Seacurus Top Ten Daily News Stories 29/08/2014
1. Ebola Virus Reaches Port Harcourt
A doctor in Nigeria’s oil hub of Port Harcourt has died from Ebola after treating a contact of a Liberian-American man who was the first recorded case of the virus in Africa’s most populous country, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.
The death in Port Harcourt brings the number of Ebola fatalities in Nigeria to 6, all of whom were direct or indirect contacts of Sawyer. Port Harcourt lies at the heart of Nigeria’s two million barrels per day oil industry.
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2. Large Container Ship Strikes Dock
A large container ship, the “CMA CGM Attila”, struck the dock at Vancouver’s Centerm container port early this morning. According to the Canadian Press, the Transportation Safety Board has dispatched two officers to investigate the incident, noting that at this point, “the extent of any damage is unknown.” The 321 metre-long vessel was constructed in 2011 and flies a Maltese flag out of the port of Valletta.
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3. Checking Up on Seafarer Healthcare
Professor Neil Greenberg of March on Stress at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, recently visited the Philippines to assess the competencies of mental healthcare providers who assist MPHRP in supporting seafarers and families after piracy. According to a statement, MPHRP now better understands the stress experienced by its own personnel in caring for seafarers and families, and will take steps to keep them healthy.
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4. Watching Ships From On High
Since 2010, the International Space Station has been equipped with a space-based Vessel ID System receiver that allows it to track ships at sea by way of a ship’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal. Since then, the system has been receiving as many as 400,000 ship position reports from more than 22,000 different ships every single day. In 2012, the system helped rescue a crewmember of a fishing vessel after it overturned in the North Atlantic.
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5. Understanding New Arctic Risks
The world’s need for energy is driving interest in further industrial activity in the Arctic, yet the region’s conditions are highly variable depending on the type of activity, location and time of year. The consequences of an accident in the Arctic would likely be more severe in some areas than others. In order to aid understanding and to help shipping manage these new risks DNV GL has created a new map of the area to assist in planning Arctic activities.
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6. ASEAN Looks to Piracy Problems
At the latest gathering of ASEAN nations there were deep discussions on maritime co-operation in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief as well as the management and protection of maritime ecosystem and biodiversity and aquatic resources were major focuses in the forum as alarming tensions on the sea happened recently. There is a new focus on security given the violent and uncertain nature of maritime relations in the area.
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7. Firing in Self Defence
A U.S. Coast Guard vessel fired in self-defence on an Iranian boat in the Persian Gulf, the Navy this week, an encounter that could exacerbate tensions between the two countries. A spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said personnel on a small boat dispatched from the U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat "Monomoy" fired a single shot when it saw crew on a nearby Iranian dhow training one of its two .50-calibre machine guns on them.
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8. Major Caribbean Drug Bust
The crew of the US Coast Guard Cutter Tampa successfully interdicted more than 970 kilograms of cocaine from a 226-foot Panamanian-flagged freighter in international waters in the Caribbean Sea recently. The Tampa was on patrol in support of migrant and drug interdiction operations in the Windward Passage when they came across the suspect vessel in international waters. A search revealed a hidden compartment containing 973 kilograms of cocaine.
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9. Looking to MLC Anniversary
In a special presentation, maritime industry expert Dr. John A.C. Cartner has been discussing the significance of the first anniversary of the ‘entry into force’ of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 as port states continue to ratify it. Dr. Cartner wrote a chapter in the recently released book, ‘Maritime Labour Convention 2006: International Labour Law Redefined’, he discusses how MLC implementation is manifesting itself worldwide and what it means for the industry.
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10. Philippine MLC Compliance Making Progress
The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment has issued certificates of compliance to 40 domestic vessels sailing under the Philippine flag and owned by 15 Philippine domestic shipping companies. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the certificates under the new Labor Laws Compliance System (LLCS) is a first in Philippine history. There are reported to be 8,451 domestic vessels under Philippine registry as of 2012, with 783 of 500 GRT and above.
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Daily news feed from Seacurus Ltd – providers of MLC crew insurance solutions www.seacurus.com
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S Jones
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