Top Ten Maritime News Stories 06/05/2016

Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 06/05/2016

1. IMB Vigilance Warning

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has warned foreign vessels to remain vigilant when sailing in the Horn of Africa, despite a lull in piracy incidents in the region.  The IMB stated that there had been no piracy incidents reported off the Somali coast between January and March 2016 due to the deployment of warships to prevent such attacks.  However, it warned Somali pirates still had the capacity to carry out attacks in the region and that one successful hijacking could see a resurgence of piracy in the Horn of Africa. According to the IMB, Somali pirates were still holding some 29 crewmembers for ransom as of 31 March.
http://goo.gl/eXcqMy

 

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2. Key Aims for IMO

The IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee will meet next week for MSC 96, and a key focus area for the group will be enhancements to passenger ship safety rules. After recent fire incidents on the ro-ro deck on ro-ro passenger ships, industry body Interferry has submitted best practice guidance on ferry safety for ro-ro passenger ships for consideration at MSC 96. The document calls for seven key changes to industry practice which encompass training and drills and continuous monitoring of decks, connected reefer units and electric vehicles – via technical equipment such as CCTV, or by crew patrols or.

http://goo.gl/cpiAzD

 

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3. Agents Lead to Claims

International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) says it continues to deal on a regular basis with claims resulting from errors by agents involving transhipment cargoes. In one case, an agent in Argentina failed to declare a cargo as transhipment cargo within 15 days of the vessel’s arrival at Buenos Aires. This was the result of a simple oversight in the agent’s office. The obligation to make the declaration was strictly enforced and an automatic penalty of 1% of the value of the goods was immediately imposed, amounting to $122,204. The agent who had failed to make the necessary declaration had to pay the sum demanded by the authorities.
http://goo.gl/v7ROm3

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4. On a Sailing Mission

The Mission to Seafarers has been chosen as the nominated charity of this year’s Posidonia Cup sailing regatta; and have been given the use of a yacht to compete in next month’s race in Faliron Bay off the coast of Athens. Now the Anglican mission agency is looking for a crew to help them compete in the competition. It is the first time that the agency has competed in any kind of yacht race but they have already appointed a skipper and two additional crew members. Now they are looking to recruit another five or six more crew members and they are asking for donations of £500 for the privilege of taking part.

http://goo.gl/OTKr3k

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5. Take the Weather With You

Dryad Maritime release WxConnect, a new scalable, managed weather forecasting service for ships and fleets. The launch of the service comes as latest figures from the International Union of Marine Insurance show that losses due to weather are on the increase.* The service was designed and developed by Dryad’s in-house teams and World Meteorological Organisation accredited meteorologists with significant seagoing experience. WxConnect is offered alongside Dryad’s award-winning Vessel Safety Management service to extend tangible safety and operational benefits, whilst minimising burdens for Masters and shore-based teams.

http://goo.gl/aYSLr2

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6. Sad loss for Box Firm

Hermann Yu, President of container carrier Yang Ming Marine Transport, has died at the age of just 59. Yu joined Yang Ming in 1984 holding several senior positions before being made President in 2013. Holding a Masters degree in maritime law Yu fell ill with cancer in 2013 since when he had been unwell and his demise was described as a loss to the whole industry by his colleagues.

http://goo.gl/StxpJa

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7. Shell Seafarer Awards

Shell Shipping and Maritime, Americas recently held its third annual Goal Zero Hero Awards dinner in Houston, recognizing the crewmembers of 21 contracted/chartered vessels, who had the courage to intervene and clearly demonstrate their commitment to zero incidents and safe operations in service to Shell.  The Goal Zero Hero award program is a regional initiative modeled after Shell Shipping and Maritime’s global “Partners in Maritime Safety” initiative, the recipient of the 2015 CEO HSSE & SP Award, which engages and encourages senior leaders of our maritime partners to join Shell on a shared journey towards a “Zero Incident Industry.” http://goo.gl/X81TxO

 

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8. Latest Slump Victim

As the prolonged slump in energy prices continues to drag on a number of oil and gas and maritime players, word has it that Harkand Group has succumbed. The company was a high-flyer building an enviable fleet of advanced tonnage. Established in 2012 and headquartered in London with operations bases in Aberdeen, Houston, Mexico, and Ghana, global subsea IRM group Harkand has been expanding its business operations rapidly throughout North America, Africa, the Asia Pacific and Europe, having won major contracts for its services and increasing its infrastructure supporting the oil, gas and renewable energy industries.
http://goo.gl/CU8wGe

 

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9. Storm Batters Ships

Two ships broke away from their berths as a thunderstorm roared through Fremantle, causing one to smash into a rail bridge, because the massive vessels had not been prepared for strong winds, an investigation found. The 190 metre-long car carrier "Grand Pioneer" was berthed alongside the 140 metre-long cargo ship "AAL Fremantle" when the storm swept through. Both broke away from the wharf when a bollard holding stern lines was ripped out. An Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation has found high winds caused the Grand Pioneer to move and its vehicle ramp likely hit the bollard, which was made of low quality cast iron.

https://goo.gl/QwzpMd

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10. MPs Ponder Boaty Mc Boatface

MPs are to quiz the head of the Natural Environment Research Council on one the most contentious issues the organisation has ever faced: whether to call its £200m state-of-the-art research vessel RRS Boaty McBoatface. More used to pondering the state of the polar ice caps and humanity’s grave impact on the planet, Professor Duncan Wingham, a prominent climate scientist and chief executive of NERC, will spend Tuesday before the Commons science and technology committee fielding questions about NERC’s unexpectedly popular Name Our Ship competition. With 124,000 public votes, RRS Boaty McBoatface was the clear winner. https://goo.gl/dVrQOL

 

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Daily news feed from Seacurus Ltd – providers of MLC crew insurance solutions  www.seacurus.com