The American Club has released its latest loss prevention guidance ‘Bunkering – A Compendium’, together with website access to a comprehensive approach to loss prevention initiatives demanded by new regulations and generally by supplying guidance on operations and management.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada discusses a capsize incident where the tug George H Ledcor was towing another barge and resulted to the former’s capsize. The event resulted to a seriously injured crewmember and an unknown quantity of oil spill.
The George H Ledcor, on August 13th 2018, was towing the loaded gravel barge Evco 55, with the assist tug Westview Chinook pushing to an unloading facility in the north arm of the Fraser River, British Columbia.
According to Gard P&I Club, the 2019/20 Brown Marmorated Stink Bug season has arrived and ships arriving in New Zealand and Australia from countries with established stink bug populations must prepare for increased surveillance and inspection. Last season, New Zealand turned away four contaminated vessels from its waters.
The Leading Maritime Capitals report for 2019 is out, with fresh insight on which maritime metropolises provide the best support for companies in shipping and related services.
Criteria include soft and hard infrastructure and access to world-class talent and services – all key components that maritime businesses need to thrive in their chosen locations.
Singapore maintained its top position at the head of the 15 leading maritime capitals.
Despite a somewhat weak trade cycle in traditional shipping and offshore oil and gas markets yet to recover, Singapore was able to retain its lead in three of the five pillars of the ranking: Shipping, Ports and Logistics as well as Attractiveness and Competitiveness.
This article addresses five common deficiencies that Sector Houston-Galveston Port State Control Officers (PSCOs) have fund on liquefied gas carriers. In 2018, Sector Houston-Galveston conducted 141 Certificate of Compliance (COC) exams on liquefied gas carriers, seven of which resulted in IMO detentions. This equates to a 5% detention ratio, which is more than double the national average for IMO detentions in 2018 (1.5 %). Some combination or other of the below listed deficiencies were cited in all of the Sector’s aforementioned gas carrier detentions. The purpose of this article is to share information and prompt owners, operators, surveyors and other involved parties to take proactive steps to identify and correct sub-standard safety and environmental stewardship conditions before Coast Guard port state control intervention, including COC removal, cargo cessation and/or detentions, becomes necessary.
The British Ports Association (BPA) has published its new sustainability charter which commits to supporting the dual aims of a strong and healthy environment and a thriving economy.
Astonishingly, 90 percent of the UK population lives within 30 miles of the coast, and no part of the UK is more than 70 miles from it. The Charter notes action underway for shoreside power with some British ports having already installed shoreside power for smaller vessels such as fishing boats and leisure craft. For the majority of ports, particularly those handling large vessels such as cruise ships and large cargo vessels, the installation cost is currently prohibitively high. However, all major ports in England (and many others in the rest of the UK) will have produced air quality plans that include assessments on shoreside power by May 2019. Continue reading “British Ports Association rolls out its sustainability charter”
Professional mariners and fishermen in charge of commercial ships are covered by alcohol limits but there is a loophole for those in the leisure sector.
The British Ports Association (BPA) has called for new legislation to introduce alcohol limits for non-professional mariners, replicating the rules that already exist for commercial ships in British waters.
Commenting on the anomaly, the BPA’s Chief Executive, Richard Ballantyne, said:
“As it is Maritime Safety Week its right that we revive the debate around the gap in legislation regarding alcohol limits for non-professional mariners. We understand there will be technical challenges to overcome and also that enforcement will not be easy but it cannot be right in this day and age that such a sizeable section of our maritime sector is exempt from drink-drive rules. There have been too many occasions when alcohol has endangered lives in the maritime environment, both within and outside ports and harbours.”
Professional mariners and fishermen in charge of commercial ships are covered by alcohol limits but there is a loophole for those in the leisure sector.
Estimates suggest that as many as 80 boats were destroyed and pontoons washed away at Holyhead Marina as Storm Emma hit the north Welsh coastline with violence.
The RNLI said it had to launch its own inshore lifeboat just to get a crew to its larger vessel in Holyhead in Thursday night’s force 12 gale.
“There is considerable damage and disruption at the marina, so, for now, we will stay berthed within the inner harbour, ready to respond – slower than usual, but able – to a shout,” said the RNLI team.
Kidde Fire Protection has issued a Product Management Bulletin 171b in which it is recalling the hardware replacement of cylinders used in its HFC227 and NOVEC 1230 fire extinguishing systems. All ECS 2-inch Cylinder-Valve assemblies complete with Clean Agent that were shipped for marine applications during the period 16 January 2015 until 31 December 2016 are to be replaced.
The 2-inch valve used on the Kidde Chemical Agent Cylinder-Valve assemblies has four retainer screws in its piston design. Kidde Fire Protection realized that some valves, with one or more of these retainer screws not tightened to the required torque specification, may have escaped the production and inspection process into shipping.
Liberia Maritime Authority issues an advisory notice for the safe transport of bauxite
The Liberia Maritime Authority has released a Marine Advisory notice to provide guidance for the safe transport of bauxite. It also gives the potential risks regarding the carriage of certain Group A bauxite in bulk due to its potential to undergo dynamic separation.
After the investigation into the loss of the M.V. BULK JUPITER in 2015 with a cargo of bauxite, IMO published CCC.1/Circ.2 on Carriage of Bauxite that may liquefy. At the time, bauxite was listed in the IMSBC Code as a Group C cargo (cargoes neither liable to liquefy- Group A or possess chemical hazards Group B).
For a more peer reviewed report on the nature of bauxite cargoes and to develop a globally applicable transportable moisture limit (TML) test for bauxite cargoes, the Global Bauxite Working Group (GBWG) was established in 2016.
Guidelines for ensuring the safe carriage of cocoa butter in freight containers
Members of the CINS Organisation (the Cargo Incident Notification System) have issued guidance and guidelines for the carriage of cocoa butter in freight containers, under the principles set out in the IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code).
Nature of cocoa nutter cargo
Cocoa butter is derived from whole cocoa beans which are fermented, roasted, and then separated. About 54–58% of the residue is cocoa butter, containing 57-64% of saturated fats and 43-36% unsaturated fats. Cocoa butter becomes soft and malleable at 30-32°C and can melt at 37°C. Having become warm or molten, it can retain the latent heat and remain in such a condition down to as low as 17°C.
Rolls-Royce will supply the tug boat sector with its first hybrid propulsion arrangement for installation to a multi-purpose tractor tug undergoing construction for Baydelta Maritime LLC. The vessel is being built at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, in Washington State, U.S.A.
The order represents the first hybrid tug using proven Rolls-Royce hybrid technology, the first installation of a hybrid system for Nichols Brothers and the first hybrid tug designed by Jensen Maritime, Crowley Maritime Corp’s Seattle-based naval architecture and engineering firm.
