ANOTHER TRAIN CRASH: AMTRAK TRAIN IN PHILADELPHIA, INJURIES REPORTED

MAY 12, 2015

PHILADELPHIA, PA (AP)

An Amtrak train has crashed in Philadelphia, and several people appear to be injured.

Train 188 was traveling from Washington, D.C., to New York City on Tuesday night when it crashed.

The front of the train was going into a turn when it shook.

An Associated Press employee on the train says it appears the train went off the tracks. Paul Cheung says he was fortunate to be at the back of the train and the front of it "looks pretty bad".

Police swarming the Port Richmond area where the crash occurred are telling people to get back.

Former Congressman Patrick Murphy was on the train and says he has been helping people. He has been tweeting photos of firefighters helping people in the wreckage.

Police swarming the Port Richmond area where the crash occurred are telling people to get back.

Former Congressman Patrick Murphy was on the train and said he has been helping people. He tweeted photos of firefighters helping people in the wreckage.

Amtrak hasn't returned a call seeking comment.

Another Amtrak train crashed on Sunday. That train, bound for New Orleans, struck a flatbed truck at a railway crossing in Amite, killing the truck's driver and injuring two people on the train.

BSEE Inspects Oil Spill Response Equipment Staged to Support Shell's Chukchi Sea Oil Spill Response Plan

MAY 8, 2015

VALDEZ, ALASKA

On April 29 -30, 2015, Christy Bohl and Steven Pearson from the BSEE Oil Spill Preparedness Division, Alaska Section, traveled to Valdez, Alaska to observe oil spill responder training and deployment of oil spill response equipment. 

This equipment is a critical component of Shell’s Chukchi Sea Regional Exploration Program Oil Spill Response Plan (OSRP). Equipment deployed during the visit is owned and/or operated by the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation Energy Services (AES), and Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC) Artic Response Services, two of Shell’s oil spill removal organizations listed in the company’s OSRP.

All operators are required to have an OSRP reviewed and approved by BSEE. BSEE conducts a variety of equipment inspections and deployment exercises, some of which may be unannounced, to validate the tactics, logistics, resource availability, and personnel proficiency identified and relied on in the approved oil spill response plan. 

Equipment preparedness and personnel training verifications are important regulatory tools for ensuring that an OSRP is sound and effective. The inspections help to confirm that the nation’s offshore resource explorers and petroleum energy providers are ready to respond when a discharge of oil occurs from any of their offshore facilities.

These visits and inspections echo BSEE Director Brian Salerno’s recent comments when he viewed Shell’s deployment demonstration of its undersea containment dome. After the demonstration, he stated, “Arctic operations require extra effort to prevent safety or environmental incidents. 

We are leaving no stone unturned to ensure operators have addressed all relevant risks. It is equally important that operators be prepared to respond in the event of an incident, especially in a scenario which threatens the environment. This exercise is part of a comprehensive effort to verify the readiness of the necessary response capability.”

Steve Pearson (right) from the BSEE Oil Spill Preparedness Division Alaska Section inspects components of an oil skimming system with Shell contract employee Branlund Holmes. (BSEE photo by Christy Bohl)
Shell contractors hoist a rope skimmer for inspection by BSEE personnel. (BSEE photo by Christy Bohl)	BSEE inspector Steve Pearson observes the operation of a brush skimmer on board the Oil Spill Response Barge Endeavor. (BSEE photo by Christy Bohl)
Shell's Oil Spill Response Barge (OSRB) Endeavor demonstrates oil spill response skimming tactics near Valdez, Alaska. Skimming units from the OSRB Klamath are deployed in the foreground. (BSEE photo by Christy Bohl)
Shell's oil spill response vessels demonstrate coordinated skimming operations near Valdez, Alaska prior to deployment to the Chukchi Sea in support of 2015 exploratory drilling operations. (BSEE photo by Christy Bohl)

Bourbon’s Crew Set Free After Kidnapping in Nigeria

Published in Oil Industry News on Tuesday, 12 May 2015

Three sailors kidnapped in April offshore Nigeria have been released.

Bourbon, a France-based provider of offshore support vessel has confirmed that the 3 Nigerian crew members abducted on board the Surfer 1440 off the coast of Nigeria on April 8, 2015, have been set free.

“They are in good health and arrived at Port Harcourt on May 8, 2015. This news comes as a great relief to all BOURBON employees as a whole, who share the joy of the families. For obvious reasons of confidentiality, BOURBON shall not make any further comment.”
Source: www.offshoreenergytoday.com

Saudi Chevron Halts Output at Wafra Oil Fields for Maintenance

Published in Oil Industry News on Tuesday, 12 May 2015

A unit of Chevron Corp. operating along the Saudi-Kuwaiti border confirmed it’s shutting down the Wafra oil fields for maintenance amid a shortage of staff and equipment, trimming a potential 250,000 barrels a day from global supply. 

Saudi Arabian Chevron holds a concession to Saudi Arabia’s 50 percent stake in oil and natural gas deposits in an area called the neutral or partitioned zone, Sally Jones, a London-based Chevron spokeswoman, said late Monday in an e-mailed statement. 

The Wafra fields lie in Kuwait’s section of the shared zone. 

“Current difficulties in securing work permits and materials have impacted the company’s operations,” according to the statement Jones made in response to a Bloomberg request for comment. “While efforts continue with all appropriate parties to resolve the issue, Saudi Arabian Chevron and Kuwait Gulf Oil Company are jointly undertaking maintenance shut down at the onshore Partitioned Zone.” 

The stoppage at Wafra may help reduce a worldwide glut that has pushed crude prices down by about 40 percent in the last 12 months. OPEC, which counts Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as members, chose in November to keep pumping crude oil to protect its share of the market rather than cutting output to boost prices. Brent crude, a global benchmark, was trading at $65.08 a barrel Tuesday at 8:42 a.m. in London. 

OPEC Output
 
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has an official output target of 30 million barrels a day. It pumped 31.3 million barrels a day last month, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The group’s 12 member states plan to meet June 5 in Vienna to assess the market. 

“A decision been taken today to stop production in Wafra joint operation for two weeks for planned maintenance,” Fadghoush Shabib Al-Ajmi, head of the labor union representing workers at state-run Kuwait Gulf Oil Co., Saudi Chevron’s partner at Wafra, said Monday on his Twitter account. 

Operations at the Wafra fields will be shut for maintenance until May 26 and probably won’t restart due to lingering difficulties, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Monday, asking not to be identified because the information was confidential. 

The fields have a capacity of about 250,000 barrels a day and were producing 180,000 barrels in February, two other people with knowledge of the matter said on April 22. Kuwait’s government stopped issuing or renewing permits for workers at Wafra last year, these people said. 

Saudi Arabia halted operations in October at the Khafji offshore fields in the same neutral zone, citing unspecified environmental concerns. Khafji also has a production capacity of about 250,000 barrels a day. 

The Wafra project, in which Chevron had planned to invest as much as $40 billion, frees heavy oil by injecting steam underground. Chevron is the only international company with a concession to produce oil in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, according to Robin Mills of Dubai-based consultants Manaar Energy. 

Kuwait has no law to allow international companies to hold oil concessions, and Saudi Arabia stopped offering production rights for oil after it nationalized the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. in 1980.
Source: www.bloomberg.com

OSHA launches new alliance in Houston to protect workers from falls

May 12, 2015

Participants: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today entered into an alliance with the Associated Builders and Contractors of Greater Houston, American Subcontractors Associations-Houston Chapter, Gulf Coast Safety Institute of the College of the Mainland and the Scaffold and Access Industry Association to protect workers from exposure to fall hazards in the construction industries. 

Workers, managers, safety professionals and business owners in the construction industry participated in this free alliance signing event where demonstrations provided showed them how to inspect fall protection equipment and how to erect safe scaffolds. This alliance coincides with OSHA's National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction, which takes place from May 4-15, 2015. 

When and Where: May 12 at Lahyer Inc. at 8225 Hansen Road in Houston, Texas.

Alliance description: The alliance participants:

• shared information on OSHA's National and Local Emphasis Programs, regulations and opportunities to participate in the rulemaking process*;
• shared information on the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers;
• convened forums, roundtable discussions, or stakeholder meetings on fall hazards; and
• encouraged worker participation in toolbox talks, skills assessment tests and targeted training.

Duration: Two-year agreement

Quote: "Falls are still one of the leading causes of fatalities in the Houston area construction industry," said Mark Briggs, OSHA's area director in the Houston South Area Office. "These tragedies are preventable and this alliance shows that we are working with industry and education partners to improve communication about existing hazards, prevent injuries and save lives." 

Alliance information: Through its Alliance Program, OSHA works with unions, consulates, trade and professional organizations, faith- and community-based organizations, businesses and educational institutions to prevent workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses. The purpose of each alliance is to develop compliance assistance tools and resources, and to educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities. Alliance Program participants do not receive exemptions from OSHA inspections or any other enforcement benefits.

2 INJURED AFTER CRASH SENDS TRUCK, CAR OFF I-95 IN FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA

MAY 12, 2015

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA

Two people were trapped in the wreckage after a crash that sent a car and truck off Interstate 95 in Fort Lauderdale early Tuesday morning.

The crash occurred in the northbound lanes of I-95 near Broward Boulevard.

A Florida Highway Patrol spokesman said the truck and car collided and then fell off the highway.

Fire-rescue crews freed the victims from the wreckage.

Both victims were taken to a hospital. Their conditions were not immediately known.

Northbound traffic was backed up for miles after the crash.

VEHICULAR HOMICIDE CASE: CEMENT TRUCK INVOLVED IN FATAL CRASH SHOULD HAVE BEEN PARKED. HOWEVER, THE TRUCKING COMPANY SAYS THAT THE VICTIM WAS REPAIRING THE TRAILER IN THE ROAD AND NO CONES WERE PUT UP TO ALERT DRIVERS OF THE REPAIRS.

MAY 12, 2015

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV)

The attorney for the driver of a cement truck charged criminally in the crash that killed a father of two said the records don't tell the whole truth.

The daily inspection sheets obtained by the Channel 4 I-Team raised more questions about why the truck was allowed on the road the morning of the crash.

The 911 calls revealed the panic in witnesses and coworkers of Sergio Lopez after a Nashville Ready Mix truck failed to stop on Cheatham Dam Road and rushed toward them as they attempted to fix a broken trailer.

“I need the rescue. I need the ambulance. I need everything down here on Cheatham County Road. It's bad,” one witness told dispatchers during a 911 call.

Lopez was killed in the accident.

A Channel 4 I-Team investigation has uncovered internal inspection records showing how for months prior to the crash, the driver, Robert Ashabrunner, had documented daily problems with the truck.

However, Ashabrunner's attorney said that doesn't mean the truck was dangerous.

“He got in the truck and drove it,” said attorney Ed Yarborough. “Now, if a man has any thought that that truck is dangerous, does he get in that truck and drive it every day? I don't think so.”

The Channel 4 I-Team began investigating the company after obtaining the deposition of Donald Meadows, a co-founder of Nashville Ready Mix, who said the company knew for weeks of existing problems with the truck's braking system.

“They've known it for three weeks,” Meadows said in the deposition. “They run that truck with busted air bags.”

The inspection records of the truck showed not weeks, but eight months of documented problems.

An inspection record from September 2012 said “Need brakes – Can't Stop.”

Day after day “Need new brakes – can't stop on a hill,” was entered on the reports.

The truck was still driven daily, sometimes more than 100 miles a day.

For almost seven months, it was documented that it leaked air real bad.

Remember what the co-founder said?

“They run that truck with busted air bags,” Meadows said in the deposition.

A Nashville Ready Mix mechanic said in an interview with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, also obtained by the Channel 4 I-Team. “We got air brakes. That's part of the brake system. If you've got an air leak, it doesn't leave the company.”

The mechanic later told the THP that the truck should have never left.

Why did the truck leave? The mechanic said drivers share inspection reports with the plant manager, but that “No one ever got hold of him” to tell him about the air leaks.

The mechanic named Carlton Moseley as the plant manager who dispatched the truck.

“We plead not guilty. We expect to be found not guilty,” said Mark Olson, Moseley's attorney.

Moseley, Ashabrunner and Nashville Ready Mix are charged with vehicular homicide in the case.

“He was the man driving this truck. If there was something wrong with those brakes, doesn't he have a sense of responsibility for what happened with the accident?,” Channel 4 I-Team chief investigator Jeremy Finley asked Yarborough.

“There are two or three assumptions in the question, and I would say yes to your question, but there are assumptions there that are probably not the truth,” said Yarborough.

Ashabrunner's attorney said when Lopez and his crew were repairing the trailer that morning they were in the road and no cones were put up to alert drivers of the repairs.

Yarborough said even if the brakes were fully functioning, nothing could have stopped that crash.

HUSBAND, WIFE KILLED IN HEAD-ON BOAT COLLISION ON CHOWAN RIVER, NORTH CAROLINA

MAY 10, 2015

GATES COUNTY, NC (WVEC)

Officers with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) said two boats essentially collided head-on Saturday, killing a husband and wife.

Lieutenant Mark Rich told 13News Now Sunday that 42-year-old Douglas Martin and his wife, 35-year-old Angela Martin, died after a 17-foot bass boat and their 16-foot bass boat hit each other.

The larger boat ran over the top of the Martins' boat.

The Martins were from Sedley, Virginia, which is in Southampton County.

Rich said two men were in the other boat.

He explained that emergency dispatchers in Southampton County got a call about the collision around 2 p.m. Saturday. Crews from Southampton went out to the river where it intersects the Nottoway and Blackwater Rivers. Once they realized it was on the North Carolina side of the state line, they contacted Gates County.

Rich told 13News Now it took hours for NCWRC to reach the boats and to get them back to shore. Crews removed them from the water. Officers will be putting the boats back together as part of their investigation.

The North Carolina State Medical Examiner's Office will perform autopsies to determine how the Martins died.

POLICE AND COAST GUARD ARE CARRYING OUT SEPARATE INVESTIGATIONS FOLLOWING FATAL SAGINAW RIVER BOAT CRASH IN MICHIGAN

MAY 12, 2015

SAGINAW, MI

Police and Coast Guard investigators are carrying out separate investigations after a man was killed during a boating accident on the Saginaw River.

David Brigham, 25, and Robert A. Todd, 53, both of Vassar, were knocked into or jumped into the Saginaw River the morning of Friday, May 8, when the boat they were on had engine trouble and was struck by a tugboat pushing a barge near the Saginaw-Bay county line, police have said.

Zilwaukee firefighters rescued Brigham right after the emergency call and police located Todd's body on Monday, May 11, in the river near Bay City's James Clements Airport. 

The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed its investigative services division is looking into the cause of the crash. 

"I can't tell you any of the specifics," Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Lauren Laughlin said when asked about the probe. "The cause is under investigation." 

She said she could not answer questions or confirm what Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel said, that Coast Guard investigators are looking into whether or not a lookout was required on the barge and other maritime law questions to help the sheriff's department. 

The Coast Guard's online information says one rule of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) is about lookouts:

"Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appraisal of the situation and of the risk of collision," the rule states, according to the Coast Guard. 

Coast Guard officials did not confirm whether or not the rule could apply to the crash or other regulations they may be considering. 

The Coast Guard is also looking into the aspect of shipping procedures and whether or not the tugboat was in the proper channel, Federspiel said, "which we believe he was."

Federspiel said investigators believe the tugboat and barge did not have a lookout, though there were others on board besides the captain. 

"It may be legitimate that they don't need a lookout on that vessel," the sheriff said. "The Coast Guard is going to confirm if they followed procedures and did everything properly."

Federspiel said his detectives are looking at the case from all angles, which is standard for a death with one or no witnesses.

The department will attempt to find evidence to corroborate the account given by the survivor, the sheriff said. The department is also waiting for results of an autopsy being done on Todd's body. 

Federspiel said the tugboat was operated by Cheboygan-based Morrish-Wallace Construction and the captain told investigators he did not know the crash happened.

Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) is not investigating the death because "...the fatality victim was not an employee, and because there was no employer/employee relationship, MIOSHA does not have jurisdiction over the incident," MIOSHA Spokeswoman Tanya Baker said. 

Asked about MIOSHA jurisdiction of incidents on the water, Baker said MIOSHA does not have jurisdiction over incidents occurring on navigable water, except for when public employees are engaged in maritime work, such as port authorities, cities or counties. 

Other federal agencies have jurisdiction over other workplace related deaths on the water, she said. For example, specific activities related to maritime shipbuilding, shipbreaking, ship repairing and long shoring remain within the exclusive jurisdiction of federal OSHA. 

When there is no employer/employee relationship, the U.S. Coast Guard has responsibility to safeguard the lives and safety of citizens in maritime situations, Baker said. 

Source: www.mlive.com