CASUALTIES/ INCIDENTES

CASUALTIES/ INCIDENTES

Cruiseship removal to start within days - By Janet Porter "Work to raise the stricken cruiseship Costa Concordia will start in the next few days and take about a year to complete. The wreck clearance operation will be divided into four stages, the company awarded the contract to remove the ship revealed on Friday. US-owned Titan Salvage beat off stiff competition to win what has been described as the largest wreck removal operation ever tackled. Costa Concordia capsized after being holed as the result of navigational error in January." LLOYD‘S LIST, 21 May 2012, p 1 

Three injured as Stena Ferry brings down box crane - By Craig Eason "An investigation has begun in Poland to determine how a Stena Line ferry crashed into a container crane in the port of Gdynia, injuring three terminal staff, two seriously. The collision happened as Stena Sprit was departing Gdynia at the start of a regular voyage to Karlskrona, Sweden on the morning of May 17. The port workers were undertaking maintenance on the crane in the Baltic Container Terminal when the vessel appeared to have lost control, possibly due to high winds." LLOYD‘S LIST, 21 May 2012, p 4 

Second fatality hits Maersk in two months - By  Adam Corbett "Second Engineer Alexandru Nicula died on the Danish-flag, 2,200-teu Nicolai Maersk (built 2000) while it was at the port of Jebel Ali in Dubai.  

In a statement to TradeWinds, Maersk said the accident on 26 April involved the operation of the ship‘s stores cranes while it was alongside.  Maersk would  not comment on the accident as it is still under investigation.  As the world‘s largest boxship carrier, Maersk could be expected to have a higher number of accidents than other shipping companies." TRADEWINDS, 18 May 2012, p 55

Costa salvage: there is no Plan B "An ambitious scheme to salvage the Costa Concordia must work, say salvors facing an unprecedented challenge.  There is no ‗Plan B‘ for salvaging Costa Concordia, said Richard Habib, president of Titan Salvage at a press conference in Rome describing how the ship will be removed from the island of Giglio. But there are significant risks, he said." FAIRPLAY, 31 May 2012, pp 32-33

IMO to tackle armed guards and cruiseship safety  - By Liz McMahon "The International Maritime Organization's maritime safety committee will meet for its long-awaited 90th session next week, which will tackle two of the most hotly debated issues in shipping; private maritime security and passengership safety. In recent months, the IMO has responded to concerns regarding cruiseships and armed guards, saying it would consider the issues at this month's committee meeting. The industry will be keenly looking  at the conclusions drawn from the 10-day meeting. On the opening day, member states will debate how  the international community should deal with deployment of armed guards by private maritime security  companies and carriage of arms on board." LLOYD‘S LIST, 11 May 2012, p 2

Green guidelines ―The first Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting of 2012 has afforded us an insight into the subjects that will dominate the shipping world‘s green discussions in the 

coming years. Marpol and the NOx Technical Code will undergo a series of amendments. A fair number of guidelines were approved and although they were not available in their final form as SAS went to press we can expect to see them shortly.  Their coverage includes ship recycling, garbage, regional reception facilities and energy efficiency.‖ SAFETY AT SEA, June 2012, p 42

IMO efficiency to be reviewed "Sekimizu reminds the MSC to keep the economic climate in mind.  Speaking to delegates during the morning session of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) on 23 May, IMO secretary-general Koji Sekimizu encouraged members to know their priorities.  ―Prioritisation is the most important part of what we do. Our workload must illustrate: compelling need, urgency and proper decision-making in terms of urgency and priority,‖ he said.  Highlighting the world‘s current financial challenges, he said: ―We need to do more with less. It seems increasingly likely that we, the secretariat and member governments, will need to improve our delivery mechanism.‖ FAIRPLAY, 31 May 2012, p 31

LAW/LEGISLACIÓN.

Clock is ticking for Costa Concordia damages claims  - By Liz McMahon "Claims against Costa Cruises following the Costa Concordia casualty must be filed within two years under the Athens Convention even though passengers may develop medical or psychiatric conditions only much later, according to barrister Sarah Prager. "There may be psychiatric claims and while a claim for a broken limb is fairly easy to work out, post-traumatic stress disorder or anxiety, phobias can take months to develop therefore it would be rash to accept a final compensation sum," the 1 Chancery Lane barrister has advised." LLOYD‘S LIST, 2 May 2012, p 7 

Owners worried by Maib moves  - By  Adam Corbett "Shipowners could face strict limits on the evidence they can bring to court in litigation following a casualty as a result of amendments now being considered in the UK on the law on marine accident investigation.  The changes have been made to update the UK law in line with a new European directive on accident investigation.  But some UK owners argue that the Maritime Accident Investigation Branch (Maib) has taken the opportunity to ―sneak in‖ extra measures on disclosure that will limit the evidence they can use in court and prevent the Maib findings  from being challenged." TRADEWINDS, 4 May 2012, p 38

IOPC Funds prepare for Alfa 1 oil spill fall-out  - By Liz McMahon "The International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds have taken steps to assist with claims expected to result from the sinking of Alfa 1 in Elefsis Bay. On March 5, the 1972-built, 2,519 dwt product tanker hit a submerged object, which the IOPC Funds said was probably the marked wreck of the vessel City of Myconos, while crossing Elefsis Bay near Piraeus, Greece. The impact caused a 30 m cut along Alfa I's hull bottom plating and the vessel  listed on the starboard side and sank, killing the master. Alfa I is understood to have been carrying 1,800 

tonnes of crude oil and 253 tonnes of fuel. After sinking, an unknown quantity of oil was released from the 

tanker through the manholes, vent pipes and sounding pipes." LLOYD‘S LIST, 8 May 2012, p 2 

Costa Cruises pays out to French victims  - By David Osler "Costa Cruises has reached a €2.1m ($2.7m) settlement with around half of the 456 French passengers on board the ill-fated cruiseship Costa Concordia, which sank off the coast of Italy with the probable loss of 32 lives in January this year. Under the agreement, the Carnival affiliate will pay €9,000 to some 235 survivors, their lawyer Bernard Courtois told French media. But acceptance does not entail the waiver of the right to sue Costa. A further 180 French passengers have already accepted a payment of €11,000 each from the company in exchange for dropping any legal action, while another 20 have joined a class action suit in the US and 20 more are pursuing legal action independently, Mr Courtois added." LLOYD‘S LIST, 10 May 2012, p 2 

Costa Concordia probe looks at emergency management - By Liz McMahon "The time between the general alarm being raised and the master's call to abandon ship is the main cause for concern in the ongoing technical investigation of the Costa Concordia casualty, according to the  Italian Investigation Board. The IIB reported its initial findings to member states at the International Maritime Organization's Maritime Safety Committee on Friday. It said the "complex causes of the Costa Concordia should be used for learning and to improve maritime safety". The IIB said that the evacuation procedure emerged as the main problem so far, in terms of emergency management. There is an issue between the delayed distress signal and the call to abandon ship." LLOYD‘S LIST, 21 May 2012, pp 1-2 

‘Bareli’ duo still held by Chinese - By Adam Corbett "A senior officer and an able seaman continue to be detained without charge as the focus turns to the wreck-removal operation.  The unnamed men from the Torvald Klaveness-controlled ship include one senior officer and one able seaman, who are being kept in a local hotel.  Oslo-based Klaveness chief executive Lasse Krissoffersen tells TradeWinds that his understanding is that the investigation by the Maritime Safety Administration has been completed but that the men remain to help the local authorities with their probe into the grounding." TRADEWINDS, 18 May 2012, p 54

Costa Concordia will hit marine insurers hard, says Munich Re  - By Patrick Hagen "Reinsurance giant Munich Re has forecast a turnaround in marine hull and machinery rates due to the Costa Concordia casualty. "I expect that we will see a positive trend regarding premiums in the coming round of renewals," Munich Re maritime expert Dieter Berg told Lloyd's List. Munich Re expects that the Costa  Concordia casualty, which is expected to end as a total loss, will hit some marine insurers quite hard. Mr Berg did not give a figure for the loss, but market sources see it at $1bn for hull and casualty." LLOYD‘S LIST, 22 May 2012, p 4 

Gaurav Prem master found guilty in pollution case - By Tom Leander "Prastana Taohim, the master of Mercator Lines-owned Gaurav Prem, has been convicted by a court in Mobile, Alabama, writes Tom Leander. Capt Taohim was found guilty on two counts of obstructing justice in a pollution incident in which hundreds of contaminated pipes were dumped overboard from the 2005-built, 73,901 dwt bulker in the 

Pacific last August. The conviction followed the testimony of the vessel's chief officer, who said that the master had ordered him to dump the pipes, said to be laced with insecticide connected to an earlier grain shipment, and later failed to record the discharge in the ship's garbage record book when he presented it to US Coast Guard officials after the ship berthed in Alabama." LLOYD‘S LIST, 22 May 2012, p 5 

Fears over breakaway lobby tie-up - By Adam Corbett "Concern is growing that a proposed alliance between Intertanko, Intercargo and Bimco could weaken the shipping industry‘s negotiating power over key safety and environmental issues.  The three specialised shipowning associations this week confirmed they are exploring ways to move closer in a bid to avoid duplication of work and arrive at a common negotiating position on matters of mutual interest." TRADEWINDS, 25 May 2012, p 38

Rena master and navigation officer sentenced to seven months in jail - By Tom Leander "A New Zealand judge has handed down sentences of seven months in jail each for the captain of containership Rena and the navigation officer of the vessel. Rena grounded near Tauranga on the North Island last October, spilling about 400 tonnes of fuel oil, littering nearby beaches with containers and debris and eventually breaking up on Astrolabe Reef in what has been called one of New Zealand's worst maritime disaster. Mauro Balomaga and Leonil Relon pleaded guilty in February to a charge under section 65 of the Maritime Transport Act for operating a ship in a manner that caused unnecessary danger to life and property." LLOYD‘S LIST, 29 May 2012, p 4 

Powers to protect "Shipowners are far from powerless in their efforts to protect themselves from litigation, claims a new book entitled Shipowners‘ Limitation of Liability.  Co-author Barney Reynolds, a partner at Shearman & Sterling, spells out how, where and how much owners can protect their interests and brands limitation of liability a ―highly unusual right of shipowners‖.  This right is conferred by three international conventions (and some national regimes) and allows shipowners to limit liability arising from any one incident and against all potential claimants, to an amount based on the vessel‘s value or tonnage." FAIRPLAY, 31 May 2012, p 31.

PORTS/ PUERTOS.

Ports chiefs invited to Brussels policy talks  - By Roger Hailey "Brussels has invited port industry leaders to an autumn summit as the European Commission prepares to set out a "more coherent" policy for the sector, with regulators returning to the controversial issue of port services. The commissioner for transport, Siim Kallas, told European port leaders meeting in Poland that the industry needs "pro-business reforms and also more transparency". In his published draft to the European Sea Ports Organisation conference in Sopot, Mr Kallas said: "Today's many bottlenecks are often due to low efficiency and to restrictive labour and other non-competitive regimes operating inside the port."" LLOYD‘S LIST, 14 May 2012, p 2 

Ports co-ordinate legislation response - By Roger Hailey "Espo and IAPH sign memorandum of understanding. European and international port representatives are co-ordinating the quayside response to global maritime legislation emerging from the International Maritime Organization and European Union. The Brussels-based European Sea Ports Organisation and the Tokyo-headquartered International Association of Ports and Harbours have signed a memorandum of understanding at an IAPH conference in Israel. Espo chairman Victor Schoenmakers told the Jerusalem meeting that the MoU will reinforce the work carried out by both groups at global and European level on behalf of port authorities." LLOYD‘S LIST, 24 May 2012, p 2 

East-west battle looms as Panama Canal expands - By Liz McCarthy "Port of New York-New Jersey will outgun its east coast rivals as it invests in capacity. Because no major rail projects are planned from southeastern US ports to reach consumers based in the northeast, home to 55m Americans or 18% of the US population, ports in the New York area will continue to offer better connections to the region. "The importance of New York as a port will not be diminished as other east coast ports undergo expansion," DVB said in a YouTube video report. US east coast ports are "leaving no stone unturned" ahead of the Panama Canal expansion due to be completed in 2014, rushing to dredge and invest in post-panamax cranes." LLOYD‘S LIST, 24 May 2012, p 4 

Miami ship inspector convicted for false statements - By Rajesh Joshi "A ship surveyor from Miami faces up to 20 years in jail after a federal jury convicted him on multiple counts for falsely certifying the safety of ships at sea on two separate occasions. Both incidents in which the corrupt inspector is implicated involve Bolivia, a flag state that features prominently in port state control blacklists maintained by the US Coast Guard and the Paris MoU. According to a US Department of Justice statement,  Alejandro Gonzalez lied to USCG inspectors  and a criminal investigator during an April 2009 interview  about the drydocking of the Bolivia-flagged, 1974-built, 1,283 dwt cargoship Cala Galdana (now Taurus)  in San Juan, Puerto Rico." LLOYD‘S LIST, 31 May 2012, p 2 

Safer surveying will cut costs and time "CEO Ugo Salerno is enthusiastic about the scope of RINA‘s  investment in research and development projects. ―We have several good ideas, all based on better  inspection.  Among these is a three-year EU co-funded project on marine inspection robotic assistant systems, which will create a system to support surveyors. Part of this is the development of a small. remote-controlled four-rotor helicopter capable of carrying out overall surveys within ships‘ cargo holds, taking photos and videos that can be used to establish the overall status of the hold. Also under development is a remote-controlled climbing crawler that uses magnetic wheels to climb the steel plate inside the cargo hold to carry out close-up video surveys of the condition of the structure." FAIRPLAY, 31  May 2012, p 19

Somalia looks beyond piracy - By Carolina Eslava "War-ravaged Somalia has an ambitious plan to revive its lifeline port of Mogadishu.  With hope of peace and political stability in the air and with the installation of a new manager expected soon, Mogadishu port is preparing to play its part in Somalia‘s regeneration." FAIRPLAY, 31 May 2012, pp 24-25 

SEAFARERS/ TRIPULANTES.

Philippines acts on seafarer standards  - By Tom Leander and David Osler "President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines has intervened directly in to the nation's troubled labour supply industry by strengthening the powers of Maritime Industry Administration to oversee reforms necessary to avoid a European Union ban on its seafarers. Under the terms of an executive order signed on Monday, the maritime activities of all agencies under President Aquino's authority are to be placed under the control of a beefed-up super agency, which will continue to be known by the acronym Marina. The move follows an EU threat to withdraw recognition of all new certificates issued in the country, because of repeated complaints about quality. Although complaints centre on individual schools, the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping convention only allows sanctions on countries as a whole, as was the case with Georgia a few years back." LLOYD‘S LIST, 2 May 2012, p 1 

South African training programme sees results ―A South African educational programme that equips teenagers with maritime skills while they are still at school has seen more than one-third of its pupils take up careers at sea. The Lawhill Maritime Centre, in Simon‘s Town close to Cape Town, was completed in early 2010, with the support of the Bahamas-based TK Foundation and several other donors.‖ SAFETY AT SEA, June 2012, p 18

MLC Convention is an overwhelming task  - By Felicity Landon "Implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention will require the inspection and certification of more than 40,000 ships, plus countless manning agencies, says Paolo Moretti, general manager marine, at the Italian classification society Rina. "That task would overwhelm flag states and bring shipping to a halt. But class can do it, and can do it well, because we have the trained people with the right backing and monitoring in place already," he says." LLOYD‘S LIST, 22 May 2012, p 6 

Nautilus demands action on UK work permits for seafarers  - By David Osler "UK-based shipping companies are failing to comply with work permit requirements for employing foreign seafarers in UK waters, Nautilus International has charged. The seafarers' union has called on home secretary Theresa May to stop what it considers to be abuses. But employer organisation the Chamber of Shipping has hit back at the accusation, insisting that the European Union's open coastlines policy is in the best interests of the industry. The union argues that the vessel should be covered by work permit requirements, with the employer having to demonstrate that it has satisfied the labour market test by advertising the jobs locally at the domestic rate of pay for such jobs before resorting to seafarers from low cost labour supply countries." BLLOYD‘S LIST, 25 May 2012, p 4

Life of a modern sailor not at all romantic but fascinating all the same - By Jonathan Boonzaier"Allison Swaim is a US college graduate who is travelling the world by freighter to learn about the shipping industry and global trade first hand.  She is particularly interested in telling the stories  of the crew members, the people who actually carry out the physical process of global trade.  ―Shipping is a huge industry but after spending time on ships I have become more focussed on the lives of sailors. From the moment I stepped on board I have been captivated by their narratives. They have stories that are rarely heard unless you interact with their world, which few people do,‖ she explained." TRADEWINDS, 25 May 2012, p 22

Shipowners must hold crew agents accountable - By Craig Eason "Shipowners are being urged to hold crewing agents more accountable as crew standards face increased scrutiny. With shipboard crewing levels at a bare minimum in some cases as owners look to reduce operational costs and onboard technological challenges increase, Norwegian insurer and P&I club Skuld is urging its members to hold those responsible for crew selection more accountable. More than 62% of maritime incidents have human error as a major route cause, whether crew, officers or pilots, according to Skuld vice-president claims Flavia Mellilo. As the pressures increase due to difficulties in finding crews, she urged shipowners to ensure that they knew the level of competence and health of the crews that are selected for their vessels." LLOYD‘S LIST, 31 May 2012, p 2