Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 31/10/2018

Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 31/10/2018

1. Warning of Ship Attacks
ReCAAP, the Asian piracy watchdog, has issued a warning of attacks on ships in and around Philippine waters. The Philippine Coast Guard has provided information that a group of approximately 10 Abu Sayyaf members armed with pistols, rifles and grenade launchers are planning to conduct kidnapping activities in Sabah primarily targeting the crew of foreign vessels passing through the area. They are using unmarked coloured blue and white motor bancas locally known as jungkong. Ship masters and crew are being urged to exercise extra vigilance when transiting the waters off Eastern Sabah and the Sulu-Celebes Sea.
http://bit.ly/2PDZgCN

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2. Port of LA Explosion
An explosion at Port of Los Angeles at around 6pm Tuesday local time has led to a terminal being evacuated. According to local media ABC7, the explosion came from the inside of a shipping container stored at the port. Around 100 port employees from the Evergreen terminal at the port have been evacuated. Some roads near the explosion site were also closed. The six other terminals at the port were not evacuated and operating normally. No injuries or other property damages was reported from the incident.
http://bit.ly/2Jssj6K

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3. 40 Years of Compensation
The International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Funds have provided financial help in 150 oil spill incidents since 1978. The IOPC Funds are two intergovernmental organizations (the 1992 Fund and the Supplementary Fund) which provide compensation for oil pollution damage resulting from spills of persistent oil from tankers. The fund was established after the Torrey Canyon grounding off the Scilly Isles in 1967, fouling U.K. and French coastlines. The incident exposed serious shortcomings, in particular the absence of an international agreement on liability and compensation in the event of such a spill.
http://bit.ly/2JssyyG

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4. Carrier Downed by Crane
Russia’s sole aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, was damaged during repairs Tuesday when the drydock holding her sank. One shipyard worker went missing and four were injured in the accident. According to reports, a 70-tonne crane toppled from the drydock’s wing wall onto Kuznetsov’s deck, leaving a hole measuring four to five meters across. A response team succesfully floated and removed the Kuznetsov from the drydock during the sinking. No “vitally important parts” of the carrier were damaged, according to United Shipbuilding Corporation head Aleksei Rakhmanov.
http://bit.ly/2ACzXZh

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5. Vocal Critic of Scrubbers
One of shipping’s most vocal opponents of scrubbers has aimed another barrage at exhaust gas cleaning systems. Euronav boss Paddy Rodgers has spoken at many conferences this year, giving his damning verdict on scrubbers. At this company’s third quarter results today he upped the ante, giving financial, environmental and regulatory reasons for owners to avoid installing the technology, especially open-loop versions, something described as a “loop hole” to compliance with the 2020 global sulphur cap.
http://bit.ly/2zhKGql

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6. Box Deal Done
London-based containership owner Global Ship Lease and Greek owner George Youroukos’ Poseidon Containers have entered into a merger agreement. The $780m all-share deal will create a company with a combined fleet of 38 vessels with a total capacity of 198,793 teu. “This attractive combination is the result of our strategic alternatives review process, enabling Global Ship Lease to double the size of our fleet, diversify and enlarge our portfolio of customers, improve our fleet age profile, reduce leverage, and significantly strengthen our ability to capitalize on compelling growth opportunities,” said the company.
http://bit.ly/2DcTAcZ

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7. Seafarers Mental Health Study
The ITF Seafarers’ Trust has commissioned Yale University to work on a project to increase the mental health wellness and overall well-being of seafarers by understanding risk factors associated with seafarer stress, depression and anxiety. It is anticipated that findings from the study will promote greater understanding of the mental health burden in seafarers, reduce stigma associated with mental illness, identify and reduce risks for depression and anxiety and allow for appropriate recommendations to improve the shipping environment in terms of mental health support.
http://bit.ly/2Rl9V2i

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8. Time for Cultural Shift
The maritime industry needs to undergo a cultural change concerning the sharing of information on cyber attacks, Chris Henny, senior technical advisor – maritime, Airbus Defence & Space, told the Seatrade Maritime Middle East Exhibition & Conference in Dubai on Tuesday. At present, most companies are reluctant to reveal they been targeted by cyber criminals for fear of reputational damage, but Henny said the sharing of information between ship owners, vessels, ports and the wider maritime supply chain will help mitigate some of the risk. “The secrecy needs to go,” Henny said.
http://bit.ly/2P26NeO

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9. Are we Ready for Smart Shipping?
A packed audience of nearly 200 heard strong opinions as to whether or not the maritime industry is ready to embrace smart shipping at a parliamentary-style debate held on the opening day of the Seatrade Maritime Middle East event in Dubai on Monday. Debating the question were two teams of leading industry figures, one led by Precious Shipping md Khalid Hashim and the other by René Kofod-Olsen, ceo of Topaz Energy and Marine.
http://bit.ly/2OgygUU

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10. Rotterdam Box Growth
Port of Rotterdam saw its total throughput drop by 0.4% in the first three quarters of 2018, compared to the same period a year earlier. Container volumes continued to grow at a markedly higher pace than the first nine months of 2017, even recording a new all-time high in August. Wet and dry bulk, however, showed a decline in volume, although LNG and biomass were two positive outliers within these product segments. A total of 350 million tonnes of cargo was handled in the port of Rotterdam, representing a decrease of 1.5 million tonnes compared to last year.
http://bit.ly/2RlakBQ

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Daily news feed from Seacurus Ltd – providers of MLC crew insurance solutions www.seacurus.com

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