MARITIME NEWS

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

International maritime news for seafarers
Southeast Asian pirates on the prowl once
again
A spate of daring high-seas attacs off !outheast Asia is stoing fears that its "ital
shipping lanes could once again #ecome a hotspot for piracy unless regional powers act
fast$
%or centuries, pirates were the scourge of the &alacca !trait - the strategic channel
#etween Indonesia, &alaysia, and !ingapore through which a third of glo#al trade now
passes$
'hey were largely put out of #usiness a#out fi"e years ago #y stepped-up patrols$
(ut se"eral taners or cargo ships ha"e #een attaced in !outheast Asian waters since
April, with pirates hi)acing the "essels #efore siphoning off hundreds of tonnes of
"alua#le fuel or oil$
'he increasing #ooty of oil and other cargo floating through local seaways appears to
#e drawing in new players, possi#ly underpinned #y organised criminal syndicates,
according to anti-piracy e*perts$
+,"ery#ody is concerned a#out these latest attacs #ecause they now it will worsen,+
said -oel .hoong, head of the International &aritime (ureau/s 0I&(1 piracy reporting
centre in &alaysia$
+It will #ecome rampant again and you will ha"e a hard time stopping it$ 'hat/s how
!omalia got started,+ .hoong added$
In recent years, glo#al concern o"er piracy has focused on attacs #y trigger-happy
!omali pirates off ,ast Africa$
An international na"al effort has "irtually stamped out that threat - #ut in the meantime,
!outheast Asian piracy attacs ha"e crept #ac up, increasing from 42 in 2003 to 128
last year, according to the I&(, and are on a similar pace for 2014$
&eanwhile, the I&( ased small taners to maintain strict anti-piracy measures in the
!outh .hina !ea$ 0A%41
SAFETY STUDY
'LET GO OF THE TUG!'
An a#le seaman was pulling the slac of the tow line in #y hand when the line
une*pectedly came under tension$
NARRATIE
A #allasted taner had #een made fast port side alongside to a #erth at an oil terminal$
!oon afterwards, the pilot ased the master to let go the har#our tug, which had its tow
line fast to a #ollard on the star#oard side, )ust aft of the forward mooring station$ 'he
pilot also told the tug master #y 56% radio to let go$ 'he pilot/s instruction was relayed
#y the ship/s internal 56% radio to the #osun, who, with three a#le seamen and a dec
cadet, went 7uicly to the tow line$ 'hey looed o"er the side of the ship and saw that
there was some slac in the line, #ut they could not see any of the tug/s crew$ An a#le
seaman, the #osun and another a#le seaman stood in line #etween the panama lead
and the #ollard and #egan to pull the slac of the tow line in #y hand$ 'he tug/s chief
engineer mo"ed the tow winch )oystic to pay out the line and to gi"e the ship/s crew
more slac$ When he looed up at his ..'5 monitor, he was surprised to see the line
was #eing hea"ed in onto the towing winch$ 6e looed at the towing winch control panel
and saw that the tensioning switch was still on$ 6e switched it off and he started to pay
out the tow line$ 8n the ship, when the load suddenly came onto the tow line, the A(,
who was standing nearest the panama lead, had his hands drawn towards it$ 6e
managed to let go of the line with his right hand #ut his left hand was #adly crushed
when it was caught #etween the line and the panama lead$ 6is in)ured hand was
released when the tug/s ., slacened off the tow line$ 'he seaman lost parts of three
fingers of his left hand that needed three wees of surgery$ It is not nown if he will #e
a#le to use his left hand properly$
LESSONS
- It is important that ships/ mooring teams remain alert to the possi#ility that, when
securing or letting go tugs/ lines, these may une*pectedly come under tension and
cause serious in)uries$
- .ommunications should #e esta#lished directly #etween the person in charge of the
mooring team and the tug/s personnel9 the line should not #e let go #efore the tug/s
crew signals that it is ready to recei"e the line #ac on #oard9 and the person in charge
of the mooring team should monitor the operation and the tug/s tow line so that warning
can #e gi"en to the rest of the team if sudden load comes onto the line$ Source: UK
MAIB
Lithuania launches largest ship ter!inal in
"altics
'he most ad"anced terminal in the (altics - the .entral :laipeda 'erminal - was
officially launched on 'uesday$ 'hree cargo or passenger "essels will #e a#le to doc
simultaneously at the new facility$ 'he terminal can ser"e around ;00,000 passengers
and handle fi"e million tonnes of ro-ro cargo per year$
4rime &inister Algirdas (ute"icius who attended the opening ceremony stressed that
the most important tas for the terminal in addition to increasing cargo flows would #e to
attract more passengers$
According to the head of the go"ernment, it is pleasing that <ithuania attracts foreigners
and that the num#er of tourists arri"ing to :laipeda has #een increasing$ +'he terminal
is a good possi#ility to achie"e this$ 'he facility will augment <ithuania/s image as a
country attracti"e to tourists,+ (ute"icius told <,'A$
'he prime minister appreciated the fact that twice as much ro-ro cargo can #e handled
in the new terminal, thus enhancing <ithuania/s competiti"eness$
'he terminal was #uilt using funds of :laipeda !eaport Authority, pri"ate sector
in"estment and the ,= support$ 'he total cost is estimated to reach ,=> ;?$2 million$
O#a!a to create worl$'s largest !arine
sanctuar% in &aci'ic
=! 4resident (arac 8#ama on 'uesday announced plans to create what could #e the
world/s largest marine sanctuary in the south-central 4acific 8cean in an effort to protect
the ocean and its marine ecosystems$
8#ama announced his e*ecuti"e actions in a "ideo message to those present at the
+8ur 8cean+ conference hosted #y the =! !tate @epartment, which focused on
sustaina#le fisheries, marine pollution and ocean acidification$
+We/"e already shown that when we wor together, we can protect our oceans for future
generations$ !o let/s redou#le our efforts,+ 8#ama told Ainhua$
'he White 6ouse said the 8#ama administration is considering how to +e*pand
protections near the 4acific >emote Islands &arine -ational &onument in the south-
central 4acific 8cean, an area which contains some of the most pristine tropical marine
en"ironments in the world$+
'he administration will consider the input of fishermen, scientists, conser"ation e*perts,
elected officials and other staeholders +#efore maing decisions a#out the geographic
scope and details,+ it added$
'he Washington 4ost, howe"er, reported that 8#ama is looing at e*panding the 4acific
>emote Islands &arine -ational &onument from almost 8B,000 s7uare miles to nearly
B82,000 s7uare miles and that the plan will affect se"en islands and atolls controlled #y
the =!$
Annual su!!it o' European ports hel$ in
&iraeus
!tate su#sidies to ports and the legal framewor of concession contracts in the conte*t
of the ,uropean port policy, were the focus of the annual summit meeting of ,uropean
4orts hosted #y the ,uropean .ommission @irectorate-Ceneral on 'ransport at the
4iraeus 4ort Authority !A 08<41 hall of ceremonies$
'he meeting also addressed the issues of en"ironment, infrastructure, energy and
inno"ation, A-A reported$
'he meeting was attended #y ?; port management e*ecuti"es representing most
,uropean countries and speaers included ,= officials, 8<4 Ceneral &anager !ta"ros
6atDaos and !hipping and the Aegean ministry officials$
8<4 officials also led a tour of the facilities at the port and at the 4iraeus .ontainers
'erminal$
RESCUE
(ela$ co!!en$s )GSS U#a% 'or success'ul
rescue
.ommodore William &elad, .oast Cuard @istrict .entral 5isayas 0.C@.51
commander, has commended .oast Cuard !u#-!tation 0.C!!1 =#ay for successfully
rescuing 1B passengers, ?? crews mem#ers and se"en rolling cargoes a#oard the &E5
<ady of Cuadalupe-.e#u, which ran aground 100 yards north of 4ort =#ay in (ohol on
June 11$
According to the 4hilippines .oast Cuard, the grounding too place as the ship was
heading to (ato, <eyte and accidentally sailed into the shallow part of the port$
6owe"er, the sipper of the "essel, .apt ,pitacio !e"illeta immediately reported the
incident to the .oast Cuard through 56% radio and re7uested for assistance$
.C!! =#ay urgently dispatched a search-and-rescue team to the area to carry out the
rescue operations$
COMMERCE
*orl$'s top +, container ports' -olu!e
increases ./01 in 23
.ontainer throughput at the world/s top ?0 container ports went up #y 4$BF in the first
7uarter of the year, according to an Alphaliner sur"ey$
&ainland .hina ports, which account for 10 of the top ?0 ports, recorded mi*ed results
with the 10 #iggest .hinese ports posting an aggregate growth of ;$1F in the first
7uarter, as compared to the B$?F increase a year earlier$
'he .hinese &inistry of 'ransport reported that container "olume through .hinese ports
finished ;$;F higher at 4;$2 million ',= from January to &arch$ .oastal ports grew
2$2F, while ri"er ports were ?$8F down, the ministry said$
,uropean ports also witnessed mi*ed results, with the aggregate growth of -orth
,urope/s >otterdam, 6am#urg, Antwerp and (remerha"en reaching 2$?F compared to
a contraction of 1$8F in the first 7uarter of 201?$
<os Angeles-<ong (each and -ew Gor--ew Jersey - the two main =! ports - recorded
a com#ined growth rate of 2$3F in 2014, slightly up from the 2$4F growth recorded in
201?$
In the &iddle ,ast, Je#el Ali port "olumes went up #y 1B$;F year-on-year to ?$2 million
',=, compared to the growth of )ust 2$BF for the whole of 201? o"er 2012$
INCIDENT
44 !issing a'ter #oat sin5s o'' (ala%sia
!i*ty-si* people were missing on Wednesday after an apparently-o"erloaded #oat
carrying Indonesian illegal migrants san in rough waters off &alaysia/s west coast,
authorities said$
+A wooden #oat with 3B Indonesians has sun off 4ort :lang near (anting,+ &ohamad
Huhri, spoesman for the &alaysian &aritime ,nforcement Agency 0&&,A1, told A%4,
adding that ?1 had #een rescued after the o"ernight disaster$
+'he Indonesians were trying to enter &alaysia illegally #y crossing the &alacca
!traits,+ he said, referring to the #usy shipping lane #etween &alaysia and Indonesia/s
!umatra island$
'he #oat san not far from shore, offering hope that more sur"i"ors might ha"e made it
to land, said &ohamad 6am#ali Gaaup, head of the &&,A office at 4ort :lang,
&alaysia/s main port$
+It san close to land$ We #elie"e the #oat was o"ercrowded and the sea was rough
during the incident,+ he added$ 0A%41
HI-TECH
*artsila engines success'ull% pass i!portant
!ilestone tests
(oth the Wartsila AB2 and the Wartsila A22 two-stroe engines ha"e recently
successfully passed important tests that "erify "arious performance criteria$
'he 'ype Appro"al 'est 0'A'1 for the Wartsila AB2 too place at the premises of
Wartsila/s licensee, @oosan ,ngine .o <td, in .hangwon, !outh :orea$ 'his was
followed #y a successful !ea 'rial carried out #y @alian !hip#uilding Industry
.orporation$
In passing the 'A', the engine is "erified as ha"ing fulfilled all classification society
re7uirements and is therefore fully introduced to the maret$ An important feature of the
testing was meeting the !8<A! 0!afety of <ife at !ea1 standards$ With a single engine
powering the propeller, the engine must #e capa#le of continuous operation under all
conditions$
Also the first Wartsila A22 engine has successfully passed its %actory Acceptance 'est
0%A'1$ 'his milestone "erifies that the engine fulfils the design criteria for performance
and functioning and that it has #een accepted #y #oth the customer, :ylades &aritime
.orporation, as well as #y the classification society @et -orse 5eritas$ 'he tests were
carried out at the 6yundai 6ea"y Industries ,ngine and &achinery @i"ision 066I - ,&@1
factory in !outh :orea, where a series of four engines is #eing produced under license
from Wartsila for :ylades$ 'he engines ha"e #een ordered to power four 11; Aframa*
4roduct .arriers #eing #uilt #y the 66I Cunsam shipyard$
(oth the Wartsila AB2 and A22 engines feature Wartsila/s second-generation "ersion of
its well pro"en, electronically controlled, common rail system with time controlled fuel
in)ection, Wartsila said in a press release$ 'his pro"ides e*cellent fuel efficiency and
relia#ility, as well as lower operational costs$ 'he Wartsila Ceneration A engines also
feature a higher stroe to #ore ratio than the >'-fle* engines, thus achie"ing lower
engine speed and lower #rae specific fuel consumption$ 'he fuel in)ection and cylinder
lu#rication are controlled #y a single electronic module, part of the state-of-the-art
=-I.-fle* control system, which is #ased on Wartsila/s =-I. 0=nified .ontrols1
platform$
SHIPPING DATA
"ALTI) E6)HANGE
Market snapshot: 11:30 GMT
Dry Index BDI 858 -22
Capesize Index BCI 1! -1"
#ana$ax Index B#I 51% -28
&'pra$ax Index B&I !2% -1
(andysize Index B(&I %% -%
E6)HANGE RATES
)e* +ork ,T'e C-s.
/0n C'rren1y 2&D in /0n
in 2&D C'rren1y
Britain ,#o'nd. 13"55 0358"8
Canada ,Do--ar. 03"200 1308"
China ,+'an. 03125 31533
4'ro 1335%3 03!38%
India ,5'pee. 0301 033320
Indonesia ,5'piah. 0300008% 11"23300
6apan ,+en. 0300"!8! 10231800
)or*ay ,7rone. 031! 53"""8
#hi-ippines ,#eso. 030228 %338800
#o-and ,8-oty. 0332 33000
5'ssia ,5'9-e. 03028! 3%3830
&in0apore ,Do--ar. 03!"!3 1325%2
2kraine ,(ry:nia. 030850 113!53