MARITIME NEWS

Thursday, March 6, 2014 International maritime news for seafarers

Electronic charts to boost maritime safety in Pacific

New Zealand has successfully completed the process of makin electronic na!i ational charts for the south"west #acific island, which will help $oost maritime safety% The de!elopment of these charts is part of an initiati!e funded $y the New Zealand &id #ro ramme to impro!e maritime safety in the re ion% 'Maritime safety has lon $een a concern in the south"west #acific, with many charts no lon er meetin the needs of shippin in the area% The pro$lem has worsened recently throu h the increase in lar e cruise !essels na!i atin in the poorly charted re ion,' (and Information Minister Maurice )illiamson said% *nder the +on!ention on the ,afety of (ife at ,ea, the IM- had set 2012"1. as the deadline for passen er !essels, tankers and other lar e ships to transform from paper" $ased na!i ation to the sole"use of electronic charts% #acific Island &ffairs Minister #eseta ,am (otu"Ii a said/ '*ntil now these areas ha!e relied on paper charts only, and New Zealand0s aid commitment to support tourism made it imperati!e they $e con!erted to electronic form%' The new charts ha!e limitations as the ori inal old data is no lon er authentic% The New Zealand authorities are conductin 'hydro raphic risk assessment' to prioritise areas for sur!ey, which will determine the nature and scope of chart impro!ements% 1with inputs from 2inhua3

SAFETY Malaria: an infectious disease among seafarers

(ondon #4I +lu$ has drawn attention to malaria, a life"threatenin disease to which seafarers are particularly at risk due to the !ery nature of their employment% The )5- recommends the use of oral anti"malarial medication chemoprophyla6is, which is usually to $e taken in ad!ance of enterin hi h risk areas% It is recommended that medical ad!ice $e sou ht when decidin the dru , its 7uantity, com$ination of medication, dosa e and duration% 8isk awareness and forward plannin $y ship mana ers and crew is therefore of !ital importance in ensurin timely implementation of precautions% -ther practical pre!entati!e measures include encoura in crew mem$ers to restrict e6posure of $are skin, application of insect repellents and keepin the accommodation closed down, particularly $etween dusk and dawn when mos7uitoes are most acti!e% Malaria is pre!alent in tropical and su$"tropical 9ones around the world, with the ma:ority of cases occurrin in su$",aharan &frica% The first symptoms are fe!er, headache, chills and !omitin % ,ince these symptoms may $e mild it is often difficult to reco nise them as malaria% & lo of all anti"malarial dru s administered to and taken $y indi!idual crew mem$ers should $e maintained% ,ource/ (ondon #4I +lu$

Tanker allides with lock, bulk carrier

& tanker allided with the side and middle wall of the ,outhern (ock while enterin the lock of ;iel +anal in <runs$uettel on March = e!enin % The >dansk"$ound tanker, which left ;attwyk Terminal in 5am$ur on March = afternoon, tried to enter the lock without tu assistance and ot perpendicular to the $asin% Then, the ship ran into the stern of a $ulk carrier% (ock was closed for traffic to under o underwater sur!ey% The car o ship reportedly resumed !oya e, while tanker was towed and docked at the <runs$uettel terminal%

Israel intercepts Iranian ship carrying rockets for Gaza

The Israeli special forces on )ednesday intercepted an Iranian ship in the 8ed ,ea that ferried missiles for militants in the >a9a ,trip, cappin an intelli ence operation that lasted months% Na!al commandos raided the !essel on the maritime $order $etween ,udan and ?ritrea, appro6imately 1,=00km from the Israeli coast, while it was en route to #ort ,udan, the military said% & search on $oard the #anamanian"fla ed !essel yielded do9ens of ,yrian"made M" @02 surface"to"surface rockets that were concealed under cement $a s, the military said% It noted that 5e9$ollah fired this type of rocket into northern Israel durin the @@" day war in 2006, 2inhua reported% (t +ol #eter (erner, an &rmy spokesman, said the operation, code"named 'Aull Bisclosure,' was launched se!eral months a o when Israeli intelli ence a encies identified that the rockets were flown from Bamascus to Tehran, an unusual route that sou ht to throw Israeli intelli ence off track% Ten days a o, they were loaded onto the car o ship at the <andar &$$as #ort in southern Iran, from where the !essel sailed to the Ira7i port of *mm Casr and continued its :ourney to #ort ,udan, where it was scheduled to dock on Thursday%

oal firm to pay record fine for water pollution

-ne of the &merica0s lar est coal producers will pay a *,B 2D%= million fine and spend *,B 200 million to reduce ille al to6ic dischar es into hundreds of waterways across fi!e &ppalachian states, accordin to a proposed settlement on )ednesday% The a reement includes the lar est fine e!er for !iolations of water pollution permits, with many of the !iolations reported $y the company to state en!ironmental officials% The &ssociated #ress o$tained details a$out the settlement $efore it was filed on )ednesday in federal court in )est Eir inia% The dischar es occurred at mines and coal processin plants in ;entucky, #ennsyl!ania, Tennessee, Eir inia and )est Eir inia% 'This is the lar est one, period,' +ynthia >iles, head of the ?n!ironmental #rotection & ency0s enforcement office, told the &#% 'It0s the $i est case for permit !iolations for

num$ers of !iolations and si9e of the penalty, which reflects the seriousness of !iolations,' he added% The o!ernment said that $etween 2006 and 201@, &lpha Natural 8esources Inc and do9ens of su$sidiaries !iolated water pollution limits in state"issued permits more than 6,000 times% They dischar ed hea!y metals and other contaminants harmful to fish and other wildlife from nearly .00 outfall pipes directly into ri!ers, streams and tri$utaries, accordin to the o!ernment% There is no e!idence that any of the !iolations contaminated drinkin water, ?#& officials told &#%

ENVIRONMENT !now, ice co"er will boost Great #akes le"els

)ater le!els in the >reat (akes are e6pected to continue a steady reco!ery this year, courtesy of widespread ice co!er that is slowin e!aporation and snowfall that has approached record amounts in some cities, federal e6perts said on )ednesday% The sie e of polar air that has ripped the re ion this winter has caused the most e6tensi!e free9e"o!er of the lakes since the record"settin year of 1FDF, when nearly F=G of their surface area solidified% -n Tuesday, the ice co!er reached its hi hest point since then " F1G, said >eor e (eshke!ich, a physical scientist with the federal >reat (akes ?n!ironmental 8esearch (a$oratory in &nn &r$or% Meanwhile, the towerin snowpack rimmin the watershed will melt this sprin and much of the water will flow into the lakes or the streams that feed them% The runoff is e6pected to $e so $ountiful that some areas will $e in dan er of floodin , a prospect that could $e worsened $y ice :ams on swollen ri!ers% '&ny additional rainfall on top of that snowpack would add to that flood threat,' said ;eith ;ompoltowic9, hydrolo y $ranch chief with the *, &rmy +orps of ?n ineers district office in Betroit% ')e0re certainly payin !ery close attention to the weather in the ne6t few weeks,' he added% >reat (akes le!els dropped sharply in the late 1FF0s and ha!e remained mostly $elow normal since% ,cientists $lame a warmin climate, which promotes e!aporation and limits ice co!er and occasional dry spells, &# reported% The drop"off was most se!ere on (akes Michi an and 5uron, which hydrolo ists consider one water $ody $ecause they are connected and at the same hei ht a$o!e sea le!el% They fell to the lowest point on record in Hanuary 201@, while the three other >reat (akes " ,uperior, ?rie and -ntario " were well $elow a!era e%

SECURITY Turkey permits $! warship to transit %osphorus to %lack !ea

Turkish has allowed a *, warship to pass throu h the <osphorus ,trait in the ne6t two days amid a rowin tension $etween 8ussia and )estern countries o!er +rimea, local Baily News reported on )ednesday% & Turkish diplomatic source confirmed that a *, warship had ot permission to pass the strait, $ut it would not $e a nuclear aircraft carrier as su ested in some media% The *, warship meets the standards specified $y the 1F@6 Montreu6 +on!ention in terms of wei ht, the source added% &ccordin to the Montreu6 +on!ention, the total wei ht of military ships of the non" littoral states to pass throu h the <osphorus ,trait cannot e6ceed 4=,000 tonnes% #re!ious report said the *,, >eor e 5 ) <ush nuclear aircraft carrier would transit the strait en route to the <lack ,ea% ?arlier on Tuesday, two 8ussian warships passed throu h the Turkish strait of <osphorus, headin toward *kraine, 2inhua reported% The *krainian crisis, which ori inated from protests a ainst #resident Eiktor Ianuko!ych0s decision last No!em$er to a$andon an association a reement with the ?* and instead seek 8ussian aid, took an a$rupt turn in the past two weeks followin $loody clashes $etween protesters and police% Ianuko!ych then fled ;ie!%

$! G rescues dog from ice on #ake !t lair

The crew of a *, +oast >uard 1*,+>3 cutter that rescued a do from ice on (ake ,t +lair has i!en the animal an appropriate name/ '(ucky'% +hief #etty -fficer &lan 5araf said the 140"foot cutter <ristol <ay was headin on Monday to help another !essel stuck in ice when the do was spotted% Three crew mem$ers suited up in weather"resistant ear, he said and left the ship to help retrie!e the do % The crew, which is handlin ice"$reakin in the >reat (akes re ion, hoisted the do a$oard and a!e it food and care $efore takin it to an animal shelter% The do was 4J to = miles from land off the Betroit su$ur$ of ,t +lair ,hores, &# reported%

'The do was cold, weak and tired,' 5araf told the Betroit Aree #ress, addin / '5e may ha!e $een out there for a couple of days or so%' The do , which initially was spotted with what appeared to $e a roup of fo6es in the distance, had a harness and collar $ut no identifyin ta , the *,+> said% The other animals scurried away, 5araf said% 'They noticed three $urrows the do tried to di for itself for protection,' 5araf said% 'They said the paws were $leedin and the nails were pretty much down to nothin ,' he added%

SHIPPING DATA
%&#TI E' (&)GE
Market snapshot: 1100 GMT Dry Index BDI 1391 Capesize Index BCI 2 96 "ana#ax Index B"I 10 3 %&pra#ax Index B%I 1116 'andysize Index B'%I 661 +66 +2!0 $9 +1 $1

E' (&)GE *&TE!

(e) *ork +,ed C-s. /0n C&rren1y in 2%D Britain +"o&nd. 136!20 Canada +Do--ar. 0390 9 China +*&an. 031632 5&ro 133!31 India +6&pee. 030162 Indonesia +6&piah. 03000046 7apan +*en. 03009!!3 (or)ay +8rone. 03166! "hi-ippines +"eso. 030223 "o-and +:-oty. 033240 6&ssia +6&;-e. 0302!! %in0apore +Do--ar. 03!4!2 2kraine +'ry<nia. 031024 2%D in /0n C&rren1y 03 941 131039 63124! 03!243 613!6 0 11 44300 10233200 39990 993!400 330 00 3630 2 132!03 93!290

WORLD TRAVEL )&MI%I&

Nami$ia is a country in southern &frica whose western $order is the &tlantic -cean% The country has !ast swathes of the most remarka$le desert scenery% It shares land $orders with &n ola and Zam$ia to the north, <otswana to the east and ,outh &frica to the south and east%

Getting around
Tourists may enter Nami$ia for up to F0 days% By plane: 5osea ;utako International &irport, located 4= minutes east of )indhoek, is the main entry point for air traffic% &ir Nami$ia operates fli hts from Arankfurt, +ape Town, Hohannes$ur , Eictoria Aalls and Maun to the international airport% Ali hts $etween the smaller ?ros &irport and +ape Town are also a!aila$le% By roa : The most popular way to et around is $y road, with an inner network of decent roads $ein safe to self"dri!e and connectin the popular attractions such as ,ossus!lei and ?tosha% The !ery $est locations are those truly wild areas% which lie out of ran e of self"dri!ers, such as ,keleton +oast North, ;aokaland )est, Bamaraland North and Nami$rand, which are more often accessed $y li ht aircraft% By !"#: The most con!enient international $us ser!ice into Nami$ia runs from +ape Town and Eictoria Aalls% By $ra%n: The re ular o!erni ht train from *pin ton in ,outh &frica to )indhoek, operated $y TransNami$, has $een discontinued% It is no lon er possi$le to et into or out of Nami$ia $y train%

Top attractions
Na&%! De#er$ " It stretches for nearly a 1000km alon the &tlantic coast% ,ossus!lei is the most accessi$le part of the desert and is a ma ical place with its towerin dunes that shift hues as the sun rises and sets% F%#' R%(er Canyon " It is one of the lar est canyons in the world% ,tretchin for 160km, it reaches 2Dkm across at its widest and nearly ==0m down at its deepest% S)ele$on Coa#$ Na$%onal Par) " In the north of the country is the empty and mostly inaccessi$le ,keleton +oast National #ark% It0s a seemin ly $arren e6panse of stone and sand famous for its fo and the num$er of shipwrecks alon the coast%