Officer of the Watch

Avoiding the APPS Magic Pipe Trap

November 14, 2012 by Officer of the Watch 1 Comment

During the 3rd annual SAFETY4SEA forum held in Athens in October 2012, George A.Gaitas, Attorney at Law in Houston Texas Chalos & Co. gave a very interesting speech on how a shipping company may get caught in a whistleblower situation and end up paying heavy fines and/or other penalties without ever committing an actual oil pollution. More than a decade has passed since the United States Department of Justice launched a vigorous campaign to enforce the observance of MARPOL 73/78 Annex I regulations by foreign ships calling at U.S. ports. Some ten years later, one would think that ship owners and ship managers would have caught-on, and found ways to effectively deal with it. Unfortunately it hasn’t worked out that way.

Monthly Piracy Report October 2012

November 13, 2012 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

All information presented below are retrieved from ICC Commercial Crime Services (CCS) and are being updated on a monthly basis. For up to date live and accurate information please refer to ICC Commercial Crime Services (CCS) website.

Total Attacks Worldwide: 252
Total Hijackings Worldwide: 26
Total Incidents in Somalia: 71
Total Hijackings in Somalia: 13
Total Hostages in Somalia: 212
Vessels held by Somali Pirates: 9
Hostages held by Somali Pirates: 154

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Filed Under: PIRACY REPORT Tagged With: armed robbery, gulf of aden, IMB, piracy, somalia, west africa

Crewman Death After Falling Overboard – Investigation Report

November 12, 2012 by Officer of the Watch 3 Comments

On 13 December 2010, an able seaman (AB) fell into the River Clyde from the St Vincent and the Grenadines registered cargo vessel Joanna, while the vessel was alongside in Glasgow, Scotland. He was recovered from the water about 25 minutes later, but could not be resuscitated. The investigation identified that the AB almost certainly fell while climbing up to the port side platform of the straddle lift used to move the vessel’s cargo hatch covers.

Attempting to Safely Anchor in Heavy Weather

November 11, 2012 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

Filed Under: VIDEOS Tagged With: anchor, heavy weather, Lemnos, Myrina, THEOFILOS

Illegal Dumping of Oil From Ships

November 10, 2012 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

Oil in Our Waters is a 22-minute documentary about the illegal dumping of oil from ships. This film explores the extent of the problem, the impact of oil on the marine environment, the creation of MARPOL, the rewards for whistleblowers, and the penalties faced by polluters caught in the United States.

PART 1/3

PART 2/3

PART 3/3

Source: Marine Defenders

Filed Under: VIDEOS Tagged With: Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, bilge water, conceal discharges, environmental, oil spill, oily waste, oily water separator, OWS, OWS Discharge

German Shipping Companies Guilty for Illegal Dumping of Oil at Sea

November 9, 2012 by Officer of the Watch 5 Comments

Two German shipping companies pleaded guilty in early November in federal court in Houston to criminal charges that they concealed the illegal dumping of oil at sea from U.S. Coast Guard inspectors. The operator and owner of the commercial cargo vessel MV Susan K, will pay a $1.2 million dollar criminal penalty, $200,000 of which will go to the National Marine Sanctuaries Fund as a community service payment for projects aimed at preserving and restoring the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary located off the Texas coast. As a condition of probation, all vessels owned or operated by the defendants will be prohibited from entering U.S. ports or waters for five years.

IMO Tier III NOx-compliant Marine Diesel Engine by MAN And HHI-EMD

November 8, 2012 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

MAN Diesel & Turbo, together with HHI-EMD, the engine and machinery division of Hyundai Heavy Industries, has presented last October the first IMO Tier III-compliant diesel engine MAN B&W 6S80ME-C9 utilising EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation). The EGR system enables the engine to meet IMO Tier III NOx regulations, which will be introduced in ECAs (Emission Controlled Areas) from 2016.

Filipino Seafarers to Get Double Wage When in HRA

November 6, 2012 by Officer of the Watch 10 Comments

Last month POEA issued a Governing Board Resolution regarding Filipino seafarers working on vessels transiting high-risk areas. According to mentioned resolution the computation of double wage and compensation benefits for seafarers traversing established high risk zones/areas covers overtime and leave pay.

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Filed Under: OOW FOCUS Tagged With: compensation benefits, Crew, Filipino, high-risk areas, HRA, Philippines, POEA, wages

Crewmen Die After Inhaling Gas Onboard LPG Carrier

November 6, 2012 by Officer of the Watch 1 Comment

Five crewmen died died after inhaling gas leaking from a chamber of the vessel. The vessel was the 35,559-cbm LPG carrier Maharshi Krishnatreya of Varun Shipping. The incident took place in India. Another seafarer was airlifted to hospital in the town, where he was said to be in a serious condition on a ventilator. The vessel was manned by 20 seafarers in total.

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Filed Under: OOW FOCUS Tagged With: accident, gas leaking, LPG, LPG carrier, Maharshi Krishnatreya

Assessment of Regulated Slow Steaming in the Maritime Industry

November 6, 2012 by Officer of the Watch 1 Comment

On February 2012 the Clean Shipping Coalition (CSC) released a report on the impacts of vessel speed on emissions, technical constraints and other experiences with slow steaming and current speed regulations, analyzing at the same time the legal feasibility of regulated slow steaming. Currently, fleet average ship speeds vary as the shipping sector adapts to changing market circumstances. In recent years, speeds have been reduced in a response to an increasing supply of ships, a slower increase in demand for maritime transport and rising fuel prices.