MARITIME NEWS

Wednesday, April 16, 2014 International maritime news for seafarers

Rescue operation underway as passenger ship capsizes off South Korea

A passenger ferry with 477 people on board, mostly high school students, capsi ed off !outh "orea#s southwest coast on Wednesday, a "orean coast guard official said$ %he ship, en route from Incheon to &e'u Island, started ta(ing in water about 20 miles offshore &eolla )ro*ince$ %he ferry sent a distress signal at about +,--am and listed badly for around two and a half hours prior to capsi ing$ %he official, spea(ing from .o(po /ity on the southwest coast, said a rescue operation has been launched$ According to the !outh "orea#s )ublic Administration and !ecurity .inistry, as of 4,00pm local time, two people ha*e been found dead, with 210 others confirmed missing and 164 people rescued$ %he ministry reported that 0-0 more rescuers were dispatched to the scene to help search for the 210 missing people$ After recei*ing the distress signal, the !outh "orean authorities, including police, firehouse, coast guard and 2a*y, dispatched 72 rescue *essels and scrambled 1+ helicopters to the scene for rescue operations$ %he cause of the accident was not immediately clear, although rescued passengers reported the ferry coming to a sudden, shuddering halt 3 indicating it may ha*e run aground$ %he weather was described as 4fine4 with moderate winds and sea swell$ 5With inputs from 6inhua7A8)9

SAFETY STUDY BUSY LOOKOUT

%he ::W of a product tan(er was busy on paperwor(, filling out his record of hours of rest and did not notice a container *essel on his starboard side$

FACTS
%he 0rd officer of a product tan(er was the designated :fficer :f %he Watch 5::W9 as the ship sailed in the middle of the southeast3bound lane of a traffic separation scheme$ It was broad daylight with fine weather and good *isibility$ ;e was alone on the bridge and focused on filling out his record of hours of rest$ ;e did not notice a container *essel on his starboard side coming at close range$ .eanwhile, the ::W at the container *essel was also alone on the bridge$ ;e first obser*ed the product tan(er at three to four points port and at a distance of about eight miles$ ;e (ept trac( of the *essel both by radar and *isually$ ;e assumed that the tan(er would gi*e way and e<ecute a turn to starboard$ %he ::W at the product tan(er tried to e<ecute a turn to port but it was too late to a*oid the collision$ %he product tan(er suffered significant damage on the starboard side of the dec( in way of the chemical loc(er$ %he container *essel sustained hull damage abo*e the waterline between frames 7+34-, creating a hole at frames 673+1$ After the collision, the product tan(er e<changed information about damages with the container *essel$ 2o in'uries and pollution were reported from the accident$ =oth *essels were able to sail to another port for repairs$

F !" !#S
3%he ::Ws on both *essels were alone at the bridge at the time of collision$ 3%he ::W on the product tan(er was occupied with non3na*igational wor( and did not maintain a proper loo(out, failing to see the approaching container *essel *isually and by radar$ %he tan(er#s abeam starboard blind sector may ha*e contributed to the non3detection$ 3%he ::W on the container *essel detected the tan(er by radar 00 minutes before the collision and shortly thereafter *isually$ 3>espite determining a ris( of collision with the tan(er, the ::W did not attempt to communicate or raise any signal with the tan(er$

3%he night before the collision, the container *essel#s ::W was on3duty for 14 hours and may ha*e been physically stressed and tired, affecting his decision3ma(ing$ !ource, >.AI=

B $CO #UAR"CO! contract for guards on ships off % Africa

=I./: ?@AA>/:2 contract is used for the employment of pri*ate maritime security companies 5).!/s9 on *essels conforms with club co*er and pooling arrangements$ ?@AA>/:2 has been in e<istence since 2012 and has become the industry3standard contract for the employment of ).!/s, harmonising terms of engagement and ma(ing the process simpler and Buic(er for shipowners$ ?@AA>/:2 was designed with Cast Africa in mind but since its inception, the shipping industry#s focus has widened to include piracy and other threats to shipping in the ?ulf of ?uinea off West Africa, the @" )DI /lub said in a press release$ ?@AA>/:2 in its unamended form is not a suitable contract to use for the engagement of ).!/s off West Africa where it is contemplated armed security personnel pro*ided by littoral states will operate alongside unarmed ).!/s$ %his protection model has e*ol*ed in response to the littoral states# prohibition on the use of armed ).!/s on board *essels in their territorial waters$ !eparately, the @" /lub has faced increasing instances of cargo shortage claims in relation to rice cargo in bags during discharge at West Africa$ In a recent case where a member#s *essel *isited the ports of Abid'an in I*ory /oast and /ona(ry in ?uinea, the *essel faced a shortage of a large number of bags, loss of cargo due to empty or half filled bags$

Schettino thought he hit &a 'itt'e roc(&

%he Italian cruise ship captain on trial for murder after the sin(ing of the /osta /oncordia in early 2012 said on the night of the fateful accident that he belie*ed he had hit only 4a little roc(4, a court heard on .onday$ 8rancesco !chettino, the -03year3old e<3captain of the ship, was heard gi*ing the description in a telephone con*ersation recorded by the bridge#s 4blac( bo<4 10 minutes after impact which was played out in the Aome court hosting his trial$ In fact, the /osta /oncordia was slashed open -0 metres along its submerged hull by a roc( shelf 'ust off Italy#s ?iglio Island, causing it to list, then Buic(ly capsi e in a &anuary 10, 2012 tragedy that (illed 02 people$

%he ship, carrying 4,221 people from more than 70 countries, had been sailing *ery close to the island in a ris(y 4salute4 manoeu*re$ !chettino, who denies multiple murder charges, says he slipped and fell into a lifeboat, then stayed ashore despite e<hortations from a coast guard official to get bac( on board$ ;e denies abandoning ship$ ;e has been on trial since &uly last year$ :n .onday, the director of the cruise ship company#s crisis unit that handled the disaster, Aoberto 8errarini, said !chettino was only deli*ering information 4in drips4 and 4in the third call, the captain assured me the ship was not sin(ing4$ 4=y the fourth 5call9, I understood that the information he had was fragmentary and he needed to ha*e e*erything confirmed by his officers$4 8errarini testified that !chettino also tried to persuade him to help concoct a 'oint *ersion of e*ents that was contrary to what happened$ 4!chettino suggested saying to authorities that a general power outage on the ship was the cause of the collision$ =ut I re'ected that strongly, I e*en got angry$4 8errarini and four others accused in the affair ha*e plea3bargained, accepting guilt and being sentenced to less than three months in prison$ !chettino has refused to do li(ewise, preferring to go to trial$ %he /osta /oncordia#s Indonesian helmsman, who !chettino#s defence team is at least partly responsible for the disaster, is a fugiti*e and has not been found$ 5A8)9

USC# seizes US" ))*+'n worth of cocaine

%he @! /oast ?uard 5@!/?9 has sei ed cocaine worth @!> 110 million during two recent operations in the /aribbean$ )etty :fficer 0rd /lass .ar( =arney has described the combined bust of 0$60 tonnes as 4one of the largest in a long time$4 >uring the first operation conducted on .arch 1- in &amaica, the /oast ?uard found about 17 bales containing some 2,400 (ilos of cocaine worth around @!> +0 million floating near a fishing boat suspected of smuggling drugs$ %he second operation, carried out on .arch 11, in*ol*ed a /olombian3flagged *essel with fi*e /olombian nationals onboard$ %he /oast ?uard pursued the *essel in the southwest /aribbean !ea, fired warning and disabled shots that forced the crew to dump 100 (ilos of cocaine worth around @!> 00 million$

COMMERCE ,awahar'a' !ehru -ort hand'es ./)0+'n T1U in 2*)34).

India#s &awaharlal 2ehru )ort handled 4$16 million %C@ in its financial year 2010314, accounting for -7E of the total container throughput handled by the ma'or ports of the country$ :f the total, the container terminal &2)/% at the port handled 1$01 million %C@, while 2ha*a !he*a International /ontainer %erminal 52!I/%9 and ?ateway %erminals India 5?%I9 .umbai handled 170,000 %C@ and 1$++ million %C@ respecti*ely$ :*er the reporting period, the port handled 62$0- million tonnes of cargo, down by 0$0E as compared to the 64$41 million tonnes handled the pre*ious year$ %he shares of containerised cargo and liBuid cargo were --$24 million and 6$21 million tonnes respecti*ely$ %he remaining 0$+2 million tonnes was made up of miscellaneous cargo in the form of dry bul( and brea(bul($ %he chairman of &awaharlal 2ehru )ort %rust, 22 "umar, said that the year3on3year fall in container traffic is mainly due to the labour and trailer related issues at pri*ate terminals$

Korean ship5ui'ding orders drying up

According to latest a*ailable data, shipbuilding orders from "orean shipping companies are drying up and low prices are unable to boost orders for large *essels from !outh "orean yards$ Industry insiders ha*e blamed the local shipping finance system for the current situation$ A total of 211 postpanama< and larger containerships were ordered worldwide between April 1, 2011 and .arch 01, 2014, /lar(son research reported$ "orean companies bagged 'ust fi*e contracts in that period$ In the abo*e period, global leader .aers( placed ten orders for 1+,000 %C@ers, while the @nited Arab !hipping /ompany ordered si< 1+,0003%C@ers and ele*en 14,000 %C@ers$ !easpan followed with fifteen 14,000 %C@ers and twenty 10,0003%C@ *essels$ .eanwhile, the /hina !hipping ?roup has recently placed orders for nine 10,000 %C@ and four 11,0003%C@ *essels, while ten contracts for 14,0003%C@ ships were awarded by !ingapore#s 2eptune :rient Fines$

INCIDENT 2 ships co''ide6 cargo ship grounded off 7irginia coast

A 1,06-3foot container ship and a 713foot rig *essel collided and a 7-13foot cargo ship ran aground off the Girginia coast on %uesday in high winds gusting up to 70 mph, the /oast ?uard said$ %he two *essels collided at around 7$00pm in the %himble !hoal /hannel$ An hour after the collision, the cargo ship, anchored at the Fynnha*en Anchorage east of the /hesapea(e =ay =ridge %unnel, ran aground near 8irst Fanding !tate )ar($ 4%here was no initial report of damage, pollution or in'uries to either *essel and both are safely anchored pending a /oast ?uard in*estigation,4 the /oast ?uard said$ .eanwhile, /oast ?uard spo(esman )etty :fficer 8irst /lass =randyn ;ill confirmed that there are no reports of in'uries, damage, or pollution from the grounding of the cargo ship and that it is not bloc(ing other water traffic$

HI-TECH Ba'ti(a wi'' 5e used in ice45rea(ing6 rescue operations

%he ice3brea(ing multi3purpose emergency and rescue *essel for the Aussian 8ederal Agency of !ea and Ai*er %ransport, which is to be operated by the 8?I ?osmorspasslu hba, will be deli*ered at Arctech ;elsin(i !hipyard$ After the *essel is deli*ered, =alti(a will be used in the ?ulf of 8inland in ice3brea(ing, rescue and oil combating operations$ %he *essel, which is being built at ;elsin(i shipyard, is a result of many years of de*elopment wor( and features an asymmetric hull, built3in oil reco*ery system and three 060 degrees rotating propulsors, which allow the *essel to operate efficiently sideways, astern and ahead$ In the obliBue mode, =alti(a will be able to generate a -0m wide channel in 0$6m thic( ice$ It is the first icebrea(er that can brea( two times wider channel in ice as compared to her own breadth, which increases the cost3effecti*eness of the operation$ %he *essel#s design is based on AA/ 100 concept, which has been de*eloped by A(er Arctic %echnology$

Cs(o .ustamsa(i, the .anaging >irector of Arctech ;elsin(i !hipyard said, 4%he ice3brea(ing emergency and rescue *essel has been on the sea trials and the functionality of the *essel has been assured regarding manoeu*rability, sideways ice3brea(ing mode and the new type of oil reco*ery system among other things$4 4We are e<tremely satisfied with the features of the *essel and con*inced that the multifunctional =alti(a will secure the seaborne transports in the ?ulf of 8inland,4 .ustamsa(i added$ %he *essel, which measures 76$4m in length and 20$-m in breadth, is being built in co3operation with "aliningrad3based !hipyard Hantar &!/, that has produced the bloc(s of the *essel$ %he *essel is e<pected to be deli*ered to the customer in spring 2014$

SHIPPING DATA
BALT C 18C9A!#1
Market snapshot: 11:00 GMT Dry Index BDI 970 Capesize Index BCI 1724 ana!ax Index B I 777 "#pra!ax Index B"I 91$ -19 -41 -1 -%

18C9A!#1 RAT1S
&e' (ork )T#e C*s+ ,-n C#rren.y in /"D Britain ) o#nd+ 10$721 Canada )Do**ar+ 009107 China )(#an+ 001$07 2#ro 103109 India )4#pee+ 0001$$ Indonesia )4#piah+ 00000017 5apan )(en+ 00009120 &or'ay )6rone+ 001$79 hi*ippines ) eso+ 00022% o*and )7*oty+ 00329$ 4#ssia )4#8*e+ 00027$ "in-apore )Do**ar+ 007911 /kraine )9ry:nia+ 000107 /"D in ,-n C#rren.y 00%911 100911 $02220 007242 $002%%0 11430000 10101400 %09%$$ 440%100 300300 3$019$1 102%31 120390%