Seacurus Daily Top Ten Maritime News Stories 18/11/2014

Seacurus Daily Top Ten Maritime News Stories 18/11/2014

 

1. Port State Announces MLC Detentions

The Paris MoU reports 113 ship detentions related to MLC2006 deficiencies in the first twelve months since the convention entered into force. The 113 detentions represents 17.4% of the total number of ship detentions -649- in Paris MoU ports during this same period. The MLC 2006 entered into force on August 20, 2013. According to the new figures released by the Paris MoU, during MLC 2006’s first year of enforcement, Paris MoU Authorities flagged 3,447 MLC-related deficiencies, representing 7.4% of the total 46,798 recorded during the same period. Of the 3,447 recorded, 160 of the deficiencies were marked as cause for detention.

http://goo.gl/rm3Pvz

 

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2. Massive Leap in Maritime Traffic

Maritime traffic on the world’s oceans has increased four-fold over the past 20 years, likely causing more water, air and noise pollution on the open seas, according to a new study quantifying global ship traffic.  The research used satellite data to estimate the number of vessels on the ocean every year between 1992 and 2012. The number of ships traversing the oceans grew by 60 percent between 1992 and 2002. Shipping traffic grew even faster during the second decade of the study, peaking at rate of increase of 10 percent per year in 2011.

http://goo.gl/HYTAC8

 

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3. IMB Warns of Tanker and Hostage Fears

The IMB has expressed concerns that international attention may turn away from the 40 hostages still being held for ransom by suspected Somalia pirates. This warning comes from Pottengal Mukundan, director of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). “Some of those crew members have been held captive there for more than four years with fading hopes of immediate release,” Mukundan said, adding seafarers should not under-estimate the continuing threat of Somali piracy. The IMB also notes that small tanker hijacks are escalating in South-East Asia and deemed that the trend was “worrying”.

http://goo.gl/AgmqPF

 

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4. Costa Price Tag Rises for Concordia

Officials for Italy’s Tuscany region and the island of Giglio said on Monday they would seek a total of 220 million euros ($274 million) in damages from Costa Cruises, a unit of Carnival Corp, for the 2012 Concordia cruise liner disaster. “We will ask Costa for 30 million euros in damages to Tuscany’s image,” the region’s president, Enrico Rossi, told a court in the Tuscan city of Grosseto, according to a statement. Rossi said the region had registered a decline in tourism, and that Giglio had lost 45,000 visitors due to the disaster. A consultant to Giglio’s local government, Carlo Scarpa, asked the same court for 190 million euros in damages.

http://goo.gl/5q3usm

 

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5. Solutions For Shipping Actually Bring Pain

With regulatory deadlines looming, it is becoming more evident there is uncertainty among shipowners and manufacturers about the "solutions" being developed to meet the demands of these regulations being driven by environmental concerns.  However, what is clear is there is the shipowner has no way round the regulations, the process is going to cost a great deal of money, sound training of seagoing and ashore staff is vital, as is planning prior to installation of equipment on board. What is less certain is the real future of LNG as fuel and how efficient and cost effective new innovative equipment is.

http://goo.gl/ICAjzr

 

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6. Fuel Demand Leaps in India

Demand for shipping fuel at major Indian ports has climbed in the past week by up to 25 percent as the cost of refuelling at Singapore, Asia’s bunkering hub, soared following the collapse of the world’s leading supplier, traders said. The announcement of OW Bunker’s bankruptcy drove up shipping fuel prices in Singapore – one of the cheapest ports in Asia in which to refuel – to their highest in more than two years as oil supplies tightened due to credit worries. Marine fuel prices in Mumbai, India’s largest bunkering port, were still around $15 a tonne higher than in Singapore on a delivered basis.

http://goo.gl/344Urx

 

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7. Denmark Ready to Tackle Piracy

Denmark’s new anti-piracy strategy for 2015-2018 is nearing completion and will likely be ready for presentation in January. After the successful efforts off Somalia, the government is gearing up to fight piracy off the coast of West Africa – but this represents a far more complicated task. Denmark will start fighting piracy off the coast of West Africa, according to the government’s new anti-piracy strategy for 2015-2018, which has been made available to ShippingWatch. After participating in the international anti-piracy efforts off Somalia for four years – efforts headed by the EU and NATO – it is now time to act in the Gulf of Guinea.

http://goo.gl/TvroCS

 

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8. OW Bunker Fall Out Continues

At least 100 international oil and bunker companies are gearing up to file financial claims against bankrupt OW Bunker. This is evident from a comprehensive list of outstanding payments among the collapsed Danish bunker company’s customers. The OW Bunker Board of Directors filed for bankruptcy on November 7th after the group had likely lost USD 275 million on speculative oil contracts and losses stemming from collaborative partners of OW Bunker’s Singapore subsidiary, Dynamic Oil Trading. The number of claims among the 100 biggest corporate creditors is likely to exceed USD$300 million.

http://goo.gl/G3JdhY

 

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9. Stack Collapse Drops Boxes into Water

The unexplained collapse of a stack of containers on the MV NYK Aquarius during an offloading mishap at SSA Facility Berth 57 in the Oakland estuary, saw the coastguard act fast to establish a safety zone in the port and waters. The U.S. Coast Guard reported San Francisco watchstanders received a report of three drifting containers in the Oakland estuary. Coast Guard Station San Francisco launched two response boatcrews to maintain a 500-yard safety zone with Alameda County Fire Department and Oakland Fire Department crews. Tug boat Patricia Ann arrived on scene and pushed all three containers alongside the dock.

http://goo.gl/a5UJSY

 

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10. New Interactive Piracy Documentary Launched

An interactive documentary on Somali piracy has been released online. Produced by Submarine Channel, Last Hijack Interactive delivers an immersive experience of a vessel hijacking in Somalia. The documentary covers the incident from both Western and the Somali perspectives via a pirate, a captain, the captain’s wife, a lawyer, a journalist, and a security expert. "Last Hijack Interactive allows you to uncover the complex realities behind piracy in Somalia," said the company in a statement. "Combining live-action video and animation, the interactive experience gives the user the opportunity to navigate the real stories of these people". http://goo.gl/hIk9MR

 

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