Government

NOAA awards contract to Thoma-Sea for two new ships

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) took a major step forward last week in its effort to update its aging fleet of research ships with the Navy’s award of a $178 million contract to Thoma-Sea Marine ConstructorsLLC, Houma, La.

Thoma-Sea’s contract calls for the detailed design and construction of two new oceanographic ships for NOAA. The agency is acquiring the vessels through an agreement with the Naval Sea Systems Command, a leader in building, providing and procuring...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/noaa-awards-contract-to-thoma-sea-build-two-new-ships/

Covid-19 exemptions to TWIC requirements update

The Transportation Security Administration has updated the design of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential. TSA image.
The Coast Guard has published Marine Safety Information Bulletin 13-20 – (Change 2) “Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Operations – Change 2” to provide updates to TWIC Reader Rule implementation and enforcement. Changes to the MSIB are reflected below.

The uninterrupted flow of commerce on the Marine Transportation System (MTS) is critical to both national security and national economic well-being, according to the Coast Guard. During this national emergency for Covid-19 it...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/covid-19-exemptions-to-twic-requirements/

Coast Guard issues another MMC Covid-19 extension

A sample Merchant Mariner Credential. Coast Guard image.

The Coast Guard, as it continues to evaluate the impact of Covid-19 on the maritime industry and mariners, has issued another extension to merchant mariner credentials (MMCs).

The Coast Guard has posted Change 5 to MSIB 08-20, titled “Covid-19 – Mariner Credentials,” which updates information on extensions to MMCs, medical certificates and course approvals

The following significant changes are provided in Change 5 to MSIB 08-20:

  • Merchant mariner credentials, both national and STCW, and medical...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/coast-guard-issues-another-mmc-extension-due-to-covid-19/

Coast Guard should be more aggressive in using unmanned systems

As unmanned systems (UxS) continue to develop and be used by other military services and federal agencies, the Coast Guard should proceed more aggressively and deliberately in taking advantage of UxS advancements, according to a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The Coast Guard should also produce a high-level strategy with critical goals and actionable steps toward fully utilizing UxS technology, according to TRB Special...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/coast-guard-should-be-more-aggressive-in-using-unmanned-systems/

Coast Guard releases bulletin on SolarWinds hack

Coast Guard Academy cadets test their network connection during the 2012 Cyber Defense Exercise (CDX) at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. U.S. Coast Guard photograph

SolarWinds recently reported a compromise of versions 2019.4 through 2020.2.1 HF1 of their Orion
Platform by “a highly sophisticated, targeted, and manual supply chain attack by an outside nation
state.”

The Orion Platform is a network management software used by numerous government agencies
and approximately 300,000 additional customers worldwide. It is believed that malicious code was
installed into software updates provided by SolarWinds to the platform’s customers. Once the update
was...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/coast-guard-releases-bulletin-on-solarwinds-hack/

Fincantieri Marine Systems awarded MSC maintenance contract

The Military Sealift Command (MSC) has awarded Fincantieri Marine Systems N.A. (FMSNA) an IDIQ contract to support the maintenance of the ship service diesel generators (SSDG) on the 338’x93’6″ Expeditionary Fast Transport Vessels (EPF). The contract is for a base year plus four option years, and should the options be exercised, will run through October of 2025.

The Expeditionary Fast Transport fleet consists of high-speed, shallow draft vessels intended for rapid intratheater transport of...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/fincantieri-marine-systems-awarded-msc-maintenance-contract/

Covid-19 exposes maritime industry cyberattack vulnerabilities

With offices locked down to cope with the relentless Covid-19 pandemic and employees forced to work on computers at home or in other remote — and sometimes poorly secured — locations, the risks of cyberattacks increased appreciably this year within the vulnerable maritime community.

Information technology (IT) experts say glitches in many remote communication and teleconference technologies, in combination with advancing digitalization and connectivity, are elevating the risks of companies’...

https://www.workboat.com/news/bluewater/covid-19-exposes-maritime-industry-cyberattack-vulnerabilities/

Maritime industry seeks $3.5 billion for Covid-19 expenses

The containership CMA CGM John Adams inbound to Savannah, Ga., with the tugs Cooper Moran (left) and Laura K Moran. Kirk Moore photo.

As Congress moves closer to providing a second Covid-19 relief package, the maritime industry is asking for $3.5 billion in emergency funds to help the maritime transportation system pay the high costs of moving commerce and keeping workers safe during the pandemic.

In letters this week to congressional leadership and Treasury Secretary Steven Munchin, associations representing the maritime trades said the industry has “encountered significant hardships” and “unique and unexpected challenges” as...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/maritime-industry-seeks-3-5-billion-for-covid-19-expenses/

NTSB report contains maritime lessons learned in 2019

The National Transportation Safety Board released a report today that gathers the most important lessons learned from marine accident investigations completed during calendar year 2019.

The Safer Seas Digest 2019 details the lessons learned from 30 maritime tragedies such as the loss of 17 passengers and crew aboard the amphibious vessel Stretch Duck 7 and the 10 sailors serving aboard the USS John S McCain when it collided with the tanker Alnic MC.

(Sequence of events as the Miss Roslyn headed...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/ntsb-report-contains-maritime-lessons-learned-in-2019/

Coast Guard releases National Recreational Boating Safety Survey results

Recreational boats rafted up on the Lake of the Ozarks. One of the busiest boating areas in the Midwest, the Lake of the Ozarks has been a target in the Coast Guard's ongoing crackdown on illegal charter operations. Corps of Engineers photo.

The U.S. Coast Guard has released the National Recreational Boating Safety Survey for 2018. The survey, which was mailed to over a quarter-million Americans, produced scientific estimates about characteristics of recreational boaters, different types of recreational boats that are owned and operated, boating population sizes, and risk exposure, all in an effort to assist agencies and organizations meet nationwide best boating safety practices and standards, the Coast Guard said.

In 2018, an...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/coast-guard-releases-national-recreational-boating-safety-survey-results/

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