Current news

CADET CALL: the European Union should offer financial incentives to shipowners who commit to the employment of EU cadets after they complete their training, the European Transport Workers’ Federation said last month. Speaking at the Malta Maritime Summit, ETF political secretary Philippe Alfonso said the Commission must find a way to ‘balance competitiveness with the socio-economic need for more and better jobs at sea for European seafarers’.

PIRACY ADVICE: merchant ships should continue to take protective measures against the threat of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean, experts warned an International Maritime Organisation meeting last month. Representatives from the EU Naval Force Operation Atalanta stressed the importance of maintaining best management practices to help prevent a resurgence of piracy in the region.

EMISSION APPEAL: introducing global curbs on sulphur emissions from shipping on time in 2020 will prevent 200,000 premature deaths a year, a new study has revealed. Published ahead of a crucial International Maritime Organisation meeting, the report has been backed by environmental groups who argue that any delays will be unacceptable.

COSTS CUT: shipping industry operating costs fell by an average of 2.4% last year, according to a new report from the accountancy firm Moore Stephens. It is the fourth successive year that overall costs have fallen, with crew costs reduced by 1.2% during 2015 and repairs and maintenance costs tumbling by 4.3%.

DFDS ADDS: DFDS has boosted freight capacity on its Rotterdam-Immingham service, adding the Antigua & Barbuda-flagged ro-ro Friedrich Russ to the route. The company has also ordered two new freight ships, to be built by the Jinling yard in China, with delivery due in 2019.

SHIPS BANNED: two flag of convenience ships have been banned from Paris MoU ports after repeatedly failing inspections. The Togo-registered cargo ship Alnilam and the St Kitts & Nevis-flagged reefer Beam had both been detained three times within three years.

REFUGEES REVEALED: five refugees were discovered in a container onboard the Irish Ferries vessel Oscar Wilde in Rosslare last month. The vessel had come from the French port of Cherbourg and the refugees told police they were fleeing persecution in Iraq.

CARBON DEMAND: five global shipping industry groups have urged the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to adopt a data collection system before introducing new controls on carbon dioxide emissions from ships.

AUTO APPEAL: a crowdfunding scheme has been launched to support an ambitious project to sail an autonomous vessel across the Atlantic in 2020, to mark the 400th anniversary of the departure of the Mayflower from Plymouth.

BALLAST BOOST: more than 50% of world tonnage is now signed up to the Ballast Water Management Convention, after Panama became the 53rd nation to ratify the treaty last month.

WIGHT MOVE: the former Red Funnel ferry Red Jet 5 has been delivered to the Italian domestic operator Torremar to run on the service between Piombino, Cavo and Portoferraio on the island of Elba.

SHALE DELIVERY: the UK’s first cargo of ethane derived from US shale gas was delivered to the port of Grangemouth last month by the Danish-flagged vessel JS Ineos Insight.

P&O BOOM: P&O Ferries says the number of freight units carried on its link between Britain and the Swedish port of Gothenburg has almost doubled within a year of operation.

OFFSHORE OPPORTUNITY: the North Sea could have ‘a new lease of life’ if operators exploit the 3.4bn barrels of oil and gas in small pools within the UKCS, a new study has concluded. The Oil & Gas Authority research described these reserves as ‘a very significant opportunity to maximise economic recovery’ — but warned that market conditions and technologies need to improve to ensure they are exploited.

GREENLAND ROW: the head of the Greenland based shipping firm Royal Arctic Line (RAL) has sparked outrage after suggesting that the company may re-flag ships and use ‘hybrid’ crews to save money. RAL CEO Verner Hammeken said the company — which has the government concession to run ‘lifeline’ services along the Greenland coast — is planning to form a pool of three ships with the Icelandic firm Samskip.

BANKERS HIT: German banks are struggling to recover loans totalling as much as US$100bn as a result of the downturn in global shipping markets, according to a report published last month. A study by Moody’s Investor Services warns that German ship lenders are more exposed than banks from any other single country in terms of outstanding debt to the sector.

FISHY STORY: up to 80,000 trout escaped from a fish farm off Denmark after it was hit by an Estonian cargo ship, on its way from Russia to Denmark, last month. The 3,183gt general cargo ship Karmel was detained after the incident, which was blamed on a navigation mistake. The farm’s owners claimed that stock worth up to US$1.5m had been lost.

GAS WORRIES: the French merchant navy officers’ union FOMM CGT has expressed concern that the giant French energy group Engie is considering the sale of one of the three French-flagged gas carriers. The union fears 60 jobs could go if GDF Suez Global Energy is sold or chartered out following the unexpected failure to renew a contract with Sonatrach of Algeria.

SCRAPPING RECORD: a record number of containerships have been scrapped this year, according to a new report from the shipbrokers Braemar ACM. During the first nine months of 2016, a total of 147 ships have gone to the breakers — removing some 507,000TEU capacity from the market, compared with 185,000TEU for the whole of 2015.

SCUTTLING CLAIM: Mozambique has detained 15 Indian seafarers suspected of trying to scuttle their ship for a US$2m insurance claim. An investigation was launched after the crew of the 29-year-old reefer Spring Bay reported that the engines had failed while the vessel was en route to India for its final voyage before scrapping.

GREEK STRIKE: the Panhellenic Seamen’s Federation (PNO) staged a 48-hour strike that shut down ferry services between the Greek mainland and its islands last month. The action was taken in protest against rising unemployment and planned cuts in pensions.

CABOTAGE ROW: three leading Italian maritime unions have requested an urgent meeting with the management of the ferry firm SNAV in a row over the employment of non-EU seafarers on cabotage services in breach of a national agreement.

SAVONA SERVICE: the Italian ferry operator Grimaldi has launched a ‘no frills’ service linking the Italian port of Savona with Barcelona and Tangiers.

ITALIAN WARNING: the Italian shipowners’ association, Confitarma, has warned that 1,500 seafaring jobs could be lost if MPs approve plans to ban the employment of non-EU nationals onboard ferries flying the Italian flag. Confitarma claims the jobs would be lost as a result of flagging out to avoid the cost of employing Italian and other EU seafarers. But some ferry firms, including Moby Lines and Tirrenia, support the proposals.

CASE DROPPED: a French court has dropped a criminal case against the owner and master of a Turkish flagged general cargos hip which collided with a fishing vessel in 2007, killing the skipper and injuring two other crew. The Rennes court ended the proceedings because the ship’s master has died and two officers had fled to Azerbaijan.

DRINK DEATH: a Ukrainian seafarer died and two others had to be treated in hospital in Greece after drinking adulterated alcohol. Authorities in the port of Rhodes said the men, from the Tanzanian-flagged general cargo ship Svyatogor, were believed to have bought the alcohol in the Turkish port of Mersin.

FLAG RECORD: the Marshall Islands registry is now the world’s top flag for tankers after attracting vessels from Greece, the US and Asia to take its total tanker tonnage to 44.6 m gt. The Marshall Islands flag had chalked up average annual growth of 15% over the past 15 years and its overall fleet now totals 137.3m gt.

CERTIFICATE PROBE: a court investigating an accident in which nine people died when the Italian containership Jolly Nero struck a harbour control tower in the port of Genoa in 2013 has heard evidence of shortcomings in the safety certification issued to the ship’s operator and several other ferry companies.

IVORY PLAN: the Ivory Coast government is seeking to become the leading market for oil products in the 16 countries making up sub-Saharan Africa. Adama Toungara, the West African country’s energy minister, said his government plans to make the Ivory Coast the ‘Rotterdam of Africa’ by 2020.

PILOTS PROTEST: the Danish pilots’ association has warned that strike action will be taken in a dispute with pilot company Danish Pilot Service. It has accused management of underpaying pilots, not paying pilot cadets and not respecting rest-time rules. The first strike is set for 1 November.

BIO TESTS: Dutch dredger firm Boskalis has concluded six months of tests on the use of a bio-fuel based on wood to supply the diesel engines of its 1984- built dredger Edax, reporting that CO2 emissions have been reduced by more than 80%.

NIGERIAN FLEET: plans to establish a Nigerian National Carrier fleet, as a joint venture between the country’s government and foreign investors, were revealed at a Commonwealth Maritime Initiative meeting in London last month.

Call to keep skills flowing to shore

The UK shipping industry has been challenged to find better ways to help seafarers make the transition from to sea to shore and to prevent their skills and experience from being lost to the wider

maritime cluster.

Calls for action to smooth the pathways between work onboard and work on land came at a conference organised to discuss the results of research commissioned by industry organisations, including Nautilus, into current and future demand for experienced seafarers.

Nautilus head of strategic development Steven Gosling spoke at the conference and backed the calls for improved information about career flows.

‘Seagoing experience is essential for thousands of jobs with immense economic, strategic and safety significance,’ he pointed out. ‘It is absolutely essential that we have a healthy intake of new recruits each year and that their future options are clear and well supported.’

The Project Ulysses report — which will feed into wider work being undertaken to deliver on the government’s Maritime Growth Study recommendations — examines the training and skills that officers will need to make a successful move from sea to shore to help maintain the UK’s global lead in shipping-related services.

The report is based on feedback from more than 150 of the top shore-based employers of former seafarers, including leading maritime employment agencies, the main maritime law firms, major P&I clubs, insurance underwriters and brokers, ship managers, maritime colleges, major ports and classification societies.

It identifies a ‘vast array’ of shore-based career opportunities for seafarers — but warns that

‘many of them are unaware of the opportunities that exist beyond the ones they directly encounter in the course of their seagoing careers’.

Researchers found ‘a plethora’ of job titles for seafarers ashore — the most notable being surveyors, technical supervisors, marine managers, operations managers, and superintendents.

Demand for former seafarers came from companies involved in such areas as shipbroking, ship management, surveys and inspections, finance, defence and security, port operations, ship repair, coastal operations, and recruitment and education.

Some of the companies employed more than 200 former seafarers and almost two-thirds expected to be recruiting within the next two years.

However, despite the demand, the report points to a number of problems affecting the flow of seafarers into shore-based posts. Many companies complained of shortages caused by the slump in officer training during the 1990s, and others highlighted the need for seafarers to be better prepared for the radical changes in lifestyle and work cultures arising from the move ashore.

Researchers highlighted the need to develop courses and other strategies to tackle issues such as knowing the best time to make the career change, unrealistic assumptions and problems adjusting, moving from ‘command and control’ to collegiate team-working, and shortfalls in commercial skills.

The study also notes the need for a ‘one-stop shop’ to provide information about opportunities ashore, along with advice on the best time to make the move and the skills and qualifications that employers are seeking.

Opening the conference, Maritime Growth Study chairman and Lord Mayor of the City of London Lord Mountevans said there is a ‘vital need’ to fill the skills gap caused by under-recruitment in the past. ‘The loss of expertise in the sector is a serious challenge and one that we cannot afford to ignore,’ he warned. ‘It is, of course, possible to train non-seafarers to fill some of these roles, but there is no substitute for experience.’

The conference was also attended by Trinity House master The Princess Royal, who welcomed the report’s findings and spoke of the importance of identifying issues which may impede seafarers from using their talents in core shore-based positions.

Masters in court on drinking charges

A Russian shipmaster has appeared in court in the UK after being caught being more than three times over the legal alcohol limit when his vessel was entering the port of Fowey.

Truro magistrates court heard that the harbour pilot had raised concerns after boarding the Cyprus-flagged general cargo ship Pur Navolok and finding that Captain Sergey Safronov was absent from the bridge, with his duties being undertaken by the chief mate.

Further concerns were raised when the ship’s agent boarded the ship and found that the master was struggling to complete paperwork.

The court heard that Capt. Safronov smelt of alcohol and he struggled to understand what was going on, even though he could speak good English. Alison May, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said a police breath test registered 80mcg of alcohol in his breath, more than three times the 25mcg limit, and after Capt. Safronov was arrested he became argumentative and obstructive.

Magistrates sent Capt. Safronov to Truro Crown Court for sentencing and remanded him in custody until then.

A containership master accused of being drunk in charge of his vessel in the port of Belfast has been ordered to pay a £5,000 bond being able to return home to Lithuania. Captain Eugenijus Tulauskas was arrested by harbour police on September 25 and faces a charge of having excess alcohol while on duty as professional master of a ship.

Vessel sank 15 minutes after blaze

Concerns over the safety of novel vessel designs for use in the wind farm sector have been raised by an investigation into the loss of a Danish crew transfer boat last year.

The 233gt Umoe Ventus sank off the east coast of Denmark after fire spread through the vessel within the space of 15 minutes, forcing the crew to evacuate without any attempt to fight the blaze manually or with the fixed fire-fighting systems.

Investigators said the Norwegianbuilt vessel was a prototype surface effect design featuring a catamaran hull and an enclosed air cushion.

Intended for use as a stable platform for unloading personnel and equipment at wind turbines, Umoe Ventus had a twin-water jet propulsion system and was capable of 40 knots.

The fire broke out as the vessel was returning from the Norwegian yard where repairs to the transmission system and minor modifications had been made. The Danish Maritime Accident Investigation Board (DMAIB) concluded that the blaze had been caused by a clogged sea chest strainer which had resulted in insufficient cooling of the lift fan engine exhaust system.

The fire spread so rapidly and the smoke was so intense that crew members were unable to follow any of the safety management system procedures for tackling the blaze.

Investigators said the speed of the fire’s spread was the result of the use of combustible carbon fibre reinforced plastic sandwich bulkheads, which had a relatively low ignition temperature.

‘This accident raises questions about the usefulness of procedures and operational practices that are rooted in larger, more robust ships where the timespan to assess, inform and act is longer,’ the DMAIB report says. ‘Prolonging the decision to evacuate a small craft like Umoe Ventus by taking all the procedural descriptions into account could result in a situation where an orderly evacuation of the crew and passengers would be impossible.’

The report also notes that it can be ‘problematic’ to use combustible materials in a vessel’s construction and says the incident ‘shows the necessity of rethinking the entire concept of the interaction between structural and functional fire protection, fire-fighting and evacuation when changing the underlying premise of having the ship constructed in a non-combustible material’.

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