Tag: INTERTANKO

Rising bunker prices due to rising oil prices and volatility in global politics can have a dramatic effect on trade as they fluctuate not just day to day, but also port to port. Bunker fuel costs today form the largest part of owners’ expenses, being anything from 40-60% of the overall operating costs of a ship. The tightening of regulations in Emission Control Areas (ECAs) requiring the use of low sulphur content fuels not only carries with it the risk of fines, detentions and disputes, but further adds to owners’ operating costs. The first ECA in effect was the Baltic in 2006 followed by the North Sea in 2007.A stricter emission allowance down from 1.5 % to 1.0 % was introduced in 2010. The US, Canada and the Caribbean followed suit in 2012 and 2014. MARPOL Annex VI, requiring a maximum sulphur content in fuel oil within ECAs of just 0.10 % by weight (down from 1.0%) comes into force in January 2015. Certain states such as California have already introduced legislation to enforce this. More regulation will certainly follow. From 2015, owners may face escalating fuel costs in the EU, North America and Caribbean and any other ECA designated ...

INTERTANKO issues Ebola clauses

The annual Tripartite meeting between shipowners, shipbuilders and classification societies was held in Shanghai on 30 and 3

Hointly developed guidelines by BIMCO, ICS, INTERTANKO and INTERCARGO The Round Table of international shipping industry associations has released an updated version of Guidelines for Owners, Operators and Masters for Protection Against Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea Region. The Guidelines have been jointly developed by BIMCO, ICS, INTERTANKO and INTERCARGO.Piracy and armed robbery in the waters off West Africa has become an established criminal activity of very serious concern to the maritime sector. Incidents have recently occurred as far south as Angola and as far north as Sierra Leone. These attacks have become increasingly violent, often involving firearms, and cases of kidnapping for ransom have also become more common. The global shipping industry has therefore acted in concert to update its existing Guidelines to take account of what has become a totally unacceptable security situation.Although the nature of the attacks against shipping in West Africa differs from that of Somalia-based piracy, the basic principles of the Best Management Practices, previously developed by the industry to help protect against piracy in the Indian Ocean, are also applicable. The Guidelines should therefore be read in conjunction with BMP4, but seek to tailor this to the specifics of the threat in West ...

INTERTANKO Council Members sign Tanker Industry Voluntary Code of Conduct

A Memorandum of Agreement has been signed by Graham Westgarth, Chairman of INTERTANKO; Ricardo Augusto Leite Falcão, President of CONAPRA; and Otavio Augusto Fragoso Alves da Silva, President of FENAPRATICOS

At the Committee on the Safety of the Sea (COSS) held 23 April, EU Member States endorsed the recommendation from the European Commission not to de-recognise Filipino seafarer certificates of competency

ICS, BIMCO, Intercargo, Intertanko, WSC have jointly made a submission to upcoming IMO Maritime Environment Protection Committee (IMO MEPC 66) to amend the Guidelines for approval of ballast water management systems in order to ensure success of the BWM Convention. The MEPC 66 will be held in IMO headquarters from 31 March 2014 to 4 April 2014.

INTERTANKO says to rethink the tanker inspection and vetting machine The vetting inspections of tankers by oil companies are proliferating in frequency, rising steadily in cost and, at an estimated $300m a year, are well on the way to running out of control. The Ship Inspection Report (SIRE) programme developed by the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) intended that tanker inspection reports should be shared by all OCIMF members. They are not. The cost of inspections should be shared by both parties. They are not. And to make matters worse, ship operators often have to pay the costs of luxury travel for inspectors.The autumn meeting of INTERTANKO's Council in Hong Kong developed further the issue of the sustainability of tanker shipping. Joining late payments of freight and demurrage at the top of the Sustainability Project's list of priorities is tanker vetting.INTERTANKO's Chairman, Graham Westgarth of GasLog Ltd, who was re-elected for a third two-year term as Chairman of the Association, chaired an active Council discussion on the vetting of tankers. Vessel inspections by charterers are a crucial part of tanker vetting that has effectively become every tanker owner's ticket to trade."Vetting plays a vital role in safety, one which ...

At present 38 countries , 30.3% of the worlds registered tonnage have ratified the Convention INTERTANKO welcomes the agreement reached this week by the IMO's Member States in revising the implementation schedule for the Ballast Water Management Convention and urges all Governments to adhere to this new schedule.The International Maritime Organization's (IMO) governing body, the Assembly, adopted a Resolution this week in London that pins the application dates of the Ballast Water Management Convention to the entry into force date.This in effect makes all vessels constructed before the entry into force date 'existing' vessels, and allows for the installation of a ballast water management system (BWMS) on such vessels at the first renewal survey following entry into force.At present 38 countries representing 30.3% of the world's registered tonnage have ratified the Convention. The Convention will enter into force 12 months after the ratification by more than 35 countries representing more than 35% of the world's tonnage.The adoption of this Assembly Resolution is a major step in making the implementation of the international Convention workable once it comes into force. In 2012, INTERTANKO had led the submission of a paper to the IMO's Marine Environment and Protection Committee (MEPC), drawing the ...