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SHIPTALK'S NEWSLETTER TO A FRIEND
Welcome to this the December 2005 edition of the Shiptalk newsletter.
Shiptalk just got even better!Shiptalk launched almost three years ago to the day,
with the goal of becoming the World’s leading web portal and information
resource for those at sea. In three years we have made positive steps towards
the fulfillment of that lofty ambition and today we welcome 17,000 visitors
to our site per month and 25,000 subscribers receive the Shiptalk newsletter
on a monthly basis. We are proud of the readership we have generated to date
and understand that we have a responsibility to our readers to constantly try
and improve upon the information and services we provide. It is therefore with
great pleasure this month that we are pleased to unveil the new look Shiptalk.com,
ShiptalkImages.com and the new ShiptalkForum.com.
The new and improved Shiptalk.com provides all of the news and information we
have published over the last three years in an easily searchable format. We have
also added a fully searchable Events, Exhibitions and Conferences section and
we hope that event organisers will benefit from the use of this highly visible,
online, interactive diary to promote their events.
ShiptalkImages.com
ShiptalkImages is
a fully searchable image database of royalty free stock imagery of the
shipping industry. All the images are provided by serving seafarers or
professional and amateur photographers with an interest in ships and
shipping. You can browse hundreds of images from the commercial, leisure
and offshore shipping industries and we will be continually adding to
our database of images, so if you need to illustrate your marketing materials,
adverts, web site or news articles please check out ShiptalkImages.com
ShiptalkForum.com
A review of our stats on a daily basis tells
us that there is a great interest in “Galley Radio” the Shiptalk
Forum. The web forum is always at the heart of any community portal
and Shiptalk is no different. Such is the importance of our forum that
it’s been totally redeveloped and hosted under its own domain name Shiptalkforum.com.
Please take time to review our new forum and add your thoughts and comments
to promote healthy debate on issues that are important to you.
Shiptalk RSS News
Feeds
Shiptalk can now offer a range of RSS news
feeds. Our news feeds have been tailored to accommodate most sectors of the
shipping industry and provide a quick and easy way to keep your website up
to date with articles on issues that are important to you.
To read more about our new RSS Service CLICK HERE
Why not incorporate this free online resource
into your website today?
Future Developments
In the New Year we will be launching the Shiptalk Insurance and Law website
and ShiptalkJobs.com; we hope to bring you news of these further services over
the coming months.
It is important to us that as much of our information and services remain free and openly accessible to those at sea and as such advertising income becomes the life blood of the portal and we would encourage any companies who support the services that we offer to consider advertising on the Shiptalk family of sites. We offer very competitive advertising rates and high brand visibility for the £ of advertising spend. For more information on our advertising opportunities please contact advertising@shiptalk.com
For those who can recommend a company to us who subsequently advertise on Shiptalk we will pay you 25% of that new client’s first year advertising spend on Shiptalk for your introduction.
Look out for the Christmas/New Year Edition coming soon!!!
Shiptalk.com……reading you loud and clear
SEAFARER WELFARE
Indian seafarers lost not found
The spate of disappearances and fatal accidents involving Indian seamen aboard foreign ships has forced the Indian authorities into action. A draft policy to ensure their safety is being created and it will have far-reaching implications for the 60,000+ Indians working on board foreign-flagged ships.
Action was called for in the wake of a number of high profile losses, Mitesh Kumar disappeared aboard the “MT North Challenge” as did Gautam Malik from “MV Spar Cetus”, 10 seamen vanished with their vessel, the tug “Jupiter 6” and Zaheer Hassan was lost from the “MSC Carmen”.
The disappearances prompted a strongly-worded letter from the Ministry of Shipping and Transport to Jahaz Bhavan (the Mumbai office of the Directorate-General of Shipping) saying that the disappearances had “brought embarrassment” to the Indian Government.
The letter said the interests of Indian seamen
needed to be safeguarded and the sailors protected from “irresponsible
fly-by-night (foreign) operators”.
The ministry noted that the recent disappearances represented just a “few” of
the cases involving Indians.
Among the recommendations by the Shipping Ministry has made the following recommendations and observations to the Directorate-General of Shipping:
- There do not appear to be any written Indian Maritime Administration guidelines for those involved in accidents
- Owners and agents of foreign ships kept the maritime administration in the dark about mishaps
- Safety guidelines and policies for obtaining regular situation reports (sitreps), reporting mechanisms and issuing of marine notices need to be evolved urgently
- Agents recruiting Indian seamen need to be regulated and the recently-notified Recruitment and Placement of Seafarers Rules must be monitored
In addition, there are calls for the Indian Government to urgently create a central investigating agency to probe the disappearances on high seas.
Seafarers' Indian welfare summit
The recent International Committee on Seafarers' Welfare (ICSW) convention held in Chennai, India was launched by The International Labour Organisation (ILO) calling upon governments and the shipping industry to consider a "more structured approach towards seafarers' welfare".
The ILO senior maritime specialist Jean-Yeves
Legouas, speaking at the inauguration of the event, said that a Consolidated
Maritime Labour Convention instrument would be in place by February 2006.
Mr Legouas added that the proposed Consolidated Maritime Labour Convention
will encompass the existing maritime labour instruments "as well as introduce
means of updating it rapidly taking into account the accelerated pace of technological
developments in the industry".
The ILO is committed towards an instrument that will protect seafarers from abandonment, and a means of protecting their families in case of injury and death. It is thought likely that such instruments may well take the form of compulsory insurance, such as the Seafarer abandonment policy on offer from Seacurus Ltd.
The idea of such protection has been discussed at senior levels within both the IMO and ILO and it is thought likely that the means of transferring the risk of abandonment to an insurer may be the most pragmatic and useful answer to protecting seafarers and ensuring both their, and their families welfare.
For further information on the Seafarer Welfare debate visit The ILO site on maritime labour at ILO and Seafarers
LEGAL
Pirates, drugs, seafarers and pollution considered by IMO 24th Assembly
At time of going to press the IMO 24th Assembly is in session. There are a number of timely subjects on discussion and the steps taken within this session will have a major bearing on the year ahead for ship owners/operators and seafarers.
The topics under debate include:
- Piracy off Somalia
- Ship recycling Guidelines
- Guidelines on fair treatment of seafarers in the event of a maritime accident.
- Implementation of the 2002 Athens Protocol
- Guidelines on pollution incident response
- Revised guidelines for Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs)
- Revision of the Guidelines for the prevention and suppression of smuggling of drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals
We shall look at the outcome to these debates in more depth in the next issue , of especial interest to Shiptalk are the “piracy” and “fair treatment of seafarers” deliberations – perhaps hoping for magic solutions to rid the sea of pirates, while ensuring seafarers no longer suffer injustice are a little too much to expect, but we remain hopeful that real progress can be made.
Karlog Shipping, the Piraeus based ship operator has been severely punished in the United States, after pleading guilty to pollution charges stemming from the discharge of waste oil through a hidden bypass pipe on the “M/V Friendship”.
Under the terms of a plea agreement reached with prosecutors, Karlog Shipping was ordered to pay a $1 million fine, to develop a comprehensive court-monitored environmental management system, and to serve three years of p rob ation.
The comprehensive environmental management system will be a fleet-wide program designed to ensure that the company properly supervises all of its vessels, preventing future illegal discharges and ensuring that vessels are in compliance with environmental laws.
The government's investigation began in November 2004 after the Coast Guard discovered evidence of the bypassing during a routine inspection of the M/V Friendship in Brooklyn , New York .
Panagiotis Kokkinos, the ship's Chief Engineer, and Athanasios Chalkias, the ship's Fitter, have also both pleaded guilty in connection with their role in ordering crew members to make false statements to the Coast Guard regarding discharges of oil from the ship. Both Kokkinos and Chalkias were sentenced to 30 days incarceration and three years of p rob ation on October 6, 2005 .
In the wake of the trial the shipping company was heavily criticised, and Acting Assistant Attorney General Kelly A. Johnson said that, "Companies like Karlog, which knowingly pollute our oceans and then intentionally lie to cover their actions, will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
For more information of the US stance on pollution visit The US Department of Justice, at www.usdoj.gov and the US Coastguard, at www.uscg.mil
To knowingly pollute is bad…but to compound the crime with lies and cover-ups is really asking for trouble. There is no hiding place from such USCG investigations and any seafarers found complicit will be heavily punished.
Bargain hunters duped by ticket forgeries
Hundreds of seafarers in India have been swindled, after a gang of criminals sold them Certificates and Discharge documents at incredibly low prices.
Now we all love a bargain…but apparently the seafarers who were enticed by discounts of around 97.5% were all then shocked to discover that they had been duped and supplied with documents that were actually forgeries.
The alleged forgers supplied duplicate CDC certificates by charging them an equivalent of about US$6 as against the normal fee of US$225 to obtain the certificates from a recognised government or institute. Some saving indeed! Perhaps we at Shiptalk.com are getting cynical in our old age, but if it something seems too good to be true then sadly it often is.
The Indian Crime Branch and Criminal Investigation Department arrested the six men, and recovered large amounts of duplicate certificates, rubber stamps and Seamen's Books from them.
"We have found 43 Seamen's books i.e. Continual Discharge Certificates (CDC) of countries like Panama, Liberia, Honduras and India," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime). "We have also seized more than 400 duplicate certificates, 34 rubber stamps and two electronic typing machines," he added.
For more information on Indian seafarer certification visit The Directorate General of Shipping www.dgshipping.com
MARITIME SAFETY
A massive clean-up operation took place last month in Durban harbour after a damaged ship spilled about 80 tonnes of fuel oil at a repair dock. The National Ports Authority (NPA) has, however, allayed fears of a threat of environmental pollution.
The leak was eventually stopped and the spill contained. It is believed to have been the worst oil spill in the Durban harbour. The German registered container vessel - the Doria - arrived in Durban's floating repair dock for repairs. She was apparently damaged when it ran aground off the coast of Angola, but was still able to sail past the Cape Coast for repairs in Durban.
The extent of the damage was not known at the time. With the spill occurring when the floating dock was in the process of being raised. The oil is understood to have leaked from a ruptured fuel tank.
As one might expect the shipping repair company and the authorities have leapt on the defensive stating that all precautions to avoid possible spillage were taken…time to look at more robust precautions we suspect.
A clear and loud message that flag States have to make a concerted effort to improve standards emerged from last months Flag State Audits seminar at the World Maritime University (WMU).
Leading the wake-up call was Captain Chowdhury, Deputy Director for Maritime Affairs, Bahamas Maritime Authority, he stated that any Administration that thinks it can delegate all functions to Classification Societies and does not require any technical expertise, lives in a fools' paradise.
These harsh words were to have special emphasis for smaller maritime states, or those that had recently entered the maritime arena after seeing it as a cash cow to be milked.
The seminar attracted representatives of many maritime administrations and representatives of BIMCO, the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), INTERTANKO, IMO, plus of course a large number of eager WMU students.
The main topic of the seminar was the IMO Flag State Auditing Scheme, and while many of the speakers admitted to an initial hesitancy, they have all now concluded that this scheme should be given full support. Views differed on whether it should remain voluntary, though several of the speakers expected that pressure from many quarters would ultimately make it in effect mandatory.
Although the audit is confidential, several speakers underlined the need for transparency and expect that ultimately most parties will be so used to openness that the main conclusions of the audits will be made available.
It was also stressed that classification societies should be encouraged to be more selective in accepting to work for under-performing Flag states. It was recognised that the Class Societies in effect allow these below par flags to function and that as such they need to face up to the unwitting role this can play in perpetuating sub-standard shipping.
The money maybe good as a Recognised Organisation (RO), but surely the time is at hand for Class Societies to drop the balance sheet and take a hard look at the role they play in allowing some flags to exist that shipping would be better off without.
What’s the chance of that? Greenpeace admit coral damage
Ah Greenpeace, sailing merrily around the world terrifying innocent seafarers and fighting the good fight to rid the globe of evil polluters...and now seemingly coral too!
Yes, Greenpeace indulged in their very own spot of environmental desecration last month as their flag ship, the “Rainbow Warrior” somehow conspired to strike a coral reef. The ship briefly ran aground at the Tubbataha National Marine Park, a World Heritage Site in the Sulu Sea, 650 kilometres southeast of Manila, damaging a 96-square-metre area of the reef.
The Greenpeace vessel was on a trip to expose the impact of climate change in Asia, when it accidentally crushed the coral.
Agreement has been made to compensate the park, and in a statement released by Greenpeace, the damage to the reef was valued at an estimated 384,000 pesos ($6,857 U.S.).
Greenpeace blamed the incident on a faulty maritime chart that showed the “Rainbow Warrior” was supposed to be 2.4 kilometres from the reef when it ran aground. The statement said the grounding did not cause any major damage to the ship nor serious delays to the ship's expedition.
That must have caused red faces on the bridge...no word on whether the crew then dangerously buzzed their own vessel in inflatables, shouting abuse and spray painting defamatory slogans on the hull before boarding themselves up the hawse pipe!
Long wait for the truth – the Staten Island ferry disaster
News reaches us this month of developments surrounding the 2003 Staten Island ferry disaster.
Readers may recall that the vessel, the “Andrew J. Barberi”, crashed as it was docking on a run from Manhattan. The subsequent enquiry found that the incident happened as the Assistant Pilot fell asleep at a critical time. The allision tore a 250-foot-long gash that ran 8 feet deep into its hull. Eleven people were killed, dozens were injured, including some who lost limbs.
After a sustained period of silence the Master, Captain Michael Gansas, has finally spoken to shed some light on the tragic mistakes that led to the accident. He claims that he initially lied about where he was during the crash because he wanted to share the blame. "I felt I had a responsibility as a captain to shoulder some of the blame for the actions of the Assistant Pilot".
Captain Gansas, now claims that he felt a sudden jolt, and knew something was abnormal. He rushed from the rear of the ferry to the pilot-house. He claims to have found the Assistant Pilot with his hands over his eyes, saying, `I must have dozed off. I fell asleep"
Gansas' silence following the crash infuriated survivors, victims' relatives and city officials, who accused him of handicapping the investigation.
The Assistant Pilot, who was later found to be dependent on a number of medications, eventually pleaded guilty to 11 counts of manslaughter for his part in the Oct. 15, 2003, accident.
Let’s hope that the lessons learnt will be used to avoid such tragic and avoidable accidents in the future.
US cruise passenger’s weight causes concern for ship’s stability
The joys of cruising, five meals a day, all night buffets and pies on demand! Well it seems that all this chomping has led to some real growth in the cruise market…we don't mean more passengers, just more of them to love!
It seems that the USCG have begun to recognise that people are getting, ahem, bigger. Which means they have started to look at the effects of these lardy cargoes on the stability of vessels.
This has stemmed from a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation which recommended that assumed passenger weights used for stability tests on pontoon vessels should be raised to more accurately reflect the weight of today's "growing" population.
As a result the USCG has started to view the potential impact that would result from increasing the passenger weight and size standards when calculating the intact stability of domestic passenger vessels. The study will include an assessment of the potential impact across the industry, it will identify the regulations that require change, and will develop an implementation strategy to introduce the new increased passenger weight and size standards.
As the requirements of the study will be rolled out across a wide number of vessels it could have an enormous effect on the industry – we often hear of shipowners “tightening their belts”, maybe this time they really will, but not before many passengers have to loosen theirs!
More details of the study can be found at: USCG Passenger Size study
A grumpy and downright ungrateful seal bit off the nose of a woman who was trying to help it back into the sea after it got stranded on a beach in South Africa.
Elsie van Tonder's nose was eventually found but could not be reattached after the young female seal disfigured her near George, a town 400km (240 miles) east of Cape Town. Ms van Tonder had to undergo reconstructive surgery as a result.
Cape Fur Seals are a tourist attraction and have become used to humans, but biologists warn that the animal, which is a predator, can be dangerous if approached too closely.
She had been helping move the seal along with several other people when it hissed, then bit her in the face and on the thigh. They had been trying to roll the seal in a blanket to move it reports South African website news24.com.
Dirk Wessels of Marine and Coastal Management
said the seal had probably been irritated by the people's repeated attempts
to get her back into the water.
"People should realise that seals are wild animals and can be dangerous," he
said. "They should be left alone."…well alone, a case of letting
sleeping seals lie!
Readers are reminded that they should always avoid disturbing big, blubbery creatures snoring on the beach…!!
The investigation into the devastation caused in the wake of hurricane Katrina is beginning to pick up pace, and has been identifying some disturbing reasons behind the rapid swamping of New Orleans.
It has been suggested by experts that a short cut for shipping into New Orleans acted as a "storm surge superhighway", funneling water into the city when the hurricane struck.
The Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) is a
76-mile long man-made navigation channel connecting the Gulf of Mexico
to the Port of New Orleans' Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, and was completed
in 1965. The MRGO is a shorter route to New Orleans than the Mississippi
River, providing deep-draft, ocean-going vessels with access to the Port
of New Orleans' Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) wharves.
There has long been a campaign to close the MRGO system, and in the wake of
this disaster, it seems likely that the wishes of locals will now be granted.
Even before Katrina hit the area simulations ran by the Louisiana State University showed that the MRGO would funnel storm surges from the Gulf and Lake Borgne into New Orleans. They predicted that a surge of 2 to 3 metres per second would breach the walls and flood low-lying areas.
Predictions that were tragically proved to be correct!
MARITIME SECURITY
A large wooden boat crammed full of immigrants has been washed up on an Italian beach after crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa. Early reports indicate a loss of at least nine lives, with many more possible casualties thought likely.
The boat filled with around 200 illegal immigrants was first sighted off the Maltese Island of Gozo on November 17th. The immigrants refused assistance from the Armed Forces of Malta and insisted on continuing their journey towards Sicily.
The weather in the region was understood to have been quite severe, but despite the force 6 - 7 seas, the overcrowded vessel still managed to get as far as Sicily before being overwhelmed by the heavy seas. Italian police boats and a tug set out to aid the stricken boat, but were unable to reach them before the severe weather conditions forced them to turn back.
Security forces are understood to have pulled 30 survivors from the water, many in a severe condition who have been taken to a nearby hospital. The search continues for further survivors and victims, both on land and sea. Italian authorities have stated that at present 106 illegal immigrants have been intercepted on ashore.
For further information visit the Italian Prime Minister's office newsroom at www.agi.it
Two Moroccan stowaways were found dead in the cargo hold of a ship heading for Perth, Australia, four weeks after sneaking onboard the vessel in a desperate bid for a new life overseas.
The men had apparently suffocated as they sheltered
in the hold and were eventually found by the crew when they heard noises
coming from the sealed hold full of fertiliser.
The noises were made by two other men, fellow stowaways who survived but were
understandably found in a distressed state. Attempts were made to revive the
victims, but sadly they were found two late.
The crew on the bulk carrier “Furness Karumba” left the Moroccan port of Laayoure on October 7. It was about 1850 km from the West Australian coast when the discovery was made as it headed for an industrial port south of Perth.
Stowaways are desperate and will often mistakenly place themselves in extreme danger to avoid detection. This is another sad tale that demonstrates the importance to crews of remaining highly vigilant when conducting security and stowaway searches...not just to comply with ISPS but to help protect stowaways from their worst enemies...themselves and their own desperation!
Cook turns to chip pan as weapon of choice
An Indonesian fisherman has pleaded guilty to pouring boiling oil over his boat captain while they were detained in Darwin Harbour.
Saiful Anam, 27, pleaded guilty in the NT Supreme Court to causing grievous harm to the Hok Soen Heng, the captain of the fishing boat he was working on.
The court heard the crew had been caught fishing
illegally on May 7 and were detained on their boat at a quarantine point
in Darwin Harbour 1.5km from shore.
Anam, the cook on the boat, had served the captain the evening meal as usual,
but the captain threw the meal back at him and said it was not even fit for
pigs, a deep insult to the devoutly Muslim Anam.
Later that night, Anam took a pan of heated cooking oil into the captain's cabin and removed a blanket from the sleeping man before pouring the scalding oil onto his head.
The attack left the captain with third degree burns to his head, back, neck and arms. He was taken to the Royal Darwin Hospital before being transferred to a specialist burns unit in Adelaide.
Defence lawyer Sue Cox QC said Anam came from a poor family in East Java and supported them with his income as a fisherman. She said he was worried about being caught fishing in Australian waters and had asked to leave the boat in Kupang.
The captain denied the request and told him he would lose his pay if he left. Ms Cox also said the captain had been criticising his cooking for some time.
The court has now adjourned and is waiting a verdict.
SHIPTALK SOCIAL
At Shiptalk we continue to receive numerous requests asking us to cover news of upcoming events, news of appointments, marriages, births and deaths you name it and we are asked to cover it.
In an attempt to satisfy your requests we have added a dedicated section to our website and newsletter , The Shiptalk Social, which is your platform to share personal news and announcements across the global Shiptalk community.
So please email us if you have any gossip, announcements, or news of any comings and goings that you wish to share with other Shiptalk readers. You can reach the Editorial team on newsroom@shiptalk.com
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