Tag: UK

SOS campaign is right behind British PM David Cameron's statement Giles Heimann, a spokesperson for SaveOurSeafarers reacted to David Cameron's statement about piracy, by saying:"The shipping industry's SOS SaveOurSeafarers campaign is right behind British PM David Cameron's statement that the hijack and ransom by Somali pirates on ships round the Horn of Africa is a complete stain on our world. The cost on the world's seafarers is huge, with hundreds held hostage on their hijacked ships for months on end, hungry and dispirited, and moreover physically and mentally tortured by their captors.The shipping industry organisations backing the SOS SaveOurSeafarers campaign are delighted to see decisive government action over Somali piracy. Armed guards on ships are effective in deterring pirate attacks. British-flagged ships now have the option to use armed guards if they wish to. However using armed guards can have important legal implications, particularly over liability, and many industry bodies believe that such a decision sits best with each individual operator based on risk analysis specific to each ship.The SOS SaveOurSeafarers also welcomes the British Prime Minister's comment that he wants to make sure that more of these pirates face justice, instead of being set free in the ludicrous way ...

UK is committed to cutting all its climate-changing emissions by 80%by 2050 Greenhouse gas emissions from shipping should be included in the UK's climate change budgets, the Committee on Climate Change has recommended.Under the Climate Change Act, the UK is committed to cutting all its climate-changing emissions by 80% - based on 1990 levels - by 2050.But international aviation and shipping emissions are not currently included.If the government agrees, it will mean tighter targets for other sectors such as motoring and electricity generation."Shipping could account for up to 10% of emissions allowed under the 2050 target, and that says this is a material issue," said Committee on Climate Change (CCC) chief executive David Kennedy.The CCC's report says there are many ways for shipping to curb its carbon footprint - by improving fuel efficiency, deploying kites or sails, or allocating vessels more efficiently.Some companies are already developing such techniques.Tight budgets The CCC has recommended - and the government has adopted - a series of carbon budgets setting down the maximum scale of greenhouse gas emissions that the UK can emit over successive five-year periods.They are designed as staging posts on the way to the 2050 target.If the government does agree to ...

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed The UK was not protected by any warships during October, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed.The Royal Navy's cutbacks and presence in Libya meant UK waters were without the minimum coverage of a frigate or destroyer as Fleet Ready Escort (FRE).The last FRE ship, which can react to incidents such as terrorism, was Devon-based HMS Portland on 3 October.The MoD said although no warship was on FRE duty one could have been allocated within 24 hours.The FRE is a warship which is ready to react to an emergency, such as a terrorist attack, in UK waters or abroad.Frigate cutsBut the MoD said cuts to its fleet in the Strategic Defence and Strategy Review (SDSR), which reduced the number of its frigates from 24 to 19, and its commitments to the Nato mission in Libya, had left it unable to fill the role for a month.A Royal Navy spokesman said: "Due to the successful deployment of Royal Navy units to the Libya campaign, it has been necessary to reprofile the commitments of some ships."Should a FRE activation be required, a Royal Navy ship would be allocated."HMS Portland left the role of FRE on ...

ITF comments on British prime minister David Cameron's pledge for armed guards Commenting on British prime minister David Cameron's pledge to more effectively protect ships against pirates, including by relaxing rules on carrying arms, ITF general secretary David Cockroft said:"Somali-based piracy has been allowed to become so successful, savage and wide-ranging that seafarers' and seafaring organisations' worries about armed guards have had to be set aside. However, guards can never be anything but a supplement to the sorely-tried existing naval presence, which is now trying to cover an entire ocean."The ITF, like the International Shipping Federation and International Chamber of Shipping, would like to see on-vessel detachments made up of the ship's flag state forces whenever possible."He continued: "Sadly no move is without risks. Pirate gangs are making fortunes out of their crimes. It is easy for them to reach for heavier and heavier weapons and turn to obscene levels of violence to counter defensive measures.""'We welcome David Cameron's interest in maritime affairs, but we also have to warn him that the current defence cuts are likely to compromise the Royal Navy's ability to fight piracy."ITF seafarers' section chair Dave Heindel added: "What's an open secret is the yawning gap ...

Ships sailing under a British flag will be able to carry armed guards - PM announced Ships sailing under a British flag will be able to carry armed guards to protect them from pirates, the prime minister has announced.David Cameron says he wants to combat the risks to shipping off the coast of Somalia, where 49 of the world's 53 hijackings last year took place.Under the plans, the home secretary would be given the power to license armed guards for ships.No ship carrying armed security has yet been hijacked, the government claims.Up to 200 vessels flying the red ensign - the British merchant navy flag - regularly sail close to Somalia. Officials estimate that about 100 of those would immediately apply for permission to have armed guards.Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea every ship is subject to the jurisdiction of the country whose flag it carries.It is thought many British-registered ships already carry armed guards because they feel they have no alternative.However, licensing ships to carry armed guards could still fall foul of laws in other countries. Egypt recently announced that armed guards would not be permitted on ships sailing through the Suez canal.Shoot ...

Britain to boost its fight against Somali piracy Britain is to boost its fight against Somali piracy by creating a new intelligence cell with the job of tracking the multi-million dollar money flows generated by buccaneering "kingpins".Ministers plan to despatch officers from the Serious and Organised Crime Agency to staff a new Indian Ocean unit dedicated to hunting pirate financiers, who provide start-up cash for gangs in return for the lion's share of ransom proceeds.A financier who offers as little $10,000 to equip a gang with skiffs, fuel and guns can easily expect a return of 10 or 20 times his money in the event of a successful hijacking.But while such profits are now believed to run into tens of millions of dollars a year, relatively little is known about exactly where the cash ends up, beyond a widespread acknowledgement that it makes the gangs ever more powerful, and may also line the pockets of Somalia's al-Shabaab Islamist movement."Pirate financiers are the kingpins of piracy," said Henry Bellingham, Foreign Office minister for Africa, who will announce details of the new centre in a speech to the Chamber of Shipping in London on Wednesday. "Effectively targeting them will have a huge ...

Government announces funding of counter-piracy projects Speaking at the British Chamber of Shipping, Foreign Office Minister, Henry Bellingham, outlined the UK's ongoing commitment to tackle piracy off the coast of East Africa, including UK support for several of the UN's projects to tackle piracy - including work in Somalia designed to prevent people from turning to piracy in the first place.Minister for Africa, Henry Bellingham said: "This government is 100% behind a more robust response to piracy. I am pleased to announce that a UK funded maritime intelligence and information coordination centre will be set up in Seychelles. The FCO and Serious Organised Crime Agency are carrying out urgent work with the Government of the Seychelles to take this forward."The new intelligence centre will coordinate the tracking of financial flows and enforcement operations and will help collate the evidence needed to issue international arrest warrants and prosecute pirates. Pirate financiers are the kingpins of piracy and targeting them effectively will have a huge impact on the ability of pirates to terrorise the high seas."Mr Bellingham continued: "We have always been clear that the problem of piracy cannot be solved at sea when the causes of piracy lie on land. We ...

House of Commons Transport Select Committee will hold an inquiry The UK's House of Commons Transport Select Committee has announced it will hold an inquiry into the impact of regulations limiting sulphur emissions from ships.The organisation bringing together the shipping, ports and maritime business services sectors, Maritime UK, says the move is in repsonse to its lobbying on the issue. The news or an inquiry follows a meeting between the select committee and senior Maritime UK members earlier this year, where committee chairman Louise Ellman MP heard of the detrimental impact the IMO's sulphur regulations, and the EU sulphur directive, will have on the maritime services sector.The maximum permitted sulphur content in fuel burnt within IMO-designated Emissions Control Areas was reduced to 1% from 1 July last year but there will be a further reduction to 0, 1% from 1 January 2015 which is widely seen as problematic as it probably mean a large-scale switch-over to distillate fuel which already much expensive than heavy fuel oil bunkers. It is generally believed that the cost of distillate will increase significantly as the refineries struggle to meet demand.In a submission to the Committee, Maritime UK says: "The main effect of the revised ...

1 billion investment program to create 1,500 jobs At the port of Felixstowe in Suffolk, a 1 billion investment program to create 1,500 jobs has seen the opening of two new deep-water shipping terminals, making it the only berth in the UK capable of handling the biggest containerships on order.The terminals are said to be equipped with seven of the largest container cranes in the world, able to manage ships with containers stowed 24-wide, The Press Association reports. The opening of the berths is only one stage in the investment program, though. The expansion of the port could rack up an additional 20 billion to what has already been invested with rail terminal construction.The expansion is not only a boost to the economy and creating jobs, but it is also enhancing UK's supply chain infrastructure at one of its biggest ports. The cutting-edge technology will be able to provide better customer service, as well as reducing carbon emissions, according to Dredging Today.The Felixstowe port currently deals approximately 40% of the UK's container cargo, with over 60 billion in trade passing through the port annually. The new terminals and cranes will enable that number to increase by 20 billion a year.BBC ...

Port of Felixstowe Berths 8 & 9