vol: 3 no. 5 highlights -...

VOL: 3 No. 5 BE INFORMED “BEST” WITH A PURSUIT TO TAKE EFFECTIVE DECISIONS MAY 2007

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HighlightsPage

44th National Maritime DayCelebrated at Cochin 1

Felicitations 2

From the Editor’s Desk 3

ASEAN and additionalmaritime security 4

Charter cancellation justified 5

FAL accepts Iran proposals 6

Due regard needed for 'real'maritime industry 7

India and Bangladesh SignRenewed Protocal on InlandWater Transit and Trade 8

SOLAS: Safety of Life at Sea 10

Hijacking of Indian Ship 11

IMO Briefing 12

EU wants emission caps onshipping 13

Europeans offer scholarshipto qualified maritime codes 14

Shipping Act to checkmiddlemen 15

Hitch over, MCA for portsmay finally sail through 19

Drama on high seas 20

New policy covers repairdelays 21

Director of Maritime Affairsvisits Ship Registry offices 22

44th National Maritime Day Celebratedat Cochin

National Maritime Day function was organised on 5th April 2007 at 5.30 PMat the auditorium of Merchant Navy Club, Cochin. Capt. J.C.Anand,Chairman, Indian Register of Shipping, Mumbai was the Chief Guest andShri Ajoy Chatterjee, Chief Surveyor with the Govt. of India cum Addl.Director General of Shipping (Engg.), Mumbai was the Guest of Honour. ShriP. K Majunder, Principal Officer, Mercantile Marine Department, Cochin andChairman, National Maritime Day Celebration Committee, Cochin presidedover the function. A ceremonial welcome was given to the distinguishedguests on their arrival. Shri M.P.John, Engineer & Ship Surveyor andSecretary, National Maritime Day Celebrations Committee, Cochin welcomedthe gathering. Commodore M. Jitendran, Chairman & Managing Director,Cochin Shipyardoffered felicitation.Capt. Paul N Joseph,Deputy Conservator,Cochin Port Trustand GeneralConvenor NationalMari t ime DayC e l e b r a t i o n sCommittee, Cochinproposed vote ofthanks.

Maritime Transport isthe largest and mostefficient means oftransport on theglobal scheme.

Capt. J.C.Anand in his address explained the role of marine technologistsin the latest technically advanced shipping scenario. He said planning ofmodern industrial organization calls for a high level of specialized talent toperceive and foresee the complex conditions governing the operativemachinery. This is particularly true of capital intensive shipping industrywhich enjoys priority in our national economic development policies andplanning. Indian technologists have earned a name as being second to nonein the world. They are today so well considered for their professionalefficiency, skill and expert knowledge that their services are in great demandboth in India and abroad.

The public meeting was followed by cultural programme and dinner for allthose attended the function. All ships berthed in the port were welldecorated on this auspicious maritime day. The week-long celebrationsprogramme was well-covered by the media.

M a r i n e W a v e s 2 May 2007

S a f e g u a r d O u r S e a s

Dr. P.K. Chandran, Ph.D; F.I.E. (India), Managing Editor& Publisher, MARINE WAVES, Recipient of UWAOutstanding Intellectual of 21st Century Awards forthe year 2007, from the hands of Prof. SukhadeoThorat, Chairman, University Grants Commission, NewDelhi, alongwith Dr. M. AnandaKrishnan, Chairman,Madras Institute of Development Studies and FormerVice Chancellor Anna University.

Mrs. Chandri Chandran, B.A., B.Ed; Ex.HeadmistressKothari Girls H.S.School, and Mr. P.K. Perumal,Ex.Adviser, Planning Commission, Govt.of India,

co-receipient seated on either sides.

Dr. R.S. Rathod, I.P.S., Spl. IGP Maharashtra,Co-recipient of UWA Outstanding Intellectual of21st Century Awards for the year 2007, fromthe hands of Prof. Sukhadeo Thorat, Chairman,University Grants Commission, New Delhi,alongwith Dr. M. Ananda krishnan, Chairman,Madras Institute of Development Studies andFormer Vice Chancellor Anna University

Renowned Population Expert & Founder “UnitedWriters Association” Dr. K. Thiagarajan, is seenreceiving “JEWEL OF INDIA AWARD” from the

hands of Prof. Sukhadeo Thorat, Chairman,University Grants Commission, New Delhi.

FELICITATIONS



From the Editor’s Desk"MARINE WAVES" URGES FRESH THINKING IN ENSURING

G O O D G O V E R N A N C E.

To excel in any profession, the need for commitment and dedication should come fromwithin, not comparing those who keep counting money and eye on the clock. The needto focus on upgrading quality- standards, from time to time, enabling timely correctiveaction, keeping workplace safety culture with discipline, valuing "TIME" which is most

precious. The lethargic, finds only easy ways of making fast money at others cost, other ways knownas criminals. They find their easy jobs more stressful. Sincere, honest and hardworking-people enjoytheir work and produce more and excellent results, find their jobs less stressful, since they make theirwork enjoyable. A pleasant and happy mind-set will reflect on how one serves better. Self criticism andconstructive criticism by peers can spur the urge to do better, which is ideal, though seldom realizedor practiced.

I would rather call upon all the mariners to share their rich experience out at sea, into successful casestudy, for development. Mariners opting to teaching jobs ashore, need to be computer-proficient,irrespective of whether they be old timers or not, the need to keep abreast, moving with the times ofnew technology, knowing more from the internet world, inter-act by exchanging their thoughts. The threecomponents which are Computers, Connectivity and Commitment. Followed by Content learning andcommunication. Have a lien towards academics, quest for learning. Theory and Practice should go handin hand, with a pragmatic approach of a holistic view. Real education, can only give you the power tochange. "The illiterate of the 21 century will not to be those who can not read and write but those whocan not learn, unlearn & relearn"- Alvin Toffler. Knowledge is infinite and hence studying needs tobe a continuous process to keep abreast with their related relevant subjects, an urge to know more andmore for enhancing and imparting knowledge. At sixty, I am a student of Madras University; enjoybeing a student. Mind is a think-tank. We need to use it more and more to make it more "Effective andProductive". Idleness of brain will bring in evil thoughts, known as devil's workshop. Age is not theonly factor of retirement criteria but for our mental make-up and physical strength to withstand variedsituations.

"Professional Ethics and Human Values" authored by Prof.D.R.Kiran, published by Tata McGraw Hill,covers in depth aptly the various ingredients of professional ethics and human values which are essential.We see comprehensive integration of integrity, honour, dignity, safety, health to brighten human life byvalues like love, purity, compassion, truthfulness, tolerance, spirit of service, coherence, unity of purposeetc. Congratulations to Anna University for having included these vital aspects as core subject in thepre-final year, for all branches of B.E. and B.Tech. courses. India is totally committed being the world'sone of the largest democratic countries. We believe in the concept of "Unity in Diversity". Hence, topreserve our democratic right and freedom, it is the bounden duty of each and every citizen of this countryto nurture discipline for sustenance and for the well-being of all of us. Discipline is the key ingredientof democracy. Unless, discipline is well understood and followed meticulously, the style of managementwill not be effective.

Discipline is nothing but a chain of four links. First and foremost is ethics dealing with moral dutiesand obligations, concerned with truth and justice, expectations of society, competition, public-relations,social responsibilities etc. All key aspects of these four vital links are blended together by suitableintegration to sustain discipline in human life and in an environment for ultimate betterment of humanity:Code of ethics/conduct/ character/Oneness or Integrity.

Dr. Chandran Peechulli, Ph.D; FIE(India)Fellow - Institution of Engineers (India) , Executive Member - Indian Institute of Standards Engineer, T N Chapter.Fellow- Indian Institution of Plant Engineers and Ex.Vice Chairman TN Chapter,Cee Cee Industrial & Marine Management Consultant.



Readers’ valued feedback very important to us.Please be free to e-mail:

[email protected]@hotmail.comYou don’t have to be a “Writer”, all you need tobe yourself and pour out your thoughts onSeafarers and their life and work out at sea. Doalso write to us of your problems / grievanceswith full details and the matter will be taken upwith the concerned Civil Authorities/Telephone,Electricity Board and other GovermentAgencies / Departments.

W o r l d I n f o D e s k

ASEAN and additionalmaritime security: We read alot about maritime security thesedays - the vulnerability of ships andports to terrorist attack, thepossibi lity of a weapon of massdestruction being transported by seacontainer, and so on. But we rarelyread about the role of seafarers inensuring security and the price theypay for additional security. These arethe people who in the words ofPsalm 106 'go down to the sea inships and do business in greatwaters.' Despite the impressive arrayof new security regulations bothnational and international, it isultimately they who ensure that shipsare safe and securely operated.

The lot of international seafarers isnot a happy one these days. Theyhave always worked long hours, in allweathers, and sometimes with poorliving conditions. Now following thetighter security measures introducedafter 11 September, they faceadditional strictures and hardship.They are often denied shore leave,and entry to a country to join orleave a ship. They can face criminalcharges for pollution and ship safetyoffences, and suffer a lack of fairtreatment in the event of a maritimeaccident or abandonment by a shipowner. It is not surprising that inmany countries around the world, itis becoming increasingly difficult toattract young people into theseafaring profession.

This manning shortage, as shipowners scrape around to f indproperly trained and experiencedcrews, could in the long run pose agreater threat to the safety andsecurity of shipping than any threatfrom terrorism. Paradoxical ly theshortage is occurring at a time whenthere are increased concerns aboutthe human factor as a cause ofmaritime accidents and of the needfor increased standards ofcompetence among seafarers.

The ship owners' search for lowercosts has driven down the size ofships' crews. As a consequence, crewfatigue has become a worrying factor

in maintaining adequate standards ofsafety and security in the shippingindustry. A recent report by theNorwegian classification society, DetNorske Veritas, found that growingincompetence among crews, possiblybrought on by new and underexperienced recruits, poor retentionand overwork, could be the reasonfor an increase in the frequency ofserious maritime accidents in the lastfew years.

Seafarers are now not al lowedashore in US ports to make phonecalls. Due to the costs of satellitecommunications, the crews of mostmerchant ships do not have accessto email while their ships are at sea.For communications with family andfriends, they still rely mainly on "snailmail" letters and public telephoneswhen in port. Additionally, theymay not be permitted ashorefor medical treatment. Andexperienced seafarers arebeing refused US visas for noapparent reason, exceptperhaps due to their Islamicnames. This effectively puts anend to their seafaring career.Incidents have also occurred inUS ports where crewmembershave been arrested and placedin custody for going on to thewharf to collect provisions orto check the ship's draft marksprior to sailing.

Mistreatment of seafarers: As aresult of stricter security measures inports around the world, these recentdevelopments have of late given riseto major concerns about themistreatment of seafarers. Althoughmost ship owners act responsibly, thefailure of many flag states and theinternational regulatory system toadequately implement and enforceinternational labor standards hasexposed many seafarers toexploitation and abuse.

The report on ship safety by theInternational Commission onShipping (ICONS) in 2000 wasenti t led Ships, Slaves andCompetition. 'Ships' referred to theoperations of international shipping,some 85 to 90 percent of which is

quality shipping in full conformancewith international safetyrequirements. 'Slaves' referred to thetens of thousands of seafarers fromdeveloping countries who areexploited, abused and ill- treated inthe pursuit of lower freight rates.'Competition' referred to the unequalstruggle between quality ships thatcomply with international standardsand the sub-standard ships that donot. This report was a damningindictment of some parts of theinternational shipping industry,particularly the fishing and cruisesectors. Especially disturbing is thefact that the beneficiaries of seafarersuffering include some of thewealthiest individuals andcorporations on earth.

A follow-up report by ICONS in 2005

found that while some progress hadbeen made with new regulations onlabour standards, the impact of newsecurity regulations fol lowing 11September had reduced the status ofseafarers even further. A particularlyworrying trend was the misuse of theInternational Ship and Port Facility



Security (ISPS) Code to deny accessto welfare personnel, including unionrepresentatives and port chaplains.

Recent regulatory developments

New international instruments onseafarer rights and conditions ofwork include the Maritime LabourConvention 2006 developed by theInternational Labour Organization(ILO) in conjunction with theInternational Maritime Organization(IMO), and the Guidelines on FairTreatment of Seafarers in the Eventof a Maritime Accident recent lyadopted by the IMO and ILO. TheMarit ime Labour Conventionestabl ishes an internationalenforcement and compliance systemfor seafarer labor and socialconditions based on inspection andcertification. It includes matters suchas minimum working standards,accommodation, medical care,recreational facilities, food and socialsecurity protection. While the intentof the Convention is admirable,unfortunately it has only been ratifiedso far by Liberia.

The Guidelines on Fair Treatment ofSeafarers recognize the specialcircumstances of the internationalseafarer. Their objective is to ensurethat seafarers are treated fairlyfollowing a maritime accident andduring any investigation anddetention by public authorities, andthat they are detained no longer thannecessary.

An issue for ASEAN?

These issues are important forASEAN and beg for a regionalapproach. Some Southeast Asiancountries, particularly Singapore andMalaysia, are key international shipowning nations. The Philippines,Indonesia and Myanmar are majorproviders of seafarers to theinternational shipping industry.

In 2006, the global deployment ofPhilippine seafarers rose to over260,000 - constituting about one-fifthof total global seafaring employment,and an increase of 4.9 percent from2005. The money these Fil ipinoseamen sent home in 2006 rose by16.4 percent in 2006 to over half abillion US dollars - a major injectionof funds into the Philippine economy.

Some moves are being taken withinASEAN but more could be done. TheAsian Shipowners' Forum hasstrongly supported the new MaritimeLabour Convention. The SingaporeMaritime Officers' Union is a strongproponent of the need for seafarersto be given a proper career path andbetter conditions of service as partof a shipping industry campaign torecruit more and retain existingseafarers. Singapore has alsoreviewed its safe manning system totake account of increased workloadsimposed by the ISPS Code and othernew security regulations.

For as long as mariners have goneto sea, shore leave has been animportant right. While not the statedintention of the ISPS Code and othernew securi ty regulations, theirimplementation has paved the wayfor increased restriction on seafarers,diminished their civil liberties, andinadvertently facilitated their furtherisolation from the community atlarge, as well as decreasing theattractiveness of seafaring as arewarding career. ASEAN is wel lplaced to develop a regionalapproach to assist in restoring thebalance between security, safety andthe need for competent andcontented crews to man the world'smerchant shipping fleet. The timemay have come for such an approachto be put in place.

Charter cancellationjustified: A PANEL of arbitrators inNew York has found that a charterer'scancellation of a voyage charter, on thegrounds that the vessel's cargo tankswere unsuitable for loading theirdesignated cargo, was justified.

The vessel "Mountain Blossom" waschartered to carry 10,000 metric tons ofstyrene monomer from Texas to Manaus,Brazil. After the vessel had tenderednotice of readiness, the charterer'ssurveyors rejected all the tanks intendedfor the cargo, on the grounds of rust anddeteriorated coating. Following furtherinspections and tests, the charterercancelled the charter.

The owner, claiming for alleged wrongfulcancellation, accused the charterer of ablatant breach of wel l-establishedchemical tanker practice, amounting to'inspection by ambush'. The charterercountered by noting that it had given

explicit and repeated instructions to cleanthe tanks "extremely well", and that theappointed cargo surveyor would be "verystrict" with the tanks.

The arbitrators (Manfred Arnold, LucienneBulow, and Bengt Nergaard) unanimouslyfound that the decision to reject thevessel as not ready to load the cargo wasreasonable. The owner had argued thatan agreement existed with regard to thetesting protocol, and that the vessel'stanks had met the agreed criteria, inrespect of colour and hydrocarboncontent, at the time of cancellation. Butthe arbitrators found that the owner'sargument boiled down to a reliance onwhat it regarded as 'established industrypractice' for tests employed on tanksnominated for styrene cargoes.

The arbitrators found that, in the absenceof a clear and express mutualunderstanding, a charterer cannot bedeemed to be restricted by any specific'industry standard' or any other standardso long as the tests which are applied inascertaining the conditions of the tanksare reasonable and relevant. But thepanel did acknowledge the practicalrealities facing an owner and a masterpreparing a vessel for inspection andtesting, pointing out that, where tank-cleaning procedure and testing are beingdiscussed between representatives of anowner and charterer, it would be helpfulfor the vessel's representative to set outfixed targets and standards. " 'Clean' isa subjective criterion," said the panel.

While acknowledging that the surveyorsin this case wanted to apply the fullbattery of tests to ensure the safecarriage of the cargo, the panel said itwould have been helpful if this decisionhad been communicated to the owner ormaster in advance, which might havesaved time and expense which weresubsequently to become the subject ofthe arbitration.

The charter party made provision for theinclusion of "costs, including a reasonableallowance for attorneys' fees." The panelmajority (Manfred Arnold dissenting)



granted an allowance of $60,000 towardsthe charterers' claimed costs of $86,358for attorneys' fees, and assessed thearbitrators' fees seventy per cent againstthe owner and thirty per cent against thecharterer. Mr Arnold believed that themajority decision on costs did notsufficiently take into account the eventsand the conduct of the charterer, ofwhich the arbitrators had been critical.Also, the allowance of seventy per centof costs represented pretty much what aparty would have recovered in a Londonproceeding under the 'costs follow theevent' concept.

At UNESCO-organizedmeeting, media professionalsadopt declaration on security.Some 200 media professionals fromaround the world have adopted adeclaration laying the ground for a widerange of measures to improve the safetyof journalists and punish crimes againstthem at a meeting convened by theUnited Nations Educational, Scientific andCultural Organization.The ?MedellinDeclaration Securing the Safety ofJournalists and Combating Impunity? wasendorsed on 5 May at the close of a two-day international conference on PressFreedom organized by UNESCO in theColombian city on the occasion of WorldPress Freedom Day 2007.

The Declaration voices concern overattacks on freedom of the press includingmurder, abductions, hostage-taking,intimidation, illegal arrests and detentionagainst journalists, media professionalsand associated personnel because of theirprofessional activities. It points out thatmost attacks on media professionalsoccur outside situations of armed conflict.The link between freedom of expressionand development is recognized by theMedellin Declaration, which asks UNESCOMember States to make respect forfreedom of expression and fightingimpunity a condition for granting offinancial assistance and calls for an endto statute of l imitations for crimescommitted to prevent the exercise offreedom of information and expression.

The Declaration calls on newsassociations to promote actions thatsecure the safety of journalists, includingsafety training, health care, life insurance,and equal access to social protection forfreelance employees and full-time staff.

Presumed fault in Chile: THEsupreme court in Chile has confirmed thatcargo claims against ocean carriers are

now subject to a higher test, as thepresumption of fault or negligence on thepart of the carrier for loss of or damageto the goods, or for delay in delivery, willnot be triggered if it cannot be shownthat the damage, loss or delay in deliveryoccurred during the carrier's period ofresponsibility.

A Chilean company, Pichara, bought aquantity of hair trimmers and othercosmetic accessories from US company,Sunbeam, on ex-works terms. Picharainsured the cargo with Chilean insurerING and hired freight forwarders totransport the goods from Miami to Chile.The freight forwarders subcontractedCSAV for the ocean carriage. The goodswere placed in a container, apparently bythe freight forwarders, and delivered toCSAV for loading in Miami on board the"CSAV Chicago". CSAV issued a bill oflading, but included a 'said to contain'clause. When the goods were deliveredto Pichara in Santiago, a shortage wasdetected. ING paid under the cargo policyand sued CSAV on a subrogated basis.

ING maintained that, in Chile, carriers aresubject to a presumed fault liabilityregime, whereby it is enough for theshipper to prove that the goods weredelivered for transport in sound condition.But CSAV argued that its responsibilitybegan when it took receipt of the goodsfrom the shipper and finished when itdelivered them to the customs warehouseoperator at the port of San Antonio inaccordance with Article 983(c) of theCode of Commerce (equivalent to Article4(2) of the Hamburg Rules).

At first instance, arbitrators held that anocean carrier's custody obligation ceaseswhen it delivers the goods in one of theways set out in Article 983. The carrierhad fulfilled this obligation in keeping withArticle 983(c), by handing over the goodsto a recognised authority or other thirdparty.

In respect of the presumed fault liabilityregime, the tribunal held that ING hadfailed to prove that the loss of a part ofthe goods, if it had occurred, took placewhen the goods were in the oceancarrier's custody, although such loss couldvery possibly have occurred after thecargo was delivered to the customsdeposit warehouse.

The claim was rejected by the tribunaland ING was ordered to pay costs. Thecourts upheld the decision.

Commenting on the decision on theInternational Law Office website, Ricardo

Rozas of Baeza, Larrain & Rozas, says,"The presumption of fault or negligenceon the part of the carrier for loss ordamage to goods or for delay in deliverywill not be triggered unless it can beshown that the damage, loss or delayoccurred during the carrier's period ofresponsibility. This is particularly relevantin cases where an ocean carrier performsonly part of the carriage itself and shouldrestrict the filing of cargo claims to casesin which substantive evidence can beprovided to establish when the damage,loss or delay occurred."

FAL accepts Iranproposals: Two proposals by Iranhave been registered at the Conventionon Facilitation of International MaritimeTraffic, FAL.

Iran's Shipping and Ports Organizationhas succeeded to convince FAL'smembers that its two proposals werecrucial to guarantee security and facilitateinternational trade at border watersacross the world, Mehr news agencyreported.

Iran has urged member countries to useelectronic tools and Iranian madesoftware that would guarantee thesecurity of packages and ease theclearance of ships.

The proposals were presented at the 34thsummit of the 70-member FAL that washeld at the International Association ofInstitutes of Navigation (IAIN) in Britain.Some 23 specialized agencies and non-governmental organizations were alsoattended the meeting.

The FAL is a major convention in the IAINthat eases regulations, facilitatesmaritime shipping, and equalizes customsduties in member countries.

Companies brush up onport security code- UScoast guard inspection duein July: The Shipping Association ofGuyana in collaboration with the MaritimeAdministration Department (MARAD)hosted a workshop for supervisors andport security officers of shippingcompanies to ensure their compliancewith the International Ship and PortFacility Security Code.

The two-day workshop, which was heldat the Regency Hotel in Hadfield Street,targeted business and shippingcompanies that would have been certifiedunder the ISPS which had taken effecton July 1, 2004. Among the workshop's



objectives are to sensitise the terminals,ship supervisors and port security officerson the emergence of the stringent anti-terrorism code, to ensure all participantsunderstand the importance of the codeand how it impacts their lives and theindustry as a whole and to encourage anappetite for knowledge in the participantsfor them to continue their quest forperfection.

Among the participants wererepresentatives of the Guyana NationalIndustrial Company Inc, Omai BauxiteMining Inc, Didco Trading Company, theGuyana Power and Light, Anral Shipping,Williams Shipping, Guyoil, JohnFernandes, Guyana National ShippingCorporation, Demerara ShippingCompany, Courtney Benn ContractingCompany, SOL Guyana and BK Marine.This newspaper understands that theUnited States Coast Guard is to conductinspections of the port facilities that werecertified. The audit should have beendone during the months of January andMarch but this had been put off becauseof the Cricket World Cup. It is nowscheduled to happen before the end ofJuly, sources confirmed.

The panel of presenters includedClaudette Rogers, Deputy DirectorGeneral, MARAD; Eon Oudkerk,Insurance Manager at GNSC; FranklynBelle, Wharf Manager at GNSC and MarkArcher of John Fernandes. MalcolmBascom, the Shipping Association'straining committee convenor, said that itis not enough for companies that attainedcertification to rest on their laurels butthat they must constantly keep ensuringthat they have proper security systemsand plans.

Speaking about the workshop, Bascomsaid that the association saw the need forsupervisors to be trained. He said thatthis is the first of a two-part trainingsession to address a range of securityrelated issues in the shipping industry.

He said that the association carried outa survey and this revealed that evenamong the certified companies therewere a number of deficiencies. Theworkshop is intended to impact on theobserved weaknesses. The workshopincluded a tour of one of the largercertified wharves, John FernandesLimited, so that participants could seesome of what was required of them.

Bascom said that there will be anotherworkshop in a matter of weeks to ensurethat smaller port facility operators andlocal ship owners get a chance to benefit

from the sensitisation. He said that anumber of persons were written to butthey didn't show up for the workshop. Hesaid that the training will be taken out oftown to benefit those outside of the city.

MARAD had certified the ports and anumber of ships in Guyana as beingcompliant with the code, which came intoeffect on July 1, 2004, in a bid to guardagainst global terrorism at ports. Thecode was mandatory for implementationfor countries that are signatories to theSafety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Conventionof the International Maritime Organisation(IMO).

Among the 37 ports that were certifiedwere John Fernandes Limited, DidcoTrading Limited, GNIC, GNSC, DemeraraShipping Company, Muneshwer's Limitedand a number of smaller port facilities.

International maritime lawexpert joins consultantsMeyrick: Dr Chuyang Liu, a specialistin maritime policy and international tradein China, Europe and Australia, has joinedprofessional services transport firmMeyrick and Associates.

Dr Liu is an expert in jurisdictional anddispute settlement practice ininternational liner shipping, coastalshipping and ports.

Since coming to Australia in 2004 she hasworked as a legal business consultantadvising Australian government andprivate corporations on their overseastrade and business development,especially in the Asian-Pacific regions.

Dr Liu, who will be based in Melbourne,has Chinese and European maritime lawexperience, having worked in the Ministryof Communications in Beijing andlectured in maritime law at DalianMaritime University in China beforeworking in the University of Bern(Switzerland) and Cambridge University(England) in World Trade Organisation(WTO) law in maritime trade andtransport.

Managing Director Steve Meyrick says thefirm is delighted to have Dr Liu's expertisein the company.

"Meyrick is excited by the opportunitiesthat having Dr Liu on board will open forthe company's continued growth into theAsian-Pacific market in particular," hesays.

Meyrick says the company will draw onChuyang's expertise in areas rangingfrom the applicability of the WTO rules

to national maritime policies, to therelationship between shipping andsustainable development in internationalliner shipping and coastal shipping andissues in ocean governance strategy suchas marine safety and security.

Dr Liu has a Doctorate of Law from theUniversity of Bern in Switzerland. Sincecoming to Melbourne she has gained anMBA from Victoria University.

Essar Oilfields to set uppresence at DubaiMaritime City: Dubai Maritime City- the world's largest and the mostcomprehensive maritime complex in theworld - has announced that EssarOilfields Services Limited, one of theleading companies in the oilfields anddrilling business, will set up its regionalbase at the iconic development.

Due regard needed for'real' maritime industry: Thebelief that maritime accidents anddisasters will be averted simply byinflicting harsher penalties is notnecessarily correct, according toCompetitiveness and CommunicationsMinister Censu Galea.

Speaking yesterday at the 18thInternational Maritime Law Institute(IMLI) graduation ceremony at theMaritime Museum in Vittoriosa, Mr Galeasaid it appeared that no due regard to the"real" industry was being given, while theeffects of "draconian" measures onshipping stakeholders were not being fullyappreciated.

That was where IMLI graduates couldplay a vital role, which was assumingincreasing importance, he told the 35 ofthem from 24 countries at yesterday'sceremony.

They joined the 396 IMLI-trained lawyersfrom 110 countries, including, for the firsttime, Jordan and Kazakhstan.

The graduates could provide the balancefor the political legislator in theformulation of policy - a balance betweenthe legitimate concerns and expectationsof the public, and the technical andethical realities that governed theindustry, Mr Galea said.

"The world needs people with competentand deep insight into the realities of theindustry to bridge the gap betweenseafarer and ship owner on the one handand the essentially land-based societiesand regulatory regimes that are meant to



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govern them on the other."

Unfortunately, Mr Galea continued, it wasoften only on those few occasions whena casualty occurred that the shippingworld surfaced on the radar of publicinterest, giving it a negative reputationthat was disproportionate to reality.

"Too many times, regulation has,consequently, been rushed through bylegislators in response to a justified, butnot necessarily informed, public outcryand the precious advice of seasonedexperts is either not available, watereddown, or even discarded in the name ofpolitical necessity and public opinion."

As a result, Mr Galea told the graduates,proposals and legislative concepts oftenreflected a lack of familiarity with theindustry they are trying to govern.

Recent controversies have, therefore,arisen, related to increasing regulatoryscrutiny over the shipping industry, aswell as the push towards harsher liabilityand criminalisation standards, he said.

Malta, he said, was in favour of proposalsaimed at enhancing maritime safety, butthese needed to be effective, globallyapplicable and in full respect of theauthority of the International MaritimeOrganisation and the autonomy of itscontracting parties.

Also present at the ceremony was IMOsecretary-general Efthimios Mitropoulosand other distinguished personalities.

India and Bangladesh SignRenewed Protocal onInland Water Transit andTrade: India and Bangladesh todayrenewed the Protocol on Inland WaterTransit and Trade which will remain inforce up to 31st March, 2009. In thisProtocol, which was originally signed in1972 and is being renewed from time totime, inland vessels of both countries plybetween Kolkata-Pandu, Kolkata-Karimganj and Rajshahi-Dhulian andKarimganj-Pandu. This inland watertransit Protocol facilitates movement ofinter-country trade and transit cargo.

Secretary (Shipping) Shri A.K. Mohapatrawho led the Indian delegation stated thatIndia attaches the highest importance toits relations with Bangladesh and bothcountries have shared history and culturalheritage and have now sharedaspirations. To fulfill these aspirations wemust go through agreed instrumentalitiesand evolve united will, he said. He saidthat this Protocol has been instrumental

in increasing the volume of trade by IWTbetween the two countries by almost 13times in last 10 years. He alsoemphasized the need for long-termrenewal of the Protocol. The importantissues such as need for inclusion ofadditional stretches, additional Ports ofCall, better river conservancy works etc.were also discussed during the meeting.

Mr. Sheikh Enayetullah, Secretary,Ministry of Shipping, Govt. of Bangladeshwho led the Bangladeshi delegationstated that though the renewal of theProtocol is being discussed after eightyears, the movement of cargo on theProtocol Rules is functioning smoothlyand volume of trade has grownsignificantly. He further stated that thetwo countries should exchange know-how for development of this mode formutual benefit.

Chiquita Reaches StrategicShipping Agreement withEastwind Maritime andNYKLauritzenCool: ChiquitaBrands International, Inc. todayannounced it has signed definitiveagreements to sell its 12 refrigeratedcargo vessels for $227 million. The shipswill be chartered back from an allianceformed by Eastwind Maritime Inc. andNYKLauritzenCool AB. The parties alsoentered a long-term strategic agreementin which the alliance will serve asChiquita's preferred supplier in oceanshipping to and from Europe and NorthAmerica.

As part of the transaction, Chiquita willlease back 11 of the vessels for a periodof seven years, with options for up to anadditional five years, and one vessel fora period of three years, with options forup to an additional two years. The vesselsto be sold consist of eight reefer shipsand four container ships, whichcollectively transport approximately 70percent of Chiquita's banana volumeshipped to core markets in Europe andNorth America. The agreements alsoprovide for the alliance to service theremainder of Chiquita's core oceanshipping needs for North America andEurope, including through multiyear timecharters commencing in 2008 for sevenadditional reefer vessels.

"This long-term arrangement will increaseour financial flexibility, simplify ourbusiness model and allow us to increaseour focus on providing branded, healthy,fresh foods to consumers worldwide,"said Fernando Aguirre, Chiquita's



chairman and chief executive officer. "Weare confident that the alliance parties,whose core business is global shipping,will ensure the continuing reliable, high-quality shipment of Chiquita products.The ship sale transaction will significantlyreduce our debt, and the alliance willbetter position us to adapt our shippingservices as we grow our business overtime. At the same time, we anticipatethat this transaction will generatesynergies and help to keep operatingcosts competitive. Additionally, the long-term ship leases will help insulate us fromfurther industry operating cost increaseson a significant portion of our logisticsportfolio for several years to come."

"This transaction is an exciting and rareopportunity to acquire a large, modern,highly efficient refrigerated fleet and towork with one of the best names in theproduce industry," said John Kousi,chairman of Eastwind Maritime. "Not onlyis this a great opportunity to grow withChiquita, but it also provides an excellentplatform on which to optimize capacityand achieve cost synergies in the globalshipment of produce, which is key to ourbusiness."

The parties expect to complete thetransaction within 45 days. The allianceparties have committed to maintain thesame high social and environmentalstandards and certifications that Chiquitaintroduced in its shipping operations,including International MaritimeOrganization, American Bureau ofShipping, ISO 9002, and ISO 14001safety, quality and environmentalstandards as well as Chiquita's codestandards related to labor conditions.

As of March 31, 2007, the net book valueof the assets to be transferred in thetransaction approximated $125 million.Chiquita expects to realize an after-taxgain on the transaction of approximately$100 million, which will be amortized overthe initial terms of the ship charters. Thecash proceeds from the transaction willbe used to repay approximately $170million of debt, including $90 million ofship mortgage debt and $80 million interm loan and revolving creditborrowings. The remainder will beretained for general corporate purposes,including growth investments. Thecompany's total-debt- to-capitalizationratio of 55 percent at March 31, 2007,would have been approximately 51percent pro forma for the debt reductionresulting from the transaction.

The following chart outlines theestimated impact to EBITDA, operating

income, net income and earnings pershare in 2007 (partial-year impact) and2008 (full-year impact). While EBITDAand operating income will be reducedbecause of the conversion from ownedassets to operating leases, the transactionis expected to be accretive to net incomeand EPS beginning in 2007, despite $4million in one-time costs for severanceand the writeoff of deferred financingcosts, which will be expensed in thesecond quarter. The company estimatesthat it will achieve synergies ofapproximately $2 million in 2007 and $4million in 2008 through efficiencies suchas route combinations, cargo sharing andincreased backhaul revenues.

Transaction's Estimated Impact, IncludingSynergies ($ millions except EPS) 20072008(1) EBITDA ($12) ($14) Depreciation$7 $11 Operating Income ($5) ($3) NetIncome $1 $11 EPS $0.03 $0.25 (1)Chiquita anticipates additionalimprovement during the subsequent six-year period (2009-2014), because thecompany will not incur certain inflationaryoperating expenses due to the fixed leaserates established in the agreement. AboutChiquita Brands International

About Eastwind Maritime

Apart from the transactions announcedtoday, the Eastwind Maritime group ofcompanies owns 68 ships out of a totalof about 105 in its commercially operatedfleet. The vessels include refrigerated fruitcarriers, freezer vessels, bulk carriers,product tankers and container ships. Thelargest sector of Eastwind's owned fleetis the refrigerated tonnage, while themost rapidly growing today is thecontainer fleet.

Eastwind is headquartered in New YorkCity. The group has business offices inTokyo, London and Stockholm; technicalmanagement offices in Singapore, Piraeusand Shanghai; and crew recruitmentcenters in Myanmar, Kaliningrad andTbilisi. Eastwind's worldwide staff,excluding sea-going personnel, totalsabout 200 employees.

About NYKLauritzenCool

NYKLauritzenCool is one of the world'slargest operators of specialized reefervessels. The company's fleet consists ofmore than 60 ships of between 380,000and 760,000 cubic feet, which areoperated in all major reefer tradesglobally.

The company head office, staffing around60 specialists, is situated in the center ofStockholm. To support the worldwide

services, NYKLauritzenCool has offices inArgentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Japan,New Zealand, South Africa, the UnitedKingdom and the United States, many ofwhich also provide terminals and coldstorage facilities. More than 120 agentswork for the company in ports around theworld.

LCL is a wholly owned subsidiary whichprovides integrated door-to-door, multi-modal and multi-destination logisticssolutions to the world's perishable trades- providing local solutions with globalreach.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certainstatements that are "forward-lookingstatements" within the meaning of thePrivate Securities Litigation Reform Act of1995. These statements are subject to anumber of assumptions, risks anduncertainties, many of which are beyondthe control of Chiquita, including theimpact of the 2006 conversion to a tariff-only banana import regime in theEuropean Union; unusual weatherconditions; industry and competitiveconditions; financing; product recallsaffecting the industry and relatedconsumer concerns regarding foodsafety; the customary risks experiencedby global food companies, such as theimpact of product and commodity prices,food safety, currency exchange ratefluctuations, government regulations,labor relations, taxes, crop risks, politicalinstability and terrorism; and the outcomeof pending claims and governmentalinvestigations involving the company.

Any forward-looking statements made inthis press release speak as of the datemade and are not guarantees of futureperformance. Actual results ordevelopments may differ materially fromthe expectations expressed or implied inthe forward-looking statements, and thecompany undertakes no obligation toupdate any such statements. Additionalinformation on factors that couldinfluence Chiquita's financial results isincluded in its SEC filings, including itsAnnual Report on Form 10-K, QuarterlyReports on Form 10-Q and CurrentReports on Form 8-K.

Nigeria: Maritime OperatorsUrged to Embrace IT:PERATORS in the nation's maritimeindustry have been charged to embraceinformation and CommunicationTechnology (ICT) solution in order toattract global attention.



Director-General of the Nigerian MaritimeAdministration and Safety Agency(NIMASA), Mrs Mfon Usoro, and otherswho spoke at the public presentation ofthe Nigerian Maritime Portal, recently inLagos, said such has become imperativefollowing global trends in the industry.

Mrs Usoro, who was represented at theevent by Mr. P.C. Mgbemena said thatsince the world has become a globalvillage, there is need to discard old waysof doing things.

According to her, "instead of expendingresources at trying to get attention, youcould just sit back and watch yourbusiness grow."

She also described establishment of theNigerian Maritime portal as one of thegreatest things to happen to the maritimeindustry, noting that it presents a onestop shop for the entire industry.

Director-General of the Nigeria Chamberof Shipping, Mrs Ify Akerele, who alsospoke at the event called for moresensitization on the maritime portal,commending NIMASA for its commitmentto repositioning the industry.

In their own views, president ofIndigenous shippers Association ofNigeria (ISAN), Chief Isaac Jolapomo andMaritime lawyer, Mr. Mke Igbokwe (SAN)lauded the initiative, urging allstakeholders in the industry to patronizeit.

Igbokwe, particularly advised operators inthe industry to make the portal safe andreliable by ensuring that informationsupplied to it is current and credible togain the confidence and acceptance ofthe global community.

Earlier, initiator of the project, MsOlufunmilayo Folorunso said she venturedinto the project because other maritimenations operate common portal fromwhere information on their maritimesectors could be obtained from.

She noted that for the nation's maritimesector to move ahead, there is need todevelop a credible and standard portalwhere information on the industry couldbe obtained.

SOLAS: Safety of Life atSea: Since earliest times, the sea hasbeen synonymous with insecurity forthose who venture on it. "He that wouldsail without danger must never come onthe main sea," as the old seafarer sayingputs it.

This endemic absence of safety probably

explains why early maritime trade wasmainly the preserve of adventurers. Thesea was associated with the idea ofchance or fate, a concept still to be foundin expressions such as "maritime perils."Ocean transport developed in such alaissez-faire way that the many accidents,of which bold navigators were victims,were soon accepted as part of the naturalcourse of things.

The technological innovations thataccompanied the Industrial Revolutionencouraged development of maritimetransport in the 19th century. The mostimportant were undoubtedly theintroduction of steam-powered enginesonboard ships and the construction ofiron and then steel hulls.

These technological advances wereaccompanied, however, by an increase inrisks at sea, corresponding to the greaternumber, size and speed of vesselsengaged in trade. While regulation onshipping was normally seen as ahindrance on free trade, a general pushtoward more standardization was seenfollowing a series of maritime disasters inthe late 1800s and early 1900s.

The term SOLAS is often thrown aroundin our industry, but what exactly does itmean is this acronym and why does itplay such a major role in what we do?

The Safety of Life at Sea Convention isgenerally regarded as the most importantof all international treaties concerning thesafety of ships at sea. The first versionwas adopted in 1914, in immediateresponse to the Titanic disaster, with asecond revision adopted in 1929, a thirdin 1948, and a fourth in 1960.

The original intention was to keep theConvention up-to-date by periodicamendments, but in practice, theamendments procedure proved to beslow. It became clear that it would beimpossible to secure the entry into forceof amendments within a reasonableperiod of time.

As a result, a new Convention wasadopted in 1974 that included not onlyamendments agreed on up to that date,but also a new amendment procedure -the tacit acceptance procedure - designedto ensure changes could be made withina specified (and acceptably short) periodof time. There are numerous recentexamples of this including the ISPS Codeimmediately after the events of Sept. 11,2001, and the new requirements forbalcony fire protection of passenger shipsafter the Star Princess accident in March2006.

Instead of requiring that an amendmentshall enter into force after being acceptedby, for example, two-thirds of the parties,tacit acceptance means an amendmentshall enter into force on a specified dateunless objections are received from anagreed number of parties before thatdate. As a result, the 1974 Conventionhas been updated and amended often.The Convention in force today issometimes referred to as SOLAS, 1974,as amended.

SOLAS presently is divided into 12 subjectchapters on construction, fire protection,lifesaving, firefighting, radiocommunication, navigation, cargo,nuclear ships, safety management, high-speed craft, maritime security, and specialmeasures for bulk carriers. Each chapterand subpart may have differentapplications for a yacht depending uponlength, age, and most often, grosstonnage.

Life rafts, rescue boats and lifejacketsmust be designed, constructed, tested,evaluated and maintained in accordancewith Chapter III of SOLAS and theassociated publication InternationalLifesaving Appliance Code.

Chapter IV of SOLAS outlines thespecifications for items such as GMDSS,EPIRBs, and SARTs. This is closely alignedwith the Radio Regulations of theInternational Telecommunication Union.

Regardless of the size of yacht youoperate, knowledge of SOLAS regulationsis essential. While "SOLAS yachts" areconsidered those above the 500-gross-ton threshold, many of the regulationsprovided through the SOLAS Conventiontrickle down to the less-than-500-gross-ton fleet.

This is especially true for commercialyachts certified to the specific yachtcodes, such as those published by theMCA, Marshall Islands and Malta. Theseadministrations have recognized thatyachts in commercial use for sport orpleasure do not fall naturally into a singleclass, and certain prescribed merchantship safety standards have been found tobe incompatible with the intended use,scope of operations, or safety needsparticular to such yachts. These codes areregulations modified from SOLAS andother major safety rules for application tothose yachts that cannot fully comply asdefined. Knowledge of SOLAS is also arequirement for those possessing a deckor engineering license.

So next time you have a spare minute or



(Contd. on page 13)

two - or if you can't find a solution toyour insomnia - dust off that big bluebook on the shelf and give it a read. You'llbe surprised to know what information itcontains.

Hijacking of Indian Ship:Some pirates had hijacked an Indian shipM.V. Nehm Tulah alongwith its 14members crew on 1st April, 2007.

As per reports received from the ownersof the vessel, the vessel, cargo and allthe 14 crew members have been releasedat around 1120 hours Indian StandardTime on 6th April, 2007. The crewcomprising all Indian nationals are safe.The Government is not aware of anyconditions attached to the release of thesaid vessel.

The Directorate General of Shipping,Mumbai had issued a circular on 27thApril, 2006 informing all concerned aboutthe incidents of piracy and armed robberyagainst ships especially in the vicinity ofthe Somalian coast where incidents ofpiracy and attacks on ships have been onthe rise. The Indian National Ship ownersAssociation (INSA) and Federation of AllIndia Sailing Vessels Industry Associationhave also been informed to convey totheir members that they should keepaway from the Somalian coast.

Subsequently, the Directorate General ofShipping, Mumbai issued another circularon 8th January, 2007 drawing attentionof the shipping fraternity and seafaringcommunity of attacks against ships inSomalian waters. This circular alsocontained detailed guidelines to avoidsuch attacks and acts of piracy.

This information was given by theMinister of Shipping, Road Transport andHighways, Shri T.R. Baalu in a writtenreply in the Rajya Sabha.

Improving efficiency of the ports is anongoing process and involvesdevelopment of berths, deepening ofchannels, equipment upgradation andmodernization of rail-road connectivity.

Government of India has constituted anInter-Ministerial Group (IMG) under theChairmanship of Secretary, Departmentof Shipping to make recommendationsfor reducing the dwell time at Major Portsand to bring it in line with internationalstandards. The IMG is in the process offinalizing the report.

Except Paradip and Ennore Ports,Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)(between Ports and CustomsDepartment) has been implemented in all

the major ports including VisakhapatnamPort in Andhra Pradesh. The scope of EDIis being further enlarged.

This information was given by theMinister of Shipping, Road Transport andHighways, Shri T.R. Baalu in a writtenreply in the Rajya Sabha.

India to press for stricternorms on ship-breaking:India refuses to be a dump yard forhazardous ships. During the forthcominginter-sessional working group meeting atthe International Maritime Organisation(IMO) in London, India is planning to putforth this point across to world players inthe sector.

IMO, the specialised agency of the UNwith 167 member states concerned withmaritime security, safety, environmentalconcerns and legal matters involvingshipping, is in the process of framingguidelines for the ship-breaking industryand will debate the 'draft internationalconvention for the safe andenvironmentally sound recycling of ships'between May 7 and 11.

With recent controversies involvingFrench warship Clemenceau andNorwegian Blue Lady daunting the sector,India is being over cautious. India willinsist that if a ship-breaking yard does nothave the facility to treat a particular kindof hazardous waste contained in a shipheaded for recycling, the onus ofremoving the hazardous waste should liewith the flag state.

India has already sent its comments toIMO seeking that responsibilities of ship-owners and administrators of the flagstate whose ships proceed for recyclingbe fixed. There have been instanceswhere ship-breakers at India's biggestship-breaking yard at Alang have fallenprey to gimmicks by global players in theindustry, reveals Ajoy Chatterjee, chiefsurveyor and additional director general(engineering), ministry of shipping.

"At IMO, India will press for a legallyacceptable demolition contract andderegistration of a ship from a ship seller.Deregistration is an important part of therecycling process that will ensure thatdemolition is transparent and that theship is not dumped at sea or becomes aghost ship or is illegally recycled. Therehave been several instances wheregullible ship-breakers at Alang have beenhanded over ships by a cash buyerwithout proper documentation, thecontents of the ship, or that it is already

mortgaged," he said.

The Gujarat Maritime Board, thatmanages the Alang Ship Breaking Yard,which is part of the London-delegation,will also push this demand. As for ship-breakers, president of Iron Steel Scrapand Shipbreakers' Association of India(ISSAI) Pravin Nagarsheth will put forththeir objection to the draft seeking thatthe ship seller, who in most cases wouldbe a 'third party', will supervise the entirerecycling process.

"We would not like someone hiding thecredentials of the ship to blackmail usonce the agreement for ship-breaking hasbeen stamped," he said.

Four Metro Citiesgenerates 29000 Tonnes ofE-waste: The Government of India,Ministry of Environment and Forests havenotified the Hazardous Waste(Management and Handling) Rules, 1989which was amended in 2000 and 2003.The E-wastes are regulated under theserules.

Industrial and medical units are not theonly generators of E-wastes. The usersof electrical and electronic gadgets usersalso generate E-waste. According to anassessment made in a studycommissioned by Central Pol lutionControl Board to M/s IRG South Asia(Pvt.) Ltd, New Delhi, the estimated totalgeneration of electrical and electronicwastes in the country is about 1,46,000tonnes per year. The study also revealedthat approximately 29,000 tonnes of E-waste is generated in the four Metro citiesin the country.

According to the Hazardous Waste(Management and Handling) Rules, 1989as amended in 2003, the residues andwastes generated from the operations inelectronic industry are considered ashazardous wastes and are listed at Sl. No.31 of Schedule 1 of these rules. Further,as per the provisions of these rulesElectrical, and Electronics Assemblies arecovered under Categories A-1180 and B-1110 in Schedule 3 which are applicablefor import and export of hazardouswastes. The import of wastes under thiscategory are only permitted for directreuse and not for recycling or finaldisposal. The Central Pollution ControlBoard (CPCB) has undertaken a study forthe preparation of "Guideline Documentfor Environmentally Sound Recycling of E-waste" for the State Pollution ControlBoards and Pollution Control Committee



Secretary-General Mitropoulos and Commissioner Dimas

converge on how to respond to current environmental

challenges.

IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos and Mr.

Stavros Dimas, European Commissioner for Environment,

concluded a productive meeting in Brussels, on Friday,

27 April.

As part of the IMO's activities to promote the theme of

this year's World Maritime Day, which is "IMO's response

to current environmental challenges", Mr. Mitropoulos

visited the European Commission for discussions with

Mr. Dimas on several ongoing initiatives aiming at

strengthening further the global standards put in place by

IMO to protect the marine and atmospheric environments

from shipping operations. He was accompanied by Mr.

Miguel Palomares, Director, Marine Environment

Division and Mr. Jo Espinoza-Ferrey, Head, Policy and

Planning Unit, Office of the Secretary-General.

Mr. Mitropoulos and Commissioner Dimas discussed

regulatory developments at IMO concerning the reduction

of emissions from ships, including sulphur oxide (SOx),

nitrogen oxide (NOx), volatile organic compounds,

particulate matter and greenhouse gases; ship recycling;

and the desirability for all European Union (EU) members

to ratify the environmental conventions adopted by IMO.

There was a convergence of views on all points discussed

and agreement on a common approach towards seeking

and ensuring global solutions, within the timetable agreed

by IMO, to the issues of gas emissions and the recycling

of ships. In this regard, Mr. Dimas endorsed the need for

the commissioning of a scientific study to assist in

ensuring a comprehensive approach to the development

IMO BriefingInternational Maritime Organization, 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR, United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)20 7735 7611 Fax: +44 (0)20 7587 3210

Briefing 09/200730 April 2007

of robust standards on gas emissions - as proposed by Mr.

Mitropoulos to IMO's Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids

and Gases (which met 16 to 20 April) - and said that the

Commission would support the proposal in the Marine

Environment Protection Committee, which is scheduled

to meet in July 2007.

Mr. Mitropoulos requested Mr. Dimas to assist in the

earliest possible ratification, by EU members, of the

environment-related IMO instruments, which have not yet

entered into force (i.e. AFS 2001, Bunkers 2001, BWM

2004, HNS 1996*) or which, although already in force,

have not yet been accepted by all EU States (i.e. MARPOL

Annex VI* ). Mr. Dimas agreed on the need for the EU

members to show leadership in this regard and stated that

he and the Environment Directorate-General would make

every effort to assist in this endeavour, while also

following closely, and contributing to, the successful

development, adoption and early acceptance of IMO's

other emerging global standards for environmental

protection.

The theme for World Maritime Day 2007 is "IMO's

response to current environmental challenges". The theme

was chosen to give IMO the opportunity to focus on its

environmental work (both of the past and present) and

thus intensify its efforts to add our contribution to that of

the international community to protect and preserve the

environment before it is too late. World Maritime Day

will be celebrated on Thursday, 27 September 2007.

For further information please contact: Lee Adamson,

Head, Public Information Services on 020 7587 3153

([email protected]) or Natasha Brown, External Relations

Officer on 020 7587 3274 ([email protected]).

Views and opinions expressed by various writers on individual capacity or of institution and organisations are not of “Marine Waves”. Every care is taken to publish the references to notifications& circulars of government / classification societies etc. Hence Marine Waves Management will not be responsible for any error in the publication. – Editor: “Marine Waves”.“No responsibility will be borne for undelivered issue, owing to circumstances beyond the control of the Publisher. Subscriber may however notify, to enable us to send substitute copy.”Readers are recommended to make appropriate enquiries before entering into dealings with advertisers in this publication. The Editor and Publisher does not vouch any claims made by advertisersand hence shall not be held liable for any adverse consequences.



(Contd. from page 11)

of the Union Territories and the industriesfor handling E-waste.

This information was given by theMinister of State in the Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests, Shri NamoNarain Meena in a written reply toquestion by Shri Girdhari Lal Bhargva andShrimati Kiran Maheshwari.

Denmark. CommissionerJoe Borg to discussmaritime policy for Europewith Danish authorities:Commissioner for Fisheries and MaritimeAffairs, Joe Borg, arrives this morning inCopenhagen for a two-day visit toDenmark. The first day will be devotedto discussing a maritime policy for Europewith the Danish authorities and maritimestakeholders. On Friday, Mr Borg,accompanied by Denmark's FisheriesMinister, Hans Christian Schmidt, will bein the fishing port of Ebeltoft, where hewill meet industry representatives andaddress the Annual General Meeting ofthe Danish Fishermen's Association.Commenting on this visit, CommissionerBorg said: "I look forward to my variousmeetings which will relate to both partsof my portfolio. On Thursday, I will bediscussing the way towards a maritimepolicy for the Union with stakeholdersfrom the Danish shipping sector. Then, onFriday, I will be listening to the concernsof the Danish fishing industry withfishermen's representatives. I lookforward to these discussions as progresscan only be achieved through debate andexchange of ideas." Mr Borg begins hisvisit in Copenhagen where he will havemeetings with the Danish Shipowners'Association and other maritimestakeholders. He will update participantson the consultation campaign on theCommission's Green Paper on a futureMaritime Policy, published last June, andencourage Danish stakeholders andauthorities to contribute to the processwhich will continue until the end of June.Commissioner Borg will underline thestrong support to date for a coordinated,cross-sectoral approach to maritimeissues, and the importance of ensuringthat it brings real added value. Coastaltourism, employment in the maritimeprofessions, and renewable energies aresome examples of areas which areimportant to Denmark and which standto benefit from a more comprehensiveapproach to sea-related activities. MrBorg will also review progress on the

Green Paper and discuss Danish prioritiesfor an integrated maritime policy withrepresentatives of the Danishgovernment.

On Friday morning, Commissioner Borgwill leave for Ebeltoft, where he will visitthe new educational fishing boat, Athene,built in 2006 with support from theEuropean Union's fisheries fund (theFinancial Instrument for FisheriesGuidance, or FIFG). He will then have aworking lunch with Danish FisheriesMinister Hans Christian Schmidt, hostedby the Danish Fishermen's Association(DFA). The lunch will also be attended byrepresentatives from a number ofnational fishing industry organisations.Topics for discussion will include the stateof play with regard to the Commission'sproposed regulation for the recovery ofEuropean eel and a multi-annualmanagement plan for Baltic cod, both ofwhich are currently being debated inCouncil; progress with preparations forimplementing the new European FisheriesFund in Denmark and the upcomingreview of the common organisation of themarket in fisheries products. In theafternoon, Commissioner Borg andMinister Schmidt will address the openingsession of the DFA's Annual GeneralMeeting. Mr Borg will underline theimportance which the Commission placeson stakeholder consultation in advancingthe Common Fisheries Policy, asevidenced by the recent creation of theRegional Advisory Councils (RACs). Hewill encourage Danish fishermen tobecome even more closely involved bothin policy development and in collaborativeresearch with scientists. As well asresponding to issues raised by the otherspeakers, the Commissioner will take partin a question and answer session with themembers of the DFA present.

Background: The European Commissionbelieves that the time has come toapproach the sea as a whole. As well aspreventing potential conflicts between thevarious operators, a maritime policywould help optimise the returns from thesea in terms of growth and employmentin a way that provides effective protectionto the resource base concerned: themarine environment. It launched an EU-wide debate on a maritime policy for theUnion by publishing a Green Paper, lastJune. Denmark is the second largestproducer of fish products in the EU, andone of the top 15 fishing countries in theworld. Denmark is also a major player inthe maritime sector, with some 120seaports. The maritime cluster is of vital

importance to the Danish economy, withshipping alone carrying some 10% oftotal exports.

Quota not ideal in higher education:New Delhi: An ideal situation in thehigher education sector nor fi l lingsensitive senior posts in India,would benot to go in for reservation. Reservationin higher education would bring downquality standards.The need of the hour,he said, was to bring in major changesin higher education, with quality andaccountability at all levels in private andpublic educational institutions. "We needto humanize and sensitize our educationalsystem." "Unless education is treated asfor the public good, we cannot achieveour goals. Broad thinking is required inthe educational field. Expansion, inclusionand excellence should be the need of thehour in higher education," he said. IfIndia, with its vast human resources,wanted to become a world leader, stepsshould be taken to ensure that morenumber of youth entered the portals ofuniversities in the next 15 years from thepresent seven per cent, he said.Education was not influenced by profit.More emphasis need to be on on'capacity building', with investment ofcrores of rupees encouraging andproviding scholarships. The governmentneed to look at various aspects ofregulatory agencies such as the UGC andAICTE, including on how to fund them.Advantage of high literacy and betterliving standards, low crime rate and agood environment for investment.

EU wants emission caps onshipping: The European Union hasnow firmly set its sites on the maritimesector signalling is intention to draft lawsto cap greenhouse gas emissions fromships.

The European Commission will bringforward legislation by the end of 2007 tobring the sector into the EU EmissionsTrading Scheme, affecting all shipscoming and going from EU ports.

Brussels has already released draftlegislation to force caps on emissionsfrom the aviation sector and has beeneyeing the maritime industry for sometime.

Estimates suggest that greenhouseemissions from shipping are twice that ofaviation and could rise a further 75 percent in 15-20 years.

It appears the Commission is movingahead with plans to bring shipping intothe EU ETS because it is not happy with



the pace of action by the InternationalMaritime Organisation to curb risingemissions. "Not enough progress hasbeen made in the internationalframework," Reuters quotes an EU officialas saying.

The European Shipowners' Associationhas rejected the move saying that whileshipping may have the largest CO2emissions, this is because it carries 90 percent of world trade. This means shipsproduces fewer greenhouse emissionsper tonne-mile than any other form oftransport.

Brussels' move could well spark aninternational argument as it did with itsaviation plans when Asian and US airlinesand their governments objected to beingsubject to the EU laws.

More than 40 per cent of the globalshipping trade involved Europe.

Carbon dioxide emissions from shippingare thought to be double those ofaviation and could rise by as much as75% in the next 15 to 20 years if worldtrade continues to grow and no action istaken.

While aviation has come under heavypressure to cap its CO2 output in orderto contribute to the battle against climatechange shipping has thus far been sparedany significant cuts as CO2 emissionsfrom ships do not come under the KyotoAgreement or any proposed Europeanlegislation.

But pressure is mounting on all sides forthe situation to change.

As well as carbon dioxide, shipping is amajor source of other air pollutants,including nitrogen (NOx) and sulphuroxides (SOx), which are responsible foracid rain.

Issues: The Commission confirmed on16 April 2007 that it will propose addingshipping companies to the emissionstrading scheme (ETS), the EU's principaltool for fighting global warming andmeeting its Kyoto commitments.

Up to now, work on reducing CO2emissions from ships has been carried outwithin the framework of the InternationalMaritime Organisation (IMO), but it hasfocused mainly on establishing methodsto calculate emissions, rather thanconcrete measures to reduce them.

The threat of unilateral action from theEU, which controls 41% of the world'sfleet, could stimulate the debate.

But there is also a risk it could trigger atransatlantic dispute similar to that

caused by draft EU rules, published latelast year, to impose emissions trading onall airlines flying to and from Europeanairports as of 2012. The US hasthreatened legal action if the EU goesahead with these plans.

Barbara Helfferich, environmentspokeswoman for the Commission, toldENDS Europe Daily that a decision onhow to tackle shipping emissions would"probably be taken after the summer".But, Jos Delbeke, the Commission officialin charge of the EU's ETS, told theFinancial Times: "By the end of the yearwe are going to come forward with aproposal to extend the emissions tradingscheme to shipping."

European Community Shipowners'Association (ECSA) Secretary GeneralAlfons Guinier stressed that, whileshipping may be the transport mode withthe largest CO2 emissions in terms ofsheer volume, this was down to the factthat ships carry 90% of world trade. "Inreality, shipping produces lessgreenhouse gases per tonne-mile thanany other form of transport," he said.

He nevertheless told EurActiv that theshipping industry was "not against" aproposal to include it in the ETS"depending on the practicalities". Amongothers, European shipowners are worriedthat they will be the only ones carryingthe extra cost of cutting CO2 emissionswhile foreign transporters continue topollute freely.

He added that work was already beingcarried out within the IMO to reduceother forms of pollutants, such as sulphuremissions, through setting internationalstandards, but added that much of thework will have to be carried out by oilcompanies. "We can only burn what wehave," he said.

He rejected the idea of introducing taxesto tackle the sector's emissions andwarned that work on reducing all typesof pollutants must be carried out in anintegrated manner, because reducing onetype of emission can result in increasinganother.

Chairman of the International Chamberof Shipping (ICS) Spyros Polemisconfirmed: "IMO should carefully reviewthe environmental necessity of banningthe use of higher sulphur fuels in themiddle of the ocean, when the results ofdecisions could be to increase CO2emission by oil refineries," he said,explaining that more CO2 is churned outduring the energy-intensive refiningprocess.

João Vieira of the green NGO T&E(European Federation for Transport andEnvironment) said: "We welcome the factthat the EU is finally waking up to theenvironmental impact of shipping, thesecond-fastest growing source of climate-changing CO2 emissions. So far, theinternational community has manifestlyfailed in its responsibility to clean upshipping in the decade since Kyoto wassigned."

But, he added that emissions tradingalone would be insufficient to address thefull environmental impact of the sector."The EU's estimates for aviation suggestthat emissions reductions through tradingwill be offset by less than one year'sgrowth of the industry. With shipping thesituation will be similar. We urge the EUto consider other, more effectivemeasures such as differentiated portcharges, en-route charges and fueltaxes," he said.

Latest & next steps: 16-20 April 2007:Meeting of the International MaritimeOrganisation (IMO) in London to reviewinternational standards on emissions fromship engines.

Europeans offerscholarship to qualifiedmaritime codes: Close to 50shipping lines from Norway and otherparts of Europe have signified theirinterest to provide scholarships todeserving students who will take upmaritime courses at the John B. LacsonFoundation Maritime University in Iloilo.

This was announced by Manny Villa, theChairman of the Iloilo Paraw RegattaFoundation, Inc. that tied up with theuniversity for its scholarship program.

The Paraw Regatta Foundation, theorganizer of the annual sai lboatcompetition in Iloilo has long planned toput up a scholarship program for thechildren of fishermen.

Initially they planned to take in 32scholars but the university decided toopen 600 slots for the Paraw RegattaFoundation.

Villa said with the development, theydecided to open the program to allinterested students even outside of Iloiloas long as they are qualified. The coursesare limited to Cruise Ship Management,Maritime Engineering and NauticalCourse.

Applicants must undergo a pre-screeningthat will be conducted by the Paraw



Regatta Foundation. If they pass they willtake the qualification exam given by theuniversity and comply with otherrequisites that need to be complied forthem to enter the institution.

Villa said the foundation would pay forthe initial enrollment while waiting for thesponsoring company.

Villa said Norwegian and other Europeanshipping companies have been investingon Filipinos, especially on Ilonggoseafarers, because most of their crewsare Ilonggos and products of the John B.Lacson Foundation Maritime University.The university is the only maritimeuniversity in the whole of Asia.

"They concentrate in Western Visayasbecause most of their good materials arefrom this university," he said.

Qualified applicants can avail of eitherpartial or full scholarships to include freeboard and lodging and a monthlyallowance of not less than 50 US dollars.

After graduation, the scholars are alreadyassured of jobs as they will also be hiredby their respective benefactors.

The companies that have existingscholarship programs at the university areNSA, Filstar, Stolt Nielsen, Vega Manila,PCM, Bouvet Shipping, Cosmo Sealand,Jo Tankers and Odjfell.

More than 36 companies are still waitingto offer scholarships, according to Villa.

Public service deliveryneed to be citizen-centric:Cabinet Secretary: CabinetSecretary, Shri B.K. Chaturvedi has saidthat Public Service Delivery needs to bemore citizen-centric and e-governanceneeds to be more rural oriented. Whileinaugurating one-day long Conference ofChief Secretaries here today, ShriChaturvedi also added that for this thecommon service centres are to beextended to the rural areas. ShriChaturvedi while setting the agenda ofthe Conference underlined few thrustareas that needed attention. He said, thePublic Service Delivery can be improvedonly if the corruption is minimized withtransparency in and simplification of theexisting procedures and systems. He alsounderlined the importance ofaccountability, which cannot be feasiblewithout fixed tenures of the officers. Forthis, he spoke of the amendment in AllIndia Services Rules, which is pendingnotification from the States. Earlierwelcoming the participants, Secretary

Department of Administrative Reforms &Public Grievances and Pensions andPensioners' Welfare, Smt. Rajni Razdansaid our public services have toconstantly upgrade their competence andacquire new skills to fully optimize theemerging opportunities. Governance, shesaid in the changed scenario, has to betransparent, professionally managed,citizen - centric and sensitive to thechanging needs of time. This Conference,organized by the Department ofAdministrative Reforms & PublicGrievances, Government of India,deliberated on the issues relating tointernal security, food security, SarvaShiksha Abhiyan, National Rural HealthMission, Improving Business Climate andStrategy for improving Governance.

Shipping Act to checkmiddlemen: In an effort tostreamline the maritime trade industry,and free it from the menace ofmiddlemen involved in clearance of cargo,the shipping ministry is planning toincorporate strict penal provisions in theproposed Shipping Trade Practices Act.Under the proposed Act, a fine of Rs 2.5lakh would be charged from themiddlemen (known as service providers)who are not registered. The proposed Actmakes it mandatory for the serviceproviders get registered after paying a feeof Rs 50,000. The fee for renewal ofregistration is Rs 5 lakh. Service providerslike freight forwarders and freightbrokers, who form part of the maritimetrade supply chain, are not registeredwith any shipping body. Though ministrysources say the Custom house clearingagents are registered with the Customsdepartment, freight forwarders andbrokers are not registered entities.Therefore, there are several unscrupulousmiddlemen who trickle in and make awaywith by overcharging traders. Theministry officials feel that the penaltyprovisions may discourage unauthorisedagents from entering the chain. Besides,the proposed Act also suggests setting upof a multi-member shipping tradepractices commission for settlement ofdisputes between consignors, consignees,maritime transportation logistics serviceproviders or between persons registeredunder the proposed Act. Sources said theproposed Act is expected to be placedbefore Parliament during the ongoingBudget Session. They said shippingminister TR Baalu had cleared theCabinet note on the subject a couple ofmonths back, and the comments fromvarious ministries too had been received.

Shipping lines accused of"daylight robbery": Sri LankaApparel Exporters Association yesterdaycried foul, claiming that shipping lines arearbitrarily imposing Terminal HandlingCharges (THC) resulting in an annual lossof Rs.5 billion in foreign exchange.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday,Rohan Masakorala logistical committeemember of the Joint Apparel AssociationForum (JAAF) said that the country losesRs.5 billion in foreign exchange a yearwith 60 percent of importers andexporters forced to pay the THC.

"Thus if you consider 100 percent ofimporters and exporters paying the THCannually the country will lose Rs 9 billionin foreign exchange," Masakorala said.

The JAAF and other leading Exportcompanies pointed out that they have forthe past 10 years prompting authoritiesto implement a mechanism or establishan independent body to regulate theTHC, which is increased according to thewhims and fancies of the shippingcompanies.

"Since its inception in 1997 THC chargesfor a 20 ft container has grown fromUS$61 to the present US$155," he said."The shipping companies do not takeresponsibility for the charges they imposeas we have organised repeateddiscussions on the matter but they havefailed to clarify the breakdown of thecharges or even turn up for thediscussions."

He mentioned that the exporters not onlyhave to pay the original freight costs butalso bear the brunt of paying insignificantoperating costs and also extra costs forreleasing their merchandise.

Though the exporters had joined handsto formulate a maritime national policy10-years ago, Masakorala said that it was"collecting dust" as authorities failed toregard its significance. "Despite the factthat authorities agree that the THC isunjust they have not taken propermeasures to practically counter it," hesaid.

Noel Priyatillaka said that the THC hasresulted in Sri Lankan exports in beingless competitive and less affordable in theeyes of the buyer thus resulting in SriLanka losing its place in the globalmarket.

"In the case of imports the TCH becomea cost to the consumer thus lending to

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(Contd. from page 15)

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the increase of the cost of living," he saidquestioning the government for turninga blind eye to the situation.

"This is daylight robbery and an anti-competitive practice," Priyatil lakareiterated. "The authorities have to beblamed for being unfocussed and notfinding a solution to the problemsexporters are facing and not being fair."

It was stressed that a collective effort onthe part of the Ministry of Trade andCommerce, Export Development andInternational Trade as well as Ports andAviation to address the strong need ofthe exporters. "It is the small exporterswho suffer the most in an industry thatis an important component of thecountry's economy," said Masakorala.

"We are not asking for subsidies all wewant is a proper mechanism , today theycharge 155 $ as THC, tomorrow theymight even charge Rs 10,000 ,who isgoing to stop them , how far will theygo?" he questioned.

Thiru T.R. Baalu receivesDividend Cheque of Rs.192.26 Crore fromShipping Corporation ofIndia: The Union Minister forShipping, Road Transport & Highways

Thiru T.R.Baalu, received an interimdividend cheque of Rs. 192,26,33,955/-(Rs. 192.26 crore) from the Chairman &Managing Director of ShippingCorporation of India (SCI), Shri S. Hajara,here today. Shri A.K.Mohapatra, Secretary(Shipping), was also present on theoccasion.

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The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI)declared an Interim Dividend of 85% forthe year 2006-07. This dividend amountof Rs.192.26 crore, reflects the earningson the 80.12% shareholding of theGovernment of India in the SCI. It maybe recalled that the SCI has declared anet profit of Rs. 729.93 crore for the ninemonths ending on 31.12.2006, during thefinancial year 2006-07. The ShippingCorporation of India, is the largestshipping company in India and has ashare of about 35% of the total Indiantonnage.

SCI is the first Indian shipping companyto enter the LNG transportation businessas partner in a joint venture, comprisingof SCI, Mitsui OSK Lines, NYK Line andK-Line. This consortium is alreadyoperating 2 LNG tankers, which carriesLNG for Petronet for its Dahej project.This consortium has successfully bid andwon the tender for construction,ownership and 25 years of operation ofthe 3rd LNG tanker required by PetronetLNG Limited for its expansion project atDahej. SCI has also formed a jointventure company with Forbes Gokak Ltd.& Sterling Investment Corporation Pvt.Ltd. for owning and operation of chemicalcarriers. This JVC has placed alreadyorders for 4 nos. Chemical Carriers ofabout 13,000 dwt each.

SCI has also initiated an Integrated End-to-End IT system and M/s TataConsultancy Services (TCS) was selectedas IT partner for the same. The projectwould be implemented in two phases.During the Phase-I, TCS would study theIT requirements of SCI and prepare theIT blueprint and roadmap forimplementation, which would becompleted in 4 months, which is nearingcompletion. In the Phase-II, which is theimplementation phase, the solutionsidentified in phase I would beimplemented as per the roadmap and thisis expected to be completed in 18 to 24months. SCI has also implemented acompany-wide quality managementsystem based on the internationalstandards ISO 9001:2000. As a part ofthe implementation, the Company hasconducted the internal audit, pre-assessment audit and final certificationaudit.

Horizon Lines enters intoOSHA strategic partnershipfor Maritime IndustrySafety in Puerto Rico: HorizonLines of Puerto Rico, Inc., (Horizon Lines)a subsidiary of Horizon Lines, Inc.,

participated in a signing ceremony of itsMaritime Industry Safety PartnershipAgreement with the InternationalLongshoremen's Association (ILA) Local1575 and the Occupational Safety andHealth Administration. This agreementmarks the second time Horizon Lines hastaken a leadership position nationwidewith a safety program of this nature.

In 2002, the company became the firstocean carrier and marine terminaloperator in the U.S. to sign an OSHAStrategic Partnership. This most recentactivity allows Horizon Lines to makehistory by signing the newest partnershipagreement that will focus on the healthand safety of its labor force.

The ceremony took place today at ILALocal 1575 Offices in San Juan. Guestsincluded OSHA Regional AdministratorPatricia K. Clark, OSHA Puerto Rico AreaDirector Jose Carpena, Puerto RicoSecretary of State and Port AuthorityDirector Fernando Bonilla, ExecutiveDirector of the Occupational Developmentand Human Resources Council for PuertoRico Joe Alvarez, PROSHA AuxiliarySecretary Myrna Velez and CaptainRaymond J. Perry, United States CoastGuard Deputy Sector San Juan.

"The people of Horizon Lines are proudof this achievement," said Gabriel Serra,Vice President and General Manager. "Ourmanagement team will continue workingwith union leaders to ensure that everyworker returns home at the end of theday healthy and safe -- the same waythat they came to work."

In an OSHA Strategic Partnership (OSP),OSHA enters into an extended, voluntary,cooperative relationship with employersor groups of employers, employees, andemployee representatives and tradeassociations in order to encourage, assist,and recognize their efforts to eliminateserious safety and health hazards andstrive to obtain a high level of workersafety and health in the workplace.

Under terms of this partnership: --Horizon Lines agrees to provide site-specific training and/or information on amonthly basis to the employees'representatives and/or employeemembers of the safety committee; --Management and employeerepresentatives will be held accountablefor their actions relative to safety andhealth in the workplace.

"This partnership demonstrates HorizonLines' commitment to work cooperativelywith workers and regulatory agencies,"

said Janet Nieves, Safety and SecurityManager for Horizon Lines of Puerto Rico.

Signatories to the agreement were Mr.Serra, Ms. Clark, Mr. Carpena, and Mr.Carlos Ortiz, President of InternationalLongshoremen's Association Local 1575.

About Horizon Lines: Horizon Lines,LLC is the nation's leading Jones Actcontainer shipping and integrated logisticscompany, operating 16 U.S.-flag vesselson routes linking the continental UnitedStates with Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, andPuerto Rico. Horizon Lines also ownsHorizon Services Group, an organizationwith a diversified offering of cargomanagement and tracking services beingmarketed to shippers, carriers, and othersupply chain participants. Horizon Lines,LLC and Horizon Services Group arewholly owned subsidiaries of HorizonLines, Inc., which trades on the New YorkStock Exchange under the ticker symbolHRZ.

CBDT introduces newseries of forms for filing ofincome tax return for theassessment year 2007-08:The Forms for Return of Income areassessment year specific. For theassessment year 2007-08, the CentralBoard of Direct Taxes have introduced thefollowing eight Return Forms under anew series:-

(i) ITR-1 - return of income forIndividuals having salary and interestincome and no other income.

(ii) ITR-2 - return of income forIndividuals and HUFs having income fromany source except from business orprofession.

(iii) ITR-3 - return of income forIndividuals and HUFs being partners infirms and not having proprietory businessor profession.

(iv) ITR-4 - return of income forIndividuals and HUFs having proprietorybusiness or profession.

(v) ITR-5 - combined form for return ofincome and fringe benefits for Firms/AOP/BOI .

(vi) ITR-6 - combined form for returnof income and fringe benefits forCompanies.

(vii) ITR-7 - combined form for returnof income and fringe benefits forCharitable / religious trusts, politicalparties and other non- profit



organizations.

(viii) ITR-8 - stand alone form forreturn of fringe benefits for persons whoare not liable to file return of income butare liable to file return of fringe benefits

All these Forms (except Form ITR-7) havebeen designed as annexure-less so as tomake them amenable for electronic filing.This was disclosed by the FinanceMinister Shri P. Chidambaram whileaddressing a Press Conference heretoday. The Government would urgetaxpayers to use the e-filing option, sinceit will help the Department to serve thembetter, he said.

Last year, electronic filing was madecompulsory for corporate tax-payers. E-filing of corporate returns has been aresounding success. Therefore, it isimportant to carry forward this successfulinitiative. In the Budget Speech - 2007,the Finance Minister had announced thatelectronic filing of returns would be mademandatory for more categories oftaxpayers. Accordingly, for assessmentyear 2007-08, it would be mandatory forfirms liable to tax audit under section44AB to file their returns electronically.Corporate taxpayers and such firms mayeither file their return electronically underdigital signature or may transmit the dataof the return electronically and thereaftersubmit a one page verification Formwhich contains a summary of the returntransmitted electronically.

All other categories of taxpayers (otherthan charitable trusts, institutions, etc.)will have the option to file the return ina paper form or electronically, asmentioned above, or in a bar-codedreturn form.

Last year, the Government hadintroduced a cash flow statement forIndividuals and HUFs. However, inresponse to representations against thecash flow statement, the same has beenwithdrawn. Individual and HUF taxpayerswould now be required to furnish onlyinformation with regard to transactionswhich are reported through AnnualInformation Returns (AIR).

The new forms will be available on theIncome Tax Department's website http://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in .Government proposes to take the viewsof the Institute of Chartered Accountantsof India on these forms. In themeanwhile taxpayers have been advisedto familiarize themselves with the newforms. The formal notification will bemade on May 14, 2007.

Hitch over, MCA for portsmay finally sail throughSURABHI: After much debate anddiscussion with the Planning Commission,the department of shipping has decidedto prepare a completely newmodelconcession agreement (MCA) fordevelopment of ports.

The decision comes due to a number ofunresolved issues between thedepartment of shipping and the Planpanel about various clauses of the MCA.Sources said the fresh draft would beready in the next few months.

While the department of shipping hadagreed to the Plan panel's proposal tointroduce a normative model of tarifffixation where in the current system ofcost plus tariff mechanism would be usedwith a financial cap on it, there was noconsensus between the two on otherterms and conditions of the MCA.

Inclusion of the criteria of performance-based indicators for ports, making escrowaccounts mandatory for concessionaireswere some of the main issues, whichcontinued to be a bone of contention.

In fact, in a bid to make the departmentof shipping more agreeable to its plans,the Planning Commission had come outwith its draft of the MCA last year. GivenIndia's recent Exim trade boom, thegovernment is eyeing an investment of$13.5 billion in the major ports underNational Maritime Development Program(NMDP) to boost infrastructure at theseports in the next 7 years. However, thedisagreement between the shippingdepartment and the Plan panel havedelayed the MCA by over a year, whichin turn has derailed the process ofdevelopment of ports. The ministry ofroad highways and shipping is looking forupgradation and development of portsusing the public private partnership route,for which the MCA is required.

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5 Editor’s Name : Dr. P.K. CHANDRANNationality : INDIANAddress : M107/5&22, 29th Cross Street

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News print Subscription- posted to your doorsteps by paymentof an annual subscription: Read and keep yourself abreast withthe present trend in maritime/shipping discipline.

Chennai Cheque Rs.200/- add Rs.50/- for outstation cheque.

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AT T E N T I O N R E A D E R S . . .

New shipping traffic centrefor North Norway: A new vesseltraffic centre (VTS) for North Norway hasbeen opened in Vardoe. The centre willmonitor and guide shipping traffic alongthe coast of Northern Norway.

The vessel traffic centre will also play akey role in Norway's maritime safetycooperation with Russia. In recent yearsthe Ministry of Fisheries and CoastalAffairs has promoted a number ofmeasures to improve maritime safety innorthern areas and to meet the challengesthat follow from the increase in oil-relatedtraffic in the north. - The Vardø VesselTraffic Centre is a key element in effortsto develop an integrated system formonitoring shipping traffic in the north,and will substantially help to improvemaritime safety in northern areas, saysState Secretary Vidar Ulriksen of theMinistry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs,who opened the centre.

With the aid of land-based AIS receivers(Automatic Identification System, asystem used for ships), the vessel trafficmanagers will be able to monitor anddirect vessels out to approx. 30 nauticalmiles from shore. The vessel traffic centrewill thus be able to monitor whether largertankers and cargo vessels comply withthe rules regarding the new traffic lanesoutside of Norwegian territorial watersthat will be in force from July 2007.

Since shipping traffic is now being movedfarther from the coast and will bemonitored from the new vessel trafficcentre, this will give the authorities moretime, better enabling them to takenecessary action if a vessel should getinto trouble. Vardø VTS is also intendedto play a key role in expanded cooperationwith Russia in the areas of maritime safetyand contingency planning for combatingoil spills. Norway and Russia haveconcluded an agreement to establish ajoint Norwegian-Russian vessel trafficmanagement information system, BarentsVTMIS. The vessel traffic centres in Vardøand Murmansk are to function as keyinformation nodes for shipping traffic inthe north.

Drama on high seas as tri-nation force captures'pirates' on ship: SOMEWHEREIN THE ANDAMAN SEA - Banking sharply,the Malaysian police helicopter appearedsuddenly over the Japanese ship. As abomb exploded on the deck - spewingwasabi-colored smoke - five commandos

slid down a rope from the hoveringaircraft.

Screaming "get down! get down!" theblack-robed team chased two burly menwho appeared to be pirates, overpoweringand handcuffing them at gunpoint withinminutes. Watched by journalists and policeofficers, the commandos and the twogrinning pirates were soon posing for TVcameras, and congratulating each otheron a job well done - the first ever anti-piracy exercise involving the forces ofJapan, Malaysia and Thailand near theThai island resort of Phuket. "It was plainsailing. Everything went smoothly," saidAbdul Manaf Othman, an assistantcommander in the Malaysian police, whosemarine and air wings and special forcescommandos took part in the exercise.Officials hope that exercises such as thiswould sharpen the skills and increasecoordination among marine police ofneighboring countries in stamping outpiracy in the Strait of Malacca, the world'sbusiest shipping lane, and until recentlythe most pirate infested. Authorities insome Asian countries have been steppingup anti-piracy cooperation in recent years,also because of concerns over possiblemarine terror strikes in the strait throughwhich 65,000 vessels pass every yearcarrying half the world's oil and more thana third of its commerce.

Japan's interest is obvious. Much of its oilfrom the Middle East and its exports toSoutheast Asian and Arab markets areferried on tankers and ships that use theMalacca straits. "Fortunately, aroundJapan there is no piracy," said Capt.Nobuharu Kagami, the director of PiracyCountermeasures Office in the JapanCoast Guard. "But the safety of MalaccaStraits is very important to Japan. For thisreason cooperation with countries (in theregion) is very important to us," said

Kagami, speaking on board the JapanCoast Guard ship Yashima, which playedthe part of the hijacked vessel during lastmonth's three-hour exercise. There werea few glitches - one of the Thai marinepolice boats that was to chase the pirateshad an engine problem. But a swiftexchange of messages al lowed asubstitute Malaysian speedboat to bedispatched. "The problems were cleared.No problem. We joined together verywell," said Thai police Col. LerdchaiThinrat, who led his country's team.Language barriers were minimal becauseall radio operators aboard the ships andhelicopters spoke in English. "It is true thatfor the Japanese people, English languageis a headache. But we will try to useEnglish more effectively," said Kagami.Japan has been conducting bilateralexercises with Southeast Asian nationssince 2000 as it seeks to raise its non-trade profile in the region. It has providedlogistical and technical support to someregional maritime security agencies. Andlast August, it hosted officials fromIndonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,Singapore and Thailand to discussterrorism at sea.

Increased enforcement and vigilance inthe Malacca straits is already yielding fruit:Attacks in the strait have been decliningsince July 2005, with 11 cases reportedlast year. The recent exercise - whichprovided all the drama of a Hollywoodthriller - began with two "crew members"of the hijacked ship drifting in a life boatin choppy Thai waters. A Thai MarineDepartment ship rescued the two men anda search began for the hijacked ship,which had been taken over by five pirates.Malaysian police boats and the JapaneseCoast Guard ship Yashima - playing thedouble role as itself and the hijacked ship- joined the search along with a helicopter.



New policy covers repairdelays. Shiprepairs cancause expensive delays:Lloyd's underwriters are providingshipowners with a cancellation insurancewhich protects them from loss of revenueshould a time charter cancel due to thelength of time taken to repair a damagedvessel. The new policy, Seacure 60, hasbeen launched by Seacurus and devisedin response to the high freight rates ofrecent years which has seen many vesselsfixed on long-term charters atunprecedented rates of hire. According toSeacurus, this boom has had a knock-oneffect for busy ship yards thereforeincreasing repair times and the risk thatcharterers will cancel the contract withshipowners and find a new vessel.

Director Captain Thomas Brown explainsthat the policy seeks to meet the current60 day plus standard cancellation periodsfound in long-term container vesselcharter parties aimed at vessels over 2,500TEU." That said, the product does havecross-sector appeal. "This is a specialistcover which will indemnify the owner forthe difference between the original timecharter rates and the new market rate,"said Captain Brown. "We have capacitylimits of up to USD25m per enquiry, whichshould cater for most cases."

Lloyds underwriter speaksout on losses: Leading Lloyd'smarine underwriter, and a member of theInternational Union of Marine Insurance's(IUMI) executive committee Simon Beale,has explained sharply increased levels ofpartial losses by saying "the highlyprofitable levels of maritime trade hasmeant ships and crews being driven veryhard." New statistics from the IUMI, whichrepresents marine underwritersworldwide, show a dramatic reduction inthe number of total losses of merchantships since the year 2000 with 67 ships(of 500 gross tonnage and over) becomingtotal losses last year compared to 140 in2000 and a peak of 182 during the 1990s.However, however there has been adramatic increase in serious partial losses,up by 200 per cent since when 228 seriousincidents were reported. Last year, 685were logged and, like total losses, thisfigure is likely to increase during the earlymonths of 2007. Mr Beale said that "safetychecks and routine maintenance may havebeen neglected by owners and managersin the rush to keep ships trading in thesevery lucrative conditions."

He added that many older ships whichshould have been scrapped havecontinued trading, adding to the amountof sub-standard tonnage. And there is agrowing shortage of trained andexperienced personnel. New technologyhad greatly helped to reduce total losses,Mr Beale noted, but at the same time itmade ships more expensive to repair,particularly machinery.

Seminar to highlight Polishlinks: The Polish Embassy in London isto host a seminar entitled "Maritimetransport links between Poland and theUnited Kingdom" on 30 May. According tothe embassy's minister-counsellorKrzysztof Trepczynski, the seminar isaimed at encouraging investment inPolands transportation infrastructure. Hesays: "Poland's economy is growing atabout 6 per cent per annum and there issubstantial demand for infrastructure-related investment to serve Polands own40 million population and also to enablePolands port sector to release its potentialas a gateway to both the Baltic region andto landlocked countries to the south andeast such as Belarus and the Ukraine.

"The Polish Government is extremely keento see more of our imports and exportsbeing carried by sea and handled by ourown ports. Like countries throughoutEurope, we want to discourage therelentless growth of road transport andtransferring cargo to shortsea shippingservices is definitely the way togo."Looking at the UK in particular, tradewith Poland is booming 50 per cent in thepast 12 months and there is demand notonly for additional port facilities but alsofor warehousing and distribution services."The event will take place at the embassyat 47 Portland Place and will commenceat 3.00 pm. The bi-monthly magazineBaltic Transport Journal is co-organisingthe seminar.

Webster boosts investigationteam : Marine claims managementspecialist WK Webster Group has boostingits hull casualty investigation Team whichprovides world-wide coverage andcomprises a mixture of lawyers and/ormariners with shipping litigationexperience. Master mariner Hakirat Singhis now based in Singapore and is availableto handle on-site investigations and takewitness statements in casualties that occurin south-east Asia. He complements theLondon-based, four-man operation, led byVictor Fenwick.

Clarksons in Egyptian JV:Major shipping services group Clarksonshas formed a joint venture in Egypt withthe Bayoumi family, owners of AlbahariaShipping Co. The joint venture willcomprise two companies: ClarksonShipping Agency (Egypt) which willspecialise in providing ship agency servicesin all Egyptian ports and Suez Canaltransit, and Clarkson Shipping Egypt whichwill concentrate on developing othershipping services including chartering. Theventure began operations on 1 March andhas a network of offices in the mainEgyptian ports, Alexandria, Port Said, PortSuez, Damietta and Safaga.

Moustafa Bayoumi, founder and chairmanof Albaharia said: "Albaharia Shipping Cohas always been one of the mostrespected shipping companies in Egypt,either in the business of shipping agencyor chartering. In order to expand ouragency and chartering business we needto merge with a strong internationalshipping services partner. Clarksons is thebest name in the business and the rangeof contacts they have will help us expandboth the companys core business and itsrange of services strongly."

Richard Fulford Smith, CEO of Clarksonssaid: "This venture is an importantmilestone in the evolution of Clarksons asa truly global shipping services group. Weare very bullish about the future of Egyptas the LNG trains roll out and the SuezCanal remains a continuously vital link ininternational shipping. Albaharia are a verywell respected company in Egypt with themix of ambition and expertise to fulfil ourexacting criteria for engaging in jointventures. Our shared goal is to build thestrongest shipping services company inEgypt. We are looking forward to growingthis business as an integral part of ourregional strategy and internationalnetwork."

UKMPG post for PLA boss:Port of London Authority (PLA) chiefexecutive, Richard Everitt, has beenelected to chair the United Kingdom MajorPorts Group (UKMPG). The UKMPG is thetrade association which represents mostof the major ports in the UK. The portsrepresented by the UKMPG handle three-quarters of the goods passing through UKports. It works to make sure the industry'svoice is heard at national level withpoliticians, the media and key decisionmakers. Mr Everitt will continue as chiefexecutive of the PLA. Mr Everitt said:"Ports l ike London make a huge



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contribution to the quality of the daily livesof everyone in the UK. This includes theirgateway role for essentials such as fuel,food, and clothing in addition to theelectronic goods and cars that improve ourquality of life. My work at the PLA meansthat every day I see the vital role that theThames and its port facilities play forpeople in London, Kent and Essex.

"I look forward to working with others inthe UKMPG to ensure that the ports voiceis heard loud and clear in Government,Parliament, Whitehall and in Brussels.Ports are central not only to the wholetransport debate but also to other keyissues such as the environment andenergy supply. I will be able to contributeto those national policy debates, reflectingthe key matters that we face on theThames and in the Port of London area."Meanwhile the PLA has started newtraining scheme that aims to developpotential future marine managers. NickEvans, aged 25, is the first recruit for thePLA's new 'Marine Trainee' scheme. andhas now started the first stage of thethree-year training course. The first twoyears will see him complete an intensivetwo-year training programme on PLA craftin navigation skills, marine and portoperations. The final third year will involvemore specialised training in key areas ofPLA activity. This includes harbour masteractivities, pilotage, port control centrework, and operational support.

Director of Maritime Affairsvisits Ship Registry officesin London: Director of MaritimeAffairs, Mr McLean Hobson, who ispresently studying at SouthamptonUniversity, England, recently visited theoffices of the St. Kitts & Nevis InternationalShip Registry to meet staff and see thework of the Ship Registry at first hand.

"It is always good to see our colleagues

from St. Kitts & Nevis visit us. The UnitedKingdom High Commissioner, Dr. JamesWilliams and his Deputy HighCommissioner, Mrs. Jacinth Henry-Martinhave previously visited our offices, but itwas particularly good to get a visit fromMr. Hobson in view of his responsibilitiesfor the Ship Registry," said InternationalRegistrar of Shipping & Seamen, NigelSmith. The International Ship Registry hasnow registered over 350 ships since thestart of operation in February 2005. Threeof the most recent registrations were thepassenger ferries operated for FourSeasons Resort, Nevis.

Mr. Smith added: "At times, I am sure wecan seem to some to be very detachedfrom the Federation due to our respectivelocations, so it is good that the officialswe deal with can visit us when theopportunity arises." During the visit, Mr.Hobson was introduced to staff and shownthe daily workings and activities of the ShipRegistry. The visit also gave Mr Smith theopportunity to personally update MrHobson on the most recent activities

and intended plans for the near future.Mr. Smith said he welcomes visits fromany Government colleagues or businesspeople from the Federation who arevisiting the United Kingdom who can sparethe time to come to the offices in theLondon suburbs. "Our door is alwaysopen," he said.

UK Shipping Register joinsMaritime London: MaritimeLondon is delighted to announce that theUK Ship Registry has joined MaritimeLondon. The register is one of the bestperforming flags in the major Port StateControl regimes with a reputation formaintaining high standards.

LPG rollercoaster continues:In its recent LPG Insight, London-based

independent maritime adviser Drewrypredicts a recovery in LPG carrier rates,only to be followed by another slump nextyear. Drewry notes that rates have gonefrom a record high to record low in sixmonths. The Baltic Exchange's LPG Indexfor Vlgc rates AG-Japan maintained arecord peak level of USD 64.857 betweenthe 14 and 18 July 2006. Exactly sixmonths later on the 18 January this yearit fell below the previous record low ofUSD 23.458/tonne which had been set inMarch 2003. The index kept falling to alow of USD 19.357/tonne on 1 February.The adviser explains: "The main cause ofthe precipitous fall has been a lack ofavailable cargo to export from the MiddleEast. The situation was exacerbated bythe delivery of eight new Vlgcs to the fleetin 2006, compared to just two in both 2004and 2005, a warm winter and high stocklevels."

Drewry comments: "The collapse inrates has been quicker and deeper thananyone predicted last summer. Hopefullya restoration in export levels from the AGwill see rates recover sooner rather thanlater this year. However, the rates on offernow could well be visited again in 2008and 2009 as an unprecedented numberof Vlgcs are due to be delivered to thefleet, whilst many of the LNG projects theywere ordered against are slipping."

Lloyds opens in China: Marineclaims management specialist WK WebsterGroup has boosting its hull casualtyinvestigation Team which provides world-wide coverage and comprises a mixtureof lawyers and/or mariners with shippinglitigation experience. Master marinerHakirat Singh is now based in Singaporeand is available to handle on-siteinvestigations and take witness statementsin casualties that occur in south-east Asia.He complements the London-based, four-man operation, led by Victor Fenwick.



Capt. Glenn Saldanha, Sr.General Manager, Nyk (India) gracesAMET B.Sc. (NS) Pass out

AMET, on 5th May 2007, passed out its 3rd batch of B.Sc Nautical Science of 96 cadets all fully placed with someof the reputed Shipping Companies worldwide. Capt.Glenn Saldanha, Sr.General Manager NYK (India) Mumbai was theChief Guest at the function while Dr.A.Ramasamy, Vice Chairman, Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education wasthe Guest of Honour. A large number of parents of the passing out cadets attended the function and witnessed withimmense satisfaction and pride, an impressive ceremony of the pass out of their wards. Mr.J.Ramachandran, Chairman,AMET welcomed the gathering and thanked Capt.Glenn Saldanha for readily accepting to be the Chief Guest. Herecollected Capt.Glenn's days at AMET less than 2 years ago when as Maersk's Representative he worked hard andwith dedication for the set us of the A.P.Moller facility at AMET. He further stressed the AMET USP of placementswas testimony to the excellent goodwill and preference AMET enjoyed in the industry.

Capt.S.Bhardwaj, CEO & Director in his pass out address, urged the cadets to apply the principles of discipline in dailylife as no accomplishments were made without discipline. He also cautioned them to be under no illusion that theyknow everything now. He then administered the "Oath of Honour" to the Passing Out Cadets. Capt.Glenn Saldanha,

thanked AMET for inviting him as Chief Guest and expressed his happiness at being at AMET again and meeting upwith the Maersk cadets and AMET staff with whom he had worked together. He then awarded the Gold Medals, MeritoriousAwards and the Passing Out Certificates. Cadet Arun Nair then made his emotional valedictory address on behalf ofthe cadets and presented the Chairman a souvenir on behalf of the B.Sc (NS) third batch cadets.

This was followed by a glittering and resounding fire works as the cadets hugged and met each others and bid farewell.The parents then met the Chairman and CEO and thanked them for the successful transformation of their wards fromimmature school kids to responsible cadet officers and also for placing them in some of the world's best companies.

PRIZES AND HONOURS:

1)GOLD MEDAL for topping in Academics - A very close contest between Cadet Rajkumar whose GPA was 9.116,but he was edged past by Cadet Pradeep Kumar with a GPA of 9.129

Cadet Pradeep Kumar also bagged the Chellaram Award for highest in Navigation last year.

Cadet Pradeep Kumar is placed with SHELL. Well done Cadet Rajkumar - who is also an Academy Cadet Captain andplaced with Mitsui.

2) GOLD MEDAL for OUTSTANDING General Proficiency went to Academy Cadet Captain NEVILLE Julio Noronha. CadetNeville is picked up by A.P. Moller . It was placed on record that IB Fruergaard Gold Medal for Best OLQ has alreadybeen presented by Capt Ib Fruergaard himself to Academy Cadet Captain Vidyut Narayanan.

3) THERE WERE 3 PRIZES FOR EXCELLENCE IN SPORTS

a) The best Sports person declared was Cadet Dhananjayan.S. Cadet Dhananjayan is placed with Angloeastern.

b) Best Sports Achiever was Cadet Shibindas H. Cadet Shibindas is placed with Fleet Management

c) Best Sports Volunteer was Cadet Ruban R. Cadet Ruban R is placed with Zodiac Maritime London.

4) CERTIFICATES OF COMMENDATION

a) For Meritorious Service as Secretary of the ECO Club - Academy Cadet Captain Vidyut Narayan. He is picked upby Fleet Management

b) For exemplary performance as Vice President of Literary Club - Cadet Captain Darius Steven Smaller who is placedwith A.P.Moller.

c) For a Superlative performances as Secretary of Cultural Club - Academy Cadet Captain Dejo Denny Francis whois placed with Fleet Management.

d) For extraordinary talented performance as Secretary of Music Club - Cadet Puneet Saigal — placed with A P Moller.

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D.G.S. APPROVED PRE-SEA TRAININGCourses Age & Eligibility Date

1. G.P. Ratings 10th Pass with Science, Maths & Min. 17½6 months English as subjects with aggregate yrs. 01.07.07(TR/A/43/2003-dt. 30.5.03) 40% and with Min. 40% in English Max. 20 yrs.

2. Deck Cadets 1 year leading 12th Std. (PCM - 60%) 20 yrs.(TR/A/55/2002/ to B.Sc. (Nautical B.Sc. (PCM - 55%) 22 yrs.dt.3.5.03) Science) 01.08.07 of IGNOU B.E. / B.Tech. (AICTE Approved) 24 yrs.

3. Trainee Marine Engineering Diploma in Mech. / Marine / 22 yrs.for Diploma Holders (2 yrs.) Electrical & Electronics 01.09.07(TR/A/102/2002 - dt. 22.8.02)

Diploma in Ship Building(Min. 50% marks in Final Year) 23 yrs.

4. Trainee Marine Engineeringfor Graduates (1 year) B.E. / B.Tech - Mech / Naval Arch 24 yrs. 01.09.07(TR/A/101/2002 - dt. 22.8.02)

The successful completion of courses does not guarantee onboard training which is mandatory for employment

The following Courses approvedby DGS are offered presently

1. PST / PSSR / EFA / FPFF

2. TOTA / TI / TWI

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PRE-SEA TRAINING ❖ Diploma in Nautical Science with IGNOU ❖G.P. Rating ❖ Saloon RatingCOMPETENCY COURSES ❖ Preparatory classes – MEOClass II(PCT)* ❖ Preparatory classes – MEO Class IV (PSF) ❖ Preparatory classes –MEO Class IV (NCV)ADVANCED MODULAR COURSES ❖ Medical First Aid Course❖ Advanced Fire Fighting ❖ Master’s Medicare Course ❖ Proficiency in SurvivalCraft & Rescue Boats / PSC & RB) Specialised Oil Tanker Safety (TASCO)*SIMULATOR COURSES ❖ Engine Room simulator course Operational

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Level (ERSOP)❖ Radar Observer Course (ROC)* ❖ Automatic Radar PlottingAids (ARPA)* ❖ Radar Aided Navigational Simulator Course (RANSCO)*BASIC MODULAR COURSES ❖ Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting❖ Personal Safety and Social Responsibility ❖ Proficiency in SurvivalTechniques ❖ Elementary First Aid ❖ Oil Tanker Familiarisation ❖ PassengerShip Familiarisation ❖ Ratings Forming part of Engine Room WatchREVALIDATION & UPGRADATION COURSES ❖Revalidation for Chief Engineers ❖ Upgradation course for Advanced FireFighting ❖ Upgradation course for Basic Safety courses PST, EFA & FPFF* Awaiting approval

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