In January, Chevron announced that it had made its second major oil discovery in less than a year off Louisiana.According to Jay Johnson, the company’s Senior Vice President for Upstream, “The Anchor discovery, along with the previously announced Guadalupe discovery, are significant finds for us in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.” Chett Chiasson, Executive Director of Port Fourchon, said that the discovery will definitely benefit the area. The oil was found approximately 140 miles due south of...

This year, two new safety regulations will take effect to improve passenger and crew safety, and an updated and revised Rescue at Sea Guide has been published.IMO Resolution MSC 350(92)Resulting from the Costa Concordia accident, IMO Resolution MSC 350 (92) was amended to state that all passenger muster drills are required to be undertaken before a vessel leaves any port where new passengers board the vessel. Previously, the muster drills could be completed within 25 hours of departure.Investiga...

Officials in the State and local parishes are working together to establish a first-ever maritime training program in Louisiana that will unite three separate community colleges.Though the effort is just beginning, officials say that programs at Fletcher Technical Community College, Delgado Community College and South Central Louisiana Technical College could be affected as early as this spring as part of the creation of the “Maritime Center of Excellence”.Said Earl Meador, Interim Chancellor...

On December 29th, the Federal Register published a new notice of proposed rulemaking, implementing section 811 of USCG Authorization Act of 2010.The proposed rule would set up clear regulatory requirements for every facility operator or owner to provide mariners who are associated with a vessel moored at that facility access between their vessel and the facility gate without “unreasonable delay”, and with no cost to the mariner or other individual.Passing through a facility is generally the...