Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 11/07/2017
1. Changing Face of Piracy
The threat of piracy and armed robbery of ships around the globe remains, but kidnapping of crews has become the rising concern. A new report from the IMB says that the first six months of the year saw a total of 87 incidents reported to the organization’s International Maritime Bureau. That compares with 97 reported for the same period in 2016. A total of 63 vessels were boarded, 12 were fired upon and 4 were successfully hijacked.
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2. Port Chaos for Both Sides
Hard Brexit border controls would result in “guaranteed” lorry gridlock and damage the economy. The UK Chamber of Shipping says the EU is ignoring the risk. Chief executive of the chamber, Guy Platten, said: “The EU sells £240bn of goods to the UK each year, most of which travels through ports. So the negative impact of a so-called hard Brexit on ports such as Dover will be felt just as severely if not more so by European ports."
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3. Search for Suicide Support
The ITF Seafarers’ Trust is seeking to fund research into suicide among seafarers, to ensure that seafarers suffering are not stigmatised. The research questions assess the relationship between living and working at sea and mental distress or ill-health in both the short and long term, the effect of population variables, whether there is an excess risk of suicide in seafarers and what intervention methods can help.
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4. ITF Inspections Slammed
The master of a vessel which has run into trouble with the ITF, and whose crew were believed not to have been paid, as chosen to lash out against the union. In a letter to Lloyd’s List, the master claims that all MLC requirements are in place, and that the ITF has no role or jurisdiction in the case. Quite whether the master has been forced into such an outburst is unclear, however it seems slightly at odds with the impression of crew welfare surrounding the vessel.
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5. Jamaica’s IMO Bid
The Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ) officially launched its candidacy for a Category C seat on the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Council last Thursday evening at a reception at the IMO. Addressing the IMO Secretary-General, Kitack Lim, IMO delegates and specially invited guests, Director-General of the MAJ Rear Admiral Peter Brady hailed Jamaica’s candidature as “an opportunity to enhance Jamaica’s role on the international maritime stage.”
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6. Lack of Maritime Awareness
Although international donors have provided significant assistance, there are still no reliable regional maritime domain awareness structures in the Western Indian Ocean. In view of this, the EU Institute for Security Studies issued a policy brief, reviewing current activities to identify opportunities through low-tech solutions, human resources and collaboration for improvement of maritime domain awareness in the region.
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7. Monitoring Plans Landmark
Verifavia, the world’s leading emissions verification company for the transport sector (aviation and shipping), has announced that the company now has over 1,000 ships and Monitoring Plans (MPs) under assessment for compliance with the European Union’s Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (EU MRV) regulation.
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8. Leading Light in Japan
Jeremy Nixon has become the highest ranked foreigner at any of the Japanese big three lines in a history that dates back to 1884. Nixon has taken the reigns as CEO of Ocean Network Express (ONE), the merged container company of Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), which will operate out of Singapore. Nixon had previously headed up NYK’s container division.
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9. VLCC Buyer Found
Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) has found a buyer for a long-idled VLCC. The 2002-built Taizan has been sold for just $15.5m, according to Clarkson Research, with Greece’s Prominence Maritime understood to be the buyer. Prominence Maritime is run by Ioanna Procopiou, the daughter of Dynacom’s George Procopiou, and her husband John Kairis.
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10. Cruisey McCruiseface Beckons
P&O Cruises has launched a contest to name its new ship – with a prize including an invitation to the naming ceremony. The 180,000-ton vessel will enter service in 2020 and will be the biggest ship under a British name. The competition is now running on the P&O Cruises website and through social media channels. A panel of experts will consider all entries, with the winning name being announced next year.
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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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