Seacurus Bulletin 06/06/2014
MARITIME LABOUR CONVENTION AND SEAFARER NEWS
Pay Award
Seafarers have won pay rises worth 6.5% over three years after talks between the ITF union and owners’ representatives at the International Bargaining Forum (IBF) in Bali this week. A salary increase of 1% has been agreed for 2015, with 2% following in 2016 and 3.5% in 2017. There will also be a 10% rebate for owners belonging to the joint negotiating group (JNG) from the ITF welfare fund, with an additional 2.5% based on an incentive system.
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Crew Held
Three of the 35 North Korean seafarers of the "Chong Chon Gang" vessel, detained in Panama 10 months ago, were put on trial Wednesday in Panama’s Third Criminal Court. Those arrested for this case and for whom the Panamanian Organised Crime Prosecutor Roberto Moreno asked a conviction, are the vessel’s captain Ri Yong, the first official Hong Yong Hyon and the Chong Chon Gang’s political secretary Kim Yong Gol. 32 seafarers were previously released.
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Training Inspectors
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has begun a week-long training of inspectors. The training is in line with the provisions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006). Since ratifying MLC, the government has continued to engage in a series of activities to ensure proper implementation of the provisions of the convention on her territorial waters.
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Near Disaster
The crew of a British nuclear submarine nearly boiled to death after its air conditioning system became clogged up – by crabs and barnacles, it emerged yesterday. "HMS Turbulent" was on a secret mission in the Indian Ocean when the cooling systems suddenly packed up. Crew members started collapsing at their controls as temperatures on board rocketed to 60C (140F). Eight became seriously ill and a further 18 were suffering from heat stroke.
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Gas Design
A design for an LNG fueled future ultra large containership design is to be developed Joint Development Project involving Piraeus, Greece, headquartered Capital Ship Management Corporation, classification society Lloyd’s Register and shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering. Capital manages a fleet that includes the vessels owned by NASDAQ-listed Capital Product Partners LP. The project was launched at an even at Posidonia.
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Key Concerns
Transparency, training and accurate record keeping are key to avoiding US regulatory enforcement according to Jeanne Grasso, partner at Blank Rome LLP. In 2013, 9,200 vessels called at US ports with 9,300 inspections carried out by port state control there resulting in 120 detentions, of which 18% were for marine pollution, Grasso told delegates gathered at the North American Marine Environment Protection Association’s seminar at Posidonia in Athens.
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PIRACY AND MARITIME SECURITY NEWS
G7 Commitment
The Leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission, met in Brussels on 4 and 5 June 2014 as the The Brussels G-7 Summit. Amongst their declarations was a reaffirmation of the importance of maintaining a maritime order, international cooperation to combat piracy and other maritime crimes, and the freedom of navigation.
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Security Advisory
The latest report of a tanker hijack in Southeast Asia has prompted Dryad Maritime to issue an advisory to its shipping clients, on the basis that the crime follows a pattern, which has seen up to six such attacks, over the last nine months. Dryad’s Senior Analyst, Stephen McKenzie, expressed concern over the under reporting of such crimes, detailing the similarities between a number of other incidents and stressed an organised criminal element.
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Stability Needed
Somalia’s upstream oil and gas industry will benefit from greater investor confidence and undergo subsequent growth in the years to come, if the Somalian government provides the political stability, security, and infrastructure required for large-scale upstream development, according to an analyst with research and consulting firm GlobalData. After emerging from two decades of civil war the nation has an eye on the promise of petro-revenues.
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Ambassador Role
Turning a new page in their troubled ties, President Barack Obama is set to name the first American ambassador to Somalia since the civil war erupted over 20 years ago, a US diplomat said Tuesday. "As a reflection both of our deepening relationship with the country and of our faith that better times are ahead, the president will propose the first US ambassador to Somalia in more than two decades," Undersecretary Wendy Sherman told a US think tank.
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Chinese Visit
A Chinese Navy task group has stopped in Cameroon for the first time, as part of a continental goodwill tour that is taking in eight countries, including South Africa. The 16th naval escort squad arrived in Douala, Cameroon, on May 30 for a four day goodwill visit, after spending several days in Nigeria where the two navies conducted anti-piracy drills. The guided missile frigates Yancheng and Luoyang will be open to the public during the visit to Cameroon.
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ENDS
Daily news feed provide by Seacurus Ltd – providers of MLC crew insurance solutions www.seacurus.com
Best regards,
S Jones
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