MARITIME NEWS

Tuesday, March 18, 2014 International maritime news for seafarers

EU adopts strategy on the Gulf of Guinea

The European Union on Monday drew a blueprint to support ulf of many challen!es of maritime insecurity and or!ani"ed crime# uinea countries to address the Endorsed by EU forei!n ministers, the $trate!y on the ulf of uinea is a comprehensi%e and lon!& standin! approach of the 28&member bloc to support 'est and (entral )frican countries* efforts to o%ercome po%erty and attain lastin! stability and prosperity, +inhua reported# The EU said piracy, armed robbery at sea, or!ani"ed crime and ille!al, unreported and unre!ulated fishin! in the ulf of uinea re!ion pose serious challen!es to human security, human ri!hts, economic acti%ity and trade both at sea and on land# The strate!y also reco!ni"es the need to protect both the populations in the and European citi"ens from the threats that emanate from the re!ion# The strate!y is scheduled to be presented to the EU&)frica $ummit in )pril# Meanwhile, the International Maritime ,ureau has also e-pressed concern on the ulf of uinea becomin! a piracy hotspot# The or!anisation said that the number of piracy incidents in the ulf of uinea has increased, that is why it is essential for 'est )frica*s coastal states to wor. to!ether to impro%e security# /Unli.e $omalia, there is no failed state in the ulf of uinea,/ the IM, said# ulf of uinea re!ion

/)ll the states are functionin! entities# These states need to be determined and ta.e action to wipe out piracy#/

SAFETY UKHO warns of counterfeit products

The United 0in!dom 1ydro!raphic 2ffice 3U0124 has issued a warnin! o%er the dan!ers posed to the safety of %essels, crews and car!oes by counterfeit nautical charts and publications# The U012 has now produced a simple !uide to help identify !enuine )dmiralty products# (ounterfeit documents

do not satisfy the carria!e re5uirements of $26)$# Their carria!e may also fail to satisfy 3and may be contrary to4 the laws of 7la! $tate )uthorities and 8ort $tate (ontrol, as well as increasin! the safety ris. for %essels, crews and car!oes# 7urthermore, carria!e of counterfeit documents is a!ainst the law of all countries that ha%e si!ned the ,erne (on%ention on copyri!ht# U012 !uide is easy to use and helps inspectors to distin!uish official )dmiralty charts and publications from counterfeit %ersions# 2fficial )dmiralty charts bear the )dmiralty *7lyin! )* watermar. within the paper and also carries a *thumb label* strip on the re%erse, showin! )dmiralty lo!o, chart number, !eo!raphical area, barcode and date# $uspect charts and publications can also be identified by comparin! them a!ainst official )dmiralty %ersions, where %ariations may be spotted in the loo., feel and wei!ht of the product, the colour tone and stren!th of the in., the folds on charts and the hei!ht and bindin! 5uality of publications# $ource 9 U012

Crew safe as two ships collide off Japan

Ei!ht Myanmarese crew of a $outh 0orean&re!istered container ship escaped unhurt when their %essel collided with a 8anamanian&fla!!ed car!o ship at the mouth of To.yo ,ay early on Tuesday, )78 reported# The crewmembers, who alon! with si- $outh 0orean personnel, were on a :,40;&tonne container %essel when the ship collided with a 8anamanian&fla!!ed 12,;<0&tonne !eneral car!o ship in the Urawa waterway at about <910am, the =apan (oast uard 3=( 4 said# The 8anamanian %essel was carryin! steel coils when it san. after the collision as one (hinese crew member was .illed and ei!ht others were missin!, the =( said# 2f the 20 (hinese crew aboard the !eneral car!o ship, /twel%e ha%e been rescued, but one of them was later confirmed to be dead,/ said a coast!uard official, addin! that ei!ht others were still missin!# /'e are continuin! to search for the ei!ht others still missin!/ he added#

Cyprus probes suspected buyers in Libya oil ship case

)n in%esti!ation is underway to find out the details re!ardin! an oil tan.er that had loaded crude at a rebel&held port in 6ibya# The U$ >a%y $eals ha%e ta.en control of the tan.er while the supposed buyers ha%e already been 5uestioned by the authorities# 8olice in the coastal city of 6arnaca 5uestioned three suspected buyers on $aturday on suspicion of ne!otiatin! to buy crude from the tan.er# ?eports said that two Israelis and a $ene!alese national ha%e been interro!ated in (yprus but no arrests were made as the local court did not issue an arrest warrant since it was not determined if the three suspects committed the offence while in (yprus#

The three suspected buyers ha%e already flown to Tel )%i%, reports added# 6ocal media said the three flew in to 6arnaca on a pri%ate @et late 7riday, hired a boat from the marina and went out to the tan.er to ne!otiate with the crew# 8olice monitored their mo%ements and the boat was intercepted once they were bac. in (yprus waters, )78 reported#

PH now in possession of draft EM ! audit report

The Maritime Industry )uthority 3Marina4 is now in possession of a copy of the draft report of the European Maritime $afety )!ency 3EM$)4 audit# The last sta!es of the audit too. place in 2ctober 201< and a copy was recei%ed by Marina )dministrator Ma-imo Me@ia =r# last 7ebruary A, 8>) reported# Me@ia declined to comment on what the findin!s are, citin! confidentiality clauses, but said that only minor deficiencies ha%e been found and these ha%e no bearin! on the 8hilippines* ability to supply seafarers to European Union&fla!!ed ships of which 80,000 7ilipinos are currently ser%in!# The Marina chair added that they are now co&ordinatin! with other sta.eholders to rectify the minor deficiencies# Me@ia earlier e-pressed confidence that the 8hilippines will successfully hurdle last 2ctober*s EM$) audit and stressed that the country did more than its share to comply with the re!ulations set by the European body# Me@ia said that harmonisation is now in place with the different a!encies tas.ed to monitor maritime trainin! and education in the country# )nother de%elopment that is e-pected to help the country in !ettin! EM$) appro%al is the passa!e of a law that !i%es sole authority to Marina to handle all the concerns of local seafarers# This starts from their education to their trainin!, ensurin! better efficiency amon! local seafarers#

"ur#ey$s na%al tas# force sets sail for !frica

Tur.ey*s na%al tas. force set sail for )frica on Monday in a bid to complete a historic 102&day lon! @ourney to the continent from the olcu. na%al base in the Marmara $ea# 7leet commander Beysel 0osele said at a press conference that the /,arbaros/ tas. force will head for (ape of the ood 1ope in southern )frica and will ma.e port %isits in 2: countries# It will be the first Tur.ish na%al tour to the )frican continent since18;;, 8>) reported# The tas. force consists of four fri!ates that will ta.e part in 1; different missions# The fri!ates will @oin the /2ban!ame&E-press/ e-ercise led by the United $tates, conduct firin! e-ercises in $outh )frica, and @oin anti&piracy operations in the ulf of )den#

0osele said that a total of :81 soldiers will ta.e part in the )frica mission, addin! that the %isit mirrors Tur.ish forei!n policy of openin! to the )frican countries# /The na%y will rally )frican countries to support Tur.ish forei!n policy and de%elop Tur.ey*s relations and cooperation with )frican countries#/

SHIPPING low de&and for long'range product tan#ers

The =anuary&7ebruary period has shown a !enerally low demand as far as lar!e clean product tan.ers are concerned based on the latest report by shipbro.er ibson# ibson said that while /the first half of March returns ha%e impro%ed sli!htly on steady le%els of acti%ity to around U$C11,000 per day, ample spot tonna!e a%ailability has .ept rates in chec. and pre%ented further !ains#/ The shipbro.er noted that in 6?2 tradin! in the Middle East&=apan, /T(E earnin!s in the first two months of the year were unable to co%er fully fi-ed operatin! e-penses#/ Cespite this, the upcomin! winter season is e-pected to lead to better U$ e-ports, helpin! the tan.ers reco%er, ibson added#

SECURITY HM! Melbourne returns ho&e

1M)$ Melbourne and its crew recei%ed a warm welcome after finishin! its Middle East mission that saw the aircraft carrier assist in campai!ns a!ainst ille!al dru!s o%erseas# 8rime Minister Tony )bbott and (hief of >a%y Bice )dmiral ?ay ri!!s )2, ($(, ?)> were amon! those present upon the arri%al of 1M)$ Melbourne# The %essel was part of a mission that sei"ed U$C1 billion worth of ille!al dru!s# /The crew deser%e ac.nowled!ement for their dedication durin! this deployment# The boardin! party and embar.ed $:0,&2 $eahaw. helicopter crew were particularly busy and were outstandin! in their performance,/ 1M)$ Melbourne (ommandin! 2fficer (ommander ,rian $chle!el ?)> said#

INCIDENTS Greece( ) &igrants die in boat sin#ing* + rescued

)uthorities in reece said Tuesday they had reco%ered the bodies of se%en immi!rants who drowned o%erni!ht when a boat san. in the eastern )e!ean $ea after tra%ellin! ille!ally from nearby Tur.ey, The )ssociated 8ress reported# The Merchant Marine Ministry said ei!ht other people were rescued near the island of 6es%os# Two of the dead were found in the water off the coast of the island, while the other fi%e were reco%ered from their semi&sun.en boat# )uthorities were still searchin! for two more mi!rants belie%ed missin! from the boat# Three coast !uard %essels, a helicopter and pri%ate boats were in%ol%ed in the search# The mi!rants* nationalities were not immediately .nown# The ministry said the boat san. in !ood weather about 2#4.ms off 6es%os, which is %ery close to the Tur.ish coast# The alarm was raised by a small Tur.ish boat that pic.ed up two sur%i%ors in the dar.# reece is a ma@or transit point for ille!al immi!ration from )sia and )frica into the European Union# Many ma.e the @ourney to ree. islands from the nearby Tur.ish coast in small boats that are often o%erloaded and unseaworthy# In =anuary, 12 immi!rants drowned when a boat o%erturned near the eastern 7arma.onissi# ree. island of

MARITIME INSTITUTION "oba ,ational College of Mariti&e "echnology

Established in 1881, the Toba >ational (olle!e of Maritime Technolo!y is the oldest continuously& operated nautical school in =apan# The Toba >ational (olle!e of Maritime Technolo!y is also one of only fi%e maritime colle!es in =apan# The colle!e was established to brin! up proficient technical e-perts who are able to perform their roles effiently and with autonomy# Its campus is located the centre of the Ise&$hima >ational 8ar.# The par.&li.e !rounds face a calm inlet of I.enoura# ,ehind the campus rises Mt# )sama 3AAA metres abo%e the sea4 with a toll road named Ise&$hima $.y 6ine# The campus is easily accessible# Most of the pro!rammes in Toba (olle!e are conducted in =apanese# The pro!rammes are typically four and a half years lon! with an additional one and half years of practical trainin! at sea#

The colle!e conducts followin! maritime pro!rammes9 >autical pro!ram for Cec. 2fficers and (aptains and Marine En!ineerin! pro!rams for En!ineerin! 2fficers# There are also ad%anced 8ro!rammes for marine systems, information technolo!y and mechatronics# )fter their academic courses, students of Maritime Technolo!y Cepartment spend one&year of practical trainin! as apprentices aboard lar!e trainin! ships owned by the Institute for $ea Trainin! of Independent )dministrati%e Institution# These apprentices will under!o trainin! in lon! distance na%i!ation# )s professional merchant marine officers, they are ine%itably responsible for all li%es on board, the %essels, and the safe and economical con%eyance of %aluable car!o to its destination# Toba is one of the country*s si!htseein! spots# 8lenty of holidayma.ers %isit the area throu!hout the year#

SHIPPING DATA
-!L".C E/CH!,GE
Market snapshot: (March 17) Dry Index BDI 1481 +4 Capesize Index BCI 2 !1 +14 "ana#ax Index B"I 111 +$ %&pra#ax Index B%I 11!1 +8 'andysize Index B'%I 71 (&nchan(ed)

E/CH!,GE 0!"E
)e* +ork (Mon C,s) -(n C&rrency in .%D Britain ("o&nd) 1/ $ Canada (Do,,ar) 0/!047 China (+&an) 0/1 18 2&ro 1/$!21 India (3&pee) 0/01 4 Indonesia (3&piah) 0/000088 4apan (+en) 0/00!8$0 )or*ay (5rone) 0/1 81 "hi,ippines ("eso) 0/0224 "o,and (6,oty) 0/$2!$ 3&ssia (3&7,e) 0/0271 %in(apore (Do,,ar) 0/7!07 .kraine ('ry8nia) 0/1041 .%D in -(n C&rrency 0/ 011 1/101$ /180! 0/7184 1/0 10 11$40/00 101/7$00 1/!4!0 44/7000 $/0400 $ /$117 1/2 4 !/ 011