The Sea Jul Aug 2013

7/30/2019 The Sea Jul Aug 2013

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Issue 224 jul/aug 2013

Los

artculosen espaolaparecenen laspginas6 y 7

The Sea

Editor: Michael KeatingNews: David Hughes

The Seais distributedree to seaarers throughchaplains and seaarerscentres. You can alsoarrange to receive itregularly at a cost o 3.50or $5 per year (six issues).To fnd out more, contact:

Michael Keating, The Sea,The Mission to Seaarers,St Michael PaternosterRoyal, College Hill,London, UK EC4R 2RL

Tel: +44 20 7248 5202

Email: [email protected]

www.missiontoseaarers.org

Seafarerssupportsurveypage 8

Piracy:dont dropyour guardpage 2

. 6 7

IMO

launchespaperworkcuttingplan

Fatiguestudy tohelp reduceincident risk

MLCactionsteps uppage 3

Registered charity in England and Wales: 1123613

The Mission to Seaarers Scotland Limited,Registered charity: SC041938

THE Mission to Seaarers is supporting a call or port levieson ship calls to be used to und seaarers welare projects.

The Mission welcomed a report published by theInternational Seaarers Welare and Assistance Network(ISWAN) which shows how levies can make a real dierenceto welare organisations and the services they can provide orseaarers, at a time when unding is under intense pressure.

Speaking at an ISWAN seminar in May, the Missions

public aairs manager, Ben Bailey, said: The rates ocontribution to local port levies vary widely across ournetwork o seaarers centres. The Mission in Saldanha Bayin South Arica attracts a ull contribution rom a basic portlevy per vessel o US$40, and this unds essential transportlinks and centre maintenance. The seaarers centre in Haliax,Nova Scotia on the other hand, only receives a 7 per centcontribution to total running costs rom the port levy.

THE InternationalMaritime Organization(IMO) is workingon a plan to cut outunnecessary paperworkin the shippingindustry.

The frst step is asix-month consultation

or sea arers and othe rindustry personnel sothey can have their

say via an onlinequestionnaire.IMO secretary-

general Koji Sekimizusaid: There has longbeen a eeling in theindustry that thereis too much wastedpaperwork. This is thestart o our eorts totackle that problem.

He urged as manypeople as possibleto take part in theconsultation, which canbe ound at www.imo.org/OurWork/rab/Pages/default.aspx.

A salvage worker abseils on to the Costa Concordia, which grounded on January 13, 2012 (Photo: Reuters)

Founded in 1856, and

entirely unded by

voluntary donations,

todays Mission to

Seaarers oers emergency

assistance, practical

support, and a riendly

welcome to crews in 260

ports around the world.

Whether caring or victimso piracy or providing a

lieline to those stranded in

oreign ports, we are there

or the globes 1.3 million

merchant seaarers o all

ranks, nationalities and

belies.

The Mission toSeafarers

HOW to respond tonew research on theeects o atigueon watchkeeperswas considered at arecent meeting o theInternational MaritimeOrganization (IMO).

At the samemeeting, IMOsStandards o Trainingand Watchkeeping

Committee lookedat the results oProject Horizon,which analysed theway actual workinghours aect seaarersperormance.

It has been arguedthat the widespreaduse o atiguemanagement sotwarethat studies workingpatterns could helpseaarers minimise therisk o sleepiness onwatch.

Speaking at themeeting on behalo the InternationalFederation o Ship

Masters Associations(IFSMA), Nautilussenior nationalsecretary AllanGraveson warnedthat action to combatatigue was vital iIMO was to succeedin its ambitious aim ohalving deaths at sea.

THE main cause othe grounding andcapsize o the cruise

ship Costa Concordia wasthe masters unconventionalbehaviour, according toan Ital ian Governmentreport submitted to theInternational Marit imeOrganization (IMO).

The report criticises thedecision to take the shipexcessively close to theItalian coast at the highspeed o 15.5 knots inunsuitable conditions, usingtotally inadequate charts o1/100,000 scale rather than1/50,000.

Thirty-two people diedin the January 13, 2012accident, 157 were injuredand there was signiicantenvironmental damagec a u s e d b y t h e s h i p sgrounding. The master,Francesco Schettino, is dueto stand trial in Italy in Julyon multiple manslaughtercharges.

Captain Schettino deniesthe charges and says thatwithout his actions manymore people would havedied. A report by court-appointed experts accuseshim o trying to carry out anight-time sail-past salute topeople on the small islando Giglio, where the vesselhit an oshore rock and laterwent aground and capsizedclose to the shore. He isalso accused o abandoninghis post on the vessel whilepassengers and crew were stillon board.

IMOs Marine SaetyC o m m i t t e e ( M S C )considered the report andItalys recommendationsor action to be taken, at itsmeeting in London in June. Itadopted amendments to theInternational Conventionor the Saety o Lie at Sea(SOLAS) requiring musters onewly embarked passengersprior to or immediatelyupon departure, instead o

within 24 hours, as in thecurrent regulations. It alsoestablished a working groupon passenger-ship saety.

The Italian Ministry oInrastructure and Transports173-page report says the shipcapsized as a result o large-scale internal ooding roma 53-metre-long rip in herhull, which opened up fvewatertight compartments.

The report identiiesnumerous a i l ings andbreaches o procedures andconcludes that the humanelement is the root cause. Itdescribes a chaotic situationon board and notes that eventhough the ship was slowlysinking and had lost allpower, and was also close toshore in calm seas, abandonship was not ordered untilover an hour ater the initialimpact.

The investigation alsohighlighted several technicaland design shortcomings thatresulted in immediate and

irreversible ooding o theship beyond any manageablelevel suering a blackoutand losing propulsion within50 seconds, and ooding upto the bulkhead deck within40 minutes.

I t a l y r e c o m m e n d sa long list o technicalimprovements to cruiseship design but also calls orprocedural improvements inbridge management and thecompiling o muster lists,as well as a review o theprinciples o sae manning onlarge passenger ships.

A l l a n Gr a v e s o n , o seaarers union NautilusInternat iona l , s a id hewas concerned that therecommendations ocused onthe Costa Concordia incident.We should be looking atpossible uture incidentsand the elements o greatestrisk, he went on, such asa collision and side-rakingdamage to which such shipsare very vulnerable.

Costa Concordiacasualtyreport blames ship captain

Human element the root cause o cruise shipsinking that caused 32 deaths in January 2012

Mission backs proposal or levy on ship calls


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2 the sea jul/aug 13

Boost forseafarercharities

Crew nallypaid overduewagesTHE 20-strong crew othe Liberian-fag 319,869dwt VLCC C Whalehave been paid someUS$300,000 in overduewages. The SingaporeMaritime Ocers Union

(SMOU) helped recoverthe money owed tothe multinational crew.SMOUs executivesecretary, Mary Liew,said: I am very gladthat we ought or whatis rightully due to theseaarers and that theycan nally return home.

Singapore-basedbunker supplier KPIBridge Oil (KPI) arrestedthe ship in Singapore,claiming that herTaiwan-based shipowner,Today Makes Tomorrow,(TMT ormerly TaiwanMaritime Transport)owed it $1.3m.

As Somali piracy gures continue to all, welare andsecurity groups issue warning to owners and seaarers:

Dont drop your guard

SHIPPING has beenwarned not to drop itsguard in Somali waters,

by the International MaritimeBureau (IMB) despite thepirates almost total lack osuccess recently. By mid-Junejust one large commercial

vessel remained in the handso Somali pirates, togetherwith two small wooden cargovessels (dhows) and twoshing vessels.

On May 1 the release wasconirmed o six seaarerstaken rom the small Danish-fag cargoshipMVLeopardin

January 2011 and held ashoreor two years and our monthsin poor conditions.

The Mission to Seaarershad raised awareness o thecrews plight by petitioningthe Ministry o Foreign Aairsin Denmark to hasten theirrelease. The Mission alsoincluded the harrowing storyas part o its piracy DVD,

which it used to highlight thehorrors o modern-day piracyto the general public.

The Missions SecretaryGeneral, the Revd AndrewWright said: We welcome therelease o the seaarers rom

MV Leopard, however, whilst

rejoicing in their reunioninto society, we continue toremember and campaign orthe seaarers who continue tobe held. The recent eorts bythe international communityhave reduced the numbero attacks o the coast o

Somalia; however, that eortmust be maintained i theproblem is to be eradicatedaltogether.

He added that the Missioncalled on all those engagedin securing the release ohostages, to continue theirwork so that they may bereunited with their loved onesas quickly as possible.

As o late June, 71 seaarerswere being held, 11 o themashore in Somalia, accordingto the IMB.

The IMBs latest QuarterlyReport on Pira cy and ArmedRobberyagainst Ships recorded66 incidents worldwide in therst three months o 2013.

This was down markedly romthe 102 incidents reportedor the corresponding periodin 2012.

IMB director PottengalM u k u n d a n w a r n e d :Although the number o actso piracy reported in Somalia

has signicantly decreased,there can be no room orcomplacency. He addedthat attacks would rise to pastlevels i the naval presencewas reduced or vessels relaxedtheir vigilance.

In the same vein, the

operation commander o theEU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR),Rear Admiral Bob Tarrant,issued a renewed warningthat Somali pirates were stilldetermined to get out to seaand, i presented with an easytarget, would attack.

He sa id : I am veryconcerned that seaarers andnations will lower their guardand support or counter-piracy operations in the beliethat the piracy threat is over. Itis not; it is merely contained.We should remember that atits height in January 2011, 32ships were pirated by Somalipirates and 736 hostageswere held. It is crucial that

we remain vigilant or thenumber o attacks will onceagain rise.

In early June pirateshijacked a dhow in the Gulo Aden. Dhows have otenbeen used as mother- ships tomount attacks on merchant

ships ar out to sea. In thiscase however, two warships,Swedens HSwMS Carlskronaand the NetherlandsHNLMSVan Speijk, arrived quickly onthe scene. The pirates orcedthe master to sail close to theSomali coast and fed ashore.

Speaking about theincident, Admiral Tarrantsaid: What is important isthat 14 Indian sailors are nowsae and able to return to theiramilies, ater what must havebeen a terriying ordeal. Thislatest attack once again showsthat the threat rom piracyis real. We must all remainvigilant.

Meanwhile, maritimesecurity companies havequestioned whether reportso a slump in attacks oSomalia are reliable. TheSecurity Association or theMaritime Industry (SAMI)said it was disturbed at thelevel o piracy reporting

globally, especially in theIndian Ocean High Risk Area.SAMI warned that shipownerswere increasingly hesitant toreport attacks, while therewere complex problems inveriying incidents as piracyincidents.

FOUR charities whichsupport seaarersand their amilies areset to beneft romthe frst ever LondonInternational ShippingWeek (LISW), takingplace this September.

Money raisedduring the shippingindustry showcasewill go to The Missionto Seaarers, the

Apostleship o the Sea,the Sailors Society andSeaarers UK.

After his escape, an Indian seafarer speaks with a crew member from HSwMS Carlskrona(Photo: EU NAVFOR)

Containerall death

FOLLOWING itsinvestigation into

the death o a bargemaster while storingthe products tankerBritish Beech in Brisbane,

Australia on December15, 2011, the AustralianTransport Saety Bureau(ATSB) has warned thatliting operations, evenwhen they are routine,involve inherent risks.

It stresses thatestablished proceduresmust be ollowed,reinorced and auditedto ensure vigilanceis maintained andcomplacency avoided.

The ATSB warns:The basic precaution

o standing well clear osuspended loads mustalways be taken.

In this case, acontainer came reeo its slings during itsreturn rom the ship tothe barge. It ell to thebarge below, striking themaster o the barge, whodied rom his injuries.The ATSB ound thatthe container had notbeen properly rigged onboard the ship and thecrew had not warned thebarge crew o its return.

The ships crew didnot view the operation asdangerous and had, over

time, removed identiedsaety barriers, whichmight have preventedthe accident. Complianceauditing processeshad not identiedand minimised suchviolations o the shippingcompanys procedures.

Commonlanguageneeded inemergencyCREW membersusing their nativelanguage during anemergency on shipswith a multinational

crew is a breakdownin communicationthat can seriouslyhinder any response,according to a reportinto the June 2010grounding o the bulkcarrier Hanjin Bombayat Mount Maunganui,New Zealand.

The countrysTransport AccidentInvestigationCommission alsowarned that crewsmust have a thoroughknowledge o theirvessels operatingsystems i they are todeal eectively with

unusual situations.It also said the

concept o crewresource managementmust extend to alloperational areas on avessel and that theremust be a commonunderstanding othe voyage plan andgood communicationbetween bridge andengine room.

TWO new Admiralty Maritime Security Charts covering thewaters around India and southeast Asia, including the MalaccaStraits, complete what is described as the worlds rst suite osecurity charts.

The United Kingdom Hydrographic Oce (UKHO) says thepaper charts provide a single point o reerence or recordingthe most up-to-date security inormation and, taken togetherwith the UKHOs three existing security and piracy charts,

create the worlds rst suite o security planning charts.The charts are designed to be used by ships ocers, shore-

based managers and security specialists or voyage planning.As well as piracy, the charts also cover other security threats,

including armed robbery: embargoes; exclusion zones; illegalshing; and smuggling, as well as routeing and reportingrequirements put in place by military or security orces.

The charts can be accessed or ree through the UKHOsSecurity Related Inormation to Mariners service.

New piracy threat maps released to protect ships treasure

New bulkcargo saetyguide orocers andagentsA NEW pocket guide andchecklist or ships ocersand agents who arrangecargoes or loading isnow available.

Carrying Solid

Bulk Cargoes Safely:Guidance for Crews onthe International MaritimeSolid Bulk Cargoes Codecomes in a laminated

fip-over ormat oron-the-spot use and hasbeen jointly producedby insurer UK P&I Club,classication societyLloyds Register andthe bulk carrier ownersgroup, Intercargo.

It outlines theprecautions to betaken beore acceptingsolid bulk cargoes orshipment, procedures orsae loading and carriage,and the primary hazards

associated with dierenttypes o cargoes. A quickreerence checklist and

fowchart summarise thesteps to be ollowed.

Further inormationis available at www.ukpandi.com/loss-prevention/checklists

The charts can be used by crews, managers andsecurity teams as a planning tool (Photo: Admiralty)


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jul/aug 13 the sea 3

Fatal air-con systemaccident

The Maritime Labour Convention, designed to protectseaarers welare, takes eect rom August 20

Shipping prepares towelcome the MLC

2013 portstrikesextremelydamaging

THE Maritime LabourConvention (MLC)comes into orce on

August 20, marking thestart o a new era in the wayseaarers living and workingconditions are regulated.Full global port state control(PSC) enorcement o theConvention is unlikely tobegin beore August 2014but some aspects, and inparticular seaarers workinghours, are likely to be checkedby PSC inspectors as soon asthe MLC is in orce.

The MLC was agreed bythe International LabourOrganization (ILO) in 2006and aims to achieve both

decent working conditions orseaarers and air competitionamong shipowners. The newlabour standard consolidatesand updates more than 68international labour standardsrelated to the maritime sectorthat have been adopted overthe last 80 years.

The Convention sets outseaarers rights to decentconditions o work and aimsto be globally applicable,easily understandable, readilyup-datable and uniormlyenorced.

T h e I n t e r n a t i o n a lChamber o Shipping (ICS)has welcomed the imminententry into orce o the

MLC and has stressed theimportance o shippingcompanies being ready todemonstrate compliance.

However, it warns that thesmooth implementation othe MLC may be hampered bythe large number o nationsthat have still yet to ratiythe Convention, as well asby the lack o guidance romsome ag states on detailednational provisions.

At its annual meetingin June, the ICS noted theimportance o ships beingable to demonstrate ullcompliance with InternationalMaritime Organization/ILOhours o work regulations,

including the maintenanceo individual records. Theshipowners body is issuingurther guidance to itsmembers on preparations orPSC enorcement, in additionto that already contained inits widely usedISF Guidelineson the Application of the ILO

MLC.The Revd Canon Ken

Peters, director o justice andwelare at The Mission toSeaarers, said: The MLCsentry into orce means thatan equal system o justice oreveryone rom the frst-timeseaarer to the experiencedshipowner is in place or thefrst time.

THE early months o2013 were marked byextremely damaginglabour strike actionin several countries,

according to specialistdelay insurer, The StrikeClub.

The club says someo the worst troublespots recently have beenin South America andparticularly in Chile,where a three-weekstrike hit the countryskey ports, preventingexports o copper.

The clubs managersalso reported higherlevels o shore-relatedclaims rom a widerange o incidents,including general strikes,port strikes and strikesby land transport opera-

tors, customs and pilots.Port closures, blockadesby shermen, physi-cal obstructions andmechanical equipmentbreakdowns also had asignicant impact.

However, the clubsship-related business re-ceived ewer claims romcauses such as collision,grounding, machinerydamage, crew strikes,piracy and pollution.

AN ENGINEER onboard the Liberia-ag

bulk carrier Nireaswasatally injured aterbeing struck by yingdebris when the obser-vation window glasso a main air receiverdrainage pot explodedon March 20 this year.

The engineerwas carrying out theroutine task o drain-ing water rom thepressurised air receiver,while the ship was atanchor o the Australi-an port o Gladstone.

The AustralianTransport Saety Bu-reau (ATSB) is investi-gating and has issued a

preliminary report butsays not all o the ac-tors which contributedto the accident have

yet been established.All six similar drain-

age pot observationwindow glasses onboard the Nireashavebeen removed untilships classifcationsociety Lloyds Reg-ister (LR) verifes thedesign. The ATSB hascontacted the shipsmanagers, the ship-builder, LR, Liberia andthe Australian Mari-time Saety Authorityand asked that the

owners and operatorso any ships ftted withsimilar systems beadvised o this accidentand suggested thatappropriate saetyaction should be takenby them to preventsimilar accidents.

Rescue boatdrill ends in

atality andinjurySEAFARERS unionNautilus has expressedconcern ollowing areport into the death oa seaarer and the injury

o a chie ocer duringa rescue boat drill on theDanish-fag container-ship Anna Maersk.

The two men ell 18metres into the water atKobe, Japan, in March2012. A Danish investi-gation has ound that asplit pin in the shackleo a swivel between thewire and the o-loadhook had sheared o,allowing the ork endshackle pin to move outo one o the ork ends.

The report criticisesthe rescue boat hoistingand lowering arrange-ments, saying that there

had not been sucientocus on the saety-crit-ical nature o the equip-ment. Nautilus seniornational secretary AllanGraveson said the unionhad argued or many

years that during drillsboats should be loweredand raised with nobodyin them.

WreckcostsbecomingmoreexpensiveTHE cost o dealingwith wrecks is rising,according to a newreport by Lloyds oLondon. The Challeng-es and Implications ofRemoving Shipwrecks inthe 21st Centurywarnsthat the cost o deal-ing with shipwrecksis spiralling and theincrease in removalcosts is oten passed toinsurers, reinsurers andshipowners.

Recent examples oexpensive removals in-clude the containershipRena, which sank oNew Zealand in 2011.So ar that removal hascost US$240m. Mean-while, the highly com-plex work to take awaythe ill-ated cruise shipCosta Concordiais nowunder way.

Lloyds says thatthe total cost o thetop 20 most expensivewreck removals in thepast decade is $2.1bnand rising.

The report showshow increasing vessel

sizes and growingcargo volumes aredriving up wreckremoval costs. In the1990s a large containervessel carried 5,000teu. Today, the largestcontainership has acapacity o 16,000 teu.

Free-all lieboat saety could be improved

FREE-FALL lieboat saety could be

improved by transerring oshoredesign practices to ships, says theNorwegian-based classifcation society,DNV.

The shortcomings o existing ree-all designs were revealed in 2005ater a number o incidents relatedto structural saety, human loads andheadway. Following these incidents,an oshore industry project was setup by the Norwegian Oil and Gas

Association, and DNV was asked to

develop a new standard or the designo ree-all lieboats.

The project ound that InternationalMaritime Organization requirements,to which the boats were built, werebased on lieboat perormance duringtest launches into calm waters androm heights signifcantly less thanthose encountered on the NorwegianContinental Shel. With larger wavesand drop heights, the lieboats were

exposed to greater loads and damage,explaining the shortcomings revealedin 2005.

The resulting new DNV-OS-E406standard was launched in 2009 andrevised in 2010. Based on modern limit-state design methodology, rather thantest perormance, the standard wastaken up by the Norwegian oshoreindustry. Lieboats or installationson the Norwegian Continental Shelare now being built according to theDNV standard and new regulationsenorcing these higher standards areexpected to come into orce in 2015.

The standard is now being revised

to include new calculation methodsto estimate extreme loads in an evenmore robust way.

DNV says its standard can easilybe transerred to apply to ree-alllieboats on board ships.

DNVs Olav Rognebakke said:I the shipping industry decides toimplement our standard, I believemaritime lieboat saety will be takenan important step urther.

A free-fall lifeboat lands in the sea after a drill (Photo: Herkules PR)

SHIPOWNERS and seaarersunions have joined orces toexpress concern at ag statesailure to submit maritimecasua l ty r epor t s under

international Conventions.T h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l

Chamber o Shipping (ICS),which represents 80 percent o the world merchanteet, and the InternationalTransport Workers Federation(ITF), which representsseaarers unions worldwide,have made a joint submission

to the International MaritimeOrganization (IMO) on theapparent ailure o someag states to submit maritimecasualty reports to IMO.

Sending such reports to IMOis a requirement under severalinternat iona l mar i t imeConventions, includingthe Saety o Lie at SeaConvention (SOLAS).

The lack o investigationa n d a c c i d e n t r e p o r t shinders the development oappropriate measures by IMO

to address the cause o seriousincidents in which seaarersmay have lost their lives, saidITF acting general secretary,Stephen Cotton.

ICS secretary general PeterHinchlie said: It rustrateseorts by ship operators tolearn rom the reports andto amend or develop newprocedures, or implementother measures to preventor mitigate similar utureincidents.

The ICS and the ITF want

IMO to rethink the exibilitylag states currently havewhen deciding whetherto send the results o anyinvestigation to IMO.

The two bodies havesuggested that, as a frst step,lessons might be learnedrom the approach takenby the aviation industrytowards the submission anddissemination o accidentreports, and that IMO shouldconsult the InternationalCivil Aviation Organization.

Unions express concern at lack o casualty reporting

The Secretary General of The Mission to Seafarers, the Revd Andrew Wright, on a ship visit (Photo: Adam Hollingworth)


4/8


NEWS MICHAEL GREY

New warning on enclosed space entry

BEN BAILEY

Mission launc

Easy toAs the environmental laws surrokeeping your boss happy and m

The services o The Mission toSeaarers are available to anyseaarer, regardless o their

nationality, rank, aith or circum-stance. Thats the message rom the

newly-appointed Secretary General,and as the Revd Andrew Wrighttakes the helm o the 157-year-oldcharity, hes committed to listeningto seaarers to ensure that the ser-vices the Mission provides in over260 ports are relevant and required.

Seaarers will always remainat the heart o what we do. Thatswhy its so important to listen tothem and gear our services towardstheir needs.

Andrew was appointed the in-ternational leader o the Mission inFebruary 2013.

My previous employment withthe Fishermens Mission gave me agood understanding o the type owork done by the wider maritimecharities, he says. In that roleI spent a lot o time working inpartnership with people rom theMission to seaarers, and so I knewwhat I was letting mysel in orwhen I took the job.

Andrew has been working inthe maritime charity sector or sixyears. Prior to that, he was chap-lain, head o religious studies and a

housemaster at a school in Oxord.Ive had a very interesting ca-

reer in ministry, and Ive been veryortunate in the places Ive worked,says Andrew. Since being ordained

in 1983 my work has been verydiverse in parishes, including oneo the UKs most deprived estates,in school and in maritime ministry.

When I let the school, I waslooking at many dierent oppor-tunities, but it was the chance towork with a largely orgotten groupo people that excited me. Seaar-ers and shermen no longer enjoya high prole within the UK andpeople are largely unaware o thechallenges they ace and the rolethat they play.

I wanted something whichwould be stimulating and allowme to eect some real change inpeoples lives. Ive always enjoyedsailing or leisure, and my youngestdaughter is actually a seaarer, so Iwas only too aware o the dangerso the ocean and how dicult lieat sea can be. It is a privilege tohave been appointed as SecretaryGeneral and I am proud to be parto a Mission, and to be workingwith a team that has a long historyo lie-changing assistance to theseaaring community.

Avironhad aopedwher

practiwhicly wo

TreallyWeandneedis greconvto belextenseaarturn.anity

Winterdon,resporomto raithe wclima

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The Mission has started a survey to hel

How do you know thatyour brand new, stateo the art ballast water

treatment water system isworking properly? Is it boiling,rying, electrocuting, ltering,de-oxygenating, or chlorin-ating the alien species andpathogens which might havebeen taken aboard in the lastport? It may have been ttedcorrectly, as per the manu-acturers instructions, andthe chie engineer may haveensured that his sta entirely

understands the operatingmanual, but can you be sure itis working properly?

It seems to be whirringalong nicely. No visible oraudible alarms have shown orsounded, but can you really besure? Only when the port statecontrol (environmental) comesdown to dip the tanks can theeectiveness o the equip-ment be ascertained. Even so,it will take some time to ndout the result, so you cant besure just yet, but ater the nextvisit your ship makes to thatport, there may be a stern-aced ocial waiting to arrestyour ship and even charge themaster and chie engineer with

criminal oences i the qualityo the ballast as revealed in thelaboratory tests ailed to meetthe local criteria. Huge nesand even worse may result.Then youll be sure.

The Ballast Water Conven-tion is just one o a growingnumber o environmentalregulations which are impor-tant and well intentioned,but which leave those on therontline o shipping exposed.These regulations are designedto ull an obvious need

stopping oreign species beingspread around the world butthey were agreed beore anyequipment that might do thejob was on the market.

So it was up to manuactur-ers, engineers and scientists todesign and build the necessaryequipment, which was no sim-ple matter, as there has been alot o disagreement about whatan acceptable measure o eec-tiveness could be. This debateis ongoing, but meanwhilethe people who nd them-selves responsible or this newequipment are the crews onboard. They can do their best,but i they are unable to meas-ure the eectiveness o their

tools, they canexposed, and liand criminal chdicult portsactively look o

Atmospheriare another areters and enginend themselvestrouble, especiathey are burnino increasinglyregulations. Thinspectors in plthere are Emissi

Areas may primat the specicatas illustrated inDelivery Notes,uncommon orbeing deliveredrom that specilaboratories sugis the case, crimay ollow orinvolved.

Even i theto t exhaust gthese too are laservice. I theybing correctly aemissions are dare no prizes owill ace the hiyears o proble

AN ALARMING tick-box attitudetowards enclosed space entrysaety procedures is becomingmore requent, according tothe specialist shipping industryinsurer, The London P&I Club.The club says its ship inspectionprogramme is inding more

problems related to enclosedspace entry on ships and addsthat, despite a global acceptanceo industry standard procedures,incidents continue to occur.

The ailings oten relate toclosed space entry permit to work(PTW) procedures. The club saysthat even when ully completedPTW orms are presented,

inspectors are repeatedly presentedwith: completed single PTWswhich purport to cover entryinto multiple enclosed spaces;checklists ully completed andsigned o by the responsibleocer and master, but the requiredsaety equipment is not actually in

place; no evident consideration ohow a rescue would be undertakenrom the space in the event oan emergency; no provisionor continuous monitoring othe atmosphere o the space;oxygen/gas detection equipmentpresented in either a dubiouscondition or without properevidence o calibration to statutory

requirements.The club also says that an

alarming trend o tick-box culturehas been detected in routine shipinspections. The importance oproper consideration o the stepswhich are required or an entrypermit to be granted should not

be overlooked.Recent saety research hasshown that 73 per cent oenclosed space deaths occurredon vessels other than tankers andthat training on other ship typesneeded to be brought to tankerstandard, with mandatory pre-entry drills that include oxygenmeters.

Severe human rights abuses allegedA NEW report alleges that severehuman rights abuses, associatedwith human tracking, havebeen taking place in Thailandsshing industry and says thatBurmese workers as young as 16have been orced on to shingvessels or many months andsubjected to arduous, oten

violent, working conditionswithout pay.The Environmental Justice

Federation (EJF) launched itsreport, Sold to the Sea: HumanTrafcking in Thailands Fishing

Industry, at a press conerence inMadrid, Spain, in June.

The report details allegations

o crew being murdered both atsea and on shore and also quotesrom a 2009 survey by theUnited Nations Inter-AgencyProject on Human Tracking(UNIAP) which ound that59 per cent o interviewedmigrants traicked via Thaishing boats had witnessed the

murder o a ellow worker.Th e p r e s i de n t o t h eEuropean Transport WorkersFederations isheries sectionsaid: The rati ication bythe (Spanish) Governmento the International LabourOrganizations Work in FishingConvention No 188 would

provide an eective tool tocombat human traicking,orced labour in the sector andillegal shing.

Liz Blackshaw, programmeleader or the joint InternationalTransport Workers Federation/International Union o FoodWorkers From Catcher to

Counter initiative, added:In liting the lid on what ishappening in Thailand this newreport also helps expose what ishappening to shers worldwide,and the desperate need or morecountries to ratiy Convention188 and act to prevent theseterrible ongoing abuses.

Anger over Swanland lossTHE dry cargoship, the Cook Islands-fagSwanland, sank on November 27, 2011, ateronly 17 minutes, ollowing the catastrophicailure o the midships section o her hull,according to a UK Marine Investigation Branch(MAIB) report. Only two o the vessels eightRussian crew survived.

The report lists a catalogue o ailures andomissions by those involved in her operation,and a large number o recommendations.

It states that the catastrophic ailure o thehull was almost certainly due to compressiveorces induced by a combination o the unevendistribution o the vessels limestone cargo andthe rough to very rough seas experienced.

It notes that the limestone cargo was ahigh density one which had been loaded in,

eectively, a single pile towards the centre othe hold. Insucient loading guidance washeld on board and the way the cargo wasdistributed in the hold was not best practice.

Although the 34-year-old vessel continuedto comply with the rules o her classicationsociety, the MAIB ound that there had been

a lack o ocus during the vessels nal surveysand a lack o investment in maintenance.Among a number o other serious issues

the report noted: It is likely that many o thecrew did not survive because the vessel sankso quickly. However, it is possible that a ewdid not survive because an eective musterwas not carried out and some o the liesavingequipment carried on board might not haveunctioned as intended.

Big box ship breaks in two crew survive

THE 26 crew members o the7,041 teu containership MOL

Comortabandoned ship saelyon June 17 as the vessel beganto break in two in the IndianOcean. She was about 350 mileseast o Socotra Island, whileon passage rom Singapore to

Jeddah.

The ships operator, MitsuiOSK Lines (MOL), said that

the 14 Filipinos, 11 Russiansand one Ukrainian took to thelieboats and were rescued by avessel in the area.

Soon ater the crew got o,the vessel split in two amidshipsbut both sections remained

afoat. MOL said that a salvageoperation had been put in place

to take the two sections in tow.T h e m a j o r J a p a n e s e

shipowning group added thatit had started investigating thecause o the incident jointlywith the vessels shipbuilder,Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

The MOL Comfortsplit in two in strong winds in the Indian Ocean in June (Photo: IANS)


5/8


es new survey for seafarers

ake crews criminalsding shipping continue to tighten, it can be difcult to balanceting pollution targets, warns Michael Grey

grew up in a church en-and says that he alwayswhich, over time, devel-

fcantly and led him totoday. Its the Missions

pproach to Christianitysays, makes it particular-o supportessage o our work issimple, says Andrew.

Christian organisationwhat we do because theew welare and support

ur approach is not aboutpeople or orcing themIts one o service, oa helping hand to theo has nowhere else tohat I like to call Christi-its sleeves rolled up.g rom the Missions

nal headquarters in Lon-w leads a team who areor a range o unctions

ging the port chaplainsunds to continue ton the current economicats not an easy task.ve an enormous num-enges acing us, says

Not least, to raise enoughustain what we cur-ide. However, i we are

a modern organisation,

then we need to be looking out orthe next areas where services mightbe relevant.

In June, the Mission sent outa questionnaire to the shipping in-dustry, asking key players to tell uswhere we should be operating overthe next ten years. Shipping is cy-clical, and we have always openedin ports where the need is greatest,

so were keen to get it right.But as well as listening to shore-

based management, Andrew andthe Mission want to hear romreaders othe Sea.

The Mission to Seaarers existsbecause there is a very real needwhich we seek to address, saysAndrew. Thats why I want to en-courage seaarers to take part in our

survey on welare, so we can betterunderstand their way o lie andcreate exciting services which arerelevant to them and their amilysneeds.

Starting in this issue othe Sea,the Mission has printed a surveywhich has 19 questions or crewsto complete. The survey is entirelyanonymous and the data cannot

be traced back to the seaarer whocompletes it, nor will it be given toany employer. Its simply to givethe Mission a picture o a lie atsea, and to understand the worlds

crews.A seaarer may either give theorm to a port chaplain or cancomplete the survey online, saysAndrew. This welare survey isvery important to us. The Missionhas always been ocused on theneeds o the crews, and the datacontained within this survey willhelp us continue to do just that.

How to complete the survey:

Youll fnd the survey on page 8o this issue othe Sea.

When youve completed it, tearout the page and give it to the localMission to Seaarers chaplain.

Alternatively, i you want topreserve your copy othe Sea, com-plete the survey online at:www.missiontoseafarers.org/survey

The survey is open to all seaarersand will close in December 2013.

mprove its services or crews. Ben Bailey talks to Andrew Wright to fnd out more

The Revd Andrew Wright on board during a ship visit. (Photo: Adam Hollingworth)

hemselveso civil oten in

ofcialsble.sionsre mas-cers canrioushe uelshort

sulphurstate

whereontrol

be lookingo the uelunkerisnt

uel that isdierent

the uelhat thishargesaarers

has optedubbers,untried int scrub-cessivedtheresing who

mp. There have

been over earlier generationso oily water separators whichprovided questionable peror-mance ought to give everyonea warning about the eects o

tighter environmental regu-lations upon those who willbe most vulnerable those onboard.

It may be an honest mis-

take, but in some parts o theworld, the act that untestedequipment is not workingcorrectly will not save thoseaboard ship rom the charg-

es they will ace. It may bemaniestly unjust, with shipsarrested and masters fnedon what would appear to bevery doubtul evidence, butenvironmental crime carriesa special label these days, aspeople who have been hauledinto court on pollution chargeswill testiy.

But environmental issuesarent the only potential legalhigh risk areas or seaarers.There are some very dubiouscriminal charges being laid

against people whose shipshave been ound with drugs onboard, regardless o whetherthe drugs can be connectedto anyone on board. In somecountries, the master is auto-matically responsible and willace criminal charges, with theship being oreit. UK newspa-pers recently carried a pictureo a torpedo o narcoticswhich had been recoveredrom a ship ater a deep-seapassage. The torpedo was acylinder had been clamped tothe vessels bilge keel by diversworking or a South Americancartel. The reports, going orshock value, ailed to indicatehow prevalent this is and

how difcult it is or innocentseaarers to deend themselvesin these situations, which haverecently led to them acingterrible charges.

Captain John Dickie, Sec-retary General o the Inter-national Federation o ShipMastersAssociations (IFSMA),points out that there appear tobe a large number o nationallaws which will hold the mas-ter o a ship criminally liableor anything that has occurredin connection with the vessel

and that in such jurisdic-tions, masters will be oundautomatically guilty. Thereare, he points out, a growingnumber o such cases, whichis a concern, as more ofcersare beginning to ask whetherit is worth aspiring to be aships master, or chie engineer,when the risks o exposure tocriminal charges around theworld seem to be constantlyincreasing. Captain Dickieencourages masters and ofcersto obtain proessional indem-nity insurance, as the cost odeending themselves againstsuch charges can be ruinous.It is probably not why theseofcers opted or a sea career.

Seafarers can face heavy penalties for breaking environmental rules (Photo:Jamie Smith)


6/8


JUSTICE MATTERS BY DOUGLAS STEVENSON

Maritime environmental prosecutions in the USAIN SEVERAL recent highly publicised cases in the United States(USA) seaarers and shipping companies have been convictedo marine environmental crimes. Seaarers have been punishedwith fnes and jail time, while shipping companies have beengiven multi-million dollar fnes and barred rom trading in theUSA. Despite the publicity, the rules continue to be broken andsuch cases continue to be prosecuted in the USA.

The International Convention or the Prevention oPollution rom Ships (MARPOL), which has been ratifedby virtually all maritime nations, requires ships to processoily waste water to prevent them rom discharging oil intothe sea. Ships must also properly record discharges in an OilRecord Book. The criminal prosecutions in the USA usuallyinvolve intentional discharges o oil by someone on the vessel,but ironically, because o jurisdictional issues, many o theconvictions have not been or polluting the oceans, but ratheror attempting to cover up the discharges through alse recordbook entries.

The USA places a high value on protecting the environmentand environmental crimes are vigorously prosecuted there.While seaarers may give a variety o reasons or violatingMARPOL, such as saving time, saving money or the company,

or saving their job (because o an order rom a superior),violations usually have the opposite eect. Prosecutionslead to lengthy legal procedures, large fnes or the companyand seaarers and possible jail terms. The consequences orviolating MARPOL as well as the chances o getting caught areincreasingly high in the USA.

Most MARPOL enorcement cases in the USA begin witha Coast Guard boarding. The Coast Guard boards merchantvessels or many reasons, ranging rom inspecting vesselssuspected o breaking the law to conducting routine checkson the vessels operational condition and compliance withinternational saety and environmental protection standards.Some inspections are made in response to tips provided byinormants hoping to receive rewards, something which ispossible under law in the USA, or providing inormation toauthorities that lead to a conviction.

It is very important or seaarers to be truthul to CoastGuard inspectors and this advice also applies to inormants.Most MARPOL convictions are or lying to the Coast Guard orpresenting alsifed record books not or the actual dischargingo oil into the sea. Inormants who provide alse inormation tothe Coast Guard are also subject to criminal prosecution.

In the USA, the law has protections against sel-incrimination. This means that a person does not have toanswer questions or provide any inormation that could beincriminating to him or her. They dont have the right toreuse to answer questions that might incriminate someoneelse, however. Persons who are unsure i they have committeda crime should get the advice o a lawyer beore speaking toUnited States authorities.

I the Coast Guard discovers sufcient evidence o a crime,they will reer the case to the US Department o Justice to decidewhether to initiate a criminal prosecution. In order to completetheir investigation, the Coast Guard and the US Departmento Justice will normally need to have seaarers remain in theUSA either as suspects or as witnesses, which may requirethem to stay or an extended period o time. In most cases, theshipowner will be required to provide detained seaarers withlodging, ood, and wages during this time.

More inormation on the importance o protecting themarine environment, pollution laws, and the consequenceso violating environmental laws in the USA can be ound athttp://enviroguides.us/

Juicios medioambientales en EE UUy MARPOL

EN LOS ltimos tiempos han salido a laluz varios casos destacados en EstadosUnidos en los que marinos y compaasnavieras han surido condenas por delitoscontra el medio ambiente marino. Losmarinos han sido castigados con multasy tiempo en prisin, mientras que lasnavieras han recibido penalizacioneseconmicas multimillonarias y laprohibicin de realizar actividadescomerciales en EE UU. A pesar de lapublicidad, este tipo de casos se siguensucediendo en EE UU.

El Convenio Internacional paraPrevenir la Contaminacin por losBuques (MARPOL), que ha sidoratifcado por prcticamente todas lasnaciones martimas, exige a los buquesque procesen las aguas que contenganresiduos oleosos para evitar el vertidode este tipo de sustancias en el mar. Losbuques tambin deben hacer constaroportunamente los vertidos en un Librode Registro de Aceites. Los procesospenales en EE UU normalmente seproducen cuando alguien en el navovierte sustancias oleosas de maneraintencionada. Resulta irnico, sinembargo, que debido a problemasjurisdiccionales, muchas de las condenasno han sido por contaminar los ocanossino por intentar ocultar los vertidoshaciendo anotaciones alsas en el libro deregistro.

EE UU concede gran importancia ala proteccin del medio ambiente y losdelitos medioambientales se castigan allcon dureza. Aunque los marinos puedenalegar diversas razones para justifcar elincumplimiento del Convenio MARPOL,

como ahorrar tiempo o dinero a laempresa, o proteger su puesto de trabajo(debido a una orden recibida de unsuperior), las inracciones normalmentetienen el eecto contrario. Las condenasllevan a la incoacin de largos procesospenales, importantes penalizacioneseconmicas a la empresa y a los marinos,y posibles penas de privacin de libertad.Las consecuencias del incumplimientodel Convenio MARPOL, as comolas posibilidades de ser descubiertohacindolo, son cada ms mayores en EEUU.

En EE UU la mayora de procesospenales MARPOL comienza con unabordaje del Servicio de Guardacostas.El Servicio de Guardacostas abordabuques mercantes por diversos motivosque incluyen desde la inspeccin denavos sospechosos de inringir la leya comprobaciones rutinarias de lascondiciones de uncionamiento delnavo y cumplimiento de las normativasinternacionales de seguridad y proteccinmedioambiental. Algunas de lasinspecciones se realizan en respuesta asoplos de inormantes que esperan recibiruna recompensa algo que la legislacinestadounidense permite por acilitara las autoridades inormacin queconduzca a una condena.

Para los marinos es muy importantedecir siempre la verdad a los inspectoresdel Servicio de Guardacostas, y estemismo consejo es vlido para losinormantes. La mayora de las condenasMARPOL en los EE UU se producen pormentir al Servicio de Guardacostas opresentar libros de registro alsifcados,

no por el acto propiamente dicho deverter residuos oleosos en el mar. Losinormantes que acilitan inormacinalsa al Servicio de Guardacostas tambinson objeto de acciones penales.

En EE UU la legislacin prevgarantas rente a la autoincriminacin.Esto signifca que un individuo no tieneque responder preguntas ni acilitarinormacin que pueda incriminarle.Sin embargo, no tiene derecho a negarsea responder preguntas que puedanincriminar a terceros. Aquellas personasque no estn seguras de haber cometidoun delito debern consultar a un abogadoantes de ponerse en contacto con lasautoridades estadounidenses.

Si el Servicio de Guardacostasdescubre sufcientes indicios de delito,transerir el caso al Ministerio de Justiciaestadounidense, que ser el que decidasi se deber incoar un proceso penal.Para poder completar la investigacin, elServicio de Guardacostas y el Ministeriode Justicia normalmente necesitan quelos marinos permanezcan en EE UU encalidad de presuntos autores o testigos,lo cual puede suponer una estanciaprolongada para ellos. En la mayorade los casos se exigir que el armadoracilite a los marinos alojamiento,comidas y salario durante el tiempo quepermanezcan detenidos.

Enhttp://enviroguides.us/ sepuede encontrar inormacin adicionalsobre la importancia de proteger el medioambiente marino, las leyes contra lacontaminacin y las consecuencias deinringir la legislacin medioambientalen EE UU.

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7/8

Facebook

Instagram

Crewtoo

Friendster

Badoo

Twitter

Google+

Orkut

Pinterest

Renren

If you have any questions about your rights as a seafarer, or if you want

more information or help, you can contact:

Douglas B Stevenson, Center for Seafarers Rights, 241 Water Street, New York, NY 10032, USA. Tel: +1212 349 9090

Fax: +1212 349 8342 Email: [email protected] or Canon Ken Peters, The Mission to Seafarers, St Michael Paternoster Royal,

College Hill, London EC4R 2RL, UK. Tel: +44 20 7248 5202 Fax: +44 20 7248 4761 Email: [email protected]


FOCUS ON FAITH BY JOHN ATTENBOROUGH

The importance of standing upfor what you believe in

Defender las creencias propias

WE STOOD on the riverbankwatching the swell o theriver rush by. Our instructorspoke to us in a condent

tone, telling us that i we allworked together and listenedto him, we would reach thenishing line. Importantly,he also reminded us that isomeone ell into the river,we would not leave thembehind we would be turn-ing around and going backor them. Finally, he told usthat teamwork would see usthrough and that we wouldhave un doing it.

At that point we gotinto the rat, holding on toour paddles, and we bracedourselves or what lay ahead.It was hard work ghtingthe current but white waterrating was so much un that

I think I must have laughedall the way to the end! Atone point we had to turn ourrat around and paddle back

upstream, which was reallyhard work, but we madeit. It was exactly like theinstructor said: listen to hisinstructions and we will getto the nishing line. He wasright about something else,too: we did have a lot o undoing it.

Teamwork is so importantand working on a ship is allabout teamwork. I every-body pulls together, helpsone another and everyonedoes their job, then being ona ship ar rom home is notalways so bad. It is all aboutbeing able to support eachother through the good andbad times.

Jesus in his ministry alsohad a team around him.They were called disciplesand they believed in him

and listened to his teaching.Like most people, they didhave questions and doubts,and we only have to readin the gospels about Peterwhen Jesus was arrested to bereminded o this. However,despite this, Jesus messagewas spread by those veryrst ollowers. At times theywent against public opinion,they were persecuted andtreated badly, but in the endwhen it mattered the most,they stood up or what theybelieved in. They believedas Christians do that JesusChrist lived, died and roseagain or all o us. He is thesaviour o our world.

Standing up or what webelieve in and supportingone another are so impor-tant. In todays world, it is

easy to go with the tide opublic opinion but stand-ing rm and holding on toyour principles can be veryrewarding, despite the di-culties we sometimes ace. Iam reminded o a wonderulhymn I sang at school calledTrust and Obey.

The rst verse in particu-lar reminds me that we havenothing to ear by standingrm in our belie and aith:When we walk with theLord in the light o His Word,What a glory He sheds onour way! While we do Hisgood will, He abides with usstill, And with all who willtrust and obey.

NOS encontrbamos en la orilla del roobservando el rpido fuir de la corri-ente. Nuestro instructor se dirigi a no-sotros con voz conada y nos asegurque si todos colaborbamos y hacamoslo que nos deca, llegaramos a la lneade meta. Aun ms importante, tambinnos record que si alguno de nosotrosse caa en el agua no bamos a dejarloatrs, daramos la vuelta para recogerlo.Por ltimo nos explic que el trabajode equipo era lo que nos iba a permitiralcanzar nuestro objetivo y que nosbamos a divertir hacindolo.

Llegado ese punto nos subimos ala balsa, agarramos los remos y nospreparamos para lo que nos espera-ba. Luchar contra la corriente es muycansado pero el descenso en aguasbravas es tan divertido que creo que nodej de rerme hasta que cruzamos lameta. En un momento dado tuvimosque girar la balsa y remar contracorri-ente. Es algo realmente agotador peroconseguimos hacerlo. Fue exactamentecomo el instructor nos haba dicho:si escuchbamos sus instrucciones

llegaramos a la lnea de meta. Tambinhaba acertado en algo ms: nos diverti-mos un montn hacindolo.

El trabajo en equipo es muy impor-tante y resulta undamental en una em-barcacin. Si todo el mundo arrima elhombro, echa una mano a los dems yhace su trabajo, estar en un barco lejosde casa no siempre es tan malo. Todoes cuestin de apoyarse mutuamentetanto en buenos como en los malosmomentos.

Mientras predicaba, Jess tambinestaba rodeado de un buen equipo. Elnombre con el que se les conoca era elde discpulos y crean en l y escuch-aban sus enseanzas.

Como la mayora de la gente, ellostambin tenan preguntas y dudas. Slohay que leer los evangelios sobre Pedrocuando Jess ue detenido para record-arlo. Sin embargo y a pesar de ello, elmensaje de Jess ue diundido poraquellos primeros seguidores, a vecesteniendo incluso que hacer rente a laopinin pblica.

Fueron perseguidos y maltratados

pero a la hora de la verdad, cuandorealmente importaba, deendieron suscreencias. Al igual que nosotros, losdiscpulos crean que Jesucristo habavivido, muerto y resucitado por todosnosotros. Es el salvador de nuestromundo!

Deender las propias creencias yprestarse apoyo mutuo es algo muy im-portante. En el mundo de hoy en da,resulta cil dejarse llevar por la opininpblica. No obstante, mantenerse rmey deender los propios principios puederesultar muy graticante, a pesar de lasdicultades que eso a veces entraa.Recuerdo que en el colegio cantbamosun himno muy bonito que se llamaTrust and Obey (Confa y obedece).

La primera estroa, en concreto, merecuerda que no nos debe asustar man-tenernos rmes en nuestra e y nuestrascreencias: Cuando caminamos conel Seor en la luz de su palabra, conqu gloria ilumina nuestro camino!Mientras hacemos su buena voluntad,l nos acompaa, como a todos los queconan y obedecen.

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CALLING all seaarers: we would like to hear rom you!

As part o the worldwide welare work o The Missionto Seaarers, we would like to hear about the waysyou keep in touch with your riends and amily whileyoure at sea.

Using social networks can be one o the cheapestand quickest ways to keep in touch with everyonewhile youre away, so wed like to know:

what social networks do you use?

Please tick all the options that apply. When yourenished, please hand in your copy to the nearestMission to Seaarers chaplain.

You can also answer this question online atwww.missiontoseafarers.org/vote

Seafarers:have your say

Thanks or taking part and making your voice heard.


8/8


Tankermastersface jail

High bloodpressureendingcareersTHE most commonreason or seaarerspermanently ailing UKmedical checks or seaservice last year was hy-

pertension high bloodpressure according tothe countrys Maritime& Coastguard Agency.

This accounted oralmost 13 per cent othe total. Other car-diovascular problems,including heart diseaseand deep vein thrombo-sis, were the causes o14.5 per cent o ailures.Just over 7 per cento the 110 permanent

ailures last year, out o52,200 seaarer medicalexaminations, were theresult o obesity.

TWO tanker masters,who had been carryingout a bunkeringoperation six mileso the Sao Tomeand Principe coastin March, have beensentenced to up tothree years in prisonon smugglingcharges. Deencelawyers called thesentences absurdand an appeal hasbeen lodged.

The masters o theMarshall Islands-agMarida Melissaandthe Turkey-ag DuzgitIntegritywere alsofned a total o4.8mbut told they wouldnot go to jail i theyor their employerspaid the court theequivalent o5m tothe court.

Fuel transers areillegal within 20 mileso the coast. It hasbeen reported that theBermuda-ag tankerPresident Spenawasalso detained.

The insurer says the

issue is complicatedby the presence ounlicensed fsh armswhich are neithercharted nor marked bybuoys.

THE UKs WarsashMaritime Academy(WMA) has added itseighth ship model, theResolution, to its eet

used or training pilots,masters and shipsofcers.

The 1:25 scalemodel o a 13,300teu containership cost250,000 (US$368,000)and is part o 5.5m

committed to theproject by SouthamptonSolent University in2009.

DangerousdancingTHE ofcer o thewatch (OOW) o a largecruise ship ailed to actappropriately whenthe vessel encounteredrestricted visibilityrecently, according toa UK Marine AccidentInvestigation Branch(MAIB) Saety Digest.

In a report o theships near miss witha small survey vesselwhich was engaged insurvey operations, theMAIB says the OOWseemed either unawareo his obligations undersuch conditions orunwilling to complywith them.

He had not calledthe master, was notsounding the correct

og signal, and waslistening to dance musicwhile the ship steamedon at 18 knots. Acollision was avoided bythe survey vessel.

Mission launches seafarers surveyWe want to hear rom you!

1. What is your gender?

Male Female

2. What is your nationality?

3. What position do you hold on board?

4. Which age bracket do you ft in to?

18-30 31-40 41-50 Over 50

5. What aith group do you belong to?

Christi an Muslim Jewish Hindu

Buddhist Sikh

Other (please speciy): ___________________________________

6. Why did you become a seaarer?

I always wanted to be a seaarer

I earn more at sea than at home

My ather/relative was a seaarer

Other: _________________________________________________

7. What technology do you use on a regular basis?

iPhone Android device Laptop

iPad Other tablet Landline phone

8. Do you have email access on board your ship?

Yes, we all do Yes, but it is restricted

No

9. I you do have access, how oten do you use it?

Daily Weekly Monthly

I do not use it

10. What stops you using communication technology?

Its expensive I dont have the time

Access is limited

Other: _________________________________________________

11. Do you use a Mission to Seaarers phone card or roam-ing SIM?

Yes, both Phonecard SIM

No

12. How much do you spend each month contacting home?

Under $20 $21-$40 $41-$60

$61-$80 $81-$100 Over $100

13. Is it important that a port has a seaarers centre?

Extremely Very

Important Not important

14. Please tell us why:

15. What seaarers centre services do you think are mostimportant?

Chaplains Internet Transport

Phones Counselling Ship visitors

Chapels/Mass Bar Gardens

Shop Gym Library

Currency exchange Local inormation

Other: _________________________________________________

16. What are the benefts, i any, o seeing a port chaplain?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

17. What is the most difcult thing about being at sea?

Bullying Long contracts Isolation

Piracy Bad weather Criminalisation

Being the only person rom my country

Not seeing my amily

Missing amily events, like birthdays

Other: _____________________________________________

18. What does The Mission to Seaarers mean to you?

19. I you could name one new service or The Mission toSeaarers to provide, what would it be?

None

NewWarsashmodel setssail

HarmfulHWWdecisionclears the

watersHOLD washing water(HWW) rom cargoesdeemed harmulto the marineenvironment (HME)by the InternationalMaritime Organization(IMO) may still bedischarged intothe sea or a whilelonger, in certaincircumstances.

The move has beenmade in response todifculties reportedby shippers andshipowners in meetingthe requirements oamended regulationsthat came into orceon January 1 this year,which prohibit alldischarges o all HMEresidues.

IMO is sendingan ofcial Circular toIndustry saying thatHWW rom holdspreviously containingsolid bulk cargoesclassifed as HME maybe discharged outsideIMO designatedSpecial Areas untilDecember 31, 2015.

There are currentlyseveral conditionsthat must be metand precautions thatmust be taken beoreHWW can go intothe sea, includingthat, based on theinormation rom thereceiving port, themaster makes surethere are no adequatereception acilities atthe receiving terminalor at the next port ocall.

The Mission to Seaarers is asking every working seaarer who uses our services to tell us what they think o us so we can tailorour services to meet your needs. As one o the largest providers o seaarers centres, we think its important that we give you thechance to tell us what you like about the Mission and, crucially, what services you think we should be providing in the uture.

All o the inormation is entirely confdential, and anonymous. Please either complete the survey below and hand it to a portchaplain rom The Mission to Seaarers, or visit www.missiontoseafarers.org/survey to complete it online.

Documents

The Sea Jul Aug 2013