Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 23/08/2017
1. Steering Failure of Hacking?
A “steering casualty” onboard the USS John S. McCain has been cited by one US Navy official as the reason for a horrific collision with a Stealth Maritime tanker, Alnic MC, off Singapore. The navy source told CNN that the destroyer lost control of its steering while beginning its approach into the Strait of Malacca. Admiral John Richardson, chief of naval operations, also told reporters that the USS McCain investigation would look into whether or not the ship was hacked.
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2. Seafarer Jailed for Collision
In a landmark case in China, Ningbo Maritime Court has sentenced a crewmember on a DryShips bulker to prison for a fatal ship collision accident. The DryShips bulker Catalina collided with the Chinese fishing vessel Lu Rong Yu 58398 while en route from Lianyungang to Kaohsiung in May last year. The fishing vessel sank after the collision and the Catalina continued sailing to its destination. The accident led to the death of 19 people onboard the trawler.
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3. Sorry Stats for Seafarers
Over the last five years, 12 to 19 crew abandonment incidents were reported annually and 1,013 seafarers were involved in total, the ILO. Furthermore, figures from this year, as of July 31, show that 28 abandonment cases were reported, involving 339 seafarers. Of those 1,352 seafarers, 254 seafarers were from Ukraine, followed by India with 203 and the Philippines with 105 seafarers, rendering these nationalities among the most vulnerable.
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4. Huge Deal for Chinese Yards
CMA CGM has reportedly chosen Chinese yards to build nine of the world’s largest container ships. Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding have reportedly received a letter of intent from CMA CGM for the 22,000 TEU ships. Both yards are owned by state-run China State Shipbuilding Corporation. Currently OOCL Hong Kong has the highest box capacity of any container ship built to date with a capacity of 21,413 TEU.
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5. Ports Facing Delay Liability
Ports and terminals need to consider potential legal liabilities for delays and cargo damage caused by cyber attacks or problems. Toby Stephens of HFW, says spoilage to reefer cargo is a prime example. “Reefer is time-sensitive, so if your system is down and you can’t find the boxes or there has been a corruption of data affecting the maintenance of those containers, there is potential liability exposure.
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6. Seafarer Freed from Pirates
A Moroccan merchant navy officer, Ahmed Janane, who had been Kidnapped last July 31 by Nigerian pirates in the Gulf of Guinea after an attack of the ship “OYA 1”, flying Panamanian flag, has been freed. According to members of Ahmed’s family he is expected back home in a few days, reported daily Assabah on Tuesday.
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7. Crew Forgotten Victims
Seafarer welfare charity Apostleship of the Sea says that the CSCL Jupiter became a tourist attraction when it ran aground in Antwerp. Onlookers climbing onto the sand bank the bow of the ship was stuck on. But Fr Jos Vanhoof, AoS port chaplain in Antwerp, said, “It was sad that nobody seemed concerned about the welfare needs of the 26 crew members. Everyone was preoccupied with who would pay for the refloating operation and other things.”
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8. Calls for ECDIS Delay
Shipowners and bridge system suppliers are combining forces to persuade regulators to give them more time to update safety navigation equipment after a key deadline has passed IMO has decreed that the shipping industry has until 1 September to ensure ECDIS on all ships are updated to the new standards and crew are trained. But manufacturers are challenging this, as shipowners are seemingly not ready for the enforcement of new ECDIS standards.
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9. Shipping Seeks Financial Backing
The New York Shipping Exchange (NYSHEX) has completed its series A round of funding with big name containerlines signing up. NYSHEX is promoting its digital forward freight contract for container shipping, a world first. Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM joined the investment round, along with additional investments from GE Ventures and Goldman Sachs, bringing in a total of $13m. Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM, MOL and OOCL are currently working with NYSHEX.
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10. US Navy’s Serious Problems
Four major accidents this year involving ships of the Seventh Fleet highlight a systemic problem that imperils American dominance on the high seas. At any given time, about 100 of the Navy’s roughly 275 ships are deployed. Yet the fleet is half the size it was 30 years ago, meaning the ships are docked for shorter periods before redeploying. All this has made shortcuts inevitable, and so too the accidents which are now becoming all too common.
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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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