Tag: INTERTANKO

Provides detailed information relative to ladders not up to the SOLAS standard In its report to the IMO's Maritime Safety Committee, the fifty-fifth session of the Sub-committee on Safety of Navigation (NAV 55) had requested the International Maritime Pilots' Association (IMPA) to provide detailed information to the Ship Design and Safety of Navigation Sub-committees, relative to specific ladders their members were asked to climb that were not up to the SOLAS standard.The campaign was run during one week at the end of September 2010, and involved the membership of IMPA, together with colleagues in the European Maritime Pilots' Association.Three years have passed since the last safety campaign was conducted. That campaign was carried out in response to a peak in fatalities to pilots and launch crews in 2006.IMPA has noted a slow decline in the level of defects, which, though still quite high, is at least heading in the right direction.IMPA is optimistic that the inclusion of pilot ladders in the ship's safety equipment inspection regime under the changes to SOLAS Chapter V Regulation 23, proceeding through the 27th IMO Assembly in autumn 2011, will have a profound effect on the standard found in future campaigns/surveys.Click here to view the ...

These incidents led vessels drifting to coastline or requiring assistance to emergency anchorage INTERTANKO has received a Safety Alert Bulletin from International Marine Transportation Limited (ExxonMobil) saying that there has been an increase in the number of incidents attributable to main engine control failures. In a number of cases, such incidents have led to vessels drifting relatively close to the coastline, or requiring to be assisted to an emergency anchorage.This bulletin is to highlight this increasing trend and to encourage an internal review of main engine control system (remote/emergency) operations, inspections and maintenance procedures, aimed at minimising such failures.Prudent passage planning includes assessing the potential for the loss of propulsion and identifies mitigating actions to address such events. However, only the rapid restoration of propulsion control will ensure the safety of a vessel, its crew and the environment.To view the Safety Alert Bulletin click hereSource : INTERTANKO

These incidents led vessels drifting to coastline or requiring assistance to emergency anchorage 800x600 Normal 0 false false false EL X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 INTERTANKO has received a Safety Alert Bulletin from International Marine Transportation Limited (ExxonMobil) saying that there has been an increase in the number of incidents attributable to main engine control failures. In a number of cases, such incidents have led to vessels drifting relatively close to the coastline, or requiring to be assisted to an emergency anchorage.This bulletin is to highlight this increasing trend and to encourage an internal review of main engine control system (remote/emergency) operations, inspections and maintenance procedures, aimed at minimising such failures.Prudent passage planning includes assessing the potential for the loss of propulsion and identifies mitigating actions to address such events. However, only the rapid restoration of propulsion control will ensure the safety of a vessel, its crew and the environment.To view the Safety Alert Bulletin click hereSource : INTERTANKO

Opportunities in floating power stations Shipping companies must cut overheads as fuel costs rise, and diversify into niche markets such as building floating power stations to ride out the current depressed market, top shippers said on Tuesday.Oil tanker freight rates have hit their lowest levels since 2009 in recent months and dry bulk earnings have also struggled as a glut of vessels hitting the market has outpaced demand.Profitability in shipping has also been hurt by rising operating costs resulting from a spike in oil prices which are near multi-year highs due in part to political unrest in the Arab world."The market today is the worst since the Black Plague," quipped Tor Olav Troeim, vice-president of Frontline, the world's biggest independent oil tanker group, during a shipping conference, revealing the mindset of many shippers.He added that the downturn in the oil tanker market had only begun and could take five years before it may improve again."How we can survive this cycle? We need to make sure costs are low ... This will be important in the years to come."Another executive expected the market to pick up earlier than Frontline anticipated."One would hope that by 2013 you start seeing the (supply-demand) gap ...

It also concerns the designation of places of refuge for ships in distress At the end of April the European Commission published a report on the implementation of Directive 2002/59/EC. This Directive, which in the meantime has been amended as part of Europe's 3rd Maritime Safety Package, establishes a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system (SafeSeaNet), but it also concerns the designation of places of refuge for ships in distress.The Commission's report reveals a satisfactory implementation of the provisions by the EU Member States. It focuses on the implementation of the vessel traffic monitoring aspects of the Directive. It stresses that the Member States have lived up to expectations as regards the setting up of on-shore AIS stations and the sharing of maritime traffic information through SafeSeaNet.A small exception to this concerns WETREP, the Western European Tanker Reporting System, which is operated by six European coastal states. According to the report, these Member States have expressed doubts on the obligation of exchanging WETREP data through SafeSeaNet. However, the Commission is confident that a practical solution can be found.As regards accidents and incidents at sea and places of refuge the Commission reports that all coastal Member States have legally transposed ...

A milestone has been reached Readers will remember from previous articles that INTERTANKO is a member of the Industry Lifeboat Group (ILG), which was instrumental in the creation of the "Proposed Guidelines for the Evaluation and Replacement of Lifeboat Release and Retrieval Systems".At this week's meetings of the IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 89), the Committee:- approved the draft MSC circular on Guidelines for Evaluation and Replacement of Lifeboat Release and Retrieval Systems;- adopted the modified amendments to SOLAS regulation III/1;- approved the draft MSC circular on early application of new SOLAS regulation III/1.5;- adopted the modified amendments to the LSA Code and decided on their application date;- adopted the draft MSC resolution on amendments to the Revised recommendation on testing of life-saving appliances (resolution MSC.81 (70)), as amended.INTERTANKO voiced its support for the proposed Guidelines in Plenary. However, like other members of the ILG and many Member States, INTERTANKO was of the opinion that it would be premature to close-out the lifeboat release hook topic in its entirety. The ILG has identified several elements which have not been addressed in the proposed Guidelines:- Vibration;- Secondary safety systems.The ILG recognises that vibration can potentially be a major factor in the ...

Response Plans for Hazardous Substances The U.S. Coast Guard has proposed regulations regarding Tank Vessel Response Plans for Hazardous Substances and Marine Transportation-Related Facility Response Plans for Hazardous Substances.These proposed regulations were published (in 1999) to implement the requirements put into place by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, but were never published as Final Rules. As a result of the lapse in time since the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), the Coast Guard has reopened the comment period to allow for any additional or updated comments and feedback before publishing these as Final Rules.INTERTANKO had, in response, submitted comments to the USCG in March 1999. However following discussions within the Association's Chemical Tanker Committee (CTC) and its Chemical Tanker Committee, Americas (CTSCA), it was decided to review the comments submitted in 1999 and to submit fresh, updated comments. INTERTANKO has also liaised with the Chamber of Shipping, Americas (CSA) and the International Group of P&I Clubs (IG) who have also submitted comments.The comments submitted to the USCG in response to their request for comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) can be accessed hereINTERTANKO, on behalf of its Members, continues to work closely with the U.S. Coast Guard ...

Concept to minimise the amount of oily bilge water in machinery spaces The Integrated Bilge Water Treatment System (IBTS) concept was promoted by Japan and recognised by the IMOthrough its MEPC.1/Circ 642 as an excellent concept to minimise the amount of oily bilge water generated in machinery spaces and with an integrated means to process the oily bilge water and oil residue (sludge).In principle, the IBTS is a concept of an installation containing a bilge primary tank and proper control of the flow of drain streams, aiming to segregate as much as possible oily streams from the drain streams of clean water, and avoid their admixture.Unfortunately, ships which use oily water separator systems based on the IBTS concept have reported negative experiences with port state control officers who are not convinced that ships can generate significantly low oily water volumes.To avoid this, Japan and the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) have suggested that ships equipped withinstallations based on the IBTS concept are given a Statement of Fact, which is a check list acknowledging that the installation follows the IBTS as described in MEPC .1/Circ. 642.INTERTANKO and other ship owner organisations supported the promotion of IBTS. INTERTANKO recommended that Governments ...

Action on the issue of maritime piracy The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has come out in support of a joint campaign launched by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), Intertanko, Intercargo, BIMCO and the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) that urges governments to take firm action on the issue of maritime piracy off the coast of Somalia.The campaign, aimed at raising awareness of the human and economic costs of maritime piracy, urges governments around the world to prioritise six key actions:Reducing the effectiveness of easily identifiable motherships;Authorizing naval forces to hold pirates and deliver them for prosecution and punishment;Fully criminalizing all acts of piracy and intent to commit piracy under national laws, in accordance with their mandatory duty to co-operate to suppress piracy under international conventions;Increasing naval assets available in the affected areas;Providing greater protection and support for seafarers; andTracing and criminalizing the organisers and financiers behind the criminal networks.So far in 2011, 13 vessels have been hijacked by suspected Somali pirates, with a total of 243 crewmembers taken hostage.In addition, six crew were kidnapped from a vessel that was hijacked and then left adrift in the Indian Ocean. Of most concern, however, are the seven murders committed by ...

European Advance Cargo Declaration regime in force Shipping companies are from 1 January 2011 obliged to provide the relevant European Customs offices with security data for all goods to be exported from or imported to the European Union (EU). Failure to do so properly can result in penalties.The purpose of this regime is to ensure the security of EU Member States through better monitoring of the movements of goods. The security data will have to be submitted through electronic declarations before the goods are brought into, or out of, the European Union. In addition, a uniform set of EU risk criteria will be applied by European Union Member States when carrying out customs controls on goods entering or leaving the EU.Unfortunately EU Member States all have different specifications / electronic file formats and some states may not have had the required systems in place to receive the advance cargo declaration information in electronic format on 1 January. We understand that several states that were somewhat behind in this regard have now made some progress and that system testing is taking place.The Commission has informed us that it has advised these states not to apply sanctions during the phasing-in period of ...