Bringing you shipping, freight, trade and transport related news of interest for Africa since 2002

Stay Well, Stay Safe, Stay Patient, don’t become one

Advertise here – Affordable rates – email us for a Rate Card to terry@africaports.co.za

♠♠♠

Join us as we report through 2021

‘You learn with Africa Ports & Ships’ 

TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS

These news reports are updated on an ongoing basis. Check back regularly for the latest news as it develops – where necessary refresh your page at www.africaports.co.za

Click on headline to go direct to story : use the BACK key to return  

FIRST VIEW:   DUGONG ACE

EARLIER NEWS CAN BE FOUND HERE AT NEWS CATEGORIES…….

The Monday masthead shows the Durban Container Terminal by night
The Tuesday masthead shows the Port of Durban MPT.Ciy Terminal
The Wednesday masthead shows the Port of Durban Island View Terminal
The Thursday masthead shows the Port of Durban Maydon Wharf
The Friday masthead shows the Port of Cape Town Elliott Basin
The Saturday masthead shows the Port of Cape Town dry dock area
The Sunday masthead shows the Port of Cape Town Tanker Basin

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

SEND NEWS REPORTS AND PRESS RELEASES TO
info@africaports.co.za

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

FIRST VIEW:  DUGONG ACE

MOL Car carriers’ RoRo vessel DUGONG ACE (IMO 9777838) called at the port of Lyttelton on New Zealand’s South Island on Wednesday last week (18 August) to discharge motor vehicles. She sailed the following day at 15h30 but only after her arrival and berthing had been observed by ship fan and photographer Alan Calvert.

The vessel, one of MOL’s more recent types, was built in 2019, entering service in March of that year.  The 20-metre long, 32m wide ship has a deadweight of 16,500 tons and a gross tons of 62,500. The ship is powered by a MAN B&W 2-stroke diesel engine, model 7S60ME-C8 producing 19,253 HP or 14161 kW. Propulsion consists of a single fixed pitch propeller.

Dugong Ace registered owner is listed as Primavera Montana SA c/o the ISM, ship and commercial manager, Shunzan Kaiun KK of Imabari in Japan.

Pictures:  Alan Calvert

Added 22 August 2021

♠♠♠

Photographs of shipping and other maritime scenes involving any of the ports of South Africa or from the rest of the African continent, together with a short description, name of ship/s, ports etc are welome.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

NEWS

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK: LR1 tanker OKYROE has a proud reputation

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

With so much TV air time, and news coverage, currently covering the chaotic evacuation of Kabul, and the impending refugee crisis that the fall of Afghanistan will undoubtedly bring about, you would be forgiven for forgetting that a major refugee crisis is still being played out in the Mediterranean Sea every day, with mostly African refugees and asylum seekers. Many of these desperate people owe their lives to passing merchant vessels, whose crews fulfill the age old, and the honourable, humane tradition of assisting all those who are in peril upon the sea.

On 10th August at 15h00 the LR1 tanker OKYROE (IMO 9273088) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage and remained at anchor for almost four days, before entering Cape Town harbour on 14th August at 12h00 and berthing at the long tanker berth in the Duncan Dock.

She had arrived from Aliaga in Turkey, better known as the final resting place for many well-known passenger vessels, as Aliaga is an approved EU ship recycling and breakers yard. However, Aliaga’s prime industry is as an oil port, with two major refineries located there.

Built in 2004 by Hyundai Heavy Industries at Ulsan in South Korea, Okyroe is 228 metres in length and had a deadweight of 74,955 tons. She is powered by a single HHI MAN-B&W 6S60MC-C 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine, producing 16,580 bhp (12,195 kW) to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 16 knots. She has 14 cargo tanks and a cargo carrying capacity of 82,053 m3.

Owned by PST Energy and Shipping of Athens, Okyroe is both operated and managed by Project Shipping and Trading SA, with both entities located at the same address in Athens. This is not her first visit to Africa this year, as she delivered refined product cargoes to Dakar in Senegal, on two occasions, first in April and then again in June 2021.

On 21st October 2016, Okyroe was involved in a rescue mission of huge proportions in the Mediterranean Sea. She had just departed from the Libyan port of Mellitah, bound for Thailand, when she was requested by the Italian Coast Guard to assist in a rescue mission occurring some 20 miles off the Libyan coast.

Over the next two days, in conjunction with the Italian Coast Guard, two other NGO Refugee Rescue boats and under guidance from the MRCC in Rome, Okyroe rescued not 1, not 10, not 100, not even 1,000 but 1,536 men, women and children from rubber dinghies and other unseaworthy vessels, crammed full of refugees and desperate migrants.

The enormity of the operation presented the Captain and crew of Okyroe with tremendous logistical challenges including providing food, water, shelter, and medical care for the rescued individuals, as well as maintaining security on board. Initial panic, resulting in scuffles amongst some of the rescued men, resulted in Security Officers from the nearby Siem Pilot rescue boat having to board Okyroe with riot shields and batons to quell the disturbances.

Once all refugees had been accounted for, 778 of the survivors were transferred to an Italian Coast Guard vessel. The Coast Guard then directed Okyroe to proceed to the Italian port of Augusta, located on the island of Sicily, where the remaining 758 rescued souls were safely transferred ashore into the care of the local authorities.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands, under whose flag Okyroe sails, recognised the ‘above and beyond’ seamanship and care provided by Okyroe, and the Commissioner of Maritime Affairs presented the Captain and Crew with a Certificate of Commendation for the crucial lifesaving role that they played in the huge rescue mission.

However, this was not the first rescue that Okyroe had been involved in that year, as on 1st April 2016, when she was in the Gulf of Oman, and some 60 miles south of the coast of Iran, the watchkeeper on duty on Okyroe spotted a liferaft ahead of the vessel. Again, showing great seamanship, the Captain brought the tanker alongside the liferaft and rescued seven seamen.

The rescued sailors were the crew of a local dhow, whose vessel had developed a major hull breach, which capsized the vessel and them having to abandon ship. They had been in the liferaft for over nine hours when they were rescued. They were landed safely at Port Qasim in Pakistan, some three days later.

Once more the Commissioner of Maritime Affairs of the Republic of the Marshall Islands recognised the great act of seamanship and presented the Captain and crew of Okyroe with yet another Certificate of Commendation for the rescue, and their upkeep of the finest traditions of the sea. Two rescue operations in less than one year. There are not many vessels that can make that kind of boast.

Added 22 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Port Window: Durban Port Bulletin report

                                                                                                                               Moshe Motlohi, Transnet National Ports Authority General Manager reports:

 

This week, our ICT departments have been in the process of getting the port back to normality in as far as the systems are concerned. While this is the case, we are aware of the challenges pertaining to report generation as a result of the system downtime, however we are hopeful that in the next week we would have bounced back. We thank the ICT colleagues for their commitment to ensuring all teams are up and running.

A highlight for me was the resumption of our Decongestion Task Team meetings. While it was a short meeting, it was encouraging to experience the hunger to get the wheels turning again and ensuring a decongested port. We noted the issues relating to equipment challenges experienced at our container terminals – unfortunately these have been the direct impact of the system downtime in the past weeks.

We are aware that the terminals have bounced back, systematically, and are managing the deviations quite effectively while also in the process of introducing and exploring new interventions to help ‘de-bottleneck’ the terminals. With the amount of work already done at these terminals, I am confident that viable solutions will be delivered.

For us and the industry at large, it is really to support the container terminal management in their endeavours of improving productivity and ultimately delighting the customer. While we know that we are all creatures of habit and therefore where there is no certainty of what service level to expect, that doesn’t augur well with our natural instinct of establishing a routine, It is for that reason that reliability of equipment is critical in building the much desired rhythm in planning cargo movement to and from the port.

We recently had a representative from the African Rail industry association who shared plans of how we can work together in finding solutions to decongest the port. Rail is a major component of our value chain and any solutions or input to the work that we do is welcomed.

We have also received feedback from community forums surrounding the ports that have indicated their concerns around the trucks using the residential area roads. I am pleading with our partners to be at the forefront of engaging truck drivers to halt this conduct with immediate effect. I also call upon the law enforcement agencies to assist in monitoring this activity and enforce law and order in our surrounding communities.

We continue working on ensuring bullet-proof systems and ensuring that our internal stakeholders are up and running. The multi-stakeholder COVID-19 mitigation measures working committee meeting was held this week and fruitful discussions took place. A way forward has been crafted, however it still needs to be crystallised and communicated accordingly to industry.

While we can’t act upon everything that gets presented to us via social media, it is important to note the recent threats regarding another KZN shutdown. As the Port of Durban, we condemn such activities and anything that may be a threat to the functioning of the South African economy.

I would like to end this week [Friday 20 August] by encouraging everyone to ‘Take a shot’ for South Africa and get vaccinated. Continue to keep safe and adhere to all the COVID-9 regulations and protocols. Until next time, have a good weekend and a productive week ahead.

Note: There is no ‘Port of Durban Volume & Vessel Call Performance‘ available from the port at this time. It will hopefully return once all IT systems are up and running.

Added 22 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK: Excellent working of gearless NORTHERN PRELUDE at private berth

Story by Jay Gates

The ongoing issues of poor efficiency, productivity and availability of Transnet assets and infrastructure in Cape Town harbour are well known. Sometimes these seemingly intractable problems are seen as being so great, that something different has to be tried to try and improve the way things are done in the port.

On 12th August, at 12h00, the gearless container ship NORTHERN PRELUDE (IMO 9450325) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage and spent just a few hours outside the port before entering the harbour at 22h00 that evening. She had arrived from Port Elizabeth and proceeded to B berth in the Duncan Dock. Yes, you read that right, a gearless container vessel to B berth.

Built in 2009 by Daewoo Shipbuilding at Okpo in South Korea, Northern Prelude is 264 metres in length and has a deadweight of 59,404 tons. She is powered by a single Daewoo MAN-B&W 8K90MC-C 8 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 42,251 bhp (31,507 kW), driving a single fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 24.3 knots.

Owned by Norddeutsche Reederei H Schuldt GmbH of Hamburg, Northern Prelude is both operated and managed by V Ships Hamburg GmbH, and is currently on charter for Maersk Line on the WAF schedule. She has a container carrying capacity of 4,606 TEU, for which 470 reefer plugs are provided.

So, observers got to see a gearless container vessel not going to either the Transnet operated Container Terminal in the Ben Schoeman Dock, nor going to the Transnet operated Multi-Purpose Terminal in the Duncan Dock, both of which are provided for working gearless container vessels. Already, the eyebrows are raised as this is quite unusual.

That’s right, a gearless container vessel going to a private terminal, at a berth which has no shoreside cranes, and where vessels usually conduct cargo operations using their own ship’s gear.

The operators of the terminal are FPT, who are no strangers to efficient port working and have a track record, that is both years long and that is second to none, in turning around reefers, geared bulk carriers and geared container vessels in Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. As they say in South Africa “’n Boer maak ‘n plan”, which to non South Africans basically translates to ‘a farmer makes a plan’, or ‘not a problem, we will make this work’. And FPT did just that.

One can only assume that Maersk, who currently operate Northern Prelude on one of their WAF schedules between South Africa, West Africa, North Africa and Southern Europe have almost reached an ‘end of tether’ situation with the ongoing delays and other issues that befall their geared container vessels at Cape Town, that they were prepared to trial something not done before, in order to bypass the struggling Transnet system.

Currently, FPT already work the geared Maersk container vessels at A berth on their regular schedules from Asia, Europe and the USA, so they are well used to working within the Maersk system. It would seem that Maersk may have asked them to trial a large, gearless, vessel turnaround with no prior history of it having been done before and, oh boy, have FPT stepped up to the plate and delivered the goods, so to speak.

The vessel offload and onload container operation was conducted using a mobile crane, and not just any mobile crane. A seven axle, Liebherr LTM 1400-7.1TY mobile crane, provided by Absolute Cranes of Cape Town, was brought in to complete the job. For the observer, the deck load of containers appeared to be mostly reefer containers, and the container stack was uniform at two FEU high along the whole length of the vessel, which gave Northern Prelude a nice balanced look when she sailed on 14th August at 15h00, bound for Algeciras in Spain, after a well-coordinated turnaround at B berth of less than 40 hours.

For the ‘petrol heads’ who also like stats for specialised vehicles like this, the LTM 1400 is driven by a Liebherr 8 cylinder D9508A7 engine, providing 455 kW, to enable the crane to be driven on the open road at speeds up to 85 kph. The crane unit is powered by a Liebherr 6 cylinder D936L A6 engine, providing 240 kW of power for lifting work. With a telescopic, guy stayed, boom able to extend to 60 metres, and a maximum lift of 400 tons, the LTM 1400 can easily lift a 40 ton FEU at an outreach of 28 metres, and a 20 ton TEU at an outreach of 44 metres.

It is great to see something new happening in the harbour, that has not only been well managed, but also carried out very successfully, in a time frame that seems to reflect efficient working. If it continues, and more experience is gained, it can only get quicker. For that, kudos undoubtedly go to FPT for rising to this unique challenge, and meeting it with aplomb. Well done also to Maersk Line for making the courageous decision to go with this particular solution. Is this the sign of change a coming?

Added 22 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Introducing: The San Marino Ship Register

Tiny, landlocked San Marino on the Italian peninsula has no clear maritime connections, which are usually the basis for a country setting up a flag registry. Furthermore, ITF investigations using global shipping data could not identify any ship owners from San Marino who have registered vessels with other countries’ flags.

So why is a country with no coast setting up a commercial ship registry?
Experts at ITF ask why.

The news comes in the same month the ITF added seven new countries to its list of Flags of Convenience — that register of ships with no genuine link to the country.

♠♣♠♣♠

Q&A

Many States have a poor record in protecting the seafarers who work on ships flying their flag. However, San Marino is new to this arena so the ITF thought it would be fair to allow them to speak for themselves.

ITF wanted to know why a landlocked country is registering ships, so they asked the Registry and its questions, and the answers from the marketing team at San Marino Ship Register (SMSR) are shown below.

ITF: Why have you set up this Registry? Given that San Marino has no coast or maritime links, is it fair to conclude that this is a purely commercial venture?

SMSR: San Marino opening its international ship register has exercised a recognised right according to the International Convention. In particular, San Marino offers an open registry which allows the country to gain international visibility. This fosters commercial collaborations, the creation of new businesses, and broadens the international network of the country.

ITF: On your website, you mention Italian investors. How does investment in a government agency work?

SMSR: San Marino Ship Register is a private company which supports the San Marino Maritime Authority in the management of the registry with technological solutions, know-how, fleet management, and staff training. There is no investment in the Maritime Authority, which is the government agency and flag administration of the country.

ITF: What are the advantages for ship owners of registering in San Marino over, say, Italy?

SMSR: We offer fast registration procedures and quick response times, digital online applications, electronic certificates, reduced paperwork, and global access thanks to a register which is fully online.

ITF: Is it your plan to register all types of commercial shipping? Are there any limitations on what you will register?

SMSR: We do not currently have limitations based on vessel type. Special discounts will be applied to ships less than ten years old. We would like a young and green fleet.

ITF: Does San Marino plan to ratify the Maritime Labour Convention? Are there regulations to protect the freedom of association of crews on San Marino registered ships?

SMSR: San Marino ratified the Maritime Labour Convention on 26 February 2021. The national government is in the process of submitting said ratification to the ILO. Freedom of association of San Marino maritime crews will be guaranteed.

ITF: What financial and other provisions have you put in place to deal with, for example, crew repatriation in cases where ships are abandoned by their owners?

SMSR: This and other provisions for the implementation of the MLC convention will be drafted in the period following the submission of the ratification to the ILO, in the preparatory phase to fully implement the convention.

♠♣♠♣♠

Commenting on SMSR’s response, David Heindel, ITF Seafarers’ Section chair said: “San Marino’s rhetoric sounds positive. We are especially glad to hear that it is taking its responsibilities as a flag State seriously because for a landlocked nation with no maritime links, the San Marino registry has all the tell-tale signs of a flag of convenience.

“The ITF and our network of inspectors globally will be watching the San Marino registry with bated breath. We hope that San Marino lives up to its promises to protect seafarers and guarantee their fundamental rights.

“Robust structures must be put in place, not only to fast-track registration of ships, but also to ensure proper inspections of seafarers’ rights and grievance procedures to respond to seafarers’ complaints in line with the MLC. If they do this it will put them ahead of other registers that are clearly driven purely by commercial interests alone.”

 

 

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

Added 22 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK: story of a bunker tanker named SOUTHERN VALOUR

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

From the maritime perspective, the geographical central location of the Cape, located halfway from either North America, South America or Europe, to the Gulf, Far East or Australia, makes Cape Town an ideal place for vessels to take on bunkers. More than 600 vessels a day pass along the South African coast.

Other than vessels whose port rotations have them scheduled to make regular stops at Cape Town, there is a large market out there of passing traffic who want to call in for no other reason than to take on fuel, and these fuel needs require servicing by the humble bunker barge, or in the case of Cape Town, the small bunker tanker.

This kind of service vessel is made even more important by the fact that the local refinery has been shut down for over a year, with no reopening date known, and the system for bunkers to be piped around the harbour is no more due to the shutdown of the pipeline system in 2016. In Cape Town, the need for a small bunker tanker is paramount, and Cape Town currently has two fulfilling that role. One of these is SOUTHERN VALOUR (IMO 9405150).

The history of the Southern Valour in being in Cape Town is slightly convoluted. Back in 2006 the Grindrod Group in Durban created Unicorn Bunker Services, to provide bunkers to vessels, originally in Durban harbour. For this enterprise, and to bring in new, state of the art, bunker tankers, two sisterships were ordered, to be built for delivery in 2008. One was to be named Southern Venture, and the other Southern Valour. A third sistership, Fumana, was built in 2010 by Dormac, at Durban.

At this time Unicorn Bunker Services had decided to go into a joint venture with the BEE investment company, Calulo Services, to form a new company called Unical Bunker Services, with Unicorn parent company, Grindrod, having a majority 75% shareholding.

Built by Yinxing Shipyard at Jiangmen in China, Southern Valour is 70 metres in length with a deadweight of 4,250 tons. She is powered by a Cummins QSK19-M 6 cylinder 4 stroke main engine, producing 660 bhp (492 kW).

Having eleven, fully segregated, cargo tanks with a capacity of 4,500 tons, Southern Valour can carry a maximum bunker load of 3,674 tons for Marine Fuel Oil (MFO) and 724 tons for Marine Gas Oil (MGO). Her pumping rate is 980 tons per hour for MFO, and 140 tons per hour for MGO.

All cargo tank valves are controlled from the bridge, where loading and offloading operations are monitored. As a modern bunker vessel, Southern Valour is equipped with closed loading systems, temperature compensated flow meters, and cargo tank levels are monitored via radar tank level gauging technology.

With her sister ship, Southern Valour was delivered to Richards Bay on 2nd June 2008, direct from the shipyard in China. Both vessels then sailed down to Durban, where Southern Ventur’ remained, and Southern Valour sailed to Cape Town on her longest voyage yet undertaken.

On arrival in Cape Town Southern Valou’ was contracted to Chevron for a period of five years, and the contract for supplying bunkers in Cape Town harbour began on 19th August 2008. At the time, Chevron were owners and operators of the Milnerton oil refinery at Cape Town. The contract continued until 2018 when Chevron sold the refinery to Astron Energy, a Glencore company.

In June 2011, both Unical and Chevron were parties to a High Court Case, where Chevron was in a charter dispute with Unical. The dispute was based on a discrepancy between the fuel stocks supplied to Unical, according to Chevron, and the amount of fuel recorded as being delivered as bunkers to vessels in Cape Town harbour. The difference claimed was not a small amount either, with Chevron demanding payment for the differing amounts of fuel supplied to the tune of over ZAR24.4 million. Unical disputed the Chevron claim.

The change of bunker fuel supplier, from Chevron to Astron Energy in 2018, tied in with the decision of Unical Bunker Services to sell the business to a BEE investment joint venture of WOESA (Women in Oil and Energy South Africa) and Linsen Nambi (a Black Youth owned shipbroking company). The newly created company was called Linsen Nambi Bunker Services, with WOESA having a 51% share interest, and the new company retaining the bunker contract in Cape Town with Astron Energy.

All bunkers, including with low sulphur content (LSMGO and VLSFO), are loaded into Southern Valour via a pipeline facility located on Landing Wall berth 4. Currently all bunkers at Cape Town are brought into the port by shuttle tankers, and pumped into a storage facility, due to the enforced closure of the Milnerton Refinery resulting in no bunker fuels having been produced locally for more than a year.

Added 22 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

DP World completes successful real-time trial of BOXBAY high storage system

DP World, which operates a number of container and multi-purpose terminal across Africa, including at Maputo and Luanda in Angola, has completed testing of the BOXBAY high bay storage concept at the first full-size facility constructed at Jebel Ali port in Dubai.

The test has demonstrated that the innovative technology works in the real world. More than 63,000 container moves have been completed since the facility, which can hold 792 containers at a time, was commissioned at the beginning of this year.

The test exceeded expectations with BOXBAY proving faster and more energy efficient than anticipated.

BOXBAY is a Joint Venture between DP World and German industrial engineering specialist SMS group. The system stores containers in slots in a steel rack up to eleven high. It delivers three times the capacity of a conventional yard in which containers are stacked directly on top of each other, meaning the footprint of terminals can be reduced by 70 percent.

In BOXBAY containers are moved in and out and between slots by fully electrified and automated cranes built into the structure. Individual containers can be accessed without moving any others. The whole system is designed to be fully powered by solar panels on the roof.

“This test proves that BOXBAY can revolutionise how ports and terminals operate,” said Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World.

“The technology we have developed with our joint venture partner SMS group dramatically expands capacity, increases efficiency, and makes the handling of containers more sustainable. BOXBAY is part of DP World’s vision to apply innovation to enable global trade and be a provider of smart logistics solutions.”

Modifications made during the trial compared to the original design further improve performance and significantly reduce investment required for future installations. High performance levels of BOXBAY – 19.3 moves per hour at each waterside transfer table to the straddle carrier and 31.8 moves per hour at each landside truck crane – will also reduce the equipment needed in a terminal. Operating costs are also lower than anticipated, with energy costs better by 29 percent, all at significantly reduced maintenance costs.

Mathias Dobner, Chairman and CEO of BOXBAY, said that BOXBAY and its partner companies are very pleased with the results of the first six months of operation.

“In important parameters such as performance, reliability, energy consumption and many more our goals have been exceeded by far. For ports worldwide, this innovative and disruptive technology will not only increase their over-the-quay-wall handling volumes and container storage capacity, but will also allow them to make a further step towards sustainability, as power regeneration and solar panels on the roof help reduce the CO2 footprint to a minimum.

Added 22 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

ABS White Paper: Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage

Climate change has taken centre stage globally, of this there is no doubt. Requirements are constantly emerging from regulatory bodies, financial institutions as well as several other organisations, driving companies to not only account for their carbon footprint but to also find ways to reduce it.

One of the methods that many companies are exploring is carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS).

To introduce the topic there is a White Paper by the American Bureau of Shipping with the title Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage of August 2021. This document explores the potential of CCUS including current technology, opportunities for the use of carbon, its storage, as well as the vessels required to carry the liquified product.

The ABS White Paper may be downloaded HERE

 

 

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

Added 22 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Seall, A Marine Technology Company, Expands with Key Global Partner, Mackay Marine

Aberdeen, Scotland-based Seall, has secured a partnership with global marine electronics and service provider, Mackay Marine, to distribute Seall’s suite of innovative software solutions and products to the maritime industry, as they expand their worldwide footprint.

Mackay Marine, headquartered in North Carolina, USA, has 50 locations in 16 countries, making it Seall’s largest distribution partnership agreement to-date. Seall will work with Mackay to build and scale their offering across their network of partners and customers. Mackay Marine is a leading electronic equipment, satellite communications, and onboard service provider for marine, offshore, and land-mobile applications.

Seall engineers have internally designed a….

Read the rest of this report in the TRADE NEWS section available by CLICKING HERE

Added 22 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Preventable death of seafarer during crew change offshore

 

ITF calls for national approach

The Australian Government must urgently implement a nationally-consistent best-practice plan for crew changes on international trading vessels following the preventable death of a seafarer during a high-risk transfer off Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in week ending 14 August. This was the view held by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) in a statement issued the same week.

Apparently the man died after reportedly falling from a ladder being used to transfer seafarers between the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Formosabulk Clement and a small vessel.

As the incident occurred in Australian territorial waters, approximately five nautical miles off Mooloolaba, the vessel was detained by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to allow an investigation into the death to occur.

Lack of national policy

The ITF said the lack of a nationally-consistent policy on international seafarer crew changes, along with restrictive state-based health orders, appeared to be the reason the high-risk offshore transfer was undertaken rather than occurring in port.

In the words of ITF Australia coordinator Ian Bray: “Currently, Queensland is one of the only states in Australia facilitating crew changes on international vessels — which in many cases have seafarers that have been effectively trapped onboard for more than a year due to the Covid crisis.

“Formosabulk Clement was reportedly sailing to a New South Wales port, where a crew change could have safely occurred at the berth, but because of that state’s restrictive health orders it appears the vessel operator instead decided to replace the crew while sailing down the Queensland coast.

“After spending the last year at sea, this seafarer was looking forward to finally returning home to his family, but instead they have received the tragic news that he died during the crew change.

“Our deepest sympathies are with his family, friends, and fellow crew members.

“It is essential that the Australian Government learn from this completely preventable death and take the urgent steps needed to address the crew change crisis that caused it.

“Australia is failing to live up to its legal obligations as a signatory to the Maritime Labour Convention, which outlines the nation’s responsibility to the health and welfare of the seafarers that keep the nation’s supply chains moving.

“State and Federal Governments are complicit in any fatalities that occur because crew changes are being undertaken in an unsafe manner due to their prescribed health orders.

“The Australian Government needs to urgently address this issue, working with State and Territory Governments to put in place a nationally-consistent, best-practice crew change policy that allows the safe transfer of crew members while vessels are in port.

“The current situation is seeing risky off-shore transfers take place, while some vessels are diverting to Queensland ports because it is the only Australian state with a comprehensive approach to crew changes.

The ITF

The International Transport Workers’ Federation is a democratic global union federation of 670 transport workers’ trade unions representing over 20 million workers in 140 countries. The ITF works to improve the lives of transport workers globally, encouraging and organising international solidarity among its network of affiliates. The ITF represents the interests of transport workers’ unions in bodies that take decisions affecting jobs, employment conditions or safety in the transport industry. For more information readers are invited to see here:

The ITF Inspectorate is a network of 147 Inspectors and Contacts, based in ports all over the world, whose job is to inspect ships calling in their ports to ensure the seafarers have decent pay, working conditions and living conditions on board. They conduct routine inspections and also visit ships on request of the crew. If necessary they assist with actions to protect seafarers’ rights as permitted by law.

 

 

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

Added 22 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

GENERAL NEWS REPORTS – UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY

in partnership with – APO

More News at https://africaports.co.za/category/News/

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

Laws control the lesser man… Right conduct controls the greater one.

– Mark Twain

♠♠♠

News continues below………

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

Request a Rate Card from info@africaports.co.za

EXPECTED SHIP ARRIVALS and SHIPS IN PORT

Port Louis – Indian Ocean gateway port

Ports & Ships publishes regularly updated SHIP MOVEMENT reports including ETAs for ports extending from West Africa to South Africa to East Africa and including Port Louis in Mauritius.

In the case of South Africa’s container ports of Durban, Ngqura, Ports Elizabeth and Cape Town links to container Stack Dates are also available.

You can access this information, including the list of ports covered, by  CLICKING HERE remember to use your BACKSPACE to return to this page.

News continues below

CRUISE NEWS AND NAVAL ACTIVITIES

QM2 in Cape Town. Picture by Ian Shiffman

We publish news about the cruise industry here in the general news section.

Naval News

Similarly you can read our regular Naval News reports and stories here in the general news section.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

♠♠♠

For a Rate Card please contact us at info@africaports.co.za

Don’t forget to send us your news and press releases for inclusion in the News Bulletins. Shipping related pictures submitted by readers are always welcome. Email to info@africaports.co.za

 

TABLE BAY UNDERWAY SHIPPING SHIP PHOTOGRAPHERS Colour photographs and slides for sale of a variety of ships.Thousands of items listed featuring famous passenger liners of the past to cruise ships of today, freighters, container vessels, tankers, bulkers, naval and research vessels.P O BOX 809, CAPE TOWN, 8000, SOUTH AFRICA snai@worldonline.co.za http://home.worldonline.co.za/~snai