The Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) has published Preliminary Guidelines: Post-Piracy Care for Seafarers, outlining preliminary strategies on caring for seafarers (merchant mariners) affected by piracy. The document, based on cutting-edge mental health research and ongoing discussions with shipowners, crewing agencies, representatives of governments, and other stakeholders in the industry, provides practical guidelines for the maritime industry.
SCI presented the Preliminary Guidelines to Working Group 3 of the United Nations Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia on January 27, prior to the Plenary Meeting of the Contact Group the following day. SCI also plans to submit the document to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) at the meeting of the Maritime Security Committee in May.
Based on experience gained through the clinical study and stakeholder responses, SCI will update Preliminary Guidelines, available online at:
http://www.seamenschurch.org/law-advocacy/piracy-trauma-study
SCI desires to speak with seafarers who have experienced piracy, including attacks, hostage-taking, or simply sailing through high risk piracy areas. Contact Clinical Researcher Michael Garfinkle, PhD at +1 212 349 9090 ext. 240 or by email at mgarfinkle@seamenschurch.org.
SCI researchers strictly protect privacy.
Showing posts with label shipowner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shipowner. Show all posts
Sunday, 28 November 2010
Thursday, 18 November 2010
General Average, Piracy, Somalia and a court ruling
So what happens when ranson payments are demanded out of general average, and shippier/consignee take a stand against this?
Here's what a Kenyan importer did, when asked to pay up,or else - and then subsequently, the money was sought to be forcibly withdrawn from his bank account.
Briefly, Absons of Mombasa were going to see substantial funds transferred from the their banks to the Singapore owners as well as their ransom negotiators till the authorities put a halt to it.
Read more about it here:-
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Bank%20caught%20in%20piracy%20cash%20row%20/-/1056/1055752/-/heroai/-/
These are some interesting parts:-
"The importer, through the firm of Kinyua Muyaa, is now under duress to agree to have the funds referred to as ‘general average’ released to Habib Bank in Singapore, after which they will be remitted to Marine Claims office of Asia, which negotiated with the pirates."
The ship was the PIL container vessel KOTA FAJAR, and the ransom was around 3.3 million USD plus lawyers and megotiators fees.
Here's what a Kenyan importer did, when asked to pay up,or else - and then subsequently, the money was sought to be forcibly withdrawn from his bank account.
Briefly, Absons of Mombasa were going to see substantial funds transferred from the their banks to the Singapore owners as well as their ransom negotiators till the authorities put a halt to it.
Read more about it here:-
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Bank%20caught%20in%20piracy%20cash%20row%20/-/1056/1055752/-/heroai/-/
These are some interesting parts:-
"The importer, through the firm of Kinyua Muyaa, is now under duress to agree to have the funds referred to as ‘general average’ released to Habib Bank in Singapore, after which they will be remitted to Marine Claims office of Asia, which negotiated with the pirates."
The ship was the PIL container vessel KOTA FAJAR, and the ransom was around 3.3 million USD plus lawyers and megotiators fees.
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
How to join a cruise ship? ver 1.0
Basic advice to a young man who wants to join the cruise industry. Age 27, done this and that in the travel industry ashore, now looking at the romance of being on a ship.
Please do read, update, correct, suggest improvements?
+++
a) To join cruiuse ships now, you will need:-
1) To do 4 x basic courses also called STCW/78, these can be done at a variety of institutes and colleges in India. Cost about 12k.
2) An InDOS number, which the institute will apply for you, costs about 800-1000/-
3) Then, with these two things in hand, you simultaneously start looking for jobs, for which you have to check out the newspapers, catering colleges, byelanes of port cities, internet.
4) Once you have an offer, that company may sponsor you for a CDC of that flag which their cruise ship flies. There are hardly any Indian pax ships, and their rules are, different. So it will be open register and similar.
5) Also take a look here:- http://www.tsrahaman.org/ . . . you can do the 4 courses listed in "1" over here and hopefully pick up some grapevine on agents/jobs etc. Pleasant place, residential campus.
5) One more 3 day course called Passenger Ship Course, this is done in Cal/Madras/Mumbai. But is better done AFTER you have acquired a CDC or atleast got somewhere.
These are the 4 courses you will need to do, at DGS approved colleges, for STCW purposes:-
Personal Survival Technique
Personal Safety and Social Responsibility
Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting
Elementary First Aid
+++
And then, good luck.
+++
Please do read, update, correct, suggest improvements?
+++
a) To join cruiuse ships now, you will need:-
1) To do 4 x basic courses also called STCW/78, these can be done at a variety of institutes and colleges in India. Cost about 12k.
2) An InDOS number, which the institute will apply for you, costs about 800-1000/-
3) Then, with these two things in hand, you simultaneously start looking for jobs, for which you have to check out the newspapers, catering colleges, byelanes of port cities, internet.
4) Once you have an offer, that company may sponsor you for a CDC of that flag which their cruise ship flies. There are hardly any Indian pax ships, and their rules are, different. So it will be open register and similar.
5) Also take a look here:- http://www.tsrahaman.org/ . . . you can do the 4 courses listed in "1" over here and hopefully pick up some grapevine on agents/jobs etc. Pleasant place, residential campus.
5) One more 3 day course called Passenger Ship Course, this is done in Cal/Madras/Mumbai. But is better done AFTER you have acquired a CDC or atleast got somewhere.
These are the 4 courses you will need to do, at DGS approved colleges, for STCW purposes:-
Personal Survival Technique
Personal Safety and Social Responsibility
Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting
Elementary First Aid
+++
And then, good luck.
+++
Monday, 15 November 2010
shippies, Diwali, festivals - and more.
Diwali is increasingly a festival for all Indians, across social, religious and other barriers, more as a sort of get home and be with the family than anything else. That the markets of the shopping sorts are almost abandoned, traffic on roads is down to very low, and most commercial establishments that would otherwise be open, are shut, is typical. Keep aside the essential services as well as those that need 24x7 attendance, and you have the picture - here, also, people do manage to celebrate either a wee bit early or maybe later on. And then, ofcourse, people can always speak with each other on phone, even if they are not really there.
There are, ofcourse, some categories of people who simply can not be anywhere near their families on Diwali - and don't have the option of simply calling up easily either. Prisoners in jails, for example. Or seafarers on ships at sea, as another example. A satellite call to or from a ship still costs a minor fortune, though some ships now have V-SAT and other internet options available, which are sometimes shared with seafarers for their personal use. All routed through the office, of course, and with hardly any privacy though. But these are more the exception, than the rule, and even that - if people working on ships have the time from their typical 90+ hour working week.
Easy to say this:- seafarers are the invisible wire and glue that keep the world of commerce actually ticking over. Unfortunately, the only time seafarers make the public's mind through the news is when disasters, especially of the environmentally polluting sort, take place. Over a few hundred ships sink every year with a few thousand losing their lives, over 500 seafarers are currently held hostage by pirates off Somalia while family members back home get calls to pay off mini-ransoms, but the "shippie" works on, invisible to all but friends and family, keeping the wheels of commerce - and banking - turning.
Never mind what anybody has to say about the "new economy", and all the rest of it, including profits made for services as well as industries which do not involve the physical movement of goods or people - if there were no seafarers, then almost all of the world's trade would simply come to a grinding halt. That they do this job unseen and unheard, for centuries now, is part of the larger picture. One reason for this silence is the nature of the whole ship-owning and operating business. The other reason is that most seafarers themselves are, by definition, majorly disconnected from the rest of the world - by the nature of their job - and take a lot in their stride.
It is, no doubt, a tough life. And that is why, currently, it is reported that there is a major shortage of trained seafarers worldwide, especially in the deck and engineer officer categories. The traditional supply from European countries has almost totally died down. Other countries are still about a generation behind in setting up training as well as certification pipelines - though China, despite the disadvantage of being behind in English skillsets, is catching up rapidly, also because of a rapid expansion in their coastal shipping, fishing as well as shipbuilding industries. Likewise the ex-Soviet East European countries, they too have rich seafaring traditions, and are rapidly catching up.
One would have thought, therefore, that this provided another opportunity for India and Indians to fill in the breach worldwide. Yes, certainly, there already are a lot of Indians in the seafaring industry, both at sea as well as ashore. Many, most of them, do very well indeed lately - with high tax-free salaries and fairly short contracts/tenures at sea. But in the midst of all this, many of tomorow's generation of seafarers seem to have hit on a wall, and for them, Diwali has been anything but happy. Stuck with heavy loans taken in the name of "Government authorised training", and then unable to get the correct documentation enabling them to work on ships, there is a whole generation of trained cadets and crew who are currently stuck ashore. Worse, after their pre-sea training, some who manage to go to other countries to look for jobs, find themselves at great risk working on sub-standard ships and other vessels.
(Case in point: Cadets were recruited from India at great cost, 6-8 lakh per annum plus recruitment and other fees, and sent onboard a "training ship" known as the RAK SINDBAD in Ras Al Khaimah, run by Indians. The website http://www.merchantnavyeducation.com/ shows as faculty a Capt. Suptd., an Indian mariner, who unfortunately passed away a few months ago. A sister ship, RAK AFRIKANA, with over a dozen Indians onboard including 11 cadets placed without much by way of official authorisation from the Indian authorities, was captured by pirates in March 2010, and there is no further news on their status. But they, like other training institutions, merrily kep advertising and looking for more youngsters to "train".)
But the bigger issue is to do with an organisation in India known as the "Indian Maritime University" (IMU). Formed with the charter to provide higher education to seafarers, it has conveniently moved into the more lucrative business of providing "affiliation" to a large number of pre-sea training institutes all over the country to churn out vast numbers of deck cadets and ratings for crew, many of whom have now started clogging the back-streets and bye-lanes of port cities all over India, unable to find jobs simply because their training is often sub-standard and their certificates are not worth the paper they have been printed on. It is these youngsters, the number now running into thousands and growing every year by leaps and bounds, who are certainly not celebrating Diwali, as they groan under the burden of heavy loans or move out to work on the sub-standard fleets of the world without any sort of protection.
Training for seafarers in India is something which was under the purview of the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) for decades. The DGS, incidentally, also provides approvals for a separate cadre of pre-sea training institutes, but has a far more rigrous regime, something that has over the decades ensured that certification for seafarers from DGS in India is on top of the rest of the world in terms of judging and declaring competence for all levels - which is a simple fact. DGS also has a system which links training to placement, as well as documentation to ensure compliance by ships and companies that employ Indians to the standards set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Not perfect, certainly, but it works. And it ensures that Indian seafarers are able to celebrate Diwali, whether onboard or ashore.
The paralel IMU system, however, is at best in a shambles, and at worse close to creating a major disaster for young Indians looking to taking up seafaring as a profession. Which is a shame, because in the existing shortage, which looks like becoming worse, an opportunity for large numbers of properly trained and certified Indian seafarers is likely to pass us by, providing a window of opportunity to other nationalities.
Which is not good Diwali for Indian seafarers, larger picture, as we seem ready to lose out on another opportunity to dominate what is, in essence, the root of all world trade - shipping.
+++
There are, ofcourse, some categories of people who simply can not be anywhere near their families on Diwali - and don't have the option of simply calling up easily either. Prisoners in jails, for example. Or seafarers on ships at sea, as another example. A satellite call to or from a ship still costs a minor fortune, though some ships now have V-SAT and other internet options available, which are sometimes shared with seafarers for their personal use. All routed through the office, of course, and with hardly any privacy though. But these are more the exception, than the rule, and even that - if people working on ships have the time from their typical 90+ hour working week.
Easy to say this:- seafarers are the invisible wire and glue that keep the world of commerce actually ticking over. Unfortunately, the only time seafarers make the public's mind through the news is when disasters, especially of the environmentally polluting sort, take place. Over a few hundred ships sink every year with a few thousand losing their lives, over 500 seafarers are currently held hostage by pirates off Somalia while family members back home get calls to pay off mini-ransoms, but the "shippie" works on, invisible to all but friends and family, keeping the wheels of commerce - and banking - turning.
Never mind what anybody has to say about the "new economy", and all the rest of it, including profits made for services as well as industries which do not involve the physical movement of goods or people - if there were no seafarers, then almost all of the world's trade would simply come to a grinding halt. That they do this job unseen and unheard, for centuries now, is part of the larger picture. One reason for this silence is the nature of the whole ship-owning and operating business. The other reason is that most seafarers themselves are, by definition, majorly disconnected from the rest of the world - by the nature of their job - and take a lot in their stride.
It is, no doubt, a tough life. And that is why, currently, it is reported that there is a major shortage of trained seafarers worldwide, especially in the deck and engineer officer categories. The traditional supply from European countries has almost totally died down. Other countries are still about a generation behind in setting up training as well as certification pipelines - though China, despite the disadvantage of being behind in English skillsets, is catching up rapidly, also because of a rapid expansion in their coastal shipping, fishing as well as shipbuilding industries. Likewise the ex-Soviet East European countries, they too have rich seafaring traditions, and are rapidly catching up.
One would have thought, therefore, that this provided another opportunity for India and Indians to fill in the breach worldwide. Yes, certainly, there already are a lot of Indians in the seafaring industry, both at sea as well as ashore. Many, most of them, do very well indeed lately - with high tax-free salaries and fairly short contracts/tenures at sea. But in the midst of all this, many of tomorow's generation of seafarers seem to have hit on a wall, and for them, Diwali has been anything but happy. Stuck with heavy loans taken in the name of "Government authorised training", and then unable to get the correct documentation enabling them to work on ships, there is a whole generation of trained cadets and crew who are currently stuck ashore. Worse, after their pre-sea training, some who manage to go to other countries to look for jobs, find themselves at great risk working on sub-standard ships and other vessels.
(Case in point: Cadets were recruited from India at great cost, 6-8 lakh per annum plus recruitment and other fees, and sent onboard a "training ship" known as the RAK SINDBAD in Ras Al Khaimah, run by Indians. The website http://www.merchantnavyeducation.com/ shows as faculty a Capt. Suptd., an Indian mariner, who unfortunately passed away a few months ago. A sister ship, RAK AFRIKANA, with over a dozen Indians onboard including 11 cadets placed without much by way of official authorisation from the Indian authorities, was captured by pirates in March 2010, and there is no further news on their status. But they, like other training institutions, merrily kep advertising and looking for more youngsters to "train".)
But the bigger issue is to do with an organisation in India known as the "Indian Maritime University" (IMU). Formed with the charter to provide higher education to seafarers, it has conveniently moved into the more lucrative business of providing "affiliation" to a large number of pre-sea training institutes all over the country to churn out vast numbers of deck cadets and ratings for crew, many of whom have now started clogging the back-streets and bye-lanes of port cities all over India, unable to find jobs simply because their training is often sub-standard and their certificates are not worth the paper they have been printed on. It is these youngsters, the number now running into thousands and growing every year by leaps and bounds, who are certainly not celebrating Diwali, as they groan under the burden of heavy loans or move out to work on the sub-standard fleets of the world without any sort of protection.
Training for seafarers in India is something which was under the purview of the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) for decades. The DGS, incidentally, also provides approvals for a separate cadre of pre-sea training institutes, but has a far more rigrous regime, something that has over the decades ensured that certification for seafarers from DGS in India is on top of the rest of the world in terms of judging and declaring competence for all levels - which is a simple fact. DGS also has a system which links training to placement, as well as documentation to ensure compliance by ships and companies that employ Indians to the standards set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Not perfect, certainly, but it works. And it ensures that Indian seafarers are able to celebrate Diwali, whether onboard or ashore.
The paralel IMU system, however, is at best in a shambles, and at worse close to creating a major disaster for young Indians looking to taking up seafaring as a profession. Which is a shame, because in the existing shortage, which looks like becoming worse, an opportunity for large numbers of properly trained and certified Indian seafarers is likely to pass us by, providing a window of opportunity to other nationalities.
Which is not good Diwali for Indian seafarers, larger picture, as we seem ready to lose out on another opportunity to dominate what is, in essence, the root of all world trade - shipping.
+++
Sunday, 14 November 2010
The case of the disturbing personal eMail - NORFOLK EXPRESS grounding
The Chief Officer of the NORFOLK EXPRESS received a personal eMail while on watch which troubled him so much that he lost all semblance of attentiveness, resulting in the ship going aground at full speed in the Gulf of Suez, because he was totally distracted.
Read more about it here:-
http://maritimeaccident.org/2009/10/norfolk-worries-led-to-grounding/
The lookout has been sent elsewhere for other tasks.
To quote from the article:-
A number of lessons arise from the incident, the most obvious relates to lookouts. Many of us prefer to be alone when dealing with personal issues and its tempting to send the lookout away so we can be alone with our thoughts. Unfortunately, those are the very conditions under which we need to have a lookout present in case we get so deep in our own concerns we lose track of what’s going on.
Whatever the psychological state of the officer of the watch a lookout might have made the difference.
At the same time, two alarms were not functioning, the bridge watch alarm which should have sounded every 12 minutes, and the echo sounder depth alarm. BSU says that it is uncertain that these would have alerted the chief officer to the situation.
Two GPS waypoint alarms sounded but were not responded to.
Read more about it here:-
http://maritimeaccident.org/2009/10/norfolk-worries-led-to-grounding/
The lookout has been sent elsewhere for other tasks.
To quote from the article:-
A number of lessons arise from the incident, the most obvious relates to lookouts. Many of us prefer to be alone when dealing with personal issues and its tempting to send the lookout away so we can be alone with our thoughts. Unfortunately, those are the very conditions under which we need to have a lookout present in case we get so deep in our own concerns we lose track of what’s going on.
Whatever the psychological state of the officer of the watch a lookout might have made the difference.
At the same time, two alarms were not functioning, the bridge watch alarm which should have sounded every 12 minutes, and the echo sounder depth alarm. BSU says that it is uncertain that these would have alerted the chief officer to the situation.
Two GPS waypoint alarms sounded but were not responded to.
Saturday, 13 November 2010
Somali piracy now all over the Arabian Sea.
And here is where Al jazeera television gives us seafarers a different camera eye's view on the issue of piracy in the Arabian Sea.
http://www.marinebuzz.com/2009/07/03/somali-piracy-al-jazeera-videos-reveal-more/
The latest attacks, 300-400 miles west of Mangalore and Mumbai, reportedly by speedboats launched from mother ship / deep sea trawlers, makes this appear as more than just some bad dream that will go away.
The bigger issues here are:-
# psychological impact of ship's complement, especially the Master, when heading through the Arabian Sea. Imagine a voyage from, say, West Coast of India to literally anywhere in the world. Are we even aware of what the Master has to answer from crew, onboard ships with nothing more than fire-hose and SSO certificates, when we also know that other ships in the area are carrying armed guards?
# will the crew/officers get their wages when captured is another issue which the Master and company do not have an answer for. A quick poll indicated that people expect atleast triple wages while captured, and some heavy insurance in case of any damage caused during the capture.
One way out would be for the authorities, DGShipping, to ensure that all ships carrying Indian seafarers should:-
* provide insurance equal to total salary paid out monthly to their families while under capture by taking out policies equal to 24 months, and then pay the hardship allowance at twice that again when released.
*provide death/disability insurance equal to atleast 120 months total salary for all seafarers trading Arabian Sea.
This would obviously be in addition to the normal insurance and other benefits in case of any incidents.
I have met some people who have been released after hijacking, or after they were jailed abroad, and most of them have had their spirits broken.
Your views, please? Why should being captured by pirates be treated as anything lesser than a major disability, while on active duty??
Do you know that some seafarers have had to beg for their wages, and what their families are going through while the breadwinners are captured??
http://www.marinebuzz.com/2009/07/03/somali-piracy-al-jazeera-videos-reveal-more/
The latest attacks, 300-400 miles west of Mangalore and Mumbai, reportedly by speedboats launched from mother ship / deep sea trawlers, makes this appear as more than just some bad dream that will go away.
The bigger issues here are:-
# psychological impact of ship's complement, especially the Master, when heading through the Arabian Sea. Imagine a voyage from, say, West Coast of India to literally anywhere in the world. Are we even aware of what the Master has to answer from crew, onboard ships with nothing more than fire-hose and SSO certificates, when we also know that other ships in the area are carrying armed guards?
# will the crew/officers get their wages when captured is another issue which the Master and company do not have an answer for. A quick poll indicated that people expect atleast triple wages while captured, and some heavy insurance in case of any damage caused during the capture.
One way out would be for the authorities, DGShipping, to ensure that all ships carrying Indian seafarers should:-
* provide insurance equal to total salary paid out monthly to their families while under capture by taking out policies equal to 24 months, and then pay the hardship allowance at twice that again when released.
*provide death/disability insurance equal to atleast 120 months total salary for all seafarers trading Arabian Sea.
This would obviously be in addition to the normal insurance and other benefits in case of any incidents.
I have met some people who have been released after hijacking, or after they were jailed abroad, and most of them have had their spirits broken.
Your views, please? Why should being captured by pirates be treated as anything lesser than a major disability, while on active duty??
Do you know that some seafarers have had to beg for their wages, and what their families are going through while the breadwinners are captured??
The MLC 2010 - a view from June 2009 . . .
Here's something I wrote on the MLC-2010 about a year and a half ago.
Big question - will the MLC 2010 just mean yet another youngish inspector with attitude onboard ships, and now in office, too?
+++
Big question - will the MLC 2010 just mean yet another youngish inspector with attitude onboard ships, and now in office, too?
+++
Probably the most important maritime legislation coming our way is the "Consolidated Maritime Labour Convention" (CMLC). This is an amalgamation of all the various International Labour Organisation (ILO) instruments, documents and all other regulations and codes that pertain to life for seafarers - that's over 50 such international labour standards, some going as far back as the 1920s.. While the ratification and implementation criteria are already defined, and the pre-requisites for introducing it in practice are already in place, it will still be around 2011-2012 before it actually comes into effect.
What that means, in simple English, is that life at sea for law-abiding flags and seafarers onboard is about to change. Very much. The big thing it lays out is the right of seafarers to decent living and working conditions. Worldwide. In addition, at first glance, it is easy to read, and involves the view of both seafarers as well as owners/operators. And ofcourse, environmental protection - an even bigger subject under this one now.
The parts which will really interest those still at sea or planning to go to sea, from the specific point of view of being a "shippie", which we can expect to see covered and implemented in very quick order, are laid out in brief. Broadly, these are divided into the following categories:-
1) the minimum requirements for seafarers to work onboard ships.
2) conditions of employment.
3) accomodation, recreation facilities, food and catering.
4) health protection, welfare, medical care and social protection.
5) compliance and enforcement.
So will shipping truly become the world's first global industry, with equal standards for all, regardless of nationality of individual or flag of vessel or any other differentiators? Wait, there is much more - and it probably also spells much better opportunity for seafarers who are ready to understand what is going on.
However, first off, look at the exemptions. Coastal ships, "traditional" vessels like dhows and junks, ships below a certain size, fishing vessels and some other specific types are exempted. But even there, fact remains, some amount of global standards would rub off eventually. Just see the level of sophistication and electronic equipment available on some of the dhows plying in and around the Gulf lately, for example, they put some 10-20 year old ships to shame. There is in all likelihood a "catch-up" kind of scenario going to exist here. First off, hopefully the "launches" at Gateway of India are improved.
On the other hand, the rules for implementation and ensuring adherence have just become tougher, and give Port State Control even wider and often sweeping powers. For example, Article V.6 of this Convention states very clearly that:- " Members shall prohibit violations of the requirements of this Convention and shall, in accordance with international law, establish sanctions or require the adoption of corrective measures under their laws that are adequate to discourage such violations [wherever they occur]." Ship detention can now be resorted to for simply being from a flag that did not ratify this convention, never mind adherence otherwise to the letter and spirit, which is a significant addition to and also rather important departure from the inspection based regime currently in force. Yours could be the best ship in the world, but if your flag was not adhering, then you can be detained - simple as that.
The next big thing is definition of a "seafarer". For the first time, this definition goes beyond the traditional navigator, engineer, saloon and other departments at sea - it now brings in a simple definition:- ""any person who is employed, engaged or works in any capacity on board a ship that is covered by the Convention."". That's really, really wide. Hotel workers onboard? Temporary "flying crew" joining a ship for repairs? Pilots, port or deep-sea? Cadets? Even workers from stevedoring gangs, discharging the ship? Writers, like yours truly, sailing on board for any reason soon? Training personnel?
But the biggest change is, as always, in the commercial aspects. Ships from non-complying countries will no longer be able to pose unfair and cheaper competition to those from complying countries. This is where the convention in a manner of speaking, "comes ashore". Will the laws cover everything from basic bills of lading onwards, to newer multi-modal documents, and would this then impact insurance as well as possible post-facto increase in commercially agreed on terms and conditions, as well as costs?
The debate may have just begun, the implementation is not in doubt. Overall, in this correspondent's opinion, this is a very welcome legislation for everyone.
Now let's be there to implement it? To do that, you first have to read it. All of it. Why wait for a "course", when it is there on the internet, with commentary and all?
+++
Veeresh Malik is pleasantly surprised, after a decade in the infotech industry, to see the high level of international codification and improvement in things Mercantile Marine. Both at sea and ashore.
The power of the pen (keyboard . . .) at sea and ashore
Why do you think the name of your ship is written on the bow, and not simply hidden away somewhere inside voluminous documents and drawings, or replaced by an identification number like the registration number of your motor-car? Wouldn't it be simpler to replace everything by the full style and address of the corporate entity that owns/operates your ship, or the banks that hold the mortgage?
No, it wouldn't. Simply because your ship is known and acquires respect as well as a reputation by its name. So, as a matter of fact, do you and all of us.
Likewise, your views on anything in life. You can discuss them on the dining table, duty mess, smoke room or elsewhere. Or you can exchange SMS type messages, cryptic, short, hardly understood by many. Or if you really want them to be noticed - you can take the trouble of writing them down, eMail soft-copy as well as hard-copy printout, and send them out with your name appended at the end of whatever it is that you wanted to say, ask, declare, comment on.
The Power of the Pen. Certainly not as mighty as the waves relentlessly whipping aside as the bows slice through them. But certainly more powerful when you have the time to put your views across.
Write. Today. And if you feel you need a vehicle (or a vessel?) to help get your thoughts across, then this blog is the forum where you will realise the power that writing something with your name behind it wields. Or, in case you don't want to use your name, then trust me.
Go for it.
Bulk Iron Ore Fines Loading in India, by Capt. T. Rajkumar, Master Mariner.
(Kind courtesy Capt. T. Rajkumar)
TOPIC: BulkIron Ore Fines Loading in India
Course objectives – Safety & prevention of accidents being the main criteria.
IMO , BC
TOPIC: Bulk
Course objectives – Safety & prevention of accidents being the main criteria.
Ref IMO Bulk Code.
· Review situation in India
· Application of the BC Code (IMO)
Introducing the topic---· In the year, 2002 Iron Ore
· With Ore Prices just soaring and China
· Exports hit an an all time high but, Loading norms of the IMO- BC Code was not understood or heeded and the trade took many aspects for granted.
· Also many ports that used to close in Monsoon season just continued all time.
· With increasing demand for steel, the export of Bulk Ore Fines steadily increased since 2002. With boom time, many older ships were chartered at lowest freights and soon shoddy operations took its toll. This eventually gave rise to numerous Bulk Carrier casualties and especially the case of m.v. Asian Forest Media- !! -then the trade and industry took notice..
We need to now ask a few queries.
· After the 12 nos. casualties reported and follow instructions by the DG, MS Notice, IMO 2009 Revised, P&I Club Advice to members & Reports from the Shipp Enquiry Committee-- What is the position today ?
· The awareness and application of the IMO code on loading norms , much less it’s usage is still very poor. The scene all over India
· Shippers need to address the instructions listed in IMO BC
Q: Who will control this ?
· Refer current practices in the Iron Ore trade and -it is a shocker. Ore Fines is exported all the year round and no stoppage in Monsoon season.
· Ore is mined and crushed at Mines from Bihar to Jharkhand/AP-Karnataka and transported in open trucks /rakes to shipment ports. During the monsoon rains the ore piles remain in the open yards and the moisture content exceeds limits . With heavy rains, pools of stagnant water are seen water but many Shippers wish to continue loaded Wet Ore.
· Refer current practices in the Iron Ore trade and Media Reports-it is a shocker. Fines is exported all the time and no stoppage in Monsoon season. Ore is mined and Crushed at Mines from Bihar /Jharkhand/AP-Karnataka and then transported in open trucks /rakes to shipment ports. During the monsoon rains they remain in the open yards and the moisture content exceeds limits . With heavy rains, pools of stagnant water are seen water. This has been photographed and even reported with a caption "Ore
· However despite all circulars and guidelines many Shippers wish to continue loaded Wet Ore. How does the Ships Officer - Owners and relate with Shippers and Port Authority here on such matters .
· If a Prudent Master stops loading-- will his vessel be shifted to Outer Roads. (It appears that Ports can be quite unreasonable to achieve a fast turnround).
· In monsoon rains and cargo soaked on open stacks results in - “Ore Fines getting soaking wet. Thus M- TMT does increase beyond permissible limits ...will turn into a Slurry and this is unsafe for loading for sea passage. The Mangalore casualty was seen as a direct result of this as Reports will indicate.
· The excuse given by Shippers and Assayers to the Shipping Enquiry Committee -Quote “Unable to assess M, FMP of large Bulk Quantity” unquote. This is quite an absurd statement.
· Loading even in heavy Rains continues today despite various guidelines.
· The problem really begins here.
· Who will Monitor this?
· What Loading supervision and control do we have ?
· What is the role of Port Authority .
OPEN HOUSE –
Addressing key factors:
What can ships personnel do ?
· How is the Ship’s Officer managing the loading ?
· Does the ship’s officer inspect cargo stack on jetty and do the ‘Can Test’.
· Does the Ship get a correct quality Certificate from the Shipper’s Assayer ?
· P&I Intervention – What is the experience on this assistance on application of the BC Guidelines ?
LOOKING AT SOLUTIONS.-Start at Fixture time with Shippers and Load Port
· Supervise Loading -don't leave to chance.
· Be totally informed and communicate.
· Have Sampling & Testing organized standard, calibrated equipment please-
· Trained and competent samplers & analysis.
· Inform Pre-shipment specs. to Owner & Master in advance by email.
LET US NOW ADDRESS COPING SKILLS --
1) The 2009 edition of the IMO Bulk Code is really an excellent doc; Possibly the best edition seen till date and is most comprehensive.
The first 44 pages of instructions itself tells it all- .So also, DG circular on ore loading.
Q: Have Shippers ever read this or much less used it.
Q: Have Shippers ever read this or much less used it.
2) In all fairness, the problem is more in Monsoon conditions with soaking wet ores. Then we also see the lack of regard for Trimming & levelling in stow.. the Shipper is quite oblivious to all this and rests in his "Angle of Repose!! (Sorry about that dig, but it is a fact).
3) The situation in 2007 & the casualties was mainly with old ships and poor management in all aspects of PSI- Load -stow-trim sail- fast turnround go.. go--.
This problem mainly arose due a total disregard for the IMO- Bulk Code norms and too much of commercial pressures and this is quite evident. No doubt 2007 was a bad year-see casualty statistics.
4) The Port Authority's role in this seems to be a limited one, despite what ever legal instruments may exist. The Major Ports Act itself is nearly a 'century old' and Ports only respond as Custodian or bailee of cargo etc-so no real proactive role is seen on Cargo Loading matters. The Ports main priority being the turnround and Qty-Output/ shipped mainly.
5) With so many new ports and "inexperienced” personnel, mostly untrained in BC Code the "awareness’ to BC code is a key to correcting the situation. Regrettably, we also have today much confusion caused by some dubious Operators who have not read the directives on loading of Iron ore fines. Then some Operators inc Shippers just do not cooperate and disregard all risk control guidelines..
The paradox is whilst all loading directives and control is about due diligence being exercised in the interest of safety, the fact is that few shippers cooperate.
ADDRESSING THE MATTER
Finally, a Preshipment inspection procedure was laid out by end of 2009- and has slowly gained acceptance.i.e. even before loading commenced as the Port Rules do not permit "Wet Ore" once loaded in holds to be discharged, resulting in an impasse. P&I support and loss prevention measures came to assist the ship master from the arrival of Cargo, with sampling and testing ( PSI ) to loading and final topping when sought by Owners.
REFERENCES:
DG Shipping Circulars & MS Notice
P&I Club Circulars
Apart from the above, the National Shipping Committee also met. The GOI Circular from Delhi May 28, 2010 "guideline" was issued.
Finally in 2010 we seem to have arrived at a reasonable consensus to Monitor the work with P&I support as follows:
Ship & cargo survey attendance to include:
1) To inspect the cargo at shippers stock yard before arrival of the vessel and to carry out joint sampling with shippers representative / surveyor.
2) To carryout analysis of one composite sample for Total Moisture, Flow Moisture Point & Transportable Moisture Limit.
3) The test results of TML to be made available to the Master of the Vessel prior to loading for reference.
4) To attend the vessel on arrival and carryout monitoring survey of the cargo to be loaded.
5) To Carryout Regular CAN Test and Instant Moisture Test of the sample at hook point during loading.
6) If a parcel of cargo is suspected to be wet during loading and bringing it to the notice of the concerned.
7) Surveyor will allow such cargo to be loaded where moisture content is found to be less than TML. If moisture content is more than TML then please recommend Master to reject such cargo.
8) OPTIONAL- To carry out initial & final Draft survey and assist Master in stowing and trimming of cargo after loading.
SUMMARISING:
Ships condition apart--bulk loading can be well organised and managed if basic norms are followed I do believe this can be well managed with Cooperation from all, plus a better knowledge of the BC Code in loading and esp. due respect by shippers for the specifics.
As a former Surveyor to the mechanical ore Terminal at Chennai (commissioned in 1978 ) operated by the Port & MMTC- we had good results and work progressed with due cooperation from all with successful outcomes.
Time changes many things with expansion and costings and degeneration often sets in when unchecked. This matter was earlier taken up for Masters Revalidation Course. It was also presented at the Nautical Inst. Chennai Chapter seminar by me this year.
All P&I Clubs have published papers on this matter and it is just a matter of taking this procedure across to Trade –i.e. Shippers and all connected inc. the Port Authority,
There is a serious need to build better Awareness to the BC Code within the shore support sector attending bulk cargoes.
NOTE: In the 1987 -1992 period Bulker Casualties were reported all across the world and esp at high loading terminals. In the1990s when the Master's Revalidation course was set on stream "Bulk Carrier disasters" was a key subject- Senior mariners will recall the case study of the m.v. Derbyshire. The Nautical Institute and later the Classification societies had done much research on Bulkers and provided valuable data. Sadly, all is now archived in vaults. History repeats is a truism. A few problems had also surfaced in India
RECENT CASUALTY STATISTICS
No | Vessel | Sailing | Incident | Date | + | |
1. | m.v. WEN QIAO | ..08.07 | Capsized and sank at | 17.9.07 | 1 | |
2. | m.v.CHANG LE MEN | Mangalore | 05.09.07 | Beached with 35 deg list near Mangalore | 6.9.07 | - |
3. | m.v. DISCOVERY II | Haldia | 18.9.07 | Developed severe list and entered | 21.9.07 | - |
4. | m.v.VIEN DONG 2 | Haldia | 26.9.07 | Beached with 20 deg. List off Car – | 30.9.07 | - |
5. | m.v. HENG TAI | Haldia | 27.9.07 | Capsized and sank at | 2.10.07 | 2 |
6. | m.v. | Mangalore | 17.7.09 | Sank off Mangalore | 18.7.09 | - |
7. | m.v. HODASCO 15 | …8.09 | Capsized and sank off | 30.8.09 | - | |
8. | m.v. BLACK ROSE | Paradip | ..09.09 | Sank shortly after departing | 9.9.09 | 1 |
9. | m.v. VINALINES MIGHTY | Paradip | ..09.09 | Serious list short after sailing and returned to load port. | 10.9.09 | - |
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