MARITIME NEWS

Monday, March 3, 2014 International maritime news for seafarers

Shipping sector rebounding from financial crisis

The shipping industry is gradually clawing back to reco ery following years of dismal outputs triggered by the financial crisis! "ccording to e#perts, the industry was able to cope with challenges that stemmed from the crisis as many opportunities to gain back lost re enues are now aplenty! "mong the positi e signs indicating that the shipping sector is now coming out of its doldrums are stabilising bulk carrier freight rates, which are now back at around $%&10,000 a day, as well as balanced supply and demand brought about by the scrapping of older essels! The emergence of bright indi iduals who are now mastering how to control le el of risks and turn them into profit are also playing a key role in helping the sector bounce back from its slump o er the past few years! '#perts also forecast that with the continuing reco ery in world trade, freight rates and the alue of ships will likewise go up, resulting a gain in capital re enues! Meanwhile, industry obser ers are calling for the establishment of more financial partnerships based on a pri ate(e)uity style model that will allow capital raised from in estors to be used to build and own more ships! If realised, e#perts belie e that in estors will get to en*oy a return rate of up to 20+!

SAFETY STUDY FATALITY FROM CARBO MO O!I"#

" crewman, working in an enclosed space aboard a small merchant essel, collapsed and died after being o ercome by carbon mono#ide fumes from a portable generator!

FACTS
" small merchant essel was alongside o ernight waiting to sail when tidal conditions allowed! The skipper went to bed early, but the crewman continued to work in the engine room! ,ater in the e ening, the skipper heard the engine room door shut and thought that the crewman had finished work and had turned in! In the morning, the skipper became concerned that the crewman was not up and ready to sail, so he went to look for him! The skipper found the crewman in the essel-s forward store! .e had collapsed ne#t to a portable petrol(powered generator! "mbulance crews could not re i e the crewman and he was later found to ha e ery high le els of carbon mono#ide in his blood stream! The generator was not part of the essel-s e)uipment and had been brought on board by the crewman for his own purposes! There was still petrol in the generator-s fuel tank and the controls were set to allow it to run! /entilation openings to the forward store were still closed in the seagoing position, and although the hatch was partially open, carbon mono#ide in the e#haust fumes built up )uickly and o ercame the crewman when he attempted to run the generator!

L#SSO S
1! 0arbon mono#ide is a silent killer! It has no smell or taste and works by stopping o#ygen from being carried in the blood stream! ' en ery small amounts can be fatal! 2! The e#haust from small petrol(dri en engines and faulty heaters is the most common cause of accidents in ol ing carbon mono#ide! 1etrol(powered bilge pumps and generators should only be used in well entilated areas ( and beware of the e#haust drifting away and collecting in the bottom of holds, or being sucked up by entilation fans! 3! If you suspect an area has been contaminated with carbon mono#ide, entilate it thoroughly, preferably using a fan, before you put your life at risk by going in! 4! %imple carbon mono#ide alarms are cheap to buy and easy to install! They may be the only warning you get! %ource2 $nited 3ingdom Marine "ccident In estigation 4oard

Sea Shepherd claims $apan %halers attac&ed its 'essels

'n ironmental acti ist group %ea %hepherd claimed Monday that 5apanese whalers attacked its essels in the %outhern 6cean, and accused the "ustralian go ernment of 7broken promises7 to monitor whaling operations! %ea %hepherd said 5apanese harpoon ships, the 8ushin Maru and 8ushin Maru 3, towed steel cables across the bow of its essel the 4ob 4arker 11 times on %unday in a bid to *am its propeller and rudder! It said that when the 4ob 4arker launched two small boats to defend the ship and cut the steel cables, a bamboo spear was thrown at crew members! 5apan-s fisheries agency said its ships were dragging cables with buoys as a warning to %ea %hepherd to stay away! 7The cables were already there and they 9%ea %hepherd: approached the cables on their own,7 an agency official told ";1, while denying any knowledge of a spear being thrown! 7It was designed for them not to come near 9the 5apanese: ship!7 .igh(seas confrontations are common between %ea %hepherd and the 5apanese, who hunt whales off "ntarctica under a 7scientific research7 loophole in the moratorium on whaling, ";1 reported!

Rising pirac( incidents off )est Africa triggers concern

<rey, sleek, bristling with massi e cannon and an assortment of machine guns, the ;rench na y-s 0ommandant 4irot is well(e)uipped to patrol "frica-s most dangerous stretches of ocean! /essels like it played a key role in curbing pirate attacks off the coast of lawless %omalia, which saw a spate of cargo ships hi*acked and ransomed for months and e en years! 4ut with attacks off the .orn of "frica in decline, the 4irot is now needed off the continent-s western coast in the <ulf of <uinea, as e#perts call for regional na ies to shoulder more of the burden! 7It-s the place where there-s the most oil platforms7, which means lots of boats tra elling between land and the installations, said the 4irot-s captain ,ieutenant 0ommander 8 es ,e <off! 7It-s a good place to be a pirate,7 he told ";1!

Many of the pirates targeting ships on the high seas come from the =iger &elta in southern =igeria, where indigenous groups are demanding a greater share of the region-s oil wealth! >hile hostage takings occur occasionally, <ulf of <uinea pirates prefer to board ships, steal their fuel or cargo and rob the sailors! The International Maritime 4ureau said >est "frican piracy made up 1?+ of attacks worldwide last year, with =igerian pirates accounting for 31 of the region-s @1 attacks ( the most since 200A! "t the same time, piracy off the .orn of "frica was at its lowest since 200B and down more than ?0 percent from its peak in 2011! The 4irot and others like it ha e been patrolling the <ulf of <uinea since 1??0 to help ;rench nationals and merchant essels in distress as well as train local na ies, ";1 reported! Meanwhile, a merchant essel in the <ulf of 6man was attacked by two skiffs, prompting the $% =a y ,iaison 6ffice in 4ahrain to issue an alert to essels in the area! Ceports said there were around two to three persons on each skiff, and that the 6man 0oast <uard responded to the threat!

*robe on stranded suppl( ship in +a%aii under%a(

The main cause of a fire that stranded a supply ship off .awaii-s coast last week will soon be determined as the essel is now being towed back to 1earl .arbour for an in)uiry! The 0anadian =a y said the essel is likely to arri e at 1earl .arbour either on Tuesday or >ednesday, saying that harsh weather conditions are hampering ongoing towing operations! 1rior to the blaDe, the supply ship was heading to its home port of 's)uimalt on /ancou er Island from .awaii! " fire in the ship-s engine room caused the essel to be stranded some B30 kilometres in hea y seas off .awaii-s northeast last Thursday, trapping nearly 300 people onboard! Ceports said some of the ship-s crew members sustained minor in*uries while trying to e#tinguish the blaDe! Its surrounding compartments were also damaged in the incident!

>hile stranded at sea, a $% guided missile cruiser came to the aid of the supply shipspassengers while a second $% essel helped transfer their family members!

INCIDENTS Fisherman rescued in *acific after tuna boat fire

"n Indonesian fisherman was rescued Monday floating in the 1acific, 24 hours after his tuna fishing boat was seen engulfed by fire! The man, identifying himself as %imon, was rescued by another fishing boat helping in the search for the 5apanese(registered =o! A 3aisei(maru, which was found in flames on %unday, about 410 kilometres south of 3ochi prefecture in western 5apan, the coastguard said! Two 5apanese and fi e Indonesian men were on board the essel when it stopped responding to radio communications early that day, according to the coastguard! 7"n Indonesian nati e, who is calling himself %imon, has been found and rescued7 by a boat operating near =o! A 3aisei(maru, a spokesman for the coastguard said! 7.e is ery weak, but conscious! .e is not in a life(threatening condition,7 the spokesman said! Three other men had been found, although all were said to be in cardiac arrest! The term is usually used in 5apan by first responders before an accident ictim is certified dead by a doctor! " coastguard plane was transporting them to 5apan, the spokesman added! The coast guard originally recei ed a report from a local fisheries radio station early %unday that it could not contact the 1?(tonne essel! More than four hours later, a plane spotted the burning ship, with tele ision footage showing the bridge was in flames! It was unclear what caused the blaDe, ";1 reported! %earchers returned to the area-s waters Monday but could not locate the ship, which they said may ha e sunk!

DEVELOPMENT

*anama Canal Authorit(, -.*C set to sign deal

1anama 0anal "dministrator 5orge Eui*ano said they e#pect work on the 1anama canal will resume this week! .e said the %panish(led consortium in charge of the pro*ect will be signing a deal with the 1anama 0anal "uthority by Thursday to enable the resumption of work! There was a dispute o er cost reruns on the pro*ect, leading to a work stoppage on the pro*ect! 4oth the 1anama 0anal "uthority and the consortium 7<rupo $nidos por el 0anal7 9<$10: ha e agreed to add $%&100 million each in order for work on the pro*ect to resume! The 1anama 0anal official stressed that both sides ha e agreed on the long(term plan for the pro*ect! 7The plan here is that we would enter into commercial operations in 5anuary 201B,7 he was )uoted as saying in an ";1 report!

PORT OF THE WEEK *ort of ha Trang

=ha trang port is a state(owned business enterprise that is located in =ha Trang bay, the main seaway of 3hanh .oa 1ro ince in the southern middle of /iet=am! =ha Trang possesses ery fa ourable natural conditions for de eloping sea ports, as it is astride the national highway I" and the international shipping lines enroute to and from the "sian continent, 1acific 6cean and Indian 6cean! The port-s business is undergoing continuing de elopment, owing to large in estments in facilities and e)uipments by the /ietnam =ational Marine 4ureau of the Ministry of Transport and 0ommunication! =ha Trang port is being rede eloped to become the biggest and the most modern port in /ietnam! 6n an annual basis, cargo throughput is increasing and comprising F0+ to A0+ of the total of =ha Trang, 3han .oa and the central /ietnamese region!

The terminal-s location is at 12o12-= ( 10?o13-'! The fi e(kilometre access channel has an a erage depth of 11!@ metres! The comple# can accommodate cargo ships and tankers of all types up 20,000&>T! It can also accept passengers hips of up to @0,000 <CT =ha Trang is a stopo er for annual yacht races starting in .ong 3ong! In recent years, the city has welcomed many fi e(star sea cruises! /an 1hong 1ort, north of the city, is undergoing a deepening pro*ect to enable it to handle ships up to 100,000 tonne! Its total cargo capacity is pro*ected to increase to about 100 million tonnes of cargo per annum! The rede elopment pro*ect is being undertaken by a consortium of 5apanese corporations, with an estimated budget of $%&1@ billion! /ietnam is pouring billions of dollars into building ports for the world-s largest container ships in a dri e to draw e#port industries from 0hina! The go ernment aims to boost shipping olume more than 400+ within this decade! '#ports make up about F@+ of /ietnam-s gross domestic product!

SHIPPING DATA
BALTIC #!C+A -#
Market snapshot: (February 28) Dry Index BDI 1258 Capesi e Index BCI 2!8" $ana%ax Index B$I 1!&& (upra%ax Index B(I 11!# )andysi e Index B)(I **& +8 +#5 '2" +# '"

#!C+A -# RAT#S
+e, -ork (Fri C.s) F/n Curren0y in 1(D Britain ($ound) 12*353 Canada (Do..ar) !2&!#3 China (-uan) !21*23 4uro 12#82# India (5upee) !2!1*2 Indonesia (5upiah) !2!!!!8* 6apan (-en) !2!!&822 +or,ay (7rone) !21**8 $hi.ippines ($eso) !2!22" $o.and (8.oty) !2##1& 5ussia (5ub.e) !2!238 1(D in F/n Curren0y !25&*3 121!** *21"5# !232#" *12335! 11*2"2!! 1!1281!! 52&&"& ""2*"!! #2!1!! #*2!!!1

(in/apore (Do..ar) 1kraine ()ry9nia)

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