The National Maritime Center posted a bulletin to its website with amplifying information regarding Policy Letter 02-18, “Guidelines for Qualifications of Personnel for Issuing STCW Endorsements for Basic and Advanced Polar Code Operations,” which published in the Federal Register June 22, 2108.
Source: USCG
Link: 6/25/2018: Nat’l Maritime Center issues instructions regarding STCW Polar Code

In March, we announced the winners of the Rear Admiral Richard E. Bennis Award for Excellence in maritime security. Since April, leaders from around the Coast Guard have presented awards to the five winners. Rear Adm. John Nadeau, assistant commandant for prevention policy, made the final presentation this week, and Maritime Commons is sharing additional details about the achievements that earned the five winners this prestigious award.
Source: USCG
Link: 6/25/2018: Winners of Rear Adm. Bennis recognized for excellence in maritime security

The National Maritime Center posted a bulletin to its website to ensure that mariners and training providers are aware of changes to the Code of Federal Regulations, 33 CFR Subchapter E – Inland Navigation Rules. This change, advertised in the Federal Register Jan. 24, 2018, removed the word “danger” from rule 34. This post provides details about the change.
Source: USCG
Link: 6/21/2018: Changes to Inland Navigation Rules

In the fourth and final post in our series covering Coast Guard participation in Posidonia earlier this month, we share a condensed version of remarks by Rear Adm. John to a group of young maritime professionals and junior seafarers on the next chapter of shipping and the impacts of digitalization and the role of Safety Management Systems.
Source: USCG
Link: 6/21/2018: Posidonia 2018 – The role of safety management systems in the next chapter of shipping

The following products are available from the Navigation Center website:

• The Eighth (Gulf) Coast Guard District Local Notice to Mariners (25-2018): https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pdf/lnms/lnm0825g2018.pdf
• The weekly update to the 2018 USCG Light List, Volume Four: https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=lightListWeeklyUpdates
  
• The Summary of Corrections: https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pdf/lightLists/corrections/V4D08GM.pdf

If the links above do not work, you should either copy and paste the links into your web browser or follow the LNM links from the Navigation Center LNM page.

The Local Notice to Mariners, Light List, and Summary of Corrections are in Portable Document Format (PDF) and viewing them requires a PDF reader.  PDF readers are readily available on the internet, generally free of charge.

To download the latest information:

• Place your mouse over the “PDF” symbol next to the corresponding week.
• Right click for PC / Control click for Mac.
• Choose “Save Target As”.
• Save the PDF to your computer and open using your PDF reader.

If you have questions regarding this message, please contact the Navigation Center (use “LNMs, Charts, Chart Corrections, or Light Lists” as the subject from the pull down menu).

Source: LNM District 8
Link: District 08 (GULF) Week 25 LNM Now Available on Navigation Center Website

The Marine Safety Center issued the ninth Coast Guard Ballast Water Management System type approval certificate to BIO-UV Group, after a detailed review of the manufacturer’s type approval application determined the system met the requirements of 46 CFR 162.060.
Source: USCG
Link: 6/20/2018: Marine Safety Center issues Ballast Water Management System type approval certificate to BIO-UV Group

GPS users should be aware that there may be a short period of high Horizontal Dilution of Precision (HDOP) / Position Dilution of Precision (PDOP) in two locations June 22-23, 2018.
Source: USCG
Link: 6/20/2018: GPS satellite maintenance

In part three of our Posidonia series, we share a condensed version of Rear Adm. John Nadeau’s remarks given during a conference jointly sponsored by the American Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, North American Marine Environment Protection Association, and the International Propeller Club in Port of Piraeus. Nadeau talks further about ballast water management regulations, and then closes with a discussion on global trends and the impacts to the Marine Transportation System.
Source: USCG
Link: 6/20/2018: Posidonia 2018 – Ballast water management regulations, global trends in the 21st Century

The Office of Investigations and Analysis released Marine Safety Alert 11-18 to raise awareness of potentially
dangerous circumstance involving Personal Flotation Devices. During several inspections involving different vessels, Coast Guard personnel discovered a significant number (>100) of unwearable type 1 PFDs that would have presented a problem for users if needed in an emergency.
Source: USCG
Link: 6/19/2018: Marine Safety Alert – A PFD that’s unwearable makes an emergency situation worse

In part two of our series covering Coast Guard participation in Posidonia this month, Rear Adm. John Nadeau continues his discussion at the Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association’s conference on air emissions, shifting to the role of the regulator in the fast-past and ever-changing global maritime shipping industry, all in the context of ballast water management regulations.
Source: USCG
Link: 6/19/2018: Posidonia 2018 – Role of the Regulator