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Alaska Maritime Newsletter |  |
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The Marine Exchange of Alaska is a non-profit, maritime organization established to serve the Alaska Maritime Community by providing information, communications and services to ensure safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible maritime operations.
On February 1st, the Marine Exchange relocated its office from the Merchants Wharf building in downtown Juneau, to the "Juneau Electronics" building at the base of the Douglas Bridge. Our Network Operations Center (NOC) has been in this building for a couple years and this move finally puts all of us under the same roof. We look forward to showing off the new "digs" to our local friends and associates. Of course, we'd also enjoy seeing all you "out of towners" as well if your travels ever bring you through Juneau..the coffee's always on.
New mailing address:
Southeast Alaska Petroleum Resource Organization (SEAPRO) recently contracted with the Marine Exchange to outfit its oil spill response vessels with satellite tracking capability. Satellite tracking of response vessels has proven to be invaluable during recent incidents such as the SELENDANG AYU clean up in the Aleutians, but this marks the first time a response organization has implemented satellite tracking before an incident occurs. Having the equipment pre-installed will save valuable time once the vessels are called to respond, making this position data available to the incident commanders and their staffs before a formal command post is even established. The Marine Exchange applauds SEAPRO for leaning forward and establishing the new "standard of care" for incident response on-water awareness.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently issued corrections to the TWIC Final Rule, originally released last month.
These minor changes include:
These changes will go into effect March 26, 2007.
The Marine Exchange has been working overtime to expand Automatic Identification System (AIS) coverage throughout the entire state. We currently owns 28 AIS receiver sites in Alaska, and help manage an additional 11 sites for the USCG. Vessel ID and position data from these sites is used daily by the Coast Guard and many other maritime organizations and companies to help ensure safe, secure, efficient, and environmentally responsible operations within Alaska's waters. Recent installs include: Adak, Dillingham, Akutan, Craig, and Cordova. In addition to these new sites, MXAK has recently launched a new, web-based AIS display system which compliments our existing Automated Secure Vessel Tracking System (ASVTS). Among its other powerful features, this new system allows our customers to define specific "events," which result in automatic email notifications upon their occurance. For example, the system can be configured to send an email any time an AIS-equipped vessel crosses a pre-defined line, or enters a pre-defined area. We're very excited about this new system and are confident it will meet or exceed many of the needs our customers have requested in the past.
The Marine Conservation Alliance (MCA) has recently released a short paper for North Pacific mariners entitled "Doing Right by Right Whales." The paper's intent is to raise awareness and highlight the commercial fishing industry's commitment to preventing Right whale encounters. This paper contains general information on the plight of the Right whale, interesting statistics involving encounters/entanglements, and advice for preventing them. The paper also provides information on how to obtain a free copy of the North Pacific Right Whale Identification Guide, developed by NOAA and MCA.
As the paper states: "Being proactive to protect Right
whales is the right thing to do. It's a positive step that
will help protect this rare, highly endangered species
and protect the maritime industry that shares the
same waters."
The following maritime-related events are scheduled in the upcoming months. Please contact the person listed for additional information regarding these events. If you know of a relevant event that should be highlighted in future newsletters, please contact the Marine Exchange of Alaska and we will be happy to post it.
SEAK USCG/Industry Days
Small Passenger Vessel Industry Days
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