Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 02/12/2016
1. Magic Pipe Huge Fine
Princess Cruise Lines will pay a US$40m penalty after pleading guilty to seven federal charges in an illegal ocean pollution case that involved one shipās use of a so-called magic pipe to divert oily waste into the waters. Miami US attorney Wifredo Ferrer told a news conference the penalty was the largest ever of its kind. A plea agreement filed in federal court also requires Carnival, the UK and US-listed parent company of the Princess line, to submit 78 cruise ships across its eight brands to a five-year environmental compliance programme overseen by a judge. The illegal practices came to light when an engineer found the āmagic pipeā.
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2. Hamburg Sud Purchase
Maersk Line is to acquire German rival container shipping line Hamburg SĆ¼d and expects to finalize the transaction by end 2017, parent A.P. Moller-Maersk has confirmed. Maersk said the acquisition is subject to final agreement and regulatory approvals, and will have no impact on Maersk’s outlook for 2016. A.P. Moller-Maersk said it expects to communicate further details following approval of the purchase agreement which is expected early in Q2 of 2017.
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3. Relief on EU Renewal
BIMCO is pleased to confirm the decision taken by the EU Council to formally extend the mandate of the EUNAVFOR Operation āATALANTAā to deter, disrupt and repress acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia until 31 December 2018. In effect, this decision* confirms a military presence provided by the EU to deter piracy for another two years at a time of significant uncertainty in the Horn Of Africa. Recent events such as the attack on the Galicia Spirit in the Bab el Mandeb strait and the attack on the CPO Korea in the Somali Basin have highlighted why this was an absolutely essential decision.
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4. OSG Splits Business
Overseas Shipholding Group has announced it has completed the previously announced separation of OSG into two independent, publicly traded companies: Overseas Shipholding Group and International Seaways. āToday marks the start of an exciting new chapter for OSG. "We are now a more sharply focused company with a leading and diversified position in the Jones Act market", they added. For each OSG warrant held on the record date, OSG warrant holders received 0.3333 shares of INSW common stock for every one share of OSG common stock they would have received if they exercised those warrants immediately prior.
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5. Zim In the Red
Israelās shipping company ZIM Integrated Shipping Services posted a net loss of USD 37.6 million in the third quarter of 2016, compared to a profit of USD 11.1 million seen in the same period last year, due to the continued deterioration in the container shipping market. ZIMās gross profit for the quarter amounted to USD 13.7 million, against USD 32 million recorded in the three-month period of 2015. The average revenue per TEU went down 20.8 percent in the third quarter of 2016, decreasing to about USD 887 from USD 1,120 in the same period of 2015.
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6. Titanic Keel Laid
Construction of a life-size replica of the doomed passenger ship Titanic began in China’s southwestern Sichuan province on Wednesday with a keel-laying ceremony and fireworks to mark the occasion. It is part of Star Energy Investment Group’s plans for a tourist resort along the Qijiang River in Sichuan’s Daying County. It will eventually come with a simulation of the iceberg collision that sank the original ship in the Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912. Backers say the project will also play on the 1997 blockbuster Titanic movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
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7. Food Waste Detention
The Australian Maritime Safety Authorityās decision to detain a Hong Kong flagged container ship which dumped food waste in close proximity to Fraser Island in May was affirmed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal at a hearing on Friday, November 25. AMSA detained the vessel "OOCL Le Havre" in Brisbane after a port State control inspection found that its Safety Management System had failed to ensure crew had an adequate understanding of the rules and regulations related to the management and discharge of garbage at sea in accordance with MARPOL.
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8. Russia Complies with STCW
IMO confirms compliance of Russian seafarersā certificates with STCW provisions including Manila Amendments International Maritime Organization (IMO) has issued a circular confirming the compliance of Russian seafarersā certificates with the provisions of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) taking into account the 2010 Manila amendments. Russia has agreements on mutual recognition of seafarersā certificates with 40 states, negotiations are underway with five more states.
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9. Stranded Crew Gets Paid
Five Indian and Bangladeshi crew members aboard the Bahamian ship "AMBABHKATI", which was stranded outside of Shanghai, have at long last been paid overdue wages totaling $110,000 along with $5,000 in compensation by Shanghai Maritime Court after hearing the case September. The crew members had not been paid since February and had lost touch with the ship’s owner, an Indian company. Running out of necessities, the crew was forced to eat instant noodles. The abandoned crew sought justice at Shanghai Maritime Court, as their ship was harboured at Changxing Island shipyard outside of Shanghai.
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10. Passenger Spotted Hanging Around
A teenager risked death by dangling from the edge of a cruise ship in a crazy stunt. Footage filmed by another passenger shows the boy climbing over a railing and lowering himself until he is hanging by only his arms as the sea churns beneath him. Passengers and the teen can be heard laughing as he heaves himself back on board after dangling from the ship for a few moments. It was reportedly filmed on the Carnival Liberty, a 110,000-tonne cruise liner, while at sea off the Texas coast on November 19. The stunt was condemned as "incredibly dangerous" by fellow passengers and the ship’s owners.
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Daily news feed from Seacurus Ltd ā providers of MLC crew insurance solutions www.seacurus.com
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S Jones
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