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Maritime Monday 183

Fred
Total Views: 54
October 11, 2009

The following is posted by Fred Fry:

Welcome to this 183rd edition of Maritime Monday.

You can find Maritime Monday 133 here. (Published 27 October 2008)

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 [email protected].

I am currently on a working trip to Greece. So apologies if I have missed a story you expected to see in this week’s edition. Feel free to link additional stories in the comments!

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This Week’s Photos:

This week’s photos come from the author of the maritime website Uglyships.com. I was asked to help in finding out information on the ship AERIA. He covers the vessel in his post “Aeria -Help Needed- (updated & again)“. Here are some comments on the vessel :

* The Questions:

A) Who knows more about the history and the purpose of this odd-looking vessel??
B) Who knows the where-abouts of this odd-looking vessel??
C) Who can shine a light on the future of this odd-looking vessel??

* Toni – According my knowledge: The ship is still at the harbor of my home-town Turku, Finland. Very little is written about that… What I’ve seen in local papers; it is still owned by Russians, harbor fees are unpaid (ship is abandoned), so my hometown Port Authorities are thinking what to do with it? – Link

* She is located in Pansio-harbour. Lat: 60.4423277 Lon: 22.1523745 (Turku, Finland)

picture-2

* Screenshot from http://virtualglobetrotting.com (via Uglyships.com) *

Ship+Photo+Aeria

* Photo by PETERT as found on Shipspotting.com *

Ship+Photo+Aeria2

* Photo by PETERT as found on Shipspotting.com *

It looks like the hull is of a normal ship which then was covered by this huge steel bubble. Why?

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This Week’s Items:

EagleSpeak has photos: “Somali Pirates: Protected in a Convoy“.

gCaptain has video: “Royal Caribbean on Revolutionizing Life Boat Design“.

Flags of Convenience has the latest “Arctic Sea: Algeria refuses port call“. This ship just might end up in Russia after all.

Algeria had refused to let the Arctic Sea pass into its territorial waters.

RIA Novosti has more: “Prosecutors confirm Arctic Sea anchored off Gibraltar“.

US Naval Institute has a birthday: “The Naval Institute: 136 Years of Independent Ideas“.

Sowetan has “More than 30 pirates missing“.

Deep Water Writing joins his new ship in Singapore in “Starting at the bottom“.

If it was change that I was looking for than I’ve come to the right place. Everything is different here…everything.

The Danish Maritime Authority has “The 14th session of the IMO Sub-Committee on Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC) was held from 21 to 25 September 2009.” including a discussion recognizing that that not all shipping containers are created equal.

In order to prevent collapses of container stacks when containers with various structural strengths are used, the Sub-Committee agreed to request the ISO to develop marking criteria to further the inclusion of such restrictions in the cargo planning.

MarineBuzz has “Marine Pipelines Repair Kit: HydraWrap System from Hydra Tech” and “Maritime Piracy – Practical Workshop by International Maritime Bureau (IMB)“.

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National Geographic has for it’s 5 October photo of the day: “Atom Bomb Test, Bikini Atoll“.

atom-bomb-bikini-atoll-633178-100509-sw

National Geographic also has for it’s 11 October photo of the day: “Final moments of a Japanese destroyer“.

Lloyd’s List has “Berlian Laju may replace Eitzen European crew“.

BERLIAN Laju Tankers could look to replace some of Camillo Eitzen’s European crew with lower cost seafarers from Asia, following its planned takeover of the Norwegian shipowner.

“We understand that Camillo Eitzen operational costs are high, as it employs expensive all-European crew and subcontracts ship management services to third parties as opposed to the cheaper alternative of internally managing the ships,” an analyst report by CIMB said.

Radio Australia News has “Pacific tuna fishing blacklist expected to grow“.

An international black list of vessels to be banned from tuna fishing in the main Pacific fishery could grow dramatically by year’s end.

Alaska Report has “New Photos Reveal Extreme Bycatch of Crab in Kodiak Island Trawl Fisheries“.

BBC News has “Scallop fishing ban is extended“.

CBC News (Canada) has “Proposed herring changes disastrous: P.E.I. MP“.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans appears to have taken leave of its senses when it comes to protecting the declining herring stocks, says Cardigan MP Lawrence MacAulay.

He said he can’t believe the department may decrease the legal size of herring caught by New Brunswick herring seiners.

The New York Post has “Uproar over shutdown of bass fishery“.

Maritime Information Centre has “Antarctic cruise ships rely on Iridium satellite tracking“.

ShipGaz News has “Clipper staff in tax trouble“.

The Danish tax authorities have caught a number of people employed by the Clipper Group in Copenhagen in an action against Danes with money in tax shelters around the world.

Breakbulk Industry News has “Perishables Persist in the Gulf“.

Most ports handle a mix of breakbulk and containerized chilled cargo. Tampa, however, has decided to tear down its 35-year-old, 150,000-square-foot cold storage facility Harborside, ending shipments of palletized melons, cantaloupes and other perishables at the port. Extending the building’s life would have cost an estimated $3.8 million and was not justified by the seasonal melon business, the only cargo in the facility, said Wade Elliott, the port’s senior director of marketing.

BitterEnd Blog has problems for the official state ship of Washginton State, the LADY WASHINGTON, in “Dirty Girl“.

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Watts Up With That? has “The surprising real story about this year’s Northeast passage transit: The media botched it“. (I had earlier linked to EU Referendum’s related post: “The pictures tell the story“)

But we all know the MSM can’t get much right these days. My guess is that the MSM simply confused the difficult and almost always closed Northwest passage with the Northeast passage.

Watts Up With That? also has “Antarctica’s ice story has been put on ice“.

Bryant’s Maritime Blog remembers: “Hijacking of the Achille Lauro – 7 October 1985“.

On 7 October 1985, four members of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro as it was in the Mediterranean Sea en route from Alexandria, Egypt to Port Said. After the Israeli Government refused their demand for release of 50 imprisoned Palestinians, they killed disabled American passenger Leon Klinghoffer and threw him and his wheelchair overboard. The terrorists surrendered to Egyptian officials and boarded a flight to Tunisia. The flight was intercepted by US Navy fighter aircraft and was forced to land in Italy. The four hijackers were arrested by the Italian Government but their alleged leader, Abu Abbas, was allowed to depart. This incident awakened governments around the world and the IMO to the security threats faced by passenger vessels.

Indigenous Boats has “The Four Roots of Boatbuilding“.

Panbo has “FLIR First Mate, thermal in your hand“.

The Maritime Executive has “Notes from a RAND Workshop to Discuss the Best Approaches for Dealing with Piracy in the 21st Century.

Houston Ship Pilot / photographer OneEighteen has “Three Long, Two Wide“.

3993302096_63d13c7937

Inbound tow on the Houston Ship Channel. Taken at dawn. Looking at the tug’s wake you can see how he compensated for the suction of the passing ship; putting the rudder hard right then hard left to keep the head of the tow pointed straight down the channel.

Towmasters: the Master of Towing Vessels Assoc. Forum has “Communication Breakdown: Standardized Commands Will Improve Tractor Tug Performance & Minimize Errors“.

The Merchant Marine Express posts from sea with “Clear Skies, Bright moon“.

Space War has “Repairs of India-bound Russian sub hit by lack of funds: report“.

Casco Bay Boaters Blog has “Design: Dieselpunk; Love Affair with a Machine“.

Foreign Policy has more Naval Academy Racial allegations in “Meanwhile, back at the military academies“. (Found via Information Dissemination which has it’s own comments)

It’s a stinker, but at this point I can’t tell if I’m the only one upset-to judge from the volume of e-mail from people in the fleet upset at this issue as it plays out there (preferential promotions etc), I’m not alone. Certainly it’s corrupted USNA: we now no longer throw out minorities for honor/conduct violation — the goal is l00% graduation. This seeps through to EVERYBODY. I hear honor cases are closed or delayed (one with a star football player, his Xth infraction, has been postponed indefinitely) etc.

CDR Salamander has more from US Naval Academy Professor Fleming with “Going Beyond “He Said, He Said” on Race-tracking“.

War is Boring has “World Politics Review: Iranian Naval Patrols Mystify Pirate-Hunting Coalition“.

AMVER Blog has video: “What’s It Like Moments Before An Amver Rescue?

The Islomaniac has “Australian surfers Castaway on Desert Island“. It was not planned.

Marenostrum has the news: “SV CHARLES W. MORGAN“.

The Mystic Seaport Board of Trustees voted Saturday and authorized the Museum staff to restore the historic whaling vessel Charles W. Morgan to sailing condition and to plan a ceremonial voyage upon completion of the current multi-million dollar restoration project, while moving forward with a fundraising initiative to support these activities.

The vote, which was unanimous, came after Mystic Seaport conducted its own four-month feasibility study into sailing the Morgan, a registered National Historic Landmark.

Marenostrum also has the “MS GRIPSHOLM“.

The Guardian has “Welsh scallop dredging ban is a victory for common sense“.

IMOWatch has “OBAMA’s USEPA ALLOWS DUMPING OF TOXIC NAVY SHIPS” concerning the ex SS INDEPENDENCE.

According to the information received from reliable sources, the ship SS Oceanic (now named PLATINUM II), a US ship was due to get beached in the Plot No. B-5 Hariyana Shipping Ltd, Right now the ship is in the Bhavnagar anchorage point. The ship has under tow. Indian government has submitted to the IMO that a ship under tow should be pre-contaminated and the Indian Supreme Court has also sought

The ship should be sent back to US in the same way as was done in the case of Le Clemenceau. The US authorities must act before the ship is handed over to Rajiv Reniwal, the owner of Hariyana Shipping Ltd by Anil Sharma, the current owner of ship. It is same owner who misled and made fraudulent representation before the Supreme Court in the matter of the SS Blue Lady (SS Norway)

BarentsObserver has “Only seven scrap-subs left after 2010“. It matters because you’re paying for it.

The Journal of Commerce has “SSA Marine Eyes Advanced Technology“.

SSA Marine plans to make a huge gamble on new container crane technology which, if successful, will revolutionize cargo-handling in the port industry.

The Seattle-based terminal operator is negotiating with China’s Shanghai Zanhua Port Machinery Company, one of the largest manufacturers of container cranes in the world, on a new system of electrified guide rails to move containers throughout the yard at a terminal.

YouTube has posted a maritime ‘action video’: “Nuevas construcciones de Buques

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcL0GErxCY8&feature=channel

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Fairplay Daily News has:

USCG could act on access – SEAFARERS hobbled since 9/11 by onerous shore-leave barriers while docked at US ports could soon get relief from the US Coast Guard.

As previously reported by Fairplay, the USCG had operated under the belief that it had no legal authority to intervene when seafarers were charged exorbitant fees by terminal operators for shore leave access. It believed doing so would violate private property rights.

But a recently completed legal review has determined that the USCG does have the authority to require terminals to provide reasonable access and this issue “may be the subject of a future regulatory change”, stated a just-released USCG internal directive.

According to a June 2009 study by the Seamen’s Church Institute of New York and New Jersey, seafarers’ access to shore leave escort services varies greatly from terminal to terminal, with some charging steep escort fees that essentially restrict crew to their ships.

The survey also revealed that seafarers are sometimes confused about escort policies, “in some instances leading them to abandon seeking shore leave at all”, the survey noted. – Fairplay Homepage (Used with Permission)

AND:

Iran’s ports to go private next year – IRAN WILL complete its port privatisation process by March 2010, the country’s deputy transport minister has said.

Ali Taheri, who also heads Iran’s Ports and Shipping Organisation, added that private investment in the country’s ports has now reached $1.3Bn.

Iran will rent out all of its Caspian and Gulf ports on 20 or 40-year leases, he told PressTV on Saturday. Local media reports claim the move is aimed at improving logistics infrastructure and port efficiency.

The Tehran Times added the plans are part of a mandate for sweeping privatisations of state-run organisations issued by Ayatollah Khamenei.

Taheri concluded that he expects the capacity of Iran’s oil and merchant fleet to increase from the current 12M tonnes to around 20M tonnes by 2012. – 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 [email protected] 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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