The Sea, January/February 2014

8/22/2019 The Sea, January/February 2014

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Issue 227 jan/feb 2014

Losartculosen espaolaparecenen laspginas6 y 7

The Sea

Editor: Michael KeatingNews: David Hughes

The Seais distributedfree to seafarers throughchaplains and seafarerscentres. You can alsoarrange to receive itregularly at a cost of 3.50or $5 per year (six issues).To find out more, contact:

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

Tel: +44 20 7248 5202

Email: [email protected]

www.missiontoseafarers.org

LNG: fuelof thefuture?page 8

Armedguardsnecessarypage 2

. 6 7

New crimefightingguidelinescreated byIMO formasters

Concordia

Captainlost

Paperworkburdentoo highpage 3

Registered charity in England and Wales: 1123613

The Mission to Seafarers Scotland Limited,Registered charity: SC041938

THE InternationalMaritime Organizations(IMO) GeneralAssembly has produceddraft guidelines formasters on actionsto take following anallegation that a seriouscrime has taken placeon board a ship, or

following a repor t of amissing person from aship.

The guidelines,created after theGeneral Assemblysrecent meeting inLondon, are intendedto assist masters in thepreserving of evidenceand the giving ofpastoral and medicalcare to those affected.They also advise onhow to collect evidencebefore law enforcementauthorities or otherprofessional crimescene investigatorsarrive on board.

RESIDENTS of Anibong town near Tacloban City, the Philippines, pick up pieces of wood between two washedup cargoships, amid the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan last November. It is estimated that 28 per centof the worlds 1.3 million seafarers are from the Philippines. (Photo: Reuters)

Founded in 1856, and

entirely funded by

voluntary donations,

todays Mission to

Seafarers offers emergency

assistance, practical

support, and a friendly

welcome to crews in 260

ports around the world.

Whether caring for victims

of piracy or providing a

lifeline to those stranded in

foreign ports, we are there

for the globes 1.3 million

merchant seafarers of all

ranks, nationalities and

beliefs.

The Mission toSeafarers

CAPTAIN FrancescoSchettino, the masterof the cruise ship CostaConcordia becamecompletely lost withshock after his shipstruck rocks off theItalian island of Giglio,according to evidencegiven at his trial formanslaughter.

Giving evidence,navigating officerSimone Canessatold the court: I

was saying to himvery insistently thathe needed to dosomething, to give thegeneral emergencysignal, but he wastelling us to wait.

The officer alsotestified that themaster ordered himto change the passageplan to pass near theisland in order tocarry out the bow, agreeting to someoneon the shore. The trialis continuing.

In Decembersalvage workers founda body believed tobe that of the Indian

steward, RusselRebello, leaving onlyone of the 32 peoplewho are believedto have died in theaccident unaccountedfor.

WHEN TyphoonHaiyan devastatedlarge areas of the

Philippines in early Novemberit affected seafarers in a waythat has probably neverhappened to the workforceof any global industry before.

The typhoon, knownlocally as Yolanda, is thoughtto be the most severe everto reach land, and once theextent of the devastation

caused became known, theshipping industry mounted amassive operation to supportFilipino seafarers and theirfamilies.

It was initially estimatedthat more than 10,000 peoplelost their lives. The death tollnow stands at around 6,000.The port city of Tacloban

was one of the worst affectedareas, with many fatalities.

Very shortly after thetyphoon struck, The Missionto Seafarers started providingfree phone cards, s ims,and wifi access to Filipinoseafarers at its centresworldwide. Soon afterwardsthe Seafarers EmergencyFund, administered by therecently created InternationalSea fa re r s Wel fa re and

Assistance Network (ISWAN),provided funds for seafarercentres around the world toput Filipino seafarers in touchwith their families back home.

While rescue and reliefefforts in the affected areasof the Philippines werehampered by the destructionof infrastructure, and a truly

co-ordinated and effectiveresponse effort took severaldays to set up, the shippingindustry was able to putexisting welfare supportstructures to use quickly.

ISWAN co-ordinated theresponse from organisationsinvolved in seafarers welfaresuch as the InternationalShipping Federation, theInternational Chamber ofShipping, the International

Transport Workers Federation(ITF), and the InternationalC h r i s t i a n M a r i t i m eAssociation.

Within days the ITFaffiliate Filipino union, theAssociated Marine Officersand Seamens Union of thePhilippines (AMOSUP),was using its training ship,

the Felix Oca , to transporthumanita r ian suppl ie sprovided by Norwegianshipowners and others tothe affected areas. The ITFscharity arm, the ITF SeafarersTrust, gave 100,000 toAMOSUP and the PhilippineSeafarers Union to help themdeliver emergency relief toseafarers and their families.

In an early move, Japaneseshipping company MOL

donated US$30,000 to therelief effort. Meanwhile KVHsHeadland Media used theirdaily news bulletin, Newslink,to provide information on thetyphoon and its aftermath totheir 100,000 Filipino seafarerreaders on board 10,000 shipsall over the world.

Continued on P2

Shipping responds afterTyphoon Haiyan tragedy

Super typhoon wreaks havoc in the Philippines

www.missiontoseafarers.org

@FlyingAngelNews

themissiontoseafarers

www.missiontoseafarers.org @FlyingAngelNewswww.facebook.com/themissiontoseafarers

Mission takes part in global Haiyan responseIN THE immediate aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, The Missionto Seafarers responded by offering free wifi, phonecards andtop-up phonecards to those affected in all 47 of our directlyfunded ports around the world in order to help crews contacthome and find out if their families were safe.

The Revd Canon Ken Peters, director of justice andwelfare at the Mission, said: With so many Filipino crews

in the worlds major ports, we were anxious to ensure thatanyone who needed to call home could do, so our centresfunded free calls home through free wifi, phonecards, SIMsor top-up cards.

In addition, the International Chamber of Shipping(ICS), the International Seafarers Welfare Association andthe International Christian Maritime Association (ICMA), of

which The Mission to Seafarers is an active member, workedtogether to help affected seafarers across the world.

Representatives from maritime welfare charities and theICS agreed that the ICS, ICMA and ISWAN would co-ordinateemergency funds and ensure that all seafarers around theworld affected by the disaster could make calls home. To date,the fund has raised US$100,000.

The following week, the Mission partnered with UKnewspaper The Daily Telegraphto set up a charity auction, withcruises from P&O, Cunard and Fred.Olsen, which raised over15,000 for seafarers affected by the twyphoon.

Secretary General of the Mission, the Revd Andrew Wrightsaid: I want to thank the shipping industry for its response,as well as our teams on the ground.

01.indd 1 19/12/2013 15:39:46


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2 the sea jan/feb 14

UK MAIBswind farm

warning

Anti-piracymeasuresposedangersRAZOR wire fittedaround the 1,093gtcargoship Leopardwouldhave made it difficult

to launch, and to getinto, the ships life-rafts,a Danish MaritimeAccident InvestigationBoard (DMAIB) hasfound.

The Leopardwashijacked by Somalipirates in 2011. TheDMAIB said the crew hadleft wire cutters close tothe life-rafts but warnedthat the improvisationneeded could havecaused problems in anemergency.

Shipowners association praises impact of armed guardsas more countries allow them to operate on their ships

Armed guards now anecessity in Gulf of Aden

THE use of pr ivatearmed guards hasbecome a necessity

for shipowners if they wishto ensure a safe passagethrough the risky waters ofthe Gulf of Aden, accordingto the European CommunityShipowners Associations(ECSA).

According to ECSA, pirateattacks and hijackings offthe coast of Somalia havegradually dwindled followingthe adoption of self-protectionmeasures and the use ofprivate armed guards, which

have deterred pirates and havedecreased ships vulnerabilitywhen armed gangs do attack.The presence of naval unitssuch as EU NAVFOR hasalso decisively improved thesecurity situation off the coastof Somalia.

ECSA has also welcomedthe fact that some EUcountries, including Belgiumand Italy, have recentlyadopted legislation whichallows vessels flying theirflag to use private armedsecurity teams and that inother EU states (such asthe Netherlands), politicaldiscussions seem to go in thesame direction.

EU and internationalr e cons t r u c t i on e f f o r t sin Somalia are seeking toaddress the root causes ofpiracy and to eradicate it,

while criminal prosecution ofpiracy suspects ensures thatunlawful acts no longer gowithout punishment.

Nevertheless, ECSAwarned, the situation isfragile and remains reversible.The problem off Somalia and

[in] the Indian Ocean mayhave been curtailed, but itremains unsolved. It addedthat it was imperative thatEU countries maintain amilitary presence in the areathrough EU NAVFOR, whilecontinuing other medium-and long-term efforts in theregion.

Meanwhile UK maritimesecurity company GoAGThas welcomed moves byFrance and Japan to allowarmed guards. The companyschief operating officer, GerryNorthwood, said: Countries

that have not adopted theseprocedures yet should do soif the worlds shipping routesare to remain safe.

Armed security teams onJapanese oil tankers will helpimprove the layered defencesystem which has already

been adopted by many otherflag state nations.

The companys chiefexecutive officer, Nick Davis,said: The piracy threat isstill present off Somalia andgrowing in other regionssuch as West Africa, andcountries and individualshipping companies needto be on their guard. Wealso have to recognise thatinternational terrorist groupscould turn their attentionto soft maritime targets atany time so any increase inprotection is welcomed.

This follows recent newsreports suggesting that shipstravelling through the SuezCanal have been attackedby rocket-propelled grenadesand that authorities in theYemen have foiled plots tobomb ports in the region.

TWO incidents onNovember 21, 2012,involving workboatssupporting windfarms, share manycommon safety issues,especially with respectto the standardof watchkeepingobserved by thecrews of both vessels,according to theUKs Marine AccidentInvestigation Branch(MAIB), which hasissued the report of itsinvestigation of twoseparate casualtiesinvolving wind farm

workboats off theEnglish coast.

In its Windcat 9and Island PantherCombined Report,the MAIB says thatthe masters of bothvessels lost situationalawareness becausetheir vessels passageswere not beingproperly monitored.In addition, the reportgoes on to say that:insufficient use wasmade of the lookoutsand the navigationequipment fittedon both vessels. Italso highlights poorpassage planning and

a lack of training forthe crews, allowingingrained poorworking practices tobe perpetuated.

Canal administrator JorgeQuijano.

Although October 10,1913 marked the blastof the Gamboa Dike,which removed the lastland barrier and joinedCulebra Cut and GatunLake, the Panama Canalwas not fully navigabledue to landslides inCulebra Cut. It was

necessary to continuedredging for nearly twomonths to complete theopening of this stretch.

US-BASED maritime security systems company WatchStanderhas developed a fully automated system designed to preventgangs of pirates and other unwanted individuals or groupsfrom boarding ships.

The aim of the system is to make it physically intolerable forthe criminals to approach the ship. The system is designed tokeep the attackers beyond the range of their guns and thereby

protect the ship and its crew from potential danger. Whatmakes our system unique is that it disrupts the attack withoutburdening the crew, says company president David Rigsby.

The company says the system combines intelligent softwarewith a range of non-lethal counter-measures and that it hasbeen tested on a number of ships over the past six months andis now ready to be installed on ships in the commercial fleet.

Anti-piracy measures have recently been big news after itemerged that UK tankers in the High Risk Area have been using

Britney Spears songs to ward off pirate attacks.Britney hits including Oops! I Did It Againhave been playedthrough Long Range Acoustic Devices, aimed out towardspirate skiffs, to successfully deter pirate operations in theregion.

The speakers create a high-intensity pain-inducing noise,weighing in at 160dBs, which is far beyond the human painthreshold.

Steven Jones, maritime director at the Security Associationfor the Maritime Industry, said: Id imagine using Justin Bieberwould be against the Geneva Convention.

A spokesman for the British Association of Private SecurityCompanies added: Playing loud pop songs is one of the mosteffective ways of fending off attackers. As a tool against pirates,it is pretty effective.

But each security company will have its own musicchoice.

RenareportreleasedTHE TransportAccident InvestigationCommission hasreleased its report onthe grounding of theMV Rena. The Renagrounded on AstrolabeReef off the coastof New Zealand onOctober 5, 2011.

According tothe report, the shipdeviated from its courseon its way to meet itspilot after the masternoticed an echo on theships radar. The shipthen grounded.

The ship wascarrying 1,733 tonnesof heavy fuel oil, andthe resulting spill isconsidered to be theworst environmentalmaritime disaster inNew Zealands history.

The ships masterand second officerwere sentenced toseven months inprison following the

grounding.

New automated anti-piracy system ready to patrol seas

Questions? Comments? Post on our Facebook page or send us a Tweet!

@FlyingAngelNewsthemissiontoseafarers

Preguntas? Observacines? Envenos un correo electrnico en Facebook o Twitter


An EU NAVFOR boarding team en route to a suspicious skiff operating in the High Risk Area (Photo: EU NAVFOR)

ANOTHER big Japanese shipping company, K Line, donated 5million yen (about US$50,000) through The Rayomar OutreachFoundation to provide financial support to seafarers, theirfamilies and students of maritime academies. In addition, KLines containerships carried emergency relief supplies fromJapan free of charge in a move co-ordinated by the Japanese

Shipowners Association (JSA).Meanwhile overall reconstruction in the affected regions

is now under way, with the World Bank having approved aUS$500-million, quick-disbursing loan which the PhilippineGovernment can use in dealing with the short-term recoveryand reconstruction efforts.

Shipping responds after Typhoon Haiyan tragedyContinued from P1

The automated system employs non-lethal measures toprotect crews (Photo: Watchstander)

PanamaCanalcelebratesanniversaryTHE Panama Canalhas commemorated100 years of dredgingCulebra Cut, whichwas the last barrier tothe free movement ofvessels along the 80km

waterway.Dredging is key

to ensure the safe andefficient navigationthrough the PanamaCanal, said Panama

New EUVasco daGamaprojectTHE Conference ofPeripheral MaritimeRegions of Europe(CPMR) has launchedthree tender calls toimplement its new Vascoda Gama project.

The project aimsto improve maritimesafety and reduce theindustrys impact on

the environment byincreasing the skills ofpeople employed inthe European shippingindustry. It is hoped thatthis will, in turn, improvethe competitivenessof EU seafarers andother shipping industryemployees in the globalemployment market.

CPMRs tender callsrelate to the design of:a master programmein sustainable shipping;training and maritimesimulators; and greeningmaritime transport. Itcloses on January 20.

The project willinvolve partners from a

number of EU countries.More information

about these and futuretenders can be found onthe CPMR website,www.cpmr.org.

02.indd 1 19/12/2013 15:32:31


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jan/feb 14 the sea 3

TMT-owned ship arrested in Port of Tyne, UK, followingprevious arrests in Las Palmas and Gibralatar

Ugly Ducklingheld: thirdtime in three months

Bulkerincidentstoo high

THE Panamanian-registered bulk carrierDonald Ducklingwas detained by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency(MCA) in Port of Tyne, UK, after an inspection

uncovered a long list of serious deficiencies. It had called atthe port to load a cargo of scrap metal for Korea.

An MCA spokesman said: The detention was served fora number of reasons, including mechanical and safety issues.This notice, which prevents the vessel from sailing, will remainin place until the necessary improvements are carried out.

Prior to its arrival in the UK the 16-year-old ship, ownedby Taiwan-based TMT Group, had been detained for 121 daysearlier in the year in Gibraltar, when 21 safety deficiencieswere found by port state control officers. In September, aninspection in Las Palmas found 33 deficiencies.

In order to eat, the 18-strong crew had at one stage to resortto catching fish from the side of the vessel and to cooking their

catch on deck over fires made from dunnage because the galleystove was not working.

International Transport Workers Federation inspectorTommy Molloy said the vessel was one of the worst examplesof substandard shipping that he had ever encountered.

Mr Molloy said: The vessel is clearly not seaworthy, whichought to be of grave concern to the charterers and cargo

receivers.Crew members had not been paid on time on a number of

occasions, he added, and formal requests by two seafarers tobe repatriated because of family illnesses had been ignored.The chief engineer had been dismissed after requesting spareparts to rectify problems identified in the port state controlinspections.

Diane Erskine, centre manager for The Mission to Seafarersin the Port of Tyne, said: The crew of the vessel MV DonaldDucklingwere detained due to health and safety problems. Thecrew were already in very low spirits because of the terriblenews from Tacloban and surrounding islands and townsfollowing Typhoon Haiyan.

The ship is now likely to be detained here until Christmas,so we are preparing to make sure that they have a good dayhere if necessary.

However, Ms Erskine noted that the local response to thecrews abandonment had been very encouraging, with peopleturning up to the ship with food supplies. One fishing vesselhas repeatedly delivered fresh fish, while staff at the localBritish Telecommunications office donated a television.

In December, the crew were finally given two months pay,but they were due to be kept in port over Christmas.

THREE bulk carrierswere lost during 2012,which was a significantdecrease compared to2011, according to thesecretary general of the

bulk carrier operatorsorganisation, Intercargo.

Rob Lomas cau-tioned however, thateven though no loss oflife was recorded in thethree ship casualties dur-ing 2012, the number ofother serious incidentsinvolving bulk carriersremains unacceptablyhigh with 12 seafarerskilled during the year.

He said this high-lighted the continuedimportance of flag statesconducting propercasualty investigationsand he added thatIntercargo had calledfor this in a paper to the

International MaritimeOrganization.

EU ban onGeorgianseafarersto be liftedTHE European Com-mission is set to lift athree-year ban it hadimposed on Georgian

seafarers.The ban was

brought in followingthe withdrawal of theSTCW recognition ofGeorgian seafarerscertification in Novem-ber 2010, after a 2006European MaritimeSafety Agency (EMSA)revealed ineffectivemonitoring of mari-time schools and theissuance of forgedcertificates.

The commissionre-assessed the Geor-gian system on thebasis of another EMSAinspection in October2012 and, following

corrective measuresadopted by the Geor-gian authorities, foundit to be once againcompliant with interna-tional standards.

The ban has meantthat Georgian seafarerswho did not possessrecognised certificatescould no longer beallowed to work onboard EU-flagged ships.However, those withvalid endorsementscould continue workingon board EU-flaggedships until the expiry ofthe five-year validity oftheir endorsements.

Engineroom airqualityassessmentA NEW research pro-ject will assess levels ofexposure to particlesin the air to find out ifthey are a health haz-ard for ships crews, es-pecially those workingin the engine rooms.

The Study on theHealth Impact of Air-Pol-

lution in Shipsis thefirst project to be un-dertaken by the MariaTsakos Foundation-In-ternational Center forMaritime Researchand Tradition and theJapanese classificationsociety, ClassNK, sincethey signed a co-oper-ation agreement latelast year.

The study willquantify any potentialhealth risks of air pollu-tion for seafarers. Theresearch will take placeon nine ships, equallydivided between tank-ers, dry bulk carriersand containerships.

Seafarers drowning under waves of paperwork

SEAFARERS feel they spend too muchtime on paperwork, according to theDanish Maritime Authority.

A survey of international seafarers,supported by InterManager, revealedthat a third of all seafarers wereannoyed or frustrated by administrativeburdens. These stemmed from

what seafarers considered to be theunnecessary repetition of tasks anddemands for too much documentationto be completed.

The report concluded that a lot ofpaperwork and documentation that isbeing produced on the job contributeslittle value to the work of seafarers.

The study, which surveyed almost2,000 seafarers from 59 differentcountries, asked 55 questions aimed atunderstanding the characteristics andperceptions of administrative workand the different types of work-relatedactivities perceived as burdensome byseafarers.

Port and pre-arrival documentationproved particularly problematic, withmany seafarers feeling a lot of the

paperwork was not needed.The report advised: Seafarers give

the impression that the amount ofnecessary paperwork has exploded inrecent years and has, in some cases,taken time away from more urgentand meaningful tasks in terms ofguaranteeing ship safety.

Seafarers suggest easing therigid control slightly and insteadputting more focus on culture andcompetencies in order to effectivelyand meaningfully improve efficiencyand safety on vessels.

The Donald Duckling, being towed to a layby berth in the Port of Tyne to await repairs (Photo: Fleetmon)

MLC hasimpact onrecruitmentFaststream, the marineemployment agency,says the Maritime LabourConvention, 2006 (MLC2006) is making a bigdifference to the crewingmarket.

The agency notesthat the creation of alevel playing field for theworlds seafarers is reallyhaving an impact onthose who had previous-ly been allowed to workin conditions that would

not have been deemedacceptable by todaysstandards. Seafarers arenow better informedthan ever before as totheir rights and lessprepared to accept poorworking conditions.

Under MLC 2006, re-cruiters must cover repa-triation costs and loss ofearnings for two monthsif a client goes out ofbusiness. MLC 2006 alsorequires that seafarerscontracts contain clausescovering: the clientsMLC 2006 compliance;flag of vessel; access torepatriation; trip length;payment intervals; health

and safety; risk, andpreventive measures. Itis the recruiters duty toensure seafarers haveread and understoodthese contracts.

DEMAND for seafarers in the offshore, cruise and LNG sectorsis rising according to marine employment agency Faststream.

Faststream says managers responded to the downturn with

salary caps, redundancies and a general focus on cost-cuttingmeasures. But with the shore-side sector reporting growth,opportunities are opening up for experienced and juniorofficers. The recruiter also says it is seeing more applicationsfor offshore jobs from people employed at sea, and that manyseafarers are paying for their own specialist offshore training.

Mr Graves said: I would advise seafarers looking foropportunities in a new part of the industry to have a carefullook at the LNG or cruise market.

He adds: Many companies are growing and realising thatthey need to make long term plans. However, they are reallylooking for the leaders of the future and not just someone toquickly fill a position. Its not just about the money. Seafarerswant good sea to shore links, stable crew changes and goodcareer prospects. Salaries come a close second.

Rising demand for seafarers in offshore sector

? ? !


??!


A SMALL former Irishpassenger ship is dueto start operating as afloating ambulance inBangladesh in January,according to shippingnewspaper Tradewinds.

The US$3 milliongovernment project tobuy and convert the ves-

sel is aimed at providinga floating medical servicefor seafarers visiting thecountrys ports, whichare used by thousands ofships each year.

NewBangladesh

floatingambulance

for seafarers

A seafarer pores over paperwork on his arrival into port (Photo: Mike Keating)

03.indd 1 19/12/2013 15:39:33


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4 the seajan/feb 14

NEWS MICHAEL GREY


CARLY FIELDS

Supporting seafarers around the world

1974 when the wave brokeAs The Seaenters its fortieth year of providing news for seafarers all around the world, Michael Grey

looks back at how much the industry has changed since our news service began

The devastating effect ofTyphoon Haiyan on thePhilippines galvanised the

maritime industry into rapid actionto provide assistance to the inhab-itants of this seafaring nation.

Now known as the deadliest

Philippine typhoon on record, thetropical cyclone took over 6,000lives in December 2013 and esti-mates anticipate that 160,000 Fil-ipino seafarers, and their families,have been touched by the tragedy.

Roger Harris, executive directorof the International Seafarers Wel-fare Assistance Network (ISWAN),explains how the not-for-profit,non-governmental organisation(NGO) brought the industrytogether during this challengingtime: When Typhoon Haiyanstruck the Philippines, the shippingindustry reacted quickly. ISWANwas asked to play a co-ordinatingrole and we immediately set upregular teleconferences to co-ordi-nate responses from the differentparts of the industry.

ISWAN used its website www.seafarerswelfare.orgto provideuseful resources for organisationsand companies responding to thedisaster and generous donationswere made to ISWANs SeafarersEmergency Fund which were thendistributed to seafarer centres allover the world. These paid for

phone calls for Filipino seafarers sothey could check on their familiesback home. Through its Seafar-erHelp free helpline, ISWAN wasalso able to share information andprovide a service to seafarers whowere and continue to be - con-

cerned about their families backhome in the Philippines.Looking ahead to the post-dis-

aster reconstruction efforts, theFund has now launched an appealfor donations to pay for longerterm relief and reconstruction forFilipino seafarers and their familiesaffected by Typhoon Haiyan.

ISWAN runs a series of projectsand programmes to establish wel-fare facilities, services, and struc-tures throughout the world, as wellas an annual international awardscheme to recognise excellence inwelfare practice and provision. Itscampaign on health issues for sea-farers has been particularly success-ful and its website hosts a SeafarersHealth Information ProgrammeShop.

ISWANs 24-hour multilingualhelpline, SeafarerHelp, runs everyday of the year and is free for sea-farers to call from anywhere in theworld. Roger explains that manyrequests are for help with simpleproblems: for example a lost walletin port, sickness or contactingfamily. Others are more sensitive,

such as advice on how to cope withbullying on board ship or a disputeover pay or terms of employment.

As its executive director, Rogersteers ISWAN through its day-to-day operations. He has always hadan interest in the sea, learning

to sail when he was young. Afterovercoming a strong temptationto join the merchant navy whenhe was sixteen, he headed for afundraising career with NGOs,initially working in internationaldevelopment. With many of to-days seafarers from countries suchas The Philippines and India, Rogerwas very interested in joining theInternational Committee on Seafar-ers Welfare (ICSW), the forerunnerto ISWAN, as he felt that he couldcontribute his skills and experienceto further develop the welfare ofseafarers internationally.

While ISWAN officially cameinto being on April 1, 2013 it is cer-tainly not a newcomer to the wel-fare industry. Its creation was theresult of the merger of the ICSWand the International SeafarersAssistance Network (ISAN). ISANran SeafarerHelp while ICSW hada representational role promotingseafarers welfare worldwide andsupporting frontline welfare organ-isations including The Mission toSeafarers.

There are of course, many

seafarer welfare organisationthroughout the world working onthe local, nation and internationallevel. To avoid duplication, ISWANworks closely with the Internation-al Christian Maritime Association(ICMA) and The Mission to Seafar-ers, among others, to ensure thatits work is complementary ratherthan competing, a strategy usedto great effect with the industrysTyphoon Haiyan response.

Piracy continues to be ofconcern to the NGO, despite thesuccesses made in tackling thethreat in the Gulf of Aden. Whilethe Hollywood blockbuster Captain

Phillipshighlighted the terribleperils that seafarers face in theirdaily working lives, Roger believesmuch more could be done: I thinkthat the industry needs to be moreoutward looking and not just talkto itself. This includes the seafarer

welfare organisations. We all needto work together to show to thegeneral public that the world econ-omy would stop without seafarers.

We need to do more to shinethe light on the lives of seafarersand the hardships that they face.We must ensure that the seafarersstill held by pirates (over 60 seafar-ers are still being held hostage bypirates are not forgotten about.

The Maritime Labour Con-

vention (MLC 2006) also needsfurther support. One of our mainpriorities in 2014 is to the see theestablishment of more port welfarecommittee and national welfareboards, says Roger.

MLC 2006 encourages the es-

tablishment of such bodies and ourrole is to assist governments, portauthorities, welfare organisationsand other stakeholders in settingup local and national boards. Thiswill help facilitate better provisionand funding of welfare facilitiesand services.

Another key issue for ISWANis communications for seafarersin ports and onboard. We want tosee more access for seafarers to theinternet through wi-fi in ports andcheaper or free access while at seathrough satellite communications.

We will also be promotingSeafarerHelp in 2014 so moreseafarers can take advantage of thiskey service. Our new chairman PerGullestrup wants to ensure thatISWAN, and the work we do, hasa higher profile in the maritimeindustry.

To find out more about ISWANand its work, visit www.seafar-erwelfare.org.

Carly Fields speaks to Roger Harris, executive director at ISWAN, about his organisations role in supporting the worldsseafarers after Typhoon Haiyan and beyond, as well as SeafarerHelp, the popular free 24-hour helpline

What was the ship-ping world like in1974, when The Sea

first appeared? Very differentfrom today might be a conciseanswer to the question, but itdeserves a fuller explanation!

1974 was the year shippinggrasped the implications ofthe huge increase in the priceof crude oil, after the Organi-zation of Petroleum ExportingCountries (OPEC) flexed itsmuscles for the first time.

Prior to this political andeconomic earthquake, ship op-erators hardly bothered to con-

sider their fuel prices, whichaveraged around 12 per cent ofa vessels operating costs. But,suddenly bills from the bunkersuppliers amounted to morethan 35 per cent of these costs.This was a crisis!

It was a time of long voy-ages. The Suez Canal was stillclosed following the clear-upoperations after the 1973 YomKippur War and demand for allsorts of ships was high. Scaleeconomies were kicking in andthere was a huge order bookfor very large crude carriers(VLCC) and even ultra largecrude carriers, all being built

to ship oil from the MiddleEast to Europe, also around theCape and to Japan.

Shipbuilders were frantic toturn out the bigger ships in thenumbers the owners wanted.Great ship-factories, with newshipbuilding methods, wereconstructed in Asia and Europeand everyone marvelled when

Japans Tsu shipyard complet-ed a 260,000 tonner in justover four months, instead ofthe years it would have takenusing traditional methods.

There was an emphasison speed and power. Aston-

ishing horsepower was beingcrammed into the machineryspaces of new containerships,with little account for thefuel bill. US carrier Sea-Landcommissioned eight 30-knotcontainerships to work in itsPacific and Atlantic services,each with steam turbines likethose which powered theUS Navy. Cargo liner ownersexperimented with gas turbineinstallations and multipleengines. The worlds biggestrefrigerated cargoship, wasthe 1,813-teu containership

Remuera. It was an excitingtime to be a marine engineer.

That said, it was the pro-ductivity that mattered, and itwas the efficiency of these newships in their amazing newport terminals that most dis-turbed seafarers. There were nomore leisurely weeks in port asdockers slowly loaded and dis-charged cargo containershipswould measure their port timein hours, while life in the tank-er trades, on huge vessels onlong trudges around the Capeof Good Hope, was of a verydifferent pace. There were newtechnologies to be mastered roll-on, roll-off ships, in both

ferry and liner trades, tradedon their productivity and therewas a new emphasis uponefficiency. Bulk carriers werebigger and worked harder thanships had ever done before.

These new technologieshad been expected to slashjobs at sea. A single VLCCwould do the work of the ninesmaller tankers she was replac-ing, and the fast, productivecontainership would con-demn up to ten conventionalcargo liners to redundancy- along with their crews. Theworld fleet increased with thenewbuilding boom and in the

mid-1970s, the real impact onemployment started to emerge.Desperate to save costs, ownersflagged out to cheaper regis-ters, seriously reduced crewsizes, and obtained crews fromfar cheaper sources, who couldbe employed under flags ofconvenience. Seafarers fromtraditional maritime nationssuffered the consequences of

the crisis with redundanciesand the realisation that if jobswere to be found, terms wouldbe less generous.

Were bigger and faster shipssafer? Well, they may havebeen less likely to have a hardtime in bad weather, althoughthe pressure on schedulesmeant harder steaming, whenin a more leisurely age ships

would have slowed down. Thiscombination of speed andpressure saw an increase incollisions as crews were pushedto go too fast in difficult con-ditions, forcing them to relytoo much on radar. Argumentsraged about the causes ofVLCC tank explosions, and noteveryone was convinced aboutthe virtues of inert gas. There

were debates, oddly familiar intodays era of the Triple E andCosta Concordia, about whethergiant ships represented toomany eggs in one basket andwhether salvors had the equip-ment to haul them off therocks should the worst happen.

1974 finally saw the wavebreak, as world trade took anosedive after the first Araboil shock. Owners realisedthe growth in trade would notfill the huge number of giantships that had been orderedin expectation of a continuedboom. These orders could

not be cancelled, and shipswere sent off to lay-up beforethey had even been finished,some not to emerge for years.Anchorages were soon crowdedwith new tenants, all rafted upagainst better times. For many,these would never come.

For seafarers, 1974 was thestart of a long grim period,with crew cutbacks and alsowith slow steaming doublingthe time for a long-haul tankervoyage, as owners tried tocome to terms with their fuelbills. Some operators, like Sea-Land, just could not afford thefuel and sold their new ships

to the military. Many ownerscut their losses and opted forcomplete engine changes,ripping out their steam turbineplants and replacing themwith economical diesels.

Hard-pressed ownersput their ships onto mini-mum-maintenance regimes,which in some cases meantno maintenance, storing upterrible troubles for the future,when neglected bulk carrierswould sink in bad weather,drowning their crews.

But change meant opportu-nity for some. The OPEC stran-

glehold on oil prices proveda huge boost to offshore oiland gas, with the North Seaand other areas being moreintensively explored. Offshoretechnology, which employed alot of seafarers, accelerated.

It into this world The Seawas launched. Who wouldhave looked forty years on to18,000-teu containerships,100,000-ton heavy lifters,200,000-ton cruise ships,crewed by a handful of seafar-ers? However, one thing hasnot changed: without ships,the world would freeze in thedark and its population starve.

New system to revolutionise lifeboats

LEENDERT Muller, thepresident of the InternationalSalvage Union (ISU), has saidthat his members stronglybelieve there must be progresson the issue of places ofrefuge.

Places of refuge aresheltered coastal areas of waterwhere salvors can take a shipin difficulties and carry outemergency repairs and cargotransfers.

ISU has published aposition paper on the issueand started discussions withthe International Chamber ofShipping and the InternationalUnion of Marine Insurance toplan how to convince coastalstates of the need for a systemthat provides places of refugeand, ultimately, protects theircoasts.

In its paper, ISU says itwishes to see wider adoption bycoastal states of simple, robust,single point command andcontrol models similar tothe UKs, where an industryexpert known as the Secretaryof States Representativefor Maritime Salvage andIntervention takes all thedecisions.

Mr Muller said that takinga ship into a place of refugecarries some risk of pollutionto the nearby coastline if thecondition of the ship getsworse but that risk is evengreater on the open sea orat a more dangerous coastallocation.

He mentioned the Prestigetrial in Spain in which denialof a place of refuge was acentral factor (see above). But

he stressed that there had beenmuch more recent examplesof salvors being unable totake casualties to places ofrefuge. He said: Last year, forexample, the containership

MSC Flaminiasuffered a severefire in the eastern Atlantic.Salvors stabilised the situationbut then had real difficultybringing the vessel into aEuropean port. Likewise theStolt Valor, a chemical tankerthat suffered a fire, was refusedentry to numerous ports in theMiddle East.

He went on to say theproblem is that too manystates refuse to accept theirobligations and refuse to granta place of refuge. Our membershave frequently had to battlethe authorities to find a safeplace to bring a casualty.

In the era of the Triple E, it is surprising to see how much shipping has changed, but someof the debates surrounding the industry remain the same (Photo: Simon Ro)

REF LECTING wid esp readshipping industry concerns,the tanker owners body,Intertanko, said it was deeplydisappointed at the criminalconviction of the master of the

Prestige, Apostolos Mangouras,for disobedience.

The Prestige, an oil tanker,sank of the coast of Galicia in2002, spilling 50,000 tonnesof oil, polluting thousands ofkilometres of coastline.

H o w e v e r , C a p t a i nMangouras was acquitted ofcharges of criminal damageto the environment. Theships chief engineer, NikolaosArgyropou los , was a lsoacquitted of the same charge,as was Jos Luis Lpez SorsGonzlez, the former headof Spains merchant marinedepartment.

Intertanko noted that thatmeant the Spanish state would

not be held responsible for thedisaster. The court failed tofind anyone guilty of directlycausing the tragedy.

C a p t a i n M a n g o u r a s conviction of being criminallyr e s p o n s i b l e f o r s e r i o u sdisobedience to the Spanishauthorities during the incidentsaw him sentenced to ninemonths in prison. He is unlikelyto serve the sentence because ofhis advanced age, and he washeld in prison for two yearsprior to any formal inquiry,until the vessels liability insurerput up 3 million as bail.

In te rtanko said : Hisactions have been describedas exemplary by the vesselsflag state, and yet he hasbeen treated as a criminal.Confronted with refusal by theSpanish authorities to give the

damaged ship refuge, CaptainMangouras had courageously

done everything possible toprotect crew, ship and cargoand to protect the environmentby minimising pollution including remaining on boardwith Argyropoulos after the restof the crew had been evacuated,in order to try and save the ship.However, against his judgementhe was forced by the Spanishauthorities to take a series ofactions that resulted in thedamaged tanker being taken outto sea in appalling conditions.

In an outspoken statement,Intertanko added that itconsidered the convictionand sentencing of CaptainMangouras to be inexcusableand fundamentally wrong,setting a precedent for thetreatment as criminals of shipsmasters who try to do theirbest for seafarers, ship and

environment when underextreme adverse circumstances.

Mixed verdicts for Prestigemaster

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The Prestigeafter it split in two around 250 km from the Spanish coast (Photo: Getty)

World needs a places of refuge

MARINE and f ire safe tyequipment manufacturerViking Life-Saving Equipmentsays its new LifeCraft systemcombines all of the advantagesof modern lifeboats, such asself-propelled manoeuvrability,with the flexibility, comfort andsmaller footprint of todays life-rafts. It also says the new craftenables rapid, mass evacuationwith maximum safety forpassengers and crew.

The system consists of twomain elements: the LifeCraftitself a self-propelled inflatablevessel with four engines for ahigh degree of manoeuvrabilityand safety, and a storage andlaunching unit, which caneither be placed on deck or builtin. The storage and launchingunit can contain up to fourLifeCraft units with a capacityof 200 people each, making atotal capacity of 800 people.

Viking vice p res id entNiels Fraende says the newsystem completely changesthe lifeboat versus life-raftdiscussion: Todays larger andwider vessels mean that thenumber of passengers and thevariation in trim height andlist conditions can be enormousin a distress situation. TheLifeCraft is a hugely flexibleevacuation system that cancope with such extremes.

The industrys response to Typhoon Haiyan helped seafarerscommunicate with their families (Photo: Adam Hollingworth)

Roger Harris, executive director ofISWAN (Photo: ISWAN)

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6the sea jan/feb 14

JUSTICE MATTERSBY DOUGLAS STEVENSON

The Seaat 40 how has seafarers welfare changed?FOR forty years, The Seahas provided the worlds seafarers with topical news, inspiration, andadvocacy advice. Twenty-three of these years have included this column. This instalmentexamines changes in seafarers rights during those years.

Actually, our examination must go much farther back, to how seafarers rights weredeveloped. Maritime law accorded seafarers remarkable rights and protections long before theywere recorded in the medieval codes. Some of the ancient seafarers rights still provide evenbetter protection than modern land workers employment rights. This is because maritime law

developed out of customary business practices designed to protect shipowners own interests.Shipowners success depended on their recruiting and retaining skilled and reliable seafarers.Ancient shipowners understood that they needed to take good care of seafarers to entice them topursue seagoing careers, considerations that remain equally relevant today.

Although maritime law has long given seafarers special status and protections, seafarershave been denied their rights because they were unaware of them or were unable to enforcethem. Over the past forty years, several changes have occurred in the maritime world that haveincreased seafarers knowledge of their rights and provided them with real options for enforcingthem. The following are a few of them:

Port chaplains: Thanks to training programmes and educational materials (such as articlesin The Sea and seafarers rights workshops for chaplains) port chaplains have increased theirknowledge of seafarers rights law and of the resources available to protect them. Seafarers taketheir problems, including violations of their rights, to chaplains and chaplains have the tools torespond to them.

Most port chaplains now consider seafarers advocacy as an integral part of their ministry.ILO-147: The International Labour Organizations Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards)

Convention, 1976 (ILO-147) came into force in 1981 and was ratified by 56 countries. Itunderscored the link between maritime safety and seafarers living and working conditions.

Importantly, it codified countries port state control rights to enforce compliance with the ILO-147 standards on merchant vessels from all countries. ILO-147 spawned many countries portstate control programmes, which focused on seafarers living and working conditions, and it iscredited with greatly reducing sub-standard shipping in many regions.

ISM:The International Maritime Organizations International Safety Management Code (ISM)came into force for almost all of the worlds commercial shipping in 1998. ISM required shipsand shipping companies to have effective management systems in place to ensure that ships and

shipping companies complied with all (not just marine safety) applicable Conventions, statutes,rules, and regulations. ISM also required shipping companies to have a dedicated person ashore towhom a seafarer can directly report violations of laws, rules and regulations.

ISPS: The International Ship and Port Facility Code (ISPS) established anti-terrorism securityrequirements that imposed considerable administrative burdens on seafarers and createdobstacles to their going on shore leave. While the ISPS is usually thought of as making seafarerslives more complicated, it had a side benefit of requiring shipowners to get to know their crews.Because of ISPS, seafarers could no longer be thought of as anonymous commodities. ISPS obligesshipowners to check out their crews, and it encourages them to retain seafarers who have proventheir competence and reliability.

MLC 2006: The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC 2006) is the most significantachievement in the history of seafarers rights. Coming into force in August 2013 for almost80 per cent of the worlds merchant fleet, MLC 2006 consolidated into one instrument acomprehensive body of seafarers rights law. MLC 2006s greatest achievements are in raising thestature of seafarers rights law in the industry and in creating robust provisions to enforce thoserights. Properly implemented, MLC 2006 is proactive in requiring inspections and certifications oflabour conditions on vessels, and it is reactive in providing seafarers and others interested in theirsafety and welfare, with effective tools to enforce them.

The Seaa los 40DURANTE cuarenta aos, The Seaha ofrecido noticias de actualidad,

inspiracin y asesoramiento a marinos detodo el mundo. Veintitrs de esos aos haincluido esta seccin, que en este nmerodedicaremos a examinar los cambios quese han producido en los derechos de losmarinos durante esos aos.

De hecho, nuestro examen deberemontarse aun ms all en el tiempopara ver cmo se crearon los derechos delos marinos. El derecho martimo confiria los marinos unos derechos y unaproteccin excepcionales mucho antes deque stos se documentasen en los cdigosmedievales. Algunos de esos derechosancestrales de los marinos todava siguenproporcionando mejor proteccin quela que ofrecen los derechos de empleomodernos a los trabajadores en tierrafirme. Esto se debe a que el derechomartimo evolucion a partir de prcticascomerciales consuetudinarias, diseadaspara proteger los propios intereses delos armadores. El xito de los armadores

dependa de su capacidad para contratary retener a marinos competentes y fiables.Los armadores de antao comprendanla necesidad de dispensar un buen tratoa los marinos para convencerlos deque se mantuviesen fieles a esa carreraprofesional, algo que sigue teniendo lamisma importancia hoy en da.

Aunque el derecho martimo otorgadesde hace mucho tiempo un estatus yuna proteccin especiales a los marinos,stos han visto como se les negaban susderechos debido a su desconocimientode los mismos o a su incapacidad parahacerlos cumplir. Durante los ltimoscuarenta aos se han producido varioscambios en el mundo martimo, quehan mejorado el conocimiento que losmarinos tienen de sus propios derechosy les han proporcionado opciones realespara hacerlos cumplir. stos son algunosde ellos:

Capellanes de puerto:Graciasa los programas de formacin y alos materiales educativos (como los

artculos que se publican en The Sea y losseminarios sobre derechos de los marinos

para capellanes), los capellanes de puertohan mejorado su conocimiento de lalegislacin que contempla los derechosde los marinos, as como de los recursosdisponibles para protegerlos. Los marinoscuentan sus problemas entre los quese incluyen la violacin de sus derechos a los capellanes y stos disponende las herramientas necesarias pararesponderles. En la actualidad, la mayorade los capellanes de puerto consideran elasesoramiento a los marinos como unaparte integral de su ministerio.

OIT-147: El Convenio sobre la MarinaMercante (Normas Mnimas) de laOrganizacin Internacional del Trabajo,1976 (OIT-147) entr en vigor en 1981 yfue ratificado por 56 pases. El conveniohaca especial hincapi en la relacinexistente entre la seguridad martimay las condiciones y vida y trabajo delos marinos. Uno de los aspectos msimportantes es que codificaba los

derechos de control estatal de puertos queposean los pases para hacer cumplir lasnormas OTI-147 en los buques mercantesde todos los pases. El Convenio 147 dela OIT afect a los programas de controlestatal de puertos de numerosos pases,centrndose en las condiciones de vida ytrabajo de los marinos, y ha contribuidoen gran medida a reducir las deficienciasdel sector martimo en muchas regiones.

IGS:El Cdigo Internacional deGestin de la Seguridad (IGS) de laOrganizacin Martima Internacional(OMI) entr en vigor para prcticamentetoda la marina comercial del mundoen 1998. El Cdigo IGS exiga quetodos los buques y compaas navierasdispusiesen de sistemas de gestineficaces que garantizasen que los buquesy las compaas navieras cumpliesentodos los convenios, estatutos, normasy reglamentos aplicables (y no sololos relativos a la seguridad martima).El Cdigo IGS exiga tambin que lascompaas navieras dispusiesen de una

persona designada en tierra firme ala que los marinos pudiesen notificar

directamente cualquier incumplimientodel derecho, las normas y losreglamentos.

PBIP: El Cdigo Internacional parala Proteccin de los Buques y de lasInstalaciones Portuarias (PBIP) estableciel cumplimiento de estrictas normas deseguridad antiterrorista que imponanunas cargas administrativas considerablesa los marinos y obstaculizaban suspermisos de desembarco. Aunque, engeneral, se considera que el CdigoPBIP complica la vida a los marinos, unbeneficio que se deriva de l es que losarmadores se ven obligados a conocera sus tripulaciones. Gracias al CdigoPBIP, los marinos ya no pueden serconsiderados como empleados annimos.El PBIP obliga a los armadores a verificarlas referencias de los miembros de sustripulaciones y les anima a manteneren nmina a los marinos que handemostrado su competencia y fiabilidad.

CTM 2006: El Convenio sobre elTrabajo Martimo (CTM) de 2006 fueuno de los logros ms importantes en lahistoria de la legislacin que contemplalos derechos de los marinos.

Con entrada en vigor en agosto de2013 para casi el 80 por ciento de laflota mercante mundial, el CTM 2006consolid en un nico instrumentojurdico un amplio corpus legislativo dederechos de los marinos. Los mayoreslogros del CTM 2006 son aumentarla importancia de la legislacin quecontempla los derechos de los marinosdentro del sector martimo y crearslidas disposiciones para garantizarsu cumplimiento. Cuando se aplicacorrectamente, el CTM 2006 es proactivoen lo que respecta a exigir inspeccionesy certificados de condiciones de trabajoen los buques, pero es reactivo en cuantoa proporcionar a los marinos y a otraspartes interesadas en su seguridad ybienestar, herramientas eficaces paragarantizar su cumplimiento.

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Douglas B. Stevenson

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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 KEN PETERS

Friends in unexpected places

Un poco de ayuda

STANLEY was my first encounter witha Chinese seafarer. He was actually thefirst seafarer I ever met. On a ship withBritish officers, and with the rest of thecrew being Chinese, you might thinkthat Stanley was comfortable: he was inemployment with a shipping company

that really looked after its crew. Wellpaid and respected, Stanley was effi-cient and effective in his work, alwaysdisplaying a productive work ethic anda pride in his seafaring profession.

However, this outward appearancehid a deep hurt and discomfort. Stanleydid not fit in on board. He was differentand therefore held in suspicion. Theofficer-crew distinction was normal,and in this case was emphasised by theracial divide, so Stanley did not frater-nise with the officers. As a Christian, hewas held at arms length by his coun-trymen. No one really came close tohim, no one understood him, or rather,wanted to understand him. Stanley was,to his fellow nationals, a strange manwho did not embrace cultural norms.He was regarded as someone who hadturned his back on his traditional affil-iations of religion and politics, and sohe was ostracised: he was alone.

Being alone on shore is one thing

but to be alone at sea is to be indesperate isolation. Shunned by hiscolleagues, Stanleys daily life couldhave been a terrible black hole. Butin the depth of his solitude Stanleyfound a friend, a constant companion,one whose presence was comforting,

strengthening and dependable. Whenall others turned their backs, Stan-leys friend remained faithfully at hisside. Stanley drew great strength andresilience from his one friend on board.This friendship made the daily routinenot just tolerable but worth living.

Over time the crew saw in Stanleya strength of character that made themquestion what it was that sustainedhim. Even so they were still slow togreet him and rarely spoke to him.Perhaps this was because Stanley wasa mystery to them. They knew theywere being unkind, knew that they hurtStanley every time they ignored himbut somehow or other Stanley did notallow his isolation to mar his character.Stanley was optimistic, light-heartedand buoyant. The officers recognised inStanley someone who was reliable andgrew to respect him.

When I met Stanley I was a young

student. I had no home and my family

were at a distance, not just geograph-ically, but also a long way from un-derstanding me and me them. Withlittle or nothing in common with otherstudents in my year group, I was feelingalone and frankly, somewhat lost. Iidentified with Stanley, understood

his loneliness and knew the need for afriend. I was impressed with Stanleysresilience and his refusal to becomebitter or angry. Stanleys smile was hishallmark and he radiated a sense ofwellbeing. Against all the odds he wasnot dour or glum but cheerful. And hewas an inspiration.

Stanley found his friend had creptup on him unnoticed. There was nomoment of introduction, no dramaticencounter. Stanley came to realise thatthey met in the quiet of his isolation.At the point when Stanley most neededcompanionship, his friend had quietlycome alongside. In prayer and con-templation of God, Jesus has enteredStanleys life. The faithful friend, theone who had broken the isolation, theone who had reached out to Stanleywhen all others turned away was theinspiration for Stanleys life.

If you are alone, if you need a

friend, God can give you one.

STANLEY supuso mi primer encuentro con un marino chino.De hecho, fue el primer marino que conoc en mi vida. Enun navo con oficiales britnicos y el resto de la tripulacinchina, lo normal sera esperar que Stanley se sintiese a gusto,ya que tena empleo fijo en una compaa naviera que seinteresaba por el bienestar de la tripulacin.Bien pagado y respetado, Stanley era serio y eficiente en eltrabajo, y mostraba siempre una tica de trabajo productivay orgullo en su profesin de navegante.

Sin embargo, su apariencia externa ocultaba un dao yun desasosiego muy profundos. Stanley no se senta cmodoa bordo. Era diferente y eso despertaba sospechas entre losdems. La distincin entre oficiales y tripulacin era normal,y en este caso se haca ms evidente debido a las diferenciasraciales. Por eso Stanley no confraternizaba con los oficiales.Sin embargo, al ser cristiano, sus compatriotas lo mantenana distancia.

En realidad, nadie confraternizaba con l, nadie locomprenda o, mejor dicho, nadie quera comprenderlo.Stanley era, para sus compatriotas, un hombre extraoque no aceptaba las normas de su cultura. Se le vea comoalguien que haba dado la espalda a sus afiliaciones polticasy religiosas tradicionales, y por eso le hacan el vaco. Stanleyestaba solo.

Estar solo en tierra firme es malo, pero estarlo en alta marcrea una sensacin de aislamiento desesperado. Condenadoal ostracismo por sus compaeros, la vida diaria de Stanleypodra haberse transformado en un terrible agujero negro.Sin embargo, en la profundidad de su soledad Stanley en-contr un amigo, un compaero constante, cuya presencia

resultaba reconfortante, fortalecedora y fiable.Cuando los dems le daban la espalda, ese amigo per-

maneca fiel a su lado. Stanley sac gran fortaleza y capaci-dad de resistencia de su nico amigo a bordo. Esa amistadhizo que la rutina diaria no solo resultase tolerable sinodigna de ser vivida.

Con el paso de los das, la tripulacin observ en Stanleyuna fortaleza de carcter que les haca preguntarse qu era loque le sustentaba. A pesar de ello, les costaba saludarle y solole hablaban en contadas ocasiones, tal vez porque lo consid-eraban un misterio.

Saban que estaban siendo crueles, saban que le estabanhaciendo dao cada vez que lo ignoraban pero, a pesar deello, Stanley no permita que su aislamiento afectase negati-vamente a su carcter. Siempre se mostraba optimista, alegrey desenfadado. Los oficiales lo consideraban una persona defiar y el respeto que sentan por l iba en aumento.

Conoc a Stanley en mi juventud, cuando era un estudi-ante. Por aquel entonces no tena un hogar permanente y mifamilia estaba lejos de m, no solo geogrficamente sino enel sentido de que distaban mucho de comprenderme y yo aellos.

Con poco o nada en comn con los dems estudiantesde mi curso, me senta solo y, francamente, en cierto modoperdido. Me sent identificado con Stanley. Comprendasu soledad y entenda su necesidad de tener un amigo. Meimpresion su fortaleza y su negativa a convertirse en unapersona amargada o resentida.

La sonrisa de Stanley era su carta de presentacin e irra-diaba una sensacin de bienestar. A pesar de todo, era una

persona alegre, en lugar de triste y lgubre, y por eso era unainspiracin.

Stanley se dio cuenta de que su amigo haba llegadohasta l de forma casi imperceptible. No hubo un primer mo-

mento de presentacin ni un encuentro memorable. Stanleyse dio cuenta de que se haban conocido durante la quietudde su aislamiento.

Cuando se encontraba ms necesitado de compaa, suamigo se haba acercado silenciosamente hasta l. A travs dela oracin y la contemplacin de Dios, Jess haba entradoen la vida de Stanley. El amigo leal, el que haba roto suaislamiento, el que le haba ayudado cuando todos los demsle daban la espalda fue el que se convirti en una inspiracinpara su vida.

Cuando os sintis solos y necesitis un amigo, Dios os lodar.

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Ken Peters

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8the sea jan/feb 14

Fisher finedfor misuseof flares

THE move towards liquid natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuelcontinues to gather pace, with the European Parliament nowexpected to push the development of LNG refuelling terminalswhen it votes on the matter in February.

EU member states will be required to ensure that there willbe enough LNG refuelling points to allow LNG-fuelled ships tooperate EU-wide by the end of 2020 at the latest.

There have been several recent orders for ships capable ofusing LNG as a fuel, including one for two 15,000 dwt tankersfor the Danish owner, Terntank, which will be will be fitted with

Wrtsils two-stroke, low-pressure, dual-fuel engines.It is claimed that low-pressure, dual-fuel engine technologyfor two-stroke engines provides notable economic andenvironmental advantages over other technologies. The newengine complies with the highest International MaritimeOrganization nitrogen oxides (NOx) emission limits when ingas mode without the need for NOx abatement equipment.

Wrtsil will also provide the machinery for two LNG-fuelledcontainer ro-ro vessels to be built for the US-based Crowley

Maritime Corporation (see right-hand column).Meanwhile, the Chinese company, Nantong COSCO KHI

Ship Engineering Co, and the classification society, LloydsRegister (LR) China, are to jointly develop an LNG-fuelled28,000 dwt general cargoship design, which will be built toLloyds Registers requirements, and which is intended to meetcurrent and future environmental targets.

However, methanol could be the overlooked alternativemarine fuel, according to Timothy Wilson, product managerat Lloyds Register Fuel Oil Bunkering and Analysis. Methanol

has a similar environmental profile to LNG but, unlike LNG, isliquid at ambient temperatures so does not require cryogenictanks, making infrastructure and vessel conversion costs lowerthan for LNG.

Mr Wilson told the recent IMarEST Ship Propulsion SystemsConference in London that current global methanol use isaround 65 million tonnes a year, while production capacity isaround 100 million tonnes. Stena Line is trialling the fuel foruse on its ferries in the Baltic.

More ships are to start using LNG

A former fishing vesselskipper has beenordered to pay 3,825in fines and legal costsafter pleading guiltyto firing rocket distress

flares when he was notin need of any immedi-ate help.

Matthew Yeomanfired three fla res duringthe Salcombe HarbourFestival last year, twoamong moored boats,which led to the unnec-essary launching of twolifeboats in a search andrescue operation.

SOUTH Africas MACSLine has joined theSouth African NationalCadet Training Project,which assists cadets inobtaining mandatorysea time in order toqualify as officers ofthe watch.

MACS Line runsmulti-purpose linerservices betweenEurope, SouthernAfrica and NorthAmerica. Six nationalcadets are now servingon the companysships and more areexpected to be takenon as cadet berthsbecome available.

SouthAfricantrainingboost

New ECDISguidanceproducedA NEW book publishedby The Nautical Institute(NI) provides adviceand practical assistanceto help cope with theextra risks posed by

the transition fromnavigating by papercharts to navigating byECDIS.

The second editionof From Paper Charts toECDISoffers practicalguidance to theshipping industry onequipment, training andoperational practices.

Author CaptainHarry Gale FNI said:This second editionincorporates experienceat sea and we want itto reach as wide anaudience as possible.

Bridge procedureshave to be amendedto accommodate the

very different workingpractices needed andfailure to be alert andengaged when usingECDIS may lead toaccidents.

More informationis available on theNI website at www.nautinst.org/pubs .

LIABILITY insurerSteamship Mutualhas launched a video

entitled Groundings Shallow Waters, DeepTrouble.

The insurer saysthe consequencesof a vessel runningaground are potential-ly devastating and itpoints out that despitethe increasing sophis-tication of vesselsnavigational equip-ment, machinery, andstandards of training,groundings continueto occur sometimes,the insurer says, incircumstances whichchallenge credulity.

Steamship saysthat, in many inci-

dents, a stark contrastexists between the ap-parent simplicity of thecause of the ground-ing, and the severity ofits consequences. Thefilm, endorsed by theUKs Marine AccidentInvestigation Branch(MAIB) and The Nauti-cal Institute, examinesa number of ground-ings and their causes.

Meanwhile, MAIBhas completed itsinvestigation of thecontact and ground-ing of the bulk carrierAmberat GravesendReach, River Thames,in November 2012. Ac-

cording to MAIB, theprimary cause of theincident was loss ofsituational awarenessby the bridge team inrestricted visibility.

TWO major marine liabilityinsurers have warned that toomany collisions are the result of

complacency and also of ignorance of theregulations.

The London P&I Club says a recentanalysis of collision cases has highlightedthe dangers of complacency on the bridge.The clubs recent analysis concludedthat the majority could be categorised ashuman error, with complacency often asignificant contributing factor.

The insurer cites the case of a bulkcarrier which was approaching the end ofa traffic separation scheme. The ship wasslowing to make an ETA at a pilot stationin the adjacent Inshore Traffic Zone, andwas soon to make a substantial alterationof course to starboard in accordance withher passage plan. She was being overtakenby a containership and a VHF conversationtook place. It was agreed the bulk carrierwould make its alteration to starboard and

the overtaking ship would alter course toport and pass on the port side of the bulker.

The watch then changed on the bulker.Unfortunately the relieving officer ofthe watch (OOW) failed to monitor thesituation, failed to alter course to starboardas agreed, and was taken by completesurprise in mid-conversation when theovertaking containership collided with thebulk carrier just forward of the bridge onthe starboard side.

The insurer says it was clear that,throughout the episode, the ships werein a developing close-quarters situation,and that good seamanship required theoriginal OOW to monitor the conductof the overtaking ship very closely untilit was finally past and clear, possiblydelaying the watch-handover. The clubsays that misplaced complacency andover-confidence may have significantlycontributed to the resulting collision.

Meanwhile Steamship Mutual P&I

Club has produced an Int ern ati ona lRegulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea(Colregs) and an IALA Buoyage TrainingCoursein association with Videotel MarineInternational. It says the move recognisesthe loss prevention benefits to be derivedfrom improved knowledge of Colregs.

The insurer says: The Colregs provide acomplete code that if properly understoodand applied should avoid ships evercoming into collision.

In 2009, Steamship produced aloss prevention DVD, Collision Course,directed towards raising awareness amongmasters and watch-keepers of some of thekey issues that were causing collisionsincluding: deficiencies in lookout; safespeed; assessment of collision risk; andavoiding action.

Further information about that DVDcan be found at www.steamshipmutual.com anddetails of the new training coursecan be found at www.videotel.com.

www.missiontoseafarers.org @FlyingAngelNewswww.facebook.com/themissiontoseafarers

Newgroundingvideo

THE pocket guide and checklist for ships officers and agentsinvolved in loading bulk cargoes, Carrying solid bulk cargoessafely: Guidance for crews on the IMSBC Codeis now available inChinese. The guide is produced by Lloyds Register, the UK P&IClub and Intercargo.

The organisations note that, when bulk cargoes shift,liquefy, catch fire or explode due to poor loading procedures,the consequences can be critical ships could capsize, lose

stability or sustain severe structural damage.The guide outlines the precautions that need to be taken

before accepting solid bulk cargoes for shipment. It sets outprocedures for safe loading and carriage, details the primaryhazards associated with different types of cargoes and includes aquick reference checklist and a flowchart summarising the steps

to be followed. The guide comes in a laminated flipover formatfor on-the-spot use.

Sam James, Lloyds Registers global head of fire and safety,said the guide would be extremely useful to crew members: Thisguide heightens awareness of seafarers, managers, charterersand shippers to the hazards associated with carrying solid bulkcargoes. Everyone involved has a responsibility to ensure cargois accurately declared and the hazards mitigated.

Now with our Chinese language version available wehope to reach an even wider audience of shipping and tradingprofessionals. Clearly China, as the biggest player in the bulktrades, is a vital user group.

A PDF of the pocket guide can be downloaded at www.lr.org/imsbc.

New Chinese checklist for bulk cargo crews

Club criticises crews for

Colregs complacency

Too many collisions are down to complacency and human

error, according to London P&I club findings

The London P&I Club says seafarers on the bridge need to be more aware of risks (Photo: Adam Hollingworth)

New LNGengines tobe builtTWO recently orderedcontainer ro-ro shipsdesigned by WrtsilShip Design for US-based Crowley Mari-time will be among thefirst large US-flaggedships to run on lique-fied natural gas.

The WSD CRV 2400WB design enables theships to carry conven-tional 20 ft and 40 ft

containers, as well asspecial 45 ft and 53 ftwide-body, high-cubecontainers. The ro-rocapacity is in excess of350 cars.

Third-partymanagers indemandTHIRD-party ship man-agers will be more indemand in the offshoresector as the regulatoryenvironment toughensup, according to BibbyShip Management.

Chris Stone, Bibbyschief operating officer,said: If the regulatorysituation becomes moreintense then it will makesense to look to thirdparty managers.

The Sea, January/February 2014

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