AWO honors heroism of tug and towboat crews with new award

AWO honors heroism of tug and towboat crews with new award

(HOUSTON) — At its Winter Safety Meeting on Wednesday, the American Waterways Operators (AWO) announced the inaugural recipients of the new American Waterways Honor & Excellence in Rescue Operations (HERO) Award. The award documents and recognizes rescues undertaken by AWO member company employees who demonstrate selflessness, skill and bravery. Qualifying events for the award include, among others: rescuing commercial or…
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Safety alert: Dangerous gateway handhold arrangements

Safety alert: Dangerous gateway handhold arrangements

(WASHINGTON) — This U.S. Coast Guard safety alert addresses the importance of verifying the correct arrangement of handholds in embarkation gate arrangements aboard merchant vessels. The Coast Guard is currently investigating a casualty involving a fall from a pilot ladder where the handholds in the gate arrangement aboard the vessel terminated without being rigidly secured to the vessel’s structure. This…
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Crowley vessels, crews honored for environmental achievement

Crowley vessels, crews honored for environmental achievement

(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) ­– Sixty-one Crowley vessels and their crews were recently honored by the Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) for a cumulative 602 years of safe environmental achievement and operations. The annual Environmental Achievement Awards are given to vessels that have no reportable spills, U.S. Coast Guard citations or other pollution incidents. Aligned with its current sustainability strategy, Crowley…
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NOAA’s Backyard Buoys to improve ocean data access

NOAA’s Backyard Buoys to improve ocean data access

(WASHINGTON) — A new ocean science effort to improve equity and inclusion is underway, thanks to a $4.98 million cooperative agreement involving three regional associations of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System, which is led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The National Science Foundation (NSF) provided the funds through a cooperative agreement for Backyard Buoys, a project…
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Tour boat holed, takes on water in Thousand Islands grounding

Tour boat holed, takes on water in Thousand Islands grounding

Island Queen III was on a cruise in the Thousand Islands area of the St. Lawrence River when it made contact with the bottom, causing enough damage to flood the vessel’s steering compartment. No injuries were reported, but an investigation revealed safety deficiencies involving life jackets and evacuation procedures. Not long after departing Kingston, Ontario at 1237 on Aug. 8,…
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Shipbuilding News, September 2020

Shipbuilders council announces 2020 safety awards  The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA) has recognized more than a dozen U.S. shipyards for safety efforts during the past year. The awards are available to member shipyards that submit injury and illness surveys, have zero fatalities over the course of the year, demonstrate fewer recordable safety incidents than the SCA average, or reduce…
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