MARITIME NEWS

Friday, February 28, 2014 International maritime news for seafarers

Rolls-Royce to develop unmanned cargo ships

Rolls-Royce Holdings is currently develo ing unmanned cargo s!i s t!at can be used for trans orting goods at sea in t!e coming years" #ccording to sources close to t!e com any, ca tains will use a virtual-reality recreation of a vessel$s bridge to control t!ese s!i s remotely" Rolls-Royce engineers are of t!e o inion t!at t!e unmanned s!i s will eventually offer a safer, cleaner and less-e% ensive o tion for moving cargo" &!e drone s!i s will be '( lig!ter com ared to average cargo s!i s and consume 12(-1'( less fuel" )eanw!ile, t!e com any officials !ave admitted t!at t!ey are currently facing a few regulatory and financial troubles regarding t!e researc! and develo ment of suc! s!i s" &!ey will !ave to resolve issues related to international minimum crew re*uirements and ineligibility for being insured by ma+or roviders" ,ommenting on t!e issue, -s.ar /evander, a marine engineering and tec!nology e%ecutive at Rolls-Royce, said0 1If we want marine to do t!is, now is t!e time to move" 2ow t!e tec!nology is at t!e level w!ere we can ma.e t!is !a en and t!e society is moving in t!is direction"1 He told re orters0 1It$s a given t!at t!e remote-controlled s!i must be as safe as today" 3ut we actually t!in. it can be even muc! safer t!an today"1

SAFETY STUDY CRANE ACCIDENT

# s!i was transferring !eavy cargo onto a barge alongside w!en t!e !oisting ro e of t!e dec. crane bro.e, resulting in t!e cargo lummeting to t!e barge and stevedores below"

SUMMAR

4!ile a cargo s!i was alongside a ier on !er starboard side, !oisting a !eavy cargo using !er 2o5 crane from t!e !old of a barge, w!ic! was moored on !er ortside, t!e !oisting wire ro e of t!e dec. crane bro.e and t!e cargo fell into t!e !old of t!e barge" #mong t!e barge crew and stevedores resent, five stevedores were t!rown out by t!e im act" #s a result, one stevedore died and t!ree suffered bruises" &!e barge bottom was !oled and san." &!e investigation revealed t!at w!ile crane 2o5 of t!e cargo s!i was !oisting t!e cargo, t!e rim of t!e main s!eave at t!e e%tremity of t!e +ib fractured, causing t!e main wire$s reci itous dro into t!e ga caused by fracture" &!is caused a brea. in t!e main wire, t!at resulted to t!e fall of t!e cargo, main !oo. bloc., and grommet onto t!e barge" &!e accident occurred after crane 2o5 assed a load test t!ree wee.s earlier, and later investigation revealed t!e occurrence of brittle fracture on t!e surface of a main s!eave and various-si6ed crac.s were observed on anot!er main s!eave$s surface"

ACTI!NS TA"EN
&!e s!i manager notified t!e crane manufacturer and class society and im osed a ban on t!e use of t!e 520-ton !oisting winc!es of ,ranes 2o 2 and 2o 5 onboard t!e vessel and its eig!t sister s!i s until t!e main s!eave was t!oroug!ly e%amined and t!e roblem was resolved" # detailed ins ection was carried out and all main s!eaves wit!in w!ic! a crac. was detected were re laced" # guideline was issued t!at lists usage instructions and maintenance7ins ection rocedures and also re*uires t!e visual ins ection of s!eaves and re orting every si% mont!s" &!e crew was instructed to ensure a t!oroug! ins ection of cargo !andling e*ui ment rior to t!e start of cargo o erations, and to underta.e maintenance7service rocedures ursuant to t!e 8)9" &!e s!i manager and t!e crane manufacturer investigated t!e cause of t!e accident and manufactured an im roved ty e of main s!eave" 3arge wor.ers were re*uired to don life +ac.ets w!en aboard" 9ource0 :&93

Eurocert sets up anti-piracy training agency

&!e ;uro ean Ins ection and ,ertification ,om any <;urocert= on &!ursday set u an agency named #rmed )aritime 9ecurity - erators <#)9-= for en!ancing anti- iracy activities" ;urocert announced t!at t!e #)9- is aimed at reventing irate attac.s in !ig! seas"

#)9- is t!e first suc! institution set u in >reece" It will mainly rovide training and award certification to eo le w!o are willing to wor. as armed guards to rotect s!i s from irates" &!e artici ants will receive a rofessional #)9- certificate and t!e ;uro ass certificate u on clearing a two-stage e%amination" &!e #)9- will certify t!e artici ants$ ca ability to guard s!i s and revent iracy-related incidents" In a se arate develo ment, ?9 ,o-ordinator for ,ounter 8iracy and )aritime 9ecurity @onna Ho .ins !as said t!at India can lay an im ortant role in anti- iracy drives" #ddressing a ress conference in 4as!ington, s!e said t!at India is a very im ortant member of t!e iracy contact grou as t!e 9out! #sian country !as t!e largest number of irates in its custody" 1India is a very im ortant member of t!e ,ontact >rou and, in fact, c!aired a lenary and !as more irates under its custody t!an any ot!er country,1 s!e added"

!man see#s IM! Council seat

-man !as started cam aigning for obtaining a seat at t!e ,ouncil of I)-" &!e &rans ort and ,ommunication )inistry of t!e )iddle ;astern country confirmed t!e develo ment and e% ressed o timism t!at it will win a seat on t!e I)- ,ouncil" &al.ing to t!e local media in )uscat on &!ursday, a senior ministry official said t!at if selected as an I)- ,ouncil member, -man will get t!e o ortunity to re resent interests of t!e entire region before t!e international community" &!e official also said t!at t!e members!i will !el -man re resenting t!e s ecial interests of t!e 9ultanate regarding s!i ing and maritime industries" For t!e 2014-1' biennium, t!ere is no re resentation from t!e >,, in t!e I)- ,ouncil" In @ecember 2015, t!e I)- #ssembly elected 10 states wit! t!e largest interest in roviding international s!i ing services as members of its ,ouncil for 2014-1'" &!ese states include >reece, ,!ina, Italy, :a an, 2orway, 8anama, 9out! Aorea, Russia, t!e ?A and t!e ?9 in ,ategory #" #not!er 10 states were elected in ,ategory 3 and 20 in ,ategory ," 3ut, t!ere is not a single >,, nation in t!ese categories" &!e official is of t!e o inion t!at an I)- ,ouncil members!i will !el -man get international recognition in maritime issues and bolster its osition in t!e international maritime community" He stressed t!at t!e ro osed move will also revive -man$s !istorical maritime !eritage and im rove its role in t!e advancement of navigation across t!e globe"

ACCIDENT

Indian Navy chie$ de$ends decision to step do%n

# day after resigning as Indian 2avy ,!ief, #dmiral @ A :os!i wrote to !is colleagues, saying t!at !e was 1firm1 on ta.ing res onsibility for t!e mis!a s t!at !ave ta.en lace" 1I consulted only myself and my wife before ta.ing t!e decision to resign" #fter t!e submarine mis!a , I was firm t!at I s!ould ta.e t!e res onsibility for it,1 !e said in !is internal message to senior officers of t!e 2avy" &a.ing 1moral res onsibility1, :os!i submitted !is resignation on 4ednesday, !ours after fire and smo.e on submarine $I29 9ind!uratna$ in w!ic! two officers died and seven sailors were ta.en seriously ill" In !is resignation letter, :os!i said t!oug! t!e government continued to re ose fait! is !is ca abilities, it was becoming untenable for !im to continue as t!e !ead of t!e maritime force in terms of accountability" His resignation was rom tly acce ted by Indian @efence )inister # A #ntony and Bice ,!ief of 2aval 9taff Bice #dmiral R A @!owan was as.ed to ta.e over as t!e #cting ,!ief till regular ,!ief is a ointed" :os!i, w!o became t!e first c!ief of t!e 2avy to resign over accidents, !ad about 1' mont!s more left in service" <8&I=

ENVIRONMENT &u#ushima radiation o$$ers #ey in$ormation on ocean currents

&!e radiation lea.ing into t!e ocean from t!e cri led Fu.us!ima nuclear ower lant is giving scientists new valuable evidence on t!e movements of ocean currents" :o!n 9mit!, a c!emical oceanogra !er of t!e 3edford Institute of -ceanogra !y, said t!at t!ey discovered low levels of radioactive seawater from :a an$s Fu.us!ima disaster near t!e 3ritis! ,olumbia coast" He also said t!at it was sur rising because com uter models did not redict t!at t!e levels and t!e timing of t!e radiation would reac! ,anada" #ccording to !im, t!e develo ment !el s scientists understand t!e movements of ocean currents because of w!ic! t!e 3ritis! ,olumbia coast was being bat!ed in low levels of radioactive seawater"

9mit! said t!at com uter models redicted t!at !ig! levels of slow-moving radioactive material would ma.e t!eir way toward 2ort! #merica t!roug! ocean currents only by 201C" 1&!e signal arrived about two years earlier t!an one model redicts,1 !e stressed w!ile tal.ing about t!e trace amounts of cesium-154 t!at were released after Fu.us!ima$s nuclear meltdown" He also said0 1&!e signal t!at came across t!e 8acific was directed almost recisely at 3ritis! ,olumbia"1 9mit! told re orters t!at !e would continue to analyse t!e data and monitor ,anadian waters for any sign of increasing radiation"

'oor on(oard internet access $rustrates sea$arers

8oor onboard Internet access !as become an im ortant factor for seafarers as t!ey !ave started considering w!et!er to remain wor.ing at sea" #s er a new study conducted by t!e ;? as art of its ma+or researc! ro+ect on t!e s!ortage of maritime s.ills, inade*uate communications wit! family and friends may force seafarers to find s!ore-based +obs" &!e study also reveals t!at combined wit! a $more co!erent and visionary a roac!$ to !uman resources in s!i ing, t!e rovision of im roved communications facilities onboard would deliver a substantial increase in t!e seafarer retention rate" &!e ;? !as s ent around ;?R 1"' million to im lement t!e ro+ect aimed at investigating ways to im roving t!e image of t!e s!i ing industry and also to en!ance t!e attractiveness of maritime careers" &!e findings are based on a survey of more t!an '00 seafarers of 24 different nationalities" #lmost D'( of t!ose interviewed were officers" #round two-t!irds of t!e eo le surveyed graded seafaring as t!eir first c!oice of rofession and D0( were very muc! satisfied wit! t!eir c!oice com ared to +ust E"2( w!o were disa ointed" # art from t!e oor onboard Internet access, ot!er im ortant factors for seafarers are good salary, inde endence, love for t!e sea, travel and local-family tradition in c!oosing t!emaritime rofession" However, t!ey e% ressed serious concerns over oor communication wit! friends and family members, social isolation, se aration from family, oor living conditions and insufficient rest !ours"

GALLEY Apple and sprout salad

It will ta.e +ust 1' minutes to re are t!e salad for four serves <as a starter= or two serves <as a main dis!=" Ingredients: 1 carrot 1 celery stal. 1 dessert a le <red-s.inned=

1 cu of $mung$ bean s routs 574 cu of alfalfa s routs 172 cu of sunflower .ernels" For oriental dressing0 1tbs of lime +uice 1tbs of coriander <finely c!o 2tbs of sunflower oil 172ts of sesame oil 172ts of soy sauce <reduced-salt= 1ts of fres! ginger <grated= e er" ed=

Method: ,ut t!e carrot into 4cm lengt!s" 9lice t!inly lengt!wise and cut into very fine matc!stic.s" #lso cut t!e celery into matc!stic.s t!e same si6e" ,ore t!e a le and cut into eig!t wedges and t!inly slice t!e wedges crosswise to ma.e fan-s!a ed ieces" ,ombine t!e carrot, celery, a .ernels in a bowl" le, mung bean s routs, alfalfa s routs and sunflower er"

&o ma.e t!e dressing, w!is. toget!er all t!e ingredients and season it wit! e 8our t!e dressing over t!e salad, toss well to coat evenly and serve"

Rice salad
Ingredients: Rice, red and yellow bell e ers, tomato, tuna, onion, olives, canned corn, ic.les, salt, e er, curcuma owder, cinnamon owder"

Method: 3oil t!e rice along wit! t!e s ecified s ices" ,!o t!e e olives and ic.les finely" 2ow, drain t!e rice and add t!e vegetable mi%ture, tuna and corn" )i% well and serveF

ers, tomato, onion,

SHIPPING DATA
)A*TIC E+C,AN-E
Market snapshot: Dry Index Capesize Index #ana$ax Index &'pra$ax Index (andysize Index 11:30 GMT BDI 1250 BCI 20 ! B#I 1123 B&I 1100 B(&I )"3 +28 +13" %31 +3 %1

E+C,AN-E RATES
*e+ ,ork -Th' C.s/ 01n C'rren2y in 3&D Britain -#o'nd/ 14))83 Canada -Do..ar/ 048!"3 China -,'an/ 041)31 5'ro 143"10 India -6'pee/ 0401)1 Indonesia -6'piah/ 04000085 7apan -,en/ 0400!"!) *or+ay -8rone/ 041)5) #hi.ippines -#eso/ 04022 #o.and -9.oty/ 0432! 6'ssia -6':.e/ 0402"" &in1apore -Do..ar/ 04"!0! 3kraine -(ry;nia/ 041002 3&D in 01n C'rren2y 045!! 1411 5 )4131) 04"2! )14!850 11"10400 10240800 )40 02 4)!00 340 00 3)40"2" 142) !4!850