Tag: safety measures

The Republic of the Marshall Islands issues Marine Guideline The Republic of the Marshall Islands issues Marine Guideline regarding Safety of Navigation, ECDIS, Navigation Chart Correction and Input to ARPA Equipped Radars and Traffic Separation Lanes as follows:This Marine Guideline provides advice and guidance to mariners on the importance of initiating and maintaining a regular and efficient system of chart and publication updating, the proper use of ARPA Radar, and Rules of the Road in Traffic Separation Lanes. Nautical chart and publication carriage requirements are addressed in Reference (a) above. This Guideline supersedes Rev. 2/08 and reflects the addition of new Reference (d) above and new section 3.0 on ECDIS with the rest renumbered.For more information, click here.Source: The Republic of the Marshall Islands

Requiring a mandatory liability insurance Minister of Business and Growth Ole Sohn has presented a bill the purpose of which is to ensure improved conditions for all passengers injured at sea. The bill, which was presented in the Danish Parliament by the Minister of Business and Growth, is to contribute to ensuring improved protection of passengers who are injured at sea. This is, for example, ensured by requiring a mandatory liability insurance in connection with all commercial passenger voyages, just as the liability limit of injuries is increased, which improves the possibilities of being compensated.At the same time, the bill will make it possible to register ships with a time-limit. This makes it possible to register a ship preliminarily when it is flagged in from abroad, conditional upon the procurement of an original certificate of deletion (i.e. proof that the ship is not registered in another a country and that it is free of any mortgages) within a time-limit. This smoother registration procedure will improve the conditions for flagging in and, thereby, contribute to continued growth in the maritime sector in Denmark.Source: Danish Maritime Authority

Operation Right Speed Larger vessels sailing along the Atlantic Seaboard are being reminded to slow down for right whales.The Coast Guard has implemented "Operation Right Speed" through April 2012 to ensure the migratory mammals have a safe passage along the Atlantic seaboard.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has implemented regulations that require vessels 65 feet or greater to operate at 10 knots or less in areas where the right whales are known to migrate.The first female right whale of the season was seen this month off Georgia.Right whales are among the most threatened of all the whales worldwide. The global population is estimated in the hundreds.Source: Huffington Post

Resolution aimed at improving investigations into shipboard crime The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted a resolution aimed at improving investigations into shipboard crime. The resolution, submitted by the United Kingdom, comes in the wake of concern over the case of missing British cruise worker Rebecca Coriam.The 24-year-old youth worker on the Bahamas-flagged Disney Wonder went missing at sea off the Mexican Riviera on 22 March 2011. Her family set up a campaign in her name after they received no answers from the ship about what happened to her. The Rebecca Coriam Search Foundation has been campaigning to get the UK and European Union to adopt law similar to the US Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act, which requires cruise ships to report shipboard crimes to the FBI and US Coast Guard for any US national.The IMO will now develop guidelines on the pastoral and medical care of alleged crime victims. The ITF affiliated international union Nautilus, which spoke to the resolution, said: "This was in recognition of widespread unease about the treatment of trainee officer Akhona Geveza, who had reportedly made an allegation of rape onboard the UK-flagged Safmarine Kariba before her unexplained death in June 2010."Source: ITF

Pew Environment Group A study by the Pew Environment Group recommends reforms to close gaps in oversight, response planning and risk assessment associated with proposed oil and gas development in Alaska's Arctic Ocean.The study, "Oil Spill Response in the U.S. Arctic Ocean: Unexamined Risks, Unacceptable Consequences," is a comprehensive analysis on challenges to preventing and containing spills along the nation's northernmost coast.

AMSA issues Marine Notice 18/2011 The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) issued a notice reminding stakeholders of precautions that should be taken when planning and undertaking cargo operations in the hold of a vessel.All ships must maintain at least one unobstructed and safe means of access into the hold from the uppermost deck of the space to the level at which loading or unloading is taking place. Ships must also have a safety plan to ensure that all persons are out of the cargo hold before permission is granted to commence loading.For more details, click here.Source: AMSA

Problems identified during inpections in July When an Australian ship inspector took a close look at a metal pin securing cargo on the Rena, he realized it wasn't an original. It was too thin and had no tab to keep it from falling out. Then he discovered that cleats securing the hatch could be removed with a single finger.Those were just two of 17 safety problems Tim Jordan and other inspectors found when the cargo ship docked in western Australia in July. Someone had tampered with an alarm. The navigation manuals were out of date. The data recorder was still wrapped in its canvas.The violations are described in records obtained by The Associated Press under Australian freedom of information laws. Inspection reports, emails and faxes tell the story of how Australia impounded the Greek-owned vessel, which like many ships is registered in Liberia, but then released it the next day after Liberian maritime authorities intervened, essentially saying the ship was safe to sail and the problems could be fixed later.On a calm night 10 weeks later, the Rena ran full-steam into a well-charted reef off the coast of New Zealand.It spilled 400 tons of oil, killing 2,000 sea birds and ...

Weight of containers - issue continues to menace ship safety Just imagine a container in which the shipper has declared a four tonne weight of cargo has been stowed within it but subsequently, after it has damaged a crane, is found to contain no less than 28 tonnes. The weight of containers has long been a contentious matter, with too many collapsed stows and even capsized ships witness to the cavalier manner in which cargo weights are sometimes declared. BIMCO, the World Shipping Council, the International Chamber of Shipping and now the International Association of Ports and Harbors have now mounted a joint campaign to encourage the International Maritime Organization to amend the SOLAS Convention to require, as a condition for stowing a laden container aboard ship, that both the ship and port facility have a verified actual weight of the container.Hopefully, the Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers Sub-Committee will consider this requirement at its September meeting next year. Torben Skaanild, Secretary General of BIMCO, has welcomed the recent participation of the IAPH in the joint approach. Better and more accurate knowledge of container contents will, said Dr. Geraldine Knatz president of IAPH and executive director of the Port ...

Class NK TEC - 0885 The Bahamian Government has notified ClassNK of special requirements for emergency escape breathing device(EEBD) on board the Bahamas flagged vessels as follows.1. SOLAS Chapter II-2 specifies the carriage requirement for EEBD in accommodation spaces as follows:(1) Cargo ships : Not less than two;(2) Passenger ships : Not less than two in each main vertical zone(3) Passenger ships carrying more than 36 passengers : In addition to the number specified in (2) above, not less than 2 in each main vertical zone.2. The number and location of EEBD to be provided in the machinery spaces is available in IMO Circular MSC/Circ.1081.3. All ships shall carry spare EEBDs that shall be located in a control station.The number of spares carried on board shall be as follows:(1) Cargo ships : 1 ;(2) Passenger ships : 2.4. Offshore units certified under the MODU Code, or modified MODU Code, or other alternative IMO Code shall be provided with EEBDs as if they were SOLAS certificated.5. In order to satisfy the SOLAS requirements for on-board training in the use of EEBDs, the vessel shall have either:(1) at least one separate EEBD clearly marked as designated for training, or(2) the onboard facility ...

OFPC SAFETY ALERT The Office of Fire Prevention and Control (OFPC) has issued a safety alert regarding a potential explosion hazard involving refrigerated shipping containers.Two instances of explosions have been reported and the cause of the explosions is suspected to be a faulty coolant, which could have been installed in up to 8,000 containers.You can view the Alert by clicking here.Source: The Republic of the Marshall Islands