Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 03/04/2017
1. Somalis Hijack Indian
An Indian cargo ship has been hijacked by a group of pirates in Somalia with 11 crew members on board. The ship, "Al Kaushar" was on its way from Dubai to Yemen’s Al Mukala port. The incident took place on April 1 and as learned from several media reports, a group of Somali pirates are responsible for the hijack and are carrying weapons with them. The reports also stated that the captain has given all the information about the incident to the authorities in Dubai. The information about the hijack of the ship has also been conveyed to the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi. The crew are from Mandavi in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
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2. Rescuers Still Searching
Rescuers say they have made little headway in finding survivors from a huge South Korean ship that sank in the South Atlantic. Only two crew have been rescued from the Stellar Daisy, which is believed to have broken apart on Friday. Search efforts since then have only turned up fuel, debris, and empty lifeboats, South Korean government sources told Yonhap news agency. The VLOC was carrying 24 crew members. It is believed to have gone down about 3,700 km (2,300 miles) off the coast of Uruguay. The ship, was carrying 260,000 tonnes of iron ore from Brazil to China.
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3. Wreck of Sewol Arrives
The wreck of the ferry Sewol has safely arrived at the port of Mokpo, South Korea, several days ahead of schedule and several weeks before the third anniversary of her sinking. The vessel was hoisted from the seabed off Jindo island last week and placed on a semisubmersible heavy lift ship, the Dockwise White Marlin. After several days of securing the vessel and waiting for the right weather conditions, the Marlin got underway with an escort of five Coast Guard vessels. Wave heights were less than three feet, and she encountered no difficulties on the six-hour journey.
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4. 21 Seafarers Still Held
ReCAAP ISC has issued Part III of its Abducting of crew from ships in the Sulu-Celebes Sea and waters off Eastern Sabah special report, highlighting that 58 crew had been abducted in the region since March 2016. As of March 31, 2017, 21 are still in captivity. There were 22 abduction incidents between March 2016 and March 2017, including nine failed attempts. Most of the incidents were claimed by the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. The attacks appear opportunistic and not targeted against specific nations. Most incidents occurred during daylight, indicating that the pirates were apparently unconcerned about being sighted by the crew.
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5. Isle of Man New Approach
The Isle of Man Ship Registry is plotting a new course, with an overhaul of its ship inspection regime. Since its inception, the Registry has dispatched its own surveyors to conduct inspections on more than 400 vessels in the Manx-flagged fleet. But the fleet has grown in size and scope, and coverage in limited time windows has become more difficult. From 1 April, audits on safety management, ship security and maritime labour convention will be in the hands of the ship’s Classification Societies. It will see the outsourcing of a crucial function to a specialist organisation with 200 offices worldwide.
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6. Tackling Cargo Misdeclaration
Industry stakeholders at the International Cargo Handling Coordination Association (ICHCA International) Packaged Dangerous Goods Seminar have agreed that the Tianjin port disaster should spur further collective effort to address misdeclaration and the safe shipment of containerized dangerous goods. Dangerous goods now making up an estimated 10-12 percent of global container trade – accounting for potentially up to six million or more shipments per annum. The IMDG Code has been adopted by 172 countries, though non-compliance feedback to the IMO is astonishingly low, with only five reports submitted last year.
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7. Pirate Mission Uses Drones
EUNAVFOR’s Operation Atalanta, the European Union’s anti-piracy naval mission in the High Risk Area off the coast of Somalia, is using drones to monitor the nation’s coastline and search for pirate activity. The Spanish Navy vessel "ESPS Galicia" has deployed a Boeing ScanEagle remotely piloted aircraft to provide long-endurance aerial surveillance during coastal patrols. The ScanEagle can be launched and recovered from a small footprint, and it can stay aloft for up to 18 hours; it provides imaging capability both day and night, and serves as a relatively low-cost complement to the over-the-horizon surveillance capabilities.
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8. Striking Dockworker Killed
Argentine dockworkers suspended a 24-hour work stoppage on Thursday after a picketing striker was killed when a trucker drove his vehicle into a line of protesters, according to Reuters. The incident happened near the Port of San Lorenzo and prompted the CGT union to call off the rest of the day’s strike out of respect for the victim, named as Jonathan Gardini. Police, already on the scene for public order protection because of the picketing, arrested the truck driver. The one-day action was in protest at recent layoffs and in demand for higher pay for jobs related to port operations.
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9. Bribery Case Thrown Out
A court in the US has thrown out a case linking Singapore’s Keppel Corporation to the massive bribery case that has engulfed Brazil’s Petrobras. In June last year an action commenced by EIG Management Co and eight of its managed funds against the Brazilian energy giant, in relation to which the company and Keppel Offshore & Marine were added as defendants along with other shipyards and entities. Keppel admitted last October that an internal investigation found certain transactions associated with Zwi Skornicki from Eagle do Brasil, an agent of Keppel FELS in Brazil, may be suspicious.
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10. Dragged Anchor Collision
Iranian general cargo ship "Rasha 1" dragged anchor and collided with Russian freighter Volgobalt 239 at Astrakhan anchorage in Volga River. The collision did not caused serious damages to the both vessels, including crumpled racks of the guard railing and damaged layers. None of the crew on board were injured and there is no report about water pollution. The accident was reported to the local authorities and at the scene of the collision was sent tug, which secured back the Iranian general cargo ship Rasha 1 at the anchorage. The both vessels were detained for inspection before returning to service.
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Daily news feed from Seacurus Ltd – providers of MLC crew insurance solutions www.seacurus.com
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