MARITIME NEWSFriday, March 21, 2014

International maritime news for seafarers

Increase in int'l shipping threatens Tubbataha ReefTubbataha Reef Natural Park in Palawan Province of the Philippines, a world heritage site, is facing a serious threat due to the increased number of vessels passing through Sulu Sea.

Head of Tubbataha Management Office Angelique Songco said that the park's buffer zone in Sulu Sea had experienced a 59% increase of international shipping traffic during 2009-13. She noted that the excessive ship movements resulted in a significant increase in marine debris in the region, posing a "potential impact" on the reef. There is also an increase in the number of grounding incidents in the area.

Songco insisted that the marine debris affect the corals and the fisheries in the 97,030-hectare Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Palawan. The park is home to about 10,000 hectares of coral reef, 600 species of fish, 360 species of corals, 11 species of sharks, 13 species of dolphins and whales and 100 species of birds.

Meanwhile, the superintendent of the park said that a USS Guardian ship had run aground in reef's South Atoll in early 2013 and damaged the reef a lot. So far, the US has not paid the fine of PHP 58.3 million for the vessel's unauthorised entry and damages to the reef.

Meanwhile, Songco informed the media that the park authorities will construct Tubbataha Reef's modern ranger station and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority will fund the project. According to her, the construction work will begin in October and the new ranger station will start operations in 2015. She told reporters that the Tubbataha Management Office recently asked the Filipino Coast Guard to take initiatives for getting a 'Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas' (PSSA) recognition from the IMO in order to protect the reef. Songco was of the opinion that if the reef was included in the PSSA list, the reef management will have more control over the navigation of international ships in Tubbataha's buffer zone.

The IMO said in a statement: "A PSSA is an area that needs special protection through action by IMO because of its significance for recognised ecological or socio-economic or scientific reasons and which may be vulnerable to damage by international maritime activities."

SAFETY STUDY

CROWDED SEALANEA cargo ship, soon after leaving port, came into close quarters situation with several small vessels, including a trawlnet fishing boat, whose skipper did not see the oncoming ship.

FACTSA medium-sized cargo ship, with 21 crew on board, left port early in the morning and headed south-eastward to its nextdestination.

The captain of the cargo ship, who was manning the helm, was paying attention to a number of small vessels anchored ahead of his ship's path to seaward.

He did not notice the small trawlnet fishing boat that was approaching from the south-west.

The cargo ship master assumed that the fishing boat would pass on his portside if he kept course and speed, as he observed that the boat had already crossed ahead to his portside and its bearing was changing to the left.

Meanwhile, the fishing boat's skipper was at the stern of his boat with the deckhand busy and both were drawing the large trawlnet aboard their fishing boat.

The skipper was not paying attention to traffic ahead of him and did not realise that his fishing boat was coming closer to the path of the cargo ship.

The two vessels collided a few minutes later.

The fishing boat's skipper died immediately and his deckhand was injured. The fishing boat sustained a buckling and a fracture to its keel while the cargo vessel sustained a dented bulbous bow.

FINDINGSIt is possible that lookout rounds were not properly done as the watchstanders aboard the cargo ship only noticed the fishing boat when it came very close to the ship's port bow. The cargo ship was sailing in a fishing area where many vessels were either anchored or underway. The lookout should have been directed by the master to pay attention to vessels coming close to the cargo ship.

The master had no precise understanding on operational conditions of fishing boats in the site. The fishing boat crew were focused on drawing the trawlnet, facing toward the stern and were not keeping a lookout. The fishing boat's skipper failed to instruct the deckhand to help keep an eye for approaching vessels. Source: Japan Transport Safety Board

Design of new tanker unveiled

Helsinki-based Wartsila Ship Design has unveiled a new Aframax tanker design that will be capable enough to meet the current and upcoming emission legislations.

According to the Finnish company, the single screw crude oil tanker will have a new double hull with a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) mechanism for less resistance and higher efficiency. The new design emphasises the flow lines and pressure distribution along the hull. A cylindrical bow, which accommodates a range of operational draughts, will help the tanker sail smoothly, even in rough weather conditions.

Wartsila claims that the propulsion system, built on the basis of its 'high performance two-stroke X62 main engine' with an extra long stroke and low rpm, will minimise the physical width in order to allow a slimmer aft body designed for improving propulsion efficiency.

In comparison of the currently available main engine options, Wartsila says that the X62 engine can save 7% fuel on specific vessel design and can also reach the same vessel speed by using six instead of (the current) seven cylinders.

Pirates may target Ghana's waters: Security expertAfrican defence experts have warned that Ghana's waters, along the coast off West Africa, could be the potential target of pirates.

Citing the piracy hotspot map, senior defence expert James Fisher has said it leads to the fact that Ghanaian waters are vulnerable to the attack from African pirates and necessary actions should be taken to avoid such attacks. He made the remarks on the sidelines of the maiden Coastal and Maritime Surveillance conference in Accra on Thursday. Fisher also urged the African governments to invest in anti-piracy operations despite the enormous financial cost involved.

Meanwhile, Director of Naval Administration of Ghana Captain Issah Yakubu said that the Ghana Navy was trying hard to safeguard its territorial waters with the help of other government and private agencies. He, meanwhile, admitted that more than 50 incidents of hijacking of ships on the West African waters were recorded in 2013. Captain Yakubu, too, stressed upon the need for improved monitoring system across the Gulf of Guinea.

"The focus of piracy used to be in the Indian Ocean, specifically along the Somali Coast. But in recent years the focus is shifting to the West African waters, the area we call the Gulf of Guinea. Last year alone, there were over 50 incidents of ships just being hijacked, taken hostage, their cargo stolen, the crew molested sometimes even killed. Fortunately, we (Ghana) have not suffered any of these insecurities. But we are not complacent," he added.

Meanwhile, chiefs of Navy and Air Force across Africa attended the three-day conference that concluded on Thursday. They discussed different aspects of maritime security along the Gulf of Guinea with global maritime experts.

COMMERCEDubai port firm announces USD 604mln profitDubai-based port operator DP World announced on Thursday that its profits rose nearly 11% to USD 604 million in 2013 as the company opened new ports in Britain and Brazil and expanded its operations at home in the UAE.

The gains reported on Thursday came despite a 1.5% drop in revenue to USD 3.07 billion last year.

DP World, which is one of the world's largest port operators, credited last year's profits to its focus on fast growing markets alongside its operations in developed markets. The company invested more than USD 1 billion in a range of new long-term assets last year, launching new projects in Brazil's Embraport and London's Gateway port. The company also said that it would expand its capacity in 2014 at its main Jebel Ali port in the UAE and its Rotterdam port in the Netherlands.

DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem told reporters that the company has good liquidity to be selective about where it wants to be. He stressed that the profits were helped by increased productivity and efforts to contain costs. The board of DP World is recommending a total dividend of USD 190.9 million or a 10% increase to 23 cents per share. Sulayem said that the company faced some challenging market conditions in the first half of 2013 and the capacity was constrained within a number of its key locations.

DP World had lower reported gains from the previous year when separately disclosed items were taken into account. DP World reported separately disclosed items of USD 48 million, mostly relating to a USD 158 million profit on sale of businesses and USD 99 million on impairment of assets. While factoring those in, DP World's profits were down 13.4% to USD 640 million in 2013 from the USD 738 million the company reported in 2012. (AP)

ENVIRONMENTContainer ship owners asked to pay USD 30,000 over oil spillThe New Zealand marine authorities have fined the owners of a container ship for pollution. The German owners were fined USD 30,000 for leaking around 1000 litres of oil into the Tauranga harbour in July 2013.

The container ship discharged oil into the coastal marine area while refuelling at the Port of Tauranga upon its arrival from Tonga. The crewmembers onboard the ship did not notice an overflowing tank and the spill caused a 600m-long oil slick, stretching towards Mount

Maunganui. The spill also washed up on Pilot Bay. Subsequent investigations revealed that a miscommunication caused the leak and the owners pleaded guilty.

Pollution Prevention Manager of Nick Zaman Tauranga harbour has said that the Tauranga Regional Council's investigations also found a number of deficiencies in the vessels' bunkering procedures and poor record keeping. "This is a timely reminder that this type of practice is not going to be tolerated, and the onus is on all vessel owners to make sure their bunkering procedures are up to date and that their crew follow these procedures," he said. Zaman told the media: "With the expected increase of vessels using the port, we will be taking a hard line against these types of incidents."

25 years later, Exxon Valdez spill effects lingerBefore the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, there was the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska, at the time the nation's largest oil spill.

The 987ft tanker, carrying 53 million gallons of crude, struck Bligh Reef at 12:04am on March 24, 1989. Within hours, it unleashed an estimated 10.8 million gallons of thick, toxic crude oil into the water. Storms and currents then smeared it over 1,300 miles of shoreline.

For a generation of people around the world, the spill was seared into their memories by images of fouled coastline in PrinceWilliam Sound, of sea otters, herring and birds soaked in oil, of workers painstakingly washing crude off the rugged beaches.

Twenty five years later, most of the species have recovered, said Robert Spies, a chief science adviser to governments on the oil spill restoration programme from 1989 to 2002. But some wildlife, as well as the people who live in the region, are still struggling. (AP)

LEGALTaiwan, Philippines ready to sign maritime co-op pactIn an attempt to resolve fishing disputes in their overlapping waters, Taiwan and the Philippines will soon sign an agreement on maritime law enforcement co-operation.

The Taiwanese media reported on Thursday that Taipei and Manila are currently making preparation for signing the agreement in April. Taiwan's Foreign Minister David Lin said the agreement would be a part of bilateral efforts for ensuring the safety of fishermen operating in regional waters.

On May 9, 2013, a fatal incident of shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by Filipino Coast Guards in a zone, where the two countries' exclusive economic zones overlap, soured the bilateral relationships. After the incident, both the sides held a number of meetings and decided to

indulge in maritime law enforcement co-operations, including no use of force or violence while patrolling fishing grounds, the establishment of a mechanism to inform each other in the event of fishery-related incidents and the release of detained fishermen and boats as soon as possible.

The Taiwanese minister stressed: "The agreement will include the consensus. We hope to hold bilateral fishery talks to sign the agreement as soon as possible."

China opens more maritime space for developmentChina has opened up more maritime space for development, charging enterprise and individual developers USD 1.7 billion in 2013, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said on Thursday.

China streamlined the application and approval procedure for maritime space development last year, allowing the market to play a more active role in maritime resources allocation, said the administration.

A report released by the SOA showed 21,500 hectares of sea reclamation were approved in 2013.

The report also noted recreational use of maritime space made the largest increase in the share of fees, which surged from 2.87% in 2012 to 13.69% in 2013. (Xinhua)

GALLEYChicken & mango saladThe sweetness of mango and the succulent chicken create this delicious salad meal.

Ingredients: 2tbsp of olive oil, 1 lemon (juiced), 1/4 cup of flat-leaf parsley leaves (chopped), 1 long red chilli (deseeded and chopped), 2-1/2 cups of roasted chicken (skin removed and chopped), 2 mangoes (peeled and cut into 1cm cubes), 100g mixed salad greens.

Method: Mix oil, two tablespoons of lemon juice, parsley and chilli in a small bowl.

Now, combine the chicken, mango and salad greens in a large bowl. Drizzle over chilli dressing. Toss lightly to combine and serve.

Frozen mango & lime cheesecakeIngredients: 125g plain sweet biscuits, 60g unsalted butter (melted), 2x250g packets of cream cheese (softened), 3/4 cup of caster sugar, 1tsp of lime rind (finely-grated), 300ml thickened cream; 425g can mangoes (sliced and drained), 3 passionfruit (halved)

Method: Grease a 6cm-deep, 20cm round springform pan.

Line base and side with baking paper and place biscuits in a food processor. Now, process it until finely chopped. Add butter and process until combined. Press biscuit mixture evenly over base of prepared pan and place the pan in fridge.

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and lime rind and beat for two minutes. Add cream and again beat for five minutes or until the mixture becomes thick. Spoon into prepared pan.

Place the mango in a food processor and process until it becomes smooth. Fold mango through cream cheese mixture to create a marbled effect. Cover it with plastic wrap and place in the freezer overnight or until it becomes firm.

Remove the cheesecake to a plate and keep it at room temperature for 15 minutes. Top with passionfruit pulp and serve.

SHIPPING DATABALTIC EXCHANGE

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