Keystone Shipping Co.

The S.S. John G. Munson, after

64 years of service as a Great

Lakes steamer, is now the

M.V. John G. Munson! This

April she will be ready for sea

trials and then will return to

service after a little over a year

hiatus to complete the transi-

tion from a steam to diesel

powered engine.

There were many regulatory

issues that all had to line up in

order for this project to move

forward. The EPA‟s Great Lakes

Steamship Repower Incentive

Program, Fuel Requirement/

ECA Zone, Great Lakes

Steamship Exemption, and the

USCG Major vs. Non-Major

Conversion all played a part for

this repowering.

Demolition and equipment

removal commenced in

December 2015. Major

equipment removal included

taking out the main boilers,

main propulsion turbines,

reduction gear, shafting,

propeller, hub, package/

start-up boiler, steam turbine

generators, electrical

switchgear, power distribution

panels, motor control centers

and Caterpillar D398 diesel

generator and electrical

components on the boat deck.

This repowering offers a variety

of benefits, including savings in

emissions, fuel consumption,

plant repairs and costs for

winter work layup and fit-out.

Now, after all the work has

been completed, the main

engine has gone from a 7,000

horsepower Westinghouse

Steam Turbine to an 8,000

horsepower 6M43 MaK Tier 2

Medium Speed Diesel.

Thank you to all of those on our

project team for helping to

safely complete this repow-

ering! Some key external

project team members

included:

Atlantic CAT: supplier of

integrated drive train, MaK

Main Engine, Lufkin Reduction

Gear, Schottel Propeller/

Shafting/CPP System.

Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding:

shipyard, production

management, installation, and

material/ equipment.

Netsco: contract engineering,

regulatory body plan approvals,

and detail engineering.

MAST: Engine room controls

and alarm monitoring.

Safe Sailing to the M.V.

John G. Munson!!

Issue 101

JOHN G . MUNSON REPOWERING

Spr ing 2017

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

Keystone Fleet Seminar 2

Steward Seminar 2

Acting Administrator Visits Cape K’s

3

Capt. Bill Peterson Retirement

3

Cape D’s Exercises 4

Fit-Out Safety 5

Keystone Snapshots 6

SAFETY L INE

The last signal to the S.S. John G.

Munson reading “Finished with Engine”

Keystone‟s 2017 Fleet Seminar was

held in Orlando, FL starting with our

opening dinner on February 6th.

During the opening dinner, President

Don Kurz spoke to the seminar

participants and set the stage for the

rest of the meetings with his

comments on, “If you see something,

say something.” Over the next three

days of topics and presenters that

phrase seemed to keep coming up,

stressing its importance onboard our

vessels and ashore that all should

follow.

The main focus of this seminar was

Accident Response which was

touched upon with topics such as

evidence requirements, incident

investigation, root cause analysis, and

a presentation by the Deputy

Commander, Sault Ste. Marie, US Coast

Guard‟s Capt. Chris Chase, on the

importance of Vessel Response Plans.

There was also an update of the

MUNSON Repowering from last year‟s

progress report, office staff to help with

daily use programs such as NS5 and

Docmap, and outside presenters to

review technical subjects such as

CargoMax, ECPINS, Test Oil, and the

future of Marine Scrubbers.

It was great to have office personnel

from our Bala Cynwd and Duluth offices

and our mariners from the Great Lakes

Fleet, MARAD Fleet, and tanker all

participating together once again.

Thank you for all that was presented

and for the participation of all there!

This year Keystone not only had a Fleet Seminar, but we also held a Steward‟s Seminar

for our Great Lakes Fleet. On February 28th all permanent stewards and relief stewards

met in Grand Rapids, MI for a day at SYSCO. We had a tour of their facility, a food show

of healthy options, learned how to utilize cuts of meat, and were able to spend time in

their test kitchen! Not only was SYSCO present, but our supplier, Soo Marine Supply,

Inc., participated and discussed concerns from the stewards. Representatives from

AMO‟s Toledo, OH office joined in as well as the Executive Chef and Nutrition Educator &

Personal Trainer from AMO‟s STAR Center in Dania, FL in order to discuss new training

options that Key Lakes and AMO have joined together in order to offer.

It was great to have everyone there, from those who provide the food, to those who

transport the food to the vessels, in addition to union, office, and stewards participation

in this event. There was a lot of sharing of ideas and everyone walked away with a few

ideas to bring back to their boat!

Page 2

2017 KEY STON E FL EE T SEM I NAR

2 0 1 7 S T E W A R D ’ S S E M I N A R

Issue 101

SYSCO Facility Tour with Relief Steward Bob

Fretter, Joe Thompson and Ron Blair from Soo

Marine Inc., and Brian Kruz from AMO Toledo.

Mitch Koslow presenting on the updates for the

John G. Munson repowering

A look at fresh produce and pre-prepared

blends that are available.

Chef Phil Cyr

cooking easy and

healthy options in

the test kitchen Seafood Specialist Jason Kegley

talking about where your fish comes

from and the market trends

Safety Line

Acting Maritime Administrator, Joel Szabat, visited Keystone‟s Ready Reserve Fleet vessels in New Orleans on March 4, 2017. Captain Rick

Jordan met him on the CAPE KNOX‟s Main Deck along with other guests from MARAD‟s Division of Gulf Operations - Dee Varshney, Ship

Operations Maintenance Officer, and Dean Baldus, Program Analyst.

The group went up to the navigation bridge in order to view the Port and have a brief discussion. Then Mr. Szabat met with the King‟s Point

cadets that were onboard the Cape K‟s where he spoke to them for nearly an hour regarding the future of the maritime industry. Mr.Szabat

continued his morning tour of the facilities by moving on to visit the adjoining MARAD warehouse. Keystone is happy the new Administration

is taking the time to come out and visit our government vessels. Captain Jordan wrote, “He is a good man. I am hopeful the new Administra-

tion will keep him in place.” Thank you to Captain Jordan for taking the time to show the acting Maritime Administrator around a Keystone

operated vessel!

Page 3

C A P T A I N B I L L P E T E R S O N - 3 2 Y E A R S W I T H K E Y S T O N E

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

N E A R M I S S E S

Near Miss 1: smoking shore power

cables that feed the vessel were

noticed on the upper tween deck.

Upon inspection it was noticed that

overheating of these cables had

caused damage to the cable‟s outer

sheathing and scorched a wooden

pallet under the cables. Cause was

due to poor connection of lugged

splice and old cable.

Near Miss 2: hoses on the

Cascade-Breathing Air Recharging

System have deteriorated to an

extent where the exterior cover is

badly cracked, damaged and, in

some places, missing. Even though

the system is stored in a deck locker, the hoses

have deteriorated due to the harsh environment.

Near Miss 3: during disposal of bilge water to a

barge, a minor leak was observed at the barge-

provided camlock fitting. The operation was

stopped and new gaskets were installed.

Operations were restarted and continued without

any leakage.

Great job to all crew members who noticed these

hazards. These observations stopped a potential

fire, a potential injury and a potential pollution

incident. Keep being vigilant during the course

of your day.

Near Miss 2

Near Miss 1

Staff Chief Officer Bill Peterson reported

onboard the Keystone tanker S/S Coronado

on February 5, 1985 in Lyme Bay

(Brixham), England. As an already seasoned

Chief Mate, Bill was welcomed by all

onboard and was promptly recommended

for a Masters assignment by the writer, as

well as Fleet Commodore Capt. John J.

Strunk. After his first Chief Mate‟s tour with

Keystone, Bill then soon returned to Coro-

nado in the summer of 1985 in a Master‟s

capacity to relieve Capt. John J. Strunk. Bill

then served as Master on many more of our

tank ships including an assignment on

S/S Cherry Valley where U.S Govern-

ment food aid grain was lifted to

Capetown, South Africa. On another

assignment onboard S/S Cherry Valley,

Bill and his vigilant navigation team

spotted and saved 4 fishermen whose

vessel “Cristina” sank 170 miles east

of Fortaleza, Brazil on January 4, 1992.

Bill and his crew were subsequently

offered a prestigious AOTOS (Admiral of

the Ocean Seas) award by the United

Seamans Service. Bill‟s Masters as-

signments with Keystone between

1985 and 2004 were numerous and

included: S/S Spirit of Liberty,

S/S Coronado, S/S Cherry Valley,

S/S Fredericksburg, S/S Kittanning,

S/S Chestnut Hill, S/S Chelsea and the

S/S Chilbar.

In May of 2004, Bill was then called

upon to serve as General Manager

of our newly added Great Lakes Fleet

of eight bulkers. After eleven success-

ful years in this senior capacity and

working from our Duluth, MN office,

Bill was challenged again and was

asked to manage the newly acquired

crude oil tanker S/S Seakay Spirit

(ex-Kenai) in June of 2015.

With Bill‟s recent retirement dinner on

February 23, we will miss his good humor,

professionalism and his touting of his

grandchildren and beloved New England

Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics! After

recently moving to North Carolina‟s coast,

Bill has also obtained a North Carolina

realtors license, as well as a 39 foot

cruiser, with a recently installed new

engine! After 32 years of friendship and

loyal service with his Keystone family, and

11 previous years of working on the ships,

we all wish Bill, Nancy and their family a

very well deserved and long, happy and

healthy retirement!

Tim O‟Connor and all at Keystone/KeyLakes

Chief Mate Alison Peltier on the CAPE DUCATO wrote, “The Army LOAD EX was a

success. The Army attended the MV Cape Ducato on Thursday, 26 January 2017,

with two platoons who loaded, maneuvered, and lashed their various vehicles on

B- and C-decks. The Army personnel were not familiar with the vessel‟s lashing

gear, so Bosun Terrance Sasnett gave instruction/demonstration on how to properly

lash the vehicles. Overall, the training evolution was beneficial to both Army and

vessel personnel, with experience gained and lessons learned.”

Thank you to the crew of the DUCATO for your support to the 359th Inland Cargo

Transfer Company for these exercises! You take the time out of your day to make

sure these unfamiliar personnel not only have a great training experience, but that

they can complete it safely.

Page 4

TR AIN I NG EX ERC I SE S O N T HE CA P E D’S

Issue 101

A R M Y L OA D E X / C A P E D U C A T O

Bosun Terrance Sasnett providing lashing

instructions to the 395th ICTC

M U L T I - J U R I S D I C T I O N A L F I R E T R A I N I N G E X E R C I S E / C A P E D E C I S I O N

The M/V CAPE DECISION, OIC Chief

Engineer D. Blake, Chief Officer A.

Cunningham and crew facilitated the

final stages of a „crawl-walk-run‟ train-

ing exercise on 7 March 2017. This

training exercise has been ongoing

over the last four months and

culminated in a full scale joint training

drill with the USCG, local police, fire,

and first emergency responders.

Several assets were dispatched to

the vessel including the local sheriff‟s

department patrol boat, Charleston fire

boat, and a ladder truck.

The training successfully reinforced the

complexities of marine fire incidents.

The drill brought to light how harbor

firefighting agencies are distinguisha-

ble from shore based incidents in

areas such as planning, operations and

impact. The proximity of other RRF

vessels, marine terminal facilities,

residential areas, downtown business-

es, recreational and fragile estuarial

areas involved create a myriad of

environmental and economic consid-

erations for these emergency plans.

The drill emphasized that marine

firefighting is unique and that it

requires a specialized knowledge of

vessels, ship‟s personnel, fire safety

systems, and more. The firefighting

forces that participated in this drill

comprised of professionals, volun-

teers, (both full and part time) and

most of those had never been

onboard a large vessel before. The

various backgrounds and unfamiliari-

ty required a great amount of

collaboration from the vessel in

order to ensure vessel familiarity

which will assist for any future

responses in the Charleston Harbor.

The training highlighted that

multi-jurisdiction operations require

in-depth organization, planning,

compatibility, and communication.

Chief Engineer Doug Blake, working with North

Charleston Fire Department, North Charleston Police

Department, and US Coast Guard.

Thank you and well done to the crew of the DECISION for

your laborious effort in this exercise!!

Safety Line

Every year, as the Great Lakes

Fleet begins to fit out for the

next sailing season, a collection

of “safety talkers” are created

and shoreside personnel visit

each vessel. These talkers are

to start the season with safety

at the forefront and to make

sure each vessel is sharing a

consistent message. With all

the work that is put into

breaking out a vessel for the

season, it is important that the

Great Lakes vessels take this

moment to slow down and talk

about the safety of the job at

hand. This year the “safety

talkers” started with discussing

the lost time accidents from the

previous season. This allows

us to openly talk about all the

real accidents that occurred

and to use them as a learning

tool to strive for a zero lost time

accident season. Risk

assessments, job hazard

analysis, crew stop work author-

Page 5

G R E A T L A K E S F I T O U T M E E T I N G S

If you have any suggestions or comments please submit them

to Capt. T. O’Connor

toconnor@keyship.com

Keystone Shipping Co.

TEL : 610-617-6800

1 Bala Plaza East

Suite 600

Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004

ity (SWA), and proper PPE are

always stressed to the vessels in

order to uphold the safety culture

we promote.

After coming back to work this

winter, the Great Lakes crew will

notice that many of their permits,

including Lock-Out/Tag-Out, Hot

Work, and Confined Space Entry,

have been revamped in order to

mirror the Keystone Deep Sea

permits. These changes were

discussed with the crew so all are

aware and understand our efforts

to make a uniform Keystone fleet

especially where

safety is con-

cerned. Another

new feature was

reflective tape for

all crew members‟

newly issued cover-

alls, as well

as hard hats, in

order to be seen

better when

working at night

while on deck or on the pier or in a

cargo tunnel at any time of the

day. Keep working together in

order to prevent injuries and when

a near miss occurs report it! We

need your feedback with causal

factors in order to help others

learn and improve.

K e y s t o n e S n a p s h o t s : F l e e t S e m i n a r

Capt. Rich Laskey, Capt. Abe Grogan,

Capt. Tim Alfson, and C/M Mike Roberg

CE Paul Renaghan, CE David Browning,

CE Lawrence Trace, C/M Alison Peltier,

and CE Tim Weber

2A/E Mark Emond, CE Greg Derry,

Jerry Walls, CE Eric Weise, and

1A/E Stephen Roane

President Don Kurz addressing

the fleet at the Opening Dinner

for the 2017 Fleet Seminar

Safety Line Page 6

USCG Capt. Chris Chase presenting on Vessel Response Plans