Maritime Companies Rule out Arming Workers to Prevent Pirate attacks
Gangs of Somali pirates have turned their attention to American vessels with two attacks on our ships in April alone, but maritime companies have ruled out the option of arming their workers to deal with this deadly threat.
Representatives of shipping companies at a maritime conference in Singapore indicated that they are not keen on arming their workers with weapons to deter armed Somali pirates. These dangerous gangs are comprised of highly sophisticated criminals armed with modern automatic weapons, and their attacks have shown a strong bent of mind and careful planning. Currently, sailors navigating the waters in the Gulf of Aden are forced to prop mannequins dressed in military fatigues and holding fake weapons to fool pirates. Obviously, dummy military personnel have done little to ward off attacks by the gangs. Somali pirates have been attacking international vessels more frequently than ever before.
At the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, President Admiral Rick Guenon is calling for increased action to protect ships and crew from pirate attacks. These actions include arming the crew members of vessels and increasing the number of warships in pirate infested waters. However, arming maritime workers is a sticky issue the Coast Guard is not in favor of. According to Coast Guard representatives, maritime workers are not trained to handle weapons. They also worry about the risk of liability when workers are allowed to carry sophisticated weapons.
It is clear that propping mannequins on the sides of ships, using water hoses to remove ladders pirates use to board ships, and other antiquated measures are doing little, if anything, to deter these gangs. We are looking at an international maritime security problem and so far, there are very few answers that can help keep our sailors, deckhands, cruise ship crew, house keepers, stewards, and other maritime workers safe.
Maritime lawyers must get more involved in demanding a safer and more secure working environment for workers who are at risk of life and limb in these pirate infested waters.
The agency plans to develop a comprehensive maritime network that can receive information from vessel lines and other sources, and then use the information to ward off any threats. The agency has established maritime liaison officers at all its field offices that have connections to the maritime industry.
Fishing does not have to be a dangerous activity, but it often involves injuries and deaths, including drowning accidents, explosions, fires, and other vessel-related accidents. In 1998, the Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act was passed to improve safety standards in the lucrative, but dangerous fishing industry. The U.S. Coast Guard enforces the regulations of the Act, which involves helping rescue crew members after a vessel is lost. These regulations require that vessels engaged in commercial fishing activities have safety equipment on board, including life rafts. Boats must be equipped with flares, survival kits, and personal flotation devices.
The worker, Pedro Perez, was employed by Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company in Galveston County back in the sixties. According to the lawsuit filed by a 
Other employees managed to uncover the maritime worker and he was administered CPR before being rushed to the Mobile infirmary, and ultimately pronounced dead.
The bold attack that came so soon after the dramatic assault on the Maersk Alabama is proof that piracy in the waters off the Somali Coast is not just alive and kicking, but more aggressive than ever. Three of the pilots who attacked the Alabama were killed and the fourth was arrested. Enraged pirates have threatened to show no mercy to maritime crews in any vessel they attack from now on. Those words must be taken seriously. After all, since the three Somali pirates were killed, another armed gunmen managed to attack four other ships. To .jpg)
According to Steiner's 
The TWIC program was created due to the increased security threat to ports after 9/11. After the twin towers collapsed it became clear that our ports provided easy access to those who felt the need to harm Americans. The 
Maritime safety procedures, if followed properly, can minimize the risk of accidents. Loads must be properly secured to prevent the risk of loads falling off of cranes and injuring workers. Maritime workers must also be trained about the risks they face while performing these activities. The importance of worker training and employee coordination cannot be underestimated. It is imperative that workers are trained to warn each other about the status of operations and any possible risk to those in the vicinity. Cranes must be fitted with alarm systems to warn workers that loads are being carried.
Investigators are looking into a number of factors that may have caused the accident, including the speed of the power boat, lighting conditions, and whether people on the power boat were drinking at the time of the crash. The driver of the boat is said to be one of those who survived the boat accident and officials have confirmed that they will conduct toxicology tests on the driver. 
The crew included Colin Wright, a Galveston resident. The captain, Richard Philips, gave himself up as a hostage to the pirates in return for the safe release of his crew members. The ship safely returned to port and after a five day standoff, Phillips too was rescued when snipers killed three of the pirates and took one into custody.
The enhancements are expected to bring in more than $400 million in extra revenue for the port and could lead to the creation of more than 2,000 jobs. That is good news, not only for the port and its maritime workers, but also for the larger Galveston community.
Coast guard personnel worked many hours to recover the crane as emergency crew members averted an environmental disaster by preventing oil from spilling into the water. A larger 100-ton crane was used to help with emergency rescue efforts.
The company that owns one of the boats, Diversified Environmental Services, is located near the dock and was able to respond to the crisis immediately. The quick response helped prevent damage to marine life and the environment. No injuries were reported in the collision.
After the Newfoundland helicopter crash, investigators began to look into whether the stud fractured before the crash or was smashed during the accident. A broken stud can lead to loss of oil pressure, potentially resulting in a gearbox problem and eventually loss of control of the chopper. Investigators have now determined that the titanium studs are indeed prone to fracture. The studs in the Newfoundland accident are believed to have fractured during the flight. In January, Sikorsky issued an alert asking helicopter operators to replace the titanium studs with steel ones..jpg)
He suffered intense terror, unsure if rescue would arrive in time or if the rig would collapse on him. He suffered injuries to his wrist and back, but the emotional scars ran deeper. He has suffered from severe post traumatic disorder since the accident. In 2007, Campbell was awarded $952,966 including 200,000 in damages for PTSD.
The system is expected to be in place within the next 5 years, but in parts of Florida, pilots are already using the satellite-based GPS data to obtain the same information air traffic controllers can see on their monitors. The GPS allows controllers to locate the position of an airplane far more accurately than they currently do with data from ground-based radars. With the new system, pilots and air traffic controllers will be able to access data generated by the second..jpg)
Soon after Ike, the district used its own funds to make temporary repairs to the bridge; FEMA assured the district it would be reimbursed for money spent on repairs by mid March. That was before FEMA realized it may not be responsible for the funding after all.
Across the world, 115 countries have promised to ban single hull ships by 2015. In the U.S., single hull tankers are required to unload at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port or other designated unloading points until 2015 comes around. Even as the world moves to avoid another massive and environmentally destructive maritime accident like the Valdez spill, Exxon continues to use single hull tankers. In 2008 alone, Exxon Mobil Corp. hired more older, single hull tankers than the other top ten oil companies combined. The company insists that the cost of hiring double hull tankers is not the reason for its failure to bring them into operation. Double hull tankers can cost up to 20% more to hire than single hull ships.