Nautilus Telegraph – March 2014

ASIAN ATTACKS: last year saw a 13% increase in the number of robbery and piracy incidents involving ships in SE Asia, according to a new report from the Singapore-based Regional Cooperation Agreement for Combating Armed Robbery and Piracy (ReCAAP). The organisation said a total of 141 incidents and nine thwarted attempts were reported during the year, including 11 piracy incidents and 139 cases of armed robbery against ships, the vast majority of which occurred in ports and anchorages. ‘Incidents involving crew being assaulted, held hostage and threatened were less frequent in 2013 compared to previous years,’ the report added.

PIRACY PROBE: a team from Interpol was called in last month to help investigate an incident involving the Liberian-fl agged product tanker Kerala off the coast of Angola. The multinational Interpol-led incident response team was called in by Liberia, in cooperation with the vessel’s owners, to following claims that the hijacking of the 74,998dwt vessel had been a hoax. The fl ag state said that while the investigations were continuing last month, it was already convinced that the vessel had been hijacked by pirates.

DILIGENT EXERCISE: the Royal Fleet Auxiliary forward repair ship Diligence has taken part in a multinational exercise to test methods of protecting merchant shipping from the threat of piracy or terrorist attacks. The ship was part of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) Exercise Falcon Defender in the central Gulf, in which ships and aircraft practiced essential escorting operations for ships carrying valuable cargoes.

FISHY STORY: authorities in Chicago are considering blocking the US city’s canal system to stop giant fi sh infesting entering North America’s Great Lakes and have warned that some measures may impact on European shipping. They want to stop the spread of Asian Carp, originally introduced to southern US states more than three decades ago to control algal build-up in sewage treatment plants.

GERMAN PROTEST: the German seafaring union Verdi has warned that a national agreement between government and the maritime sector could fall apart if companies continue to fl ag out and make German seafarers redundant.

PILOTS WARN: the UK airline pilots’ union BALPA has warned that a Civil Aviation Authority review of North Sea helicopter operations is ‘too little, too late’ for off shore workers. The review is being undertaken jointly with the Norwegian CAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency, advised by a panel of experts, and will examine current operations, previous incidents and experience in other countries before making recommendations aimed at improving safety. But BALPA said it was not convinced the review would look at ‘the totality of the commercial cut-throat business that is the North Sea, and not just the helicopter operation’ and repeated its call for an independent review along the lines of the Piper Alpha inquiry led by Lord Cullen.

FATAL FALL:a seafarer died after falling from the Norwegian-fl agged supply ship Viking Athene in the North Sea last month. Rescue boats were launched by the 2,469gt vessel and sistership Viking Lady after the man was spotted in the water near the Leiv Eriksson rig some 200km NE of Stavnager, but he was confi rmed dead after being recovered from the sea.

SWIRE ADDITION: the ST Marine Shipyard in Singapore has launched Swire Pacifi c Off shore’s seventh D-Class AHTS vessel, Pacifi c Dispatch. The vessel is due to be delivered in the middle of the year and Swire Pacific expects to have 100 vessels in its fl eet by the end of 2015, including eight D-Class AHTS vessels.

US WARNED: the decline in the number of US merchant seafarers threatens to jeopardise the country’s economic and defence strategies, a new report has warned. The Government Accountability Offi ce study said shortfalls in the supply of US seafarers could set back a 30-year policy goal to signifi cantly increase the amount of trade carried by US-fl agged ships. It expresses concern over the lack of reliable data on the US maritime workforce and calls for a strategy to identify problems in ensuring the supply of seafarers to meet industry needs.

CONTAINERSHIP CLAIM: the Japanese owner Mitsui OSK Lines has started legal proceedings against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for damages relating to the break-up and sinking of the containership MOL Comfort in the Indian Ocean last year. MOL is seeking compensation for having to strengthen the hulls of the MOL Comfort’s six sisterships after investigations revealed ‘buckling-type’ deformations in the area where the hull fracture originated.

FRENCH DOWNGRADE: France is to downgrade its participation in the European Union’s Operation Atalanta counter-piracy force in response to the reduction in attacks off Somalia. Defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told parliament that the move should save around €10m a year and will help to strengthen protection for shipping in the Gulf of Guinea.

CAPTAIN JAILED: the commanding offi cer of a French navy frigate has been jailed for 12 months and fi ned €10,000 for harassing an offi cer who committed suicide onboard the ship in June 2010. Witnesses told the court that there had been ‘an atrocious atmosphere’ onboard the vessel, La Fayette, while under the command of Captain Éric Delepoulle.

 GUARDS DEBATE: a long-awaited plan to allow armed guards to be deployed on French-fl agged ships is set to be debated in parliament in April. The seafarers’ union CGT said it would prefer to have military personnel than private security teams on merchant ships and has stressed the need for shipmasters to have the ultimate authority on their deployment.

TANKER DIVERTED: a Turkish-fl agged products tanker was ordered to divert to the French port of Dunkirk last month after it was alleged to have been spotted causing pollution off the port of Le Havre. The Deniz-S was escorted into port by a customs vessel to enable inspections and investigations to be carried out.

UASC ORDER: the United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) has exercised options for six 14,000TEU vessels to be built at the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) yard in South Korea. The orders mean UASC now has 16 ships worth more than $2bn being built, with deliveries due from late 2014 to the fi rst half of 2015.

PORT PROTEST: the biggest French oil port, Fos-Lavera near Marseilles, was closed by a 24-hour strike called by the CGT union last month. The strike was the second within a fortnight and was staged to protest about proposed reforms to port services.

LIMBURG CHARGES: the Pentagon has announced that it is bringing charges against a Saudi national suspected of planning the attack on the French-owned tanker Limburg off Aden in 2002. Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al-Darbi will be tried by a special US military court after being accused of planning, aiding and carrying out the attack in which a Bulgarian seafarer was killed and 12 other crew members wounded. The damage to the tanker was estimated at around US$45m.

MERGER PLANS: the German containership company Hapag-Lloyd and the 140-year-old Chilean operator CSAV have announced plans to merge. The two fi rms have signed a memorandum of understanding which could lead to the creation of the world’s fourth largest box operator, carrying almost 7.5m TEU a year.

TRAINING REVIVAL: a new facility to train merchant seafarers has opened in the Sri Lankan port of Trincomalee. Based at the Naval & Maritime Academy, the centre will end a 30-year gap in seafarer training in Sri Lanka and will help former naval personnel to retrain for careers in merchant shipping.

SOMALIA SERVICE: the French container shipping company CMA CGM has launched a new service between the Middle East and Somalia. It is using the Panamanian-fl agged vessel CMA CGM Kailas to run the route, which links the Somali port of Mogadishu with Jebel Ali, Khor Fakkan, and Salalah.

TUG ‘FAILED’: the French ecological association Robin des Bois has called for checks to be carried out on a Greek tug which, it claims, failed to provide proper support for the stricken Dutch cargoship Victoriaborg after it suff ered problems in heavy weather off the French coast in January.

BILBAO BOOST: the Dutch multi-purpose ro-ro operator Transfennica has increased capacity on its Zeebrugge-Bilbao route with the 24,688gt sisterships Stena Forerunner and Forecaster, running two sailings a week in each direction.

TWELVE DIE: twelve Indian seafarers died last month after a Yemeni-owned general cargoship carrying car tyres and parts sank off the coast of Yemen during a voyage from the United Arab Emirates to the Yemeni port of Al Mukalla.

ADRIATIC ADDITION: Italian ferry operator Grimaldi has launched a new twice-weekly service linking Ravenna and the Greek ports of Igoumenitsa and Patras using the 32,682gt ro-pax Euroferry Olympia.

SENEGAL TRAINS: Senegal’s national offi certraining academy (ENFM) has taken on 140 cadets this year, with an intake drawn from counties including the Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau.

TANKER BLAST: seven workers were feared dead after an Indian oil tanker exploded at a repair yard in China’s Zhejiang province last month.

From Don Skinner in Wellington, NZ concerning the RINA wreck.

The bridge structure was lifted off the sea bed the day before yesterday, stated to be 1300 tonnes, and landed onto a barge. They are continuing to cut up the remaining debris. Our opinion as to the government agreeing to allow the remaining parts to remain may have to be reviewed in view of the PM announcing that the general election will be held 20th September. The Green Party has become a minor/major consideration on the political scene and the permission to leave the remains in situ would be grist to their mill.

Concerns on cuts at MCA

Concerns have been renewed over the Maritime & Coastguard Agency’s staffing and resources during a meeting with chief executive Sir Alan Massey.

Particular concern has been raised over the impact of public spending cuts on the MCA and shortfalls in surveyor numbers, with evidence that as many as 23% of surveyor posts are currently unfi lled. The Union is concerned that tough public sector pay policies are causing increasing problems in the recruitment and retention of professional staff.

Issue has been taken with the idea of turning the register into just another one that competes for business in the global market by offering adherence to minimum standards and adopting international conventions to undermine national regulations. A dossier of cases was presented to the Minster involving cadet members having negative experiences during their training — especially during seatime on UK-flagged ships with no British officers onboard.

‘While the majority of cadets do have a good experience, these cases show that a signifi cant proportion have some serious problems and this can damage retention,’ Mr Dickinson pointed out.

‘Sir Alan promised to look into this and to consider the potential for targeted audits of relevant training providers to ensure that the principles of the marine guidance note are followed.

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During the discussions with the MCA chief executive, Nautilus also raised the long-standing concern over the large numbers of CECs being issues to allow foreign offi cers to serve on UK-registered ships. ‘Not only do we consider that this has a negative impact on the recruitment and employment of British seafarers, but also we believe that it is important for the MCA to take into account the fi ndings of the European Maritime Safety Agency review of training and certifi cation in the Philippines,’ Mr Dickinson added.

‘This was a very useful and constructive meeting, which we are going to follow up on a regular basis,’ he said.

Derbyshire families launch new drive to cut bulk carrier deaths

Relatives of the seafarers who lost their lives when the bulk carrier Derbyshire sank in the South China Sea in 1980 have launched a new charity to campaign for safer ships.

Formally launched at the Merseyside Maritime Museum last month, the MV Derbyshire Trust Fund has been created to help prevent loss of life at sea — and to step up the pressure for further measures to reduce bulk carrier losses.

Founding members including chairman Paul Lambert, secretary Captain Dave Ramwell and treasurer Rev Peter McGrath told the launch event that while improvements in construction and inspection have been made since the Derbyshire sank with the loss of 44 lives, more work is required. In the 15 years to 2004, there were 869 deaths in 173 bulker sinkings, they pointed out, and in the past decade, statistics show that 192 seafarers have died in 66 losses — with cargo liquefaction being a major problem.

Mr Lambert, whose brother Peter was among the Derbyshire victims, said the Trust wants to make sure safety rules are updated so bulk carriers do not ‘return to the days of being called coffi n ships’.

Seventeen people from the Liverpool area were onboard the Derbyshire when it sank. Merseyside Maritime Museum has a close relationship with the Derbyshire families and opened a permanent display dedicated to the disaster in 2012.

Inspectors’ concern at propulsion and auxiliary machinery defects

Port state control authorities have warned over the poor condition of propulsion and auxiliary machinery on many ageing vessels.

They have urged owners to do more to maintain standards in response to the preliminary results of a three-month concentrated inspection programme carried out late last year.

The campaign was developed in response to inspection data showing that propulsion and auxiliary machinery defi ciencies in previous years accounted for an average of around 7% of all detentions within the European and SE Asian port state control regions.

Special checks were carried out on more than 4,000 ships during the campaign and 68 vessels were detained as a direct result of the programme.

More than half of the detained ships were over 20 years old and some 50% were general cargo/ multipurpose ships, 13% were bulk carriers and 13% were containerships.

Analysis revealed that most of the defi ciencies related to main engine propulsion (20%), cleanliness of the engineroom (18%), emergency source of power/emergency generator (12%) and emergency lighting, batteries and switches (12%).

‘This outcome illustrates that wear and tear of propulsion and auxiliary machinery remains an issue which should be adequately addressed by shipowners,’ said Paris MOU secretary general Richard Schiferli.

RNLI reports a record number of launches

RNLI lifeboats launched more than 8,300 times around the UK coast last year — with 50% of call-outs to assist people out on the water for fun.

The life-saving charity said the overall number of lifeboat launches in 2013 was broadly in line with the previous year — 8,304 times compared with 8,346 times in 2012.

The volunteer crews launched 3,069 times into darkness and 124 times into winds above a Force 7 and rescued a total of 8,384 people.

The biggest cause of call-out for the RNLI was machinery failure, with lifeboats launching 1,596 times to boats with mechanical problems.

Launches to commercial shipping or MoD vessels accounted for 270 callouts, while 517 were made to fi shing vessels.

Operations director George Rawlinson commented: ‘It’s been another challenging year for the RNLI and the fi gures show that our dedicated volunteer crew, lifeguards and fl ood rescue teams are ready to save lives whatever the weather throws at them.’

Cruiseship damaged after bollards failed

Corroded bollards have been blamed for a fatal accident which resulted in US$2.9m worth of damage when a Carnival cruiseship broke free from its moorings and drifted across a dock last year.

The 101,509gt Carnival Triumph was undergoing repairs at the BAE Systems shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, when successive mooring bollards failed under pressure caused by winds gusting at up to 65mph.

The ship — which had lost all connections with the shore, including electrical power — drifted across the Mobile River, colliding with a dredger and damaging a tug that had gone to its aid. One shipyard worker was killed when a section of a pier collapsed during the incident.

A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation determined that substandard mooring bollards were to blame for the incident. It said an engineering assessment carried out for the shipyard in 2010 had identifi ed serious shortcomings in the condition of the mooring hardware.  However, the report notes, the company did not act on recommendations to conduct further checks on the mooring capacity in heavy weather conditions.

BAE Systems responded to the NTSB report by challenging the conclusions and stating that further ‘metallurgical and meteorological assessments’ of the bollards would show that ‘the sequence of events and the actual cause of the breakaway are diff erent than the conclusions the NTSB reached with its limited investigation’.

Seafarers warned over anchoring near cables

Seafarers have been warned against anchoring near power and communications cables following a court case in New Zealand.

Ship master Colin Cooper was fi ned NZ$4,000 (€2,434) for anchoring his vessel in the Cook Strait Cable Protection Zone (CPZ) — an off ence which carries a maximum fi ne of NZ$25,000 and potential forfeiture of the off ending vessel.

The cables form part of the inter-island link which transfers power between the North and South Island, and the Transpower company warned that damage can put the security of the country’s energy supplies at risk.

Transpower communications manager Rebecca Wilson said there had been previous incidents where trawling equipment, other fi shing gear and anchors have caught on the undersea cables and these had caused damage costing up to $60m to repair.

(With thanks to the Nautilus Telegraph:  www.nautilusint.org)

As appeared in Flashlight March 2014, Edition 137