NewsinBrief

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Questions we’reoften asked

Your comments

My ship is trading entirely within the nationalwaters of one country and that country does notrequire the vessel to comply with the ISPS Code. Whydoes the BMA not grant me exemption from therequirements of the Code?

Vessels are registered under the Bahamas Flag basedon their status as being engaged in foreign going trade,that is, operating outside the territorial waters of TheBahamas. For continued registration of the vessel withthe Bahamas Flag, the BMA has concluded that ourvessels must fully comply with all applicable internationalrequirements.

Why does the BMA not issue exemptions directly for statutory certification as some otherAdministrations do?

The BMA will issue exemptions directly only insupport of issued certificates which we maintain, forexample Safe Manning Certificates. The surveys forcompliance with statutory requirements and issue ofassociated certification are delegated to our RecognisedOrganisations. RO Surveyors know the ships intimatelybecause of the surveys carried out. Their local surveyorsare able to verify the arrangements on board andrecommend actions to suit the situation as they find it.Therefore it is only right that they should makerecommendations to us for our consideration before weagree to an exemption or extension being issued by them.Our procedures – Instruction to Classification SocietiesNo. 11 and Information Bulletin No. 8 are available onour website at www.bahamasmaritime.com.

Why does the BMA not charge companies foradvice given on any statutory or operational issues?

The Bahamas prides itself on its reputation as aregister of quality, which is derived directly from the good management of the ships on the Register. It makesobvious good sense to advise and encourage ourmanagers in the application of statutory requirementsand to make that advice as freely available as possible,The Technical Department is always pleased to hear frommanagers asking for advice or clarification on any issuewhich is not already dealt with in our InformationBulletins and Instructions to Classification Societies.

If you have any comments or suggestions about “The Bahamas Flag” please send them to:

Melanie Knowles(mknowles@bahamasmaritime.com) The Bahamas Maritime Authority16 Minories, London EC3 1EH, UK

On 1 August 2004, CaptChowdhury joined the BahamasMaritime Authority as DeputyDirector. He will head the MaritimeAffairs section of the TechnicalDepartment.

In 1976, he obtained a Master's(FG) Certificate from the formerDepartment of Transport, UK. Hethen obtained an MSc in maritimesafety administration from theWorld Maritime University inSweden in 1988.

Capt Chowdhury spent well over12 years at sea, three of which werespent in command of merchantships engaged in international trade.Following his time at sea, he servedashore in almost every discipline ofmaritime trade – shipping company,

port authority, training institute andfinally in maritime administration inBangladesh before joining theMarine Division of the Departmentof Transport, UK in 1991. Hebecame the Deputy Chief Examinerof the Seafarers' Standards Branchof the UK-MCA in 1997 andcontinued in this post until the endof 1999 when he became theMaritime Administrator in Gibraltar.He is an IMO field consultant and aVisiting Professor of the WorldMaritime University.

Mr Akhurst recently joined theInspections section of the TechnicalDepartment where his engineeringand surveying skills will beinvaluable.

Growing up in the shadow ofCardiff docks it was hardly surprising

that John ended up joining a localshipping firm, Reardon Smith, as anengineer cadet. Service on generaland bulk cargo ships was followedby voyages on a car/packaged timbercarrier until he achieved his Class IMotor Certificate. Time spent asChief Engineer on a self-elevatingworkover platform off Saudi Arabiawas followed by his move to Lloyd’sRegister as an engineer surveyor. Herepresented Lloyd’s Register inSwitzerland, various offices in theUSA and finally as the lone surveyorin Swansea. A master’s degree,followed by a further stint in Lloyd’sRegister, eventually led to a post asTechnical Manager with BritishWaterways.

John Akhurst

Ricardo Delaney joined the BMAin March this year as the SeniorNautical Inspector (Nassau),following a ten year stint as anentrepreneur in his own business.

He began his career in themaritime industry in 1975, whenhe joined the British MerchantNavy as an engineer cadet. Havingattended Southampton College ofHigher Education, UK, where heobtained a Second Engineer’sCertificate of Competency, hesailed with companies includingSalen UK, Whitco Marine,Denholms and ChevronInternational. After his tenure at

sea he worked as a maintenancesupervisor at the Bahamas OilRefining Company. In 1994,Ricardo started an engineeringbusiness which he operated untiljoining the BMA team.

Ricardo Delaney

Captain Fazlur Rahman Chowdhury

FLAGFLAGFLAG~The Bahamas~

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE BAHAMAS MARIT IME AUTHORITY OCTOBER 2004 • ISSUE NO. 15

www.bahamasmaritime.com

One of the most notable featuresof the Bahamas Ship Register is thevast range of ships which fly itsflag. And ferries of all types –freight, passenger, car and now highspeed – are increasingly turning tothe Bahamas Register as their flagof choice.

Bahamas-flagged ferries include CondorFerries, P & O Ferries and Stena Line whichare some of the largest companies operatingon the highly competitive routes in NorthernEurope. Bahamas-registered ferries are alsofound in the Mediterranean as well as inCaribbean waters. The ferry industry is arapidly expanding growth area for theAuthority with companies attracted to theBahamas Flag because of its reputation forquality, safety, expertise and most especiallyin today’s uncertain world, security.

Stena Line’s Stena Lynx III is a 4113 gtTasmanian-built high speed craft registeredwith The Bahamas. This multi-purposevessel, which operates on Stena’s Irish Searoute, has a maximum speed of 32 knots.The 31,189 gt Stena Baltica, anotherBahamas-flagged ferry, transports up to1800 passengers and 210 cars betweenSweden and Poland. With its 89-strongferry fleet, Stena and its subsidiaries operateEurope’s most comprehensive route networkcalling at ports in eight countries inScandinavia and Northern Europe.

Ferries on the Flag

Condor Express, Condor’s 5005 gt high speed catamaran

Condor Express and Condor Vitesse aretwo of the four ferries Condor Ferries haveflagged with The Bahamas. The state-of-the-art high speed crafts, with a passengercapacity of 750 and space for 185 cars,can travel at up to 42 knots. TheTasmanian-built sister vessels cover theroutes between England, the ChannelIslands and Western France. Condor plansto add another fast ferry to the BahamasRegister within the next month.

Because of its archipelagic geography,The Bahamas is a nation linked by ferriesincluding modern fast ferries which conveyfreight, cars and passengers. Like manyother countries, The Bahamas haswitnessed significant changes in theindustry with the introduction of highspeed craft which can reduce travel timeby half when compared with moreconventional ships. One such high speed

Prime Minister visits the BMA Before returning to Nassau following a state visit to China, the Prime Minister of The Bahamas,

the Honourable Perry Christie paid a visit to the Authority’s office in London on 22 August 2004.Mr Christie was accompanied by High Commissioner Basil O’Brien and the Minister of ForeignAffairs, Fred Mitchell. The Prime Minister commended the work of the staff at BMA andexpressed his interest in deepening his knowledge of the maritime industry.

Whilst in China, the Prime Minster and his delegation, which included his wife and daughter,was hosted by President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jibao. They conducted significantnegotiations related to tourism, trade and industry. During his visit, Mr Christie met with Mr WeiJaifu, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chinese Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO).Since Mr Jaifu’s visit to Nassau in June, COSCO has agreed to a substantial investment inFreeport, Grand Bahama, and to add further ships to the Bahamas Register (see page 3).

Prime Minister Christie expanded, “It [COSCO] has already registered three ships and by a veryrecent strategic decision has agreed to the formation of a ship leasing company in The Bahamasthat should result in an additional 10 to 40 ships on our register.”

vessel is The Bahamas-registered BoHengy, owned by Bahamas Fast FerriesLtd, which travels between Nassau andthe prime destinations of Paradise Island,Harbour Island and Eleuthera.

The importance of the ferry industryto The Bahamas is demonstrated by theappointment of Craig Symonette,President of Bahamas Fast Ferries, as thenew President of the industry groupInterferry. In November 2004, delegatesto the 29th Annual Interferry Conference,which attracts many of the industry’sworld leaders, will be welcomed toFreeport, Grand Bahama for four days ofmeetings and social events. The themeof this year’s conference is “Dynamics ofChange, New markets – NewOpportunities” and representatives fromAustralia, Europe, Latin and NorthAmerica will address pertinent topics.

The Minister of Transport andAviation, the Honourable Glenys Hanna-Martin, will be the keynote speaker atthe opening ceremony. As well aswelcoming guests to The Bahamas, shewill talk about the role of the BahamasShip Registry in the international ferryindustry. The BMA wishes theconference every success and hopes thatthose visiting The Bahamas willexperience the best of what the islandshave to offer, including a ferry journeyof course!

From left to right: High Commissioner BasilO’Brien, Minister of Foreign Affairs, FredMitchell, Prime Minister Perry Christie &BMA Director, John Mervyn Jones

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Goal Based Standards updateThe latest Bahamas initiative

at IMO – to introduce basicinternationally-set shipconstruction standards (GoalBased Standards) – hascontinued to attract widespreadsupport. And at the nextMaritime Safety Committee(MSC) meeting in December, aWorking Group will be set up toconsider how to take theconcept forward.

The most important task for theGroup will be to define the principlesof Goal Based Standards in terms that

Bulk Carriers – IMO’s change of heart

will be readily understood by IMOmembers. Then standards at thehighest level must be set. This mightsound easy but it is not. Havingdiscussed the subject with manydifferent professionals, it is clear thatthere is a massive educational job tobe done, not merely a technical one.The work required may seem obvious tothose who created the idea in the firstplace, but as is so often the case, thepractical implications can be difficultfor others to grasp. The Bahamastherefore intends to take an active partin both the teaching as well as thetechnical aspects of the new standards.

At the MSC meeting in May, one ofthe delegates suggested that the

introduction of agreed mandatorystandards for ship construction wassomething that IMO should have beenworking on for the last 50 years! TheBMA agrees but is optimistic that rapidprogress can now be made.

The Classification Societies havealready been hard at work, not only totailor their own rules to meet thestandards proposed at an earlier MSCmeeting but also to make those rulescommon for all InternationalAssociation of Classification Societies(IACS) members. This in itself is amajor step forward and augers well forIMO’s future work in this area.

However, another way of looking atIMO’s change of heart is to go back tothe original principles of the FSA. Thenit becomes clear that the procedureswere never designed to make decisions,but rather to give the decision makersa choice about how to reduce risk.

The FSA research group, havingcompleted its investigation, made thechoice and subsequently presentedMSC – the actual decision makers –with a package of measures almost ona “take it or leave it” basis! WhenMSC realised that they had little or nochoice and more to the point, thatdouble side skin was not the only wayto reduce risk, the original IMOdecision was reversed.

It is hoped that, far from killing theconcept of FSA, the realisation of itslimitations will result in the better useof the technique. After all, when radarwas first introduced, it was far fromperfect. In fact, it was only when itslimitations were recognised and dealtwith that it really became the valuabletool that it is today.

Messidor – recently delivered Chinese-built bulk carrier owned by the French company AVRACS

During its last meeting in May 2004, the IMO Maritime SafetyCommittee (MSC) decided to overturn a previous decision to makedouble side skin construction mandatory for certain bulk carriers. Atthe time, the change of heart was criticised by some delegates as wellas by certain sections of the press. It was said to be a blow for theFormal Safety Assessment (FSA) procedures which had produced theoriginal proposal.

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Impressive ISPS record for BahamasLike many other maritime

Administrations, The Bahamaswas a hive of activity in themonths leading up to 1 July2004 as it strived to achieveits commitments as a Flag, Portand Coastal State under thenew ISPS Code. The BahamasMaritime Authority (BMA) wasdesignated as the securityfocal point for ships and anewly formed Port SecurityAdvisory Committee wastasked with the security of allBahamian ports and, mostcrucially, with theestablishment of a securitylevel for the country.

All applicable personnel underwentsecurity training and RecognisedSecurity Organisations were authorisedfor ship and port facilities certification.

On the entry into force date, TheBahamas took stock of the status ofthe implementation of the ISPS Codeand the outcome, based on provisionalfigures, was positive, especially for asmall nation:

21 of the 22 identified port facilitieswithin The Bahamas were certifiedas being compliant

Over 90 % of Bahamian registeredships were certified for compliance

All the required information -contact points and details of portfacilities - was recorded in the IMOGlobal Integrated Ship InformationSystem (GISIS)

Equally important is the fact that anumber of our shipowners arevoluntarily opting to have their ships,

to which the ISPS Code does notapply, audited and certified under theCode. This lays testimony to thequality of our shipowners who shareour mutual commitment to security.

The BMA has made a significantcontribution to a raised awareness ofsecurity as well as to theinternational maritime securityframework. But now is not the timefor the Authority to rest on itslaurels. On the contrary, the BMAregards this as just the first hurdle.The Code, as with other newlydeveloped regulations, will remainunder continuous review and theAuthority urges all parties to providefeedback on their practical experienceof its implementation. Thisinformation will prove invaluableduring discussions at the Decembermeeting of IMO’s Maritime SafetyCommittee at which The Bahamas,“armed” with contributions, willactively participate.

Port State Control – Bahamasremains in top group

In terms of the 2003 Port StateControl statistics, the quality ofships flying the Bahamas Flagremains evident by our inclusion onthe Paris MOU White List and ournon-inclusion on the Tokyo MOUand US Coast Guard’s lists oftargeted flags. From the adjacentchart, it can be seen that TheBahamas detention record is abouthalf the world’s average. Thisinformation was provided to JohnMervyn Jones, BMA’s Director, as heprepared to accompany members ofthe Bahamas ShipownersAssociation (BSA) to their regularmeeting with the US Coast Guard inSeptember 2004. “The maritimeworld uses port state control

statistics as performancemeasurement tools for Flag Statesand the Authority is pleased with theconsistent level of quality andcontinuous improvement of our fleetin this all important area”,commented Mr Jones.

COSCO delegationvisits The Bahamas

Mr Wei Jaifu, President and Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the Chinese Ocean Shipping Company(COSCO), paid a courtesy call on the HonourableGlenys Hanna-Martin, Minister of Transport andAviation (centre), on 25 June 2004, at the Ministryof Transport and Aviation in Nassau. Mr Wei(right) was accompanied by His Excellency JiaoDongcun (left), Chinese Ambassador to TheBahamas. Mr Wei led a delegation of ten COSCOexecutives to The Bahamas to explore businessopportunities with the Grand Bahama PortAuthority, joint owner, together with Hong Kongbased Hutchinson Port Holdings, of the FreeportContainer Port (Photo: Derek Smith, BahamasInformation Services)

The month of July also saw the BMA considering the effect ofthe maritime security regulations, whilst at the same time analysingthe annual Port State Report from the Regional MOUs and the USCoast Guard. Within the MOUs, concentrated inspections startedon 1 July 2004, the focus being the ISPS Code. Early indicationssuggest that there have been few control actions taken againstBahamian-flagged ships.

Review of 2003 PSC Reports

Region/MOU

Finance & AdministrationARTHUR BARNETTDEPUTY DIRECTOR

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2590

• Management of accountingfunctions

• Collection of annual fees

• Payment of creditors

• Shipowners Association Treasurer

• Implementation of informationtechnology strategy

• Strategic planning

Leon DorsettFinancial Controller

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2591

Latonja FoxSenior Assistant Accountant

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2593

Ruth BearmanAdministrative Assistant

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2550

JOHN MERVYN JONES DIRECTORTelephone +(44) 20 7264 2552

BOARD OF DIRECTORST H E B A H A M A S

M A R I T I M E

A U T H O R I T Y

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NassauTelephone +(1) 242 394 3024

Fax +(1) 242 394 3014

E-mail nassau@bahamasmaritime.com

New YorkTelephone +(1) 212 829 0221

Fax +(1) 212 829 0356

E-mailnewyork@bahamasmaritime.com

Emergency +(1) 917 640 0291

LondonTelephone +(44) 20 7264 2550

Registration Fax +(44) 20 7264 2589

Finance Fax +(44) 20 7264 2599

Technical Fax +(44) 20 7264 2579

Telex 892617 BAHREG G

E-mails reg@bahamasmaritime.com

tech@bahamasmaritime.com

finance@bahamasmaritime.com

Website: www.bahamasmaritime.com

HOW TO CONTACT US - KEY TELEPHONE NUMBERS

www.bahamasmaritime.com

Registration

DEBBIE-LOU CAREYREGISTRAR

Tel +(44) 20 7 264 2550

Carolyn MoreeRegistration Assistant

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2585

Kenia NottageRegistration Assistant

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2582

Benjamin McKinneyRegistration Assistant

Tel +(44) 20 7274 2560

Barbara CampbellTel +(44) 20 7264 2583

• All ship registration matters

• Registration of mortgages

• Registration of changes ofownership

• Name changes

• Transcripts of register entries

• Issue of ship radio licences

• Issue of CSR

Investigations & Manning

DOUGLAS BELLDEPUTY DIRECTOR

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2570

• Investigation of casualties involving Bahamian ships

• Investigation of MARPOL, COLREG& SOLAS infringements

• Manning & issue of Safe Manning documents

• Issue of officer endorsements• Issue of radio officer

endorsements/licences• STW matters• High speed craft operation

Nigel James Assistant Director

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2576

Denise FarringtonLicensing Officer

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2577

Donavan WilliamsTechnical Assistant

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2574

Kendanique FergusonLicensing Assistant

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2578

Natercia RinglerAdministration AssistantTel +(44) 20 7264 2569

Maritime Affairs

FAZLUR CHOWDHURYDEPUTY DIRECTOR

TEL +(44) 20 7264 2567

• Liaison with Classification Societies

• Coordination of The Bahamas at IMO

• Advice to The Bahamas government on accession to IMO Conventions

• Advice on application & interpretation of IMO Conventions

• Coordination of CAS

• Ship documents/publications

• Bahamas Shipowners Association Secretariat

Robin PhillipsAssistant Director

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2564

Playdell GoodingAdministrative Assistant (Publications)

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2572

Melanie KnowlesShipowners Secretary

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2573

JONES DIRECTOR4) 20 7264 2552

F DIRECTORS

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New YorkTelephone +(1) 212 829 0221

Fax +(1) 212 829 0356

E-mailnewyork@bahamasmaritime.com

Emergency +(1) 917 640 0291

Out Of Hours EmergencyIf you need to contact us in an emergency outside the normaloffice hours of 0900 & 1730 London time, please telephonethe Emergency Duty Officer on +(44) 7977 471220 if you areoutside the UK & 07977 471220 if you are calling from insidethe UK.

NE NUMBERS

www.bahamasmaritime.com

me Affairs

CHOWDHURY DIRECTOR

20 7264 2567

ssification Societies

The Bahamas at IMO

ahamas government IMO Conventions

ation & IMO Conventions

CAS

/publications

wners Association

n Phillipsnt Director20 7264 2564

l Goodingsistant (Publications)

20 7264 2572

e Knowlesers Secretary20 7264 2573

Inspections

DWAIN HUTCHISONDEPUTY DIRECTOR

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2561

• Appointment & audit of nautical inspectors

• Management of programme of Bahamas inspections

• Advice on ISM/ISPS Code

• Caribbean MOU matters

Colin SandemanAssistant Director

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2565

John AkhurstAssistant Director

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2563

Tio DevaneyTechnical Officer

Tel +(44) 20 7264 2566

Catherine BethellTechnical Assistant

Tel +(44) 20 7262 2562

Nassau Office

ERMA RAHMING MACKEYASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Tel +(1) 242 394 3024

• Ship registration in Nassau &associated functions

• Port State Control in The Bahamas• Liaison with The Bahamas

government• Technical advice for local vessels

Ricardo DelaneySenior Nautical Inspector

Katie ClarkeRegistration Officer

Patricia PinderRegistration Assistant

New York Office

CHRISTINE SCAVELLADEPUTY DIRECTOR

Tel +(1) 212 829 0221

Juanita ButlerRegistration Assistant

Dawn BethelAdministrative Assistant

• Ship registration in New York

• Issue of Seaman’s Books

• Issue of Safe Manning documents

• Liaison with the US Coast Guard

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www.bahamasmaritime.com

New York office making strides Since its opening in 1999, the BMA’s New York

office has attracted significant new buildtonnage to the Bahamas Flag. 2004 has been aparticularly successful year with a total of 16new buildings to date. Most notable is theregistration of ten oil tankers by Teekay Shipping(Canada) Ltd, the New York office’s biggestclient, which has more than 100 ships registeredwith the BMA.

But New York’s success also includes passenger ships. Recentregistrations include Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Spiritand Royal Caribbean Cruises' Jewel of the Seas. These highprofile registrations highlight The Bahamas as a flag of choicebecause of its total commitment to high quality tonnage andexcellent service. Also joining the Register this year are twonewly built semi-submersible drilling rigs built by CianbroShipyard in Portland Maine, USA and owned by PetrodrillEngineering N.V.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s 75338 gt Norwegian Spirit

Advances in technology for BMA“We’ve been in the Information

Age for about thirty years, but mostof the information moving amongbusiness has remained in paperform…much of the computing poweris only used for the automation ofold processes….the best way todifferentiate your company from thecompetition is to do an outstandingjob with information.” Bill Gates,Business @ the speed of thought.

The Bahamas Maritime Authority wasamong the first registries to becomecompletely computerised. This shiftundoubtedly boosted the Authority’sefficiency, but as many other organisationsdiscovered, computerisation simplyautomated previous manual processes. BMArealised that although those processes werethe best practice of their day, computerisationopened up new possibilities and the Authorityhad to meet the challenge head-on.

It may indeed be true that we have beenin the Information Age for the last thirtyyears but the changes in technology in thelast five years dwarf anything seen in theprevious 25 years. Customers are now muchmore computer savvy. As a result, they requirea great deal more than was even thoughtpossible only five years ago. The ability of the

BMA to meet the present needs of its clientsis a given but it is no longer enough.Anticipation of future requirements is nowessential. The post-September 11environment has forever changed theconstraints under which the maritimeindustry operates. The BMA is committed tobeing at the forefront of this change, andtechnology is one of it tools.

Over the next 24 months the Authoritywill implement some very important changesin its computerisation. For BMA’s clients,many of these changes will be barelydetectable except for a continualimprovement in the high quality of servicealready offered. Some clients will be offeredservices that they have always wished for butwhich were previously impossible to provide.And the provision of yet more new serviceswill exceed their expectations. For BMA staff,not only will more information be readilyavailable to make necessary decisions, butthese planned changes will transform bestpractices as we know them today. Within theindustry, these technological changes willallow the BMA to remain at the cutting edge,continually raising the bar not only on whatis possible but also on what is expected.

The BMA now operates a Virtual PrivateNetwork (VPN) that allows key personnel toremain in contact with the system 24 hours aday from any location worldwide. This

technology will be used to permanentlyconnect all BMA offices in a wide areanetwork. Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)is perhaps the technology that has had thesingle greatest impact over the past twoyears. The Authority is studying ways ofintegrating VOIP into its network so that itsphone contact can expand over a widerperiod whilst at the same time costs can bereduced.

Document Management is one of themost talked about features of the informationage. And whilst the paperless office – the so-called panacea for the business world –remains a myth, the past two years have seentechnology catch up with its potential. Thebenefits of electronic document managementare too great to ignore and the BMA hasstarted to integrate it within the system.

These are but a few of the IT projectsbeing undertaken by the Authority and thereare many more at the planning stage.Nonetheless, the Authority is acutely awarethat these are just tools to assist in thedelivery of a quality service. But quality isand will always remain people driven.

The Bahamas Maritime Authority ispreparing to transform its business “@ thespeed of thought”.

In an effort to improve its service, the New York office is nowassisting the BMA’s London office by issuing Seaman’s RecordsBooks for crew members employed on passenger ships registeredthrough New York.

The BMA is proud of the strides that the New York office hasmade and continues to make in attracting quality new tonnage tothe Register.

CMA CGM Bellini – new reefer vessel built inthe Samsung yard, South Korea

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BSA NewsThree new Bahamian cadets to study

at CalMaritime

The BSA and BMA’s cadetship programme continuesto expand. The BSA and BMA recently awarded threenew cadetships – two engineer and one deck – bringingthe total number of cadets enrolled at the CaliforniaMaritime Academy to six. Only four years ago, there wasonly one BSA sponsored cadet at CalMaritime.

This year two of the senior cadets, Misty Bain andDenardo Bain, passed their US Coast Guard Examinationsand graduated from CalMaritime with impressive results.The recent graduates are now approaching theshipowners as potential employers. All of the cadetshave expressed their gratitude to the BSA and BMAespecially to those owners who have provided them withinvaluable work experience during their summer berths.Kenneth Carey, who has entered his final year atCalMaritime, spent an exciting summer onboard a GreatWhite Fleet (GWT) reefer vessel transporting cargo fromthe tropics to the East Coast of the United States.

Bahamas Shipowners AGM set for LondonThis year the Bahamas Shipowners Association (BSA) will hold its

Annual General Meeting on 27 October 2004 at the Mandarin Hotel,Hyde Park in London, the centre of international shipping. The BSA isfortunate to have several distinguished speakers including Mr BernardAnne, Senior Vice President of Bureau Veritas and Chair of theInternational Association of Classification Societies (IACS), and MrMichael Grey, columnist and former Editor of Lloyd’s List.

Following on last year’s theme, “Safety and Security – The WayForward”, this year’s theme “Setting New Standards” will focus on theIMO initiative on Goal Based Standards. The initiative was put forwardby The Bahamas with support from Greece in 2002 and 2003, and wasfollowed by a paper submitted by both countries and IACS in 2004. Itwill be a major topic of interest at the Maritime Safety CommitteeMeeting at IMO in December. For those who are uncertain about thefull meaning of Goal Based Standards and the effect that theiradoption will have, the AGM will provide an opportunity to clarify thematter and inject fresh thoughts into the discussion.

Shipowners, please make sure that you have marked this date inyour diaries. Do not miss out on an informative day of stimulatingdialogue and lively debate on topics which affect all industry players!

New Flaggings In the past six months, the BMA has

seen a number of new builds of variousvessel types added to the Register bysome of the world’s largest shippingcompanies – Bergesen, CMA CGM,Norwegian Cruise Lines and Teekay –representing a wide cross section ofthe maritime industry. By early 2005,Royal Caribbean Cruises will transfersix ships from the Norwegian Registerto the Bahamas Flag. The recentannouncement came after year-longdiscussions with union representatives,the Norwegian Government and RCCLemployees. Following the transfer, all19 of RCCL’s vessels will be registeredwith The Bahamas.

Berge ArzewBergesen-managed Berge Arzew was

registered with the Bahamas Flag inJuly. The 93844 gt, 277 m LiquifiedNitrogen Gas (LNG) Carrier is co-ownedby subsidiaries of the Norwegiancompany Bergesen and the Algeriancompany Sonatrach. The Korean-builtLNG, which was delivered this year, willtrade between the Algerian port ofBethouia, the US and Europe.

Apart from being one of the world’slargest shipping companies, Bergesen is

the largest owner and operator of gascarriers worldwide. Of the 99 vesselsowned by Bergesen, 79 are gas carriers.Over the past few years, the companyhas ordered ten LNG new builds fromSouth Korean yards and hasestablished a LNG shipbuildingprogramme at the Daewoo yard. BergeArzew is the third LNG new build tocome out of Daewoo – the first orderwas made in 2000 – and there is anoption to contract a fourth for deliveryin 2005.

As one of the significant players inthe LNG sector of gas transportation,Bergesen plays an active part in thelarge scale Maritime EnvironmentProgramme initiated by the NorwegianShipowners’ Association.

CMA CGM BelliniAnother significant new build

registration was the 65,247 gt, 263 mcontainer ship CMA CGM Bellini. The Bellini, which is also Korean-built(Samsung), is the first of sevenpurpose-built vessels that will serve inCMA CGM’s North China ExpressService between Asia, the Middle East,the Mediterranean and Europe. Thesevessels will replace smaller charteredships and owned units.

CMA CGM was formed by themerger of Compagnie Maritimed’Affrètement (CMA) and CompagnieGénérale Maritime (CGM). With a fleetof 172 vessels, it has now become thefifth largest shipping companyworldwide, ranking first in France andfourth in Europe.

Berge Arzew – Bergesen’s recently deliveredKorean-built LNG carrier