Excerpts from Flashlight – March 2015 Edition no. 149

MASTER JAILED: the captain of a passenger ferry has been convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years in jail for his role in a fatal collision in Hong Kong in 2012. Captain Lai Sai-ming was convicted on 39 counts of manslaughter and for endangering the safety of others at sea when his vessel, Sea Smooth, struck another passengership. The master of the other vessel was acquitted of manslaughter charges but was sentenced to nine months in jail after being found guilty of endangering the safety of others at sea.

DP WORRIES: Nautilus has raised concerns with the Nautical Institute after members reported problems with the Institute’s revalidation process for DP certifi cates. The Union has been given clarifi cations about the system and has been assured that steps are being taken to resolve the diffi culties. Members are advised to contact the Nautilus professional and technical department if the problems do persist.

CO-OP CHALLENGE: SCOP, the workers’ cooperative crewing the ships in the MyFerryLink service, has won appeal court permission to challenge the Competition & Market Authority’s decision to ban the company from operating on the Dover-Calais route. The co-op says it is also seeking to make a bid to buy the company, which has been put up for sale by Eurotunnel following the CMA decision.

GROUNDING ALERT: tugs, lifeboats and pollution prevention teams were called out last month after a 7,409gt cargoship ran aground off the coast of Scotland. The UK-fl agged Lysblink Seaways ran onto rocks near Ardnamurchan Point at around 0200hrs during a voyage from Belfast to Skogn in Norway with a cargo of paper. Nine crew were onboard at the time of the incident, and no injuries were reported.

TUG APPEAL: Nautilus members have been asked to help ‘crowdfund’ the £12,000 costs of the ‘little ship’ steam tug Challenge to participate in the events to mark the 75th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation. The appeal is being organised by retired Nautilus member and former chief engineer John Trute. Check out the crowdfunder.co.uk website, under the project name Dunkirk 75.

CAPTAIN FINED: the Taiwanese master of a bulk carrier was fi ned A$8,500 (€5,823) last month for attempting to navigate the Great Barrier Reef without a pilot. Captain Lu Chih-Ming was prosecuted after his ship, the 154,191dwt China Steel Developer, was spotted by vessel traffi c services in the compulsory pilotage area of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

STENA SCRUBBERS: the Stena Line ferries Stena Transit and Stena Transporter are set to become the fi rst ships to be retrofi tted with a new Wärtsilä in-line closed loop gas scrubber system. The ships, which operate between Hoek van Holland in the Netherlands and Killingholme in the UK, will be retrofi tted between the fourth quarter of 2015 and the fi rst quarter of 2016.

CAMMELL CONTRACT: the Birkenhead-based Cammell Laird shipyard has secured a £5.7m newbuild ferry contract with the Northern Ireland Executive. The yard will build a new passenger ferry to replace the existing vessel operating between Strangford and Portaferry in County Down, Northern Ireland, with delivery due by August 2016.

INDIAN ARREST: a Russian cargoship was arrested by India’s coast guard following an 11-hour sea chase after it defi ed an arrest order last month. The 6,714gt Sevastopol was seized more than 200km off the Indian coast after leaving an anchorage off Mumbai, where it had been under arrest in a commercial dispute with NTC Logistics.

BASEL SHOW: an innovative exhibition is being staged at the Museum Kleines Klingental on the banks of the Rhine in Basel, using packaging cases to display information about the area’s biggest industries – including the inland navigation sector.

SAFETY FINE: an off shore services company has been fi ned £100,000 for serious safety failings following an incident in which a worker died after falling 23m from a platform into the North Sea in 2011. In a hearing at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, Bilfi nger Salamis UK admitted breaching the Work at Height Regulations after a Health & Safety Executive investigation showed that a lack of proper planning and a failure to follow procedures.

BRENT CLOSURE: Royal Dutch Shell has tabled plans to begin decommissioning of its Brent fi eld platforms and associated infrastructure, which have produced 10% of UKCS oil and gas since 1976. The company has begun a consultation on the fi rst stage of removing the Brent Delta topside structure.

VIKING CLOSURE: Danish operator Viking Supply Ships has announced the closure of its Aberdeen offi ce, with eff ect from July this year. The company said the decision had been taken to save costs and remain competitive in the face of the weak market for PSVs.

FARSTAD CALL: members serving with Farstad Singapore have been asked to submit their views on what they would like to see in the forthcoming pay and conditions claim. Feedback is required by 2 March to enable the claim to be formulated.

DOLPHIN CODE: vessels operating in and out of the port of Aberdeen have been issued with a new code of practice which seeks to protect bottlenose dolphins in the area.

US VICTORY: US maritime unions have claimed a fresh victory in the long-running fi ght to defend legislation protecting US-fl agged shipping and US seafaring jobs. They welcomed a Senate decision last month not to vote on an amendment tabled by former presidential hopeful Senator John McCain seeking to end the Jones Act requirement for ships operating between US ports to be built in the country. US unions have also welcomed the government’s approval of a $186m support package for the Maritime Security Programme.

MOBY MONOPOLY: Italy’s UILtrasporti transport union has urged the country’s government and competition authorities to investigate the proposed acquisition by the ferry fi rm Moby Lines of the privatised former state-owned operator Tirrenia. The union is concerned that the deal would mean all the lifeline services between the mainland and the Italian islands — which attract £72m of state aid each year — will be put into the hands of a private monopoly.

GALAPAGOS GROUNDING: Galapagos Islands authorities have decided to scuttle a general cargoship which ran aground in the environmentally-sensitive area last month. The 2,658dwt Floreana grounded off Baquerizo Moreno while carrying provisions from the island of San Cristobal to Puerto Ayora. Salvors removed about 13,000 gallons of fuel from the ship, as well as 1,400 tons of cargo, and decided to sink the wreck off the Galapagos Marine Reserve.

DRINK DEATHS: bootleg alcohol has been blamed for the deaths of three seafarers — thought to be Russian nationals — from a Liberian-registered bulk carrier docked in Indonesia. Emergency services were sent to the 45,292dwt Amber Halo at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok port when the ship’s master raised the alarm, but they were unable to save the men.

PIRATES JAILED: six Somali pirates have each been sentenced to 16 years in jail for the attempted seizure of a Spanish fi shing vessel in 2012. Spain’s National Court found the men — who had been caught after attacking the 4,089gt vessel Izurdia — guilty of piracy and being members of a criminal gang.

OILY WELCOME: the French shipowners’ association, AdF, has described the recent fall in oil prices as ‘very good news’ for the industry. General secretary Eric Banel said the lower costs of bunkers would serve as a boost to the owners of ships aff ected by the new sulphur emission rules.

CANAL PLAN: the French government is to seek European Union subsidies to support the €500m costs of constructing the 107km Seine-North Europe canal project to connect the ports of Dunkirk, Le Havre, and Rouen with Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Zeebrugge.

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

A professional association may also be called a professional body, professional institute, professional organisation, or professional society,. These are usually non-profit organisations seeking to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession and in the public interest.

The roles of these professional associations have been variously defined as:

• A group of people in a learned occupation who are entrusted with maintaining control or oversight of the legitimate practice of the occupation.
• A body acting to safeguard the public interest.
• Bodies which represent the interest of its professional practitioners,
• Bodies which act to maintain their own privileged and powerful position as a controlling body.

Such bodies generally strive to achieve a balance between the welfare of the public and the interests of their members which are often conflicting mandates. Though professional bodies often act to protect the public by maintaining and enforcing standards of training and ethics in their profession, they often also act like a cartel for the members of the profession

There are several professional organisations associated with the marine surveying profession. Whilst there may be local and national associations, the main international organisations include:

• Association of Naval Architects & Marine Engineers Experts in Maritime Casualties, Italy, (AIPAM).
• Australasian Institute of Marine Surveyors (AIMS), Australia.
• Dutch Institute of Registered Surveyors, Netherlands (NIVRE).
• Hellenic Marine Technical Consultants Association, Greece (HMTCA).
• International Institute of Marine Surveying (IIMS), United Kingdom.
• National Association of Marine Surveyors (NAMSGlobal) USA.
• Scandinavian Independent Marine Surveyors Association (SIMSA) Sweden.
• Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors (SAMS) USA.
• Society of Consulting Marine Engineers and Surveyors (SCMS) United Kingdom.
• Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) USA.
• The Association of Certified Marine Surveyors (ACMS) USA.
• The Association of Marine Surveyors of British Columbia (AMSBC), Canada.
• The British Association of Cargo Surveyors.
• The Federation of European Maritime Associations of Surveyors and Consultants (FEMAS)
• Union Professionnelle des Experts Maritimes, France (UPEM).
• Verband Deutscher Shiffahrtssachverstandiger, Germany (VDSS).

The two main associations associated with ship’s navigating and engineer officers whilst keeping a watching brief on marine surveyors, are:

• The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) United Kingdom.
• The Nautical Institute (NI) United Kingdom.

The above two are seen as the professional organisations for marine engineers and deck officers respectively. These tend to have limited coverage for marine surveyors but circulate important technical information of use to our profession.

Each of the listed organisations above have different membership requirements and varying membership fees. Contact details and this information for the above may be obtained from the internet.

There are three other associations listed:

• Belgian Association of Marine technical Surveyors, Belgium (BAMTES).
• Japan Marine Surveys Association (JAMSA), Japan.
• Society of Accredited Maritime Professionals (SAMP), Australia.

However, no information is currently available on these organisations.

A new organisation, The International Association of Marine Warranty Surveyors was launched on 30 April 2013, to formalise the qualifications and experience of marine warranty surveyors.

So what would you expect as a member of such a professional organisation?  The following suggestions are intended to help the reader in selecting an appropriate society.

A prominent organisation

Members need their organisation to be prominent in the marine insurance market so that the members will be sought out by the clients to carry out appropriate assignments. Clients should also be able to find surveyors and surveying companies easily. All of the above organisations have web pages, some having a surveyor database with search options relating to different locations and surveying disciplines. NAMSGlobal has carried out research in the US and found that the clients prefer to have a handbook on their desks to which they can refer rather than a computer screen.

Regular dissemination of information

The membership of such societies should be kept informed of events, conferences, courses and management of the organisation. This can be achieved by regular newsletters, nowadays emailed to members or posted on the organisation’s web page. Such publications should include articles on technology used within the profession together with open discussion of issues affecting the organisation.

Continuing professional development (CPD) provisions.

Continuing professional development (CPD) is one of the means by which people maintain their knowledge and skills related to their professional lives. CPD obligations are common to most professions. Many professions define CPD as a structured approach to learning to help ensure competence to practice, taking in knowledge, skills and practical experience. CPD can involve any relevant learning activity, whether formal and structured or informal and self-directed.

Most of the above organisations have some form of CPD requirement. This can be achieved by means of:

• Attending seminars and courses.
• Organising seminars and courses.
• Attending relevant conferences.
• Giving a presentation at a conference
• Writing articles for marine related publications.
• Where it is not possible to do any of the above, supplying several reports on relevant topics.
• Working on the organisations board or subcommittees.

Client appreciation of the membership.

Clients will appreciate the professionalism of an organisation’s membership only if the organisation itself has credibility and its members are of a sufficiently high standing. This is a form of ‘chicken and egg’ situation, ie, which comes first, the organisation or the members of sufficient standing?

In the opinion of the author, some marine surveying organisations do little for their membership except for being a club for its members giving the impression of highly qualified surveyors

Information database

Professional organisations should have a members’ database containing all relevant information when clients need to locate a suitable surveyor. This should preferably available on the internet for easy access although some clients still prefer a printed booklet.

Professional indemnity insurance

Some areas of marine surveying have a higher proliferation of surveyors being sued for negligence, particularly yachts and pleasure craft. Some of the professional organisations require that surveyors in the former areas have professional indemnity insurance (PI) to be members of their organisations.

Several insurers offer PI at varying rates with different extents of cover. Some of the professional organisations offer a form of PI to ensure that all members are covered.

Personal injury insurance

Marine surveying can be a dangerous occupation with a high risk of death or personal injury. Most surveyors carry their own personal injury insurance which can be very expensive. Using the strength of numbers, marine surveyors’ professional organisations would do well to negotiate with insurance providers to supply this form of insurance at competitive prices.

The same applies to personal effects insurance. Much of the equipment carried by surveyors is expensive and costly to replace, both in terms of replacement value and downtime.

Mediation services

Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution technique, often used before the parties go to court to see if the issues can be settled before costly litigation.  Mediators are trained to deal with disputes between parties and, unlike litigation or arbitration, the settlement is compulsory on the parties.

Most experienced surveyors are advised to settle any disputes with clients as soon as possible and not to go to costly litigation. This they often do upon the recommendation of others.  However, disputes between marine survey companies tend to last longer and fester causing ill feeling in the marine survey community.

We are not currently aware of any of the professional marine surveying organisations offering any mediation service in the event of disputes between members’ companies or between members and their Clients.  In fact, the members of a disciplinary committee may be biased towards one or other of the companies involved due to commercial relationships, etc.

Expert witness training

Expert witness work is seen as having the highest standing for marine surveyors who may then be classed as marine consultants. Whilst there are several organisations which offer expert witness training, we are unaware of any of the professional marine surveying organisations offering a type specific ervice to their members.

Expert witness list

Lawyers often seek out those with skills who may be considered as expert witnesses. For this reason it is important that professional organisations list those with these skills on their web site.

The board

It is a fact that there will be personal prejudices in all aspects of life.  This is not unusual in the ranks of marine surveyors and particularly those members of a professional association where there may also be personal and commercial sensitivities involved.  Whilst it would make sense to have a completely independent board of directors, they would not gain the respect of the membership if they had not served as marine surveyors for some years.

What do you think?  Have we missed any services which should be provided?  What are your experiences of professional associations?

Research was carried out into the different associations and the services offered.  In the book, below the above assessment, is a table giving the associations listed above scored against the above services.  The results are interesting and eye opening.  To see the results you will need to buy the book!

www.petrospot.com/books

Mike Wall
**  Technical  **

The pros and cons of multi echo thickness measurement.

There are two types of thickness gauges. First back wall echo and Multi Echo.

The first back wall echo type sends a pulse of sound out from the sensor which travels to the back wall of the steel, bounces off and comes back into the sensor.

The total time of the round-trip of the sound pulse is measured, a few microseconds, and knowing the speed of sound in steel it is able to tell you the thickness of the steel. Even if the back of the steel is very rusty and therefore forms a very uneven surface, there still is enough signal from the first echo coming back to be able to give a reading.

If the steel is covered in paint or any other form of coating then the sound will have to travel through this on the way out and on the way back. This will cause a small error in the reading depending on the relative thickness of the coating to the thickness of the steel. 1 mm of coating on 10 mm of steel will give you an overestimation of the thickness of the steel by 24%*.

In an effort to overcome this problem of an error when reading through paint, in the 1940s a method was discovered utilising the multiple echoes returning to the sensor from successive reflections within the steel. The time was measured between the second and third echo and this represents the thickness of the steel only and ignores the thickness of the coating.

This was a big breakthrough and remove the necessity removing the coating before taking a measurement.

However there is one large problem and that is on rusty metal it is very difficult to get more than one echo back;  from a rough surface it’s a bit like trying to get an echo in a thickly upholstered living room as opposed to getting an echo in a bathroom.

The effect of not getting a second and third echo is that the thickness gauge will simply show  – – –.

Getting a first back wall echo from rusty steel is bad enough, as for getting a second and third echo there is very little chance.

Consequently the only time that the thickness gauge will show a reading is when the back of the steel is not very rusty. The worst parts of the steel are therefore not recorded. In the trade a multi echo thickness gauge is called a “good news gauge” because it will not show the real state of affairs and only give you good news: ideal if you’re selling a ship but not so good if you are buying a ship.

In summing up then a standard first back wall echo thickness gauge is more reliable in telling you the true thickness of  steel with rust on the back, all be it with an error if there is paint on the steel. For more accuracy the paint can be removed in places where the steel seems unduly thin. ( note; if a coating thickness gauge ( our Touchstone 2 ) is used to ascertain the thickness of the coating then with a little arithmetic the thickness of the steel can be worked out without removing the coating).

* taking a typical value of the speed of sound in paint as 2400 metres per second and the speed of sound in steel as 5920 metres per second.

Ken Hawes Bsc ( Hons )

Technical Director, Class Instrumentation

**  Cargo  **

Containers must be weighed before being carried by sea

IMO has decided to make it mandatory to weigh loaded containers before they are transported by sea. This will enhance safety and prevent pollution of the marine environment.

In the future, loaded containers must not be taken on board a ship until their weight has been determined. This was decided by the IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) at last week’s meeting. The correct weight – the so-called verified weight – can be determined in two ways. You can either weigh the loaded container at an approved weighing station or you can ensure that the individual items in the container are weighed and added to the container’s net weight.

Weight is of importance to safety

Denmark has been one of the initiators of the new stricter requirements on the weighing of containers and has persistently maintained that mandatory regulations should be introduced for reasons of safety.

Since the freight rate depends on the weight, it has not been easy to get the provisions in place. But now there is a general understanding that incorrect data may result in container stacks collapsing, containers falling over board and ship accidents as a consequence of overloaded ships. The fact that container ships are becoming larger and larger has contributed to an improved understanding of the problems.

The new international regulations take effect on 1 June 2016.

Among other especially interesting items on the agenda were the following:

• Approval of the IGF Code.
• Passenger ship safety.
• E-navigation.
• The Polar Code.

(Courtesy Danish Maritime Authority http://www.dma.dk/Sider/Home.aspx)

Catastrophic failure leads to warning about potential risk with cargo cranes aboard bulk carriers

Following a catastrophic failure on one of the cargo handling cranes aboard the bulk carrier Seapace in Bécancour, Quebec, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) issued a warning to vessel owners.

On 13 August 2014, the bulk carrier Seapace sustained a failure of its cargo crane #4. The slewing ring bearing broke apart and the complete cabin and jib assemblies collapsed into a cargo hold, injuring the crane operator. The TSB is participating in the investigation of the occurrence with Transport Malta’s Marine Safety Investigation Unit.

There is a possibility that the same progressive failure of a slewing ring bearing will occur on any vessel fitted with similar cargo handling cranes. While the TSB has asked the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) to share information about the safety risks, there is no known central database of such vessel owners. The TSB is therefore communicating this message to help reach vessel owners. The bulk carrier is one of a series of 443 sister ships that were constructed between 2008 and 2014, by various shipyards located in China.

The cargo handling crane was built for Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (IHI) of Japan, under license by Wuhan Marine Machinery Plant Co. Ltd. (WMMP) of China. It was an electro-hydraulic jib crane of the slim type SS36T (serial number DC09-11102-4). The slewing ring bearing assembly was fabricated by Dalian Metallurgical Bearing Co. Ltd. of China under the standard JB/T2300 of the type 133.34.2300.00.03 (2-row roller slewing ring bearing with internal gear, serial number D00984).

For pictures of the occurrence, visit Flickr page. Vessel owners should take whatever measures considered appropriate to ensure the integrity of any similar unit in service on board vessels. The TSB would appreciate being advised of any measures implemented either by phone at 1-800-387-3557 or by email at [email protected]. (www.newswire.ca, 11/24/2014)

(Courtesy AIMU Weekly Bulletin.)

Disclaimer:  Articles and reports reflect the views of the individuals who prepared them, and, unless indicated expressly in the text, do not necessarily represent the views of the editor.  Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this publication is accurate, the editor makes no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or correctness of such information.

The editor accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any loss, damage or other liability arising from any use of this publication or the information which it contains.

The contents of the publication are the responsibility of the editor alone.

 

News, views, enquiries, suggestions, articles and letters for inclusion in future editions of FLASHLIGHT may be sent to:Mike Wall, Tel:  (+66) 8 0572 6069

 

Email: [email protected]