Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 01/11/2016
1. Crew Finally Paid
39 crew onboard three vessels managed by Singapore’s Vallianz Holdings, and stranded off Dubai since June, have been paid their salaries as promised by Vallianz in a statement last week. While the crew onboard the "Swiber Explorer", "Swiber Navigator" and "Swiber Sundefjord" are celebrating their August and September salaries being paid, one crew member is finally on the way home to Indonesia to mourn the death of his father earlier in the month. The remaining crew, who are on three-month contracts, should be repatriated home soon after more than eight months on the vessels.
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2. Cleaner Queue Jumpers
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) unveiled a new recognition program for clean operators that will help them to get ahead of the pack for transit bookings. "We’re rewarding those who make conscious efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and invest in technology that will make shipping even more efficient,” says Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano. The ACP calls the new system "Environmental Premium Ranking." The Canal has an existing ranking system for customers which it uses when figuring out bookings for transits, based in part on how often a vessel operator uses the canal.
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3. BIMCO Road to Recovery
BIMCO projected “road to recovery” for the dry bulk shipping industry has been assessing what the dry bulk sector must do to return to profitability was, and still is: “Scrapping ships and no new builds is the fastest road to recovery for the dry bulk market”. As promised, BIMCO will monitor and report back to the dry bulk shipping industry on the progress made towards a recovery. 2016 must be the turning point in addressing the fundamental imbalance of the dry bulk market. Despite better demand side conditions recently, we cannot expect positive demand side surprises, coming to rescue eternally.
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4. Piracy’s Cautious Slide
Pirate attacks worldwide fell to a 20-year low in the third quarter, the International Maritime Bureau reported, as it credited anti-piracy efforts by authorities and the shipping industry. The IMB said in its latest quarterly report that 42 instances of piracy on the high seas were recorded in July-September.
"With just 42 attacks worldwide this quarter, maritime piracy is at its lowest since 1996," it said. The IMB cautioned that pirate attacks involving hostage-taking, particularly near Nigeria, remained a problem and advised shipmasters and response agencies to stay vigilant.
"With just 42 attacks worldwide this quarter, maritime piracy is at its lowest since 1996," it said. The IMB cautioned that pirate attacks involving hostage-taking, particularly near Nigeria, remained a problem and advised shipmasters and response agencies to stay vigilant.
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5. Operating Costs Set to Rise
Vessel operating costs are expected to rise in both 2016 and 2017, according to the latest survey by international accountant and shipping consultant Moore Stephens. Repairs and maintenance and spares are the cost categories which are likely to increase most significantly in each of the two years. The survey is based on responses from key players in the international shipping industry, predominantly shipowners and managers in Europe and Asia. Those responses revealed that vessel operating costs are expected to rise by 1.9 percent in 2016 and by 2.5 percent in 2017.
https://goo.gl/h402m7
https://goo.gl/h402m7
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6. Enclosed Space Concerns
The UK P&I Club, has been commenting on seafarers not correctly implementing enclosed space entry permits. “Amendments to the SOLAS convention on enclosed space entry came into force on 1 July 2016, requiring all ships to carry portable atmosphere testing equipment on board. "Under the new regulation the atmosphere testing equipment on board must be able to measure the concentration of oxygen, flammable gas/vapours, hydrogen sulphide and carbon monoxide as a minimum before a crew member enters an enclosed space.
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7. DNV GL Looks to Future
Drones, remote inspection technologies and insights on cybersecurity were some of the main topics discussed at the DNV GL Innovation Day in Singapore. Some 120 representatives from shipowners, managers, manufacturing companies, yards and other stakeholders participated in the event held this week. Aimed at providing insights into the latest value creating digital solutions, the Innovation Day included ten presentations and drew upon DNV GL’s expertise in the maritime, software, energy and oil & gas sectors.
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8. Ship Blast Kills Breakers
A blast in a ship at Gaddani ship breaking yard near Karachi has resulted in the death of at least 6 and 30 injured, reported local news. The explosion occurred earlier today at Gaddani ship breaking yard, which is the third largest ship-breaking yard in the world. The blast started a blaze inside the ship, which caused the 6 reported deaths and injuries. Rescue sources are currently at work rescuing the injured from inside the ship.
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9. Bright Unmanned Future
There has been a good deal of discussion recently suggesting that unmanned, autonomous ships represent the future of the maritime industry. The discussion has been primarily driven by EU-funded research that sees autonomous, unmanned ships as a key element for a competitive and sustainable European shipping industry in the future. The discussion has also been influenced by ambitious press releases from equipment manufacturers and potential service suppliers, who are expanding the concept to include a proposed automated global shipping industry. What will the effect on society be?
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10. International Shipholding Bid
Seacor Capital Corp has made a bid for bankrupt fellow American firm International Shipholding. International Shipholding, which sought bankruptcy protection with debts of more than $220m in July, could see its 21-strong fleet carry on operating if a judge approves the takeover deal. Seacor’s bid includes $10m plus whatever company officials have spent on a roughly $18m bankruptcy loan. The proposed takeover does not include an International Shipholding division that handles logistical and seaborne transportation services in Southeast Asia.
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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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