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Dear Shiptalk Readers,
Welcome to this the September 2006 edition of the Shiptalk newsletter.
Please take your time to read what we have to say this month about issues affecting your everyday lives at sea and do let us know if you have an opinion or comments on any of this month’s articles or other issues that you would like to air via Shiptalk.com.
Why not air your news views and opinions on the Shiptalk Forum at www.shiptalkforum.com
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 ShiptalkIMAGES.com newest photographers Daniel Hormann.
Daniel has recently uploaded a portfolio of truly magnificent images that would grace the corporate pages of any companies marketing materials.
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.
SHIPTALK ANNOUNCEMENT
Shiptalk To Launch Hard Copy Newsletter In 2007
Building on the success of Shiptalk's free online news service over the last 4 years plans are in the pipeline to provide Shiptalk subscribers with the option to receive a quarterly hard copy newsletter in 2007.
If you believe this option would be of interest to you we would ask you to confirm your interest by clicking in the following link REGISTER INTEREST
Thank you for assisting us with our market research and we hope you enjoy this month's newsletter.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER YOUR INTEREST
ShiptalkIMAGES Offers Corporate Account
ShiptalkIMAGES launched April 2006 has attracted a number of high quality marine photographers and corporate clients alike. Whilst the site is fully enabled for online sales this is not always the most convenient method of payment for all image buyers.
Accordingly we would be happy to hear from companies who would benefit from a corporate account access to our image database.
The corporate account holder will be provided with the option to submit a list of required images along with their image budget. We will then enter into negotiations with our photographers to establish if we can obtain your preferred images within your budget. If we can, you will be provided with an itemized image list providing all details of the chosen images and revised pricing structure. Should you wish to proceed with the purchase thereafter we can issue you with an invoice for the cost of the images to fulfill the sale if required.
Take the leg work out of your image search. Corporate clients may also benefit from our no obligation image search service, you tell us what you want and we will revert with a list of suitable images.
If you are interested in our Image Database Corporate Account please CONTACT US typing “ corporate account ” into the title of your message.
TRAINING
SHIPTALK and INFORMA launch new Ship Arrest DVD
New from Lloyd's Maritime Academy
The 11 th Annual Comprehensive Guide to Ship Arrest is now available on DVD !
Lloyd's Maritime Academy in association with Shiptalk is pleased to announce the launch of a DVD which includes the seminar papers and filmed presentations from 6 key industry leaders.
The seminar which took place at Lloyd's Maritime Academy Suite in London is part of a series of LMA seminars which have been running for the past 30 years.
The DVD will provide you with an overview of conventions relating to ship arrest and will examine the challenges of obtaining security in a variety of jurisdictions
The two day intensive seminar DVD incorporates:
- The P & I Club's View of Ship Arrest
- Managing the Arrest Process
- Ship Arrest in India , Denmark , China and UAE
The DVD has been accredited 6 hours CPD by the Law Society of England and Wales with.
For further details on how you can obtain your copy of the seminar DVD simply email Sarah Jane Adams at sarah-jane.adams@informa.com or call +44 (0) 20 7017 4018
CAREERS
Since modern maritime security was first gaining an industry foothold in the wake of 9/11, there have been concerns voiced that heavy-handed port security provisions would make it difficult for all seafarers, but particularly those from certain nations, to gain permission for shore leave.
This was, and still is, of great concern – and many organisations are fighting the rightful cause of seafarers to be granted the respect and freedoms of movement and liberty that they deserve.
Many also voiced concern that certain groups of seafarers would be unfairly seen as a security risk based only on their faith or ethnic group. It seems that these observers have been proved worryingly accurate.
In a case emerging from the US there are suggestions that a group of seven Muslim men has filed a law suit against a prominent U.S. based cruise line claiming that they were dismissed on the basis of their religion or nationality.
News reports claim that the men, all of Yemeni or Middle Eastern origin and all Muslim, were systematically fired from their positions onboard the cruise liner starting from July 2004.
The group of men is seeking a permanent injunction against their employers from carrying out such alleged dismissals in the future, whilst compensation including reinstatement, back pay and benefits could also be sought.
The alleged dismissals all occurred while the ship was docked around the state of Hawaii where the men were allegedly told to disembark for, what US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regional attorney Anna Park described as ‘security reasons'.
“They were all hired around the same time, came onboard and all pretty much fired,” Park said.
It is reported that legal recourse was sought by the EEOC after attempts to resolve the situation with the cruise line proved fruitless.
Shiptalk will continue to report on this worrying story as further news breaks, but once again it seems that “security” is being used as a negative tool against seafarers. It seems that many regimes, including The US, fail to appreciate the positive role that seafarers can play in securing the oceans…as the eyes and ears of maritime security – whatever their religious or geographic background.
If seafarers are embraced as part of the security chain it will become stronger, but by systematically slapping the faces of people just doing their jobs we are creating an undercurrent of mistrust and resentment.
Last month's edition of BIMCO's Seascape considered the role and proliferation of women in shipping, and asked whether shipping will follow modern industry and see an increased proportion of women in the workplace?
They commented that while women seafarers remain in a distinct minority, they are on the increase especially as “the job is less physical and arguably cleaner than it was in an earlier age”. Though we must confess, having met some female seafarers we have to say that they were far more physical, and even dirtier than their male colleagues, but we digress…
However, it is employment ashore that BIMCO believe is the vanguard of a real change in the workplace, as they see that only a foolish company would deny itself access to 50% of the population.
There is still work to do on promoting shipping as an industry for women and BIMCO state that shipping and indeed transport has not been sufficiently “sold” to girls as an attractive career option. BIMCO feel that too often occupations tend to be branded as more suitable for one sex than the other, and girls choosing their career options have seemingly ignored maritime transport.
According to the article, it is time for the maritime industry to consider how shipping can more effectively reach bright young women looking for a rewarding and interesting career. While making women think more about maritime industry opportunities, in the “wonderful world of international shipping”.
Hear, hear…Shiptalk are in full agreement, and cannot wait to see an equitable maritime workforce along religious, ethnic, and gender lines.
In an age in which we too often hear of manning shortages it is remiss of the entire industry to ignore any people that can make shipping work better. Time to drop the stereotypes and to embrace women…halleluiah!
In the meantime not all those at sea are comfortable with the whole gender thing…
A transgender woman was quizzed about her “balls” and deliberately referred to as “he,” a UK employment tribunal has been told.
Drusilla Philippa Marland, a P & O Ferries crew member claims she was forced out of her job after the company did not protect her from discrimination.
She told the hearing that she was ridiculed because of her gender reassignment and had to deal with jibes such as, “we are all men here” on the "Pride of Bilbao" ship.
She said: “There was a mob culture in the engine crew which saw me as an outsider.”
An internal investigation found that colleagues had behaved inappropriately, the Southampton tribunal heard.
P&O Ferries' human resources assistant Sandra Ray said: “The standard of behaviour of Ms Marland's workers in the engine room was not what was expected. Most was out of ignorance and not malice."
She claimed she offered training about how to deal with transsexuals but claimed Ms Marland was more interested in gaining compensation.
Hang on have we missed something here? Surely Ms Marland was already aware of how to “deal with transsexuals”, you know what with being one. Perhaps it was the crew that needed guidance on such a delicate matter, and perhaps P&O could have done more to protect their employee…whether a man, woman or whatever.
WELFARE
Modern-Day Case of Slavery at Sea
Now we have all heard stories of unscrupulous shipowners taking advantage of poor downtrodden crews, but a story that emerged last month makes Captain Davy Jones seem like a fully paid up member of the ITF Blue Card scheme.
Two young Ecuadoreans who worked onboard a deep-sea fishing vessel from Ecuador are claiming to have been held against their will for around two years in a modern-day case of slavery at sea.
The case has suddenly taken prominence as the two brothers are pursuing compensation and also an asylum claim in Canada.
The men, Paulo Romero Cedeno, 28, and Cristhian Romero Cedeno, 21, have now been granted asylum "due to persecution, torture and fear to their life from the owners of a vessel", Toronto 's Globe and Mail newspaper reported.
The perpetrators of the alleged abuses, one of whom is the victims' aunt, are understood to be in New Zealand , and a legal battle has commenced to bring them to justice, where they will conceivably face charges related to trafficking in human persons under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Criminal Acts.
As the case has continued a litany of abuse and torture has emerged. Paulo Romero Cedeno said he was stripped naked, washed in fish blood and thrown into the ocean, with crew betting whether a shark would attack him.
His younger brother was subject to the same game - as well as to rape.
The Cedenos brothers, managed to jump ship in Vancouver in November 2004, and told their harrowing story in a refugee hearing, with details released last month in a written ruling.
Cristhian said the brothers used to rise at 3am to haul in fishing lines and would then have to work in the ship's freezer stacking fish.
"When there were storms we would have to be out back holding the lines to see if the fish would gather. We would have to climb to the top of the vessel and stand there for hours to watch the ocean and see if there were fish. It was like this every day. It was 3am until midnight"
Paulo described the shark-baiting game in a written statement.
"…after working for 16 hours non-stop, the captain and two Fijian crew members grabbed me. They took off my clothes and soaked me with fish blood. They started laughing at me. I begged for them to let me go. I felt terrorized. Suddenly the captain grabbed me and threw me to the ocean. I was screaming for help because I knew sharks could attack me."
When he was taken back on board the vessel again, the captain started collecting money from the other Fijian crew members: "Apparently they had made a bet on my life."
The loss of any vessel is distressing especially with loss of life – but when a ship vanishes along with its crew how can the relatives deal with the stress of not knowing what has truly happened to their loved ones?
In a desperate bid for answers the relatives of the crewmembers of the missing tug "Jupiter-6" are planning to move a public interest litigation in the Indian Supreme Court seeking to get the Government to trace the ship and the crew.
At a press conference last month, the relatives alleged that the Government was not taking effective steps to trace the ship or secure information about the crew.
Wives of two crewmembers and the cousin of another, who attended the news conference along with functionaries of the Chennai-based Sailors' Helpline, said the families, besides suffering from mental agony, were in deep financial crisis. They had petitioned Government functionaries, MPs, Ministers and politicians, but in vain.
The relatives of the crew said Pelican Marine, the Mumbai-based shipping agency that recruited the seafarers, was indifferent to their pleas for the salaries of the crewmembers.
"Jupiter 6", a tug, with 10 Indians and three Ukrainians as crewmembers onboard, has been missing since September 5 2005.
The tug, with an unmanned dead ship in tow, had left Walvis Bay , Namibia bound for India via Mauritius when it vanished. The last message from the ship was on September 5 when the ship was 2030 nautical miles (around 4,000 km) off Mauritius.
The shipping agency had not paid the salaries of the crew for the last 11 months. According to the relatives, the office of the Indian Director-General of shipping, repeatedly stated that they were still investigating the matter.
Mr Manoj Joy of the Sailors' Helpline said that since the Government had failed to initiate necessary action, the relatives had decided to move a public-interest litigation. Mr. Joy said that if it were any other country, it would have taken steps to find the whereabouts of its nationals.
Dr Koya, an Indian politician, told the press he had petitioned the Ministry of External Affairs and the Director General of Shipping to find the whereabouts of the crew. He had also urged Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs to intervene. The External Affairs Ministry had contacted the Namibian Government, but it was yet to receive any reply.
In a statement Dr Koya suspected that pirates had stolen the ship and changed its identity.
In the last issue of Shiptalk we brought you a tale of a crew living on a supply of sausages - now while this is hardly the diet of champions it seems that such privations and the realities of modern life at sea can have much more significant, damaging and lasting effects.
The North of England P&I club has noted an increase in incidents involving crew members suffering from psychological problems at sea. In the latest issue of its loss-prevention newsletter Signals, the club suggests that growing fear of criminalisation could now be a contributory factor.
According to North of England's risk-management manager Tony Baker, “It is not clear what the main causes are, but family pressures and increasing anxiety about criminalisation of seafarers are certainly possibilities. The symptoms are on the rise, ranging from mild anxiety attacks and depression to aggressive behaviour to fellow crewmembers and, more tragically, suicide.”
Factors also contributing to the worsening mental health of crewmembers are cited as increasing length of time spent away from home, reduced ability to get relieved from a ship and greater pressure to remain at sea longer and send more funds home.
‘In the modern world of shipping, turnaround times in port are also much quicker and shore leave may be restricted by the authorities,' says Baker. ‘This creates more work for both officers and crews and less opportunity to relax, resulting in greater fatigue and stress. But whatever the cause, mental illness must be taken extremely seriously, both to protect individual crewmembers but also their colleagues on board.'
"Anyone who appears to deeply depressed or who talks of suicide should never be left alone,' warns Baker. ‘In practice this can be difficult, but the crewmember should be confined to a cabin and remain there under supervision. The deck is a dangerous place and the ship's side may be a temptation.'
Michael Grey looked more deeply into the North of England's report in Lloyd's List and examined the life and challenges facing modern seafarers…and the conclusion? The “fun factor” has gone. It's simple really, without fun seafarers cannot be happy QED!
We must be realistic when faced with loneliness, stress, too many sausages and the constant fear of incarceration…in fact what the hell is there to be happy about.
One place to turn is the Mission to Seafarers, and many crewmembers have found them to be of great help (www.missiontoseafarers.org). It runs centres in over 100 ports and has representatives in some 200 other ports.
In fact the Lloyd's List piece reminisced about a Mission to Seafarers chaplain at Avonmouth , UK , who would occasionally take seafarers to the nearest motorway service station, where they could do a little shopping and watch the world go by.
Having just spent a Bank Holiday Monday in the UK doing much the same, may we suggest that anyone wishing to visit a service station of their own volition really is mad.
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LEGAL
Many of our older readers may remember Pursers. They used to do much of a ship's administration…in a slightly effeminate manner.
The job of Purser now only really exists in the rarefied and glamorous world of cruise ships, and brings the poor soul into contact with millions of dollars and that most insidious of evils…”temptation”.
This is a tale of such temptation onboard the cruise ship "Sapphire Princess".
Yes, a particularly naughty Purser had to be taken off the ship and arraigned in an Alaskan court on charges that she stole more than $400,000 in cash from the ship's safe.
Elisha Cuffe, 32, of Australia was arrested after a search of her cabin found a cardboard box at the foot of her bed containing around $400,000.
She was charged with “felony theft”. Bail was set at $30,000 and her passport was turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Investigators said Cuffe allegedly noticed in late May that the cruise ship's computer records were not showing the correct totals of cash on hand.
As a result of the discrepancies Cuffe, over a period of several weeks, reportedly took the extra money to the cabin where she stored it in the cardboard box.
Senior staff members aboard the ship ultimately conducted an internal investigation and notified law enforcement authorities after a search of Cuffe's cabin turned up the cash trove.
To add insult to injury an FBI spokesman reported that the authorities also are considering bringing federal charges against Cuffe for transferring stolen money through international waters.
Which brings us to a depressing and ridiculous tale from Venezuela , courtesy of The London Club.
You Spot It…You Pay The Price!!
The London Club, in the latest issue of its StopLoss Bulletin , describes apparently perverse behaviour of authorities in Venezuela.
According to the article, the Master of a vessel alongside in Venezuela spotted suspicious diving going on near the ship and alerted the authorities. After a dive search a capsule containing 70 kg of cocaine was found attached to the ship's hull.
All well and good you'd think, and hats off to the vigilant skipper…hmm not so fast - incredibly the authorities promptly arrested the master and his crew and considered criminal charges against them.
It took 36 days of intense effort through diplomatic, industry and legal channels for the threat of proceedings and the potential imprisonment of the master to be withdrawn. It appears local political pressure was applied to attempt to secure the conviction of the master.
Where can we even begin to express how stupid this case is?
Though looking at it from different perspective, perhaps it all makes perfect sense, especially if Venezuela is a place in which drug smugglers are completely engrained in the legal and social system.
We also have to remember it must have been fairly annoying and embarrassing to have such an illegal shipment spotted. Perhaps someone decided to hand out a little lesson to the Master – and more importantly to future Masters in a similar position.
It must be difficult for the authorities to turn a blind eye when someone is doing their job for them. Yes, in true Scooby Doo style they would have got away with it, if it hadn't been for the meddling Master.
Across the shipping industry many companies seemingly have trouble getting some crews to perform even the most mundane of tasks properly and to the instructions contained within the Safety Management System.
However, it seems that if you whisper for some grand conspiracy to cover up institutionalised and systematic MARPOL abuses, some engineers are only too happy to do as they are told.
Last month we once again carried the depressing news that a grand jury in the USA had returned a three-count indictment against the Chief Engineer and the Second Engineer of a bulk carrier vessel called the "M/V Sun New".
They were charged (aren't they always) with conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and a violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships in connection with the use of two bypass hoses used to discharge sludge and oil contaminated bilge waste overboard into the ocean.
According to the indictment, Chang-Sig O was a licensed Chief Engineer of the "M/V Sun New" and at all times was responsible for managing engine room operations and crew members on board the vessel and assuring compliance with the laws regulating the discharge of oil from the vessel. Mun Sic Wang was a licensed Second Engineer and was responsible for operating the vessel's Oily Water Separator - a required pollution prevention device.
According to the indictment, the defendants used two hoses on a trip from Korea to the US during late 2005, to circumvent required pollution prevention equipment and dump sludge and oily bilge waste into the ocean. The U.S. Coast Guard discovered the bypass equipment during an inspection of the vessel in New Jersey on January 3, 2006 .
The defendants are charged in the indictment with conspiracy and a violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships for using these bypass hoses and failing to record these discharges in the Oil Record Book.
The indictment further alleges that the defendants obstructed the Coast Guard inspection by making false statements designed to prevent the Coast Guard from finding out about these discharges.
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of 5 years in prison on the conspiracy charge, 5 years in prison on the obstruction charge, and 5 years in prison on the violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships. An indictment contains only allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Many innocent seafarers are faced with the constant threat of criminal sanctions, to the extent that many are going insane – but still these pollution offences keep occurring. They do the industry, and in particular seafarers a disservice.
How can we ever hope to stand up and hammer home the message that seafarers are not criminals when people continue to conspire, obstruct and violate?
SECURITY
August was a month of extreme pressure on the aviation industry, as a terrorist plot to blow up UK-US flights using liquid explosives was uncovered.
Many UK airports nearly panicked themselves into a meltdown and passengers were denied the very basics of human comforts…Laptop, The Da Vinci Code, and Cucumber gel eye masks.
On the whole it seemed like the whole transport infrastructure must surely be under threat – and as planes had managed to secure themselves against determined mothers and their Milupa, then perhaps other modes might become targets, as foiled terrorist looked to lash out down the “target food chain”.
Yet despite the hysteria, the maritime industry was remarkably restrained and relaxed about the whole threat malarkey. Perhaps those normally twitchy experts that predict doom, gloom and bombs on Cross-Channel ferries were all on their holidays, as the whole fuss passed without so much as a Level Two claxon being sounded.
Even those two barometers of maritime security hysteria, the US Coast Guard and cruise industry, remained aloof from the brouhaha.
According to news from the US , it seemed that even the largest cruise companies didn't feel under pressure to change their security provisions.
Carnival Cruise Lines stated that it would not heighten security in reaction to the aborted terrorist attack, spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz said.
She added, the US Coast Guard, which determines many of the cruise ship security levels, stated that no change to security levels was necessary. That means cruise lines will not restrict passengers from carrying drinks, shampoos, toothpaste and other gels that airlines banned in the immediate wake of the security swoops.
De la Cruz also stressed that passengers and their carry-on and checked luggage are scanned for explosives, weapons and other items, as are all materials and supplies loaded onto the vessels.
"We also submit our passenger and crew manifests to federal agencies for screening," she said.
Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises implemented additional security measures, a spokeswoman said. No details were forthcoming...but let's hope no-one had to endure dinner at the Captain's table with stinky breath or messy hair!
The Nigerian Oil Industry was hit by another set of kidnappings last month, as Shipping company Trico Marine Services reported that four foreign workers were kidnapped from one its supply vessels.
The head of Trico Marine's Norwegian subsidiary told the press that two Norwegians and two Ukrainians were abducted from the vessel "Northern Comrade", flagged in Norway .
Thankfully they were released unharmed after a week in captivity.
This attack off Nigeria , and the recent attacks on two UN chartered landing craft in the Malacca Strait by heavily armed pirates have raised the spectre that kidnapping ships' crews for ransom might be returning to haunt seafarers.
The International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur has stated its concerns that the attacks took place in daylight hours and the pirates were heavily armed. The Centre's Manager Noel Choong said “Pirates that kidnap for ransom come in daylight hours”. In point of fact, those committing ‘petty theft' normally make use of the cover of darkness and are less heavily armed.
According to counter-piracy and maritime intelligence experts Gray Page, if there was any question as to whether marine kidnap for ransom is only limited to Somalia waters and the Gulf of Guinea , these latest attacks have served to demonstrate that the threat persists more widely.
The threat of hostage taking and kidnapping at sea is clearly a risk that ship owners should be addressing. As if the threat to the well being of ships' crews and passengers was not reason enough, there is manifest potential for significant financial losses as a result of such an incident.
While practical help is at hand to address the physical and procedural aspects of counter-piracy measures, it has so far remained unclear how a shipowner's potentially uninsured financial losses might be mitigated and/or indemnified.
There continues to be a lot of confusion amongst ship owners about which insurers are going to indemnify losses arising from a marine K&R incident. Many owners will assume that their Protection & Indemnity insurers will cover the loss, whilst others may look to their Hull & Machinery and/or War Risk insurers.
However, the reality is that none of the traditional marine insurances expressly cover the payment of ransom and the associated costs of a marine kidnapping incident and ship owners cannot rely on discretionary provisions within their traditional insurances to respond to the complex, and very specialised, risk of marine kidnap and ransom (K&R).
If, as seems likely, the threat of marine K&R continues to escalate, shipping company risk managers need to look at the ways in which they can best protect their seagoing personnel and their commercial imperative to complete the contractual voyage.
All ship owners operating vessels in areas where the threat of piracy is elevated should be prepared for a marine K&R incident. In the event that a vessel and crew are hijacked and ransomed, ship owners must have a response plan that they activate without delay. These plans should have considered the need to call upon the immediate support of expert negotiators and marine intelligence advisors to safeguard the lives of the crew and to expedite the release of the vessel and crew without undue delay.
It is in the light of this that Seacurus has developed a dedicated marine K&R insurance policy for ship owners and managers. The policy named CrewSEACURE satisfies a number of the inherent requirements of response planning. Moreover, it provides confidence that the costs involved in the resolution of an incident will be indemnified without the need to rely on the uncertain outcome of discretionary claims on other more traditional policies of marine insurance.
Importantly, the cost of CrewSEACURE is not prohibitive and fleet-wide insurance programs can be constructed that will provide meaningful risk transfer for hundreds rather than thousands of dollars per vessel.
For more information go to www.seacurus.com/insurance_solutions.asp#marine
Or contact tbrown@seacurus.com
SAFETY
In last month's column we concentrated on interactions between people or “liveware” onboard. As a “human factors” Programme, it will come as no surprise to find out that CHIRP has already collected a considerable amount of material on this subject and by classifying the incidents using a sophisticated taxonomy developed for the aviation industry is not only able to focus on incidents involving people, but can pick up particular aspects of those incidents such as communications, interactions, supervision and regulatory activities.
This month I had considered moving away from the ship a little to look at incidents involving external humans such as VTS , management, Classification Society, Flag Administration, etc, but there is so much of interest going on onboard I've decided to stay there for the time being. Of course, it is not possible to separate what's going on onboard from what's happening in the office, as these two examples from the CHIRP database illustrate:
“At around 1600 the Bridge OOW (Officer of the Watch) was informed that myself and a colleague were going to work on the after deck. I then proceeded to the after deck, whilst my colleague went off to prepare some other equipment. Whilst awaiting his return the ship came about without warning and a wave engulfed me. As I turned, I slipped, but being uninjured continued to the safety of the after weather door.
I reported this incident to the Bridge immediately. The Master, 1st Mate and 2nd Mate were all present on the bridge at this time. I Informed the Master of the incident to which he replied – "Well if you don't tell us you're on the after deck what do you expect?" I told him that we did inform the bridge, and the 2nd Mate who took the message piped up and admitted to the Master that he had indeed been informed a few minutes ago.
A meeting was held in the Master's cabin regarding the incident. To my surprise the agenda wasn't to address my concerns over the near miss but to coerce me into changing my statement. The Master wanted me to rewrite the report so that the description of the wave that came over me was no more than a spray. It was also insinuated that I had exaggerated my statement and that my motives for submitting the report were questionable. The debate was lively and coercive and resulted in me agreeing to look again at the wording of my report.”
What's going on here? Is there something about the ship's management culture that is making him act this way; does he fear for his job, or is there some other disincentive to reporting?
“The vessel ran aground. I heard later that the Captain on board and 2/O were not paying attention to the ship's movements; talking around the radar to the Cadet. I was the engineer in charge of the watch at the time. The motorman and myself noticed a great increase in vibration; I had to change the sea strainers over straight away and I had all sorts of high exhaust temperature alarms. I telephoned the Bridge. The Chief Engineer did not come down to the engine room to assist me at any time. None of the C/E's or 2/E's bother to come down for stand-by, which I've never seen before.
I've never had a safety tour of the vessel. It's even the most basic things, no first aid kit, the fire alarms are never tested and the oily water separator does not work. The vessel has had problems with the authorities for pumping oily waste overboard. The vessel was sailing with a cadet as a senior watch keeper. One of the other officers was sacked when he complained about standards. This is the worst vessel I have ever worked on and is an accident waiting to happen.”
These two short paragraphs contain a lot of human factors interest in terms of crew resource management, and supervision and safety management, both onboard and ashore. It may come as no surprise to find out that the vessel's management were not enthusiastic about discussing their potential safety management failings, however, soon after the vessel was inspected and detained!
If your operation shares any of the characteristic illustrated, CHIRP may be able to help. If you have a concern you wish to discuss in confidence, please get in touch.
Safe sailing,
Mike Powell
Director (Maritime) CHIRP
GENERAL
Engineers seem to get a bad press – you'd think all they ever do is sit in puddles of oil tampering with their “magic pipes”…but they're not all bad.
As if to prove this point one Engineer spent 10 days in August dodging river traffic to swim down the Elbe from Dresden to Hamburg .
En Route, Kirsten Seidel collected donations for a charity helping children with cancer and said she was overwhelmed by the support she encountered.
Swimming in North European rivers is a very brave thing to do, but thanks to the ongoing clean-up efforts all she received were money and good wishes, not Typhoid or gob fulls of chemical foam.
Well-done Kirsten!!!!
August was a tough month for ocean wildlife…what with the rotting corpse of a 30ft Humpback being spotted on the bulbous bow of the cruise ship “ Summit ” as she pulled into Seward , Alaska.
Sea critters were no safer out of the water, as twenty-one penguins were rescued on a hot Texas highway after a lorry carrying the wildlife overturned.
Four penguins and some exotic fish were killed in the accident, including three penguins that were hit by passing motorists, said Texas Trooper Richard Buchanan. "The rest of the penguins kind of stayed together in the ditch."
The lorry, also carrying an octopus that was uninjured, was bound for a tourist destination south of Houston , a resort spokeswoman said.
The trooper said it was the oddest traffic accident he had ever handled, and that he was glad the accident was not worse. "There was another lorry full of snakes and alligators that was an hour ahead of them, so luckily we didn't have to deal with the them," Buchanan said.
Reports that a distressed motorist had called the police to report hitting a "dwarf in a tuxedo" were unconfirmed at the time of going to press.
Now while strange, shadowy simians, aren't exactly “Ocean wildlife” they qualify for Shiptalk if they are the beloved pets of a lonely seafarer.
It seems that August saw just such a stray “mysterious” primate roaming around Cyprus , reportedly tapping on windows begging for food.
Police could not say whether they thought the animal was an ape or a monkey, but said there was no cause for alarm.
A local newspaper reported that the animal was thought to have either run away or been abandoned by its owner. With some rumours suggesting (rather unconvincingly) that the creature may have swum ashore from a passing ship.
Apes and monkeys are not indigenous to the east Mediterranean island and their ownership is permitted only with a licence. Cypriot Animal rights' campaigners have complained of an upsurge in people abandoning or neglecting exotic animals.
Earlier this year a stray racoon caused a power outage to more than 2,000 homes on the island after chewing through an 11, 000 volt electric cable.
It survived...though it now has something of a twitch.
WHAT'S ON WHERE?
ISF Manning and Training Conference 2006
The International Shipping Federation is holding its an annual one-day Manning and Training Conference in London on Wednesday 6 th September 2006 at the Royal Society of Medicine.
This event has become well-established and popular in the maritime industry and is aimed at personnel directors and senior managers from international ship operating companies, or anyone interested in maritime manpower issues. It is attended by about 240 people and viewed as a principal event for those involved in employing seafarers.
The keynote speaker this year is Mr Kari Tapiola, Executive Director at ILO. Other topics include the fatigue and safe manning, reviewing STCW 95, seafarer health checks, dealing with a blame culture and more…
Full details can be found at:
or by contacting:
Mrs Shantel Ryan
ISF
12 Carthusian Street
London
EC1M 6EZ
Tel: +44 20 7417 2855
Fax: +44 20 7417 8877
Email: shantel.ryan@marisec.org
COLLISION – CONTROLLING THE CHAOS - The Master's Role
The Nautical Institute North East Branch 14 th Mariner and Maritime Law Seminar 10-11 November 2006 Hilton Newcastle Gateshead
This November will see the North East Branch of the Nautical Institute host the fourteenth seminar in their successful series of “The Mariner and Maritime Law” seminars.
The seminar will take place on the 10 th – 11 th November 2006 at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead Hotel, overlooking the river Tyne .
The seminar titled “Collision – Controlling the Chaos – The Master's Role”, is sponsored by a host of prominent companies in the shipping industry, including, OSG , Brookes Bell, Smit and LOC.
The seminar will examine the position of the master in the aftermath of a collision.
Leading industry experts will look at a wide range of issues with which the Master must concern himself post collision including; salvage, managing the media, communications with head office, who he can expect onboard post collision, how shock and trauma can affect decision making and what lessons can be learnt from the aviation industry.
The seminar has been a proven success over the years from both an educational and networking perspective. This year will be no different. Over 150 delegates from around the world are expected to attend. Everyone with an interest in seafarers, the environment, ship management and international trade will have something to contribute and something to learn.
This year has seen an unprecedented number of early bookings and seminar organisers would urge delegates to register as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
The seminar programme and registration form may be downloaded from the Branch website: www.ninebranch.org or obtained from Denise Huddleston,
tel: +44 191 232 5221 or email niseminar@nepia.com
COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT
CHALOS, O'CONNOR & DUFFY, LLP
The Partners, Associates and Staff of Chalos, O'Connor & Duffy, LLP (formerly the New York office of Fowler, Rodriguez & Chalos, LLP) are pleased to announce the opening of their new office, effective September 1, 2006 . The address, telephone, mobile and telefax numbers remain the same. The new internet and e-mail addresses for each of the partners, associates and legal staff are listed below.
We thank our friends, clients and colleagues for their continued support and confidence, and we look forward to serving you in the future.
Chalos, O'Connor & Duffy, LLP
366 Main Street
Port Washington , NY 11050
Tel: (516) 767-3600
Fax: (516) 767-3605
Website: www.codus-law.com
COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT
Viking Recruitment opens new offices in Australia and New Zealand
Dover based maritime recruitment and consultancy company Viking, has opened new offices in The Port of Melbourne Australia to take account of the growing demand for Australian and New Zealand based marine personnel.
Viking, founded by Managing Director Dieter Jaenicke in 1988, provides crew for internationally renowned cruise lines and super yachts worldwide.
The new office, largely mirroring the current setup in Dover , will operate across Australia and New Zealand by establishing links with all the major maritime and hospitality colleges, to recruit individuals for the local and international cruise and super yacht industry.
Matthew Jaenicke, Operations Director said, “The fact that there are many qualified officers and crew in Australia has aided our decision to open an office in this location, which Viking strongly believes will prove beneficial for both its customers and job applicants.”
Viking has built up a network of associated offices worldwide, located in the Channel Islands , Canada , South Africa , Romania and Croatia . These offices are currently supplementing Viking's extensive database of qualified deck, engine, technical, security, hospitality and guest services personnel.
Viking's further services to the maritime industry include training, travel and operations.
For further information, please visit our web site at www.vikingrecruitment.com
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