Current News

PORTS PLEA: European shipowners have urged MEPs to come up with a new package of proposed reforms to port services. Two previous packages have been rejected, but the European Community Shipowners’ Associations want to see a fresh attempt to address ‘restrictive practices and legal obstacles that continue to hamper access to services in several EU ports’. They have also urged MEPs to ensure that pilotage, towage, mooring and cargo-handling services are not excluded from any new regulation.

SHORT CHANGE: a group ofeuropean shipping industry bodies have urged EU member states to revitalise shortsea shipping policy. In a joint letter to governments and the European Commission, they call for action to remove administrative and regulatory ‘burdens’ that prevent the environmental benefits offered by the sector from being realised. In particular, they want an end to the ‘outdated’ policy that deems a coastal cargo moving more than 12 miles off shore to lose its ‘community’ status.

LASHING CAMPAIGN: a new global campaign on lashing safety has been launched by the International Transport Workers’ Federation. Terje Samuelsen, chair of the European Transport Workers’ Federation dockers’ section, said the initiative had been taken in response to a growing number of cases, especially on feeder ships and ferries, where crew members lash and unlash cargo. Seafarers are putting their lives at risk by doing work for which they have not been properly trained, he warned.

IRISH OPPORTUNITY: Ireland could create almost 10,000 new jobs by 2020 if it adopts policies to exploit the growth of the marine economy, a new report has suggested. The study, produced for the Irish government, points to growing demand for engineers, boat handling skills and hydrographic surveyors, and it highlights a lack of awareness about possible careers in the maritime sector.

ANCHOR ALERT: the US Coast Guard has warned owners and operators of the need to ensure proper maintenance of ships’ anchors following a case in which a vessel’s hull was punctured by its starboard anchor, causing $1m worth of damage. During repairs, it was discovered that the anchor windlass brake pad had worn down to just 2mm to 3mm thickness.

BALLAST BLAST: the International Chamber of Shipping has expressed ‘dismay’ at the United States decision to pursue unilateral ballast water rules. The owners’ group says the US decision to deny the IMO Ballast Water Management convention legitimacy in its own waters is creating uncertainty over the introduction of the treaty.

ELECTRIC VOTE: the 80m Norwegian ferry Ampere, described as the world’s first large fully electric vessel, has won the 2015 Seatrade Clean Shipping Award. The ferry, which can carry up to 360 passengers and 120 cars, has a 1MWH lithiumpolymer battery pack onboard that can be charged in 10 minutes.

CRUISE DEFECTS: problems with fire doors not opening properly were the most common defects found on cruiseships during US Coast Guard inspections last year. Impeded means ofescape was the second most frequent deficiency, followed by drills and crew training issues, and problems with lifeboats and rescue boats.

CERTIFICATE ARRESTS: three people were arrested in Dhaka, Bangladesh, last month for their alleged involvement in producing fake seafarers’ certificates. Police said they had recovered 93 fake discharge certificates, 71 certificates of competency, seven certificates of proficiency and 150 stamps.

MEGA ORDER: the Korean yard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has confirmed that it is in talks with Maersk Line for a $1.7bn order for up to 11 ‘mega’ containerships at a total price of US $1.7bn.

NIGERIAN AIM: authorities in Nigeria are aiming to turn the country into a major global supply of seafarers with the opening of West Africa’s first maritime university. Dr Ziakede Akpobolokemi, director-general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration, said the Philippines earns around $6bn annually from seafarers’ remittances and Nigeria has the potential to become a similar exporter of labour.

PORTS DEAL: the ports of Rotterdam and Singapore have signed an agreement to exchange information on marine services and cooperate on research and development in the maritime and port sectors. The memorandum of understanding aims to promote ‘best practices between two of the world’s key ports’ to ensure safety, security and efficiency in shipping.

CRANE DEATH: a crane operator died after the boom of the crane he was operating broke and fell some 50m onto a Maersk containership in the port of Bremerhaven last month. Authorities are investigation the cause of the accident, which occurred as the ZPMC super-post-panamax crane crane was working on the Hong Kong-fiagged Maersk Karachi.

ITALIAN ALERT: Italy’s leading maritime union, Filt-CGIL, has slammed a court decision to wind up the state-owned ferry operator Saremar. Closure would threaten the daily services between Sardinia and Corsica links, with the loss of 167 jobs, and the union blames unfair competition from private companies.

ABANDONED CREW: the Bulgarian Red Cross went to the aid of 14 seafarers onboard a Liberiaregistered bulk carrier impounded at the port of Varna for unpaid debts. The Ukrainian seafarers onboard the 7,433dwt Asian Dream had been unpaid for fi ve months and had insufficient food, water and power.

BOX ORDER: following its merger with the Chilean firm CSAV, German operator Hapag-Lloyd has ordered fi ve 10,500TEU post-Panamax class boxships from South Korea to operate mostly on South American routes once the expanded Panama Canal opens. Delivery is earmarked from October 2016 to May 2017.

GAS ROW: the French officers’ union FOMM-CGT has criticised a government decision to allow a Maltesefiagged gas carrier with a 100% non-EU crew to transport gas between the French mainland and Corsica. The B Gas Supreme replaces a French-fiagged ship and Frenchcrewed that operated the route for 12 years.

ACADEMY OPENED: France’s national maritime academy has opened new premises in Le Havre. The €27.8m centre has a capacity for 450 cadets and 50 instructors and administrators, and up to 70 people on continuing education courses.

DIEPPE BOOST: passenger numbers on the Dieppe-Newhaven ferry service rose by 40% in the first quarter of 2015, and freight volumes were up 16% in the same period, according to new fi gures.

HOLD DEATH: a Polish seafarer died in the hold of a ship in Denmark last month and three crew who tried to rescue him had to be treated in hospital ashore after being overcome by fumes. Police said the incident onboard the Polish-fiagged Corina in the port of Hanstholm, northern Denmark, was probably caused by gases from a cargo of wood pellets.

CREWING VENTURE: German shipping company Reederei NSB has launched a new joint venture with Columbia Shipmanagement as part of its programme to fiag out its fl eet and replace German seafarers with Filipino nationals over the next two years. Manila-based Asia Marine Philippines will manage 50 vessels and 1,000 seafarers.

FATAL ATTACK: a merchant seafarer died and several were injured when a Turkish-owned cargoship was shelled some 13nm off the coast of Libya last month. The third officer onboard the Cook Islands-fiagged Tuna 1, which was sailing to the port of Tobruk from Spain, was killed when the vessel came under two separate aerial attacks.

DUNKIRK WORK: a €13.7m project to build a new passenger and car ferry terminal has got under way in the port of Dunkirk. The scheme, which is 10% funded by the European Commission, will improve access to the port and will enable it to handle more ships.

CUBAN CONTRACT: the Mexican operator Baja Ferries has been granted a licence from the US authorities to operate a new passenger and freight service between Miami, Florida, and Havana, Cuba. Operations are scheduled to begin mid-September.

PONANT DELIVERY: Ponant, the only French cruise ship operator, has taken delivery of a new vessel, Le Lyrial, from the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri. The 142m ‘mega-yacht style’ vessel can accommodate 244 passengers.

PIPE CHARGES: four crewmen from the Norwegian-fiagged tanker Stavanger Blossom have been charged in the US on a series of ‘magic pipe’ violations of pollution laws in November last year.

Safety records were falsified

Seafarers onboard a Panama-fiagged refrigerated cargoship prayed when they took part in an abandon ship drill during a port state control inspection in the UK port of Southampton last year.

And their worries were not misplaced, as one crew member was hurt when a lifeboat on the 7,367gt Nagato Reefer fell from its davit and onto the deck below while being secured following the exercise.

In a hard-hitting report on the incident, the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) criticises the ‘exceptionally poor safety culture’ onboard the ship, highlighted by the way in which safety records had been falsified and the site of the accident had been interfered with by the crew before MAIB investigators attended the scene.

The incident happened after a Maritime & Coastguard Agency surveyor ordered a more detailed port state inspection when initial checks identified deficiencies demonstrating a ‘low level of crew competence, inadequate maintenance of safety equipment and a systemic failure of the safety management system’. The MAIB notes that specific areas of concern included a breakdown in trust and communication among the Korean and Filipino crew.

The MAIB report concludes that crew members had failed to correctly reset the release gear, causing the lifeboat to drop when fall-preventer devices were released as it was being secured after the drill. ‘It was fortunate the bosun was not seriously injured when he was struck by the falling boat,’ it notes.

Investigators found that records for the last three abandon ship drills had been falsified and the lifeboats had not been lowered into the water for at least a year before the accident. Training records had also been falsified and the minutes of a safety committee meeting held only 10 days after the accident made no mention of it.

Maintenance records stated that the release gear had been checked on a monthly basis and was in ‘good’ condition only a few weeks before the accident.

In reality, the MAIB said, moving parts were dirty and had been painted over, and release gear cables were found to be seized and damaged.

It was apparent that no maintenance or inspections of the release and retrieval system had been carried out since the annual inspection and service in October 2013, it added.

The MAIB says the ship’s managers, Japan-based Kyokuyo, failed to address safety issues that its review of the accident had uncovered, and it called for the company to take urgent action to secure a ‘substantial improvement’ in safety culture throughout its fl eet and ashore.

The report urges companies to ensure that crews on ships fitted with Shigi SRS-37 release gear are trained in the operation of the systems.

It also warns that moves to phase out the use of fall-preventer devices when modified release systems are fitted to ships ‘may render these systems more dangerous unless owners/managers ensure that appropriate maintenance and type-specific training takes place’.

MLC Compliance

A study produced by the International Transport Workers’ Federation shows that almost one-third of ships checked by its inspectors over a one-year timeframe were found to have problems related to the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC).

And a report from port state control authorities in the Asia-Pacific region warned last month that there continues to be ‘considerable room for improvement’ in seafarers’ working conditions.

The ITF study looked at the results of 9,646 inspections carried out on almost 7,500 ships between 20 August 2013 and 19 August 2014, when the MLC was in force for the first 30 ratifying countries.

ITF inspectors found that 2,384 vessels, 32% of the total, had MLC-related problems.
Almost 42% of these related to owed wages, with breach of contract, including dismissal, repatriation and victimisation, accounting for just over 31% of the problems.

Non-compliance with international standards, including substandard accommodation, substandard food, substandard safety equipment, substandard ship, recruitment and placement, seafarer blacklisting, manning levels, minimum age, medical certificate, training and qualifications, was the third most common problem, at just over 15% of the total.

While Panama, unsurprisingly as the largest fiag state, had the most vessels with problems, on a proportionate basis the Cook Islands, Moldova, St Kitts & Nevis, Russia, Belize and Cambodia had the worst records, with more than 60% of their vessels inspected found to have MLC-related problems.

The ITF noted that some fiag states and port state authorities ‘have been bolder or more committed’ to MLC implementation and enforcement than others, with Australia and Canada standing as ‘shining examples’.

Other positives include the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency’s confirmation that failure to comply with MLC requirements on recruitment and placement could result in a detainable offence. The ITF also welcomed a move by Spanish port state control to require increases in manning levels to ensure compliance with MLC work and rest hour rules and Gibraltar’s decision to withhold certification from a company with a history of delayed payment of wages.

‘It cannot be said that the MLC has had a dramatic effect on eliminating seafarers’ complaints thus far, but reports would suggest that it is having a significant impact in developing a culture of cooperation between port states (and occasionally fiag states) and ITF affi liates and inspectors which, it is hoped, will lead to a shift towards compliance over time,’ the report added.

Meanwhile, the Tokyo MOU annual report on port state control inspections warned that while the number of substandard ships detained in 2014 was down by almost 14% from the previous year, ‘signifi – cant’ deficiencies were found in relation to working conditions.

A three-month concentrated inspection campaign found 1,589 deficiencies associated with working time requirements.

Almost two-thirds of these involved in adequate work and rest hours records, 15% were related to the minimum safe manning document and a further 15% linked to shipboard working arrangements.

‘The overall results of the CIC demonstrate that considerable room for improvement exists in the areas of record keeping and labour conditions,’ the report added.

Results so far indicate that there is a very significant level of MLC related non-compliance. It is clear that a lot of work needs to be done by authorities around the world to make sure that the intentions of the convention are delivered, and that seafarers’ working conditions are improved across the board.

Nations agree plans to cut ferry losses

The outcome of an International Maritime Organisation (IMO) conference which identified the ‘urgent need’ to improve the safety of passengerships operating domestic services in many parts of the world has been welcomed

The meeting, which was attended by delegates from 13 countries including the Philippines, New Zealand, Norway, Australia, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea, adopted a set of guidelines that seek to cut the ‘continuing unacceptable loss of life’ on coastal and inter-island ferry services.

IMO secretary-general Koji Sekimizu said that domestic ferry operations play a crucial role in the movement of people and goods, and are sometimes the only possible or reasonably aff ordable means of transport.

But, he stressed, casualties and incidents can be avoided if adequate laws, regulations and rules are developed and effectively implemented and enforced. ‘The public expects safety standards on domestic passenger ferries to be as strong as those on international vessels,’ he added.

‘The perils of the sea do not distinguish between ships engaged on international or non-international voyages and the protection of life at sea is a moral obligation. Those travelling by domestic ferries should enjoy the highest practicable standard of safety irrespective of their citizenship.’

The ‘Manila Statement’ adopted by the conference urges states to review and update national regulations for passenger ferries, stressing the need for rules to address ‘all foreseeable risks’ and to cover issues such as safety management and the education, training and proficiency of shipboard personnel. The statement also highlights the need for adequate implementation and enforcement of safety rules, the importance of navigational safety support for ships, and the critical role of search and rescue and emergency services.

It urges countries to follow guidelines covering issues such as the purchase of a secondhand ships for domestic passenger services, ‘due consideration’ of operating limits, the conversion or modification of a ship before entering into service as a domestic passenger ship, and passenger counting and voyage planning.

‘Complacency’ alert on shipping security

The shipping industry has been accused of increasing complacency over security, and warned that this could result in the loss of life.

Gerry Northwood, from the maritime security firm MAST, told the Global Shipping Trends and Trade Patterns conference in London that shipping companies have been scaling back on both the quality and the substance of their security provision.

Some are even simply closing their eyes to the risk, he added.

Mr Northwood admitted that ‘enormous strides’ have been made in reducing piracy attacks over the past seven years. ‘However,’ he added, ‘with many recent incidents of piracy in SE Asia, the Gulf of Guinea, the Caribbean, and continued attempts in the Indian Ocean, combined with increased people trafficking out of Libya, and between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, we need to be watchful for other forms of opportunist criminality and terrorism occurring on the back of these activities.’

He warned of frequent underreporting and mis-reporting of piracy and that many countries are ‘woefully under-resourced for maritime policing and the regulation of their territorial waters and economic zones’.

Current trends are creating opportunities for terrorists and criminals alike, Mr Northwood argued.

‘Western governments are doing what they can, sometimes more, sometimes less, but they are limited in their reach,’ he pointed out. ‘Where the regional states cannot play their part, it is down to individual shipping companies to secure their assets and crews. More can always be done and now is not the time to be complacent.’

Investigators warn on language problems

Investigators examining an accident involving a 141,635gt ‘mega’ containership have stressed the need for bridge teams and pilots to use a common language at all times.

The 13,102TEU MSC Benedetta was holed when it struck a pier while manoeuvring to berth in the port of Zeebrugge in May last year. Two ballast tanks took on water as a result, but there was no pollution.

A report from the German accident investigation board, BSU, concludes that the pilot had misjudged the hydrodynamic effects of the current as the ship began the berthing manoeuvre.

It notes that the two pilots onboard had used Flemish when they spoke to each other or to the assisting tugs, although they were using English to talk to the ship’s crew. ‘Slipping back into the native language is common everywhere, resulting in the ship’s command often not understanding what is being discussed,’ the BSU pointed out.

BSU said the ship’s owners have instructed masters to challenge pilots if they issue instructions in their own language, adding that the findings of the report were of ‘topical’ relevance to all masters, pilots and owners.

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