Cummings: CG must act with sense of urgency

[unhappycamper]

Cummings: CG must act with sense of urgency
By Amy McCullough - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Sep 17, 2008 6:09:03 EDT

Congress is looking to amp up the punishment for mariners who disregard the law and operate a vessel without the proper license, after a July oil spill dumped hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil into the Mississippi River and cost the local economy millions of dollars.

At the same time, members of the House subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation chastised the service for failing to inspect towing vessels as mandated in a 2004 law.

“In 2004, the U.S. Coast Guard was ordered by law to create a rule that would require the inspection of towing vessels. Additionally, it was authorized to set limits on the number of hours that crewmembers work each day. Neither set of rules has been issued. And, here we are, four years later, discussing a catastrophic incident that may very well have been prevented had the Coast Guard taken action,” subcommittee Chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said in statement following Tuesday’s hearing.

The incident in question is a July 23 collision between the fuel barge DM 932, being pushed by the tug boat Mel Oliver, and the motor tank vessel Tintomara, “a double hulled tanker flagged for Liberia.” According to reports, the Mel Oliver “crossed in front” of the Tintomara causing upwards of 400,000 barrels of oil to eventually leak into the river and one of the area’s major commercial waterways to be shut down for one week.

Reports also indicate that no one aboard the Mel Oliver had the proper license to operate the vessel and one of the deckhands reportedly tested positive for illegal drugs.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/09/cg_towingsafety_091608w/%2e