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Dear Shiptalk Readers,
Welcome to this the March 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.
Why not air your news views and opinions on the Shiptalk Forum at www.shiptalkforum.com
Shiptalk.com……reading you loud and clear
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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 as the MSC Napoli has been the news story thus far this year we are featuring the work of one of ShiptalkIMAGES newest photographers Dan Bryan who has uploaded a full gallery of MSC Napoli images to our site .
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.
SECURITY SAFETY/WELFARE CRUISE ENVIRONMENTAL GENERAL WHAT'S ON WHERE? |
SECURITY
Four weeks of hell for 24 Filipino hostages ended last month, when their Nigerian captors finally freed them.
The seafarers were kidnapped from their vessel “Baco-Liner 2”, on 20 January, and were eventually released following the reported intervention of local elders.
The hostage incident, one of two cases involving Filipino workers in the region in January, prompted the Philippine president to ban workers travelling to Nigeria. Nigeria is one of Africa's biggest employers of Filipino workers, employing some 3,900 at the end of 2006.
In recent months, attacks by the militants have escalated, causing oil multinationals to evacuate thousands of workers from the western side of the region. Armed gangs regularly target foreign workers in the Niger Delta region, and currently hold at least seven hostages.
The 24 freed arrived home into Manila to a rapturous welcome, and after medical tests and tearful reunions with their families they were taken to a dinner party in their honour with the President.
It is sad, but perhaps predictable, to note that most of the 24 are now seemingly looking to quit as seafarers, after being so traumatised by the ordeal.
A reporter spoke to the group during their flight back home, and told of their plans to take long leaves of absence to be with their loved ones. According to the report, “most of them are rookies in their field, having only one to three months experience as seafarers."
A Nigerian leader apologised for the kidnapping by members of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND). "I want to apologise on behalf of my people for this inconvenience they may have suffered. We hope and we pray that it will never happen again," Delta State Governor, James Ibori.
Fine words, but quashing such a threat will take more than simple apologies and a furrowed brow. MEND has, as have other organisations worldwide, seen that seafarers are seemingly “fair game”, and an easy target. We need to see proper action, not just empty words.
We therefore applaud the fact that the Philippines’ leader, President Arroyo, has instigated a ban on Filipino workers to Nigeria. Sadly in most cases this would be ineffective for seafarers, as the Filipino’s are employed on vessels not covered by the ban. Nice idea though.
Perhaps we have reached a point were individual seafarers need to think carefully about putting themselves in the firing line, there are plenty of other ships, in other places – especially with the current labour shortage. Maybe it’s time to vote with your feet…Nigeria, no thanks!
The winter weather has lead to a further delay of the salvage work on the stranded container ship “ MSC Napoli” off the UK coast.
Despite the wind, rain and crashing waves authorities have been working hard to remove the legal basis looters had been exploiting to take away much of the cargo washed ashore.
Robin Middleton, Secretary of State's Representative in Maritime Salvage and Intervention (SOSREP), in response to widespread concern and condemnation of the chaotic scenes when police tried to hand out forms to people taking valuable items off the beach, said: "The normal arrangements in terms of recovery of wreck material through voluntary salvage do not apply in the case of the MSC Napoli."
He explained: "The reason for this is that comprehensive salvage contracts have already been placed by the owners of the ship (and the consignors) to recover all items from the vessel, including those lost overboard and washed ashore."
"Therefore," he stressed, "members of the public have no legal authority to recover items as wreck or salvage from the MSC Napoli."
He said that any further containers that may be washed ashore would be marked and secured as soon as they arrive on the beach. Aerial surveillance flights continue and these reconnaissance missions will also help pinpoint any missing containers.
This is disappointing news for wreckers with a sweet tooth, as Branscombe Beach is now apparently swathed in a carpet of brightly coloured, foil wrapped biscuits…and no, they're not Penguins.
The “ MSC Napoli” debacle has of course, in no-way been responsible for the recent decision to re-brand the UK Flag. A government press release states, “A new-look UK Ship Register was launched by Shipping Minister Stephen Ladyman after a complete review of customer service provided by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)”. Hooray!
Dr Ladyman said: "I am delighted to announce that the UK Register has a new identity”…ooh, ooh what could it be? “From now on it will be known as…” (drum roll please) ”…the UK Ship Register”.
Ah simple, understated genius, “The UK Ship Register”, we wonder how much they had to pay the image consultants to come up with that beauty?
One of ShiptalkIMAGES.com newest photographers, Dan Bryan has supplied us with his gallery of “ MSC Napoli” imagery. Click on the following link to view his images of the grounded vessel. www.shiptalkimages.com/gallery.php?gid=98
Al Qaeda has reportedly called for an escalation in its war on oil interests. They are now looking to attack suppliers of oil to the United States , such as Mexico , Canada and Venezuela , saying attempts to disrupt crude supplies should not be limited to the Middle East .
The threat appeared in the al-Qaeda Organisation in the Arabian Peninsula 's e-magazine, Sawt al-Jihad (Voice of Holy War), which was posted on a website used by Islamic militants.
“It is necessary to hit oil interests in all regions which serve the US , not just in the Middle East . The goal is to cut its supplies or reduce them through any means,” it said.
The group was behind a failed February, 2006, attack on the world's largest oil processing plant, the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia .
“Targeting oil interests includes production wells, export pipelines, oil terminals and tankers and that can reduce US oil inventory, forcing it to take decisions it has been avoiding for a long time and confuse and strangle its economy,” it said.
In spite of what we think is a fairly unequivocal statement of intent, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff played down the al Qaeda call for attacks and stated, in a sort of “yeah, whatever” response, that no special defensive measures were needed.
Chertoff,, said the threat was too general to raise serious alarm.
"I don't think I would characterise it as a specific threat," Chertoff said. "I don't think there's any sense that there's some specific measure that needs to be taken."
Venezuela , which provides around 11 percent of U.S. oil imports, said it would reinforce existing security measures in response to threat, though sources reported that they wanted to investigate the threat further. “The Venezuelan state's intelligence apparatus is ready to launch any investigation in order to guarantee the operation of our strategic resources ... with a view to ensuring any early warning,” Venezuelan Interior Minister Pedro Carreno said.
Oil industry officials in Canada said they are taking the threat seriously, but did not raise security levels.
The civil protection chief in the oil-rich Mexican state of Veracruz , Ranulfo Marquez, said the army and navy were stepping up their presence around energy installations.
Usually the US authorities like to jump all over such threats, but hey if the Homeland Security Secretary can be so chilled out in the face of a direct threat, from a known protagonist, maybe we should all follow the “let's wait and see” approach to security management.
We wonder if this more enlightened, blasé and relaxed approach will be mirrored by security inspectors in US ports…”Of course, you guys can go ashore, heck it's not like you're gonna blow the port up.”
Ah well we can dream can't we.
While we're on the subject of “al qaeda”, a new report has highlighted that their terror tactics are far from innovative or imaginative; in fact they're simply copycat strategies of those used in the past.
Glen Jenvey a specialist on international terrorism states that al Qaeda, and other Islamist terror groups, have a strong tendency to mimic attacks carried out by The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), better known as the Tamil Tigers.
In an analysis of the lead given by the LTTE, he has highlighted them as the mastermind that sets the pattern for global terrorism, and focuses on the following acts of terror as a template for future al-qaeda activities:
- The LTTE invented the modern suicide bomb technique, and have used it against political, military and civilian targets. Almost all Islamic groups now copy such suicide attacks.
- The LTTE regularly attack shipping off Sri Lanka , by blowing ships or through “piracy” style attacks. We have subsequently seen Islamist attacks on the USS Cole off Yemen and piracy off the coast of Somalia , a strong hold for al-Qaeda followers.
- In 1997, LTTE attacked the World Trade Centre in Sri Lanka . This LTTE attack prompted successive attacks by al-Qaeda on the World Trade Centre in New York .
- The LTTE has a women's section deployed into its rank's. Many Islamist terrorist's use “black widow” women suicide bombers.
- The LTTE has attacked buses and trains in Sri Lanka , with civilian casualties. Al-Qaeda followers bombed civilians in the 7/7 attacks on London's ground transport, while Islamist terrorists have been responsible for attacks on buses and trains in Madrid, and also many cities across Israel.
In the wake of these obvious patterns, Glen Jenvey is now asking how long the world will tolerate the, “masters and the followers” of terrorism.
He says, “The fact's are clear other terrorist groups copy the LTTE in all sorts of way, it's time the world woke up to the international threat from the master's of terrorism the LTTE”.
We think this is an interesting piece of work, and would certainly agree with the maritime piracy/terrorism link – however, tactics such as suicide bombing, the use of women, and attacks on civilians have been in use for centuries across many conflict zones.
Still he has a strong argument, and it certainly looks like where LTTE go, the others do like to follow.
Not content with sending thousands of soldiers to their deaths in Iraq , the US armed forces have now turned their sights on a different life-form.
Dozens of dolphins and sea lions trained to detect and apprehend waterborne attackers could be sent to patrol a military base in Washington State, the US Navy said last month.
In a notice published in the Federal Register, the Navy claims it needs to bolster security at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, close to Seattle . The base is home to submarines, ships and laboratories and is potentially vulnerable to attack by terrorist swimmers and scuba divers.
The preferred plan would be to send as many as 30 California sea lions and Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins from the Navy's Marine Mammal Program, based in San Diego .
"These animals have the capabilities for what needs to be done for this particular mission," said Tom LaPuzza, a spokesman for the Marine Mammal Program.
LaPuzza said that because of their astonishing sonar abilities, dolphins are excellent at patrolling for swimmers and divers. When a Navy dolphin detects a person in the water, it drops a beacon. This tells a human interception team where to find the suspicious swimmer.
Sea lions can carry in their mouths special cuffs attached to long ropes. If the animal finds a “rogue swimmer”, it can clamp the cuff around the person's leg. The individual can then be reeled in for questioning.
We'd love to see the look on a terrorist's face whilst being apprehended by a cuff wielding sea-lion . Though quite how it differentiates a “rogue” from an innocent paddler hasn't been made clear.
The Navy is apparently seeking public comment, as in the past animal-rights activists have been concerned about the effects of cooler water, as well as how the creatures would affect the environment.
Stephanie Boyles, from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said that sea mammals do not provide a reliable defence system, and that they should not be kept in small enclosures.
"We believe the United States ' citizens deserve the very best defence possible, and this just isn't it," Boyles said, adding that dolphins are easily distracted once in open water, “click click, hey boys look over there, it's a hoop!”
We seem to remember that animals were once used by the Russian military, to ill-effect in the past. There was once a pack of “bomb dogs”, apparently trained to destroy enemy tanks.
They were taught to do this by finding food under approaching tanks, whereupon the bomb placed on their backs would explode. So far, so clever…
Sadly, they were trained using Russian tanks so when they were initially released in action and shown the German Panzers, they promptly ignored them and turned around to look under their own tanks, with predictable results.
Nyet Fido, nyet! Boom!
SAFETY/WELFARE
There has been much made, especially by our Sister company ShiptalkJOBS.com, of the global shortage of seafarers and the gloomy prognosis for shipowners scouring the world for skilled and trained crews.
When talking about these problems there is a tendency to overlook the hardship that such shortages cause, not just for overstretched manning departments, but for the people actually stuck on the ships.
As a case in point the recent death of a 26-year-old officer, on board an Indian tanker, has forced the Indian Government to take an urgent review of the service conditions of seafarers employed on Indian ships.
The Shipping Ministry is understood to have taken a serious view of the incident, especially as the deceased seafarer, Vivek Singh Bist, had been on the ship for 11 months without a break.
The young officer allegedly jumped into the sea when he was told that his intended relief hadn't arrived at the vessel. He was said to be extremely homesick and had earlier threatened to end his life if not allowed to go on leave.
According to a seamen's union official, it was the norm onboard for crew to sign off after seven months sailing, but in the absence of his relief, Bist was told to work for another month or two.
The Shipping Minister has ordered an enquiry into the incident. He is also understood to have ordered the company, the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), not to retain personnel on board beyond the stipulated number of days.
It is all too easy to forget the stress that such uncertainty can place on seafarers who just want, quite naturally, to return home after their work is done.
This is a tragic case of a young man being pushed over the brink, and it should serve as a salutary lesson to all.
Much research has been completed on such matters as living conditions, pay scales and fatigue, but with little thought seemingly given to the psychological effects of not leaving the ship on time.
Counting down the dates on a calendar may be the norm for most seafarers, but what happens when you get past the big red scribbled zero and there is still no sign off a relief?
The movement of people from West Africa to the Canary Islands is approaching a crisis point, as thousands upon thousands of migrants and refugees see the holiday islands as a first stop on their journey into Europe.
More than 31,000 people were caught trying to reach Spain's Canary Islands last year in boats from West Africa. Most of those taking the crowded wooden boats are African, but undocumented Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and other Asians have also been intercepted.
Senegal and Mauritania are both launching points for the thousands of migrants who end up being held in overflowing holding centres in the Canary Islands.
Last month saw a ship with hundreds of Asian and African migrants on board towed towards a port in Mauritania after days of diplomatic wrangling with Spain over which country should take it in.
The ship, "Marine 1", had been heading to Spain's Canary Islands, but ran into mechanical problems and was towed to the Mauritanian coast by a Spanish rescue ship.
With dreadful conditions onboard the boat, and while the political drama played out, the Mauritanian Red Crescent delivered a ton of emergency humanitarian aid to the hundreds of illegal immigrants stranded onboard.
The Red Crescent said the stranded boat contained 400 people, all male, about half from Africa and the rest from Pakistan. While Spain's Foreign Ministry said the vessel contained only about 200 people.
This is a problem which has been brewing for some time, back in 2006 Carlos González Segura, the head of the Canary Islands regional government, asserted that the situation was out of control. “This is madness,” he said. “With this spate of arrivals we will have no space left within three days.” Immigrants are being held in prison cells and garages because holding centres are full.
With feelings running high on the islands, Spaniards have become concerned about the possible impact on the tourist industry, on which the local economy depends. Residents of the town of Arona, in Tenerife, last year attacked immigration holding centres with petrol bombs after rumours spread that the arrivals were infected with yellow fever.
The short trip between Africa and the Canaries is not the only problem area, a boat loaded with more than 200 Somali and Ethiopian migrants capsized in the Gulf of Aden last month during a treacherous night crossing and at least 117 people drowned, a Yemeni official said.
The boat was among a group of four vessels carrying migrants from the Horn of Africa to Yemen. When it capsized, smugglers in some of the other boats forced their passengers into the sea, picked up the smugglers from the capsized vessel and returned quickly to Somalia, according to a Yemeni human rights activist.
At least 169 survivors made it to shore in the coastal region of Yemen's Shabwa province, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said.
Bodies also washed ashore in the region and were buried in several mass graves. A military rescue team buried 29 bodies near the beach and many more washed ashore near a road construction site between Aden and Mukalla.
Many of the survivors said they were fleeing violence in Somalia, according to UNHCR.
The deaths off The Yemen, and confusion over the status of those in limbo off West Africa highlight the plight of thousands of migrants and refugees who try to escape from Africa and Asia each year, many hoping to eventually reach Europe.
This is a problem which cannot be ignored, and the moves for a multilateral, international approach can only do so much – there needs to be severe sanctions in place against the smugglers who reap great rewards from this illegal and dangerous activity.
Having experienced the sheer joy of bouncing across the Irish Sea between the sunny North West of England and Ireland on one memorable occasion, it srikes us that the only reason you'd take the trip twice would be if you were being held captive against your will.
Last month two unfortunate International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) inspectors were allegedly held against their's onboard a Norfolkline-chartered ferry on the Irish Sea.
Union officials claimed that the men had been barricaded in a cabin and feared for their safety. A spokesman for Norfolkline insisted (with a straighface) that they had, “chosen to stay on the ship when it left port”…Hmm.
The incident occured on Jamaica-flagged, Russian-owned ro-ro “Merchant Brilliant” which for several months has been at the centre of controversy over unpaid wages.
Despite the assertion that the inspectors had simply decided to extend their pleasant stay on the fine vessel, this latest set-back clearly caused enough concern for the Maersk subsidiary, Norfolkline, to suspend hire of the ship.
The “Merchant Brilliant” was subsequently ordered to leave Heysham but p lans to arrest the ship were eventually suspended after the crew reached a settlement with Latvian owners, ADG Shipping, for a reported figure of £70,000.
In a distasteful follow-up the Russian mafia is believed to be behind attempts to con anxious relatives of the striking sailors.
A number of the Russian crew had received news from home that bogus journalists had been spreading false kidnap rumours. Desperate families of the Russian crewmembers have paid 200 Euros after being told the crew had been kidnapped and would only be released if the cash was handed over.
Sam Dawson, of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), said:
"Some have paid the money and this is an awful lot of money when their family members are on board a ship and haven't been paid."
Mr Dawson added: "We can categorically assure the families that the crew, though uncomfortable, tired and eager to get home, are well.”
CRUISE
If you were to ask any self-respecting gang of feral young muggers on the streets of Costa Rica, what would make their perfect day it would surely involve a group of rich, yet frail and elderly, American tourists being delivered into their clutches direct from a luxury Cruise Ship.
Money, cameras, watches – oh imagine the riches on offer, “Like taking candy from a baby.”
Well that's the theory – but a group of three thugs cruising Limon Beach got rather more than they bargained for last month when they held up a tour bus with a Seventy year old former member of the U.S. military onboard.
The senior citizen fought back, grabbed one of the attackers in a headlock and promptly broke his clavicle. The assailant was later declared dead, apparently from asphyxiation...and probably not just a little shock.
The two other men fled when the rest of the 12 senior citizens started defending themselves, “Take that you young varmint!”.
Authorities reported that they had no plans to press any charges against the tourists, and a spokesman said, "They were in their right to defend themselves after being held up”.
A local police official said the deceased, named as 20-year-old Warner Segura, had previous charges against him for assaults.
There was mass hysteria last month when two Queens met in Sydney – no, it wasn't the gay Mardi Gras starting early –the QE2 and QM2 were in town.
It was a sight not seen in Sydney since the ships' predecessors - the “Queen Mary” and the “ Queen Elizabeth” - greeted each other in the Harbour as troop carriers in 1941.
As crowds massed on every vantage point, and the harbour foamed with a flotilla of small craft, it appeared the event had all gone smoothly, save for some road congestion.
It appears, however, that the back slapping was a little premature as someone made a rather clumsy error. Seemingly the very security of the vessels and their passengers may have been compromised when a confidential list of passengers was discovered on a footpath in the city.
Local radio station, Nova FM, said 20 pages of passenger lists with confidential personal information, were discovered lying on the ground.
The list included the names of 1500 passengers, as well as their nationalities, cabin numbers, dates of birth, passport details, and where and when they would leave the ship.
Nova FM said it was unable to verify to which ship the list related…come on guys, it's not tough to work out., according to Cunard, “t he QE2 holds 1178 passengers and the QM2 holds 3056 passengers”…seeing as there were 1500 names on the list, it seems that someone on the QM2 is missing a rather interesting piece of paper!
Many cruise ship regulars believe that the rituals of dressing for various functions and parties are one of the real allures of the life aboard ship. A new cocktail dress every twelve hours, and as many pairs of elasticised tuxedo pants as will fit into your case.
Not so, passengers on a recent Holland America cruise, onboard the “M/S Maasdam”.
This cruise was strictly for those who like their jackets and pants to be of the “birthday suit” variety. As 1,200 nudists gathered for a cruise around the Caribbean .
Apparently “nude cruising” is a very popular hobby…and hundreds of different companies offer this unique and, ahem, interesting opportunity.
According to one observer, “The staff, crew and officers were wonderfully accommodating, both enjoying our charter and adapting to what could be a huge shock…when surrounded by so many free-spirited and unpretentious folks”.
Hmm, have you ever seen any modern cruise-goers? Phew, we think clothes should be mandatory (over to you guys at the IMO , please stop this awful sight.). The very thought of a bunch of septuagenarians from New Jersey, with their bits blowing in the breeze is all a bit too much for us to bear…
For those of you interested in learning more about the delights of nude cruising further information is available at the homepage of the American Association for Nude Recreation (no, really), see www.aanr.com…though perhaps not from your office computer!
ENVIRONMENTAL
The French oil company TOTAL and 14 other defendants were formally accused last month of criminal responsibility for one of Europe's most calamitous oil spills, the wreck of the “Erika”.
The loss of the “ageing and rusting ship”, which split in two off Brittany , on 12 December 1999 has long been seen by many observers as a defining moment in the safety of shipping.
It is believed that the four-month trial - the most complex of its kind in French history - may also turn into a trial of the "globalised" international shipping system.
The fact that the “Erika” was Japanese-built, Italian-owned and controlled by two Liberian companies, crewed by Indians, sailing under a Maltese flag, chartered by a shipping company registered in the Bahamas for a French oil company, has seen many calls for more accountability, and for a less fragmented system of responsibility.
The tribunal in Paris was told that the ship had already been identified as a potential risk. It was nonetheless allowed to leave Dunkirk in high seas, carrying a cargo of 20,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. The ship foundered three days later.
A series of hurricane-force gales struck the Atlantic seaboard two weeks after the disaster, scattering solid blankets of oil up to a metre deep for 240 miles along the French coast from La Rochelle to the western tip of Brittany .
At least 150,000 seabirds were found dead on the coast. Up to 10 times as many were probably lost in the oil-blackened seas. Eight years on, after a huge effort, France 's beaches have been cleaned. But the bird and marine life of the Bay of Biscay and Breton coasts may never fully recover.
The “Erika” disaster has already led the European Union to pass two sets of laws, tightening maritime safety. In theory, such a disaster could not happen again.
Those on trial include TOTAL, and two of its subsidiaries; the Italian Classification Society, Rina; the reportedly ruined shipowner, Giuseppe Savarese; and an official of the Italian management company, Antonio Pollara. The Indian Captain of the “Erika”, Karun Mathur, was due to appear, but that now seems unlikely.
They are charged with causing pollution and placing lives in danger. Four French officials responsible for maritime safety are accused of responding slowly or inadequately to the disaster.
All the defendants have pleaded not guilty.
The French state, local authorities along the French Atlantic coast and more than 50 private plaintiffs are seeking up to €1m (£665,000) in damages for the economic effects on tourism, fishing and the cost of the clean-up.
Under maritime law, the responsibility of the ship's owners and the oil company is currently limited. The French state and lawyers for private parties will argue that this ceiling should be lifted because the companies ignored safety regulations and - in the case of Total - ignored its own internal rules. If the limit is lifted, it could spell real trouble for the guilty parties.
The judicial investigation, presented to the court, said that the 25 year-old ship had to be used intensively to pay off the loan with which it was purchased. Several warnings had been given in the previous two years about the vessel's severely corroded hull. Only limited repairs were made, with steel sheets that were too thin, the report by an investigating magistrate said.
TOTAL is accused of agreeing to use the ship - the only vessel available in Dunkirk - even though it failed to satisfy its own safety rules.
Cases such as the “Erika”, demonstrate that when something goes wrong it can drag in all those down the chain, from Charterers, Classification Societies, Commercial and Technical managers, to the Master and crew, with expensive and damaging consequences.
It seems that when an Oil Major's own vetting division is ignored or dismissed then it is inevitable that things will go wrong…as the Judges' gavel bangs, the management team of TOTAL will no doubt wish that their vetting division had been granted true freedom to clampdown, far removed from commercial pressures.
GENERAL
It's not just highly trained security conscious aquatic mammals that have been in the news recently, wild cetaceans have been making quite a splash over the past month too.
Well not so much the whales themselves, more their mortal enemies and their prospective saviours.
The Antarctic oceans have been foaming with vicious clashes between Japanese whalers, and the environmental group Sea Shepherd.
At the fore of these clashes have been the vessels “Robert Hunter” and “Farley Mowat”, as they harried the giant whaling ship, “Nisshin Maru”. A vessel dubbed the “deathstar of Whalekind”.
The antics of the Sea Shepherd vessels and crews have come in for criticism, and we would say some of the tactics are plain ludicrous...they put their own lives, the lives of the Japanese crews, scientists and observers at risk, as well as threatening a pristine environment.
In no way do we condone or support whaling. It is a deplorable activity...but as we were always taught at school, two wrongs don't make a right.
Ramming ships is not the answer, instead there needs to be sensible talk to highlight the needless slaughter of so many endangered whales. The manic, aggressive “Sea Shepherd” approach comes very close to losing the moral high ground completely.
In threatening the whaling vessels, and by dousing their decks and crews in acid, such groups fly in the face of not just the law, but of the very moral justice they seek to up hold.
Usually it's Greenpeace who swing into action and jump into inflatables, but this time they have acted with remarkable reserve and have simply recorded the events, and even stepped in to assist when the Japanese vessel was damaged by fire.
It seems that the gung-ho Sea Shepherd vigilantes may have a lot to learn from their more reserved colleagues onboard the Greenpeace protest vessel, “Esperanza”.
Lest we forget, you can't ram all of the whaling vessels all of the time...
WHAT'S ON WHERE?
The 3rd Manning & Training in China Conference
Monday 19th – Tuesday 20th March 2007. Hilton Shanghai, China
www.manningandtraining.com/lm1860
In conjunction with The Chinese Coordination Council for Overseas Seamen Employment (COSE), the 3rd Manning & Training in China Conference is part of a continuing series of events held throughout Asia and Europe each year to discuss the key issues affecting the world seafaring labour market.
This internationally acclaimed event focuses on the issues surrounding ‘competency’. How can we define competency? How are Chinese training establishments developing their practices to meeting international standards? Can Chinese crew meet the global shortage of seafarers? How can China attract and secure foreign investment?
A panel of exceptional industry leaders are participating throughout this two-day conference to offer an industry perspective and personal experienced into the key issues surrounding cadet and officer development and the continued global shortage of seafarers.
For more information or your free copy of the conference brochure, visit: www.manningandtraining.com/lm1860 or email suzanne.jacobs@informa.com
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
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