ECM offers National Pollution Discharge Elimination System/Vessel General Permit (NPDES/VGP) training

ECM will provide a 4 hour (1/2 day) training course to assist our clients in meeting the VGP requirements of having QUALIFIED personnel (your personnel) conduct annual vessel inspections/audits of NPDES weekly checklists, non-conformities, reporting, etc.

The training will take place in Europe on 14th October 2011  in Hamburg, Germany at Steigenberger Hotel.

The training agenda for each session above is as follows:

• NPDES/VGP/NOI Introduction and Summary
• Review of Specific Waste Requirements
• NPDES Weekly Checklist, Nonconformities, etc.
• NPDES Annually Required Inspection/Checklists
• USCG/EPA enforcement procedures
• Lunch/Dinner (as applicable)

As noted above, lunch/dinner is included with each training session as well.

The fee for this training is $500 USD per registrant. As with the SMT TTX registration process, registration
is available on the ECM website or just contact Alina Zawadzka at ECM Europe at  info@ecmeurope.net

if you are NOT ECM client please contact Bruno Di Lascio at bruno.dilascio@ecmeurope.net

Please let us know should you have any questions about the NPDES training or registration process.

We are looking forward to meeting you in October!

ECM have announced SMT/TTX in Europe on October, open to ECM Clients, and would like to remember its clients to attend the exercises as schedule herewith below.

This exercise program will provide exercise requirements for all plan holders including compliance with California (CA) Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) drill/exercise regulations. They are the most cost-effective means of meeting your exercise requirements. ECM’ s goal for exercises is to try and focus on the issues that are of consequence to the ship owner/operator/manager and where the ship owner/operator/manager will have the most involvement regarding the response.

The SMT/TTX Agenda for all European Locations can be found at the bottom of the page.

While ECM must develop and implement an exercise on your behalf that will meet all objectives of the National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (NPREP) and applicable CA OSPR requirements, ECM will orient as many aspects of the scenario to those issues that will be of special interest to its clients.

As always, we look forward to visiting with you again at one of these scheduled exercises. In order to register for an exercise please send a mail at  info@ecmeurope.net .

We are looking forward to meeting you in October!

Source and Further reading:

• Download the SMT/TTX Agenda for all European Locations
• Regulatory Reference : 33 CFR 1060 Exercise, NVIC 01.05 Ch.1
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
• PREP guidelines

ECM Maritime Services LLC, a leading U.S. regulatory compliance firm and PL Ferrari & Co., prominent P&I Insurance Brokers are pleased to announce the scheduling of a one-day seminar in Europe this summer, with participation of  The Standard P&I Club and Chalos, O’Connor and Duffy, LLP.

Background

Since 2002 ECM Maritime Services, LLC (ECM) has been involved in a variety of  roles under Environmental Compliance Plans (ECPs) imposed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on vessel operators for APPS/MARPOL violations.

ECM have and continue to act in the capacity of External Audit Group (EAG), Court Appointed Monitor (CAM) or Third Party Auditor (TPA), under appointment by the DOJ to monitor and enforce ECP requirements.  In doing so, ECM  conduct audits, inspections and training all over the world, required making  objective reports of nonconformities, observations and recommendations for corrective/preventive action to all parties.

While the steps taken by the US Coast Guard and DOJ in investigating and prosecuting crimes are fairly well known to industry, what follows after a conviction or Plea Agreement is not. With this in mind, ECM Maritime Services LLC, ECM Europe Srl and PL Ferrari Srl are pleased to announce the scheduling of a one-day seminar this June, which will also incorporate presentations from Michael G. Chalos, partner in Chalos, O’Connor and Duffy, LLP, a leading US-based law firm with considerable experience in handling APPS/MARPOL cases.  Additionally, the P&I Club perspective will be presented by David Roberts, Syndicate Director at Charles Taylor & Co. and manager for The Standard P&I Club.

Overview

Chalos, O’Connor & Duffy, LLP will cover the chronology of events that usually give rise to a MARPOL/APPS prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), as well as the Plea Agreement and Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP) that typically follow such a prosecution.

ECM Maritime Services, LLC will describe the framework of a typical ECP and its implementation. The primary intention is to shed light on the substantial efforts a Defendant ship operator is required to make (and expense incurred), in complying with such an ECP.

The Standard P&I Club will shed light on the background to US handling of accidental and deliberate pollution, as well as the extent of Club involvement during a criminal APPS/MARPOL investigation.

Who should attend

PL Ferrari’s and ECM Clients:  Managing Directors, General Managers, Marine Managers, Designated Persons and/or Environmental Managers are some of the key positions we recommend to attend this event.

Speakers will include:

• Michael F. Minogue and Nishit Kapoor are respectively the CEO and Sr. Vice President of ECM Maritime Services, LLC, based at their Corporate Headquarters in Norwalk, Conn. Together, they have directly handled over a dozen Plea Agreement/ECP cases in each one of the three independent capacities : External Audit Group (EAG), Court Appointed Monitor (CAM) and Third Party Auditor (TPA).
• Michael G. Chalos is a Lawyer and senior partner of the firm specializing in maritime and environmental. Mr. Chalos has represented a number of clients involved in high profile civil and criminal environmental litigation, including a numerous United States and foreign based corporations, shipowners, managers and crewmember who were the subjects of criminal investigation by the United States Government;
• David Roberts is the Syndicate Director at Charles Taylor & Co. Limited and manager for the Standard P&I Club. Charl Taylor Consulting is a leading global provider of management and consultancy services to insurers and insureds across a wide spectrum of industries and activities.

Why to attend ?

This seminar is the first in a series of such engagements planned in Europe this year, by ECM. On a related note,  ECM continues to conduct gap analyses (audits) of Environmental Management Systems’ (EMS) for various shipping companies, which are evaluated against the requirements of the DoJ’s Environmental Compliance Plans (ECPs). This provides important guidance in streamlining their own EMS to meet the additional demands of an ECP, as well as meeting the requirements for an existing EMS to qualify under the US Coast Guard’s Voluntary Disclosure Policy for environmental violations.

This event will serve as an additional tool for ECM and PL Ferrari’s clients to protect to the maximum possible extent their assets against violation of environmental requirements by ship, office and shipboard personnel. Since ECP ensures the company’s compliance with environmental laws and regulations, thus avoiding, to the maximum extent possible, requests for criminal prosecution by USCG, we believe that ECP adoption on voluntary basis will Improve financial, legal and marketing benefits for shareholders and fleet managers.

Seminar Location

PL Ferrari S.rl.

5, Via S. Bartolomeo Degli Armeni

16122, Genova (GE)

Registration

All ECM Clients who wish to attend the conference must be registered by confirming thier attendace by e-mail to bruno.dilascio@ecmeurope.net.

Please note that formal registration and confirmation thereof only takes place after the registration is received in writing. To guarantee the high level and quality at our events, delegate seats are limited.  Secure your place at this conference as soon as possible.

Affiliated Hotels

Please note that the organisers have negotiated special rates for accommodation at various Hotels.
The special rates were reserved by PL Ferrari.

The rate is intendent per room per person per night, breakfast and taxes included.

BENTLEY

• Double Room for one person: 120,00 Euro

NH PLAZA

• Single room  Standard: 108,00 Euro
• Double room Standard: 118,00 Euro

Contact information

For more information on such environmental seminars and/or gap analyses, please contact Bruno Di Lascio at bruno.dilascio@ecmeurope.net and or Massimiliano Villa at massimiliano.villa@plferrari.com.

Further Reading:

Download USCG Voluntary Disclosure Policy