The following is posted by Fred Fry:
Welcome to this 138th edition of Maritime Monday.
You can find Maritime Monday 88 here. (Published 10 December 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 Lauritzen Shipowners (link) :
J. Lauritzen (JL) was founded in 1884 and has been a leading supplier of ocean transport solutions for almost 125 years. During this period, JL has been involved in a broad range of shipping activities consistently focusing on operations that require competence and know-how.
Today, JL’s business activities encompass: Lauritzen Bulkers (dry bulk cargoes), Lauritzen Kosan (liquefied gases), Lauritzen Tankers (oil products and chemicals).
JL’s heritage has allowed us to gain a vast store of experience and know-how in virtually all facets of merchant shipping. This know-how is reflected across the entire range of the Group’s operations, and over time the JL name has evolved into a byword for respectability and trustworthiness in international merchant shipping. Despite working in different fields, JL’s different business activities are linked to one another by a unified business philosophy and a common set of values.
JL has always focused on depth of service. By building operational expertise, our companies are in a position to offer genuinely valuable assistance to customers - a philosophy that allows our customers to concentrate on what they’re good at, while we take care of their transport needs.
Values such as commercial acumen, decency and fair dealing characterize the way JL companies operate around the world and remain firmly anchored at the core of everything we do. - Link
* Grab-fitted Log/Bulker M/V CHARLOTE BULKER *
*Grab-fitted Log/Bulker M/V NORDIC BULKER *
* LPG Carrier TENNA KOSAN *
* LPG Carrier GRETA KOSAN *
* M/T FREJA ATLANTIC *
* Lauritzen Bulker Vessel *
Here is a good five minute video about the company: ‘Oceans of Know-How’.
Their homepage can be found here.
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This Week’s Items:
EagleSpeak has “Somali Pirates and Western Wimpism“.
Also be sure to check out EagleSpeak’s weekly series “Sunday Ship History: The Battle of Tassafaronga“
gCaptain has “The New Hawsepipe - An Interview With Leonard Lambert” who is one of the first to climb up through the hawsepipe under the current STCW 95 rules, all because he saw a huge line at the Coast Guard office and decided to come back the next day, which was the first day that the rules were in effect. A great interview.
Lloyd’s List Newsroom Blog has “Hostage to fortune“.
PIRACY is akin to terrorism on water. Governments should not negotiate with terrorists and they should not negotiate with pirates either. That is why the Sirius Star hijacking presents a diplomatic dilemma for the government of Saudi Arabia. The tanker and its $100m cargo of crude is ultimately owned by the Saudi Arabian government. State oil company Saudi Aramco is the beneficial owner of the very large crude carrier, operated by its shipping arm, Vela International Marine.
Kathimerini (Greece) has a surprising update on the cruiseship SEA DIAMOND sinking with “Error on map ‘sank liner’”.
The new map reportedly shows the reef to be 113 meters away from the island’s coast and not 58 meters as shown on the previous map. The map also determines that the depth of the water at the spot of the collision is 5 meters and not 18 to 22 meters as the original map had indicated.
Kennebec Captain has “The (Unarmed) Defense of the Biscaglia” wondering if it is wise to arm merchant ships against pirates. I guess the first thing to do is to de-brief the security detail involved in the failed defense of the M/V BISCAGLIA to better understand how the defense of the ship failed.
On my own blog Fred Fry International, I have some ideas “On Defending Unarmed Merchant Ships Against Pirates“.
TimesOnline has “Questions of who bears any loss of the Sirius Star’s £68m oil load“. The EXXON VALDEZ oil spill happened in 1989 and is still bouncing around the courts with even the US Supreme Court being involved as late as June of this year. This case would probably be as complicated if not more-so given the multiple jurisdictions that could be involved.
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Some interesting news items concerning the hijacked supertanker SIRIUS STAR. AFP has this Saturday “Somali pirates hope for ‘favourable’ reply for Saudi ship ransom” as the Sunday ransom deadline approached. A couple days earlier, AFP had “Somali pirates urge ‘honest’ talks to free Saudi tanker“.
“We are urging the owners of the Saudi tanker to have an honest dialogue in order to end the crisis,” he said.
“We need them (vessel’s owners) to call their captain and our members on the Sirius Star so we can speed up the negotiations.
Why don’t they call the owners? Earlier in the week, The Telegraph had “Somali pirates treating hijacked crew ‘like prisoners of war’” noting that the pirates had yet to even hear from the vessel’s owners. Which makes me wonder if they ever got in touch with them:
Speaking by telephone from the ship, “Daybad” also said no company, such as the supertanker owners Vela International, had been in contact to negotiate, only people claiming to be intermediaries who “cannot be trusted”.
“We captured the ship for ransom, of course, but we don’t have anybody reliable to talk to directly about it,” he said.
Daybad denied reports that the pirates have demanded $25 million (£16.6 million) for the hostages’ safe release, but would not say how much money was involved.
It is easy enough to find the ship’s satphone number. Might it be that some freelance brokers contacted the ship and fooled the pirates into thinking that they could negotiate on the owner’s behalf? At any rate, these stories indicate some sort of communication problem.
Finally, this morning, one day after the pirate’s stated deadline comes good news with Russia’s RIA Novosti reporting “Somali pirates ‘to free Saudi tanker within 48 hours’“.
CAIRO, December 1 (RIA Novosti) - The Saudi supertanker the Sirius Star, seized by Somali pirates on November 15, will be released within the next two days, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Kenya said on Monday.
Nabil Ashur said in an interview with the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper that his country was optimistic the supertanker and its crew would be released.
The report was confirmed by Saudi Foreign Ministry spokesman Khalid bin Saud bin Khalid.
“We have signals giving us hope for a positive outcome soon,” he said.
He reiterated that the authorities were not in negotiations with the pirates and did not intend to pay a ransom.
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The BBC has good news for the crew of the cargo of the M/V FAINA, the ship full of tanks and weapons: “Pirates ‘to release Ukraine ship’“. Will anyone track to see where the final destination of the cargo really is?
The BBC also has “Libyan Gaza aid ship turns back“
National Security Policy explains the LRAD device that was used with temporary success in the defense of the M/V BISCAGLIA in “Technology against Pirates“.
GMA News has “Cargo ship sinks off Corregidor; 17 rescued“. The ship was the M/V S-1 SKY.
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Balkan Insight has long-overdue good news with “Croatian Captain Acquitted in Greece“.
After spending 16 months in a Greek prison, an appeal court in the town of Patras on Thursday found the Croatian ship captain Kristo Laptalo not guilty of smuggling cocaine from Ecuador.
Laptalo was arrested in July 2007 after his cargo ship the “Coral Sea” sailed into the Greek port of Egion.
Seems that he might have been better off being captured by terrorists. As a reminder, the story mentions how he got into trouble:
The prosecution claimed and the judicial council accepted the argument that Laptalo as captain had to know everything that was going on on the ship, including the content of the cargo it was carrying.
It also claimed that it was “illogical that someone would send cocaine without any control over it”. They said that the claim by the Ecuadorian police that they had inspected the cargo before the ship sailed proved that the drugs were loaded onto the ship somewhere in the open sea.
The Press and Journal (UK) has “Trawler had lucky escape after collision with ship - Only good fortune prevented boat from capsizing, say accident investigators“. The mate on watch was busy making chart corrections…
The Inverness-based ship Scot Venture collided with the Fraserburgh trawler Golden Promise in the Moray Firth because the officer on watch was not paying attention.
The accident happened in clear conditions, in broad daylight, four miles north of Buckie.
Newsweek has “Sharks In the Water - How to finally rid the seas of Somalia’s growing pirate problem.” Somalia’s failed state is partly to blame. Does this mean that today’s pirate problem can be traced back to President Clinton’s decision to pull out of Somalia?
I miss this Friday’s Whale Wars but looking at a couple forums: gCaptain, and ‘Bloody Decks‘ for example, the show is good for two reasons: 1) the Sea Shepherd crew is dangerously incompetent and 2) watching their incompetence is highly entertaining. I look forward t getting caught up this next Friday, where they apparently get to put their engineering skills to use in tackling a main engine casualty. Hell, the ship’s crew is even getting trashed on the show’s own forums here.
Of Arms and the Law has “High-tech shipping sets up vessels for pirate attack” wondering if pirates are targeting ships by taking advantage of the ship’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) signaling which announce each vessels position and course details, among other things. As the post notes, and as noted before in Maritime Monday, MarineTraffic.com is a great free site to view AIS vessel tracking.
Keep in mind that just because there is no AIS coverage for an area does not mean that the system is not working there, only that there is nobody uploading the information to the internet. Ships broadcast this information 24/7.
twest820 has “thieving for open water on the edge of the cryosphere“.
Travelling the Northwest Passage by kayak is about many things. But sea ice is what dominates the journey’s feasibility. No open water, no kayaking. Where things get complicated is how much open water one needs to be able to paddle between two resupply points before running out of food or summer.
Bob Couttie’s Maritime Accident Casebook has “If Today’s Pilots Think They’ve Got It Tough…” noting that in old-time Europe, a mistake could cost you your head.
BreakBulk Industry News has “Twin Marine Lifter deliveries delayed“.
Information Dissemination has “Russia and India Reach Final Stage in Gorshkov Negotiations” pointing out Russia’s limited options and the leverage that India probably has over Russia in the end in getting a much better deal for the carrier.
CBS5 has “Judge Dismisses Countersuit By Cosco Busan Owner“. They sued blaming the State for the accident, for issuing the Pilot his license. This is just one piece of a very complicated legal puzzle.
The Sydney Morning Herald has “Cruise ship fired on by pirates“. The ship is the OCEANIA NAUTICA with over 1,000 passengers and crew.
The Earth Times has “Pirates leave hijacked Yemeni ship without ransom: Owner“. The ship is the ERIN.
MarineLog has “Golden Gate District to buy two mothballed WSF ferries“.
MarineBuzz has “Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre Launched in Melbourne” and “Danish Cargo Ship Groundings from 2000 to mid 2008: Safety Study by DMA“.
The Monitor has photos of the hull-jarring launch of the Chinese-made LPG Carrier HONG YUE in “Sink or swim“. Really, how hard would it have been to make a simple slipway? The photos make me want to ask, where is the video? (And a post-launch hull survey)
The Pilot Boat lists “The Top 5 (by special request…)” ships that he has enjoyed piloting into/out of port.
Hellenic Shipping News has “Coming soon: a pay cut for Indian ship officers“.
It is nearing pay-cut time for officers operating ships as owners look at ways to trim operating expenses and stay profitable in a falling freight market. Many ship owners have internally started discussing this unpopular move, which would become public in the coming days. With freight rates plunging to the lowest levels in years because of the credit squeeze and declining global trade, owners feel this action is essential to prevent shipping companies going bust. Firms losing money from operating ships are looking to cut at least 20-25% from the salary of an individual officer hired to operate ships.
This is probably a sign that these companies will go under anyway and surely they will be the ones most avoided if possible. Also, this is an odd development for an industry that has been talking about a growing shortage of officers.
IMC Brokers has a summary of “Registering a vessel in Belgium“. Just in case you were wondering what was involved. Of course, you’ll also make sure that your crew has the proper Belgium licenses/endorsements.
IceNews has “Cod stocks at the centre of discussions between EU and Norway“. One goal is to stop the idiotic practice of throwing away by-catch fish.
BarentsObserver has “Norway launches Arctic logistics centre“.
Last week I linked to a story that claimed that the Somali pirates were receiving training from the Iranians. Now Middle East Online has “Piracy in the Red Sea: Saudi points towards Israel - Columnists fear that a plan is underway for ‘internationalization’ of security in the Red Sea.” One of the claims is that the piracy is being done partly to punish Egypt as ships respond by going around Africa, shunning the Suez Canal due to the piracy threat.
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Time Magazine has “The Sushi Wars: Can the Bluefin Tuna Be Saved?“.
If environmentalists and marine scientists are right, the world’s remaining stocks of bluefin tuna, 90% of which are in the Mediterranean, could be on the verge of extinction. Says Alain Fonteneau, a marine biologist for France’s government-run Institute for Development Research in Montpellier: “If we do nothing, in five years we will fish the last bluefin tuna.”
But not everyone is ready to heed the warning. A week-long international meeting to save the species ended in splenetic arguments Monday night, as European officials thwarted a proposal by the U.S. and environmental groups to impose a partial moratorium on bluefin fishing and to drastically reduce catch quotas.
So enjoy the tuna whenever you get the chance, because the chances of the international community saving this tuna are slim. The story mentions the next move of getting the tuna declared an endangered species by the international Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, CITES. (See ‘How CITES Works‘) This is the same convention that banned the trade of elephant tusks. It sounds like a good move but wouldn’t the EU stop that as well?
Maritime Compass has “Thanksgiving at sea“. The ship profiled was the drillship JOIDES RESOLUTION.
HAWSEPIPER: The Longest Climb is unable to mail home some books and goes off on a direct-hit rant.
So, to work on a ship these days, one needs to go through a background check, medical check, and paid-for-useless-ID check. We get vetted by Uncle Sugar. Not to say that every now and again we haven’t had ex-cons and lowlifes abord, but by and large, we undergo a lot of scrutiny to get permission to do our jobs. Unlike some of the folks who are working in the refinery.
So, it bakes my balls a little when we get forbidden to go ashore at some refineries for ’security reasons.’ Security my ass. There are guys who are wearing monitoring bracelets working in the refinery and I can’t go to the post office across the street.
He has lots more golden material in his post so go read it all. I would think that vessel crews are giving these shore staff denying them access lots of grief for this inconvenience. Is it just a flat denial or are they stationing security at the gangway? Here’s a thought, don’t lower the gangway in those ports. Let the agents and staff deal with it noting that iyou can’t lower the gangway for ’security reasons’. Don’t try this if it is the Coast Guard who is asking…
An Unofficial Coast Guard Blog has “Good Reads about the Indian Coast Guard” looking at their response during the recent terror attacks in Mumbai.
An Unofficial Coast Guard Blog also has “Icebreaker Gap“, “” and “A Coastie’s Guide to the Instruments of Power“.
Naval Open Source INTelligence has “Scrapping of aircraft carrier given go-ahead“. The ship is the French carrier Le CLEMENCEAU which was already refused entry to India for scrapping. The ship will now be scrapped in the UK. Score one for France?
Energy Daily has “Fish Technology Draws Renewable Energy From Slow Water Currents“.
iCommandant - Web Journal of Admiral Thad Allen has “Out of Hemisphere Deployments“.
SAILORS, MARINERS & WARRIORS LEAGUE has “Turkey Ship Harassed Oil Vessels, Says Cyprus“.
MarEx Newsletter has “Freight Operations – Seven Paths to a Working Capital Goldmine“.
Shipping News has “Suez Canal charges may be reduced - Global downturn and piracy could affect 2009 rates…“
THE PRIVATE ISLANDS BLOG has “Monemvasia, Greece“, characterized as “the Gibraltar of East”.
Tugster has an invitation for his readers in the NY area: “Mary Whalen’s 70th Birthday“. The party is on December 6th.
Ottawa Citizen has “Ill-fated vessel not fit for ice, says report“. This concerns the sealing vessel L’ACADIEN II which sank last winter while under tow by the Canadian Coast Guard. The report is being disputed by others claiming that it was the tow itself that resulted in the sinking. Seems to me that ice contributed to the initial casualty while the vessel was fatally damaged while under tow, resulting in four dead. (Note: This is mere speculation as I have not yet had time to read the report.) You can read the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) report here: “Marine Investigation Report, Capsizing While Under Tow, Small Fishing Vessel L’Acadien II, 18 nm Southeast of Cape North, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, 29 March 2008“
Augen Geradeaus (Note: Site in German language) has photos taken by a German P-3 Orion aircraft of Somali pirates in the process of taking over a ship. (Found via this comment on EagleSpeak) Decent Google Translation of the page can be read here noting that these are photos of the takeover of the BRIGHT RUBY.
BitterEnd has “WA State to build one “Island Home Boat”“. There is a very relevant comment on this post taken from an engineer’s viewpoint.
Robin Storm - In Search of Severe Weather has “Will the Opening of the Northwest Passage Transform Global Shipping Anytime Soon?” It seems that the ice threat only changes with the increased melting.
Neptunus Lex notes the arrival of the Russian Navy in Venezuela in “Welcome to Our Hemisphere” noting that ‘It’ll be nice to have the tyranny of distance on our side for a change’. Be sure to read the reader comments as well.
The Stupid Shall Be Punished has more with “USS Georgia Responds To Russian Caribbean Deployment!“. In a show of confidence, the Russian Navy brought a tugboat with them.
Freaque Waves has three more deaths blamed on a freak wave striking the shoreline in “Tragedy at Point Mugu“.
Never Sea Land has a photo of the beached sailboat GYPSY DANE for his “I don’t like Mondays” post. Be sure to click through for more photos and the story (being presented by the owner) behind the grounding.
International Herald Tribune has “Greek officials charged in migrant smuggling case“.
Five harbor police officers are charged with belonging to a criminal gang that smuggled illegal immigrants to Italy, authorities said Thursday. The officers, who served at Greece’s third largest port of Patras, were among eight people arrested and charged with ring membership late Wednesday.
Navy Newsstand has the photo “USS Freedom (LCS 1) transits through one of many locks stations.“
081118-N-5758H-076 PORT ROBINSON, Ontario (Nov. 18, 2008) The littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) transits through one of many locks stations in the Welland Canal. Freedom is the first of two littoral combat ships designed to operate in shallow water environments to counter threats in coastal regions and is in route to Norfolk, Va. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication 3rd Class Specialist Kenneth R. Hendrix/Released) - Link
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Haight’s Maritime Items has:
Singapore – LRIT conformance testing - The Singapore Maritime and Port Authority issued a circular reminding owners, operators, and masters of the importance of conducting conformance testing of installed Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) equipment. Such equipment on covered vessels must be fully compliant by the first radio survey after 31 December 2008. Shipping Circular No. 30 of 2008 (11/25/08). - Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage (Used with Permission)
AND:
CBP – undeclared monies seized - The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a news release stating that its officers seized $19,300 from an arriving passenger at Logan Airport in Boston who made a false declaration when asked if he was carrying more than $10,000 in monetary instruments. While this was not a maritime incident, masters and crewmembers are reminded that the same rules apply for entries and exits at seaports. (11/28/08). - Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage (Used with Permission)
Fairplay Daily News has:
Credit crisis could solve yard squeeze - SHORTAGES of qualified staff at well-established yards could be resolved when yards fail, classification sources has told Fairplay.
“Ordering and S&P activity have all but ceased,” Alan Gavin, marine director of Lloyd’s Register said yesterday. “The market is going through a period of adjustment – adjustments to ranges of value for assets as well as freight rates.”
This has already affected Turkish yards, where 3,000 jobs are reported to have been shed in two months.
Gavin said his class society noted much interest in the potential for cancellations with “reports of actual cancellations coming through daily”.
A positive knock on affect of expected job losses at smaller yards would be the release of highly adept personnel in a competitive market, he said.
“One effect of the current crisis, to the benefit of well-established yards, is likely to be the release of qualified managers and workers from failing or failed yards,” he predicted.
“This could help reduce the current manpower shortages that we have seen in the years of high expansion. This Good technical people have been in short supply world-wide during the boom – it may be easier for us all to find them now,” he concluded. - Fairplay Homepage (Used with Permission)
AND:
Hebei Spirit anger at IMO meeting - CONCERN over the fate of the detained officers of the Hebei Spirit has been repeated at an IMO safety meeting in London.
Capt MM Saggi was one individual who expressed great concern yesterday over the failure of the Korean Maritime Safety Tribunal (KMST) to follow the IMO Code for the Investigation of Marine Casualties and Incidents. Saggi is nautical adviser to the government of India.
Hebei Spirit, was struck by a barge in December 2007, resulting in a major oil spill affecting miles of Korean shoreline, and the captain and chief officer were arrested in South Korea.
Delegates at the IMO meeting condemned the unjustified detention of the two Indian officers of the Hebei Spirit saying it was a breach of the UNCLOS legislation and demanded their immediate repatriation. The fear of all those supporting the case for the immediate release of the Hebei Spirit officers is that the Korean Courts will accept the findings of the KMST Report, and that the officers will receive lengthy jail sentences.
A few days ago the IBF also condemned the treatment of the Hebei Spirit officers detained in South Korea and pledged that its members to do all they can to secure their release. - 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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The following is posted by Fred Fry:
Welcome to this 137th edition of Maritime Monday.
You can find Maritime Monday 87 here. (Published 3 December 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 Korean shipping Company STX Pan Ocean:
New Emerald
PAN AMBITION
NEW ACCORD
NEW FANTASY - Timber
OCEAN KOREA
Their homepage can be found here.
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This Week’s Items:
EagleSpeak has “Pirates of Somalia: Asymmetric Warfare“.
Also be sure to check out EagleSpeak’s weekly series “Sunday Ship History: Chosin“.
gCaptain has “Pirates Seize Saudi Supertanker - M/V Sirius Star” and “Piracy In Somalia - FAQ Part 1“.
gCaptain also has a contest announcement: “International Shiphandling Championship 2009“. There is $50,000 in prize money up for grabs.
gCaptain is excited to announce, in partnership with TRANSAS, Professional Mariner Magazine and Northeast Maritime Institute, the First Annual International Shiphandling Championship to be held at Northeast Maritime’s Fairhaven, Massachusetts campus from June 5 -7th, 2009.
BitterEnd has “Over 200 whales trapped in Canadian ice“. Best wishes to the Captain as he has been in and out of the hospital this week. The latest at “Health Update“.
JammieWearingFool has “Saudis ‘Outraged’ Over Supertanker Hijacking“.
The Wall Street Journal has “Pirates Exploit Confusion About International Law” and “Pirates’ Delight - Other thugs will come if we don’t punish the Somali pirates.“
Associated Press has “Norwegian firm orders ships to sail around Africa“. The company is Odfjell Tankers. Other companies are looking at doing the same.
Dow Jones (Posted on Alibaba) has “FOCUS: Iran Shipping Line Weathers US Sanctions - Chairman“.
IRISL can limit the effect of the unilateral sanctions by setting up foreign subsidiaries and reflagging more of its ships, analysts say.
Shippers often reflag their vessels to streamline regulatory control and documentation procedures, reduce tax obligations to their native governments, or to facilitate entrance into foreign harbors, a procedure also pursued by Iran.
Roughly half of the Islamic republic’s 140-strong vessel fleet is flagged mainly in Malta followed by Hong Kong and Cyprus, according to Arne Hanssen, who manages investigations and research at Lloyds Marine Intelligence Unit.
The Big Feed has “Are the Iranians Behind the Somali Pirate Attacks?” trying to connect the Somali pirates to Iranian trainers, in Lebanon.
Information Dissemination has “Observing the Strategic Success of US Policy Towards Somali Piracy“.
It is important to note a few things. Not a single US flagged ship has even been approached by pirates (one might say they are intentionally avoided), and not a single US mariner has been taken hostage. After a year of what is often described as sophisticated attacks, not a single action has been taken against the US due to the threat of US response. The United States still lacks any reason to get involved against Somali piracy, and has responded appropriately by doing nothing. The rest of the world has been getting hammered by pirates, and because the United States did not solve the problem for the rest of the world, they are being forced to take action for themselves. The Russians are sending another ship, the South Koreans are sending a ship, and what can only be described as the most important step yet, Saudi Arabia is joining the NATO effort.
Ace of Spades HQ attacks the mainstream media’s bias piece towards pirates in “Somali pirates: modern day Robin Hoods… heros… redistributors of wealth“.
If one were just a bit cynical, they might cite this as an independent validation of how trickle down economics would really work in an unregulated economy.
The pirates aren’t the only ones cashing in. Many are now benefiting by providing ‘support services’.
MarineBuzz has “Somali Pirates have Lavish Life Style or Rot in Jail“.
Helsingin Sanomat (Finland) has “Estonia: A ship whose memory lingers on“.
Helsingin Sanomat also has “Sörnäinen Harbour will move to Vuosaari overnight on November 24th“.
Operations in Helsinki’s Sörnäinen Harbour will come to an abrupt end when the harbour moves to Vuosaari after next Sunday. From the beginning of next week all ship traffic to Sompasaari will be directed to the new purpose-built Vuosaari Harbour instead.
Lloyds List has “Owners set to axe 25% of car carrier fleet as auto sales slump“.
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An Unofficial Coast Guard Blog has “Permanent Home Needed for ex World War II Navy Tug and USCGC Comanche (WMEC 202)“. It is currently located in Olympia, Washington. They also have “Carpe Diem: Seizing Strategic Opportunity in the Arctic“.
Robin Storm - In Search of Severe Weather has “Attempts to save oldest freighter on Great Lakes fail; E.M. Ford headed to scrapyard“. (Scroll down for the story)
The E.M. Ford was built in 1898 and is the oldest freighter in the Great Lakes. It was a bulk ore carrier before it was converted to a self-unloading cement powder carrier for the LaFarge North America Cement Plant in Saginaw County’s Carrollton Township - but has been mainly empty for a few years.
Opinio Juris has “Here There Bee (More) Pirates … and Might the Obama Administration Take Them Out?“. (Found at Instapundit)
MarEx Newsletter has “Are Guns the Answer to Attacks on Vessels?“.
MarineLog has “Coast Guard to hire more civilian safety personnel“.
MarineLog also has posted the November edition of their Magazine online:
Lloyd’s List Newsroom Blog has “How not to recruit seafarers“. The issue is familiar to many seafarers. Maybe we’ll believe there is a shortage of seafarers once the vessel owners treat seafarers like they are a limited commodity. As with everything, treatment ranges through the full spectrum, so one would think that the bad ships would be the ones suffering or at least getting the less-qualified crews…
Kennebec Captain has “Whale Wars and Seamanship - Lack of Leadership“. This ship is an accident waiting to happen. Yet another week where the program covers a near disaster for the eco-terrorists. Is this the face of the world’s most dangerous chief mate? In the course of three episodes, he has nearly killed 8 of his own crew. Losing them at sea is bad enough.
“First Mate Peter Brown at the Helm”
Animal Planet’s Whale Wars website has a deleted video: “Doc Plans His Escape“. Just in case the ship gets that sinking feeling. What kind of safety briefing did the rest of the crew get? How about fire and boat drills? I have my doubts given the disastrous rib boat launch in the first episode.
The Stupid Shall Be Punished has a photo and story “Russian Victor I Transported By Cargo Ship“. Thanks goes to Canada!
Molten Eagle has “ITS Pelosi’s “Commemoration of Submariners Killed”” with video of a wreath laying ceremony by the Italian submarine ITS PELOSI.
Photos & Bits has “Shipwreck in Antarctica - Part 1 - Discovering we are sinking“. He was on the M/V EXPLORER, in the cabin closest to the hole. Nothing like waking up to a foot of water in your cabin. You can find his photos of the trip prior to the accident here. (Found via his recent comment on the gCaptain post on the sinking: “The Spirit of Shacketon - Aboard the M/S Explorer“, which was written by another survivor of the cruise.)
Master of Towing Vessels Association Forum has a summary of why your deck officer license is not enough to get a job on a towboat with “Hit the Deck!“.
A mariner “lateraling” over from another sector, needs adequate time and space to learn the many skills required of towing vessel deck officers. Adequate can mean anywhere from several months (for the exceptionally gifted) to several years, depending on the individual and their background. Many will never make it, no matter how hard or long they try. I call it Tugboat Darwinism. Everyone isn’t cut out for this line of work and that’s all there is to it.
My only experience is with towing other boats and it is tricky in all sorts of potentially evil ways.
SAILORS, MARINERS & WARRIORS LEAGUE has “World’s Biggest Cruise Liner Launches“. The ship is Royal Caribbean’s OASIS OF THE SEAS. More details at MarineBuzz.
HAWSEPIPER: The Longest Climb is at sea and is thinking about dinner this Thursday: “I always wonder at the Pre-thanksgiving stores delivery.” Sometimes you are just away for the holidays.
The Merchant Marine Express goes through the motions as his relief shows up and eventually ends up “Back at Home!“.
IMC Brokers has video: “Navy Tugmaster“.
Steeljaw Scribe has the name of the first operational aircraft carrier in the US Navy in “Project Valour-IT Naval Aviation Factoid: 17 November“.
Sea * Fever has “This Day In Maritime History: A Stove Boat Begets A Whale of a Tale” covering the real-life tale that became the inspiration for MOBY DICK.
Maritime Compass has “Maritime art at Christie’s“.
Paul Jean Clays (Belgian, 1819-1900) - Fishing boats in a calm
Scandinavian Shipping Gazette has “The Blue North has it all“.
Considering the small population and their economic impact, the Nordic countries hold an important position: They control 15 per cent of the world fleet, 20 per cent of the maritime insurance market, they are the second largest in offshore marine services and possess some 10 per cent of the global market for ship technology and equipment. The Nordic region is consequently the home of several leading maritime brands from Maersk Sealand and Wallenius Wilhelmsen to DNV, Gard P&I, Hempel, ABB, TTS, Rolls-Royce Marine Technology, Framo, Kongsberg, Wärtsilä NSD, to name a few.
Journal of Commerce has “Hamburg stevedore sees profit rise on flat volume“.
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BarentsObserver has “Arctic oil production not profitable“. If your Russia that is. They also have ““The world’s most modern Coast Guard”“, Norway.
The Pacific Northwest Coast Guard Blog has video “Featured Innovator - Weapons Simulator“.
The NY Times has “A Sea of Unwanted Imports“. (Found at Kennebec Captain here who notes an error in the story concerning ship identification, most likely due to carelessness on the part of the reporter, and missed by their sharp team of editors as well.)
The big changes in activity at the Long Beach port are not limited to imports. There also has been a sharp drop in the port’s largest export: recycled cardboard and paper products. (Photo: Jamie Rector for The New York Times) - Note: Check out Maritime Monday 62 for photos “Guangzhou Customs Intercepted and Captured “Imported Rubbish”“
Naval Open Source INTelligence has “Russian ships to Venezuela in show of power” noting that Russia’s long-term interest might be dropping with the price of oil…
THE PRIVATE ISLANDS BLOG has “Cayo Levisa, Cuba“.
intheboatshed.net has “Faithful James Caird replica to sail from Elephant to South Georgia” following in the wake of explorer Ernest Shackleton’s 1916 voyage.
Tugster has photos of New York’s North Brother Island in “Cursed Island“.
Never Sea Land has crazy video “Spillwaaaaaaay“.
Extreme kayakers have been condemned for canoeing down a dam in west Wales.
iCommandant - Web Journal of Admiral Thad Allen has “Admiral Allen & Vice Admiral Crea with the CG enlisted innovators“.
Break Bulk Industry News has “$60 million claim filed against OHL“. The company’s ship, the HEAVYLIFT ANCORA has been arrested in the process. At issue is the loss of the KS TITAN 1 liftboat which was being carried by the ANCORA before it lost its cargo at sea.
The Pilot Boat has photos of “A “call” to Gothenburg port.“
Shipping Times has “Hospital Ship Charity Celebrates 30 Years of Saving Lives“. The charity of course is Mercy Ships, who also happen to have the world’s largest civilian hospital ship, the AFRICAN MERCY,
The Horses Mouth has a photo: “The Sea Is Not For Sissies“.
Mr. Boat Blog has a photo: “The Heaven 80: Worlds largest inflatable.” Surely it is the world’s most expensive as well. As a bonus, the fenders are kind of built-in.
Mad Mariner has “Race Aboard Other People’s Sailboats - Even a Novice Can Be Part of the Crew on a Racing Boat — Here’s How“.
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Haight’s Maritime Items has:
UK – suspected pirates transferred to Kenya - The UK Ministry of Defence issued a news release stating that eight suspected pirates apprehended by a Royal Navy frigate have been handed over to the custody of the Kenyan Police. The individuals were caught after the frigate attempted to identify a fishing vessel suspected of having earlier attacked a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden. Persons on the fishing vessel fired on Navy personnel, who shot back in self-defense, killing two suspected pirates on the fishing vessel. A third individual on the fishing vessel was found injured and later died. (11/18/08). - Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage (Used with Permission)
AND:
DOD – deterrence of pirates is team effort - The US Department of Defense issued a news release stating that military units and commercial ships must work together to deter piracy in the Gulf of Aden. The United States and other nations are working with the commercial shipping industry and the IMO to ensure that crews on commercial vessels employ reasonable self-protection measures, such as proactive look-outs, evasive maneuvers, and embarked security teams. Note: They fail to explain how armed security teams are to embark and disembark when many nations restrict or prohibit possession of the weapons necessary to make these teams effective. It is also unclear what is meant by the term “proactive look-out”. Is that someone who shouts ‘PIRATES’ very loudly? A major question arises with regard to what legal regime would be applied if the private security guards were to kill a suspected pirate and then be arrested ashore. Military personnel are largely protected by the law of the sea and sovereign immunity, but these principles are inapplicable to civilians. If the solution were as easy as this release makes it sound, the problem would have been solved long ago. (11/19/08). - Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage (Used with Permission)
Fairplay Daily News has:
Iran threatens pirates with force - IRAN COULD use force against pirates that hijack its ships, a government official confirmed today.
Deputy Transport Minister Ali Taheri told Reuters: “Iran’s view is that such issues should be confronted strongly. The Islamic Republic of Iran has the capability to confront pirates. If necessary we can use force.”
The comments come following the seizure of an Iranian-chartered bulk carrier last week. Hong Hong-flagged Delight was carrying a consignment of grain bound for the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.
Doubt has been raised about whether force against pirates is sanctioned under international law.
But last week the Indian navy sank a suspected pirate mother ship after it opened fire. IRAN COULD use force against pirates that hijack its ships a government official today confirmed to Reuters. - Fairplay Homepage (Used with Permission)
AND:
Paris mulling piracy tax - FRANCE is considering an anti-piracy security surcharge tax on owners, the French shipowners’ association Armateurs de France has today revealed.
Armateurs de France has said it would be willing to discuss a proposal involving the payment of defence costs to protect ships off Somalia that would could include armed personnel on ships. French defence minister Hervé Morin is reportedly considering the proposal.
The security surcharge policy has emerged after Morin announced last week that the EU anti-piracy fleet would launch a new military operation in the Gulf of Aden on 8 December.
Shipping groups BIMCO and Intertanko have meanwhile urged the UN to intervene in the anti-piracy clamp down off Somalia. - 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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The following is posted by Fred Fry:
Welcome to this 136th edition of Maritime Monday.
You can find Maritime Monday 86 here. (Published 26 November 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 Belgium’s Van Stappen:
Business Group Van Stappen - On December 1st 1966, Jean Van Stappen took over the bunkering business of Karel Willemen, where he had acquired years of experience. He himself stood at the wheel of the Pennsylvania, a barge carrying 20.000 litres gas oil. His wife took care of the paperwork.
In those early days, the activity consisted in transportation for various gas oil companies. As the fleet expanded, Van Stappen developed into a group of three companies, each with its own speciality:
* Vans Bunkers
* Van Stappen Bunkering Services
* Elveba Bunkering
Thanks to experienced skippers, a competent administrative staff, a dynamic management and more than 35 years experience in the shipping sector, we efficiently service our customers. But the main strength of our company is the strong commitment of a dynamic family business, ready to serve customers and their ships day and night. - Link
ELLY
JEAN-BART
GEERRIT SR
PENNSYLVANIA II
Their homepage can be found here.
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Its time for the annual Project Valour-IT fundraising competition.
Every cent raised for Project Valour-IT goes directly to the purchase and shipment of laptops and other technology for severely wounded service members. As of November 2008, Valour-IT has distributed over 2700 laptops to severely wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines across the country, and is now expanding its mission to include other technology that supports physical and psychological recovery. - Read More
It would be nice if the Military/Government took care of all of a wounded soldier’s needs, but they don’t and never will. This group has filled an important gap. So go read more about what they do and how they help and if you feel so inclined, consider donating a little or even a little more.
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This Week’s Items:
EagleSpeak has coverage: “British commandos kill Somali pirates in showdown at sea“.
Be sure to also check out EagleSpeak’s weekly series “Sunday Ship History: Mortars at Sea“
gCaptain has “Life on an Oil Rig - Gulf of Mexico” and “World’s First Wave Farm“.
gCaptain also has an interesting job posting “Looking For Talent - Are You The Next Reality TV Star?” The maritime industry is full of all sorts of interesting characters. Now might be your chance to show the world your talents…
BarentsObserver has “Russia removed radioactive lighthouses from Arctic coast“.
In the course of summer, Russia removed another 46 strontium-fuelled lighthouses from the coast of the White Sea and the Barents and Kara Seas. With Norwegian project support, Russia has now removed 180 radioactive lighthouses between Murmansk and the Novaya Zemlya and replaced them with solar cell installations.
US Merchant Marine Academy Website has “USMMA Graduate Receives the Bronze Star“.
John Bellissimo of Stony Brook, NY, who has served as a U.S. Navy Reserve officer since graduating for the USMMA in 1994, has been on duty in Iraq with the Multi-National Force as Program Manager for the Rehabilitation and Commercial Development of the Port of Umm Qasr. Bellissimo was awarded the Bronze Star in September for his “overall meritorious service in the combat zone,” according to a report in the East Setauket Village Times Herald.
Congratulations Johnny B!
The gCaptain Forums is alive with professional criticism of Animal Planet’s series Whale Wars. I am now caught up on the series and have to agree that they are a ship of fools just begging for a serious accident. On the bright side if you have ever wanted to be a ship’s engineer, they appear to be accepting applications, no experience needed. There are two Governments that appear to be shirking their responsibilities here. The Netherlands for registering this ship as a ‘Fishing Support Vessel’ and Australia for possibly ignoring their Port State responsibilities concerning this vessel. But don’t bring that up if they board your vessel. Also notice that Lloyds had withdrawn their classification of the vessel over a year ago at the time they conducted a survey. What did they find? Why haven’t the Japanese sued the owner in the UK?
Space War has an update on that deadly Russian sub accident in “Sailor charged in deadly Russian nuclear sub accident“.
“The suspect is one of the sailors of the crew, who for no reason set off the fire extinguishing system, as a result of which 20 people died and 21 were hospitalized,” investigator Vladimir Markin told Vesti-24 television.
Molten Eagle has “CONFIRMED” that Russian submarines carry emergency breathing gear for just such an emergency. Oddly enough, I had the closest guess for what was in the boxes on the uniform belts.
Tubuans & Dukduks has “Nautilus Minerals: Mining PNG’s Seabed“.
It is neccessary to point out that Nautilus Minerals is the first company to commercially explore the ocean floor for gold and copper sea-floor massive sulphide deposits and if they do manage to successfully mine our seabed, then it will be history in the making.
DeBeers has been mining the seabed for diamonds for a while already off Namibia. I would think they would try to market these diamonds taking advantage of their ocean sourcing.
Shipspotting contributor Craig Saunders has a dramatic photo of a recent container crane boom collapse at the Port of Southampton, UK, falling into a cargo hold of the KYOTO EXPRESS.
Information Dissemination has “We Can Now Kill the “Mystery Ship” Rumor“. That would be the infamous IRAN DENANAT.
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Yahoo News has “Court rules for Navy in dispute over sonar, whales“.
The Wall Street Journal has more with “The Greens Get Harpooned - The Supremes save the Navy from the whales.“
If the bureaucratic distinction between an “environmental impact statement” and an “environmental assessment” sounds like a flimsy excuse for second-guessing the judgment of admirals in wartime — well, this case was never really about the welfare of Baby Humpback. Instead, green activists and liberal judges were looking to assert their dominance in matters of war and peace.
Her Captain’s Voice has “Give the money or Gorky will be ours again: Russia” as India receives a demand to pay more for the refit of the aircraft carrier ADMIRAL GORSHKOV seemingly never to be renamed the VIKRAMADITHYA in 2012 now or ever. Seems that the Indian Government might have reached its breaking point in this issue.
Sea * Fever has “The Coolest “Overseas” College Study Program on the Planet!” covering the Sea Education Association located in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
The Merchant Marine Express has “The Art of Navigation and a brief education“.
Deep Water Writing is “In Gmbh” hanging out at the Seaman’s mission in the port, writing a summary of what is Bremerhaven. Two ships that I sailed on called there. Sailor ’support’ there is great.
Robin Storm - In Search of Severe Weather has “Scientists find evidence of tsunamis on Indian Ocean shores long before 2004“.
Bob Couttie’s Maritime Accident Casebook has “The Other Side Of Inspections“. Those being ones carried out poorly.
The Stupid Shall Be Punished has “U.S. Submariners Rode Japanese Boats Back To Japan At End Of WWII?“.
Kennebec Captain links to an amazing set of “Photos of a near miss“. Maybe they were all having lunch.
SAILORS, MARINERS & WARRIORS LEAGUE has “Greece & Turkey Standoff Over Survey Ship Ends“.
Break Bulk has “Dollar’s gain is exporters’ loss“.
Greenpeace has “Whalers give into reality and slash this year’s quota” noting that this will be the first year that the fleet includes non-Japanese crew and “Japan’s whaling programme in tatters: Closures, resignations and cancelled celebrations“. So how about not chaining yourselves to other people’s ships from now on…
Tims Times has a photo of the colorful Netherlands coastguard ship “Frans Naerebout”.
iCommandant - Web Journal of Admiral Thad Allen has “Coast Guard Modernization Update“. That would be modernization of the Coast Guard itself, not fleet modernization.
Mr. Boat Blog has “Strangely coloured beaches.“
The Times of India has “Commandos answer SOS from Saudi, Indian vessels, scare off pirates“. The warship is the INS TABAR noting that shots were fired to scare off the pirates.
NEW DELHI: In dramatic action on the high seas, an Indian warship with its armed helicopter and elite marine commandos repulsed in quick succession attempts made by different bands of gun-toting pirates to hijack a Saudi and a Mumbai-based merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia on Tuesday morning.
RIA Novosti has “Russia considers opening Black Sea Fleet base in Abkhazia“. That would be in Soviet/Russian-occupied Georgia.
Neptunus Lex has video showing just how much the deck of an aircraft carrier can move in rough seas in “Ah, Memories“. After watching that, be sure to read his post “On being a landing signal officer in rough weather…” and at night.
Shipping Times (UK) has “Eleven foreign flagged vessels detained in September“.
Houston Ship Pilot / Photographer OneEighteen has “Meeting Port to Port“.
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Master of Towing Vessels Association Forum answers “How old to be the “Old Man”?“. As it turns out, minimum ages are noted in US law.
Never Sea Land has video: “Vendee Globe in 3D“.
Naval Open Source INTelligence has “Lockheed receives $1.7B in Canadian Navy contracts“.
Christiaan Conover has “Drug Testing at MMA” noting:
It’s not a big deal, but it’s annoying to be woken at 0530 to go get tested.
BitterEnd has an update on Washington State Ferries attempt to update their fleet in “The sole ferry bid is in!“
Bellona has “Russia to dismantled all decommissioned nuke subs by 2012, says Zvezdochka“.
Nikitin noted that more than 200 of the 250 nuclear submarines constructed in the Soviet Union and later in Russia have so far been scrapped, many with financial support from abroad, such as from Norway, Japan, the United States and the UK.
tugster has photos: “More Cargoes 10“.
UN Dispatch has “A Question For International Lawyers to Ponder“. It concerns your rights as a nation if your nation sinks beneath the waves in respect of the UN Law of the Sea.
The MarEx Newsletter has “A Maritime Focus for the New Year: Ending the Balkanization of the Regulatory Process“.
As Barack Obama enters the White House in January, he’ll do so w
