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Welcome to this 131st edition of Maritime Monday.

You can find Maritime Monday 81 here. (Published 22 October 2007)

You can find last week’s edition here.

You can find links to all the previous editions at the bottom of this post. You are encouraged to participate using the comment link/form at the bottom of the post. If you have photos or stories to tell, do email me at fred@gcaptain.com.

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This Week’s Photos:

This week’s photos come from the website of J. Poulsen Shipping A/S:

J. Poulsen Shipping enjoys a world-wide reputation, confidence, flexibility and exactness. To J. Poulsen Shipping no tasks are too small, too big or too special - and we always strive for being ahead in the market, and we shall do so in the future.

Ship’s Agency - From our strategic Nordic residence J. Poulsen Agency team carries out all services concerning ship’s agency, stevedoring, forwarding and warehousing in the area of Korsør. For vessels passing through the Great Belt, great care is also taken in the arrangements of crew change and transport of stores. For foreign companies operating temporarily in the area supply of personnel, rendering of office facilities and housing are also included in the service.

Ship’s Chartering and Operating - By years of managing a fleet of modern, multipurpose vessels from 1000 to 8000 ts dwcc as well as chartering for several regular charterers and shipowners, the J. Poulsen Shipping Chartering team know their business through and through. And to meet all demands they also operate professionally with time chartering and freight contracting.

M/V PATRIA - Loading Russian Spaceshuttle “BURAN” from Sydney to Bahrain.

M/V PATRIA - Loading Russian Spaceshuttle “BURAN” from Sydney to Bahrain.

M/V PANCALDO - Vestas windmills from Leixoes to Caldera

M/V PASSAT - loading catamaran (45m long) from Brisbane to Rotterdam.

M/V Palmyra - Loading Viking Ships in Oslo for Bahamas.

M/V Pancaldo loading compressors and turbines in Marina di Carrara.

Their homepage can be found here.

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This Week’s Items:

EagleSpeak has “Arming Merchants?” and “Somalia: Pirates threaten to blow up ship loaded with tanks“.

Also be sure to check out EagleSpeak’s weekly series “Sunday Ship History: U.S. Navy’s Birthday“.

gCaptain has “Naval Architecture - Designing A Quiet Ship.” and “Mobile Offshore Base: Theory or Reality“.

Lloyd’s List has the mess that has been encountered when trying to fight back: “Navies faced with tricky rules in bid to punish pirates“.

Journal of Commerce has “Trade gap narrows“.

Mr. Boat Blog has a violation of the ‘Law of gross tonnage’ as he links to photos of a collision between a 40 foot sailboat and the world’s largest sailing vessel, the MALTESE FALCON in “Bonehead Move!” So, who do you think was at fault? You would not get that close to a cargo ship, so why would you get that close to a sailship that is just as large?

BitterEnd looks at the rules that come into play with the MALTESE FALCON collision in “The Rules, but again.” One of the reader comments there also notes that a harbor pilot was onboard.

Wired’s Danger Room Blog has “Russia to U.S.: Let’s Team up, to Fight Pirates“.

The Stupid Shall Be Punished has ““Safety Harness? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Safety Harness!”“. As always, the comments there are a great discussion on the topic.

Tims Times posts a photo from his archives of him inside a VLCC Tanker’s cargo tank. You can bet that it was not easy for him to get to that spot.

Infidel Bloggers Alliance wonders “Hijacked Ship A Dirty Bomb Meant For Israel?“. The ship is the IRAN DEYANAT whose cargo is reportedly being blamed for the deaths of over a dozen pirates who were exposed to it. Recent news reports state that the pirates have released the ship.

Information Dissemination has more on the DEYANAT “Mystery “Death Ship” Released From Somalian Pirates“. I suspect that the US Navy will board the ship. I also suspect that they won’t tell us they did, unless they find something so disagreeable that they seize it.

Information Dissemination also has an update on the hijacked ship full of tanks in “5th Fleet Focus: MV Faina Ultimatum“.

Scandinavian Shipping Gazette has the story and photos of the hijacking of the LEHMANN TIMBER: “PIRACY SPECIAL: A 54-day visit in hell“.

“I was at the stern and saw them at a distance of 2–3 cable lengths. When one of the boats reached us the hijackers began shooting with machine guns. The captain tried to manoeuvre the vessel to create a wave to repel the boats, but as we were moving slowly and with low free board, we basically couldn’t do anything to prevent their approach. We sent out the distress signal a minute or two before they boarded the ship. First they rushed the bridge and ordered us to stop the engines. That was about as much they could say in English, at least their leader.”

Kennebec Captain has photos of a tight squeeze in “Rotterdam - narrow bridge“.

BreakBulk has “Crowley orders 8 more heavy-lift barges“. Why build a heavy-lift ship if you only need a barge, right?

ISRAEL WITHOUT IFS OR BUTS has “Russian naval task force arrives in Libya“. The Russians are headed to Somalia but they don’t seem to be in a rush to get there.

An Unofficial Coast Guard Blog has “International Coast Guard News in Review #2“.

Professional Mariner has the story: “Using novel methods, Titan faces a prodigious salvage challenge“. The wreck was the NEW CARISSA.

Sea * Fever has “Was marine debris the culprit in the sinking of Irish Tall Ship Asgard II?” and “Will Box Ships Need Bail Out?“.

MarineBuzz has “Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09: To Complete in June 2009“.

The Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 is finally ready to commence on October 11. The 10th edition of the Volvo Ocean race is considered as the world’s premier global race and as one of the most demanding team sporting events in the world.

MarineBuzz also has “Singapore Maritime Week 2008: Massive Participation by International Maritime Community“.

Bob Couttie’s Maritime Accident Casebook has been suffering some problems with their web hosting company which had them offline for a while. They are now back up, so be sure to show your support by checking out “Harry Pottering An Oil Rig“.

Hawsepiper has “get thee gone!” as he progresses in his training to become a deck officer and comes to celestial navigation.

The Merchant Marine Express is in New Orleans with the ship getting some work done in “Ship’s Business“.

Shirlaw News Group has “Fedra crew rescued as vessel breaks up“. gCaptain is also covering with “Incident Photo Of The Week - M/V FEDRA” and links to a slideshow with many more dramatic photos.

Maritime Compass notes that President Kennedy’s sailboat MANITOU is up for sale in “Any Takers?“

BBC News has “North Sea workers face tax bills“. It all depends on the type of vessel you are working on out there.

Master of Towing Vessels Association Forum has “Death on the River Clyde: a tug is tripped and three men are lost in Scotland.“. (Found via Kennebec Captain)

Here’s another accident report that all hands should read and heed. Svitzer Marine’s tug Flying Phantom was assisting the M/V Red Jasmine, a 738-foot bulker, up the River Clyde to the port of Glasgow, Scotland after dark and in dense fog, when it got out of shape and was then tripped (or girted, as they say in the British Isles) and sunk. Only the mate managed to get out of the wheelhouse alive.

MarineLog has “Double pay for ship crews in pirate danger zone“.

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Blank Rome (Counselors at Law) has “After the Casualty: Collecting and Preserving Evidence” and “Liability of Shipyards – Buyers Beware“.

Helsingin Sanomat has “Tighter emission standards for ships could cost Finland in excess of EUR 800 million - Price-tag only became clear to politicians last week“.

The additional costs relating to tighter regulations on ship emissions on the Baltic Sea and the North Sea have come as a surprise to the representatives of Finnish industry, shipping companies, and the government alike.

BBC News has video: “Is a container just a container?“.

noonsite has “Practical and Legal Implications of the Carriage of Firearms” on a yacht. (Found at Snowflakes in Hell)

Ocra Marine has “Copenhagen Sets Sights On Becoming Global Shipping Centre“. I am ready and willing to relocate to Copenhagen to write Maritime Monday from there!

MarEx Newsletter has “Shortsea Shipping Concept Gather Steam: New Grants and Initiatives Revive Much-Needed Transport Mode ” and “Basic Safety Training at 50“.

Coast Guard Report has “Deepwater - Pretty sure we’re not doing so well“.

CDR Salamander has “Maritime Strategy Monday: the next Pentagon?” A Pentagon under the control of a theoretical Obama Administration.

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Lloyd’s List Newsroom Blog has “Crew Crisis“.

EVEN as the shipping industry frets over the prospect of newbuilding cancellations, just how it is going to crew those that do actually get delivered remains a major question.

Lloyd’s List also has “Brokers predict more ‘zero dollars’ fixtures” as a bulk ship is chartered at no cost other than fuel and port costs.

Jotman has “World Bank - FAO report: solution to overfishing crisis“.

The Seattle Times has “The biggest fishery for Seattle-based trawler fleets is likely to face cuts next year as the pollock population declines.” Can the Bering Sea Fishery be saved?

Times of Malta has “Half of the tuna caught last year was illegal“.

The Boston Globe has “Getting lease for oil drilling is just the start“.

Inside the Atlantic Cod Fishery: “Although I graduated with a major in geology, my true passion is for oceans and environmental sustainability more than for rocks (although I still like the rocks a lot too). I am exploring this passion through a year-long adventure across the North Atlantic to study cod fish, fishing, and fisheries.” - Homepage

American Steel Cargo Containers Blog has some tips and warnings if you plan on making a survival shelter in “Ocean Containers To Bury“.

Trade and Logistics Malaysia has “FREE ON BOARD (FOB)“. Most items you buy, you obtain ownership when you pay the cashier at the store. But what happens if you are purchasing goods from a factory halfway around the world? Well, there are different stages in the trip where the transfer of ownership of goods can occur. It can be anywhere from the factory to your door and is agreed upon beforehand. FOB is one of those points.

Hellenic Shipping News has “Bankruptcy threat stalks Asian shipyards“. The country most at risk, China.

Robin Storm - In Search of Severe Weather has “Marine Debris Will Likely Worsen In The 21st Century“.

Tugster has photos of the Royal Dutch Navy sub WALRUS in New York Harbor in “Government Boats 9“.

The Pacific Northwest Coast Guard Blog (Official USCG Blog) has “An Average Buoy Tender Trip“.

Deep Water Writing looks at the US Coast Guard’s STCW 95 endorsement in “The fine print“.

THE PRIVATE ISLANDS BLOG has “New York Private Island Sold For $88M“.

Sailor Girl has a photo: “The Ships Washer in action!“.

Bills of lading has “Two balls and a diamond in between“.

SteelJaw Scribe has “Scratch Hong Kong off the Liberty Port List…“.

WebUrbanist has “12 Historic Abandoned Boats, Ships and Docks“.

The Monitor has the first Liquefied Natural Gas fueled cargo ships. They were ordered by Norway’s Sea Cargo Lines in “Norwegians get gassy“.

The Horses Mouth has a photo of something worse than a crashing stock market: “The Stock Market Blues.“

Gavin’s Blog has “What happened to the Georgian navy?“. (Found at Wired’s Danger Room Blog)

Georgian Navy Ship DIOSKURIYA

Christiaan Conover has “Training Ship Name Change“.

certainly there are jokes and such being made about naming a ship after a man who had an accident involving the water, and other jokes related to that. However, there have also been positive comments about the fact that it may help bring the school some more publicity.

It’s good to know that they are joking about it because you know everyone else is going to joke about it as well.

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Haight’s Maritime Items has:

IMO – joint approaches to Somalia piracy - The IMO issued a news release stating that Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos met with representatives of major maritime industry groups and agreed on joint approaches to the problems presented by the ongoing Somalia piracy. They called for sustained coordination between all naval forces operating in the area; clear rules of engagement; and an extension of the United Nations Security Council resolution enabling States to enter Somalia’s territorial waters and use all necessary means in order to repress acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, consistent with relevant international law. (10/10/08). - Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage (Used with Permission)

AND:

NOAA – speed restrictions to reduce threats to right whales - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) promulgated regulations implementing speed restrictions of no more than 10 knots applying to all vessels 65 feet (19.8 meters) or greater in overall length in certain locations and at certain times of the year along the east coast of the United States. The purpose of the regulations is to reduce the likelihood of deaths and serious injuries to endangered North Atlantic right whales that result from collisions with ships. If deviation from the 10-knot speed limit is necessary, a detailed entry regarding the deviation must be made in the ship’s logbook and that entry must be signed by the master. The rules come into effect on December 9. 73 Fed. Reg. 60173 (October 10, 2008). - Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage (Used with Permission)

Fairplay Daily News has:

Swedish shipping seen left out - SWEDEN is preparing to spend 417Bn kroner ($59Bn) on infrastructure over the next decade, but the maritime system has been largely left out, according to Berit Blomqvist, MD of the country’s shipbrokers’ association.

Shipping has always paid for investments needed to maintain and develop its infrastructure through fairway charges applied to ships in Swedish waters.

“We find it hard to see that this arrangement could change in a radical way,” Blomqvist declared in an article in Sydsvenska Dagbladet, Malmo’s daily newspaper.

The report cites only a possibility of “partial finance” from the government for the sector, she added.

Blomqvist called for an inquiry into bottlenecks that prevent sea transport not being used to a greater extent.

Investigators should also compare the use of public funding to build and maintain roads and railways against budgets for maritime infrastructure upgrades, she said. - Fairplay Homepage (Used with Permission)

AND:

Ships seen topping out at 15,000teu - ANOTHER major step upwards in the size of box ships is unlikely despite new studies and designs for much larger ships, according to Ocean Shipping Consultants. Speaking yesterday at Informa’s Boxship conference in Hamburg, director Andrew Penfold said: “We are at the limit of what we can handle in the ports.”

A move from 6,800teu to 12,500teu still offers a 25% saving in slot costs, but a further upgrading to 20,000teu would hardly produce any more efficiencies, he revealed.

“Negative issues” associated with these ships, such as increased turnaround times in the ports, would “offset the economies of scale when at sea”, Penfold warned.

Further, a 20,000teu ship shuttling between two super-hubs in Europe and Asia would have to spend about a week in port to load and discharge, based on a call size of 26,500teu, Penfold pointed out. This would eradicate productivity gains from sheer size.

Thus, he declared: “The 15,000teu vessel will be the VLCC of the container trade.”

The only vessels of super-size now operating are Maersk Line’s E-Class ships, although the carrier itself lists the official capacity at 11,600teu.

Penfold also predicted a few tough years for box shipping because of the world economic slump, with a downturn in both charter and freight rates likely to last until 2011. - Fairplay Homepage (Used with Permission)

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Submissions for future editions:

Please submit articles for inclusion in next week’s edition using the following submit form at Blog Carnival. You are also welcome to email stories and photos to fred@gcaptain.com for inclusion in future editions as well as suggest areas of coverage.

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Previous Editions: As linked below or click on the tag ‘Maritime Monday’ for all gCaptain editions.

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Here are a list of 10 things that you should remember if you are shipwrecked. The list comes from Yan Martel’s prize-winning novelLife of Pi, via listverse.com

1. Always read instructions carefully

2. Do not drink urine. Or sea water. Or bird blood

3. Do not eat jellyfish. Or fish that have spikes. Or fish that have parrot like beaks. OR that puff up like balloons.

4. Pressing the eyes of fish will paralysis them.

5. The body can be heroic in battle. If a castaway is injured, beware of well-meaning but ill-founded medical treatment. Ignorance is the worst doctor, while rest and sleep are the best nurses.

6. Put your feet up at least 5 minutes every hour

7. Unnecessary exertion should be avoided. But an idle mind tends to sing. So the mind should be kept occupied with whatever light distraction may suggest itself. Playing card games, twenty questions, and I spy are excellent distractions.

8. Green water is shallower than blue water

9. Beware of far-off clouds that look like mountains. Look for green. Ultimately, a foot is the only good judge of land.

10. Do not go swimming. It wastes energy. Besides, a survival craft may drift faster than you can swim. Not to mention the danger of sea life. If you are hot, wet your clothes instead.

Coast Guard comes to the aid of the Ocean Challenger as the crab fleet listens to the news.

Video of USCG ( United States Coast Guard ) rescue of the crew of the Ocean Challenger which sank during the filming of the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch.

This photo was taken today by Ship Spotter Adrian Perera near Gibraltar. Lloyds List tells us:

EMERGENCY services from Gibraltar and Spain mounted a joint operation last night to save 31 seafarers whose cargo ship, the M/V Fedra, ran aground against Europa Point in severe weather.

By 10.30pm on Friday night three men had been airlifted off by a Spanish rescue helicopter and the rest were huddled on the bow of the vessel awaiting rescue.

But with the ship pounded by waves in the dark, the high winds made the helicopter evacuation both extremely dangerous and difficult.

The 24-year old Liberian old cargo ship Fedra was pinned against the sheer cliffs of Europa Point and the sound of steel grinding against limestone cut through howling gusts of wind of up to 83 km per hour.

The drama started late yesterday morning when the vessel suffered engine failure late and dragged its anchor until it came perilously close to the shore. Read More…

For more dramatic photos of this incident click HERE.

UPDATE:  Reader Jim Crone points us to this photo slideshow from the website DiscoverGibraltar.com

JUST IN: Commentor JKB found video of this incident on YouTube:

M/V SEACOR CHEETAH is a 170 ft. class Catamaran passenger/cargo vessel with the capacity to carry 150 passengers at a top speed in excess of 40 knots.  It is designed to meet the specific demands of the oil and gas industry for crew transport in loop-style routes between high-traffic platforms and shore-base operations.  The Cheetah aims to increase passenger comfort and safety, personnel transport reliability, and dramatically reduce costs.

M/V SEACOR CHEETAH details: [Continue Reading →]

We have some exciting news from the team at KVH Industries. Here’s a clip from their press release:

Taking a major step toward expanding availability of the mini-VSAT Broadband service, KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI) today announced that it has signed a 5-year agreement with GE International Holdings, Inc., (also known as SAT-GE) to lease satellite capacity on its GE-23 satellite to provide coverage in the Pacific Ocean via the satellite’s North Pacific Ku-band Beam. Expected to go live in December 2008, the new coverage area will include Alaska, the west coasts of Canada and the United States, Hawaii and extend into Asia. It represents a significant expansion in the availability of the increasingly popular mini-VSAT Broadband Internet and voice service as well as the latest milestone in the KVH and ViaSat joint effort to provide affordable mobile broadband connections around the globe.

“The extension of mini-VSAT Broadband coverage into the Pacific will allow us to support a significant portion of the world’s shipping lanes, including blue water coverage between Asia and ports in the U.S. and Canada,” said Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH’s chief executive officer.

VSAT is the technology that allowed our founder, John Konrad, to start this site while still shipping. While he was based in the Gulf Of Mexico his drillship utilized this technology to offer wireless internet in the accommodations of his ship. This worked because the vessel had a long term contract within the footprint of a VSAT provider. Ships operating internationally have been less fortunate relying on INMARSAT to relay basic email due to the prohibitively high expense for purchasing the satellite receivers and paying for bandwidth on a metered rate plan. [Continue Reading →]

No this isn’t going to be a post about china’s new submarines…. instead we look at designing ships to be quiet for more relaxing purposes.

Eurodam News, Holland America’s newbuild blog, shares the secret;

When Zuiderdam, the first Vista-class ship, entered service, it quickly became evident that the aft part of the main restaurant had higher-than-usual noise and vibration levels. On all Holland America ships the aft section of the main restaurant is located above the propellers, but on Vista-class ships the main restaurant was located three decks lower and therefore is closer to the propellers.

Fincantieri engaged Danish consulting company Odegaard & Danneskiold-Samsoe to work with the shipyard’s noise and vibration department to develop a solution. They hit on the idea of installing an air-injection system that would create a cushion of air bubbles between the propellers and the hull to absorb some of the noise frequencies that would otherwise be transferred directly to the hull. A similar system had been installed on private yachts before, but the technology had never been tried on a large cruise vessel.

For the rest of the article click HERE.

This article was originally posted in October 2007

Reminder to those of you in the San Francisco Bay Area, starting today is San Francisco’s 2008 Fleet Week.  Officially beginning in 1981, it is an annual event that honors the men and women serving in the United States Navy, Coast Guard and Marines.  A message from San Francisco’s Fleet Week Committee Chairman, Edward M. Leonard, teaches us of its interesting history:

One hundred years ago, in May 1908, 16 US Navy battleships with dozens of escorts and 14,000 sailors entered San Francisco Bay. Called the “Great White Fleet” because the ships were painted white, the fleet remained in San Francisco for two months, departing in July for Hawaii and the remainder of its 14-month cruise around the world. This was San Francisco’s first Parade of Ships and first Fleet “Week”. One of the objectives of the Great White Fleet’s voyage was to ensure that Americans were aware of the reasons for having a strong and capable Navy and to let them see those capabilities first hand. This objective still resonates 100 years later and provides the primary rationale for our annual Fleet Week celebration. [Continue Reading →]

NOAA has announced today the issuance of a regulation that aims to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whales from collisions with large ships.  The regulation will require large vessels to slow to a speed of 10 knots or less when in designated areas along the east coast.  This measure is part of NOAA Fisheries Service’s ship strike reduction efforts that looks to protect this highly vulnerable and endangered species.  NOAA tells us:

With only 300 to 400 in existence, North Atlantic right whales are among the most endangered whales in the world. Slow moving right whales are highly vulnerable to ship collisions, since their migration route crosses major East Coast shipping lanes. Along with existing measures to prevent entanglement of right whales in fishing gear, the new ship strike reduction rule is the most comprehensive approach that NOAA has taken in its effort to help right whales recover.

The 10 knot speed restriction will go into effect in early December and will extend 20 nautical miles around major ports, where 83% of right whale sightings are reported.  The rule also states voluntary speed limits for vessels in areas where 3 or more right whales are known to be gathered.  [Continue Reading →]