Top Ten Maritime News Stories 15/04/2015

Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 15/04/2015

1. Crew Kidnapped off Nigeria

Pirates have kidnapped three Nigerians in an attack on an oil industry supply vessel off Nigeria, the French company operating the boat said. The attack on the crew boat took place on April 8, “off the Nigerian coast”, Bourbon said on its website. “The 3 crew members of Nigerian nationality have been kidnapped,” the company said, adding an emergency unit based in Nigeria was immediately activated. The Gulf of Guinea off west Africa has seen numerous attacks of piracy in recent years. Between January and September last year the area recorded 33 incidents of piracy and armed robbery, according to the IMB.

http://goo.gl/Xd4HQS

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2. Do Not Eat Fish – Warning to Seafarers

In the wake of the terrible food poisoning that has hit 14 out of 19 crewmembers at a port in Canada over the weekend, with some in a critical condition, the head of Marine Catering Services has warned. Allowing seafarers to eat fish they have caught off the side of their ship is a sure way for the crew to contract food poisoning and it can take a whole ship out, according to one of the shipping industry’s leading voices on food quality and catering standards onboard ship. “When I am onboard…I give clear instructions to all crew members not to go fishing for fresh fish when ships are at anchor".

http://goo.gl/2Gugku

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3. Calls for Greater Transparency

The Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI), a coalition of companies from across the global shipping industry focused on uniting commercial growth with sustainable behaviours, has identified that since 2012, industry progress has been driven by greater demand throughout shipping supply chains for transparency as well accelerating investments in alternatives to bunker fuel. The combined effect of greater commercial and public scrutiny of shipping and sustainability-focused legislation has also led to increasing pressure for regulations to be enforced more strictly.

http://goo.gl/Y3Um7H

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4. IMO Highlights Safety Gains

IMO secretary general Koji Sekimizu highlighted the safety of seafarers in his keynote address to Panama Maritime XII. “I want to address some of the issues that affect this truly global industry, in particular those related and designed for the safety of the seafarers,” Sekimizu said. “We [at the IMO] are concerned by the [growing] problem of migrants and [safety] of ferry passengers. Last year 2014, was a record year for the losses of lives of migrants and when some 200,000 [migrants] to cross waters, more than a thousand lost their lives. This is why we will hold a conference …for ending migrations problems.” he said.

http://goo.gl/RR9bxJ

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5. Happiness on the Agenda

It is not exactly rocket science that if you are sailing on a happy ship, with your wages paid promptly and in full, working for a company that backs up its value of you with decent promotion prospects, your views of your life at sea are likely to be broadly positive. But these “shop floor” opinions probably need to be spelt our more clearly in our sceptical age. These are just some of the preliminary results of a new seafarer survey, which has been designed to put some flesh on the raw statistics which we are more used to in the five yearly manpower report from Bimco and the International Chamber of Shipping.

http://goo.gl/IIcWmx

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6. Maritime Security Giant Folds

A “rapid decline in the market demand” contributed to the administration of Poole-headquartered risk management company Drum Cussac, a new report has revealed. But the business, which is now owned by Root Capital, has an “exciting future” ahead of it with the turnaround investor setting aside £7m to aid future growth. A report from the administrators said the group had a number of customers in the oil industry which, following the drop in oil prices, cut back on expenditure. This in turn led to a reduction in the sales pipeline and profitability, resulting in a “significant short term cash requirement”.

http://goo.gl/IiXses

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7. Trainers Back Enclosed Space Action

Videotel has backed calls by the UK-based maritime union Nautilus for the UK Shipping and Ports Minister to lead regulatory reforms to protect seafarers from the dangers of enclosed spaces. Nigel Cleave, CEO of Videotel, says the dangers of seafarers entering enclosed spaces without the necessary training and equipment are of the utmost concern. "Seafarers are dying unnecessarily and we will continue to hammer home the need for the industry and government to work together to ensure such incidents are a thing of the past. One death from such a situation is one death too many," says Mr. Cleave.

http://goo.gl/S26xpo

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8. COSCO Begins Scrapping Moves

China COSCO Holdings pushed ahead with its February-March fleet scrapping plan to dismantle one container ship and 13 bulk carriers. The scrapping of the vessels incurred approximately CNY72 million (USD11 million) in loss, according to a stock filing of the company on 14 April. The demolished vessels were 1996-built container feeder Da Qing He, and 13 bulk carriers with tonnages ranging from Handymax to Panamax aged from 25 to 30 years, according to IHS Maritime Sea-web.com data. The 14 vessels’ capacity totalled 924,700 dwt.

http://goo.gl/Kp1VNh

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9. Eco Ship Myths Busted

So much for "eco" ships. It seems that not too many shipowners can have been ordering them. A new study of the historical development of the efficiency of new ships appears to shows that ships built in 2013 were on average 10% less fuel-efficient than those built in 1990. The study, "Historical trends in ship design efficiency," has been carried out by Netherlands-based CE Delft. The study also shows that containerships built 30 years ago already, on average, beat the "Energy Efficiency Design Index" standard set by IMO for new ships built in 2020.

http://goo.gl/CBlWcu

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10. New Admiralty Mariners Handbook Launched

In response to user feedback and an improved understanding of how the publication is used, the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has published the Tenth Edition of the ADMIRALTY Mariners Handbook (NP100). NP100 has long been acknowledged as an essential, ‘must-have’ publication for all seafarers, maritime training schools and shipping company offices. NP100 provides maritime information on charts and their use, the communication of navigational information, the maritime environment, including sea and ice conditions, restrictions to navigation and maritime pollution and conservation (MARPOL).

http://goo.gl/UXJp7L

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