Archive for December, 2011
Pirates Attack Nordic American Tanker
A 150,000 dwt suezmax tanker owned by Nordic American Tanker Shipping was attacked by pirates, but has come out of the encounter safely.
The attack happened on Monday, but news of the incident emerged only today (Fri), when the US Navy disclosed that it had intercepted nine Somali pirates after they had fired on the Marshall Islands-registered Nordic Apollo , which was south of Yemen, close to the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor.
The vessel reported being fired on at 0840 on Monday. About two hours later, the destroyer USS Pinckney was authorised by its Combined Task Force unit commander to investigate. When the destroyer arrived on the scene, Nordic Apollo confirmed the attack but said it could no longer see the skiff, according to a US Navy statement.
The skiff, with nine on board, was sighted later by an MH 60-R helicopter from Pinckney . The skiff crew was seen throwing munitions overboard, which the navy identified as five AK-47 assault rifles, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and three rounds. After the Pinckney team boarded the skiff, it found a grappling hook, 36 barrels of fuel and a spare outboard motor. The team threw the motor overboard and left the skiff with enough fuel to return to shore.
Nordic Apollo was fired on in the IRTC at around this time last year in another unsuccessful attack.
Italian Tanker Released
Italian oil tanker Savina Caylyn, with five Italians and 17 Indians on board, has been freed by Somali pirates after nearly 11 months in captivity, the Italian government said today.
Prime Minister Mario Monti expressed his “great satisfaction” for the release of Savina Caylyn and the crew. No details of how the vessel was released were given.
The 105,000 dwt tanker, owned by Naples-based shipping company Fratelli D’Amato, was seized on February 8 near the Yemeni island of Socotra.
The tanker was on its way from Sudan to Malaysia carrying a load of crude oil for the Arcadia commodities trading company when five pirates on a skiff opened fire with rocket launchers and submachine guns.
The ship tried to avoid captivity by increasing speed when suddenly it changed gear and started firing powerful water jets on the pirate boat.
Rena Master Charged With Altering Records
Maritime New Zealand has filed additional charges against the master and second officer of Rena , the Costamare-owned containership that grounded on Astrolabe reef off Tauranga on New Zealand’s North Island on October 5.
The two men are charged with a wilful “attempt to pervert the course of justice” by altering the ship’s documents after the grounding. The charge has been filed under S117(e) and 66 of New Zealand’s Crimes Act.
The master faces four charges under the act, while the second officer faces three. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.
Previous charges against the two, whose names have been withheld by the courts, related to the nation’s Resource Management Act of 1991, holding the officers responsible for the discharge of harmful substances from the ship.
Fuel from Rena washed up on beaches near Tauranga for weeks after the ship ran aground.
The officers have also been charged under the Maritime Transport Act of 1994 for reckless operation of the vessel.
Each charge carries substantial fines and jail time.
The two men appeared in court on Wednesday and were remanded on bail. They will not enter a plea until February 29, 2012.
Dispatches 84
Dear Members, Friends and Colleagues
We at InterManager would like to wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Year ahead of us is going to be a challenging one, but isn’t the “challenge” the name of our Ship Management game?
Therefore please enjoy and I shall “see” you all in 2012
Please visit our website and submit your petition to your local government to END THE PIRACY www.intermanager.org
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Intermanager activities:
————–
Last week:
12 December – Geneva –ICSW International Seafarers Welfare Awards 12 December – Kuba Szymanski representing
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This Week:
Christmas
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Looking forward:
19th – 20th January – London- Passenger Ship Safety Conference, Alastair Evitt Chairing
31st January Warsash Maritime Academy. The 15th meeting of the Human Element Advisory Group (HEAG15) on Tuesday
- Kuba Szymanski attending
07th – 08th Feb Copenhagen RoRo Shipping Conference Alastair Evitt attending and Kuba Szymanski Charing
14th & 15th February Singapore,
Please accept this free-of-charge invitation to attend the Maritime Insights conference,.
The GVF (www.gvf.org) will chair the Broadband Maritime stream and Intermanager – the Shipping KPI Project session.
Please visit http://www.uk-emp.co.uk/6th.BMSEA.SG.2012/index.htm
, or contact myself or Paul Stahl (paul.stahl@uk-emp.co.uk) to register your delegates.
19th – 20th Mar CMA – Alastair Evitt, Roberto Giorgi, George Hoyt attending
Discounts for members:
————-
19 – 20 January 2012, London – Riviera – Passenger Ship Safety Conference Millennium Gloucester Hotel,
A two day event focussed on all aspects of operational safety, security and emergency response in the passenger shipping industry and offering an opportunity to discuss current and future issues, gather intelligence and network with key industry stakeholders
www.rivieramm.com/events
Quote members code IM-003 to claim your 10% Discount
20th-21st February – Noise and Vibration- Bonhill House, London InterManager members entitled to a discount of 20% off the lowest tier of brochure fees as follows:
Register by 20th January: £1399-20% (£279.80) = £1119.20 + Tax
Register after 20th January: £1499–20% (£299.80) = £1199.20 + Tax
Contact: Roxanna Kashfi will be pleased to assist with bookings. Please quote VIP Code TT22. Email: Roxanna.Kashfi@informa.com or by telephone +44 (0) 207 017 77161.
http://www.informaglobalevents.com/FKT2324TT
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29th February – 1st March Hamburg – Full spectrum maritime security Forum
Combating organised and opportunistic crime in shipping, ports, offshore infrastructure and local supply chain
www.maritime-crime.com
Are you confident that your security strategy is providing the maximum level of protection for your assets?
For more information:
Call: +44 20 3141 8700
Email: info@hansonwade.com
—————————-
Capt. Kuba Szymanski
Secretary General
InterManager
+44 7624 498 266
web: www.intermanager.org
InterManager Expresses Its Support To The Philippines At This Difficult Time
InterManager has expressed its condolences to the Philippine people who are suffering the after effects of the devastating flooding caused by Tropical Storm ‘Washi’.
More than 650 people were killed and another 800 people are still missing after coastal communities were devastated early on Saturday (December 17) by flash floods triggered by the tropical storm.
News reports say that rivers burst their banks and many were trapped in their homes while in other areas entire villages are reported to have been swept away.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has reported that about 35,000 people are sheltering in evacuation centres.
InterManager President Alastair Evitt, who was in the Philippines only last month, said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Philippino people at this difficult time.”
A third of all the world’s seafarers are from the Philippines, which is an important international maritime centre.
Piracy And Robbery Fall In Asia
Pirates and armed robbers in Asia were responsible for 10 incidents in November, down from 17 in November 2010.
The trend was dubbed by the Singapore-based Regional Co-operation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia as “an improvement in the situation of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia”.
ReCAAP’s monthly report said the improvement occurred mainly in the Arabian Sea and at ports and anchorages in Indonesia.
In November last year, there were three incidents and five attempted incidents in the Arabian Sea, as opposed to none in November 2011. Likewise, last year there were six incidents reported in Indonesia, while this year there were two.
Piracy and armed robbery may have been down in the region last month, but it is far from eradicated.
On December 13, according to ReCAAP, armed thugs boarded RM Jaya , a tug registered in Kiribati with a barge in tow, from a 7 m craft with a green canopy.
Wielding knives, the robbers ransacked the wheelhouse and cabin after restricting the crew to the mess. The robbers made off with the crew’s belongings and cash.
Dispatches 83
Very sorry for re-sending this dispatches, however due to unknown IT issue original message was sent without the body of the message.
Please visit our website and submit your petition to your local government to END THE PIRACY
www.intermanager.org
———————————
We are delighted to report and Congratulate Wilhelmsen Ship Management for receiving Ship Manager of the year award in Geneva from ICSW
Winners in other categories:
Best Port of the year – Port of Antwerp
Seafarers Centre of the year: Duckdalben International Seaman’s Club – Hamburg
Welfare Personalities of the year: Reverend Peter Ellis and Paddy Percival
Judge’s Special Award for outstanding Services to Seafarers Welfare: Dr Suresh Indani
Intermanager activities:
————–
Last week:
07 December – London – SOS meeting – Alastair Evitt representing
———————–
This Week:
12 December – Geneva –ICSW International Seafarers Welfare Awards 12 December – Kuba Szymanski representing
————–
Looking forward:
19th – 20th January – London- Passenger Ship Safety Conference, Alastair Evitt Chairing
31st January Warsash Maritime Academy. The 15th meeting of the Human Element Advisory Group (HEAG15) on Tuesday
- Kuba Szymanski attending
07th – 08th Feb Copenhagen RoRo Shipping Conference Alastair Evitt attending and Kuba Szymanski Charing
14th & 15th February Singapore,
Please accept this free-of-charge invitation to attend the Maritime Insights conference,.
The GVF (www.gvf.org) will chair the Broadband Maritime stream and Intermanager – the Shipping KPI Project session.
Please visit http://www.uk-emp.co.uk/6th.BMSEA.SG.2012/index.htm
, or contact myself or Paul Stahl (paul.stahl@uk-emp.co.uk) to register your delegates.
19th – 20th Mar CMA – Alastair Evitt, Roberto Giorgi, George Hoyt attending
Discounts for members:
————-
19 – 20 January 2012, London – Riviera – Passenger Ship Safety Conference Millennium Gloucester Hotel,
A two day event focussed on all aspects of operational safety, security and emergency response in the passenger shipping industry and offering an opportunity to discuss current and future issues, gather intelligence and network with key industry stakeholders
www.rivieramm.com/events
Quote members code IM-003 to claim your 10% Discount
20th-21st February – Noise and Vibration- Bonhill House, London InterManager members entitled to a discount of 20% off the lowest tier of brochure fees as follows:
Register by 20th January: £1399-20% (£279.80) = £1119.20 + Tax
Register after 20th January: £1499–20% (£299.80) = £1199.20 + Tax
Contact: Roxanna Kashfi will be pleased to assist with bookings. Please quote VIP Code TT22. Email: Roxanna.Kashfi@informa.com or by telephone +44 (0) 207 017 77161.
http://www.informaglobalevents.com/FKT2324TT
———————————
29th February – 1st March Hamburg – Full spectrum maritime security Forum
Combating organised and opportunistic crime in shipping, ports, offshore infrastructure and local supply chain
www.maritime-crime.com
Are you confident that your security strategy is providing the maximum level of protection for your assets?
For more information:
Call: +44 20 3141 8700
Email: info@hansonwade.com
—————————-
Capt. Kuba Szymanski
Secretary General
InterManager
+44 7624 498 266
web: www.intermanager.org
InterManager Member Voted ICSW Shipping Company Of The Year
InterManager Member company Wilhelmsen Ship Management has been named Shipping Company of the Year in the ICSW International Seafarers’ Welfare Awards.
Tushar Mohile, Head of Marine Personnel for Norwegian-based Wilhelmsen Ship Management received the award from InterManager Secretary General Kuba Szymanski at a ceremony in Geneva on December 12th, the opening night of the International Labour Organisation’s Maritime Labour Convention tripartite meeting.
Mr Mohile said: “We in Wilhemsen Ship Management accept the ICSW Seafarers Welfare Award with pride and humility, and on behalf of our more than 9,700 seafarers who represent us on more than 400 vessels. For us the award is an acknowledgement of our work with governance, training and processes towards our seafaring community. As a third party manager our most valuable asset is the people that we have in our manning pool.”
David Cockcroft, Secretary of the ITF Seafarers’ Trust which also sponsored the awards, said: “Holding this ceremony in the ILO, with implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention very close, is a reminder of the importance of the work all of us are engaged in to provide a safer, healthier and better environment for seafarers.”
Roger Harris, ICSW Executive Director, commented: “I would like to thank all of the seafarers from around the world who continue to work in challenging environments to keep the global economy moving.”
New BIMCO guidelines on Ship and Voyage Risk Assessment
BIMCO has authored a set of guidelines which aim to assist shipowners with the Ship and Voyage Specific Risk Assessment (SVSRA) which is recommended in Section 3 of the Best Management Practices (BMP4). BMP4 briefly mentions that such a ship and voyage specific risk assessment entails combining statutory requirements with additional anti-piracy measures, but does little to explain what this means.
The guidelines explain how the SVSRA should take into consideration the threat (who are the pirates, what do they want to achieve, how do they attack, how do they board, which weapons do they use etc.), the background factors shaping the situation (visibility, sea-state, traffic patterns e.g. other commercial ships, fishermen and human traffickers etc.), possibilities for co-operation with e.g. military (convoys, group transits, registering with authorities etc.), the ship’s characteristics/inherent capabilities to withstand the threat (freeboard, speed, general arrangement etc.) and the ship’s procedures (drills, watch rosters, chain of command, decision making processes etc.) as well as statutory requirements and requirements driven by e.g. company and/or insusrance policies.
The guidelines are just that – guidelines – and they are particularly targeted at shipowners’ staff working ashore or at sea with a special interest in anti-piracy, e.g. Company Security Officers, Ship Security Officers and Masters. Although particularly interesting for those with limited experience in carrying out risk assessments, the guidelines will likely be a worthwhile read for the more experienced staff too.
The SVSRA Guidelines are available to members of BIMCO in the piracy section of the BIMCO website.
European Council To Offer Anti-Piracy Assistance
The Council of the European Union has agreed in principle a scheme to help countries in the Horn of Africa and western Indian Ocean to tackle piracy in the region at a date to be decided later, writes David Osler.
According to a statement released yesterday, a mission will be mounted as part of the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy framework to help states better control their territorial waters.
This will include the strengthening maritime capacities throughout the area and the provision of training for a coastal police force and training and protection of judges in Somalia, which is the epicentre of the piracy epidemic.
In addition to expert advice on legal, policy and operational matters concerning maritime security, coastguards will be trained to enhance their ability to enforce law at sea, and necessary equipment will be procured.
Support will be offered to Djibouti, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, the Seychelles, Mauritius and Yemen as well as to Somalia, in particular to the regions of Puntland, Somaliland and Galmudug. Training is to take place both in a regional centre in Djibouti, as well as in the countries concerned.
However, the actual start of operations is subject to a separate council decision.
