Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 04/07/2017
1. Greeks Shoot at Turkish Ship
Turkey has condemned what it called an "excessive act" by Greece after Greek coast guards fired on a Turkish freighter ship near the Greek island of Rhodes. The freighter’s captain, Haluk Sami Kalkavan, claims Greek coast guards approached his vessel in international waters, demanded that it dock at a port in Rhodes and fired on it when he refused. He said his crew counted 16 bullet holes on the vessel but the ship was not in danger of sinking. The Greek Coast Guard said it tried to stop the vessel following "an anonymous telephone complaint" that it was carrying narcotics. It said the ship was in Greek waters.
Turkey has condemned what it called an "excessive act" by Greece after Greek coast guards fired on a Turkish freighter ship near the Greek island of Rhodes. The freighter’s captain, Haluk Sami Kalkavan, claims Greek coast guards approached his vessel in international waters, demanded that it dock at a port in Rhodes and fired on it when he refused. He said his crew counted 16 bullet holes on the vessel but the ship was not in danger of sinking. The Greek Coast Guard said it tried to stop the vessel following "an anonymous telephone complaint" that it was carrying narcotics. It said the ship was in Greek waters.
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2. Fears of Cruise Pollution
Passengers on cruise ships could be exposing themselves to dangerous levels of pollution, according to an investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches team that found some public areas on the ships’ decks were more polluted than the world’s worst-affected cities. The undercover investigation, which will be broadcast tonight at 8pm, focused on the levels of “ultra-fine particles” found in the air on and around cruise ships, from the fuel the ships’ engines burn. These particles are so small – around a thousandth of the width of a human hair – that they can enter the bloodstream via the lungs.
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3. Positive Piracy Data
Continuing decline in the number of reported incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships has been revealed in the second quarter piracy report of the IMB. The first half of 2017 saw a total of 87 incidents reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre compared with 97 for the same period of the previous year. The latest piracy report shows that in the first six-months of 2017, 63 vessels were boarded, 12 fired upon, four were hijacked and attacks were attempted on another eight vessels. A total of 63 crew has been taken hostage, while 41 have been kidnapped from their vessels, three injured and two killed.
Continuing decline in the number of reported incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships has been revealed in the second quarter piracy report of the IMB. The first half of 2017 saw a total of 87 incidents reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre compared with 97 for the same period of the previous year. The latest piracy report shows that in the first six-months of 2017, 63 vessels were boarded, 12 fired upon, four were hijacked and attacks were attempted on another eight vessels. A total of 63 crew has been taken hostage, while 41 have been kidnapped from their vessels, three injured and two killed.
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4. Cyber Attack Reveals Weakness
This latest ransomware event – no matter the name – illustrates what can happen to systems when technology use outruns system understanding. There are several major efforts required to keep systems safe and increase the likelihood that they perform as expected for our enterprises. These are bare minimum requirements for today’s security. There are three keys to protecting vessels – these are the "architecture" organisational processes, the incident response and recovery capabilities, and software management of change program.
goo.gl/FesERS
This latest ransomware event – no matter the name – illustrates what can happen to systems when technology use outruns system understanding. There are several major efforts required to keep systems safe and increase the likelihood that they perform as expected for our enterprises. These are bare minimum requirements for today’s security. There are three keys to protecting vessels – these are the "architecture" organisational processes, the incident response and recovery capabilities, and software management of change program.
goo.gl/FesERS
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5. Ships Efficiencies Being Lost
Recent improvements in the design efficiency of new ships went into reverse last year. According to the CE Delft study the average design efficiency of new bulk carriers, oil tankers and gas carriers was worse in 2016 than in 2015. The share of new ships complying with future efficiency standards also decreased. The design efficiency of containerships and general cargo ships appears to be stagnating after a period of improvement. The data also confirms a considerable proportion of new ships are over-complying IMO design efficiency standard – known as the EEDI – indicating that the standard’s requirements need strengthening.
goo.gl/PJWvrc
Recent improvements in the design efficiency of new ships went into reverse last year. According to the CE Delft study the average design efficiency of new bulk carriers, oil tankers and gas carriers was worse in 2016 than in 2015. The share of new ships complying with future efficiency standards also decreased. The design efficiency of containerships and general cargo ships appears to be stagnating after a period of improvement. The data also confirms a considerable proportion of new ships are over-complying IMO design efficiency standard – known as the EEDI – indicating that the standard’s requirements need strengthening.
goo.gl/PJWvrc
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6. Tackling Heavy Fuel Fear
As the IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC 71) opens today in London, the Clean Arctic Alliance called on IMO member states to support a Canadian proposal to mitigate the risks posed by the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) in Arctic waters. Canada, backed by Finland, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway and the US, has submitted a proposal to MEPC, calling for work to begin on mitigating the risks of use and carriage of heavy fuel oil (HFO) as fuel by ships in the Arctic.
goo.gl/reytJA
goo.gl/reytJA
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7. Working on Seafarer Mental Health
Working away at sea with limited means of communication and little or no shore leave means that it can be difficult for seafarers to access the emotional support they might need. Forming part of ISWAN’s Seafarers’ Health and Information Programme (SHIP) a new self-help guide is entitled "Steps to Positive Mental Health" contains skills, exercises and coping strategies to help seafarers deal with their emotions when they are experiencing stress or feeling low, including examples of positive coping statements and guidance on using mindfulness to deal with stressful situations.
Working away at sea with limited means of communication and little or no shore leave means that it can be difficult for seafarers to access the emotional support they might need. Forming part of ISWAN’s Seafarers’ Health and Information Programme (SHIP) a new self-help guide is entitled "Steps to Positive Mental Health" contains skills, exercises and coping strategies to help seafarers deal with their emotions when they are experiencing stress or feeling low, including examples of positive coping statements and guidance on using mindfulness to deal with stressful situations.
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8. Greece Seeks Brexit Boost
Greece could benefit from shipping and service companies looking for alternative post-Brexit locations, Vassilios Korkidis, the president of the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESEE) claims. “I don’t think that the consequences of Brexit are very serious for Greece. They are only for the Greek students who are in the United Kingdom and will have to pay very high fees for the universities. On the other side, I think that we will have some benefits. For example, in the city of London, there are a lot of shipping companies based there and a lot of services. Some of them want to be in the European Union".
goo.gl/gvPag5
goo.gl/gvPag5
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9. Crew Held After Collision
An Indian sessions court has remanded the captain and two crew members of Amber L, the Panama-flagged merchant vessel which allegedly hit a fishing boat off Kochi, in judicial custody for 15 days. The trio, identified as Captain Georgiannakis Ioannis, second officer Galanos Athanasios, both Greek nationals, and Zewana, a Myanmar national who was the designated duty able seaman, were arrested by the Coastal police on June 30 and produced in Sessions Court I, Ernakulam, on Saturday. The police will soon move an application to get them in custody.
An Indian sessions court has remanded the captain and two crew members of Amber L, the Panama-flagged merchant vessel which allegedly hit a fishing boat off Kochi, in judicial custody for 15 days. The trio, identified as Captain Georgiannakis Ioannis, second officer Galanos Athanasios, both Greek nationals, and Zewana, a Myanmar national who was the designated duty able seaman, were arrested by the Coastal police on June 30 and produced in Sessions Court I, Ernakulam, on Saturday. The police will soon move an application to get them in custody.
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10. New Digital Twin Simulation
Rolls-Royce, the Norwegian University of Technology Science (NTNU), research organisation SINTEF Ocean, and DNV GL have signed an MoU with the aim of creating an open source digital platform for use in the development of new ships. The platform would allow the creation of so called “digital twins”. A digital twin is a digital copy of a real ship, including its systems, that synthesises the information available about the ship in a digital world. This allows any aspect of an asset to be explored through a digital interface, creating a virtual test bench to assess the safety and performance of a vessel and its systems.
goo.gl/y1jioW
goo.gl/y1jioW
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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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