Dutch freighter Flinterstar has sank after colliding nearly head on with the Marshall Islands-flagged LNG carrier Al-Oraiq in the North Sea off Belgium on Tuesday morning.

Dutch Freighter ‘Flinterstar’ Sinks After Collision With LNG Carrier – PHOTOS

October 6, 2015 by Mike Schuler



Dutch freighter Flinterstar is seen sinking after colliding with Marshall Island-flagged tanker Al-Oraiq, which also suffered damage in the collision, in the North Sea off the Belgian coast October 6, 2015. REUTERS/Benny Proot



A Dutch freighter has sank after colliding nearly head on with the Marshall Islands-flagged LNG carrier Al-Oraiq in the North Sea off Belgium on Tuesday morning.

All 12 crew members from the freighter, named Flinterstar, have been rescued. The crew members were rescued from the cold North Sea, including one person who was reportedly suffering from hypothermia, according to a Coast Guard spokesperson.

Photos of the Flinterstar show partially sunk, resting on a sandbank in calm seas and clear visibility. Dutch ship owner Flinter has confirmed that the ship sank, the crew is safe and the vessel is ‘stable’. A small oil sheen has been reported. An AIS replay of the collision (video below) shows the ships collided nearly head on.

“At this time, we are talking to salvage companies together with insurance to decide how the vessel will be salvaged,” Flinter said in a statement.

The 122,000 DWT Al-Oraiq was also damaged, but was able to continue to its destination of Zeebrugge, Belgium with the help of a tug.

The 129 meter Flinterstar was built in 2002 and is flagged in the Netherlands. The vessel had just departed Antwerp bound for Bilbao, Spain when it collided with the Al Oraiq about 16 miles (10 km) from the coast.

Flinter’s fleet consists of more than 50 vessels under its ownership or control. Most are multi-purpose ships ranging in sizes up to 11,000 DWT. Photo: REUTERS/Benny Proot

Photo: REUTERS/Benny Proot

Photo: REUTERS/Benny Proot

Photo: REUTERS/Benny Proot

Photo: REUTERS/Benny Proot

The AIS recreation of the collision from Vessel Finder: 

33 sailors killed: The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that the search for the El Faro crew will be suspended at sunset tonight.

Coast Guard: Search for El Faro Survivors to End at Sunset

October 7, 2015 by Mike Schuler



The El Faro is shown in this undated handout photo provided by Tote Maritime in Jacksonville, Florida, October 2, 2015. Reuters/Tote Maritime



The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that the search for the El Faro crew will be suspended at sunset tonight.

The announcement comes an exhaustive 6-day search for survivors covering more than 172,000 square nautical miles.

The EL Faro had 33 crew members, including 28 Americans and 5 Polish nationals, when it sank sometime Thursday in Hurricane Joaquin while off the coast the Bahamas.

The Coast Guard is set to hold a joint conference with the NTSB on Wednesday to provide an update on the search for the missing crew and the investigation.

Communication was lost with the ship Thursday morning after the Coast Guard received a satellite notification from the crew at 7:20 a.m. stating that the ship had lost power, taken on water and developed a 15 degree list as it battled Hurricane Joaquin. The situation was reported to be contained and being managed by the crew, the notification said.

The El Faro departed Jacksonville, Florida on its normal route to San Juan, Puerto Rice on Tuesday, September 29th when then-Tropical Storm Joaquin was located a few hundred miles from the Bahamas and packing 40 knot winds. By Thursday, Joaquin had grown into a dangerous Category 4 hurricane with 110 knot winds and wave heights likely up to about 35 feet while centered right off eastern coast of the Bahamas.

The Coast Guard has reported that the last known location of the ship was 35 miles northeast of Crooked Island, Bahamas, approximately the same location as the eye of the slow-moving hurricane on Thursday.

The ship is believed to have sunk in approximately 15,000 feet of water.

On Saturday, search crews located a life ring in the water bearing the name ‘El Faro’ – the first sign of the ship since it went missing Thursday. By Sunday night, the Coast Guard had located a deceased person in a survival suit in the water, as well as a heavily damaged life boat with markings consistent with those on board the El Faro. Additional items located by Coast Guard aircrews within search areas include a partially submerged life raft, life jackets, life rings, cargo containers and an oil sheen Sunday, the Coast Guard said.

Assets involved in the search have included two Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplanes, two Air Force C-130 airplanes, one Navy P-8 airplane, a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, three commercial tugs, and the Coast Guard Cutters Northland, Resolute and Charles Sexton.

The El Faro is owned by TOTE Maritime, part of TOTE, Inc. and the Saltchuk family of brands.

Story developing, check back for updates…

U.S. EPA Orders Kern County Public Water System in California to Reduce Arsenic in Drinking Water

Release Date: 10/06/2015
Contact Information: Nahal Mogharabi, Mogharabi.nahal@epa.gov, 213-244-1815


District to provide residents alternative drinking water until compliance is restored
LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently settled with Arvin Community Services District (ACSD), located in Arvin, Calif., for arsenic violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act. ACSD has agreed to provide residents with alternative water until they are found to be in compliance and will pay a penalty of $14,750.

In October 2008, EPA issued an order requiring the system to meet the arsenic maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 parts per billion (ppb) no later than December 2010, and was granted an extension to December 31, 2014. However, data from arsenic monitoring taken in 2014 showed that the system remained out of compliance with arsenic concentrations as high as 31 ppb.

ACSD recently installed three drinking water vending machines at its district office, located at 309 Campus Drive that will each provide 650 gallons per day of drinking water to customers. This service is currently available and was funded by the state of California. As part of the order, these vending machines will be available 24/7 at no direct cost to the public and shall be maintained to provide alternative water to ACSD customers until the system has returned to compliance with federal drinking water standards.

In addition, ACSD is required to complete an Arsenic Mitigation Project which includes the drilling and completion of two new groundwater wells. If arsenic should be found above the MCL at the new wells, ACSD will be required to install arsenic treatment that will deliver drinking water to its customers below the arsenic MCL.

ACSD must also provide milestone updates to EPA for the mitigation project, provide EPA with quarterly progress reports and participate in quarterly meetings with EPA and the California State Water Resources Control Board on its progress towards compliance.

Arvin Community Services District serves an average of about 20,000 year-round residents daily through more than 3,700 connections located in the City of Arvin and surrounding Kern County. The system’s source of drinking water is groundwater from seven wells that serve single and multiple family residential units, commercial, and industrial customers.

Arsenic is a known human carcinogen and causes several adverse physiological effects. For more information on the Safe Drinking Water Act, please visit: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/index.cfm

U.S. EPA cites South Pacific Petroleum Corp. and Tristar, two Guam bulk fuel companies, for chemical safety violations

Release Date: 10/06/2015
Contact Information: Dean Higuchi, 808-541-2711, higuchi.dean@epa.gov

South Pacific Petroleum Corp. and Tristar Terminals Guam Inc. to pay fines

HONOLULU – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached separate agreements with South Pacific Petroleum Corporation and Tristar Terminals Guam Inc. for a total of $406,000 in penalties to resolve federal chemical safety violations at their facilities in Guam.

The actions were taken under the Clean Air Act’s Section 112(r) Risk Management Plan requirements. South Pacific Petroleum Corp. (SPPC) will pay a fine of $206,000 for propane storage violations at its Cabras Distribution Terminal, and Tristar will pay $200,000 for propane storage violations at its Agat facility. Both facilities are liquid petroleum storage and distribution terminals.

“The safety of the residents on Guam depends on companies preparing for possible emergencies at their facilities,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “EPA will work with both facilities to ensure they comply with EPA requirements and operate in a safe manner.”

EPA inspections found that neither Tristar nor SPPC had reviewed or updated its hazard assessment since 2005 or 2006, respectively. Also, both Tristar and SPPC had also miscategorized their facilities in terms of the level of Risk Management Plan requirements required for compliance. As a result, neither company had implemented the robust accidental release prevention program requirements that applied. In August 2013, EPA issued a compliance order to each facility requiring correction of the identified violations. Both facilities have corrected the violations and have certified that they are currently in compliance.

The Risk Management Plan requirements include developing a hazard assessment detailing the potential effects of an accidental release; an accidental release prevention program that includes safety precautions, safe operating procedures, maintenance and employee training measures; and emergency response program that spells out emergency health care, employee training measures and procedures for informing the public and local response agencies should an accident occur.

For more information on the Risk Management Program, please visit: http://www2.epa.gov/rmp

For more information on the Clean Air Act’s General Duty Clause, please visit: http://www2.epa.gov/rmp/general-duty-clause-fact-sheet

OSHA cites J&M Metro General Contracting, a Brooklyn, NY contractor for fatal worker fall

U.S. Department of Labor | Oct. 6, 2015 BOS 2015-186

OSHA cites J&M Metro General Contracting, a Brooklyn, NY contractor for fatal worker fall
J&M Metro General Contracting Corp. fails to provide lifesaving protections

NEW YORK – Vidal Sanchez fell to his death at a Brooklyn work site on April 1, 2015. It should not have happened.

The 51-year-old laborer, who worked for Brooklyn-based J&M Metro General Contracting Corp., fell while raking freshly poured concrete at the unprotected 6th floor edge of a building under construction at 360 Neptune Ave. in Brighton Beach.

An inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that Sanchez and his co-workers were not provided required fall protection equipment, such as harnesses and lifelines, and their employer had not trained them on how to minimize fall hazards. As a result of its findings, OSHA cited* J&M Metro General Contracting on Sept. 30 for one willful violation for the lack of fall protection and five serious violations for the other hazards.

“Mr. Sanchez’s death could have been prevented by J&M Metro General Contracting,” said Kay Gee, OSHA’s area director for Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. “This employer knew fall protection was required, but did not supply lifesaving equipment that would have prevented this fall.”

OSHA’s inspection identified other fall-related hazards, including missing stairway guardrails, a defective extension ladder, unprotected floor holes and construction debris in stairways and work areas.

“Too many construction workers die needlessly in falls each year. This includes nine such employees in New York City this year,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York. “We remind employers that these are people, not numbers. Employers must use appropriate and effective required fall protection measures at all times.”

To raise public awareness and reduce fall-related hazards and injuries, OSHA has an ongoing Fall Protection Campaign to help workers and employers identify and address fall hazards and safeguards.

J&M Metro General Contracting faces $84,600 in proposed fines. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency’s Manhattan Area Office at 212-620-3200.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.