Paris MOU performance list puts RINA on pedestal Genoa-headquartered classification society RINA has been recognised by the Paris memorandum of understanding as best performing recognised organisation in 2009.The Paris MOU committee approved the 2009 Port State Control inspection results for ships at its 43rd meeting and adopted new performance lists for flag states and recognised organisations, to take effect from July 1.Owners who choose RINA class work hard to maintain the highest standards, said Ugo Salerno, RINA chief executive. We work hard to support those owners, not because we want to top any lists, but because we want our classed fleet to maintain a consistent high level of quality.He added: That will become even more into focus when the Paris MOU begins to implement its Thetis project in 2011, under which all ships will be inspected and those which meet certain standards will be free of inspection for a set period.High quality owners such as those who underpin this years MOU performance will benefit by seeing a reduced inspection workload in European ports.Source:Paris MOU

ASF takes piracy concerns to the UN The Asian Shipowners Forum (ASF) has sent a same letter to both the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and the IMO Secretary General Mr Efthimios Mitropoulos highlighting the serious concerns and continuing problem of piracy and ship hijacks in the Gulf of Aden, the Somali Basin and in the Indian Ocean.The letter expressedly condemns the criminal acts and dangers of Somali pirates on maritime security and the safety of international shipping and trade. The ASF strongly urges the UN and IMO, both in their individual and collective capacities, to act within their supreme power immediately to counter the state of lawlessness and to restore the safety of maritime navigation in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia and in the Indian Ocean.Johnson W. Sutjipto, Chairman of the ASF said: The situation has gotten out of hand the lack of action on the part of the international community has resulted in an almost 500% increase in the number of attacks over the pastthreeyears. As such, the ASF views this as a matter of extreme urgency, and strongly urges the adoption of a united and dynamic approach to deal with the...

Bureau Veritas to class unique powerships French classification society Bureau Veritas is to class three floating dual fuel power generation units.The self-propelled units are being converted from existing bulk carriers at Sedef Shipyard in Turkey. Each vessel features a MAN Diesel dual-fuel engine and generator suitable for natural gas or heavy fuel and can be plugged into national grids when required.The first powership has 144 MW generation capacity and the remaining two will have capacity of 180-220 MW. The project is being financed and designed by Turkish energy company Karadeniz Powership Co.Kerim Kiper, head of Bureau Veritass Turkish office said: We have just seen the first of this series of three vessels delivered and it is now in successful service in the Middle East Gulf. Two more powerships based on panamax bulkers are still under construction to our class at Sedef and will be delivered later this year.Source:bureau veritas

Classification society RINA has been recognized by the Paris MOU as the best performing Recognized Organization in 2009. At its 43rd meeting the Paris MOU Committee approved the 2009 Port State Control inspection results for ships and adopted new performance lists for Flag States and Recognized Organizations. These lists take effect from1 July 2010 and show RINA as having the best performance in the high quality section of the list of classification societies.Ugo Salerno, CEO, RINA, says, It is good that the results of the rigorous inspection regime of the Paris MOU countries confirms what we already know that the owners who choose RINA class work hard to maintain the highest standards. We work hard to support those owners, not because we want to top any lists, but because we want our classed fleet to maintain a consistent high level of quality. That will become even more into focus when the Paris MOU begins to implement its Thetis project in 2011, under which all ships will be inspected and then those which meet certain standards will be free of inspection for a set period. High quality owners such as those who underpin this years MOU performance will benefit by seeing...

A renewable power technology, an emissions performance index and a Californian port featured among the winners at the second Sustainable Shipping Awards, held in London last week. The variety apparent in the nominations across the categories underscored the growing efforts in marine sector to improve environmental performance. The audience heard addresses from José María Figueres, former President of Costa Rica and chairman of the Carbon War Room and the chairman of the International Maritime Organizations Marine Environment Committee (MEPC), Andreas Chrysostomou.The Environmental Technology award was of great interest but hard to pick, with nominations going to three quite different and not readily comparable technologies. SolarSailor won the category for its hybrid power systems for ships which see solar energy generated from an onboard wing of solar cells, which provide renewable power to supplement a conventional fuel-powered engine. The solar wing also acts as a sail, adding direct propulsion. The company boasts of 50 per cent fuel savings being realised from its hybrid energy ferries in use in Hong Kong. The hybrid technology is being commercialised internationally across the spectrum of ship types and size from large tankers to small yachts.Ecospec was another nominee in the technology category for its promising...

Governments at an IMO conference in Manila, Philippines on June 25 adopted amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). The International Shipping Federation (ISF) and its member national associations have led maritime employers throughout the comprehensive review process. ISFs sister organisation, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), provided technical and operational advice.The most contentious issue to be resolved in Manila concerned the IMO minimum rest hour requirements with the ILO Maritime Labour Convention. As a result of proposals submitted to the conference by ISF, both daily and weekly exceptions to the minimum rest hour periods with appropriate safeguards have been maintained, while strong requirements for the recording, monitoring and enforcement of the minimum rest hour provisions have also been added.With the strengthened mandatory recording requirement we now expect increased focus from port state control on minimum rest hour compliance, particularly with the ILO Maritime Labour Convention also coming into force soon, said ISF/ICS Secretary General, Peter HinchliffeThe Manila amendments are adopted during the IMOs Year of the Seafarer on June 25.Source:shiptalk

Chinese naval task force, deployed in Gulf of Aden to fight Somali pirates, has staged a special anti-piracy exercise to improve rapid-reaction ability of its ship-based helicopters. The 5th Chinese naval escort task force staged an anti-piracy exercise in which helicopters were trained to get out of hangers and take off in four minutes, the Chinese official military newspaper PLA Daily reported.The Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast have a spacious sea area. The pirates appear in small groups and attack merchant ships in a fast way.To shorten the time for the helicopters to make preparation for the take off, the task force improved and optimised the operational steps, resulting in shortening the time for combat deployment grade transition of the helicopters, it said.To improve rapid-reaction ability of the ship-based helicopters in air escort, the command post of the task force also organised a series trainings including rapid combat grade transition, flight at daybreak and night and slide landing.We arrange a multiple of subjects including low-altitude flight, ultra low-altitude flight, hovering, sliding and landing on the ship in a flight sortie to improve the flight skill of the pilots under complicated weather conditions, Cui Ao, captain...

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has called for a review of the domestic policies on ship crew competence following a number of grounding incidents involving passenger and cargo vessels. Commander Allan dela Vega of the PCGs Maritime Safety Office reported that the Coast Guard Command Center has recorded seven cases of grounding incidents involving M/V Pacific Cruiser, M/Y Nomad Korea, M/V Ivatan, M/V Tong Shun, M/V Sta. Filomena, M/V Super Shuttle Ferry and recently, M/V Filipina Ozamis.On the other hand, M/V Sycamore Global rammed the pier of the Toledo Power Corp. in Cebu. The incidents happened during the months of May and June alone. Initial reports pointed to the human factor as the possible cause of the incidents.Because of the increasing cases of vessel groundings, PCG Commandant Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo has recommended a joint review of domestic crew competence standards and training policies, as well as sanctions to negligent ship officers and crew, by the PRC, TESDA, MARINA and the PCG.The PRC issues the competency certificates for all ship officers while TESDA, the Rating Certificate for non-officers, and MARINA issues the Qualification Document Certificate for both officers and crew.Tamayo added that the human element plays a vital role in ensuring...

A Filipino national has been burnt in an explosion on the deck of a coal ship off the central Queensland coast. Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokeswoman Tracey Jiggins says two men were welding on the deck of the ship this morning when a spark ignited.She says the 30-year-old mans clothing caught fire and he was forced to jump overboard to extinguish the flames.Fortunately we dont believe he has incredibly severe burns, but he does have some burns to his legs, she said. are not considered to be life threatening, but that vessel is currently making its way closer inshore so that we can get a helicopter with some medical staff out there to assist him.The ship is about 220 nautical miles north-east of Mackay and the helicopter is expected to reach it between 2:00am and 6:00am (AEST) Wednesday.Source:shiptalk

Singapore tanker hijacked by pirates in Gulf of Aden The Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) issued a news release stating that a Singapore-registered petroleum/chemical tanker was hijacked by pirates while transiting the Gulf of Aden. The MPA is working with relevant government agencies and the owner and is monitoring the situation. The crew is reported to be safe. The EU NAVFOR issued a press release stating that notified it that the pirates were on board. The incident occurred approximately 80 miles off the northern Somali coast.Source:eunavfor