Maritime Reporter, February 2001

<BODY> <div> Politics of refuge" nor is there a definition of what constitutes a "ship in distress," an IMO spokesman said. On December 8, the damaged VLCC Eastern Power, carrying 250,000 tons of Iraqi crude, was refused entry to Cana- dian waters after it reported a minor leak during heavy storms. It eventually con- tinued through heavy seas to St. Eusta- tius in the Caribbean for the cargo to be offloaded. The tanker Erika was also refused refuge in December 1999 before it broke apart in a storm, leading to a major spill of fuel oil across the coast- line of Brittany. ABS Under Fire, Fights Back As was the case when the Erika went down off the coast of France in late 1999, much (unwanted) attention has been focused on the classification soci- ety for the damaged product tanker Cas- tor, in this case American Bureau of Shipping. Unlike the aforementioned example, however, ABS has been aggressively addressing the matter in the (Continued on page 60) Smart Electronic Level Switch with No Moving Parts The Sea Switch Two was designed and patented for all tank applications. The Sea Switch Two offers a reliable solution for liquid level detection and control for cargo, ballast, and storage tanks, without any moving parts. The Sea Switch Two uses a fully static system that is based on the propagation of an acoustic wave into a metallic rod. A piezo-electric sensing element produces a wave along the rod. As the liquid reaches the sensing element the oscilla- tion stops and the alarm is activated. The Sea Switch Two sensor detects high, high- high, or low level in any liquid with an alarm output given by a dry contact or current loop change 6-18 mA. • Easy installation • Self-test built-in • Fully static system - no moving parts ELECTRONIC MARINE SYSTEMS. INC. 800 Ferndate Place Rahway, NJ 07065 Call today for more information! 732.382.4344 732.388.5111 fax emsmarcon@aol.com e-mail http://www.emsmarcon.com Circle 305 on Reader Service Card Circle 223 on Reader Service Card February, 2001 www.maritimetoday.com 29 Communication at Sea We bring satellite communication down to earth The TT-3064A is a 3-in-l communication tool providing telephone calls, fax transmission, and e-mail/Internet messaging. Thrane &Thrane Thrane & Thrane A/S Denmark info@tt.dk www.tt.dk www.tt.dk Are you looking for high- quality, fast and reliable satellite communication? Visit our Shop On-line on The TT-3064A Capsat® Maritime Telephone has the world's smallest automatic 2-way mari- time satellite tracking antenna. It is the ultimate choice for your vessel, whether it is a private yacht, a large coaster, or a fishing vessel. The TT-3064A is operated like a standard cellular \ phone, however, with I trans-ocean coverage. </div> <span id="lblContents"></span> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.digitalwavepublishing.com/" title="Digital Magazine">Digital Wave Publishing</a> </BODY>