Keystone Shipping Co.

We are proud to announce the successful

christening and delivery of our new

Articulated Tug Barge unit, the

Millville/1964! The christening took place

on Tuesday, November 28th, 2017 at

Fincantieri Bay Shipyard in Sturgeon Bay, WI.

Delivery of the ATB unit was successfully

taken on December 8th, 2017 and she

began her maiden voyage on December

13th, 2017, making her way from Sturgeon

Bay, WI to KMI Carteret, NJ where she

loaded 160,000 barrels of gasoline.

Issue 104

D E L I V E R Y O F N E W AT B U N I T M I L LV I L L E / 1 9 6 4

Winter 2018

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Year End Review 2

Seakay Spirit 2

Steward Seminar 3

G.L. Deep Freeze 3

El Faro Findings 4

Fleet Safety Review 4

Cape K’s Berth Swap 5

CSA Enviro Awards 6

SAFETY L INE

Ms. Caroline Wood, sponsor of the Wood family and founders of Wawa

Inc., christens the 8,000 horsepower tugboat Millville

Thanks were extended to the Bay Shipbuilding employees on behalf of the 30,000 employees

of the Wawa organization.

Captain William ―Buddy‖ Davis explains the operations of

the barge 1964 to Wawa executives during a tour of the

vessel

The new vessel will be used to supply gasoline to Wawa

Inc. and their growing network of retail locations in

Florida which now totals 140. The unit is expected to

trade between Beaumont, TX and Tampa, FL where she

will discharge gasoline, diesel and ethanol for use at

Wawa gas stations.

The Millville is an 8,000 horsepower tug boat with a

Gross Registered Tonnage of 265 GRT. It is equipped

with an Intercon coupling system that links together the

tug and the barge unit, creating a nimble and cost

efficient ship for transportation. The barge unit 1964

is a 180,000 barrel barge with a Gross Registered

Tonnage of 11,949 GRT and is able to carry gasoline,

diesel and ethanol. It is equipped with state of the art

technology including an Optimarin Ballast Water

Treatment System. The length overall of the ATB unit is

652 feet.

This was a long and very demanding project and we

would like to thank all those involved in the delivery of

these beautiful vessels. Special thanks goes out to the

crew of the Millville, especially Captain William ―Buddy‖

Davis and Chief Engineer Steven Johns for their hard

work and dedication. Thanks also goes to Keystone

personnel Joe Wassel, Mitch Koslow, Bruce Fernie,

Rich McCann, Bill Mosler, Tim O’Connor, Ericka

Hubbard, Dave Carroll, Andy Hake, Andrew Nagle,

Maryann Specht, Bill Hornung, Pete Lawler and all

others involed. We would also like to thank all of the

workers at Fincantieri Shipyard for there arduous work. New ATB unit Millville/1964 on her maiden voyage on

December 13, 2017 seen here leaving Sturgeon Bay, WI

There have been many

significant changes at Keystone

in 2017. In our commercial

fleet, we ended the year with a

bang with the delivery of our

new ATB unit Millville/1964.

In our MARAD fleet, three of our

vessels, the M/V Cape Ducato,

M/V Cape Decision and the

M/V Cape Domingo conducted

their 5 year regulatory dry dock

periods with great success.

Various work was done on the-

se vessels including hull blast-

ing and coating, cargo gear and

ramp testing and various en-

gine room upgrades. Be-

tween the three vessels they

spent a total of 214 days in the

shipyard and had ZERO LTA’s to

any Keystone employees or to

any Detyen’s or BAE shipyard

employees! Special thanks to

our safety officers C/M Alec

Cunningham, C/M Patrick

McGourthy, C/M Brian Patten

and C/M Gary Lombardi for

their exceptional work. We

would also like to thank Repair

Superintendents Bob Shea,

Rich Tammaro and Robert

Hodgdon.

We have made numerous

changes and updates to our

Safety Management System

(SMS). We have made over

250 changes to our KOPM

which include 6 new

procedures. With the delivery

of our ATB we rolled out a set

of entirely new ATB

procedures and new forms.

We have also reviewed and

finalized revisions on our

Fleet Risk Assessments. We

have reviewed 40 in total,

with 9 of them being revised,

3 withdrawn and 1 new.

Since Jan 1 of 2017, we have

rolled out 61 new General

Information to Masters

(GIM’s) including topics such

as lessons learned, USCG

Marine Safety Alerts and

Winter Weather Reminders.

We have a number of new faces

in the Bala Office such as D.J.

Kurz, Andrew Nagle, Ericka

Hubbard and Frank Pierson.

We also have Dave Schultze

returning in a part-time role.

Rich McCann has been

promoted to the role of Port

Engineer for our Deep Sea fleet.

We also have some new faces

and new roles in our Duluth

office, with Ken Gerasimos

taking on the role as General

Manager following the

retirement from full time

employment by John Thibodeau.

John has signed on in a

consultancy role providing

assistance to Ken during the

transition phase. Ralph Ray has

taken on the role as Port

Captain and Al Parrent has been

hired as a new Purchasing

Agent.

WELCOME ABOARD TO ALL!!

Page 2

S / S S E A K A Y S P I R I T : F I R S T T R I P T O T H E L O O P A S U C C E S S !

A Y E A R I N R E V I E W : 2 0 1 7

meeting U.S. daily energy

needs. Over the last three

decades, the LOOP has

handled more than 12 billion

barrels of crude oil.

The S/S Seakay Spirit’s first

trip to the Loop was

completed on January 14th,

2018 and the discharge only

took 16.5 hours. The mooring

and hose connection was

performed safely and

efficiently. All hands were

called for docking, undocking

and hose connection and

disconnection and the crew

performed well.

Congratulations to the crew of

the S/S Seakay Spirit on their

first ever trip to the LOOP

being a successful one! The

Louisiana Offshore Oil Port

(LOOP) is a deepwater port in

the Gulf of Mexico off the

coast of Louisiana near the

town of Port Fourchon. The

LOOP plays a key role in

Issue 104

History of the LOOP

The ―LOOP‖ (Louisiana Offshore

Oil Port) was organized in 1972

and is now owned by Marathon,

Shell and Valero. The LOOP is

the only port in the U.S. capable

of offloading a wide range of

vessels, including Ultra Large

Crude Carriers (ULCC) and Very

Large Crude Carriers (VLCC),

down to Medium Range (MR)

Tankers. The port consists of

three single-point mooring buoys

used for the offloading of crude

tankers and a marine terminal

consisting of a two-level pumping

platform and a recently replaced

three-level control platform. The

LOOP also operates the 53-mile,

48-inch pipeline that connects

the LOOP to LOCAP Terminal at

St. James, Louisiana. The LOCAP

Terminal is connected to Plains

Terminal, NuStar Terminal,

Sugarland and Capline. Capline

is a 40-inch pipeline that

transports crude oil to several

Midwest refineries.

LOOP single buoy mooring as viewed

from S/S Seakay Spirit bow chock

M/V Loop Responder alongside the S/S

Seakay Spirit

The ―LOOP‖ Platform

A job well done by Captain Cal

Chapman, C/E Erik Barton and

the entire S/S Seakay Spirit

team!!

Safety Line

The second Steward Seminar Training at

the AMO Star Center in Dania, Florida

took place from the 2nd to the 20th of

October, 2017. Stewards Matt Sullivan

from the M/V Presque Isle and Mike

Faught from the M/V Edgar B. Speer

were in attendance.

It was another successful training, in

which the Stewards learned how to

prepare healthy and nutritious meals.

The training was stretched out into a

three week course which benefited all, as

there was more time for learning about

the nutrition, as well as more time

available to spend in the kitchen.

Mike and Matt both passed the course

while presenting fantastic meals at the

end. Thanks again to Shannon Agor and

Alison Escalante of the AMO Star Center

team! Without their dedication it would

not be possible for us to offer such high

end training to our Stewards!

Page 3

G R E A T L A K E S D E E P F R E E Z E—W I N T E R 2 0 1 7 / 2 0 1 8

S E C O N D S T E WA R D S E M I N A R T R A I N I N G A S U C C E S S

As of January 10, 2018, total Great Lakes ice coverage hovered around 22% (with the norm being

around 15%), with localized areas seeing even more intense coverage. Traditionally impacted areas

such as the St. Mary’s River and Straits of Mackinaw did see challenges, but the brunt of the impact

focused around Detroit and Western Lake Erie. As of January 1, 2018, Lake St. Clair in Detroit was

99% ice covered with Lake Erie being 74% ice covered! Several Key Lakes vessels took delays as

they waited for mandated USCG vessel escorts through the river systems as ice intensified.

Thank you to all the Key Lakes crews for your continued safe support of ice operations this season!

We look forward to your help again with a safe Spring Fit-Out!

The 2017 sailing season for the

Key Lakes fleet came to a close

following several weeks of

extreme weather. Brutal, arctic

temperatures continued from

mid-December well into January.

Actual air temperatures ranged

from 15F to 22F degrees below

zero with wind chills extending

into the –30F to –40F degree

range. This brought a quick

freeze to the Great Lakes and

quickly slowed cargo operations.

Key Lakes vessels stayed in

constant contact with the

Duluth Office providing updates

on operations from the front

lines. The Duluth Office was

also relaying as much

information as possible to the

Fleet from USCG Sector Soo and

USCG Sector Detroit. Ice

operations are extremely

difficult and communication is

key in keeping things moving as

smoothly as possible.

S/S Philip R. Clarke departing Gary, IN making her way

through the ice covered waters

Canadian Cutter Samuel Risley escorting the M/V Edgar B.

Speer through the ice

AMO’s Shannon Agor, Alison Escalante and M/V Presque

Isle’s Steward Matt Sullivan

M/V Edgar B. Speer Steward Mike Faught preparing his

plates, with AMO’s Shannon Agor watching over

On October 1, 2015, during Hurricane Joaquin,

the US-flagged cargo ship S/S El Faro sank in

the Atlantic Ocean, with the tragic loss of all 33

personnel on board. In a report by the

National Transportation Safety Board in

December of 2017, the NTSB revealed the

following key safety issues identified from their

investigation of the sinking:

Captain’s actions

Use of noncurrent weather information

Late decision to muster the crew

Ineffective bridge resource management

Inadequate company oversight

Company’s safety management system

Flooding in cargo holds

Loss of propulsion

Downflooding through vent closures

Need for damage control plan

Lack of suitable survival craft

most of the scores being in

the mid-to-low 90’s and nearly

all of the fleet improving their

scores from the previous year.

―Due to the exceptional safety

awareness of the crews,

Keystone has operated in a

steady state this year with

excellent performance across

the fleet. The S/S Seakay

Spirit and the M/V Edwin H.

Gott led the way in our new

safety and environmental

incentive program. It is not a

coincidence that these same

two vessels submitted the

most Near Miss Reports

during the past year‖. (Taken

from Don Kurz’s year end

message)

BCTQ Marine Survey and

Safety Services conducted

successful audits of all of our

20 vessels during 2017,

consisting of 11 MARAD

vessels, 8 bulkers of the Key

Lakes fleet and the S/S

Seakay Spirit. Safety, ISO

9001/ISO 14001/ISM,

Security, NPDES and

navigational review audits

were conducted on these

vessels where required, as

well as internal audits of the

corporate office in Bala

Cynwyd and the Port

Engineer’s offices in

Charleston, New Orleans and

Portsmouth.

We are pleased to announce

that the results of these

audits were very good with

Page 4

S I N K I N G O F S / S E L F A R O : N T S B F I N D I N G S

B C T Q 2 0 1 7 F L E E T S A F E T Y R E V I E W

Issue 104

- A very special thanks to

BCTQ Auditor Mr. Rod Neale for another year

of thorough audits

throughout our fleet.

M/V Roger Blough 95

S/S Cason J. Callaway 95

M/V Edwin H. Gott 94

M/V Great Republic 94

M/V Edgar B. Speer 94

M/V Cape Race 94

M/V Cape Rise 94

S/S Seakay Spirit 93

M/V Cape Kennedy 93

M/V Cape Knox 93

S/S Philip R. Clarke 93

M/V Presque Isle 93

Top Audit Scores

We list the fleet leaders above.

Well done to ALL crews on their

successful audits!

As a result of its investigation, the NTSB makes

recommendations to a number of different

organizations, including the US Coast Guard. Listed

below are some of these key recommendations

made of the 53 total recommendations:

Bridge resource management (BRM) training

for all deck officers when renewing their

credentials

All deck officers to take a Coast Guard

approved meteorology course

Conduct a complete review of the USCG

Alternate Compliance Program to assess

adequacy

Open lifeboats on all US inspected vessels to

be replaced with enclosed lifeboats

All personnel employed on vessels in coastal,

Great Lakes, and ocean service be provided

with a personal locator beacon to enhance

their chances of survival

Keystone has disseminated this report to our fleet

and in addition remains committed to ensuring that

we learn from this tragedy.

Safety Line Page 5

M / V C A P E K E N N E D Y A N D M / V C A P E K N O X B E R T H S WA P

K E Y L A K E S N AV I G A T I O N C O N S U LT A N T P R O G R A M

Revolving around the Keystone cornerstones of Safety and continuous improvement, the Key Lakes Navigation Consultant Program,

which was successfully rolled out in 2016, was conducted again this past fall.

The intent of the Navigation Consultant Program is to partner with retired Key Lakes Captains/Pilots as riding crews for each vessel and

to assess the onboard navigation standards. A member of the shoreside operations team may also ride the vessel with them. With

each vessel being provided a list of topics for oversight and review, the consultants conducting the assessments will file a report of

observations, findings, or concerns in order to improve the vessel’s navigation standards at the conclusion of each ride.

We would like to send a special thanks to retired Captain Steve Kelly who attended the S/S Cason J. Callaway, M/V Edgar B. Speer,

M/V Presque Isle and the M/V Great Republic, and retired Captain Mike Merrick who attended the S/S Philip R. Clarke, M/V John G.

Munson, M/V Roger Blough and M/V Edwin H. Gott. We would also like to thank Key Lakes Port Captain Ralph Ray for his efforts in

riding a number of the vessels and assisting during these assessments.

We are happy to report that during the 2017 reviews, no significant deficiencies were reported. Thank you to our Key Lakes bridge

teams for their continued vigilance, efforts and support of our Keystone safety culture!

M/V Roger Blough—taken by Port Captain Ralph Ray M/V Edgar B. Speer transiting the Soo Locks

Keystone Shipping Co. manages two

vessels for MARAD under Ship Group

Six, M/V Cape Knox and M/V Cape

Kennedy, which are located in New

Orleans, LA.

The river berth swap evolution is

usually performed every year, with

different circumstances each year.

During this evolution every system that

can be cycled is energized and run

(main engine, auxiliary engines, main

fire pump, emergency fire pump etc.)

The swap occurred Wednesday,

December 6th, 2017. This was a

brisk, rainy day and while it was not the

optimum timing weather-wise, the

evolution was executed to perfection.

The river berth swap evolution is a

choreographed ballet of at least 6

different vendors to support the ROS

crew (9 persons per ship) including

Pilots, electricians, tractor tugs and

line handlers. Preparations that

would be all in a normal day’s work

for any other ship in commercial

trade had to be executed well in

advance, taking into consideration

the reduced manpower of the nine

person crew which is almost

exclusively focused upon technical

and maintenance issues. The

evolution was performed flawlessly

with due regard to safety first and

foremost at all times.

A Special thanks goes to Port

Engineer, Chris Keefe, Purchasing

Agent, Sharon Lassere, the M/V Cape

Knox team which is led by C/E and

OIC Kyle Keene and C/M Horace

―Rick‖ Jordan, as well as the M/V

Cape Kennedy team led by C/E and

OIC Mark Collins and C/M Bruce

Bonnecarrere.

M/V Cape Kennedy approaching the River Berth at Poland Avenue Wharf

M/V Cape Knox crew (L to R): 1 A/E Ben Darr, Cadet Gavin Gartner, 3 A/E

Eddie Washington, Cadet Tanner Carter, 2 A/E Terry Smith, GUDE Stella

Whitley, Bosun Albert Balatico, Electrician Robert Joyce, GVA Ian Vargas,

C/M Rick Jordan, C/E Kyle Keene

One Bala Plaza East

Suite 600

Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004

Keystone Shipping Co.

Our good friend and colleague, Repair Superintendent Mr. Don

Lindquist retired on December 31, 2017. Both Don and his wife

Maureen joined us on January 11, 2018, for a nice lunch

celebration in his honor. Don started with Keystone nineteen

years ago on January 1st, 1999 and has been integral to the

success of many projects at Keystone. These projects include

the re-engining of the M/V Edwin Gott in 2011 and the

complete re-powering of the M/V John Munson in 2017, a

massive 16 month project. Don was drawn to Mass Maritime

Academy in the mid 60’s after growing up on a farm. Between

his 10 years at sea, two decades as a Repair Superintendent

and Fleet Engineering Manager with Inter Ocean Management

and Sun Oil, Don has managed to visit or live in every continent

except Antarctica. After 50 years in the maritime business, all

of us wish Don and Maureen a happy, healthy and long

retirement, as well as many fun rounds of golf!

B A C K P A G E S T O R Y H E A D L I N E S

TEL : 610-617-6800

If you have any suggestions or

comments please submit them

to Capt. T. O’Connor

toconnor@keyship.com or Frank

Pierson fpierson@keyship.com

On November 8th, 2017, the

Chamber of Shipping of America

(CSA) held their annual

Environmental Achievement

Awards Dinner in Washington

D.C. to celebrate the dedication

to environmental excellence of

seafarers and company

shore-side personnel who

operate vessels to the highest

standards.

In order to be eligible for an

Environmental Achievement

Award, a vessel must have at

least a two-year period of the

following:

No reportable spills

No U.S. Coast Guard

citations for violations of

MARPOL

No port state citations for

violations of MARPOL

No violations of state/local

pollution regulations

In attendance to receive awards

were Captain Tim O’Connor, Mr.

Andrew Hake, C/M Daniel

MacLean of the M/V Cape

Race, C/E Daniel Scrivanich of

the M/V Cape Rise and C/E

Scott McPherson of the M/V

John G. Munson who has also

spent significant time on the

M/V Edwin H. Gott.

C S A E N V I R O N M E N T A L A C H I E V E M E N T AWA R D S

New Face, New Name! On September 23, 2017, our Port Captain, Ericka Hubbard, formerly known as

Ericka Amon, married her best friend Justin Hubbard. Both Ericka (2003) and Justin (2001) are

graduates of SUNY Maritime. Prior to joining Keystone, Ericka was a tug Captain with Vane Brothers.

Justin sailed on his license after college, was an Officer in the Naval Reserve and currently is working in

the maritime field. The wedding was held in Forked River, NJ. Congratulations Ericka and Justin!!!

Ericka and Justin Hubbard on their

wedding day

Congratulations to the following vessels on being presented an

Environmental Achievement Award for 2017:

M/V Cape Race—11 years

S/S Cason J. Callaway—10 years

M/V Cape Knox—9 years

M/V Cape Ray—8 years

S/S Philip R. Clarke—7 years

M/V Cape Rise—6 years

M/V Edwin H. Gott—5 years

M/V Great Republic—4 years

M/V Roger Blough—4 years

M/V Edgar B. Speer—2 years

S/S Seakay Spirit—2 years

Pictured above (L to R): Emily Burns, Deputy Chief of Staff for Congressman John

Garamendi (CA), Andrew Hake, Keystone Government Contracts Officer, Bill Cahill,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Federal Sealift—MARAD, C/E Dan Scrivanich of

the M/V Cape Rise, Captain Tim O’Connor, Keystone Fleet Safety and Quality

Assurance Officer, C/E Scott McPherson of the M/V John G. Munson, Jerry Walls,

Key Lakes Safety Coordinator and Captain Daniel MacLean of the M/V Cape Race

Mr. Don Lindquist with wife Maureen