CASUALTIES/ INCIDENTES

CASUALTIES/ INCIDENTES

Zanzibar shocked by latest ferry disaster

"Up to 144 people aboard a Tanzanian ferry are feared dead after it rolled over in heavy seas near Zanzibar on 18 July. Skagit, also known as Staf Gate, operated by Seagull Transport Co (STC), was carrying nne crew, 250 adult passengers and 31 children on the two-hour crossing from the Tanzanian capital Dares Salaam to Malinadi, in Zanzibar." SAFETY AT SEA, September 2012, p 7

Salvage of Fednav bulker in Chile faces snags – By Eric Martin

"Efforts to transfer bunkers off a stricken Fednav-controlled bulker on Chile’s central coast faced setbacks as authorities and salvors worked to prevent the grounding from becoming a pollution incident. The port captain’s office at San Antonio said still-precarious sea conditions and a delay in getting approval from the country’s Maritime Authority have prevented the lightering operation from going forward. The 52,300-dwt Ocean Breeze (built 2006) grounded on San Antonio’s Llolleo beach two weeks ago. Rescuers took 24 crew off the ship. The incident reportedly began after the ship’s anchor chain broke amid high waves and strong winds." TRADEWINDS, 31 August 2012, p 2

Sunken Greek bulker not inspected for six years – By Adam Corbett

"A bulker that sank off Sri Lanka threatening widespread pollution appears to have avoided port-state control (PSC) inspection for nearly six years. The 24,800-dwt Thermopylae Sierra (built 1985) was arrested in the country following a court order amid an acrimonious cargo and crew wage dispute from 2009. This week, it sank off Panadura as it lost buoyancy following gradual water ingress. Engineers appointed to maintain the ship had disembarked before the incident. The cargo remained on board." TRADEWINDS, 31 August 2012, p 40

Rena case adjourned - By Max Lin

"Maritime New Zealand’s case against the owner of Rena over releasing a harmful substance into the sea has been adjourned to early October because lawyers from both sides need more time to prepare. MNZ is suing Greece-based Diana Shipping, a unit of Costamare, under section 338(1B) and 15(B) of the Resource Management Act that relate to "discharge of harmful substances from ships". If convicted, the owner will face a maximum fine of NZ$600,000 ($490,000) and an additional NZ$10,000 for every day the criminal act continues." LLOYD’S LIST, 24 August 2012, p 2

Russian tanker spill sparks levy of $16m

"The bill for an extensive spill by an underinsured tanker that broke in two in a storm nearly five years ago is catching up with the oil industry. A levy of nearly $16m is facing oil companies around the world as a result of pollution caused by the 4,200-dwt Volgoneft-139 (built 1978), which broke in two in storms in the Kerch Strait linking the Azov and Black seas in 2007. The Russian tanker had very limited protection-and-indemnity (P&I) cover from the Moscow-based Ingosstrakh insurance company but claims of more than £50m ($80m) have been brought." TRADEWINDS, 24 August 2012, p 31

Spain loses appeal in $1bn Prestige lawsuit against ABS - By Rajesh Joshi

"The classification sector appears to have dodged a potentially fatal bullet, after Spain lost its $1bn Prestige lawsuit against US class society ABS in a federal appellate court in New York yesterday. The US Court of Appeals denied Spain’s September 2010 appeal against a district court verdict that had favoured ABS. The three-judge appellate panel held that Spain did not furnish sufficient evidence to establish its allegation that ABS behaved recklessly in the November 2002 sinking of the ABS-classed Prestige off the Spanish coast. With much more than $100m in total legal bills run up by both sides, the lawsuit is already legendary in certain quarters as the "biggest lawsuit in maritime history". More pertinently, some experts had feared that if liability was established against ABS, this precedent could have serious ramifications for the classification business as a whole." LLOYD’S LIST, 31 August 2012, p 2

Gard challenges ISU over environmental awards – By Adam Corbett

"The Norwegian insurer says salvage companies are rewarded enough and do not need more payment through an additional accolade. Norwegian protection-and-indemnity (P&I) insurer Gard has openly challenged the International Salvage Union (ISU)’s renewed call for an additional environmental award for protecting the environment in salvage cases. Gard’s statement comes as the ISU revved up its campaign for the introduction of such an award following the appointment of Andreas Tsavliris as the head of the association at the start of the year." TRADEWINDS, 31 August 2012, p 41

Panama Canal widening opens the way for ship designers - By Craig Eason

"The opening of the new Panama Canal locks in 2014 will happen just in time for shipowners and naval architects looking to make the most out of efficiency designs. One of the first companies to be exploiting these possibilities will be car carrier owner Eukor, a company owned by Scandinavian shipowners Wallenius Marine and Wilh. Wilhelmsen, with Hyundai and Kia holding minority 20% shares. Eukor’s latest newbuilding orders are the first to deliberately exceed the existing panamax definition yet aim for Panama Canal transits, to take advantage of the new Panama Canal dimensions, something more and more shipowners will be doing in the future. These newbuildings will be the biggest vessels the company has built to date, but will still not be close to what the canal authorities call the New Panamax limits." LLOYD’S LIST, 28 August 2012, p 6

New clause puts onus on charterer – By Adam Corbett.

"The International Group of protection-and-indemnity (P&I) insurers has worked with Bimco to update its charter-party clause for cargoes that may liquefy. The clause puts a contractual obligation on the charterer to provide written evidence from shippers of the cargo’s Transportable Moisture Limit. The charterer is also responsible for the costs of sampling and testing the cargo. It also allows shipowners to take their own sample for testing prior to loading and allows the ship’s master to refuse to load a cargo he believes to be unsafe." LLOYD’S LIST, 13 August 2012, p 38

UK highlights dangers of walking on hatch covers after Felixstowe fatality – By Adam Corbett

"A Chilean rating on a UK-flag ship plunged 25 metres to his death probably after slipping on ice on a partially open hatch cover, UK accident investigators have revealed. The incident happened on the 8,000-teu containership Tempanos (built 2011) at the UK Port of Felixstowe last December, when the ship was berthed for cargo operations at the port. Crew had occasionally walked on partially open hatch 7 covers and the Maib says there was no suitable guidance in the ship’s safety-management system to outline the hazards of the practice." LLOYD’S LIST, 13 August 2012, p 39

Pirates attack Sea Trucks vessel off Nigerian coast - By Max Tingyao Lin and Liz McMahon

"West African pirates attacked a barge carrier owned by Sea Trucks Group off the Nigerian coast on Saturday, killing two naval guards and kidnapping four foreign nationals. The 2006-built, 7,480 dwt Jascon 33 was attacked 33 miles off Nigeria’s Bonny oil export terminal, where the number of piracy incidents has risen this year. "An oil servicing company was attacked by gunmen. We lost two of our men," Nigerian Navy spokesman Commodore Kabir Aliyu told Reuters." LLOYD’S LIST, 7 August 2012, p 2

Belgium and Italy give the green light to armed guards - By Liz McMahon

"Belgium and Italy have become the latest two European countries to authorise the use of armed guards as a counter-piracy measure. The Belgian government has approved the use of private maritime security companies in a measure to protect vessels transiting the high-risk area in the Gulf of Aden. Local reports state the decision was prompted by Belgian shipowners. The Belgian government also said it was committed to having a very strict process for approving armed guards. Initially, PMSCs will only be permitted in the HRA and the approval is currently limited to a period of two years. Both moves follow Germany’s decision to regulate certification for armed guards last month." LLOYD’S LIST, 7 August 2012, p 2

West of England P&I Club strikes PMSC vetting deal - By Liz McMahon.

"The West of England P&I Club has become the latest club to formally announce a partnership with an independent armed guard vetting firm. The club said it had secured preferential terms for Flag Victor to vet potential private maritime security companies against the criteria set out in the International Maritime Organization’s interim guidance to shipowners. At its Maritime Safety Committee meeting in May, the IMO accepted that the increased threat to shipping had resulted in the growing use of armed guards, although it made clear it did not endorse this practice." LLOYD’S LIST, 13 August 2012, p 2

House of Lords has a change of heart on armed guards - By Liz McMahon

"In its previous report on piracy in Somalia, the House of Lords said private security guards should not be placed on commercial shipping as this would increase the risks to ships and crew. Now, new evidence put forward since the industry’s effective legalisation has prompted the house to reconsider. In October 2011, the government revised its policy to enable UK-flag ships to use armed guards. The follow-up report, Turning the Tide on Piracy, Building Somalia’s Future, published today, thus allows the house to review the situation." LLOYD’S LIST, 21 August 2012, p 2

First maritime security firm wins ISO certification - By Liz McMahon

"Private maritime security company Ambrey Risk is the first PMSC to gain ISO 9001:2008 status from Lloyd’s Register QualityAssurance. LRQA said in a statement that the scope of Ambrey’s certification was designed specifically for provision of maritime security for vessels in the commercial shipping and oil and gas industries. However, ISO 9001:2008 focuses on quality management systems. The International Organisation of Standards’ website states: "All requirements of ISO 9001:2008 are generic and are intended to be applicable to all organisations, regardless of type, size and product provided."" LLOYD’S LIST, 23 August 2012, p 2

Rena wreckage is expected to be cleared before Christmas - By Liz McMahon

"As the second stage of the Rena salvage begins, Braemar Howells hopes that the project will be completed before Christmas, according to managing director Simon Rickaby. When Svitzer’s stage of wreck reduction was complete, Braemar Howell was given guardianship of the wreck, becoming responsible for achieving a seamless transition to the next stage of salvage with Resolve Salvage & Fire. "The plan is that we will be finished by Christmas and the wreck will no longer be visible, although some of it will be left below the surface," Mr Rickaby said." LLOYD’S LIST, 20 August 2012, p 4

Doubts cast on convention ever coming into force.

"More than enough countries have ratified the Ballast Water Management Convention for it to enter force. It needs 30. As of last week, the IMO website identified 35 ratifications. However, it also needs those countries’ fleets to represent at least 35% of the gross tonnage of the world’s merchant shipping and that figure stood at 27.95% at the time of writing. Those signatories include many significant flag states – Liberia and Marshall Islands, for example, along with a number of European nations – but there other significant flag states whose signatures could rapidly bring it into force." FAIRPLAY, 31 August 2012, p 28

Seafarer rights convention to enter force in August 2013 - By David Osler

"A wide-ranging International Labour Organisation deal on seafarer working rights will enter force in 12 months’ time, thanks to ratification by Russia and the Philippines that means that the measure has now been signed by 30 member states and can come into force. The requirement that those states own at least 33% of the world fleet by gross tonnage has long been surpassed, with agreement from countries that own in excess of 60% of global shipping now in place. Confirmation of the development was welcomed today in a joint statement from the International Transport Workers’ Federation and the International Shipping Federation, which represent seafarers and shipping employers." LLOYD’S LIST, 21 August 2012, p 2

Universal’ MLC regulation has a few exceptions

"The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) came into force on 13 August and will positively affect crew working on nearly 60% of the world’s tonnage (reportedly over 100,000 ships) – well over the MLC’s original target of 33%. The MLC is hailed for levelling the international playing field, which will root out sub-standard shipping operations. However, states that have not ratified the MLC, such as the Cook Islands, the US and the UK, are not required to apply its standards." FAIRPLAY, 31 August 2012, p 24.

LNG shipping to benefit from Europe’s nuclear woes - By Hal Brown

"Europe could be on the verge of mirroring Japan — albeit on a less extreme level — by shutting off some of its nuclear reactors and requiring more liquefied natural gas to make up the energy shortfall, writes Hal Brown. A Belgian nuclear reactor has been taken offline due to defects and experts have not ruled out permanent closure of the unit, according to international media. The wider issue is that the same company that supplied the equipment to Belgium has supplied other European countries with equipment for their nuclear industries. Swedish, Spanish, Swiss and German reactors have all been supplied by the company, raising serious concerns over the reactors’ safety." LLOYD’S LIST, 31 August 2012, p 7

Fuente: boletín de agosto de 2012 de la "ORGANIZACIÓN MARÍTIMA INTERNACIONAL(OMI).

http://www.imo.org/KnowledgeCentre/CurrentAwarenessBulletin/Documents/CAB%20190%20August%202012.pdf