Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 13/02/2015
1. Massive P&I Merger Rumours
Top UK and Britannia club managers deny rumours they may be getting together to form a superclub bigger than Gard but whispers are refusing to go away. Reports of the UK and Britannia clubs being in preliminary discussions had the P&I market buzzing this week, although there were immediate denials from both sides. Speculation continues despite the rebuttal, with media sources assured a deal is being worked on.
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2. FPSO Explosion Kills Five
Five crew members were killed and four were still missing after an explosion on floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit Cidade de SĂŁo Mateus on 11 February, BW Offshore confirmed. It has been reported that the cause of the explosion and consequent fire was a gas leak, but BW Offshore has yet to confirm this. The cause of explosion is unclear yet, BW Offshore tends to the immediate aftermath of caring for crew and relatives.
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3. New Seafarers Passport Beckons
Technical upgrades to seafarers’ identity documents (SIDs) should improve shore leave opportunities, a meeting of employers, trades unions and government held at the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva agreed. The meeting discussed ways to improve take-up of ILO Convention 185 of 2003 on SIDs. The measure has been ratified by only 30 states, less than half the number that ratified its 1958 predecessor, C108.
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4. Tanker Confirmed As Attacked by Pirates
Kuwait Oil Tanker Co. said one of its vessels came under attack from pirates during a voyage to Djibouti. The company said the crew of the Burgan tanker confronted and drove off the pirates without injuries, Middle East Newsline reported. “They operated according to standard security procedures,” Kuwait Oil Tanker chief executive officer said. Burgan was loaded with 40,303 tons of aviation fuel and was moving through the Gulf of Aden.
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5. Armed Guard Warning in SE Asia
With piracy and armed robbery on the increase in Southeast Asia, P&I Club Skuld has warned shipowners to be wary of taking on the services of private maritime security companies (PMSCs). While PMSC arrangements may be common in surrounding areas, owners were warned in an advisory to be very cautious about such arrangements in this region. “The littoral states in this part of the world take matters of security very seriously…" they warn.
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6. Nigerian Shippers Urged to Avoid Guards
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has begun to stress its anti-guards message to shippers who own cargoes. NIMASA has appealed to Nigerian Shippers to desist from engaging or patronising foreign ships that have foreign guards on board as it is a threat to national security. The agency said that for security reasons, shippers who patronise ships with foreign security guards would be sanction or not allowed to discharge cargo.
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8. Preparing for Large Scale Rescue At Sea
The challenges faced by seafarers and ship operators when undertaking large-scale rescues at sea will be examined and discussed during a practical workshop scheduled to be held during the European Shipping Week, March 2 to 6.
Delegates attending ESW, including ship owners, ship managers and Flag State representatives, will benefit from the workshop which is being organised jointly by InterManager and the European Community Shipowners’ Association.
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9. Dropped Cargo Causes Aussie Furore
Dozens of workers at Fremantle Ports were almost flattened by a massive mobile crane dropped by unqualified workers in a loading accident on Tuesday. IITF inspector Keith McCorriston said seafarers aboard the cargo ship, Stevns Trader, were loading on to the boat despite not having the requisite tickets to do the work. The load weighing more than 100 tonnes came crashing down, injuring one worker and narrowly avoiding other workers around the site.
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10. Nav Failings Still the Lead Cause of Loss
According to The Swedish Club, half of the costs of hull and machinery claims handled by the club have arisen due to navigational claims such as collisions, contacts or groundings – a figure that has remained steady over recent years despite improved technology and the widespread implementation of safety management systems. It seems that claims still occur due to procedures not being properly followed or officers not communicating with each other properly.
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Daily news feed from Seacurus Ltd – providers of MLC crew insurance solutions www.seacurus.com
Best regards,
S Jones
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