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May 2006 43 plan approval was entrusted to ABS as the first part of this transfer (NVIC 10- 82). There was an abrupt halt in this move- ment, the result of Congressional pres- sure following the tragic loss of the SS Poet and the SS Marine Electric. It has been suggested by numerous and various interested parties that per- haps now is the time to remove the bur- den of marine inspection from the mili- tary and place it in the hands of mariners, perhaps with commercially experienced USCG officers, retired sen- ior merchant marine officers, ABS sur- veyors, MarAd personnel, etc. The US Maritime Service (USMS) could be res- urrected as the core to build this profes- sional group around, in the mode of the old Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation (BMIN), under MarAd. Under the old Marine Inspection sys- tem, a mariner knew when he was talk- ing to an investigator or law enforce- ment type inspector. Today, any Coastie that a mariner speaks to may charge him with a violation against his or her license or a criminal statute. Should mariners stop talking with marine inspectors altogether, invoking their 5th Amendment rights? What would be the legal ramifications of such a response to the USCG? This seems extreme, but may be necessary for survival of the individual mariner. The USCG has general superinten- dence over the merchant marine person- nel (46 USC 2103) and yet the USCG no longer facilitates commerce or acts in any way supportive of seamen's welfare but only engages in enforcement activi- ties. If the means cannot be found to change the current situation, U.S. flag operators and mariners will be com- pletely replaced by foreigners. Of that, there is little doubt. Charley Havnen is a Commander USCG Ret. His organization can help you with your vessel regulatory or engineering issues, vessel manning, procedure man- uals, accident analysis or serve as an expert witness. His organization can do what you can't or don't want to do, and are online at www.havnengroup.com. He can also be reached by contacting the Havnen Group in New Orleans: (800) 493-3883 or (504) 394-8933, fax: (504) 394-8869 or info@havnengroup.com. Circle 208 on Reader Service Card Circle 212 on Reader Service Card (Continued from page 41) Hoegh Installs MariNOx The MariNOx direct onboard NOx and CO2 engine emission monitoring system has been chosen by Hoegh Fleet Services to be installed on MV Hual Tokyo. The 16,006-dwt, 6,500-unit vehicle carrier was built in 2004 at DSME Shipyard, Korea and is powered by a MAN B&W 7S60MC engine with a 12,879 kW out- put. "We undertook a thorough analysis of available technology in the market and concluded that MariNOx was the most suitable system for our purpose in order to comply with 'MARPOL Annex VI' Regulation 13, The NOx Technical Code & MEPC 103(49)," said Per Borstad, Superintendent for Hoegh Fleet Services. "We believe that by monitoring both NOx & CO2 MariNOx uniquely enables optimization of our engines to deliver potentially major fuel savings, whilst freeing us from the parameter check method." Circle 2 on Reader Service Card MR MAY2006 #6 (41-48).qxd 5/8/2006 11:57 AM Page 43
