Top Ten Maritime News Stories 03/12/2015

Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 03/12/2015

 

1. IMO Wants Admin Cut

The IMO has just closed its Assembly meeting in London after adopting a new resolution on reducing administrative burdens. The Assembly adopted a resolution on better regulation which sets the overall frame for how to formulate regulation so as to reduce any administrative difficulties. It establishes that all member states must carefully consider the consequences of new regulations to seafarers, administrations and shipowners before setting pen to paper.  The resolution stresses a number of principles for better regulation, such as necessity, consistency, proportionality, resilience and clarity. Reduced administrative burden will free up time for seafarers and vessel managers. http://goo.gl/O7ryql

———————————————————————————

 

2. HRA Reduction Pros and Cons

The HRA reduction off India is a move which is expected to speed up trade between India and the Gulf as ships take a more direct route, however, security experts have warned it could make them vulnerable to attack by “opportunistic” Somali pirates. It could also either push up insurance costs for ships passing through the HRA or prompt some to continue sailing close to India to avoid any higher insurance costs. Security company MAST says Somali pirates have previously demonstrated that they can operate in the centre and northern reaches of the Indian Ocean, and vessels that are high risk with a low freeboard and slow speed should continue to take armed security.

http://goo.gl/5HtwVB

———————————————————————————

 

3. ICS Extends Support for Green Deal

The ICS has extended its support to the global deal on climate change taking place at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) in Le Bourget, Paris.  Representing the global shipping industry, ICS has accepted its responsibility to sustain the CO2 reduction measures undertaken by the global community. The conference has also recommended the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) enforce further regulations to curb CO2 emissions across the global merchant fleet. All ships built after 2025 will be at least 30% more efficient than ships operating today, shipping should be able to reduce its CO2 per tonne-kilometre by 50% before 2050.

http://goo.gl/NGTWDZ

———————————————————————————

 

4. Seafarers At Risk of Disease

A new study found seafarers who work on ships, boats and barges have the highest risk of contracting Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a lung condition that can make it difficult to breathe. They were followed by coal miners, industrial cleaning workers, roofers, tilers and slaters, and people working in factories, such as packers, bottlers, canners or fillers. The research based on information from more than 228,000 people. The researchers, from Imperial College London, suggested that exposure to particulates in diesel motor exhausts and other fuels on board vessels may account for the high risk among seafarers.

http://goo.gl/PGFJpW

———————————————————————————

 

5. Looking Back on Year of Change

As 2015 comes to an end, it is a good time to see how the impact of the latest sulphur emission control regulations impact. To achieve this Lloyd’s List Intelligence’s Maritime-Insight team looked at each and every ship track over the first nine months of 2014 and the first nine months of 2015 to see how often and for how long vessels went into either the North American emission control area, or the North European Emission control areas. The actual number of vessels in the ECAs has hardly changed. This I have been told is mainly because vessels are still needed to carry goods into ports in ECAs, and any changes are likely to be due to the impact of global trade.

http://goo.gl/m5ziwo

———————————————————————————

 

6. New Deliveries and Eco Engines

VesselsValue has shown that 72% of container ships delivered in 2016 will have environmentally-friendly engines. The biggest recipients of these container ships will be the Bank of Communications with 12, followed by United Arab Shipping Company with eight, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Zodiac Maritime and SinOceanic Shipping. By nationality, Chinese shipowners will receive the most container ships (30), of which only 67% will have eco-engines. The ships delivered to British and German shipowners will be greener, with just over 90% having ecologically-friendly engines. The most environmentally-friendly ship-owners are those from Greece, Norway, Kuwait and the Netherlands.

http://goo.gl/ReYnHk

———————————————————————————

 

7. Transparency Needed in Shipping

The operating of cargo ships is in some cases pretty lawless.  Some ships are stolen, renamed, retitled and resold. Some shippers flaunt regulations regarding pollution, dumping oil and toxins and garbage unseen. The underlying issue, predictably, is accountability, and the first barrier is that ownership can be concealed. Over half of the world’s merchant fleet, measured by deadweight tonnage, is flying under the eleven “flags of convenience”.  The 2003 OECD study “Ownership and Control of Ships” found that some open registries “advertise anonymity as a desirable attribute of their registry.” Organisations such as TRACE are changing this.

http://goo.gl/q73pKp

———————————————————————————

8. Fire Erupts on Bulker

Fire erupted in engine room of bulk carrier Happy Venture on 6 nautical miles off Kandla port, India. The vessel was on the anchorage off the port, carrying cargo of salt, when one of the diesel generators started smoking and inflamed. The crew reacted immediately and started firefighting, succeeded to get it under control and fully extinguish it within an hour. According to preliminary information, the other machinery and engineering of the vessel did not suffered sufficient damages and will be repaired in next days. Unfortunately three crew members suffered some burns during the firefighting and were taken to hospital for medical examination and treatment. http://goo.gl/ZqTgnb

———————————————————————————

 

9. Cruise Industry No Sign of Slowing

The cruise industry shows no signs of slowing down, with nearly 24 million passengers expected to sail in 2016, a dramatic increase from 15 million just 10 years prior (2006), Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said in its 2016 State of the Cruise Industry Outlook. CLIA also revealed that member cruise lines are scheduled to debut 27 new ocean, river and specialty ships in 2016 for a total investment of more than USD 6.5 billion in new ocean vessels alone. What is more, travel agents are also experiencing a higher demand for cruise travel. Eight out of ten CLIA member travel agents stated they are expecting an increase in cruise sales in 2016 over last year.

http://goo.gl/aT0npv

———————————————————————————

10. Shipping Shows Resilience

The global shipping market has shown “surprising resilience” amid the prolonged industry recession, and capital funding for owners is resuming after a period of contraction, according to Deutsche Bank. Peter Illingworth, managing director and head of shipping Asia at Deutsche Bank, said: “The shipping market has suffered a double whammy of damaged US and European lenders, and falling values and earnings. “But shipping has shown surprising resilience and funding has resumed due to low interest rates, support of Asian banks especially export credit agencies, new orders attracted by lower secondhand values and contract prices,” he told delegates at Marintec China 2015.

http://goo.gl/jDy6Me

 

———————————————————————————

 

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