Blog at CLR Marine
The Environmental Protection Agency published a final rule aimed at reducing exhaust emissions from diesel-powered recreational boats.
The National Marine Manufacturers Association says the rule helps the marine industry avoid “a series of very detrimental after treatment catalyst-based standards.”
As originally proposed, the rule, “Control of Emissions of Air Pollution from Locomotive Engines and Marine Compression Ignition Engines Less Than 30 Liters Per Cylinder,” would have required U.S.-flagged recreational marine diesel-powered vessels with engines greater than 2000 kW to install catalyst after treatment systems.
“This rule had the potential to very severely impact recreational yacht builders,” said John McKnight, the NMMA director of environmental safety and compliance, in a statement. “Once a rule like this gets on the books and the technology is required, it could spread to all vessels operated within U.S. waters, regardless of horsepower or where the vessel is flagged.”
A diesel catalyst system requires urea, a chemical made from ammonia and carbon dioxide and low-sulfur fuel. Urea is not necessarily suitable for storage on a recreational yacht, nor is it widely available, according to McKnight. He says the lack of availability of urea ultra-low sulfur fuel in many foreign ports that luxury yachts frequent could have severely compromised the value of U.S.-flagged vessels.
“The major flaw in EPA’s proposal was that the rule only applied to U.S. flagged vessels,” McKnight said. “We were able to convince the agency that the rule, as proposed, would only encourage more yacht owners to flag their vessels outside the U.S.”
In the final rule, the EPA exempted recreational yachts from Tier IV catalyst-based standards. The final rule instead requires engine manufacturers to meet the more stringent Tier III requirements; however, McKnight says this requirement will be transparent to yacht builders.
Despite this key regulatory accomplishment, McKnight warns yacht manufacturers to remain cautious.
The International Marine Organization’s Marine Protection Committee released a proposal April 4 requiring aftertreatment on all recreational and commercial diesel marine engines greater than 750 hp. The NMMA is working with the ICOMIA Marine Engine Committee and the European Association of Internal Combustion Engine Manufacturers to oppose this proposal.
IMO would only require a recreational yacht traveling to ports within countries that signed a treaty with the organization to be equipped with aftertreatment; however, the significance of the proposal is that countries that have signed IMO treaties encompass a majority of the well-traveled world.
To date, the United States has not signed a treaty with IMO. If, however, the proposed IMO rule is finalized as is, the EPA is expected to move quickly to adopt aftertreatment standards.
For information about the latest EPA rule or the IMO proposal, contact John McKnight at (202) 737-9757 or jmcknight@nmma.org.
Florida leads the nation in boating fatalities, with 77 boating-related deaths reported in 2007, according to a report released this week by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The state, it was noted, also leads the country in the number of registered vessels, with more than 1.027 million in 2007. That’s 2,668 above 2006 records.
There were 668 reportable boat accidents in 2007. Many of the boating-related deaths were because of victims falling overboard or capsizing their boat and drowning. A large number of the deaths could have been prevented if the victims had worn life jackets, the commission reported.
According to the report, 70 percent of the operators involved in the accidents had no formal boater education.
Monroe County reported the highest number of accidents and injuries with 74 accidents and four fatalities.
The report also found:
To view the report, go to www.MyFWC.com.
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Challenger Powerboats of Washington, Mo., and its wholly-owned subsidiaries IMAR Group and Marine Holdings, each filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection last month.
In connection with the filings, the company has ceased all business activity and operations, according to paperwork filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“The company believes that its assets will be insufficient to satisfy the claims of all creditors and it is unlikely that the company’s shareholders will be eligible to participate in any distribution of the company’s assets as a result of the bankruptcy,” the paperwork states.
A call this morning to company headquarters was not immediately returned.
A Chapter 7 bankruptcy case does not involve the filing of a plan of repayment as in Chapter 13. Instead, the bankruptcy trustee gathers and sells the debtor's non-exempt assets and uses the proceeds of such assets to pay creditors in accordance with the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code.
The petitions for relief were filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri April 25. The bankruptcy trustee for all three entities is E. Rebecca Case.
The SEC paperwork was signed by company CEO Laurie A. Phillips April 28.
Challenger, formerly known as Xtreme, had gone through many changes in the last several years. In 2006, Xtreme spent $4.3 million to purchase 100 percent of the outstanding shares of Marine Holdings, which operated under the name Challenger Offshore.
This made Marine Holdings a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xtreme. Xtreme’s relationship with Marine Holdings began about a year earlier when it procured the exclusive distribution rights to the Challenger line.
Prior to its relationship with Marine Holdings, Xtreme specialized in fire-rescue and patrol boats. As part of the restructuring, production of those vessels has ceased and related assets have been sold off.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced a small-vessel security strategy at American Boating Congress today.
During the industry’s two-day legislative conference, hundreds from the recreational boating community convened at L’Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, D.C.
As part of its Small Vessel Security Strategy, the Department of Homeland Security hopes to enhance maritime security efforts.
The National Marine Manufacturers Association said it supports adequate water patrols and improved coordination among the United States Coast Guard and state and local law enforcement to ensure security.
“We know that security will not be found in extreme measures that limit boaters’ rights, but working hand-in-hand with the Department of Homeland Security will be an effective way of ensuring a balance of national security with the rights of recreational boaters to unobstructed access to America’s waterways,” said Thom Dammrich, the NMMA’s president, in a statement.
The American Boating Congress continues through Tuesday with a comprehensive agenda to address issues facing the recreational boating industry.
This has been a very rough two weeks for us at CLR Marine. We would like to take this time to apologize to all of our customers. We found that our shipping had stopped working early last week, and it did take awhile to get it back up. This morning we found out that AT&T had a problem with our voice messages mainly from the west coast and sent us over 70 messages today. To top all of this off I started back to work on the boat this week.
To help easy any problems this may have caused you, we will be sending all of our register customers a personal email with a special discount code.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the sweeping U.S. Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2007.
The bill would authorize $8.7 billion in spending for the Coast Guard. It also includes several narrow provisions that address security of LNG terminals, invasive species and stricter reporting requirements for cruise ships, among other issues.
One of the thorniest issues in the bill is the provision making the Coast Guard enforce security zones around LNG tankers and terminals. The White House had complained the requirement would siphon valuable resources from the Coast Guard. That prompted a GOP-backed amendment, which permits the federal agency to take into consideration state and local government resources when determining security plans for LNG sites.
White House spokesman Trey Brohn told reporters the administration is concerned about several key provisions in the House bill, but will work with members of Congress as the legislation moves forward.
The Senate is considering its own version of the bill.
In South Florida, industry leaders praised the bill’s passage by the House because of a provision that provides a complete exemption for the service and repair segment of the recreational boating industry from the requirement for coverage under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, as long as state workers' compensation coverage is in place.
The provision in the Coast Guard bill also provides specific relief to manufacturers of recreational boats 165 feet or under. The provision was drafted by two Florida legislators, Democratic representatives Ron Klein and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who have consistently championed marine industry issues.
The issue has been a particularly hot topic in South Florida and the Marine Industries Association of South Florida has been lobbying for the exemption since 2001.
“This has been the No. 1 legislative priority for the recreational marine industry in South Florida for the past six years,” said Kristina Hebert, vice president of operations for Ward’s Marine Electric and past president of the MIASF. “If enacted, this legislation will have a major positive economic impact on South Florida as well as the rest of the country’s recreational marine industry.”
Organizations such as the Nature Conservancy also praise the bill’s passage because of a provision concerning ballast water treatment. The legislation requires ships in U.S. waters to install ballast treatment systems to eradicate invasive species carried in ships’ ballast water and to implement best management practices to address other ways in which invasive species can be spread from ships.
"While we are glad the House has passed this bill to shut the gates forever on aquatic nuisances," the bill needs to go further, said F. Ned Dikmen, chairman of the Great Lakes Boating Federation. “It is imperative that Congress provide an exemption for recreational boaters. Treating small craft like commercial ships isn't just misguided, it could ruin the $16 billion recreational boating industry."
Furuno Announces Price Increase
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Shipping Problems at CLR Marine
For those customers that have been trying to order certain products and have received the following message. No shipping methods available for your order or location. We are sorry; we have our programmers working on this problem. We should have it resolved very soon.
More U.S. senators from both parties have signed on to co-sponsor The Clean Boating Act of 2008, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association.
In total, 22 senators have signed onto the legislation, which exempts recreational boaters and anglers from the federal and state permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act, and ensures recreational boaters and anglers will not need a federal permit to operate their boats.
“The most important thing from our standpoint is that the public realizes, and Congress realizes, the critical nature of this issue,” Scott Gudes, vice president of government relations for the NMMA, told Soundings Trade Only. “It is absolutely absurd to have an onerous federal permit system just to operate one’s boat.”
Gudes also noted the importance of having a cross section of legislators from both parties supporting the bill.
The issue of new federal permits stems from a September 2006 U.S. District Court ruling that ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate ballast water discharges, and mandated a deadline of September 2008 to put it in place.
Although the litigation was aimed at ocean-going vessels, the court’s ruling struck down an exemption that applied to the incidental discharges from all vessels, including recreational boats, since 1973.
The Clean Boating Act was introduced by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.
Others co-sponsoring the legislation are: David Vitter, R-La.; Ben Cardin, D-Md.; Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.; Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine; Susan Collins, R-Maine; Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.; Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.; Thad Cochran, R-Miss.; Mike Crapo, R-Idaho; Larry Craig, R-Idaho; Jack Reed, D-R.I.; Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.; George Voinovich, R-Ohio; Carl Levin, D-Mich.; Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.; Richard Burr, R-N.C.; Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C.; Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; Evan Bayh, D-Ind. and Bob Corker, R-Tenn.
The bill is in the Environment and Public Works Committee and needs a favorable report to move to the full Senate. From there, it would need the support of the U.S. House of Representatives before going to President George W. Bush for a signature.
For information about the Clean Boating Act of 2008, go to www.boatblue.org.
A California law firm this week filed a class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleging oil companies failed to inform boat owners that ethanol causes damage to fiberglass fuel tanks.
The suit seeks to represent a class comprising all owners of boats with fiberglass fuel tanks who filled their tanks with ethanol-blended gasoline from a California retailer. The suit also seeks to represent all persons in California who own boats with fiberglass fuel tanks that had to be replaced because of damage caused by ethanol-blended gasoline bought from a California retailer.
The lawsuit, filed by Kabateck Brown Kellner, LLP, names major oil companies, including Chevron and Exxon Mobil Corp., as defendants.
Chevron said it has not yet been served with the lawsuit.
“As such, we are not in a position to comment,” said Lloyd Avram, Chevron media relations team leader.
According to court documents, Lawrence Turner, the plaintiff, bought ethanol-blended gasoline for his boat, which had a fiberglass fuel tank. Turner then discovered the ethanol in the gasoline began dissolving the boat’s fiberglass fuel tank and caused damage to the boat’s engine. The court documents said Turner was “forced to spend approximately $20,000 to fix the problems caused by the defendants’ ethanol blended gasoline.”
"The price of gas is bad enough, but selling gasoline that dissolves gas tanks is a new low even for the oil companies," said Brian Kabateck, managing partner of Kabateck Brown Kellner and the lead attorney on the case, in a statement. "The oil companies know this fuel is corrosive, but they're keeping consumers in the dark to pump up their profits. The cost to the consumer is thousands of dollars in repairs."
Ethanol attracts water. When enough water is absorbed by the ethanol-blended gasoline, the ethanol and water solution separates from the gasoline, with the gasoline floating to the top. This results in a layer of water with a high concentration of ethanol at the bottom of the fuel tank.
There are many underground storage tanks that are made of fiberglass, but these were developed specifically to withstand ethanol. The vast majority of fiberglass tanks on boats were not designed to withstand ethanol.
We have had a couple of members ask how to change what Blogs they receive.
Log into your account at CLR Marine, you will then see the following.
Click on Subscriptions and you will then see the following. From here all it is is a matter of checking or un-checking the boxes and click on the Apply button.
Add and subtract Blogs as you like. Don't forget to help us out by adding to any of the topics.
A revamped DiscoverBoating.com Web site officially launches today, featuring an updated look and several new, interactive features designed to show visitors how easy it is to become a boat owner.
“All of the new tools on DiscoverBoating.com, both active and planned, are designed to generate additional boating prospects, which is especially important this year for our industry stakeholders,” Carl Blackwell, vice president of marketing communications for Grow Boating, Inc. and the National Marine Manufacturers Association, said this afternoon.
The site focuses on activities for boaters, while incorporating images of people partaking in fishing, sailing or watersports.
Consumers have the opportunity to select their activity of choice by clicking on the specific icon and are redirected to a page providing relevant information about that particular activity, including boat type selections, tips and resources.
“By increasing the focus on boating activities and making the site more interactive, we anticipate people will get that much more excited about getting out on the water and, ultimately, buying a boat,” said Armida Markarova, director of interactive marketing for Grow Boating Inc. and the NMMA, in a statement
DiscoverBoating.com also features the Boating Affordability Tool/Budget Planner, which compares the cost of boat ownership to several other popular family leisure activities.
Another new feature is the “Baby Boomer” section, which goes live this week. The Boomer section positions boating as the ideal activity to enrich a person’s “Golden Years.” The Boomer section features a call to action for visitors to request a free copy of the “Get Started in Boating” DVD, experiment with the Boat Selector Tool and calculate the cost of boat ownership.
To answer pleas from wannabe boat owners, the Spousal Conversion Kit also launched this week as part of DiscoverBoating.com’s overall redesign. The kit provides Web site visitors with a seven-step process to help convince their significant other that the time has come to purchase a boat.
Blackwell said recent media coverage of the Spousal Conversion Kit and our spokesperson, Mike Schmidt, a baseball hall-of-famer, has helped drive people to the Web site.
“Schmidt conducted countless interviews recalling his experiences talking his wife into allowing him to purchase a boat (eventually two boats) that were fun and entertaining,” Blackwell said. “It resulted in stations all across the country coming to us requesting interviews. The interview drove people back to DiscoverBoating.com, as Schmidt mentioned his experiences as a boater and angler and the time he spent on the Web site. The results far exceeded our expectations.”
For information about DiscoverBoating.com, contact Markarova at (312) 946-6284 or amarkarova@nmma.org.
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Ohio’s Lt. Governor, Lee Fisher, tossed Great Lakes boating interests a curve this week when the Toledo Blade reported Fisher said the Great Lakes might divert its water to other parts of the country in the future. Preventing the diversion of Great Lakes water has been a major objective of boat owner organizations, the boating industry and many similar groups in the 8 states that surround the Lakes.
One-third of the nation’s recreational boats ply the Great Lakes basin and while the region contains 20% of the world’s fresh water, the lake levels can significantly drop causing a variety of problems for boating such as those experienced recently when levels dropped and many docks and marinas were rendered inaccessible.
Diverting water from the Great Lakes system is also a political hot button. For example, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson created a buzz last October when he said the Great Lakes is “awash in water” and could send it to the southwest. Back in 1985, the Great Lakes governors signed a non-binding agreement to unite against diversion of water to the southwest. Congress followed by passing legislation giving each Great Lakes governor veto power over any diversion project. That expires in 2010.
In addition, there has been fear about possible large-scale selling of the water. For example, a Canadian firm, the Nova Group, got a permit to ship tankers filled with Lake Superior water to Asia in 1998. An outcry stopped it, but the incident elevated a movement in both the U.S. and Canada to permanently prevent it.
To accomplish that, the states formed the Council of Great Lakes Governors that has worked for nearly 10 years to hammer out the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact (dubbed “The Great Lakes Compact.”) The Compact calls for the 8 states to act as a regional body so any future diversion could never be made unilaterally. In essence, all 8 states would have to agree to any diversion. Canada will also participate in the Compact.
To date, 4 Great Lakes States — New York, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan – have ratified the Compact. It needs to be ratified by the other 4 states – Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania – before it can be sent to Congress for federal approval. Once approved, the Compact will rule supreme, even over any future Congressional action.
Oh, yes, Ohio’s Lt. Governor yesterday stated he misspoke when he suggested the possible future sale of Great Lakes water. “I should have been more careful in my comments about diversion,” Fisher said, “because I should not have left even a crack in the door for diversion in the future.”
The boaters of the Great Lkaes need to contact these four states that are holding out and let them know how we feel.
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A New York marina has filed a $15 million lawsuit against a Long Island village over the issue of mooring permits.
Seymour’s Boat Yard in Northport filed the suit against the Village of Lloyd’s Harbor and several town officials, citing the village unfairly awarded mooring permit contracts to another marina. The suit also alleges that the village does not have a proper process for awarding mooring permits.
The saga began last fall when Dave Weber, general manager of the family-owned Seymour’s, was the leading bidder for a contract with the nearby town of Huntington to provide mooring and launch services from the town dock. The contract was previously held by Coney’s Marine in Huntington, which was also named in the lawsuit.
Weber says he thought the contract meant he would also be granted the permits for operating moorings in Puppy’s Cove, a body of water between Huntington and Lloyds Harbor. But a majority of the 200 moorings fall under the jurisdiction of the Village of Lloyd’s Harbor, which has a separate governing body. There does not appear to be a process for those permits to change hands, according to the suit. Coney’s has held the mooring permits for 13 years.
“There’s nothing on the books to get a mooring permit,” Weber said. “They gave them all to one person.”
Village officials declined comment while the litigation is pending.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Central Islip, came a day before the Town of Huntington voted to rescind the four-year contract it awarded Weber. Given the controversy over the mooring permits, town officials decided to run the launch service itself.
"We want to ensure that our residents don't become the people in the middle," spokeswoman Fran Evans said.
Weber says he invested $200,000 for a new launch and mooring equipment. He was banking on charging boat owners fees for use of the moorings. T
