International maritime news for seafarers EC hails 'improved' Philippine maritime standards The Philippines has earned praises from the European Commission (EC for impro!in" its maritime standards #ut was told to e$ert e$tra effort in fulfillin" all re%uirements under the &tandards of Trainin", Certifi'ation and (at'h)eepin" for &eafarers (&TC( 'on!ention* +ollowin" an assessment, the EC,s -ire'torate .eneral of Mo#ility and Transport (-. M/0E hailed Manila,s initiati!es in #oostin" the standard of maritime edu'ation, trainin" and 'ertifi'ation system* 1''ordin" to -. M/0E, the Philippines, with the held of European 2nion mem#er3states, was a#le to 'arry out measures to meet &TC( 'on!ention re%uirements* 4The E2 has lon" re'o"nised the Philippines as an important maritime nation whose many seafarers on European !essels are mu'h appre'iated,4 said E2 1m#assador .uy 5edou$* 6e also 'alled on the Philippine "o!ernment to 'ontinue upholdin" seafarers, safety, as well as the maritime se'tor,s o!erall de!elopment* 6owe!er, -. M/0E noted that the &outheast 1sian nation still needs to ensure that audit plans are #ein" enfor'ed and that the 'ountry should ha!e all ne'essary te'hni'al %ualified human resour'es in maritime trainin" institutions* The Philippines was "i!en until the end of 7uly to pro!ide a report indi'atin" that it had resol!ed outstandin" defi'ien'ies with re"ards to meetin" &TC( re%uirements* The European Maritime &afety 1"en'y will 'ondu't a follow3up inspe'tion in /'to#er this year* 1''ordin" to the -. M/0E, failure to address all of the remainin" issues may result in the Philippines losin" E2 re'o"nition* To #e a#le to address the issue, Manila was ad!ised to see) further te'hni'al assistan'e from the international 'ommunity* SAFETY STUDY TOO MUCH ON TOP 1 'ontainer feeder !essel,s dis'har"e and loadin" operation went disastrously wron" due to the 'ar"o plannin" department,s ina''urate loadin" plan* FACTS 1 'ontainer feeder !essel was operatin" #etween three north European ports8 ea'h 'all always in!ol!in" 'omplete dis'har"e and loadin" of 'ar"o* /n arri!al at the !essel,s home port, an unlashin" "an" immediately #oarded and released the lower lashin" #ars and twist lo')s that 'onne'ted the #ottom two 'ontainers in ea'h sta') stowed on de')* It was normal for the upper four 'ontainers of ea'h sta') to remain 'onne'ted #y twist lo')s as a sin"le unit, until su'h time that their #ay was to #e unloaded* Two shore 'ranes wor)ed the ship, #oth initially dis'har"in" and e!entually one loadin" as the other 'arried on with unloadin"* The se'ond offi'er monitored operations from the de') and o''asionally 'arried out #allastin" ad9ustments as and when the ship de!eloped a list* 1ppro$imately fi!e hours after moorin", se!eral 'ontainers in the aftermost #ay toppled to port* Ei"hteen were lost o!er#oard and some of those that remained in the #ay suffered dama"e* It was later found that the top 'ontainers in se!en out of nine sta')s, whi'h had #een de'lared as empty on the loadin" plan, a'tually 'ontained 'ar"o of up to :03tonne wei"ht* (ith the top four 'ontainers in ea'h sta') still 'onne'ted #y twist lo')s, these sin"le units were !ery top hea!y and lia#le to topple easily when e$posed to a suita#le tri""er* FINDINGS The load plan was ina''urate #e'ause the 'ontainer line,s 'ar"o plannin" department "enerated its loadin" plans usin" the wei"hts de'lared #y the shipper when initially #oo)in" 'ontainer slots on the ship* E!en if the shipper updated the line at a later date, with a''urate wei"hts, the software system was not 'onfi"ured to update the plannin" department,s data* The !ery least that 'ontainer lines 'an do is to ensure that their plannin" departments ha!e the most a''urate data held #y the 'ompany* -espite tradin" #etween three ports that had si"nifi'antly different salinity le!els, it was found that the de') offi'ers on #oard were usin" the same do') water density for all 'al'ulations* &our'e; 2< M1I= o!er ann"al reven"e #rom Panama Canal li$el% The Panama Canal is li)ely to post a lower3than3e$pe'ted annual re!enue despite on"oin" ma9or up"rades for the waterway* 7or"e >ui9ano, the 'anal,s administrator, said that the waterway is e$pe'ted to earn 2&-:*1 #illion per year until 2025* 6owe!er, the fi"ure was way lower than an initial pro9e'tion of 2&-5 #illion on the #a') of impro!ements 'urrently underway* 2p"rades for the 'entury3old 'anal, whi'h a''ounts for fi!e per'ent of the world,s total maritime trade, should ha!e #een finished #y this year #ut their 'ompletion was pushed to 201? due to delays and 'ost o!erruns* The low pro9e'tion, a''ordin" to >ui9ano, 'an #e attri#uted to the !olatile world e'onomi' 'limate* 4The world e'onomy is not %uite solid enou"h,4 he said* 1mon" the up"rades #ein" done for the @03)ilometre3lon" Panama Canal, whi'h first opened in 1A14 with an aim to pro!ide a mu'h shorter and safer route #etween the 1tlanti' and the Pa'ifi', are the widenin" of lo')s and 'hannels to allow lar"er !essels to pass throu"h the waterway* Nets rein#or&ed aro"nd So"th 'orean #err% to stop (od% dri#t &outh <orean re'o!ery wor)ers stren"thened a rin" of nettin" around a sun)en ferry Monday to try to pre!ent 'orpses driftin" away as di!e teams re'o!ered 11 more #odies, raisin" the death toll to 2?0, 1+P reported* 1 total of 42 people remain una''ounted for, 1A days after the ?,@253tonne &ewol 'apsiBed and san) with 4C? people on #oard 3 most of them s'hool'hildren* (or)ers in fishin" #oats stren"thened nettin" around the s'ene of the disaster off the southwestern island of 7indo, amid 'on'erns that powerful 'urrents may ha!e pulled some #odies into the open sea* The operation followed a meetin" at a 7indo har#our &unday #etween President Par) .eun3 6ye and the relati!es of passen"ers still missin"* They are insistin" that all the #odies should #e re'o!ered #efore efforts #e"in to raise the ferry* The sear'h has #een hampered #y stron" 'urrents and wa!es, with di!e teams wor)in" in 'hallen"in" and sometimes haBardous 'onditions* They must "rope their way down "uide ropes to the sun)en ship, stru""lin" throu"h narrow passa"eways and rooms littered with floatin" de#ris in silty water* 1s days "o #y, personal #elon"in"s and other items from the ship ha!e #een spotted further and further away, fuellin" 'on'ern that some !i'tims may ne!er #e found* 5ast wee) #odies were retrie!ed up to four )ilometres away from the site, and #eddin" material from the ship was found as far as :0 )ilometres away* The ferry sin)in" is one of &outh <orea,s worst pea'etime disasters, made all the more sho')in" #y the loss of so many youn" li!es* Data &olle&ted helps narro! sear&h area #or MH)*+ 1lthou"h the sear'h has yet to find any si"n of possi#le de#ris from missin" Malaysia 1irlines fli"ht M6:C0 durin" operations, the data 'olle'ted durin" the :5 days at sea will assist in narrowin" the sear'h area for the final restin" pla'e of the air'raft, a''ordin" to the latest statement #y the 7oint 1"en'y Coordination Centre (71CC on Monday, PD1 and Einhua reported* The statement said /'ean &hield will return to +leet =ase (est on Monday to replenish its supplies and 'ondu't routine maintenan'e and software modifi'ations to the su#marine !ehi'le =luefin321* /n'e the port !isit 'ompleted, /'ean &hield will return immediately to the sear'h area where the undersea sear'h will 'ontinue for the plane, whi'h !anished mysteriously on Mar'h @ with 2:A a#oard, a''ordin" to the 71CC* Meanwhile, the 2& Da!y will 'ontinue supportin" the M6:C0 sear'h effort with the =luefin321 side s'an sonar for a#out fourmore wee)s at the re%uest of the 1ustralian "o!ernment* Gro"p see$s retirement o# !ooden,h"lled ships in PH (ooden3hulled !essels 'ould soon #e a thin" of the past in the Philippines with 1D.<51, an or"anisation of seafarers and families, 'allin" for their immediate retirement* 1D.<51 representati!e 7esulito Manalo 'alled on the Philippine authorities to enfor'e the law on the retirement of wooden3hulled ships* 6e said the a'%uisition of steel !essels to repla'e the wooden3hulled ships should also #e fast3 tra')ed to help de!elop the lo'al shippin" industry* 45aws 'allin" for the retirement of all wooden3hulled !essels must #e enfor'ed,4 Manalo stressed* The offi'ial added that usin" steel ones will also impro!e the safety of the lo'al fleet* INCIDENTS Car-o ship sin$s. // missin- near Hon- 'on- 1uthorities laun'hed an air and sea res'ue operation Monday to find 11 'rew mem#ers from a Chinese 'ar"o ship after it 'ollided with another !essel and san) 9ust outside 6on" <on",s teemin" waters* +our heli'opters and more than 20 ships from China and 6on" <on" were deployin" to the waters near Po Toi, an island lyin" at the ed"e of 6on" <on",s territory where the ship san) in the early hours of the mornin", offi'ials said* 4Two 'ar"o ships 'ollided and one of them san),4 a poli'e spo)eswoman told 1+P* 1erial foota"e of the s'ene shown on 6on" <on" tele!ision showed an oil sli') on the surfa'e of the sea where the ship is #elie!ed to ha!e "one down* 1 fire department spo)esman said there were 12 people in total on #oard, with poli'e 'onfirmin" that one male was later res'ued and sent to hospital, 1+P reported* The sur!i!or, who was plu')ed from the sea #y a passin" fishin" #oat, suffered minor in9uries to his hands and feet, she said* China said it was sendin" three heli'opters and more than a doBen ships to the s'ene, a''ordin" to the offi'ial Einhua news a"en'y, while 6on" <on" sent a heli'opter and ei"ht res'ue !essels* 0 Chinese sailors die. 0 h"rt in Pa&i#i& O&ean Two Chinese sailors died and si$ are #elie!ed to #e missin" after their #oat san) in the Pa'ifi' /'ean, an offi'ial at -a!is3Monthan 1ir +or'e =ase said &unday* Ma9 &arah &'hwennesen said that a 0eneBuelan fishin" #oat reported findin" 11 sailors floatin" in a raft +riday afternoon* &he said the 0eneBuelan 'rew said four sailors were #adly #urned* Two later died of their in9uries, The 1sso'iated Press reported* 1irmen from the 5?:rd Fes'ue .roup para'huted into the water &aturday afternoon and used inflata#le #oats to rea'h the 0eneBuelan !essel, whi'h is 1,100 nauti'al miles (a#out 2,0:C)m west of Ca#o &an 5u'as, Me$i'o, &'hwennesen said* They treated the in9ured sailors &aturday and into &unday mornin"* PORT OF THE WEEK Port o# Hai#a The Port of 6aifa is Israel,s #i""est international seaport* Its two other ma9or seaport are Port of 1shdod and the Port of Eilat* 6aifa Port is lo'ated in a natural deep water har#our* The 'omple$ is operational at any time of the year and ser!es #oth 'ar"o and passen"ers* The #ay allows uno#stru'ted and unhindered entry and e$it for !essels throu"hout the year* 6aifa Port is situated 'lose to the &ueB Canal, the #usiest shippin" route in the world* The 'omple$ one of the lar"est ports in the eastern Mediterranean in terms of frei"ht !olume* It is a#le to handle a#out 24 million tons of 'ar"o annually year* In 2012, the port pro'essed a#out 1*:C million TE2s, as well as 2A:,0@0 passen"ers* The terminal employs more than 1,000 personnel, with the num#er seasonally "rowin" to 5,000 durin" the summer, when 'ruise ships 'ome for #rief !isits* The port lies to the north of 6aifa,s downtown %uarter on the Mediterranean, and stret'hes to some three )ilometres alon" the 'entral shore* It has !arious fa'ilities for military, industrial and 'ommer'ial se'tors ne$t to the passen"er terminal* The Carmel Terminal is 'onsidered as the most ad!an'ed in Israel and allow hi"h !olumes of loadin" and unloadin"* The 'ar"o terminal 'an handle any type of frei"ht; 'ontainer, "eneral 'ar"o, #ul) 'ar"o, seed, 'hemi'als, fuel and ro3ro throu"h a lar"e num#er of %uays* 1 railroad frei"ht terminal is lo'ated inside the port and is used for transportin" "oods a'ross the 'ountry, while a passen"er rail station 'onne'ts to the national rail networ)* The port also features a fishin" wharf, a ya'ht 'lu#, a sports marina, and a 'hemi'al terminal* Dew fa'ilities will e$pand the port,s annual 'ontainer handlin" 'apa'ity #y 500,000 TE2* Constru'tion of this new terminal 'ost a#out 2&-500 million and will ta)e fi!e years to 'omplete* The Port also maintains fa'ilities for the 2nited &tates Da!y &i$th +leet* 6aifa,s modern passen"er terminal in'ludes a !ariety of fa'ilities intended to pro!ide ma$imum 'on!enien'e for passen"ers passin" throu"h the port* The passen"er terminal has #een e$panded to %ui')ly and effi'iently pro'ess passen"ers from a num#er of ships at the same time* SHIPPING DATA 1ATIC E2CHANGE Market snapshot: (May 2) Dry Index BDI 1017 +24 Capesize Index BCI 182 +11! "ana#ax Index B"I 8$% &$ '(pra#ax Index B'I 1% (no )han*e) E2CHANGE 3ATES +e, -ork (.ri C/s) .*n C(rren)y 0'D in .*n in 0'D C(rren)y Britain ("o(nd) 11$8$ 01%28 Canada (Do//ar) 01111 1107$ China (-(an) 011%8 $12%% 2(ro 11!872 01720 India (3(pee) 0101$$ $011700 Indonesia (3(piah) 01000087 11%2%100 4apan (-en) 0100781 10212400 +or,ay (5rone) 011$84 %1! "hi/ippines ("eso) 01022% 441%200 "o/and (6/oty) 01!28 !10!00 3(ssia (3(7/e) 01027 !%18778 'in*apore (Do//ar) 0177 112%!4 0kraine (8ry9nia) 010877 11140$%