Page 20: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 2005)

20 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News detectors (worn on the belts) to the pos- sible presence of radioactivity. The greatest intensity of radiation was found near the overhead of the storage room in the engineering spaces. The area was secured and the Radiation Assistance

Program (RAP) team was called in from the Department of Energy facility in Las

Vegas. By noon on January 27, the source of the radiation was confirmed to be cobalt in the device used on board to test fire detection and suppression equipment. The ship and its cargo were delayed almost a full day.

Customs sometimes requires cargo (mostly containers) to be unloaded for unscheduled examination at the first

U.S. port of call, rather than at the ulti- mate port of discharge. Customs bases this action on its analysis of the cargo, its origin, routing, the parties involved, and intelligence reports. This "box pulling" may result in added costs of $10,000 or more, not including subse- quent costs due to delayed departure from the first U.S. port and delayed arrival at subsequent ports.

These are all examples of unanticipat- ed costs and delays that can be incurred by fully compliant ships and cargoes.

The cost of non-compliance can be expected to far exceed the cost of com- pliance.

Partial Solution

So as to minimize the risk of non-com- pliance with applicable maritime securi- ty requirements, it is recommended that your company utilize a vigorous mar- itime security program. This consists of meeting and, in some cases, exceeding the minimum standards provided for in the ISPS Code and the USCG regula- tions. It also means requiring your part- ners in the marine transportation system (e.g., ship owners and operators, exporters, importers, shippers, non-ves- sel operating common carriers, etc.) to also fully participate in the program. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link - and in this area, having a weak link can be fatal for all involved.

So as to minimize the risk that your company will bear the cost of a non- compliant event, it is recommended that you include in your charter parties, bills of lading, and other relevant documents specific provisions regarding which party is responsible for compliance with which maritime security requirements and who bears the burden of added costs resulting from any non-compliance.

One can never foresee all the possible future events, but one can anticipate cer- tain generalities and provide for their occurrence. Such careful drafting now is certainly preferable to the throw of the dice when a judge has to allocate dam- ages without meaningful guidance from the parties. Be careful - it's an uncertain world out there! * * *

ERRATA

In the article "Tuns, Tons & Tonnage" (MREN, February 2005), I should have said that deadweight tonnage is the weight of the cargo plus the weight of the fuel, lube oils, water, provisions, paint, tools, supplies, spare parts, and crew/passengers. Lightweight tonnage is the weight of the ship as delivered from the yard - the hull, machinery and fittings fully constructed, but with mini- mal fuel, supplies, and spare parts.

Displacement is the weight of the ship with everything on board (deadweight plus lightweight) and is equal to the weight of the displaced water. I apolo- gize for the error and for any confusion engendered.

Government Update

From our beginnings as builders of small commercial ships to our major expansion into multi-port shipbuilding, ship repair and ship conversion facilities, Atlantic Marine has evolved as one of the world’s most highly regard- ed names in marine construction. The reason behind our success is performance – the Atlantic

Marine tradition of delivering quality work, competitive pricing and on time delivery. Call us when it absolutely, positively must be done right and delivered on time.

Two New Construction Yards

Two Repair Yards

Gulf Coast and

East Coast Locations

Full Service Shipyards

New Construction

Repair and Conversions

Atlantic Marine, Inc.

Atlantic Dry Dock Corp. 8500 Heckscher Drive

Jacksonville, FL 32226 (904) 251-1545

Atlantic Marine - Mobile

Alabama Shipyard

Pinto Island, Box 3202

Mobile, AL 36601 (251) 690-7100 www.atlanticmarine.com

HORNBECK'S

OSV HOS CROSSFIRE built at

Atlantic Marine, Inc.

Jacksonville, FL

CROWLEY BARGE 450-10 converted at

Atlantic Dry Dock, Corp.

Jacksonville, FL

ALLIED TRANSPORTATION'S

ATB UNIT SEA HAWK AND ATC 21 built at Alabama Shipyard

Mobile, AL

ATWOOD OCEANIC'S ATWOOD HUNTER undergoing conversion at

Atlantic Marine-Mobile

Mobile, AL

Build.

Repair.

Convert.

SEE US

AT OTC

BOOTH #1309

Circle 211 on Reader Service Card

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