MARITIME NEWSThursday, April 10, 2014

International maritime news for seafarers

Threat of pirate attack continues in Niger Delta: reportDryad Maritime, the UK-based maritime intelligence firm, said in a report released on Tuesday that the threat of maritime piracy remains very real particularly to those off the Niger Delta where six seafarers are still believed to be in captivity.

According to the report, 41 seafarers were taken hostage during the first quarter of 2014.

However, the report mentioned that compared to the same period last year, rates of maritime crime or piracy incidents have dropped 13% across the major hotspots of the world such as the Horn of Africa, Gulf of Guinea and Southeast Asia.

Ian Millen, Dryad Maritime's Director of Intelligence said: "This analysis gives cause for concern and serves as a reminder to all seafarers to remain vigilant and employ appropriate risk reduction measures in all high risk areas."

"Maritime criminals, from those off Nigeria to Somali pirates and those that operate in the archipelago of Southeast Asia remain very much in business and are capable of inflicting misery on seafarers. The first line of defence is to be aware of their presence and take measures to ensure that their criminal activities are countered," added Millen.

"Somali pirates have not been totally eradicated," cautioned Millen.

"Armed attacks against a ship south of Salalah in January and a Kenyan vessel close to the Somali coast in February have proved that broad containment of the threat does not mean it has been removed. On both occasions, the Somali attackers were only repelled by embarked armed security teams on the vessels concerned," he further said.

SAFETY NEWSNOAA announces new voluntary speed restriction

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced that a voluntary speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area- DMA) has been established south of Nantucket to protect an aggregation of eight right whales sighted in this area on April 2, 2014.

The speed restriction is in effect immediately through April 17, 2014.

Mariners are requested to route around these areas or transit through them at 10 knots or less.

They are also requested to avoid or transit at 10 knots or less inside areas where persistent aggregations of right whales have been sighted.

Following are the details of the speed restrictions: South of Nantucket DMA: 41 12N; 40 29N; 70 41W; 69 45W.

Active Seasonal Management Areas (SMAs) Mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) are in effect in the following areas: Cape Cod Bay SMA - in effect through May 15, 2014; Off Race Point SMA - in effect through April 30, 2014; Great South Channel SMA - in effect through July 31, 2014; Mid-Atlantic SMAs - in effect through April 30, 2014; Southeast SMAs - in effect through April 15, 2014. Source: NOAA

China's most advanced research vessel starts 1st expeditionChina's most sophisticated research vessel - named Kexue, or Science - left for the west Pacific on Tuesday from the eastern port city of Qingdao, beginning its first ocean expedition.

Its research will focus on the Pacific currents, regional climate and deep-sea ecology.

A total of 46 scientists and technical staff are on board.

They are expected to arrive at the targeted area on Thursday and will carry out marine geophysical surveys and biological sampling, said Li Chaolun, chief scientist of the expedition.

The ship is expected to return in the second half of May, Xinhua reported.

Weighing 4,711 tonnes, Kexue is 99.8 metres long and 17.8 metres wide.

With a cruising capacity of 15,000 nautical miles and a top speed of 15 knots, it can travel with a crew of 80 for 60 days.

UK MAIB issues report on Danio grounding

UK Marine Accident Investigation Brach (MAIB) has issued report No 8/2014 on the investigation of the grounding of Danio vessel.

According to the report, general cargo vessel Danio run aground in the Farne Islands nature reserve, off the east coast of England, at 03:30 on March 16, 2013.

The chief officer, who was the officer on watch, had fallen asleep. The very high workload placed on the two deck officers was typical of that found on many near coastal vessels trading in European waters.

Unfortunately, as is commonly found after such accidents, the available barriers against fatigue, such as the Bridge Navigational Watch Alarm System and the use of lookouts had been circumvented.

Danio sustained breaches to forward ballast and void compartments and extensive damage to the starboard propulsion and steering systems, but fortunately there was no pollution, UKMAIB reported.

A recommendation has been made to the owner of Danio designed to amend the company's internal auditing regime to ensure there is verification that its documented procedures match the actual practices on board, with particular reference to: the use of lookouts and watch alarms; compliance with hours of rest regulations and adherence to fundamental principles of safe navigation.

Singapore, Malaysia conduct joint chemical spill exerciseThe maritime authorities of Singapore and Malaysia on Wednesday conducted the first ever joint chemical spill exercise at sea along the Straits of Johor.

The exercise aims to enhance the preparedness of emergency response agencies from both countries in tackling potential chemical accidents that involve "seaborne transportation of hazardous chemicals in the Straits of Johor", the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a statement.

"Regional co-operation is important as incidents at sea resulting in chemical and oil spills are often transboundary in nature," said Andrew Tan, MPA's Chief Executive, adding that such exercise allows both sides to test regional and multi-agency response capabilities to any maritime accidents.

To address chemical spill at sea, Singapore's MPA has put in place the Chemical Contingency Plan (Marine), which covers the roles and responsibilities of responding agencies for cleanup operations, Xinhua reported.

In the event of an incident, MPA will monitor and co-ordinate cleanup operations at sea, while NEA will monitor the air and water quality and co-ordinate the cleanup efforts in affected shore areas, the agencies said.

Serious BWM Convention problems to be resolved by IMOThe global shipping industry - represented by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), BIMCO, Intercargo, Intertanko, World Shipping Council (WSC), CLIA and IPTA - has voiced concern about serious implementation problems associated with the IMO Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention.

At last week's IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), governments decided neither to discuss in full nor to resolve these pivotal issues on which industry had made a detailed written submission.

The industry submission addressed concerns about the lack of robustness of the current IMO type-approval process for theexpensive new treatment equipment, the criteria to be used for sampling ballast water during Port State Control inspections and the need for 'grandfathering' of existing type-approved equipment that has already been fitted. However, governments decided not to address these proposals until after the Convention has entered into force (which has not yet occurred due to a lack of member State ratifications).

The industry concerns were shared by a number of flag States (including some that ratified the Convention in the early years after its adoption) but rather than agreeing to a 'road map' that would have demonstrated IMO's commitment to addressing the concerns, the MEPC instead decided to look into conducting a study of the problems raised by the industry. This proposed study will probably take at least three years to complete and the decision implies no guarantee as to what actions might finally emerge.

The industry organisations note that once the Convention enters into force shipowners will collectively be required to invest billions of dollars in ballast water treatment equipment, ICS reported. The consequence of last week's decision by the MEPC is that shipowners, and society at large, will continue to lack confidence that the new treatment equipment will actually work, or that it will be found to comply with the standards that governments have set for killing unwanted marine micro-organisms.

The Republic of Congo ratifies MLC 2006The Republic of the Congo has deposited with the International Labour Office (ILO) the instrument of ratification of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 to become the 57th member State of the ILO and the ninth African state - after Liberia, Gabon, Benin, Togo, Morocco, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa - to have ratified the MLC 2006.

It has a commercial fleet of 5,846 gross tonnes. The MLC 2006 constitutes the fourth pillar of the international maritime legal regime together with the basic conventions of the IMO, which establish international standards on the training and certification of seafarers, on safety and security at sea and on the prevention of pollution from ships.

After depositing the instrument of ratification of the MLC 2006, Martin Parfait Aime COUSSOUD-MAVOUNGOU, Minister in charge of the Merchant Marine said: "The Republic of the Congo is a coastal state with 170km of coastline. Its autonomous port of Pointe-Noire serves the entire West and Central African sub-regions. The MLC 2006 is of major importance because it guarantees the right to decent work for all seafarers."

The MLC 2006 entered into force on August 20, 2013 for the first 30 member states that had registered their ratifications by August 20, 2012. The Convention will enter into force for the Republic of the Congo on April 7, 2015, that is, one year after its ratification.

INCIDENTSBarge runs aground near Anna Maria IslandA 180-foot barge ran aground on Anna Maria Island in Florida after breaking free from a tug boat early Tuesday, US Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector St Petersburg said.

US Coast Guard was notified at 2am on Tuesday that the tug operator was not able to control the two barges while he was pushing approximately one mile west off of Longboat Key due to bad weather.

Coast Guard Cutter Hawk, an 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat homeported in St Petersburg, Fla, and a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boatcrew from Station Cortez were then launched and command posts were set up on the Island and at Sector St Petersburg.

The operator was able to anchor one barge, but the line parted and the barge started to drift until it ran aground on the beach at Anna Maria Island. The operator also struggled to gain control of the other barge.

"It was imperative to safely remove the grounded barge before it severely damaged the beach or became a greater hazard to navigation," Capt Greg Case, commander of the sector, said.

"I'm extremely proud of all the responders that quickly converged on scene to ensure the barge was towed to safety," he added.

2 vessels collide near Mytilini, no injuries, pollution reported

There have been no reports of injuries or pollution after two vessels collided 18 miles NW of the northeastern Aegean Island of Mytilini late last week, amidst winds of up to 7 Beaufort.

There were 16 Syrians and 11 Russians on board the Cook islands-flagged and the Antiqua Barbuda-flagged vessels respectively.

Although the Cook islands-flagged suffered minor cracks in its front hull, it was declared safe to sail and has reportedly left for the Black Sea.

The other vessel, en route from Ukraine to France, also suffered damage and had not sailed when reports last came in.

WORLD TRAVELLAOSLaos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Thailand to the west, Cambodia to the south, Vietnam to the east and Burma and China to the northwest.

Getting there

Most travelers who travel to Laos arrive from Bangkok Airport. There are also direct flights to Laos from Singapore, Hoh Chi Minh City, Hanoi and many cities in China. A tourist can reach Laos by night trains from Bangkok to the small border town of Nhong Kai.

A tourist can enter Laos through Cambodia from an entry point in the south Dong Crorlor. The Major cities of Vietnam like Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, Saigon and other cities provide good bus connections into Laos. Visa on arrival facility is available for the tourists at all border crossings. A tourist can stay in Laos up to 3 months without leaving the country.

Getting around

Long-distance public transport in Laos is readily available. The local bus network in Vientiane city is very good. For shorter river trips, it's usually best to hire a river taxi. A tourist can travel from Luang Prabang to the Pak Ou Caves in a river taxi.

Top tourist attractionsVieng Xai - The Vieng Xai caves are an extensive network of caves that served as hidden city during the Vietnam War. The Lao government hopes to promote the caves as a tourism destination, similar to the Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam.

Pak Ou Caves - The Pak Ou Caves are located north of Luang Prabang on the Mekong river and can be reached by road or river boat. The caves are famous for their miniature Buddha sculptures.

Wat Phu - Wat Phu (or Vat Phou) is a ruined Khmer temple complex located at the base of mount Phu Kao, in the Champasak province. The Hindu temple structures date from the 11th to 13th centuries.

Pha That Luang - Located in Vientiane, Pha That Luang (Great Stupa in Lao) is one of the most significant monument in Laos. The stupa has several terraces with each level representing a different stage of Buddhist enlightenment. The lowest level represents the material world; the highest level represents the world of nothingness. Pha That Luang was built in the 16th century on the ruins of an earlier Khmer temple.

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