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By George Wittich, President, American Salvage Association It is hard to imagine the Gulf Coast region of this country gearing up for another hurricane season after the devas- tating events of last August that resulted from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Credit is due to many organizations and individ- uals, both public and private, who assisted in the recovery and rebuilding efforts post-Katrina and Rita, and for its part, the U.S. marine salvage industry worked nearly around the clock to remove the more than 1,000 vessels displaced by those storms. Prior to the hurricanes, the American Salvage Association (ASA) was already well known to Coast Guard response per- sonnel as a result of numerous and highly successful ASA training evolutions which had previously been provided to that group. The ASA was therefore readily available to respond to the Coast Guard's request to participate in the incident com- mand center and provide expert, neces- sary assistance with the imminent recov- ery efforts prior to Hurricane Katrina even making landfall in New Orleans. In addition to the association's role at the command center, ASA members addressed the nuts and bolts response to the storm ravished Gulf coast. It should be noted that no less than 60 percent of the ASA general member companies had been and/or continue to be involved in the recovery efforts to date. Whether working directly for the vessel owners, or the gov- ernment through various contract vehi- cles, ASA member companies were in- region getting the job done. Tasks under- taken by ASA members included tradi- tional work such as salvage, re-floating of marooned vessels, and harbor and channel clearance, but also included non-tradition- al responses: ASA companies facilitated the procurement of helicopters early on to assist the USCG in their Search and Res- cue mission; they assisted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in de-watering Louisiana parishes; and they performed floating debris removal to open up vital LNG facilities. Further, the U.S. Navy Supervisor of Salvage, Captain Jim Wilkins, in addition to providing his U.S. Navy assets, activated his ASA member contractors to provide much needed sup- port in facilitating numerous individual vessel casualties and channel clearances where the responsible party was not iden- tifiable or national priorities required immediate action. Ironically, Katrina's last-minute Easter- ly jog saved New Orleans, to some extent, for had it taken a direct hit, Panamax tankers might still remain firmly aground on Bourbon Street. Is that what is needed for the shipping lobby to recognize the value of having a strong salvage industry? The Katrina response is clear evidence of the value of the commercial marine sal- vage industry. Our Nation cannot afford June, 2006 • MarineNews 41 Press release – Stellar Marine awarded ESP 1000 order for major vessels from BC Ferries May 24, 2006 Stellar Marine has entered into an agreement with B C Ferries to begin the installation of ESP 1000 speed pilots on the major vessels of it’s fleet. This follows the successful evaluation of an ESP 1000 on the Queen of Alberni. The BC Ferry Corporation operates the largest fleet of ferries in North America, and has chosen Stellar Marine’s ESP 1000 to assist in its efforts to reduce the impact of fuel costs on it’s operations as well as the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Stellar Marine is a division of Stellar Research Corporation based in Nanaimo BC, has for the last 27 years developed and manufactured advance electronic equipment for the marine industry. The ESP 1000 is an engine control system that uses advanced computer technology to maximize propulsion efficiency while maintaining vessel’s operating requirements. For over 10 years the ESP system has been used on vessels as small as 2,000 hp tugs all the way up to 65,000 hp container ships. www.stellarmarine.com 1-800-565-9339 www.t21m.com amarks@t21m.com Sales Agent for Stellar Marine 250-616-6293 STELLAR MARINE ESP 1000 - PRESS RELEASE Automated Fuel Valve Fire Proofing ABS Approved SOLAS Compliant Enables Operation Of MOV Enveloped In Fire Custom Manufactured Per Application User Friendly Removable/Reusable www.insulationsei.com • sei@insulationsei.com (800) 289-7341 Circle 207 on Reader Service Card Circle 202 on Reader Service Card Circle 279 on Reader Service Card Circle 281 on Reader Service Card Salvage A National Policy: Now is the time to Act JUNE MN2006 6(41-48).qxd 6/2/2006 4:16 PM Page 41
