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Dear Shiptalk Readers,

Welcome to this the July 2007 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.

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HEADLINE ARTICLE
World First For South Tyneside College

For the very first time, people who work at sea will be able to study a marine course from anywhere in the world thanks to South Tyneside College and Teledata.

The College, which is renowned internationally for its marine training, has developed an e-learning course for the Engineering Officer of the Watch qualification – an entry level course for aspiring Chief Engineers.

A world first for the marine industry – this allows those working on board ships to study while sailing or in their leisure time at home.

The virtual Engineer Officer of the Watch (EOOW) course allows students to study the following elements via the internet:

• Mechanics
• Applied Thermodynamics (Heat)
• Naval Architecture
• Electrotechnology

In addition there is a support unit on mathematics that can be studied first if the student believes that their maths skills need to be improved upon.

Traditionally students who are eligible for the Experienced Seafarer Route would need to complete a 24 week course at college. Now they will be able to study the theoretical element of the course electronically anywhere across the globe and only need attend college for 11 weeks to complete the practical element and their overall assessment with the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA).

The virtual EOOW course is distinctly different from conventional ‘distance learning' courses as the students will have access to Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), real people, with real knowledge, by email or specialised ‘chat' forums that will guide them through any areas that they may be experiencing difficulties in.

As well as saving overseas students a significant amount of money in accommodation costs, this will reduce the amount of time they need to spend away from work and in the UK . This will also be great news for employers in the marine industry, who will no longer have to release staff for 24 weeks at a time.

Gary Hindmarch , Head of the Marine College at South Tyneside , said: “Although e-learning has been around for some time – the programme is a brand new concept for the marine industry. Traditional courses such as the Engineering Officer of the Watch have never been designed before in a distance learning, electronic format. But clearly in an industry where people are not land based and can be anywhere in the world, e-learning is a necessary step forward.

“We are anticipating massive demand for the course, which is available from 4 th June 2007 , and are now developing the Second Engineer and Chief Engineer courses in an e-learning format as well.”

For more information about the new e-learning Officer of the Watch course at South Tyneside College , please contact the marine information centre on (0191) 427 3500 or email vmle@stc.ac.uk

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SAFETY WELFARE
Welfare Wide Of The Mark

A recent study has revealed that the services provided by many maritime welfare agencies are no longer meeting the needs of those at sea.

The report from the Cardiff-based Seafarers' International Research Centre and commissioned by the ITF's Seafarers' Trust found that the port-based facilities that have been so painstakingly built up to help seafarers are now being bypassed as a result of the degradation of social life at sea.

It seems that Seafarers may now work a whole contract term without ever seeing a welfare worker, simply because port calls do not allow them the time to visit onshore facilities.

It also pointed to a near complete absence in facilities offered by companies, many of whom have tended to rely on the agencies to look after the social needs of their employees.

Once again, ship to shore communications emerged as one of the most mentioned concerns, with the majority of ratings still not allowed to use email when at sea - despite its existence on most vessels. The responses suggested that its exclusion was often an arbitrary decision made by the captain, and that access to email for all onboard would be one of the most significant changes that could be made to improve seafarers' lives.

Tom Holmer, Secretary of the ITF's Seafarers' Trust, commented: “Dramatic though these results are, they will not come as a complete surprise to ourselves and our friends in the maritime welfare community, who are already planning ahead to meet this change. We have all suspected for some time that despite the magnificent efforts the agencies have made for so long, the services are no longer always getting through. The loss of shore leave, more than anything else, has brought us to a world where the accommodation and services offered in seafarers' centres must now be supplemented by a raft of new types of support.”

The full report can be downloaded at www.itfglobal.org/seafarers-trust/welfarerpt.cfm

We applaud the research and we recognise that in order to really provide the services seafarers need we as an industry cannot sit back and assume we are hitting the mark.

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SECURITY
Hotline to Maritime Crime Central

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has launched a new hotline, which according to director Captain Mukundan goes well beyond the piracy reporting capabilities of the past.

Having seen the need to expand their reporting provisions, Mukundan states, "Any maritime crime ranging from piracy to terrorism, human, drug or weapons smuggling on board commercial ships, can be reported to the new hotline".

The IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur will continue to be the contact point for the maritime security hotline, and maritime crimes can be reported to imbsecurity@icc-ccs.org.uk

"This confidential communication procedure will enable seafarers and others in the shipping industry to pass on suspicions regarding any maritime crime including terrorism on a 24/7 basis," the IMB has stated. Information will be promptly relayed to relevant law enforcement agencies for further action, the agency said.

The IMB have been for so long the only credible response to maritime crime, they have single-handedly taken the fight to government, to stamp out piracy and have shown seafarers that someone does actually care about this insidious threat.

For many, piracy has for too long been the maritime industries dirty little secret, and it is wonderful that the IMB are once again leading the way.

However, we have to ask is this enough? In many senses this is simply the sticking plaster on a compound fracture…we recognise the dreadful “Government speak” of being tough not just on crime, but on the causes of crime, but that is what we need.

Action needs to start before the attacks – we need to engage with those that would be seduced by criminal gangs and become pirates, or gang masters. We need to invest now in out reach programmes to educate and reward youngsters who turn their backs on crime, and who are able to embrace shipping, instead of lashing out at it.

However important statistics are, quashing piracy, will need more than just counting. We need a new dynamic and aggressive regime – one that does more than simply totting up numbers, one that does more than simply hiking insurance rates – shipping and its people need a new perspective, one that supports victims, one that systematically sets out to remove the ignorance and poverty of those who attack ships, and a system which removes all incentives for the criminal gangs who see shipping as a soft target.

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Uncle Sam's Maritime Army

Whatever your thoughts on the security or safety implications of LNG there is one thing that is pretty certain… America is scared senseless by the idea of an attack on an LNG tanker in one of their ports.

So once it's decided that there is a threat, what do you do about it? Well for the US Government they see that the crew is the key. So under a dubious new agreement to supposedly reduce the fear of terrorist attacks, one-fourth of LNG tanker crews will have to be Americans or the ships will not be allowed to unload at new terminals planned for Massachusetts .

The thinking (yes apparently someone did actually think about it) behind the agreement is that if American officers could are aboard the ship then the rest of the crew, (who according to the US Government could be from any number of countries that have reason to harm the US), could be stopped from blowing the ship up.

We are shaking our head even as we type….is this really going to reduce terrorism? The simple answer is NO! It's nothing more than a PR move, or at best a clumsy attempt to ensure US jobs, but whatever it is, it is certainly not a security move.

It seems even beyond Hollywood 's standards to expect that a few unarmed American officers possibly stop terrorists from carrying out their mission. Don't quote us though as we can see Bruce Willis in Die Hard 5 donning his Chief Mates uniform and kicking ass.

In the eyes of most observers if the crew is made up of terrorists (which lets face it is fairly unlikely), then they are more likely to take the crew hostage than allow them to stop the attack.

Anyway lets be real if the ship was already alongside the LNG terminal and offloading the gas, then the vast armada of US Coast Guard vessels which escorted it up the river would have departed and unless there was an armed detail aboard the ship, what would stop the terrorists from blowing the ship up, or killing the American crew?

Even if a tip-off were somehow to reach the local police, the normal time for them to seal off the ship to prevent anyone from escaping–not likely part of the plan, the terrorists could have already set the charges throughout the ship and detonated them. BOOM !

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Ferry Suspicious Indeed

Think of some dangerous sports. Sky diving, Badger baiting, perhaps even skiing…but nothing compares to the “take your life in your hands” nature of Filipino ferry commuting.

Ferries are the natural lifeblood of any emerging island nation, they have helped build growth and prosperity, they bring people and communities together, but all too often in the Philippines they bring with them the very real risk of death and destruction.

So it was that five people died and seven others were injured when a passenger ship went up in flames off Mindoro Island 's Paluan Bay one quiet Sunday morning last month.

Reports said that as fire engulfed parts of the vessel many passengers and crewmen jumped to the sea. Most of them suffered burns on their faces. Thankfully at least 100 of those who jumped to safety were rescued by fishing boats.

Rear Admiral Damian Carlos, said that an initial inquiry with the ship's crew revealed that fire started from the vessel's cargo section around 5 a.m. Carlos added that the captain of the ship steered the vessel toward the shoreline of Mindoro when fire-fighters failed to control the blaze.

Interestingly the blaze has not been determined, according to some sources there are a lot of possibilities, from discarded cigarettes, to “spontaneous combustion”. Such vague suppositions are all well and good, but we feel there is one likely cause that the Filipino authorities seem very reluctant to include, that is terrorism!

The ferries which plough around the coast of the Philippines are prime (and easy) targets for the insurgents gathering in the South of the country – the idea that such violent gangs would not lash out at such targets is perhaps a little naïve.

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Poor Pirates

All too often we at Shiptalk have looked to paint lowly Pirates as the bad guys, but it seems we are being a little too harsh, as the poor mites have it tough too you know.

Oh yes it's all well and good for the seafarers on proper ships, with comfy bunks and choice of biscuits on the wheelhouse, and karaoke sessions in the crew rec room. Life is very different for the poor pirate who has fallen on hard times and is down to his last RPG.

Last month a group of Somali pirates turned on the waterworks and blamed “hard times” for making them hijack ships and murder crewman. “We prefer hijacking ships to being on land because that way we can feed ourselves,” pirate Abdulahi Hasan Afdhub told AFP by satellite phone from a hijacked Taiwanese ship in Somali waters.

“There's no other work than piracy for us in this time of anarchy in Somalia . The money we get is the only way we can survive.”

As if to demonstrate just how down on their luck they are, they then threatened to kill more crew members if a ransom was not paid soon.

The sooner McDonalds opens a branch in Mogadishu the better for us all. Lets get these mentalists off the water and into mind-numbing soul destroying jobs just like the rest of us.

We're not a heartless bunch, and we recognise that it must be tough living and trying to feed oneself in a hell hole like Somalia , but really can they be seriously trying to get sympathy while holding an AK47 to a poor innocent Master's head?

Here's a compromise…you stop attacking ships, and we'll stop saying nasty, hurtful things about you! Deal? Thought not!

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GENERAL
Politically Correct Pirates

It is strange the things which can prick a nation's conscience.

For centuries shipping has been attacked by pirates in the South China Sea , with some attacks even rumoured to have been committed by various parts of the Chinese authorities.

Even in the face of compelling evidence, and in the wake of murders, stolen ships and cargoes, very little has ever really been done by the Chinese authorities.

Oh but how different the response to pirates (even fictional ones), if they are seen to be "vilifying and defacing the Chinese". Then there's action, oh yes Sir.

According to the official Xinhua news agency, China has censored part of the latest instalment of hit Hollywood movie "Pirates of the Caribbean " for slandering and ruining the image of the Chinese.

The role of Hong Kong star Chow Yun-Fat, who plays pirate lord Captain Sao Feng, was slashed in half to just about 10 minutes of screen time, the report said.

According to local Chinese magazine, “The Popular Cinema”: "The captain played by Chow is bald, his face heavily scarred. He also has a long beard and long nails, whose image is still in line with Hollywood 's old tradition of demonising the Chinese."

Chinese censors also cut Chow's line in which he states 'Welcome to Singapore ' because it apparently hints that Singapore is a land of pirates. Gosh how dare they?

Zhang Pimin, deputy head of the film bureau of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, said the cuts had been made "according to the country's relevant regulations on film censorship" and " China 's actual conditions". The cuts "will not impair either the continuity of plot or the image of characters," said Zhang.

Having been forced to watch the piece of feculent nonsense in its entirety, we can only wish the Chinese had cut a couple of hours more.

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Crew Go AWOL

It's usually merchant seafarers who are mistrusted, vilified and treated with disrespect and disdain by the immigration services of so many countries, so it was fascinating to see the brouhaha which followed the disappearance of ten naval crewmembers in Japan last month.

The ten were from two Pakistani Navy ships anchored in Tokyo Bay to participate in an event to promote friendship with Self-Defence Forces personnel.

The two vessels -- a destroyer and a supply vessel, eventually left Japan as scheduled, without the 10, leaving the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to search for them.

Some 700 crewmembers visited the Akihabara district of downtown Tokyo , but the following morning the Defence Ministry notified the MPD that eight of the crewmembers had failed to return to their vessels. It was later found that two others had also failed to come back.

They shouldn't be too hard to spot as when they disembarked, they were dressed in white military attire.

Be on the lookout for Richard Gere look-a-likes carrying their own weight in newly bought electronic gadgetry and with very sheepish smiles.

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Signalled Intentions

Mariners are not renowned for their romantic tendencies…not since the last Jolly Jack had too much rum and tried to make off/out with a near by Mermaid (read Manatee), have we heard such a tender and amorous tale on the high seas.

Yes when a young seafarer's mind turns to marriage neither hell, high water, nor crashing waves can separate him from getting a message to his intended.

So it was aboard the Schooner “ Virginia ", that the chief mate Hank Moseley, plotted a beautiful scheme to ask for the hand of his beloved Kaia Danyluk, as she worked on the nearby Tall Ship, “Godspeed”.

So what options were open to this mushy matelot? Semaphore? Nah too geeky, VHF? Too many interruptions. Morse code? Hey baby fancy a “dot dot dash dot” doesn't quite do it.

No, it was time to hoist the signal flags, and just as so many sailors have done before ask for permission to board. So up went the flags “M-A-R-R-Y-M-E -K-A-I-A”.

To Moseley's relief, she said yes. “She yelled it across the water,” Moseley said. Then, with her hands shaking, Danyluk put together the flagged response. “Her crewmates had to help her,” Moseley said. But, soon enough, three signal flags were aloft on Godspeed: Y-E-S.

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What a Drag

A summary of responses to the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency's (MCA), “Proposed Restriction of Smoking on Sea Going and Inland Waterway Vessels” has just been issued.

According to the MCA they received a very positive reaction to plans to introduce restrictions on smoking on sea going and inland waterways vessels. Apparently very few respondents disagreed with the proposals and most clearly recognised the “health benefits” of such a ban:

Questions 1 and 2 basically asked whether smoke free provisions should be applied, and whether there should be consistency in how the smoke free provisions are applied.

The feedback reported that most responses were supportive, and in true Government speak those that weren't had misunderstood the question.

Question 3 asked whether exemptions should be introduced for private residential spaces on board.

It seems that there was general agreement that provisions should be made for designated areas where people can continue to smoke. However, many respondents raised concerns about making cabins an area where smoking is permitted. The issue of fire safety was raised as well as the potential discomfort for a non-smoker moving into a cabin previously occupied by a smoker.

There were also concerns raised that some vessels are unsuitable for smoking on deck and in some cases, smoking on deck is fully restricted.

Mind you, isn't having a smoking section in the accommodation a little like having a peeing section in a swimming pool?

Question 4 looked at the issue of enforcement, and the issues of how and who.

There was a mixed response to this question. Of those that thought an enforcement body was necessary, most agreed that it should be the MCA.

Some reportedly felt that legal enforcement should not be applicable and that the Master of the ship should be responsible for any necessary enforcement.

Question 5 led on from this enforcement issues and asked about an appropriate scale of penalties.

Some questioned if it would be possible to issue a fixed penalty notice (FPN) to a person on a ship which may have left port. Others raised concerns about the issue of a FPN for failing to display signage.

The issue of signage was raised by many consultees who expressed concern about the ability to display signage on a large vessel.

Suggestions to overcome this problem included, Using the ship's PA or TV screen system to inform of the smoke free provision, or encouraging the provision that the whole vessel is smoke free and only display signs in designated smoking areas.

Many focused on the fears of possible court action taken against the Master/owner for failing to prevent smoking in a smoke free area and felt that there should be some provision to exclude this prosecution if the Master/owner has taken every possible steps to prevent a person smoking in a smoke free area.

Question 6 asked for views on the likely costs or benefits of the smoke free provisions, and it seems many believed that the benefits would not only include the improved health of workers but would also lead to a more pleasant working environment. Most felt that this would be difficult to quantify in money but in any case would outweigh any potential costs identified.

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Don't Touch the Dolphins

As we were greeted with news last month of two men being arrested on suspicion of harassing a dolphin, even the most liberal person would have to ask what on earth is wrong with some people?

The Dolphin, known locally as "Dave", was simply minding his own business, swimming about off his Kent Coast home when the men thought it would be fun to throw rocks at him.

These are no doubt the same type of people who stand in our local pub on a Friday night and think it would be fun to say, “You lookin' at me?”, “You spilt my pint”, etc, etc but we digress.

Police Officers arrested the men, aged 25 and 26, after numerous emergency calls from the public that the animal was being harassed off the coast.

Poor old Dave has apparently already been the subject of "unwelcome attention from jet skiers and sailors", and Kent Police Inspector Gavin Roy said people should not try to touch the animal or get within 100 metres of it, "Dolphins are well-loved and friendly towards humans," he said. "They are protected by law and should be treated with respect."

There was a case some years ago of a man being arrested for trying to, ahem, “caress” a dolphin, and it seems that some do take their love of dolphins to extremes. While researching this piece we came across a website which discusses the matter of man and marine mammal intimacy…their advice…”What do I do if a dolphin wants to mate with me?” Accept, if possible! Good grief…

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CRUISE
Black Hair Day

Life as a cruise ship passenger is supposedly one grand unfettered utopian dream of blue skies, seas and fawning service.

Racism is never part of the equation on such luxury dream machines…shame no one told the contemptuous coiffeur maker on one Norwegian Cruise Lines ship.

A lawsuit filed by a New York man has accused a hairstylist of refusing to cut the man's hair because he is black. US Court papers show Gordon Gainer has accused the unidentified stylist of refusing him service due to his race while he was on board a cruise last March.

Gainer stated that when he visited the “Norwegian Dawn” hair salon during his cruise, the female stylist had no qualms about telling him why he would not receive service.

"She looks up to me, and she says, 'We don't cut black,'" Gainer said of the cruise employee. "I looked down, I said, 'What do you mean?' and she said, 'We don't cut black hair.'"

Gainer, who was on the cruise as part of his honeymoon, is seeking a full refund of both newlyweds' fares and punitive damages in the suit. It was not made clear as to whether the colour-crazed crimper also turned down his wife.

A Norwegian Cruise Lines spokeswoman said the incident was simply a miscommunication caused by the stylist's poor English skills…hmm perhaps she forgot to add yellow, pink and brown?

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CAREERS
“The Brightest and the Best”

We all too often hear of the crisis of recruitment into the shipping industry – but it seems the doom and gloom is over.

Hooray, according to BIMCO “A prosperous shipping industry is becoming an attractive career option for the brightest and the best”.

Well that's great…it's about time! At the opening ceremony of the BIMCO General Meeting, BIMCO President Knud Pontoppidan said, “The world fleet was being renewed, growing fast and becoming more sophisticated and the best people were needed afloat and ashore to run these ships”.

It really is good news, that the very best of the world's young people are flocking to shipping…mind you we haven't really seen any of them yet. But hey let's keep the faith here, if we pretend that we're great then we're sure we'll attract everyone we need. “Come on in the water's lovely”…

Mr Pontoppidan also said that BIMCO is deeply committed to the fair treatment of seafarers by authorities in flag and coastal states and is campaigning hard in this respect. The proper treatment of visiting seafarers, said Mr Pontoppidan, was one the measures of a quality coastal state.

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SEAGOING VACANCIES
Current Seagoing Vacancies

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SHORE BASED VACANCIES
Current Shore Based Vacancies

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WHAT'S ON WHERE?
IBIA Annual Convention 2007 (10 - 12 September, Montreal)

At the Hyatt Regency Montreal Centre-Ville.

EVENT PROFILE:
Now in its fourth year, following the huge successes of Buenos Aires (2004), Hong Kong (2005) and Monaco (2006), the IBIA Annual Convention 2007 takes place in Montreal , one of the most beautiful cities in North America . Here, where the Old World meets the New World , IBIA will again be at the forefront of change. The programme for 2007 reflects the sea change in world bunker markets as new environmental legislation comes into force, obliging the shipping, oil and bunker industries to take notice and participate.

IBIA Conventions are renowned for sparking discussion and debate. This year, several more ‘interactive' sessions are planned to allow delegates to get to the heart of important issues. Environmental regulations, and how to adapt to them now, and in the future, will stir some strong debate. The keynote speech will focus on the changing environment, while government and non-government agencies will outline their plans and try to stand up to the toughest scrutiny. New technologies will be examined and difficult questions asked. Complex political issues will also be aired, including the introduction of bunkering taxes which in some areas are threatening to destroy local markets and livelihoods. Safe access, sampling, communications and other key operational issues will also be debated.

But the future of IBIA - what it stands for, where it is headed and who will be involved - will be the big issue of the Convention. After a rousing session on IBIA's future at the Monaco Convention last year, even more time has been set aside this year to allow delegates the chance to question the Association's aims and ambitions with a view to developing important policy guidelines and to set IBIA the goals and targets that will ensure that the Association works for YOU!

Make sure you attend what will be one of the most exciting and forward-looking bunkering events of the year and take this opportunity to make your voice heard!

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