daily collection of mar itime press clippings 2013 –...

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2013 – 365

Distribution : daily to 28250+ active addresses 31-12-2013

Number 365 *** COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS *** Tuesday 31-12-2013

News reports received from readers and Internet News articles copied from various news sites.

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EVENTS, INCIDENTS & OPERATIONS

Passengerliners moored at the new cruise terminal at Marina South in Singapore – Photo : Chris Mackey (c)

Maritime Artist Hans Breeman from Rotterdam, and from Karachi (Pakistan) Imran Farooq (SEAMAX) wishing all readers a Happy New Year Kees van Schie Wishing everybody A Very Happy and and Prosperous New Year. May

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Chinese ship owners on the look for tonnage between 10 and 20 years old

Chinese ship owners have scaled back their ship purchasing activity as the year nears its end, with the total S&P activity recorded, deemed on a slower pace than the one noted in the first half of the year. According to a recent report from shipbroker Intermodal, most Chinese owners are of the notion that market prices will soften after the Chinese New Year, i.e. from February of 2014 moving forward. As such, they believe that they will be able to increase their chances of finding younger tonnage available for less money than today. Even so, the shipbroker stated that there are still active buyers in the market with firm interest for several ship sizes, mostly for tonnage between 10 and 20 years old, given that the dry bulk market has managed to hold its bullishness, ending this year's trading well above the 2,000-point mark.

According to Intermodal's SnP broker, Mr. Christos Trageas, "in the domestic economy and after about two months from the opening of Shanghai’s Pilot Free Trade Zone, which in some ways resembles the example of Shenzhen, there have already been several companies to have been given and many more which have applied for approval. Government expects that this step will help internal growth, allowing them to step back and have less intervention in the country’s economy so they can attract new investors to come in and more private companies start taking over several fields, which up to now have been affiliated with the government. It is worth mentioning that amongst the already registered companies, there are also a few of foreign Banks as well as a couple of local government related leasing/bank institutions", he noted.

According to Trageas, "this pilot model and its results, will be closely monitored by the government over the next couple of years, so as if it proves to be successful they can apply similar models to other major cities as well, such as Tianjin, Zhoushan, Zhuhai, with Tianjin already in the forefront and pushing to receive such a free trade zone. All the above comes to complete the expansion which has started in the Qianhai district of Shenzhen, where more national and international financial institutions are allowed to offer competitive loans with better interest rates and terms", he stated.

However, in order to attract further new investments and setting up of new private companies in most of these cities, China will also have to deal with one of its most pressing issues, which also happens to be a byproduct of its extraordinary growth during the past decade. "The problem of heavy air pollution has been a growing issue in major cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Qingdao as well as many others. Many experts are suggesting that the government starts to take hard measures such as replacing energy production from cheap but dirty resources such as coal, with cleaner types of energy such as natural gas", said Mr. Trageas, in his analysis of the current market trends.

He added that "experts are evaluating that if there are no measures taken soon, then it will be near impossible to reverse the situation in the future. However, such big changes need time and come at a high cost and we don’t feel that we will see significant shifts in the proportions of imports of coal or gas in the near future. New urban developments such as free trade zones will at some point push for better quality of life within these major cities as they try to compete with other major cities around the world and as this starts to take effect we will then see a shift in the main resources imported into the country. Until then, dry bulk resources will continue to pay the most prominent role in the country’s development.

China is doing its best to find immediate solutions to provide another boost to its economy. Hopefully, both Europe and the U.S. will continue dealing with the byproducts of the financial crisis, so as to further promote a firm and healthy growth in global trade, which will allow the shipping industry to feel more confident regarding its long-term future prospects" Trageas concluded.Source : Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide

Second icebreaker attempts to free ship stuck off Antarctica

Passengers on board a ship stuck in ice off Antarctica were last Saturday placing their hopes in an Australian icebreaker hurrying to their remote location, after the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long failed to free them. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), which is co-ordinating the rescue of the Russian passenger ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy, said the Xue Long came within 6.5 nautical miles of the ship but had to stop.



"The Chinese vessel unfortunately encountered some heavy ice that it's not capable of breaking through," AMSA spokeswoman Andrea Hayward-Maher said. "The rescue … unfortunately has stalled." The Russian ship, with 74 scientists, tourists and crew on board, has been trapped in ice about 100 nautical miles east of the French base Dumont d'Urville since Tuesday. The Xue Long, or Snow Dragon, came tantalisingly close to the stranded ship but it was forced to turn back once it realised it could not break through.

Passengers are now waiting for the arrival, of Australia's Antarctic resupply ship Aurora Australis, which has the highest icebreaking

rating of the three vessels originally asked to respond. It is not yet clear whether the Aurora Australis will be able to go any further than the Xue Long. A third ship, the French vessel L'Astrolabe, was released from the rescue mission last Saturday.

"We all know that there's a possibility of this becoming quite a protracted sit and wait," Andrew Peacock, a passenger on board the Akademik Shokalskiy, said via satellite phone. "I think people are just looking at that next step when that second icebreaker arrives."

The Akademik Shokalskiy is carrying scientists and tourists who are following the Antarctic path of explorer Sir Douglas Mawson a century ago and Peacock, the expedition's doctor, said the work was continuing. The group, which includes Australians, New Zealanders and Britons, became stuck when unexpected weather forced their ship into heavy ice. Peacock said the ship was well supplied and all passengers were comfortable, but joked: "The beer is running low." Source : South China Morning Post

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Above the beautiful model of the 143 mtr Wagenborg A-Class General Cargo vessel AMAZINGBORG built by André Ligthart at present the Chief Engineer onboard MV Tiberborg, Andre joined in 2007 the Wagenborg A-class vessels and decided in October 2007 to start building a model of this class of ships, in a scale of 1:75 the model is having a length of 192 cm and a weight of 9 kilogram, in the meantime all changes to the vessels of the A-Class during the last 6 years are also implemented on the model.

Speed limit for ships is reduced to protect whales

A federal rule that protects highly endangered North Atlantic right whales by imposing a speed limit on large ships has been made permanent. First put into effect in 2008 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the regulation requires ships 65-feet-long or more to travel at speeds of 10 knots or less seasonally in areas where right whales feed and reproduce, as well as along migratory routes in-between.

Photo : Josephine Leder (c)

In the Savannah area, the speed limit is in effect from November through April each year. The area off the coast at the Georgia-Florida border is the only place where the whales are known to give birth. Known as urban whales because they hug the coast in their migration from New England and Canadian waters to their calving grounds in the Southeast, right whales swim through major East Coast shipping lanes, making them highly vulnerable to ship collisions.



This season's migration is already underway. On Dec. 2 aerial surveyors spotted a 9-year-old whale nicknamed Caterpillar off Fernandina Beach, Fla. She's a good example of why the rule is needed. Down her right flank she sports a large scar where she was once struck by a ship's propeller, said Barb Zoodsma, a biologist with NOAA Fisheries.

Researchers worry that the lesion might prove fatal to her and her offspring if she gives birth. "Already we've seen one female, "Lucky," whose scars broke open when she was pregnant," Zoodsma said. "They became infected and she died. The fetus ended up dying, too."

With only about 425 North Atlantic right whales in existence, these whales are among the most endangered in the world. The top threats are ship strikes and entanglements in fishing gear. Thirteen right whales died as a result of vessel strikes in the designated areas during an 18-month study period before the speed reduction rule went into effect. Since then the rule seems to be working as intended.

"Since the ship speed restrictions went into effect, no known fatal ship strikes of North Atlantic right whales have occurred in the management zones," said Mark Schaefer, deputy NOAA administrator and assistant secretary of commerce for conservation and management.

Instead of slowing down all ships, Georgia Ports Authority has long favored better tracking of right whales through acoustical detection of their underwater calls. "For more than a decade, the GPA has worked closely with the environmental and regulatory community and shipping industry to develop pager and detection systems that can alert seafarers when right whales are in nearby waters," said Curtis Foltz, executive director of GPA. "As the second busiest port on the East Coast, it is critical that we continue to find ways to both service our customers and protect this endangered species."

But research so far has failed to show the animals' location could be pinpointed this way.

"There was an acoustic study done off the coast," Zoodsma said. "The problem they keep running into is mariners want exact locations of whales, but passive acoustics doesn't have the capacity to say right whales are at this x-y location based on vocalization. Harbor pilots down here say if you can only give us a five nautical mile radius we already know the right whales are here and that doesn't help. Plus when the calves are young, they just don't vocalize. It seems logical; they stay quiet so as not to attract predators. The mom and calf stay in physical contact."

The economic impact of the go-slow rule was projected to be $137.3 million annually. But five years into the rule, NOAA has revised the indirect and direct impact to $44.7 million annually. In a move that advocacy agencies applaud, the new regulations do not include a "sunset" provision that would require the regulations to expire automatically at a future date "This is a huge victory for these endangered whales," said Sharon Young, marine issues field director for The Humane Society of the United States. "Since most of the collision-related deaths of right whales have involved females, the reduction in these deaths is a major step forward for this species that is struggling to recover."

Washington, D.C.-based Oceana argued the continued ship speed reduction was necessitated both by its proven success and by mounting threats from other sources, including chronic stress from underwater noise pollution and climate change, which is impacting the whales' foraging habitat. But Tom Wright, who's active in the Savannah maritime community, would prefer a regular review of how the rule is working.

"There were other recommendations that they should be doing this based on sightings and not on calendars," he said. "Right now if you read about whales they're not where you think they are." No whales were sighted off Georgia or Florida in November.

The rule requires vessels to travel at 10 knots or less during the seasons right whales are expected to be present in designated areas along the East Coast. In the mid-Atlantic area, which includes Savannah, the 10-knot speed restrictions extend out to 20 nautical miles around major ports. NOAA Fisheries researchers report that approximately 80 percent of right whale sightings in the mid-Atlantic are within 20 nautical miles of shore. NOAA also established a program for temporary voluntary speed limits in other areas when an aggregation of three or more right whales is confirmed.

The rule allows vessels to exceed the limit if needed to ensure vessel safety. The rule is part of NOAA's broader ship strike reduction efforts. Existing protective actions include surveying whale aggregation areas by aircraft, extensive mariner outreach programs and mandatory ship reporting systems that provide advisories and information on right whale locations to mariners. Source : Seattle PI



Seven airlifted to hospital from packed North Sea ferry after 'passenger sets fire to

cabin' on Amsterdam-bound ship Seven people have been airlifted to hospital after a fire broke out on a ferry with more than 1,000 people on board in the North Sea. The ferry is the KING SEAWAYS service which left North Shields, near Newcastle, at 5pm last Saturday and was heading for Ijmuiden near Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Police say a passenger is thought to have set fire to a cabin and was detained by ship staff. It is unknown whether the fire was started deliberately or accidentally. The ferry is returning to its starting point, said police, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.

Photo : Marcel Coster (c)

The blaze broke out 30 miles north east of Flamborough Head, near Scarborough. The ferry is now unlikely to reach its destination, leaving its 964 passengers and 130 crew stranded in another port. Humber Coastguard was alerted just after 10pm after a fire broke out in a cabin about 30 miles off the coast of Hull, East Yorkshire. Six crew members and a passenger have been airlifted to Scarborough Hospital suffering from smoke inhalation, Humber Coastguard said, though the final total has not been confirmed. Inspector Andrew Dixon from Humberside Police said: 'It is unknown whether the fire had been started deliberately or accidentally but a number of persons, mainly crew but some passengers, had suffered smoke inhalation. 'As a result of this incident the person suspected of causing the fire, the person from the cabin where the fire occurred, had been detained by ship staff and the ship was returning to its dock in Newcastle.' Relatives of those involved took to Twitter to voice their concerns. Lori Rowan tweeted: 'My dads on the boat home to holland and it had to go back to Newcastle cause someone set the boat on fire'.

The Filey RNLI Mersey class lifeboat 12-13 preparing to launch down the slipway to go to the assistance of the KING SEAWAYS 30 miles off Flamborough head Photo : Matt Wilkins - Filey RNLI Crew & Navigator (c)



Ryan Wilson said: 'The one time my sister gets a boat to anywhere and it get set on fire! 'She phoned my mum that's about it just saying what happened and that she was OK and on her way back.' And one Twitter user from Amsterdam, Groenescoenen, asked the ferry firm: 'Any update on the fire on board the ferry? My kids are on board!' Two helicopters from RAF Leconfield and RAF Boulmer and two RNLI boats have assisted with the rescue. The RNLI launched two all-weather two lifeboats from Bridlington and Filey at about 11pm and have since stood down. The fire on board the ferry, run by DFDS Seaways, has been contained. Humberside Police said it was thought a passenger had set fire to a cabin, but it is not clear at this stage if the fire was started deliberately or accidentally, the BBC reported. RAF squadron leader Dave Webster said: 'The fire seems to have become quite well under control.' He said when the call came in at around 10.40pm for RAF assistance, it was thought that 23 people would need to be winched to safety after they had breathed in smoke, but the figure was later downgraded. A second helicopter from RAF Boulmer, Northumberland, was due to arrive around 11.30pm and was expected to stay close to the vessel on stand-by. Sqn Ldr Webster added: 'It will stay just in case anyone else needs to be evacuated.' A fire broke out on a DFDS ferry just a few weeks ago. The CORONA SEAWAYS vessel was en route from Fredericia to Copenhagen in Denmark on December 4 when the blaze broke out. Danish and Swedish rescue services had to come to the ship's aid, though one of the 19 crew members or 10 passengers were injured. According to the DFDS Seaways website, the 26-year-old vessel has room for over 1,500 passengers and 600 cars. It was renovated in 2006. Source : dailymail

Floating boxes service our malls DEEP SEA AND FOREIGN GOING: INSIDE SHIPPING, THE INVISIBLE INDUSTRY THAT BRINGS YOU 90%

OF EVERYTHING By : Rose George Portobello. 320pp. $35.

When my father ran away to sea he was just 15 years old. Family legend has it that he waited until his widowed mother was befuddled by anaesthetic after a minor operation before he got her to sign the necessary papers. She didn't see him again for a fortnight, by which time he had a union card and two weeks' wages in his pocket. My pragmatic grandmother, battle-scarred by the Great Depression, knew a good deal when she saw one. In Christchurch in 1944 a pound in your pocket today was considered more important than the prospect of a Leaving Certificate tomorrow. My father stayed at sea for the next 15 years, and didn't ''come ashore'', as they say, until he married my Australian mother and moved to Sydney. The journalist Rose George ran away to sea for five weeks in 2012 to write a book. She sailed on the Danish-owned container ship MAERSK KENDAL from Felixstowe in Britain to Singapore via the Suez Canal, a voyage of over 9000 nautical miles: ''Six ports, two oceans, five seas''. When George finally came ashore she had gathered in her notebooks the fascinating story of what she calls our collective ''sea blindness''; how the impact of modern-day shipping is hidden in plain sight. Despite having made the world's globalised economy possible, the international shipping industry is pretty much taken for granted. Even the most obtuse consumers know that the cheap T-shirt on their back comes from China or Bangladesh, but how many stop to consider just how it got to their shopping bags in the first place? In many ways the shipping industry hasn't changed that much since my father went to sea. Working conditions on board are still pretty tough, with high stress, long hours and dangerous conditions. As even the well-paid captain of the MAERSK KENDAL often tells George, ''The merchant navy - we're the scum of the earth.'' The single biggest difference between the life at sea described by George and the one my father experienced are the boxes.

The MAERSK KENDAL in Cape Town – Photo : Ian Shiffman ©



Back in 1956 an American trucking entrepreneur named Malcolm McLean, in conjunction with the engineer Keith Tantlinger, invented the system of standardised containers that now dominates the world's major ports. At any one time there are 20 million of these ''boxes'' on the move across the world's oceans and waterways. The container system is so economically efficient, according to George, ''that it makes more financial sense for Scottish cod to be sent 10 thousand miles to China to be filleted, then sent back to Scottish shops and restaurants, than to pay Scottish filleters''. That's not madness, she comments, that's just shipping. Thanks to McLean and Tantlinger, ''a sweater can now travel 3000 miles for 2.5 cents; it can cost a cent to send a can of beer''. It's not just the sweatshops of Asia that make the stuff we buy so cheap. Fully loaded, the MAERSK KENDAL can carry just over 6000 six-metre containers. The multicoloured boxes make it look like the ship is weighed down with a cargo of gargantuan Rubik's Cubes. Inside them can be just about anything - bananas, laptops, skipping ropes, submachine guns. If the MAERSK KENDAL ran aground on a desert island its crew could plunder those boxes and set up a functioning market economy in just a few days. Yet George finds the ship's captain and crew surprisingly incurious about the contents of the boxes in their care. Other than knowing which ones contain flammable products - and therefore might be dangerous - they have little idea what they're carrying, and no interest in finding out. What they're concentrating on is surviving. Surviving the monotony of shipboard life; the monotony of shipboard food; the days measured out in 12-hour shifts and cheap DVDs. Surviving the very real dangers of piracy off the Horn of Africa. Surviving the irritations and anxieties of low profit margins; tight schedules; and parsimonious landlubber managers. There are just 19 crew members on the MAERSK KENDAL The captain is an Englishman from Yorkshire. The officers come from all over - Britain, India, Eastern Europe - while the crew is exclusively Filipino. And they're all just doing it for the money - even Captain Glenn, whom George grows to admire immensely as the voyage goes on. The captain is a sailor of the old school, still capable of navigating with a sextant; old enough to remember when there was romance in the act of casting off. Now he's shipwrecked by paperwork and can barely get away from his computer terminal to pace the bridge. Though only a mid-size container ship, the MAERSK KENDAL is still four storeys high, the equivalent of three football pitches long, and powered by engines as big as a suburban house. And the future is only going to get bigger - and cheaper. Maersk Line, the owner of the ship, makes a whopping $60 billion a year in revenue and still isn't satisfied. The massive shipyards of South Korea are turning out a fleet of Triple E class container ships: the biggest ships ever to set sail. A third longer than Kendal, and capable of carrying three times as many containers, these leviathans of commerce will reduce shipping costs by 20 to 30 per cent. My father used to tell me stories of travelling the South Pacific to places like Western Samoa where, as a young man, he could take enough shore leave to climb Mount Vaea and visit the last resting place of Robert Louis Stevenson. There's no time for excursions like that any more. Nowadays even the world's largest container ships can be in and out of port in just 24 hours. Modern sailors joke sardonically that they're just salaried inmates on a floating prison. It can't be denied: the world's T-shirts are cheaper, but life on the ocean waves ain't what it used to be. Source : theage.com.au

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TRINA LOADS 6 DAMEN WORKBOATS IN ROTTERDAM

TYM group’s (Thong Yong Singapore) TAUPO and yardnumber 571680 stored on deck

Photo’s : Arie Boer ©

YN 571688 and Yogi where loaded under decks as seen at the stowage plan

The SL KIWI alongside the TRINA ready to be lifted onboard – Photo : R&F van der Hoek ©



The DP GEZINA moored in Rotterdam Schiehaven – Photo : Cees de Bijl ©

Rosmorport to deploy 5 tugs at Sochi port for Sochi 2014 Olympics

Rosmorport will provide five tugboats for work at the port of Sochi during the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, a source told PortNews. The source participated in a meeting on the safety of navigation and docking at the port of Sochi during the 2014 Winter Olympics, which was held on December 2013 in Sochi.

Left : The Dutch Flagged tug RIJNSTROOM operating in the waters of the Russian Federation, Sochi Port Photo : Dirk van Uitert ©

FSI Sochi Port Authority will handle general management issues to ensure safe mooring of cruise ships in the port. Source : PortNews

EU to lead international counter piracy efforts in 2014

From the 1st of January 2014 the European Union will assume for one year the chairmanship of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) with Maciej Popowski, Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) as EU chairperson. The chairmanship of the Contact Group is a joint endeavour of the EEAS and the European Commission and will continue the work carried out in 2013 under the chairmanship of the United States, EEAS said on its website. While the number of hostages has gone down from more than 700 in 2011 to around 50 today, the European Union is strongly committed to bringing this number down to zero: zero ships and zero seafarers in the hands of Somali pirates. High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President Catherine Ashton said: "Pirate attacks over the past year have dropped by 95%, but the fight against piracy is not yet won. It is



vital that the international community continues to work together to stamp out piracy and consolidate the gains we have already made".

The EU looks forward to working with all stakeholders in the region and with the international community to bring the fight against Somali piracy to an end. This aim reflects the strategic framework and broader objectives set out during the Conference on a New Deal for Somalia in Brussels on 16 September 2013. The eradication of piracy will only be achieved on Somali soil and by the Somali people but the international community needs to keep focus and maintain momentum.

As chair of the CGPCS the EU will not lose sight of the humanitarian cost of piracy. Hijacked crews and seafarers that have been taken hostage have suffered the most. The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) was established on 14 January 2009 pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1851 (2008) to facilitate the coordination of actions among more than 60 states and organisations to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia. Since its creation, the CGPCS through increased coordination and information sharing among states, private sector (e.g. shipping industry, insurance companies) and non-governmental organisations has contributed to a marked reduction in the number of pirate attacks and hijackings. Source : Portnews

Interislander's replacement arrives The replacement vessel for the crippled ARATERE ferry arrived in Wellington after a month-long journey from Poland.

The STENA ALEGRA docked in the capital as a temporary replacement for the ARATERE, which lost its starboard propeller on November 5 on a routine night sailing from Picton to Wellington. The ARATERE 's starboard shaft snapped just outside Tory Channel at the top of the Marlborough Sounds.

The 21,000 gross tonne (approx) ferry is expected for a minimum six-month charter period by a crew supplied by shipowner

Stena Finance BV. Several Interislander personnel had boarded STENA ALEGRA in Panama for the voyage down under including a master, a mate, a chief engineer, a first engineer, a customer services manager and a bosun. Interislander is accepting freight, car and passenger bookings from January 12 for STENA ALEGRA. Source : Stuff.co.nz

The Svitzer owned SVITZER MARKEN and SVITZER MALLAIG departed from IJmuiden bound for Bremerhaven to start operating in this German port as per January 1st 2014 Photo : Joop Marechal ©



MSC Cruises to renovate its four Lirica Class ships

The four ships in the international cruise line's Lirica range will take a break from the high seas in mid-2014 to undergo a vast renovation program. The MSC Armonia, MSC Lirica, MSC Sinfonia and MSC Opera -- all built around a decade ago in Saint-Nazaire, France -- will each spend 38 weeks in the dry dock at a shipyard in Fincantieri, Italy.

The MSC LIRICA in Haifa – Photo : Peter Szamosi ©

Each with a current capacity of 2,000 passengers, the ships will be expanded, taking on 200 additional berths. By the end of the renovation program in late 2015, each ship will have room for 2,680 passengers. The $273 million upgrade is aimed at making the MSC Cruises fleet "even more competitive," announced the company's CEO in a press conference in Rome. Source : Seanews

28-12-2013 : bulker GENCO VIGOUR passing barnet marine park BURNABY BC assisted by the Seaspan tugs SEASPAN FALCON and SEASPAN RAVEN Photo : Robert Etchell ©

Can’t Pay Wages? Don’t Operate Ships! Specialist marine insurance intermediary Seacurus says that reported doubts about the insurance industry’s ability to insure the liability for unpaid wages of abandoned seafarers under the Maritime Labor Convention 2006 are inaccurate and ill-founded. It is already an agreed principle under MLC 2006, which came into force in August 2013, that liability for the unpaid wages of seafarers currently falls to the recruitment and placement services which help seafarers find employment at sea. Some have rightly argued that this is a misdirected arrow and that it is the shipowner/employer, and not the



agent, that should assume this liability. In a positive move, it is now understood that tripartite talks between owners, unions and governments scheduled for April 2014 at the ILO headquarters in Geneva will finally address this issue, with talks set to concentrate on the specific inclusion of unpaid crew wages in the shipowner’s MLC obligation to repatriate crew in cases of abandonment.

Thomas Brown, managing director of Seacurus, said, “It is time for clarity and certainty on this important issue. The fact is that any cover that does not provide for the indemnification of unpaid wages fails to adequately protect seafarers against the real risk of abandonment. Effective employment protection must include crew wages, without which seafarers risk becoming the cashflow casualties of their employers’ insolvencies.

“It has been suggested by some industry commentators that insurance to cover unpaid wages would be unfeasibly expensive for owners, and that in any case it is only those owners who are likely to default who will need the cover. This is wrong on both counts. Firstly, the CrewSEACURE policy launched earlier this year by Seacurus provides comprehensive cover at low cost, with premiums of as little as $50 per seafarer per year available today. Secondly, the point about only bad owners requiring cover in respect of unpaid wages is immaterial, since the proposed requirement for cover will be mandatory on all shipowners. Mandating the requirement in this way will force out of business those owners who – it is claimed – ‘need the cover’, as they will be unable to obtain the requisite financial security called for by MLC.

“If you cannot pay your crew, you should not put your ship to sea, it’s that simple. Any arguments to the contrary would serve to do our industry a disservice. Unfortunately, without the proposed amendments, there is currently no meaningful deterrent to this premise. “The fact is that affordable cover in respect of the indemnification of unpaid wages is available, and it is available now. It is in the best interests of the industry and seafarers alike that responsible owners support the ratification and early adoption of the draft amendments to MLC in this regard.” Source : ShipTalk

The BERGE BUREYA arriving in Rotterdam-Europoort – Photo : Paul Gerdes ©

NTSB reports on tanker allision with bridge

The National Transportation Safety Board has published a Marine Accident Brief on the January 7, 2013 allision of the 752 ft tanker Overseas Reymar with the San Francisco‒Oakland Bay Bridge.

The accident occurred at 1118 local time when the ship allided with the fendering system of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge's Echo tower. The vessel was outbound in San Francisco Bay. No one was injured and no pollution was reported. Damage to the vessel was estimated at $220,000, and the cost to repair the Echo tower's fendering system was estimated at $1.4 million. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the Overseas Reymar allision with the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge was the pilot's decision to alter course from the CD span to the DE span without sufficient time to avoid alliding with the bridge's Echo tower, and the master's failure to properly oversee the pilot by engaging in a phone conversation during a critical point in the transit. You can read the full accident brief HERE Source : MarineLog

http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2013/MAB1318.pdf�



Royal yacht AL SAID of H.M. Sultan Qaboos in Port Sultan Qaboos (Muscat) Photo : Maarten Versluijs ©

CSV GEOHOLM TO THE RESCUE AMPHIBEAR Atlantic car salvage report received from CSV Geoholm

Early hours Sunday morning the captain of the GEOHOLM got a call form the owner of the AMPHIBEAR who was on around world trip in his specially made amphibious car. A modified Toyota Land Cruiser. with pontoons attached in a

quite unique design. The owner have had to abandon the amphibious due to technical problem and a leak in one of the pontoons. He was rescued by the cargo vessel MV Haru who was on route to Cape Verde islands. The MV Haru did not have the capacity to lift the "AMPHIBEAR" onboard so the owner was searching for other vessels in the area who could help. Geoholm`s captain contacted the owners representatives of DOF

Group in Norway and was given permission to try and salvage the amphibious car. The vessel detoured from its course and later in the morning and after some calculation the amphibious car was located. After some brief planning the FRC was launched from Geoholm while they was setting up on DP. The FRC was able to connect up to the "AMPHIBEAR" and the tow could start who was not the easiest considering the sea state. But two and half hour after arriving the search position the "AMPIHBEAR" was landed safely on the deck.

After sea fastening was done the Geoholm resumed its voyage and next port call we believe a happy owner will meet up with "AMPHIBEAR" again. Photo / text : William - CSV GEOHOLM ©



China exempts VAT to overseas owners The Chinese government has issued a new circular on its value-added tax policy that relates to maritime commerce. Chinese law requires foreign shipping companies to use either wholly-owned subsidiaries or third-party agents to collect ocean freight. Under the previous business tax regime freight forwarders were allowed to deduct international freight from their taxable income. However, from August 1, 2013, freight forwarders are required to pay a 6% VAT charge as well as local surcharges on gross proceeds collected from clients. The new policy, which will come effective from January, 2014, has eliminated the unequal tax treatment of foreign shipping companies by allowing the deduction of international freight from the taxable income of freight forwarders. Source: SinoShip News

CASUALTY REPORTING

December 29th The containership HANJIN ITALY and LNG tanker AL GHARRAFA, collided somewhere near

Singapore Photo : Capt Jim Stone ©

NAVY NEWS Russian Navy-2013: regaining former strength, introducing new inventions

This year has been marked by a series of significant events in foreign and defense policy. A massive armed forces modernization also covered the Navy which represents the main tool meant for enhancing influence of the great sea power. Symbolically, the year began with putting in service of the Russian Navy the newest strategic ballistic missile submarine Yuri Dolgorukiy and ends with deploying the same class submarine Alexander Nevsky. Russian President Vladimir Putin notes that the pace at which Russia is building its nuclear underwater fleet allows us to hope that by 2020 the country will manage to completely renew a marine component of its nuclear triad. Yuri Dolgorukiy and Alexander Nevsky are Borei class submarines. The third missile submarine of this class, Vladimir Monomakh, is now being tested and due to be set for duty next year. The Russian Navy will obtain five similar submarines over the next seven years. And each new version will be improved in some way in comparison to the first submarine of the series. If today each of the above-mentioned models is equipped with 16 new generation ballistic missiles Bulava, modified submarines are expected to carry 20 such missiles. The Bulava missile is capable of delivering from six to ten independently targeted warheads.

Russia has launched such an extensive modernization of its strategic nuclear forces guided by the fact that Soviet nuclear arms systems have become obsolete rather than a desire to have more nuclear weapons than other countries, Igor Korotchenko, a chief editor of Natsionalnaya Oborona magazine (National security in Russian), says.



“When the Soviet nuclear submarines expire, we’ll be employing four Borei in the Pacific Ocean fleet and four - in the North fleet. A non-stop combat patrolling by at least two submarines – one in the North fleet and the other in the Pacific Ocean fleet – are ready to immediately launch a missile against its potential enemy,” he believes.

Apart from Borei missiles, by 2020 the Russian Navy is supposed to employ not less than eight new generation multi-purpose nuclear submarine projects, Yasen, armed with cruise missiles of the fourth generation. A first ship of this series, Severodvinsk, is almost ready. Simultaneously, an upcoming modernization of nine multi-purpose nuclear submarines, dubbed Akula, was announced. These ships are armed with the Shkval torpedoes and Granat cruise missiles. The Akula is capable of destroying both marine and coastal enemies’ targets. Finally, the Russian fleet is putting into service latest modifications of the diesel-powered Varshavyanka and Lada submarines, which equipped with the Club modern cruise missile complex. In all, in 2013 the Russian Navy obtained a few dozens of combat and auxiliary ships, including stealth corvettes, frigates, missile carrying ships and speedboats. After the modified Vikramaditya aircraft carrier entered into service with the Indian Navy, debates over the creation of its own carrier fleet resumed in Russian military circles. According to military men and politicians, unpredictability of the situation on the international arena and geopolitical interests of Russia require the building of new aircraft carriers. There is a point of view that an experience of deep and complex modernization of an aircraft carrier for India may come in handy. Nevertheless, it’s obvious that carrier themselves are only half the battle, Viktor Litovkin, a managing editor of the Nezavisimoye voyennoye obozreniye newspaper (Independent Military Review in Russian) thinks. “One aircraft carrier carries a certain number of planes, either destroyers or bombers, and at least one plane of distant radio location and targeting. Besides, an aircraft carrier needs a large convoy escort of ships – several missile cruisers, several destroyers, several corvettes and service ships. So, the task is much more complicated than to build one aircraft carrier. We have to create whole groups of ships. Russia needs at least one such group for its northern seas, and one – for the Pacific Ocean.”

According to experts’ estimations, a new aircraft carrier may be created in Russia not earlier than in 2020. Speaking about the events of the outgoing year that have to do with navy, 2013 will come down in history not only as a year of new inventions in this sphere. The appearance of the Russian navy flag near Syria’s borders speaks of the fact that after a long break, the Russian navy is again entering the world’s seas and oceans.

CASUALTY REPORTING

Nigeria: 50 Feared Dead As Boat Capsizes in Benue

A boat conveying passengers has capsized in River Buruku in Buruku local government area of Benue State. 50 persons are feared dead; many are missing. River Buruku is a tributary of the River Benue and flows along a beach where youths picnic.

The passengers, including men and women were funseekers, who were at Buruku Beach to mark Boxing Day when the tragedy struck. The incident occurred at about 8.45pm when the boat had taken aboard passengers at the crossing terminal before it capsized minutes after starting its journey. The police public relations officer, DSP Daniel Ezeala who



confirmed the incident yesterday said, "The number of casualties is yet to be ascertained and investigation is in process." He stated that a rescue team was still searching for victims in the river. Source : Seanews

Rig under construction sinks at Daewoo

shipyard in South Korea The rig DEEPSEA ABERDEEN under construction at a Daewoo shipyard in South Korea, ordered by Norway's Odfjell Drilling and intended for use by BP, sank on Saturday, a contractor who had staff working on board at the time of the accident told Reuters. Photo : via anonymous gCaptain contributor

The incident was at a shipyard owned by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering off Geoje Island on the south coast. "The rig has sunk and lies on the seabed by the quay. It is not submerged," said Tor Henning Ramfjord, chief executive of National Oilwell Varco Norway.

There were no immediate reports of injuries. It was unclear how many staff were on the rig, Deepsea Aberdeen, at the time of the accident. The rig was to be used by BP for drilling at the Schiehallion and Loyal fields in British waters, BP said on its website. Ramfjord said 38 employees of his company were on the rig at the time of the accident. All were safe, he said.

"Water seeped into the hull of a rig we ordered from DSME (Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering) in South Korea. The hull is now at the bottom of the dock," Odfjell Drilling spokesman Gisle Johanson told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. All Odfjell Drilling employees were safe, he said. Source : SwissInfo

SHIPYARD NEWS Shipyard workers didn't know widely

used blast abrasive contains toxin For decades, a byproduct produced at coal-burning power plants has been reused at shipyards, where it is used to "sandblast" rust and paint off the hulls, tanks and other steel surfaces of commercial and military vessels.

http://www.multraship.com/�



In September the Daily Press reported that a number of workers at Newport News Shipbuilding who worked on carriers have been exposed to dust from the product, called coal slag. Meanwhile safety officials at the shipyard's largest union said they'd not been informed that coal slag contain small amounts of beryllium, a toxic metal that has been linked to a lung disease.

The companies that sell coal slag did not note the presence of the beryllium in their products on corresponding safety data sheets that list hazardous ingredients. However in 2012 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration sent letters to the companies saying that that omission could put them out of compliance with federal worker safety regulations.

"The people who do the sandblasting may be the least likely to get a disease from it," Outlaw said. "I've been on boats when the clouds are so thick you don't know where you're going." Shipyard managers, however, say that workers have been protected from beryllium exposure all along. In addition to the respirators, the shipyard uses containment tents to keep dust from spreading. "Whether we're talking about arsenic or beryllium or any of the other heavy metals, our people have been protected for years," said Jim Thornton, the shipyard's director for environmental health and safety. "So, even with "this discussion that has recently arisen, we really haven't changed anything that we've done per se." Source : Dailypress

The ZWERVER III at the slip at the Kooiman shipyard in Zwijndrecht – Photo : Arie Boer ©

Bangladeshi Shipyard wins NZ Passenger Vessel Order

The shipbuilding industry of Bangladesh has stepped into the Pacific by securing a new order from New Zealand. Western Marine Shipyard has signed contract with New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for building a new Unrestricted International SOLAS passenger ship.

The ship will be built for Tokelau, a non- self governing territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean. The Administration of Tokelau will use the ship to carry passengers from Tokelau to Samoa Islands which is a voyage of few days. The contract value of the project is $6.6m and the shipyard expects to complete the project by December 2014. Through this contract signing for the first time a Bangladeshi shipyard will export a ship which has been designed to sail in the Pacific Ocean. She will be built under class Lloyd’s Register, UK and will have highest safety measures considering all possible risks at sea. The ship will be having a carrying capacity of 60 passengers in addition to 50



tonnes of cargo and supplies. Considering the sea state & duration of the voyage, passenger comfort will be the highest priority while building this vessel. The 43 m long ship will be spacious to provide maximum comfort to the passengers, equipped with 24 bunk beds, 16 reclining seats, a children’s play area, open deck area for passengers, a sick bay and a comfortable accommodation for12 crew.

The ship will also be able to carry five 10ft containers including two reefer containers and a crane for loading/unloading cargo will also be provided. Environment friendliness is also a prime concern for the ship as per the class notation. Thus, modern technologies will be used to minimize fuel burning. Therefore, achievement of such newbuilding contract has taken the shipbuilding industry to a new dimension. Source : MAREX

ROUTE, PORTS & SERVICES

The BORUSSIA DORTMUND outbound from Rotterdam – Photo : Kees van der Kraan (c)



More time needed to resume work on Koyilandy harbour

The construction work of Koyilandy harbour, which was on a standstill for nearly a year, would be resumed only after a few more months. Though the Centre has given the nod for the revised estimate submitted by the harbour engineering department, technical procedures including tendering of the work and allotment of the work to a new contractor would cause the delay. The initial estimate of Koyilandy harbour, the work of which was started in 2006, was Rs 36 crore. However, delay in completing the work had increased the cost to Rs 65 crore.

Though the state had approached the Centre, nearly six months ago, for getting nod for the revised estimate, the plea was pending before the Central ministry for long hindering the work. The Centre gave the nod for the revised estimate only by mid-December, after minister of state for home affairs Mullappally Ramachandran along with port minister K Babu sought the intervention of Union minister Sharad Pawar. "We expect to resume the work in 2-3 months after completing the tendering work," said K Dasan, MLA of Koyilandy. The remaining work includes construction of auction hall, canteen, yard and other infrastructures, he added. Meanwhile, a joint action council of fishermen, fish traders, traders' organizations, labourers and locals from Koyilandy have decided to take out protest march to Koyilandy taluk office. The action council leaders are reluctant to call off the protest even after central nod for the revised estimate.

"The harbour work was started seven years ago and we will take out the protest against the apathy on the part of the state in giving proper follow up to the project," said an action council member. A hartal will also be held on December 30 against government apathy toward the developmental works of Koyilandy harbour.

On the completion of the work, the harbour will provide opportunity to the fishermen to auction the fish and sell the fish at a more convenient place. Besides, the boat jetty which is part of the harbour will accommodate over 200 mechanized boats and hundreds of country boat giving a boost to the fishing sector in Koyilandy.

Over 700 fishermen and more than a thousand others, who would be able to engage in indirect jobs will benefit from the harbour as the Koyilandy municipal authorities are planning to introduce fish-related enterprises. Export of fish and fish products, fish drying units, and other centres would also come up once the work of the harbour gets completed. Source : Indiatimes

Heerema’s two workhorses the RETRIEVER and HUSKY retired in Rotterdam – Photo : Arie Boer (c)

China Shipping Development charters 21 bulkers from affiliate



China Shipping Development (CSD) has chartered in 21 dry bulk carriers from its affiliate China Shipping (Hong Kong) Holdings. The bareboat charter agreement, valued at about $70m, is for a period of six months starting from 1 January to 30 June 2014. The 21 bulkers with a total capacity of 1.43m dwt will be operated by China Shipping Bulk Carrier, wholly-owned by CSD. Source: SeatradeGlobal

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AUTOMATICALLY IF THE MAIL IS BOUNCED BACK TO OUR SERVER If this happens to you please send me a mail at [email protected] to reactivate

your address again, please do not write this in the guestbook because I am not checking this guest book daily.

Ukraine's Yuzhny port welcomes first 300-m-long box ship ever

The 4300teu MAERSK BROOKLYN docked at Yuzhny Merchant Sea Port, Ukraine. This is the first 300-meter-long container ship that called ever at the Ukrainian port, the Port Authority said Tuesday in a press release. The huge box ship on December 22 was piloted by "Delta-Pilot" (a subsidiary of state-owned Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) and moored at TransInvestService (TIS) container terminal. The M/V MAERSK BROOKLYN (YB - 2077) is operated on Maersk Line's container service between Latin America and the Black Sea. Ship's length - 294 m, beam - 32 m, depth - 12.4 m, maximum capacity - 4,300 TEUs.

The MAERSK BROOKLYN –Photo : Jan Verhoog (c)

Homeport - Copenhagen. State-run Yuzhny Merchant Sea Port founded in 1978 is located on the northwest coast of the Black Sea, in the ice-free Small Adzhalyksk (Grygoryivsky) estuary, 30 km northeast of Odessa. The Port is accessible from sea through a 3km-long 14-m-deep canal, so pilotage service is required for inbound and outbound vessels.

AGR Seabed Intervention to be acquired by Marin

Marin, the ultra-deepwater excavation specialist and recovery firm, has confirmed it is to acquire AGR Seabed Intervention. The announcement comes after the duo formed a very successful strategic alliance earlier this year.

The acquisition of AGR Seabed Intervention will advance Marin's strategy of extending its global reach and specialist excavation services. Customers will benefit from practical, cost-effective solutions and technical expertise in the areas of route preparation, claycutting, excavation and recovery. George Stroud (Marin CEO) said: "Acquiring AGR Seabed

mailto:[email protected]�



Intervention complements our position in the market. We have already worked together on global projects and both businesses have a proven track record executing high-level engineering and technical operations. This is an exciting time for clients, especially those looking for early execution of difficult excavation projects, as Marin has all of the required tooling to gain greater results at site.

"This acquisition presents an opportunity to grow our newly strengthened business to benefit our customers and all our people."

AGR Seabed Intervention will merge seamlessly with Marin and employees from the Aberdeen office will be based at Marin headquarters in Ellon, Aberdeenshire. Paul Betteridge (AGR Seabed Intervention CEO) said: "Uniting the businesses will ensure that excellence in service delivery and innovation continues. I would also like to take this opportunity to reassure our existing customers that they will continue to receive the high standards of service they've come to expect from us." Source: AGR

The SEALINK 161 which is working off the Otago coast with the oil/research ship Polarcus Alima.

Photo : Ross Walker (c)

National Institute of Oceanography acquires new research ship

For the first time in its 48-year existence, the Dona Paula-based National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) has acquired a brand-new research ship-the R V Sindhu Sadhana. Built by a private shipyard in Surat, Sindhu Sadhana is also the first research vessel to be built entirely in India. It will leave for a shipyard in Kochi for a few 'additional fittings', after which it will take its first experimental cruise in the Bay of Bengal in February, said NIO director S W A Naqvi on Saturday. NIO aims to have the ship sailing for at least 300 days in a year.

The ship's plaque was handed over by Rishi Agarwal, chairman of ABG shipyard, to Samir K Brahmachari, director general, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) at a 'handing over ceremony' held on the ship's deck at the Mormagao port trust (MPT), Vasco. Pointing out that ocean research aboard a large, modern ship like the Sindhu Sadhana is expensive, Brahmachari asserted that NIO's scientists would have to generate research worth at least 15 crore annually to ensure a return on investment.

"I'm told that the ship guzzles around 400 litres of diesel per hour. Scientists will have to work efficiently to create knowledge more valuable than the money spent on the research." He suggested, "The best option would be to create a business model, where researchers can take up sponsored projects for 120 days, to explore oil, minerals, fisheries and other such commercial aspects. The remaining 180 days can be spent doing what they love- scientific research."

"Sindhu Sadhana will allow our enthusiastic oceanographers to take their research from the estuaries of the River Mandovi to the deep sea. Be wary of the Somalian pirates and don't lose the ship," he joked. Shailesh R Nayak, secretary, ministry of earth sciences, pointed out that India's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 2 million sq km into the ocean had not been completely explored yet. "We have not ventured to survey this rich oceanic expanse, or assess its potential. This EEZ is soon likely to be extended to 3.2 million sq km, an area almost equal to our land area - but the



number of experts deployed to study the ocean is not even 2% of the people deployed on land." He said India would soon claim more control over the Indian Ocean as well.

Nayak also mentioned that ocean research had, in the recent past, thrown up quite a few surprises. "Earlier, the Indian Ocean was considered a dead ocean, and was believed to have no impact on global climate change. This myth has been busted by ocean research."

The Sindhu Sadhana is also proof that Indian companies can build top quality research vessels, said Naqvi. The three other vessels owned by NIO-Gaveshani, Sagar Sukti (both decommissioned) and Sindhu Sankalp-were second-hand fishing trawlers converted into research ships, he said. "An institute of oceanography without a research ship is like a soldier without a gun. The biggest limitation we face in our research is the lack of adequate ship time. Having our own modern research vessel will help us overcome this problem," concluded Naqvi. Source : IndiaTimes

The HHL INDICATION outbound from the Ijmuiden locks – Photo : Marcel Coster (c)

…. PHOTO OF THE DAY …..



The UNION PRINCESS operating in the Gulf of Mexico –

Photo : Capt Joren Meijer – Master Union Princess (c)

daily collection of mar itime press clippings 2013 –...

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