Offshore

Two new windfarm service vessels enter service with Esvagt

Posted on by News Hound
Esvagt has taken delivery of two state-of-the-art windfarm service vessels
Esvagt has taken delivery of two state-of-the-art windfarm service vessels

The Danish shipping company, Esvagt, is now introducing the first SOV vessels especially constructed for servicing windfarms.

The first vessel, “ESVAGT FROUDE”, went on contract on Wednesday February 18th, while her sister ship, “ESVAGT FARADAY” is contracted to start at the beginning of April. In both cases they will work as windfarm service vessels for Siemens Wind Power.

The German energy company has provisionally chartered “ESVAGT FROUDE” for a five year contract to service the field and transport personnel during the constructing and operation of the offshore windfarm Baltic 2 and the “ESVAGT FARADAY” for similar jobs for the Butendiek project in the northern part of the Germany provisionally for a 10 year contract.

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Mariners Alerting and Reporting Scheme (MARS)

Posted on by News Hound
Mariners Alerting and Reporting Scheme (MARS)
Mariners Alerting and Reporting Scheme (MARS)

What is MARS?

There is an important free resource available to the whole of the shipping industry that makes a major contribution to safety and that surveyors can help to improve. This is the Mariners Alerting and Reporting Scheme (MARS) operated by The Nautical Institute. MARS is a free resource and The Nautical Institute hopes that surveyors will help to make its existence known to the maritime world. The Nautical Institute wants as many mariners and, indeed, as many in shipping as possible, to benefit from lessoned learned from accidents and near misses. Surveyors can spread the word to let mariners and companies know the resource is there.

The background to MARS is known to all; across the major transportation modes and in many other fields, human error looms as the leading cause of both accidents and incidents. In recent years, the definition of human error has been expanded to include concepts such as unsafe supervision and organisational influences (e.g. resource management and operational processes). In the maritime industry approximately 90 percent of accidents can be traced to human error despite the promotion of regulations, training and quality management systems.

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Deepsea and underwater surveys

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The Relevance of Deep Sea and Underwater Surveys

Over 90 per cent of the world’s global trade is carried by commercial deep sea vessels. On any given day there are over 300 commercial, ocean-going vessels in B.C. waters loading and unloading a wide range of cargoes. Whether it be for a tanker, container, bulk or break bulk ship, deep sea vessel surveyors perform a number of services that require a complex skill set based on training, experience and practical problem-solving abilities. Before tackling the issue of qualifications, however, it’s worthwhile to look at the many aspects of deep sea vessel surveying — and with the help of Capt Andrew Korek, Phoenix Marine Services — an added perspective of the even more specialized work of underwater surveys.

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My exciting voyage with Clipper

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Mike on the clipper 68It was a dream come true when I got the opportunity to join the Clipper 68 boats as a Delivery Crew member from Cape Town to Albany (Western Australia). While undergoing my Ocean Graduates Course to qualify as a Yacht Master Coastal at the Isle of Wight, we were told about the Clipper yachts and the thrills and adventures associated with them. I was always fascinated with stories that those sailors told about racing on Clipper boats. In the past I wondered if I would ever be able to experience all those thrills and adventures.

It was a God sent opportunity when I communicated with two gentlemen who assisted me in joining a Clipper yacht for a delivery voyage. They were none other than Mr John Lawrence and Mr Peter Lambert, both from the International Institute of Marine Surveying. It was a start of a great on-the-job learning experience I’d never thought about. Yes there were many questions in my mind regarding the yacht and the delivery trip; the main being: “Will I be able to accomplish it?” It was the first time I was going to sail with such a professional and experienced crew and it being my first ever Ocean Crossing, which is termed as one of the harshest legs of the Clipper round the world race.

It was a long journey from Mumbai. The day came when I was in the City of Good Hope – none other than Cape Town. The moment I saw the yachts, CV5 and CV10, at the V&A Waterfront Marina, it was a sight that I can never forget. Finally I was going to step on to Clipper yachts, one of the elite and prestigious names in the yachting industry.

The first three days at Cape Town were pretty much routine with the basic introduction of the boat by the Skipper and Mate along with one other crew members who were already on board. It was the time to familiarize myself with the yacht, CV5. Other crew members (including two elderly ladies) joined the boat from their luxurious hotel rooms, which they had taken up after their long trip from the UK to Cape Town. Two of the crew members were previous year’s Clipper race winning boat crew on the Gold Coast. It felt like there is really a lot more to learn other than just the academics that I did in the UK. Continue reading “My exciting voyage with Clipper”

Maritime Labour Convention 2006: Are you a “shipowner” under your charterparty?

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The Symbol of The ILO's Maritime Labour Convention 2006
The ILO’s Maritime Labour Convention 2006

Nick Wilcox, Senior Associate and Albert Levy, Partner, both of Ince & Co LLP, Partner, debate the vagaries and confusion surrounding one aspect of the Maritime Labour Convention.

What’s the issue?

The Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) has been in force internationally since August 2013 and, in that time, it has become clear that it has received widespread ratification, that enforcement is a reality, and that ships run the risk of detention if they are not compliant. However, there has also been a good deal of confusion over the question of “who is the ‘shipowner’?” under the MLC. The answer to the question is important, since it is that person who has the principal burden of ensuring MLC compliance.

In the Maritime Labour Convention, the “shipowner” is defined to mean the owner of the ship or another organisation or person who has assumed responsibility for the operation of the ship from the owner and who in doing so has agreed to take over the duties and responsibilities imposed on shipowners under the MLC. This is the case even if another organisation carries out some of the duties of “shipowner” on its behalf. Therefore, the owner and the “shipowner” may well be different persons or organisations. Note that “shipowner” does not necessarily mean the owner of the ship in the proprietary sense.

Readers could easily be forgiven for being confused by the terminology. Lewis Carroll put it well in Through the Looking Glass: “When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.’ Are you a “shipowner” under your charter party? ‘The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many things.’ ‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master – that’s all.” Continue reading “Maritime Labour Convention 2006: Are you a “shipowner” under your charterparty?”

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