At 1549 on 7 February 2011, the rescue boat on board the UK registered car carrier, Tombarra, plummeted approximately 29m from its davit into the water below, killing one of the rescue boat’s four crew. The accident occurred when the boat’s fall wire parted as the boat was being recovered to its stowage during a monthly drill. Tombarra was alongside Royal Portbury Dock, Bristol.
It appears that one does not simply enforces ECA regulations in Alaska and walks away with it. Last Friday Alaska sued the Obama administration aiming to block EPA in extending the North American Emissions Control Area to Alaska. According to the submitted law suit as of 1st August 2012 vessels operating within 200 miles of the Southeast and Southcentral Alaska coastlines will be required to use fuel with a sulfur content that does not exceed 1,000 parts per million.
The NA-ECA enters into force on August 1, 2012, and would set a 1% limit on the sulphur content of marine fuel, followed by a 0.1% limit in 2015. The proposed Regulations would also implement a regime to control air emissions from Canadian vessels in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence waters.
Due to significant additional discussions required with the domestic marine industry, the marine air emissions regulatory package will be delayed by a few months and will not come into effect on August 1, 2012, to implement the NA-ECA and standards for Canadian vessels operating in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence waters.
At 1438 (UTC+1) on 27 October 2011, an able seaman (AB) on board the UK registered cargo vessel Scot Pioneer fell into a void space at the forward end of the ship’s cargo hold. The vessel was loading cargo at Belview Port. Although paramedics treated the AB at the scene, he died from his injuries a short while later.
Beazley, a leading insurer of marine war risks, offers for vessels passing through troubled waters war risks and piracy cover under one policy.
Last April amendments to increase the limits of liability in the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC Convention) were adopted by IMO’s Legal Committee, at its 99th session (16-20 April 2012).
The LLMC Convention sets specified limits of liability for two types of claims against shipowners – claims for loss of life or personal injury, and property claims (such as damage to other ships, property or harbour works). Taking into account the experience of incidents, as well as inflation rates, the limits set in the 1996 Protocol have, in recent years, been seen to be inadequate to cover the costs of claims, especially those arising from incidents involving bunker fuel spills.
Last week CARB released a marine notice regarding upcoming requirements in the Fuel Sulfur Regulation and Other Operational Requirements for Ocean-Going Vessels within California Waters and 24 Nautical Miles of the California Baseline (California OGV Fuel Regulation).
Two seamen claim in Federal Court that Somali pirates held them hostage for eight months after their employers sent them into pirate-infested waters without adequate security. Bahri Chirag and Dangwal Sandeep sued Marida Tankers, Heidmar Inc., MT Marida Marguerite Schifffahrts and Ship Owner / Ship Employer on six claims, including negligence, unseaworthiness, and emotional distress.
Nippon Yusen Kaisha and two NYK Group companies, the Monohakobi Technology Institute (MTI) and NYK-Hinode Line Ltd., have completed two years of experiments on the air-lubrication systems installed on two of the group’s module carriers, Yamato and Yamatai, and resultantly confirmed an average 6 percent reduction in CO2 emissions during actual sea passage.
2 dead, 7 missing after ship capsizes |Society |chinadaily.com.cn
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Officer of the Watch 