their secrets to potential competitors, and they serve a discrete clientele. Basically they believe that they don’t need help or relationships within their community—they can survive as an island. He concluded that the “Go it alone mentality” collapses over time.

I agree with the author, and suggest in isolation you miss opportunities to improve your business, opportunities to make more money and opportunities to lend support to groups that have helped enable your success. In order to really succeed—especially in such a close-knit community as the maritime industry—as a business owner, you have to be willing to go and harvest the resources of the community. The way to take your business to the next level is to get involved with the companies with whom you share so much potential risk and reward.

A great example of this came from Dr. Steve Flynn’s discussion at the Commerce Club last month. Dr. Flynn was talking about security, and how a business manager needs to develop trust with the community, avoid overreacting in times of crisis, and instill resilience as a safeguard against future difficulties. Security is a complicated issue that industry needs to guide the government regulators on- - otherwise they’ll try and develop the costly-fail proof solution. These solutions sound good in DC, but they are a mirage, and all they really do is restrict a business so much that it cannot make a profit. Don’t get me wrong: I believe that the only way to grow the region— like the only way to grow a business—is to keep is secure. That is why I’m such as supporter of the Houston Ship Channel Security District, it is industry coming together to put together a logical, practical, security strategy for the entire Ship Channel District—it is competitive cooperation.

Remember there is no lock that cannot be picked, no computer that cannot be hacked.

One of the keys in a security strategy is our ability to come back from a security event. Dr. Flynn posed a question to the group: what security threat would wreck greater havoc than a massive hurricane and storm surge? We are seeing the results of such an occurrence in Japan right now, and I submit that as a region, we will be measured by our ability to spring back from any disaster, natural or otherwise.

Port Bureau Staff Bill Diehl Jeannie Angeli Al Cusick Jonathan Edwards 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 Jan Crittenden Celeste Harris Jason Hayley Kevin Hickey Guy W. Hitt Charlie Jenkins Shareen Larmond Kathy Murray Jerry Nagel Vinny Pilegge Nolan Richardson Lloyd Schwing Earl Smith Tim Studdert Lawrence Waldron Armando Waterland Don Welch *Denotes Executive Committee Members

Dr. Flynn was right—the only people who know what happens on the ground are those who are actively engaged. As a community, let’s continue to work together to build trust, avoid overreaction, and instill resilience in our businesses and our region.—Bill Diehl, GHPB

US Agricultural Department Inspections Garbage Monitoring & Disposal Customs and Border Patrol, in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) perform vessel boardings to monitor and ensure that garbage is maintained in such a manner that it reduces the risk of plant pests and animal diseases. Based on a variety of risk factors such as areas of the world in which the vessel has transited, loaded cargo, or taken on stores as well as a watch list and risk assessment of the port of entry, the vessel may be boarded when she reaches a US port.

Upon arrival, the inspecting officer will confirm the functionality of any garbage disposal equipment (such as a ship’s incinerator) on board, review garbage handling procedures including disinfecting storage containers and after any spill, labeling of international vs. domestic garbage, and segregation of regulated/ non-regulated garbage, and ensure that seals are in place for garbage chutes/containers. At this time, if there is a CBP approved facility in port, the inspector will inform the vessel’s master. If the vessel makes use of a regulated facility, it is only permissible under supervision of a CBP agriculture specialist or a trained em-

On An Average Day, Sector Houston-Galveston: 

Saves two Lives



Responds to one Search & Rescue Case



Saves $3,164 in Property



Services five Aids-to-Navigation



Investigates two Marine Accidents



Responds to three pollution Incidents



Inspects five waterfront facilities, three containers, seven recreational boats, and thirty-two vessels for safety and environmental compliance



Provides security for 40% of US Military equipment loaded to support operations overseas



Screens thirty-four commercial vessels including 2,098 crew and passengers

ployee of an incompliance establishment.

The garbage will be moved by an in-compliance cartage firm in tight, leak-proof containers and then incinerated to ash or heated to 212 degrees F for thirty minutes.

Even if a boarding is not conducted, the vessel master still has a responsibility to monitor the vessel’s garbage and insure that no violations are recorded.

Violations include dumping/ disposing of garbage in an unauthorized manner (such as into harbor/inland waterways), having leaking or uncovered garbage receptacles, or storing garbage in containers outboard of the vessel railing, and will result in a civil penalty to the master. -P. Seeba, GHPB

What Does the Coast Guard Do in Houston? - A Departmental Breakdown:

CAPT Marcus Woodring CAPT James Whitehead

Salvage & Marine Firefighting Vessel Response Plans for Oil In December 2008, the US Coast Guard issued a set of salvage and marine firefighting regulations that addressed an almost twenty year old mandate that tank vessel owners ensure the availability of adequate response resources to respond to a vessel’s worst-case discharge, including the possibilities of fire and explosion. Under the regulations, all vessels carrying groups I-VI oils with a vessel response plan (almost all vessels carrying bulk oil as cargo) have to address resource availability of salvage and firefighting equipment in the plan. Multiple resource providers may be listed for each service, however one primary resource provider and method of contact must be listed for each Captain of the Port zone where the vessel operates. All salvage and marine firefighting resource providers listed must be integrated into the response organizations identified in the VRP. This must include details on how the providers will coordinate with other response resources, response organizations, and Oil Spill Response Organizations (OSROs), consistent with applicable Area Contingency Plans (ACPs) and the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan.

Required Salvage Capabilities Nearshore Salvage Ops Remote Assessment/ Consultation Structural Stability AssessOn-Site Salvage AssessFinal Structural Assessment Hull/Bottom Survey

Offshore

Assessment 1 Hour

1 Hour

3 Hours

3 Hours

6 Hours

12 Hours

12 Hours

16 Hours

12 Hours

16 Hours

Stabilization Emergency Towing Salvage Plan External Emergency TransEmergency Lightering Other Refloat

12 Hours

18 Hours

16 Hours

22 Hours

18 Hours

24 Hours

18 Hours

24 Hours

18 Hours

24 Hours

Temp. Repairs

18 Hours 24 Hours The additions to the vessel response plans include identification of a re18 Hours 24 Hours source provider capable of providing a laundry list of services including salvage sta- Diving Services bilization, assessment and survey, fire Firefighting Timeframe suppression, and fire assessment and Assessment & Planning Pier Near Offshore planning for a firefighting operation.

Remote Assessment & 1 Hour 1 Hour 1 Hour Also, the VRP must identify equipment Consultation deployment exercises, annual shoreOn-Site Fire Assessment 1 Hour 6 Hours 12 Hours based marine firefighting management Fire Supression team tabletop exercises, and quarterly External Firefighting Teams 4 Hours 8 Hours 12 Hours remote assessment emergency proceExternal Vessel Firefighting 4 Hours 8 Hours 12 Hours dures. These requirements ensure Systems that the team is able to perform when Nearshore: Inland Waters, Great Lakes, Less than or Equal to 12 Miles from COTP City called upon. –P. Seeba, GHPB Offshore Less than or Equal to 50 miles from COTP City

Port Authority Welcomes New Director of Channel Development Filling the vacancy left by the retirement of Lloyd Saunders, in April the PHA welcomed Mark Vincent as their new Director of Channel Development responsible for the strategic development, implementation, maintenance, and refinement of the Port Authority’s Channel Development Plan . During his career with the Army Corps of Engineers, Mark rose through the ranks command District Charleston and retired after 20+ years of service. Joining the Port in 2002, Mark developed and managed the port’s new Project Management Group. His work with the Corps of Engineers gives him a solid background in project management and the maintenance/improvement needs of ports and waterway and as Director of Channel Development, he joins a well-established team of Program Managers and administrative support.

The Vessel Traffic Service Keeping the Waterways Open for Business The Houston-Galveston Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) was established in 1975 under the authority of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act of 1972 to improve maritime safety and efficiency in the Houston-Galveston-Texas City port complex. As a communications hub, the VTS provides timely and accurate information to waterway operators including local, state, and federal agencies as well as all facets of industry. This information facilitates the prevention of vessel collisions, allisions and groundings; reducing the potential for loss of lives and property, as well as the environmental damage associated with these incidents.

VTS information also helps waterway operators better understand the processes at work in the port system and VTS personnel to make improvements to those processes by engaging with users. The VTS team not only works with the community to maintain strong public relations, preventing emergency situations through education and intervention, they also reach out to provide educational, professional development, and operational qualification opportunities. VTS Houston-Galveston also makes available chartlets, detailed information regarding regional restricted mooring, bunkering and lightering locations.

Vessel General Permitting New Regulations Governing Effluent Discharge 

VGP Covered Discharges

Working to define an enforcement strategy for a permitting program from the Clean Water Act, the EPA and Coast Guard signed an MOU in February 2011 wherein the two agencies will collaborate to monitor and enforce Vessel General Permitting requirements on vessels. What does this mean? It means that in order to be in full compliance, vessels crossing into US waters have completed their inventory of waste streams and instituted best management practices as control measures, and the crews must be trained on waste streams and management practices.



Deck Washdown and Runoff

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Bilge Water/Oily Water Separator Effluent

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Ballast Water

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Anti-fouling Leachate from Anti-Fouling Hull Coatings/Hull Coating Leachate

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Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF)

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Boiler/Economizer Blowdown

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Cathodic Protection

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Chain Locker Effluent

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Controllable Pitch Propeller Hydraulic Fluid

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Distillation and Reverse Osmosis Brine

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Elevator Pit Effluent

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Firemain Systems

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Freshwater Layup

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Gas Turbine Wash Water

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Graywater

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Motor Gasoline & Compensating Discharge

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Non-Oily Machinery Wastewater

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Refrigeration and Air Condensate Discharge

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Rudder Bearing Lubrication Discharge

I.



Seawater Cooling Overboard Discharge

II. Effluent Limits & Related Requirements



Seawater Piping Biofouling Prevention

III. Corrective Actions



Small Boat Engine Wet Exhaust



Sonar Dome Discharge



Sterntube Oily Discharge



Underwater Ship Husbandry Discharges

Basically the Vessel General Permit requires vessel owner/ operators to perform training, inspections, monitoring steps, selfreporting, take assessments, and any necessary corrective action regarding 26 types of covered discharges. If a weekly inspection is required for a covered waste stream, such an inspection must have been done at some time during the week prior to initial entry into the United States. Likewise, if a quarterly or annual inspection is required, then such inspection must have been done at some time during the quarter or year respectively prior to entry. All required inspections and recordkeeping entries could be completed immediately prior to entry to a U.S. port. However, if during a compliance inspection a non-conformance with the VGP is identified, it may be necessary to resolve the issue before entry into the navigable waters of the United States.

Starting March 14th, 2011, Port State Control Inspections conducted on vessels arriving in US waters will begin ensuring compliance with the VGP requirements.

VGP Structure Vessel General Permits are broken into six parts: General Information & Standard Requirements

IV. Inspections, Monitoring, Reporting, and Recordkeeping V. Vessel Class-Specific Requirements VI. State 401 Certification Conditions 

Appendicies

Each section details various requirements, but the most detailed is section two which breaks down each of the twenty-six effluents  Welldeck Discharges and has a list of requirements which must be met for each. For exam Graywater Mixed with Sewage from Vessels ple, permittees must use non-toxic, phosphate-free cleaners and detergents and must maintain tidy decks minimizing garbage from entering  Exhaust Gas Scrubber Washwater Discharge covered waterways. Greywater discharges in port must be minimized and vessels with storage capacity may not discharge untreated greywater into specific waters.

When informed by an inspector, corrective action must be taken to conform with required steps within two weeks for minor changes, within three months for major changes (requiring new parts), and before relaunch from the next drydocking for major renovations. Monitoring requirements for compliance with the VGP regulations include self-inspections, record-

keeping, and other requirements such as a one-time report detailing the permittee’s compliance with the permit filed 30-36 months after obtaining initial coverage.

After section five has detailed class-specific requirements for medium/large cruise ships, ferries, tankers, barges, research and emergency vessels, section six reminds permittees that 28 states, tribes and territories have added additional conditions and recommends that they are reviewed before passage. President Obama cosponsored the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact which Congress recently passed. This multistate agreement between Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin governs the use of water from the Great Lakes, including “water quality maintenance, and the maintenance of fish and wildlife habitat and a balanced ecosystem.

At the same time, the state of New York has sent letters to ship owners and ship operators to quietly inform them that they will not be enforcing a ballast water regulation on ships entering New York state waters as they had originally planned on January 1, 2012. Instead, the enforcement deadline has immediately been pushed back by “midnight August 1, 2013.", and additional extensions may be made if ship owners fill out a request for six additional pieces of information and documentation to confirm that the applicant has made efforts to comply with their regulation. They believe that the "IMO plus salt water ballast tank flushing" standard has prevented any new aquatic invasive species from invading the Great Lakes for more than four years now. In short: as long as current efforts fulfill VGP program goals, states show no serious push to add additional regulation, however every shipper must be aware that the rules can change when they cross state lines.. –P. Seeba, GHPB

(top-left) Fred Vickers, USCG and Dan Robinson, NACC. (top) CAPT Diehl introduces Dr. Flynn (top-right) Members network before lunch (upper-right) Vinny Pilegge, Manchester Terminal, C.A. Rousser, The Rousser Companies, and Don Welch, Midpoint Partners, LLC (mid-right) Pete Simons, Port of Galveston, Kelly Simons, San Jacinto College, and Steve Nerheim, Houston VTS (low-right) Peter Wurschy, Texas Terminals, Henry de la Garza, de la Garza Public Relations, Guy Hitt, Frost Bank (bottom right) Members listen to Dr. Flynn talk about resiliency in industrial security (bottom) Dr. Steve Flynn, President, Center for National Policy addresses the Commerce Club (bottom-left) Ted Pardee, Scott Jeffries, and other representatives from Dowley Security Systems (low-left) Dr. Flynn, Jim Brown, Dowley Security Systems, CDR Rob Smith, Sector Houston-Galveston, CDR Jim Andrews, USCG Dauntless (midleft) Maria Fascinbauer, Ex Cargo Services, Henry de la Garza (upper-left) David Halbert, Houston Mooring Company (upperleft) Sebastian Solar, JP Morgan Chase meets a potential customer before the May Commerce Club meeting begins.

Spotlight on CAPT Marcus Woodring, USCG

Commander—Sector Houston Galveston, Captain of the Port

“I went to college at Brown University, where my primary purpose was to play lacrosse. After graduating, I packed up my car and drove home - without any job prospects - I had been too busy with lacrosse to consider such details. A few weeks later, I saw a Jacques Cousteau documentary in which he was studying penguins in Antarctica. The camera zoomed out and there was a Coast Guard icebreaker in the background, it looked like a neat thing to do so I called the Coast Guard recruiter. Once he stopped laughing, he told me I needed to go to Officer Candidate School, and that was almost 30 years ago…”

Born in Detroit, MI, Captain Marcus Woodring has had an impressive career. Over the first decade of his career, he spent seven years at sea on various Coast Guard vessels including as a Deck Watch Officer of the USCGC BEAR and as the Commanding Officer of the USCGC POINT JACKSON. Still speaking fondly of his time at sea, Captain Woodring was involved in drug interdiction operations, pulling mariners out of the water during search-and-rescue operations, and even involved in the recovery operations following the shuttle Challenger tragedy in 1986.

In 1995, Captain Woodring received his Masters Degree in Public Administration from Cornell University, and went to work as the Public Affairs Officer for the Seventh Coast Guard District based in Miami, Florida.

When Captain Woodring came to Houston in 2006, he was assigned as the Deputy Commander of Sector HoustonGalveston. He and Captain Diehl hit the ground running as the Sector, newly formed and spreading from Matagorda to Lake Charles, continued the evolution that merged all the Coast Guard missions under a single regional command structure, facilitating incident response and industry interaction.

Since taking command of Sector Houston-Galveston, Captain Woodring has been busy: in 2010 alone, the Sector was involved with community projects from the Boy, Girl and Sea Scouts to youth soccer club participation. A shipment of over 175 kilograms of cocaine was discovered and seized near the Port of Lake Charles, and several emergencies on the waterfront were dealt with and contained. Notable examples include responding to the sinking of the UTV JR NICHOLS, the UTV SAFETY QUEST situation, and support of the Deepwater Horizon response effort. “I’ve got to say, the thing I’m most proud of is signing the Memorandum of Understanding with Texas Southern University… I can clean up oil in the water or keep the waterfront secure for another day, but none of that compares with ensuring that a generation of students will have the opportunity to go to college and come out with experience, enthusiasm, and a good future.” With the Memorandum, TSU and the USCG entered into a partnership to provide students with guidance, scholarships, internships and career opportunities.

When not working, Captain Woodring enjoys golfing, shooting, and playing lacrosse; he is still active in several leagues and was among the team leaders in scoring as recently as 2009. He has been married to his wife Kim for over 25 years and their three sons have left the house. His oldest son, Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew Woodring, was recently honored by the Coast Guard for helping to save 22 fisherman on the frozen ice of Lake Erie, carrying on the Woodring tradition in the USCG. His middle son, Nathan, works as a local golf pro, while his youngest son, Adam, is in college at Palm Beach Atlantic University.

At the end of June, Captain Woodring will retire from the Coast Guard, and Kim has given him the vision for their future: he has to find a house with a pool…and a job.

With this mandate, it looks like we may be seeing him around the Houston port region for some time to come!

Port Watch

Tom Marian, Buffalo Marine Service As the State of Texas suffers through its worst drought in nearly a century, the trade floodgates were wide open in March as vessel calls rebounded with a vengeance over February’s fog-reduced numbers. Energy and exports dominated the scene as cumulative vessel movements for the state’s ports jumped 38% in one month all but eliminating all decreases registered over the previous month. The most impressive numbers were put up by the port of Houston which accommodated 826 vessel arrivals in March – a 50% increase over February and 13% increase over last year’s running total. From the Port Authority’s City Docks to private chemical terminals, the activity was white hot as bulk traffic increased 50% and chemical tank vessel movements leapt 72%.

Both categories were up by 41% and 19% respectively over last year’s first quarter numbers.

With the bulls running roughshod in the energy sector, Houston saw a 61% increase in tank vessel arrivals and a huge 92% increase in LPG arrivals; firming up the running tally over last year by 6.5% and 48% respectively. Not surprisingly, the energy-centric ports of Sabine, Texas City and Freeport were up a robust 36%, 22% and 33% boosting first quarter tallies by 5%, 5% and 7.5% from those of 2010. Further to the south, Brownsville was up over 41%, Corpus Christi saw 11% higher vessel arrivals and Galveston’s number were 29.5% higher in March as compared to February. Again, every port continued to see gains over the 2010 vessel arrival numbers.

While exports still outpaced imports in Houston, there were also sizeable upticks in general cargo and container movements - up 3.5% and 12% over last year’s running total. Overall, the Port of Houston Authority’s public docks saw 40.5% more vessel arrivals than last month and 10.5% more than last year. Not to be outdone, the private docks throughout the Houston Ship Channel boasted even higher numbers with a month-to-month increase of 54% which resulted in a 14.3% uptick for the year. Remarkably, as all of those ships plied the Houston Ship Channel, nearly 12,000 tows joined the trading frenzy – a 26% increase in “brown water” activity from February.

What does all of this activity mean? Obviously, a 31day month that was not plagued by fog had much to do with the armada of trade that flowed to and from Texas ports.

However, April’s preliminary numbers on both the blue water and brown water front remain solid as energy exploration materials, refined products and crude to fuel those refineries keeps pace with heightened demand. Now, if we can only get some rain to relieve the parched country side all would be right in the State of Texas! - Tom Marian, Buffalo Marine Service

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Upcoming Events April 27-May 1

Specialty Coffee Association of America Exposition George R. Brown Convention Center

May 12

Commerce Club Luncheon Brady’s Landing Restaurant CAPT Marcus Woodring, USCG—Sector Houston-Galveston

May 19

National Transportation Week All-Clubs Luncheon Brady’s Landing Restaurant CAPT James Whitehead, USCG—Sector Houston-Galveston

June 6-9

Joint Harbor Safety & AMSC Conference Hilton of the Americas Hotel & Conference Center

June 7

HCBFFA 27th Annual Golf Tournament

July 14

Commerce Club Luncheon—State of the Port Brady’s Landing Restaurant Alec Dreyer—CEO, Port of Houston Authority

August 20

82nd Annual Maritime Dinner & Silent Auction Houstonian Hotel

August 30

Economic Alliance Conference Pasadena Convention Center

October 1

Houston International Seafarer’s Center Gala Houston Marriott South

November 7

Captain’s Cup Golf Tournament BraeBurn Country Club

GHPB Members Advertise in the Port Bureau News Reaching 3000+ Professionals in the Houston Port Region, contact the Port Bureau at (713) 678 4300, or pseeba@txgulf.org to arrange for either 1/6 page, 1/2 page, full page, or back cover advertisements.

GREATER HOUSTON PORT BUREAU 111 East Loop North Houston, TX 77029 713.678.4300 ph 713.678.4839 fax www.txgulf.org