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Dear Shiptalk Readers,
Welcome to this the December 2006 edition of the Shiptalk newsletter.
As we usher in yet another festive season it is difficult to know where the last year has gone. Shiptalk has continued to develop adding important additional site portals for jobs, images and comment to the community of sites that is Shiptalk.com.
We have seen a steady increase in the number of subscribers to our free news service (24,000) from all sectors of the industry and site stats have grown in line with this increased interest, meaning that we now welcome on average 30,000 + unique visitors to our site per month.
We are pleased to report that Google seem to like us, having recently issued us with a PageRank of 5 meaning we are now only one PageRank behind the mainstream online publications such as Lloyds List and Tradewinds.
We thank you for you support in 2006 and hope to rely on your further support in 2007. We continue to bring you the news and views that matter and we hope that in return you will continue to provide us with your insightful comments and support our new job service at www.shiptalkjobs.com
We wish you peace and happiness over the festive period and beyond into 2007.
Shiptalk.com……reading you loud and clear
SHIPTALKIMAGES.COM
ShiptalkIMAGES.com provides media companies with a helpful image resource for the design and development of online and print media projects for maritime based companies and organisations. Alternatively marine companies may be creating internal documents that would benefit from the use of good imagery. Or publicists who need to bring their stories to life with relevant imagery.
This month we are featuring the work of one of Søren Lund Hviid
We are sure we can provide you with the image you have been looking for so not why not drop us an image enquiry at enquiries@shiptalkimages.com and we will see what we can do for you.
HEADLINE ARTICLE CAREERS SECURITY SAFETY/WELFARE GENERAL WHAT'S ON WHERE? SPECIAL OFFERS/NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES |
HEADLINE ARTICLE
Ships don't often pique the interest of the mainstream media, but the giant box boat “Emma Maersk” has certainly bucked the trend over the past month.
The sheer capacity of the ship has had journalists purring over their superlatives, and seeing how many double decker buses, football pitches or Blackpool Towers it would take to get from bow to stern, or keel to mast, etc, etc
For those who missed the brouhaha, a statement notes: 'With a declared capacity of 11,000 TEU, the “Emma Maersk” is able to handle a significantly greater number of containers than any other ship currently in operation. It has a length of 397 metres, over 31 metres longer than the next longest container ship, the Maersk 'G' classes, and a width of 57 metres, 15 metres wider than any other container ship. If the containers on board were lined up end-to-end, they would stretch approximately 42 miles.'
Aside from the sheer scale of the ship, and her mass of Christmassy containers, there were two facts that have really stolen the show…the first was that “Emma Maersk” has put a number of people out of work.
The first of these is poor old Mr Santa Claus…yes, even he has had to consider a modal shift and has put his Video Ipods and Tickle Me Elmos on the big, blue one.
It's not just Father Christmas though, as the new "super container" ship has a crew of just 13, yes, THIRTEEN!
Capt Henrik Solmer said that in preparing to work on the vessel the crew had undergone, “human relationship training”. Surely “lack-of-human” training would have been more suited?
With the Emma's sister ships likely to have a similar manning profile, is this reduced manning the way forward, or doomed to failure? Or is the future one without seafarers at all, and will unmanned drone ships be the answer?
Have your say, email newsroom@shiptalk.com
The other point that got the news papers hot under the collar was that while the ship was packed with consumer goodies when she arrived in the UK and Europe, on her outward trip she took what can only be described as “largely a load of old rubbish” - waste plastic, waste paper, electrical goods for repair, and scrap computer parts.
So while the “Emma Maersk” may be a glorious landmark for shipping, never forget that she is the ship that killed Santa, and shattered forever the myth that Europe is anything other than a dumping ground for cheap imports, that feeds the world its garbage in return.
Happy holidays! Bah humbug…
CAREERS
LESS Monster.com MORE Seamonster.com – ShipTALKJOBS.com
At last its here, a truly international job board for seafarers and seagoing recruiters…that WORKS as hard as you do!!!
ShiptalkJOBS.com has been carefully designed by Shiptalk Ltd. to take the headache out of seagoing recruitment and put the right people together with the right vacancies.
ShiptalkJOBS.com is the latest of the community websites developed by Shiptalk Ltd. www.shiptalkjobs.com will ensure that seagoing vacancies are seen by the 25,000 + subscribers to Shiptalk.com on a daily basis.
We need you to help us “prime” the pump, in true seagoing fashion. The more jobseekers we attract the better our chances of drawing the very best recruiters for you, on www.ShiptalkJOBS.com
We make no charges for seafarers looking for employment at sea. Yes, registration is totally free!!! So log on now.
The site is now open for jobseekers to pre-register their details before the New Year when the site will be open to all maritime recruitment agencies, shipowners and managers on 8th January 2007 .
For recruiters, if you have any enquiries about early advertising opportunities on Shiptalk jobs do not hesitate to contact enquiries@shiptalkJOBS.com for more details.
Visit www.shiptalkjobs.com today, and make 2007 the year for great new job, and for great new people!
SECURITY
Reading the maritime press, one cannot help but feel shock at the predicament of two of Trafigura's executives, presently held captive in an Ivory Coast jail.
The Dutch trading firm that chartered the “Probo Koala”, and which was seemingly unknowingly involved in subcontractors dumping toxic waste in the country, has called on the authorities to immediately release the executives.
These calls have followed reports they have been attacked by gangs of up to a 100 prisoners armed with knives and other weapons.
Claude Dauphin, director of Trafigura Beheer, and Jean-Pierre Valentini, manager for West Africa , were arrested on September 18 and are being held while investigations take place into the incident where slops were dumped in open ground around Abidjan.
Reports indicate that Mr Dauphin and Mr Valentini were unhurt in the attack. The company said it is “further concerned at reports that there have been two previous attempts to poison or attack the Ivorian prisoners held in MACA prison in connection with the “Probo Koala” events”.
Trafigura believes they “should be released from MACA prison immediately”. “There is no legal justification for either man to be held2. They had travelled to Abidjan to offer help when news of the sad events in Abidjan became known, the company stressed in a statement.
The executives had co-operated voluntarily and fully with the Ivorian Ministry of Justice and the National Commission of Inquiry into the Probo Koala events.
This case echoes many others, in which people external to the initial event are taken into custody as a result of political wrangling or pressure. These events have led marine insurers Seacurus, to ask, "Are you protecting your professionals”?
Seacurus has responded to the growing trend of marine lawyers, P&I Correspondents and surveyors, etc being held as collateral when disputes escalate. Often such maritime professionals get caught up, and can be held as political pawns as increased financial securities are demanded.
Marine professionals (whether individuals or groups) are frequently instructed to represent their company and/or client's interests in increasingly difficult jurisdictions. Incidences of violent crime, extortion and commercially or politically motivated detention are real risks faced by the modern day marine professional.
It may come as a surprise, but many marine lawyers, surveyors, engineers, loss adjusters, naval architects, consultants, contractors, or marine superintendents often do not have effective insurance in place to protect them in the event of being taken into custody, or as hostage.
To counter this problem, Seacurus has extended their policy range to encompass “ProSEACURE”.
ProSEACURE provides marine professionals with the peace of mind that the best interests of the company and their partners, consultants or employees are protected from the adverse consequences of such attacks. Marine professionals need protection, and they need proper insurance cover, which is fit for the purpose.
According to Seacurus Managing Director, Captain Thomas Brown, “Too often companies are quick to send their personnel off on case, or consultancy work without adequately securing their best interests. This needs to change”.
He added, “ProSEACURE is one way to provide direct access to a well-drilled emergency response and network of professional negotiators. Having personnel detained, whether though kidnap or detention under duress, governmental or otherwise can prove to be very costly, ProSEACURE ensures that case related costs and expenses to release covered persons are met by the insurer subject to policy limits”.
Events such as those being suffered by the Trafigura executives are frightening and dangerous, however they may arise – every company and every professional should know that they have taken the right steps to protect themselves, wherever they are working.
The safe release of personnel does not happen by accident – it needs a formal and professional response to be initiated. Do not leave your people's safety and security to chance – get ProSEACURE cover today.
For more details see www.seacurus.com
For those of us lucky enough to visit ships and ports on a regular basis the fact that Fairplay has stated that, “some ports are still not in compliance with the ISPS Code and security at these facilities is clearly regarded as sub-standard” will not be a major surprise.
In the feature, government and private-sector security experts said that some ports – especially in developing countries – have not been able to meet the ISPS criteria, either for financial reasons or because they do not understand the code's intentionally general requirements.
The fact that this seems to be only seen a problem in “developing” countries is a little misleading and unfair…there are ports today, even in the US, UK and Europe that you could drive into with nothing more than a wave of the hand.
How do we know? Because within the past 12 months this is exactly what has happened to us, in a number of major ports!
The US Coast Guard has acknowledged that teams visiting ports under its International Port Security Program have found some sub-standard facilities and are working with the ports to help them come into compliance.
A website maintained by BIMCO, drawing on input from visiting ships' Masters shows that some 10% of port and port facilities have sub-standard security. That is a lot of scope for criminals or terrorists, and undermines so much of the hard work that many shipping companies, and most ports have made.
For too long seafarers have been perceived as the “weak link” in the security chain, and we think this is both wrong and unfair…it is time to point the finger at the ones who really let the side down.
The message is simple, if you enter a port and are not convinced by their commitment to security, let someone know. Tell BIMCO, write to Shiptalk, The Nautical Institute, Fairplay, Lloyd's List, anyone! Let's start to make a big noise, about this big issue.
Last month saw something of an exciting and unusual stowaway crisis off the Australian coast, as the new box ship “CSCL New York” had to deal with a dangerous boarder.
This was no usual stowaway; it was a feral monkey, spotted after the ship left Hong Kong .
Photos were sent to the relevant authorities, and although a spokesman said the shots were of a poor quality and showed only a "small brown blur", it was believed that the images weren't of the bosun, but of a macaque monkey.
Prior to the ship arriving in Australia a spokeswoman for the RSPCA said she hoped the animal would be dealt with in a humane manner…something that we also hoped for the crew.
The beastie managed to evade capture and seemed to vanish for the rest of the voyage, until the ship finally docked at Botany Bay on 9 November. Some believed its disappearance might have meant it had gone to a watery grave when the ship passed close to a typhoon.
This didn't stop Australia pulling out all the stops at the port, with two officers from the Australian Quarantine & Inspection Service (AQIS) attending and the containers being subjected to a “supervised discharge”.
"Apparently it's quite wild," the AQIS spokesman said. Wild? We'd be livid if we were hunted by a group of irate sailors!
By the 14 November, after the ship had called at Melbourne there was still no sign of the simian stowaway, and quarantine officers stated that, “the problem has resolved itself”.
Let's hope he simply spotted a lush palm fringed island, and decided, just like everyone else that life at sea was too dull – and so decided to make the move to a career ashore.
SAFETY/WELFARE
Can the life of a poor seafarer get any worse? Long gone are the distant days of yore when a returning seafarer would bring home monkeys, bananas, or dusky maidens, now they are more likely to bring back some unusual affliction, such as “berylliosis”.
It was American workers on the world's first atomic bomb who became the first industrial victims of beryllium, a rare but especially light, stable and strong metal whose toxic dust can kill those who breathe it.
Unlike other metals, beryllium does not spark and was therefore perfect for maintenance on tankers. Perfect, but deadly…
According to author Richard Wassell, seafarers who have used “Jason's De-rusting and de-scaling guns” (also known as the J-gun or Jason's pistol) for ship maintenance have raised concerns about exposure to beryllium.
Beryllium can cause a long-term lung disease (berylliosis) in some people by triggering an immune (allergic) response in the body. In general, significant exposure to beryllium in a respirable form is required for any disease to occur, and symptoms may take up to 20 years to develop even after exposure has stopped.
The symptoms include shortness of breath, cough, chest pain, weight loss and fatigue. There is no preventive or curative treatment available for berylliosis or chronic beryllium disease.
More information on Beryllium, Mesothelioma and Asbestosis can be found
At: www.mesotheliomainfosite.com
Drinking, Dancing and Disparaging
As the holiday season draws near, many employees indulge in the ancient pursuit of alcohol-fuelled debauchery…but what happens if it is the bosses that go “off the rails”?
Estonian ferry owner, Tallink, is facing claims that directors harassed and threatened crew during a boozy party on the company vessel, “Silja Symphony”.
Swedish trade union Seko said it had received a letter from staff on the 58,000-gt ship about events at a Board member's dinner.
Board members were said to have “behaved in an extremely improper manner” towards the ship's crew.
The trip apparently degenerated into something "far worse than a common boozing trip". Having taken a ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam on a Friday night – we cannot imagine, just how rowdy this particular voyage must have become.
Seko chairman, Janne Ruden said there had been harassment of crew, as well as threats of sackings and disparaging remarks. The union intends to file criminal charges.
In a statement, Tallink said it took the allegations “very seriously”.
It added: “The improprieties that may have occurred during a private dinner and cruise of its management board and key advisors are regrettable and should not be seen as an evaluation or criticism of the staff's integrity or professionalism.”
The statement finished: “We once again regret any distress caused to our employees and clients by recent media coverage and we shall comment further once our internal investigation has been completed.”
Sounds like one heck of a bash to us…
Shiptalk was very pleased to hear from Rev Rasser, the Port Chaplain of Amsterdam, who wrote to tell us of a very interesting Dutch Mission Television Experiment.
While most welfare work is associated with ship visitors and seafarer's centres, Rev Rasser told us that welfare organisations are rapidly modernising themselves.
He was particularly pleased with the successful launch of a welfare DVD, containing a programme called “SeaTV”. A programme made for seafarers, by seafarers.
SeaTV intends to inform, question and entertain the people on board. Included in the first of the series were discussions on piracy, sports, tattoos, music and spiritual thoughts about loneliness, all presented in simple English that almost any seafarer can understand.
The DVD also contains an interactive database containing the addresses of seafarer's centres around the world.
The production of this professional program has been paid by the ITF-Trust fund. The Dutch reformed church and a number of shipping companies.
Shipping companies, such as Wagenborg and Spliethoff have ordered the discs for their entire fleet, and it is hoped and expected that many more shipowners will follow suit.
Inspired by the positive reactions, the Dutch Seamen's Mission is aiming to produce more SeaTV episodes in the future, and they can also be seen online at www.seatv.info
Anyone wishing to receive copies of the DVD should email Reverend Rasser for details, leon.rasser@planet.nl. Alternatively if you have seen SeaTV, or would like to comment on such welfare initiatives please email newsroom@shiptalk.com to tell us more.
GENERAL
Last year, we mentioned a survey by a schoolboy concerning the image of shipping.
The universal conclusions of his schoolmates were that the industry is “incredibly dreary”, “dull and boring”, and “mind numbingly tedious”. Wow, don't pull your punches kids.
This research by Edmund Wareham, a schoolboy on work experience at Lloyd's List was revisited last month, as according to Chinese shipowners no fewer than 76% of respondents polled by their association believed that seafaring was perceived as being dull. They went on to state that this hampered recruitment, and that this negative image is at least partly responsible for the high turnover of crew, especially that of officers.
Now it seems that action is inevitable, as these Chinese employers are actually recognising that they need to do more to attract and retain bright seafarers.
This first step to putting some fun back aboard ship is vital, as the industry needs to shake up these damaging perceptions.
It may be that promotion, early responsibility and internationally transferable qualifications to stimulate the career-minded are fine at initially attracting people to sea, but once there if life is unremittingly awful then lets face it, clever people around the world have other options nowadays.
It is not just about the basics…good accommodation, food and enough rest. No, there has to be more to this seagoing lark.
Attracting young people with tales of seeing the world, and then showing them wave after wave, and SBM after SBM should be banned under the Trades Descriptions Act. We need to look at what more we can give people, how can a life at sea, be a real life once more?
If we make it better they will come…as the actress said to the Master.
The “deep” does not like to give up its mysteries too easily, but scientists are hopeful that they can piece together the recipe for an ancient Roman fish oil from storage jars found in a 2,000-year-old shipwreck off the eastern coast of Spain .
"The remains are in excellent condition," said Carlos de Juan, co-director of the project. Scientists now hope the discovery of more than 1,200 storage jars, each a metre high, will yield samples with unbroken seals, allowing them to recreate the recipe for the fishy sauce, a delicacy in ancient Roman households.
The wreck is unusual, as it lies in shallow water near the coast and also holds important lessons about ancient trade routes.
"Normally ships like this sink very, very far from the coast, they are practically impossible to find," de Juan said.
"The boat left its course and tried to come into the coast, probably because of bad weather. It didn't succeed and sank one mile off the coast of Alicante ," he said.
Hang on, run that by us again…a vessel carrying oil, trying to come closer to the Spanish coast to find shelter from the battering waves and wind. Sounds strangely familiar??
On hearing of a sunken vessel and something "fishy", we would be very surprised if the Spanish government aren't eager to lock someone up for it.
Thankfully for the Master of this particular vessel, he has been dead for some two millennia...not that, that would deter the Spanish government!
So, as the lawyers of the day would have said on hearing of the sinking, “Revelare Pecunia”, or perhaps “damn, no fish sauce for dinner”.
Having been an avid fan of The Love Boat as a small child, I dreamed of the fun, the glamour, and of romance with beautiful young ladies. That's what cruising was all about.
Imagine my shock then upon joining my first cruise…water wings in the pool, chicken wings in the saloon, and bingo wings everywhere else.
Not a beauty in sight…well not one with real teeth. A real disappointment! Well, not completely, as there are certain things that only gummy pensioners can do…but I digress.
Trust the Chinese then to face up to this dilemma. The solution has been simple, a millionaires matchmaking cruise, open only to males and "good-looking and desirable" women.
Men on the cruise scheduled to go along Shanghai 's Huangpu River must be worth at least 2 million yuan ($250,000), the China Daily quoted organizer Xu Tianli as saying.
Xu said more than 20 men had signed up for the cruise and that half of those registered to take part were worth more than 200 million yuan ($25 million). Hooray for the rich guys.
Boo, however for the deluded young ladies. As fewer than 30 of the 1,000 woman who applied were accepted, Xu said.
"Only those who were attractive in every category can take part in this event," Xu said, without giving the specific criteria interested female applicants had to meet.
"Rich men are normally very busy, and most of the women they meet are there for work or business, which these men consider to be unsuitable for relationships," Xu said.
One of the men who signed up for the cruise, identified only by his surname Sun, said "appearance is most important to me."
Amen to that Comrade Sun, Amen!
WHAT'S ON WHERE?
Presented by the Connecticut Maritime Association (CMA), Shipping 2007 continues a tradition of bringing the international shipping community together in North America 's leading commercial shipping centre, for two and a half days of business and market oriented activity.
The event will be held March 19-21, 2007 at The Westin Hotel in Stamford , Connecticut , USA and we hope to have the opportunity to welcome you.
To view the official program, information on how to register for this event and much more, please visit our show website at: www.shipping2007.com
Contact: Lorraine Parsons, Event Director, CMA Shipping 2007
Tel: +1.203.406.0109 Ext 3717 Fax: +1.203.406.0110
Email: conferences@cmaconnect.com Website: www.shipping2007.com
SPECIAL OFFERS/NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES
Two special OFFERS for Shiptalk readers
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Packaged in a three volume box set the Lloyd's Maritime Directory contains contact details of over 35,000 ship owners, managers and operators in addition to 20,000 companies from the shipping world. Listings of over 60,000 vessels and a dedicated section on companies providing shipping services are also included.
To find out more or to order a your specially discounted copy please visit www.lloydsmiu.com/lmd and enter the promo code N3AX061E
www.lloydsmiu.com - free trial available to Shiptalk customers*
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New trade credit insurance facility for marine fuel suppliers
A new bespoke insurance product tailored to the marine fuel sector offers bunker suppliers and traders protection against non-payment of fuel sales.
Marine credit insurance specialist broker Seacurus Ltd has launched a new product aimed at the bunker market, designed to offer bunker suppliers and traders protection against non-payment of fuel sales.
The new product, BunkerSEACURE, has been made available through Bunkerworld as a recognized marine fuel supplier's credit insurance. BunkerSEACURE provides balance sheet protection against the risk of non-payment following the supply of marine fuels to your customers on agreed credit terms.
Seacurus Managing Director Capt. Thomas Brown said: "BunkerSEACURE is designed to provide true balance sheet protection, by effectively substituting an unknown and unbudgeted level of bad debt with a pre-determined and budgeted premium cost, thereby minimising the impact of bad debts on a company's bottom line.
"In an industry where margins are 'thin', delinquent debts can have a major impact on a company's profitability and cash flow," Brown added.
The spectre of rising oil and bunker fuel prices has put increasing pressure on suppliers to extend levels of credit to their customers - often at levels beyond what they were previously comfortable taking on their own books.
Brown continued: "By laying-off the risk to the insurer, suppliers can continue to trade with their customers with confidence and offer extended credit limits and terms of trade in the knowledge that their income stream is secured."
Bunkerworld Director Alisdair Pettigrew said: "An average 100% increase in bunker fuel prices over the past two years has had a great impact on the bunker industry - not least increasing the credit exposure of bunker suppliers.
"With widespread consensus that prices will remain high or move higher, BunkerSEACURE is timely; providing suppliers and traders with assurances hitherto unavailable through a product tailored to the bunker market. Bunkerworld is delighted to support this vital initiative through Bunkerworld.com."
BunkerSEACURE protects the insured against the risk of non-payment by their clients for marine fuels. The trigger for non-payment would transpire in the event of insolvency of an insured customer or protracted default.
Protracted default (or slow pay) is usually defined as occurring between 90 and 180 days after the contractual due date for payment.
How does it work?
Whatever approach you decide to take with BunkerSEACURE, the following general rules apply:
1.You will be given a policy which will provide you with agreed limits of cover for each of your buyers.
2.The policy limits can be amended either upwards or downwards during the term of the policy and will be set according to the profile of the buyer, his country of operation and general market conditions.
3.Depending on the insurance structure you choose you will be given a set of procedures to follow. It may be better however, to design a structure that allows you to operate as close to your own preferred procedures as possible. Seacurus can tailor the structure to suit your requirements.
4.In the event of a default or concern about a particular buyer, you will be required to contact your insurers to discuss with them the best method of collecting the debt whilst being reassured that (providing there is no dispute over quality for example) the debt will be collected either from the buyer or ultimately, the insurers.
For more information go to: www.bunkerworld.com/bunkerseacure
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