OOW FOCUS – Officer of the Watch

Paris MoU Detention Report for General Cargo Ship MV Captain Blue

January 3, 2013 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

On 25 July 2007 the MV Captain Blue loaded with cement bags, sent a distress alert to JRCC (Joint Rescue and Coordination Centre) Piraeus reporting a starboard list of four degrees west of Kefalonia Island at the Ionian Sea. Following the appropriate actions from the Hellenic SAR Authorities, the ship was towed safely in the port of Kefalonia Island. The master reported to the local Coast Guard Authority that he was not in position of proceeding to ballast operations since he suspected that there could be a hole in the hold, resulting to damage on cargo. As a consequence the ship was inspected by a team of PSCOs from the PSC Office of Patra and the inspection revealed 20 deficiencies, with most of them of a serious nature resulting in a detention.

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Filed Under: OOW FOCUS Tagged With: Abandon Ship Drills, Cargo Ship, detention, Double bottom tank, fire hose, Lifejacket, Paris MoU, PSC, PSCO

The Longshore Union Strike

January 2, 2013 by Officer of the Watch 1 Comment

When the story first broke, when those 800 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 63 Office Clerical Unit walked off their jobs and effectively shut down the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, it was treated by the media as your stereotypical union money-grab.

Measuring Ships’ Energy Efficiency

January 1, 2013 by Officer of the Watch 1 Comment

During December 2012 Transport & Environment NGO released a paper investigating opportunities to establish an energy efficiency benchmark measurement. The paper also makes references to different metrics and proposals already under consideration at the IMO or in the EU and identifies possible options in the current EU discussions on monitoring, reporting and verification.

MLC 2006 Could Turn out to be a Paper Tiger

December 26, 2012 by Officer of the Watch 1 Comment

The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 could turn out to be a paper tiger, Dr Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry has told delegates at Apostleship of the Sea’s 23rd international congress in the Vatican. Dr Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, director international labour standards department of the International Labour Office (ILO) in Geneva, said that the MLC 2006 was simply a tool that had to be used wisely. “But if not used or improperly used may be of little consequence – the so called ‘paper tiger’ (meaning something that seems as threatening as a tiger, but is really harmless); or they may even cause harm, if only because it is then very difficult to mobilize the political will to replace an international instrument.

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Filed Under: OOW FOCUS Tagged With: Apostleship of the Sea, Crew, ILO, MLC 2006, seafarers

HHI New LNG Storage Tank

December 25, 2012 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), announced at the end of November that it has developed an independent liquefied natural gas storage tank model, the Lobe-Bundle Tank. The Lobe-Bundle Tank uses ring-shaped plates instead of conventional flat plates to reduce the weight of the tank and building cost significantly. The tank is built using spray-type insulation rather than panel-type insulation, substantially reducing construction time.

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Filed Under: OOW FOCUS Tagged With: HHI, LNG, Lobe-Bundle Tank, storage tank, Technical

Auxiliary Engine Start Up With High Pressure Air From Breathing Apparatus

December 21, 2012 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

A standby vessel stationed close to a drilling platform, experienced a “black-out” which was caused by water contamination of fuel and occurred shortly after switching from one service tank to another. The water was drained from the tank and fuel system. The main engine was restarted and was running normally. To provide electric current for lighting, steering etc., one of the auxiliary engines had to be started. Upon trying this, it was discovered that the spare starting air bottle was empty although the pressure gauge indicated full pressure.

New LNG-Fueled Containership Design

December 19, 2012 by Officer of the Watch 1 Comment

LNG-fuelled vessels promise a solution to many of the environmental challenges facing shipping over the next 30 years. To meet the needs to cut CO² emissions and maximize efficiency wherever possible, IPP Ingenieur Partner Pool developed STREAM, the new containership design for LNG-powered containerships. The concept, which has been assessed by GL and given a certificate of approval, is for a range of liner or feeder vessels from 3,000 TEU to 4,200 TEU for worldwide service.

Sea Level is Rising Faster than Initially Thought

December 18, 2012 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

Sea level is rising 60% faster than the IPCC fourth assessment projected. That is according to researchers from Germany, the US and France. The researchers analyzed global temperature and sea-level data for the past few decades and compared them to projections published in the third and fourth assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The results show that global temperature continues to increase in good agreement with the best estimates of the IPCC, especially if effects of short-term variability due to the El Niño/Southern Oscillation, volcanic activity and solar variability are also taken into account. The rate of sea-level rise of the past few decades, on the other hand, is greater than projected by the IPCC models. This suggests that IPCC sea-level projections for the future may also be biased low.

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Filed Under: OOW FOCUS Tagged With: environmental, IPCC, Sea Level

Damage to Exhaust Gas Boiler Due to Dry Running

December 14, 2012 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

During morning attendance of engine room, a water leak from the exhaust gas boiler was discovered. In order to get to port, the water circulation was shut off, and the instruction manual on “emergency dry running” was followed. When arriving at anchorage, the exhaust gas boiler overheated, and the crew found that a soot fire had occurred.

Cruise Ship Company Fined for Crewman’s Death

December 12, 2012 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

According to an AMSA media release, a cruise ship company has been fined $180,000 following the death of a crewman after he was trapped by a powered door while working on the vessel in 2009. The company was found to be non-compliant with the Occupational Health and Safety (Maritime Industry) Act 1993 in Cairns Magistrates Court on Tuesday 30 October. It was also non-compliant with the Navigation Act 1912 and the Code of Safe Working Practice for Australian Seafarers.