President’s Corner

Dear NAMSGlobal and all other readers;

Good day to all and I know many of you are looking forward to a spring thaw. Not only to see some green but also to kick off a new boating season in and around the areas traditionally covered by the cold white stuff this time of year. 2014 for me has started off with a bang; trips to Brazil, Miami, Norway and most recently New Orleans.

We are a little over a month remaining until the next National Conference and Board of Directors meeting, we are looking forward to a lively flow of agenda items and excellent attendance at what promises to be a fantastic conference. Please review the agenda and plan on coming in. It is April 6 to 8 at the Norfolk Marriott. Full details are inside the NAMSGlobal News.

New Orleans was a trip to the NAMSGlobal East Gulf regional meeting. The current National President, Vice President, Treasurer and secretary were all in attendees as were about 45 NAMSGlobal or aspiring members. Quite a nice dinner was served and we had a lively conversation around the tables. One thing that I noticed was that there is still some confusion over what the IAMWS is designated to be. The best description I can give you is as follows:

1. London Underwriters (Offshore Energy and Marine) want their Marine Warranty Surveyors to be accredited, so the 800 to 1000 global guys that do this work are a ripe target.
2. Focused on the offshore energy industry specifically; Subsea Installations, Subsea Pipe lay, Platform installation and Floating structure installation. Project Cargo and Trip in tow work is not a specific category. This will be a later module or part of Hull or cargo specifically.
3. The final goal in this for me was to grow the membership and in the future shrink the overall cost per member for all members of NAMSGlobal and IAMWS.This was the most discussed portion of the evening.

Online testing is in the final stages of development and we are looking to have it fully implemented within the next 90 days for IAMWS and 180 days for NAMSGlobal. This will be the wave of the future for testing and accreditation.

Mike Beijar, our webmaster for the past at least 10 years has decided to resign from that position. Mike has done an amazing job in the last years taking care of that side of the business and we are very appreciative of his work. We are now looking for a replacement for Mike. Please let John Venneman or me know if you are interested.

Additionally, as John Venneman was elected Vice President, we will be looking to replace the NAMSGlobal Treasurer at the spring meeting. If you are interested in this position, please contact the current treasurer or me and we will bring the names of the candidates to the BOD meeting in April.

I am certain there are many more noteworthy things that have occurred in the past 2 months and I look forward to hearing about them via email or at the meeting in Norfolk. We have tentatively scheduled the next BOD meeting for the New England Regional meeting at the AMICA facility in Rhode Island (I think) for October 2014. Please get this on your calendar as well.

Respectfully yours, I remain
Steven P. Weiss, NAMS-CMS
President

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Thanks, and best regards to all.
Greg Weeter, Editor

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NAMS Applicants, New Members, and Changes in Status

Crossed The Bar

Upcoming Educational Events

ABYC 2014 Course Calendar

For the latest information on ABYC’s 2014 educational programs, please go to the ABYC home page by clicking here and look under Events in the right sidebar. Be advised it opens a new window in your browser. Simply close it to return here.

ABYC conducts many educational programs including, but not limited to, Marine Electrical Systems, Corrosion Surveys, Diesel Engines & Support Systems, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, and ABYC Standards.

If you have questions regarding registration for the ABYC courses please contact Cris Gardner or Sandy Brown at 410.990.4460.

AIMU Education 2014 Calendar

There are new additions to AIMU’s online Web Lecture Center, which now offers fourteen webinars. The online Web Lecture Center can be accessed through the AIMU website under the ‘Education’ tab or directly at http://www.aimuedu.org/default.aspx. Additional recordings will be added continually and will particularly benefit those who prefer viewing the lectures at their convenience. The fee for each webinar is $50 (members) and $75 (non-members).

Students now have two options: Attend in the classroom or as a Distance Learning Student. AIMU now offers this option as a means to train the ocean marine industry. You can attend from anywhere in the U.S. We provide you with a link to videoconference into the classroom. Turn on your computer, dial your phone (or turn on your computer speakers) and attend. This includes video and audio capability using Microsoft Live Meeting! You will have the ability to see, hear, and ask questions of the instructor. For a list of classes go to: http://www.aimu.org/AIMUEducationSchedule.htm.

For the latest information, please visit http://www.aimu.org/OceanMarine2013.html.

SUNY Maritime College

SUNY Maritime College is offering online courses. Typical costs for the online classes are $800.00 plus class book, saving travel, lodging, meals and time away from your business practice. The typical 6-week course earns 18 credit hours for continuing education credits.

Each of the classes will require at least 20 hours completing and some may take up to 30 depending on the extensiveness of the student. If Members require CEs, I am now able to provide the office with an attendance time on task for each student so that you know the minimum amount of time put in by each student.

To obtain syllabus of the classes contact: Janet Peck, NAMS-CMS, 843.628.4340 or 843.291.2922 or email [email protected]. To enroll in any of these classes you should contact: Margaret Poppiti Administrative Assistant Department of Professional Education & Training SUNY Maritime College 6 Pennyfield Avenue Throggs Neck, NY 10465 www.sunymaritime.edu (718) 409-7341 [email protected]

MPI Online Education

On-Line modular Marine Incident Investigation course, specifically designed for people who are: personnel responsible for accident prevention such as ship safety officers, company safety officers, designated persons ashore (DPA), Captains and senior ship officers, operational ship managers, engineering and/or marine superintendents. It also applies to safety professionals, incident investigators, marine surveyors, loss prevention managers, risk managers, P&I underwriters and claims managers, solicitors, accountants, flag and port state control inspectors and classification society surveyors. Contact Lou Blackaby at [email protected] or telephone +44 (0) 1252 732220

ProBoat E-Training

ProBoat E-Training is a series of online courses developed by the staff of Professional BoatBuilder magazine offering a variety of web-based courses. If you have suggestions for new offerings, please contact us.

Please visit our website for the current ProBoat course list.

Houston Marine Education Schedule

Since its inception in 1972 Houston Marine has become the premier source for the certification and training of maritime personnel by offering efficient, cost-effective products and services in a variety of locations and formats. The education schedule is available at http://www.houstonmarine.com/.

Maritime Training Academy (MTA)

The Maritime Training Academy has a selection of short courses designed to grow your skills in key areas of the maritime industry . If you require more information, please email [email protected]. Alternatively click here to download the brochure and application for ship building & repair.

Click here for other short courses including, but not limited to, marine incident investigation.

Svitzer Salvage Academy

With a history spanning centuries and an unbeaten track record in maritime emergency management, Svitzer Salvage has a unique combination of knowledge and experience to offer. The Svitzer Salvage Academy provides professionals in the marine industries access to the know-how gained over thousands of casualty situations, prevented, managed and controlled by Svitzer and its affiliates over the years. Svitzer Salvage B.V. http://www.salvage-academy.com/

MITAGS-PMI, Maritime Training Courses

To visit the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies-PMI website, click here.

To learn more about the courses at Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS), contact Robert Becker at: [email protected]

To learn more about the courses at Pacific Maritime Institute (PMI), contact Jennifer Pitzen at: [email protected]

National Cargo Bureau Training Courses

The National Cargo Bureau has a number of self-study courses. For more information, visit their website by clicking here.

6 – 8 April 2014, Norfolk, VA

NAMSGlobal 52nd Annual National Marine Conference
Norfolk Waterside Marriott, 
235 E Main Street
, Norfolk, VA 23510
Room rate: $107, plus 14% state tax, + $2.00 Occupancy tax
Reservations: 757 627.4200 or 800 228.9290

29 April – May 1 2014, St. Louis, MO

The Inland Marine Expo. More information will follow, or visit www.inlandmarineexpo.com

NAMSWorthy

Articles Of Interest

AIMU

The www.aimu.org web site has been redesigned for optimal display on any device including smart phones, tablets and desktop monitors. The web site content and access to password-protected information remains the same. The Site Search feature has been added for fast location of content. The Calendar of Events on the home page will quickly let you know about AIMU courses/ seminars and industry events.

Fishing Vessel Stability

“Stability and Trim for the Ship’s Officer” (4th Ed., 2005), defines stability as “the ability of a vessel to return to its original condition or position after it has been disturbed by an outside force.” The National Cargo Bureau (NCB) defines it as the “tendency for a floating vessel to resist a sudden change of position or condition relative to the surface of the water in which it is floating.” The NCB goes on to point out that that “the greater the tendency to resist a sudden change of position or condition a vessel has the greater the stability the vessel possesses. In like manner a lesser tendency to resist a sudden change indicates the vessel has less stability.”

1. “The fishing vessel must obtain cargo from the sea.
2. The fishing vessel must load cargo at sea with overhead gear and winches that must take the strains imposed by both the cargo (fish) and the roll of the vessel. During operations at sea, the hatches are open and there is considerable activity on the open deck — factors not faced routinely aboard most general cargo vessels.
3. Most fishing vessels are not under the mandatory system of inspections of equipment and personnel that help maintain the conventional cargo carriers in safe condition.
4. Maintenance time aboard fishing vessels is usually far below the minimum available aboard most other commercial vessel, where passage time can be spent in routine maintenance and repair.
5. The fishing vessel usually does not operate on well-traveled sea lanes where rescue or aid would be on hand in case of an accident.”

Although stability is a concern for all vessels, fishing vessel stability is especially significant due to the unique operations and hazards peculiar to fishing vessels that are not shared by other commercial cargo carriers. Five factors listed by the NCB are:

1. “Fishing vessels are typically of small to moderate size and are operated in harsh environments.
2. Some design features that are desirable from a stability point of view may be a hindrance to fishing on a day-to-day basis.
3. Shortened seasons for various fisheries result in economic pressures on the operator to overload the vessel to maximize the catch during the limited fishing season.
4. Modifications to vessel in service that are necessitated by a change of service or fishing practice usually result in degradation of vessel stability. The practice of using the same vessel in several different fisheries on a seasonal basis often results in a design that is perfectly acceptable for one fishery but marginal or unsafe for another.
5. Fishing vessel operators in general do not have an appreciation for the factors affecting the stability of their vessels, particularly those factors that can be significantly influenced by operating practices.”

Mandatory stability requirements for fishing vessels can be found in 46 CFR 28.500 (Subpart E). They are applicable to “each commercial fishing industry vessel which is 79 feet (24 meters) or more in length that is not required to be issued a load line under subchapter E of this chapter and that—

• Has its keel laid or is at a similar stage of construction or undergoes a major conversion started on or after September 15, 1991;
• Undergoes alterations to the fishing or processing equipment for the purpose of catching, landing, or processing fish in a manner different than has previously been accomplished on the vessel—these vessels need only comply with § 28.501 of this subpart; or
• Has been substantially altered on or after September 15, 1991.”

Subpart E has sections defining substantial alterations, on owner responsibilities, definitions of stability terms, and stability instructions, as well as sections giving guidance to naval architects or engineers who are retained to create stability instructions for fishing vessels. These sections cover areas such as icing, free surface, intact stability when using lifting gear, water on deck, unintentional flooding, etc.

The definition of substantial alterations in 46 CFR 28.501 is very technical and designed for the naval architect or engineer retained to create stability instructions for fishing vessels. At the deck plate level, to determine whether substantial alterations have occurred a marine surveyor surveying a vessel should be asking the question “Has this vessel been altered in a manner which would adversely affects its stability?” Their skills and knowledge of stability and vessel construction gained over the years should be adequate to answer this question. When in doubt of course the marine surveyor should take a conservative approach and in their report recommend review by a naval architect or engineer.

The intent of 46 CFR 28.530 Stability Instructions, is “to ensure that vessel masters and individuals in charge of vessels are provided with enough stability information to allow them to maintain their vessel in a satisfactory stability condition. The rules provide maximum flexibility for owners and qualified individuals to determine how this information is conveyed, taking into consideration decisions by operating personnel must be made quickly and that few operating personnel in the commercial fishing industry have had specialized training in stability. Therefore, stability instructions should take into account the conditions a vessel may reasonably be expected to encounter and provide simple guidance for the operating personnel to deal with these situations.”

46 CFR 28.530(b) requires that “each vessel must be provided with stability instructions which provide the master or individual in charge of the vessel with loading constraints and operating restrictions which maintain the vessel in a condition which meets the applicable stability requirements of this subpart.

46 CFR 28.530 (d) states that stability instructions must be in a format easily understood by the master or individual in charge of the vessel. Units of measure, language, and rigor of calculations in the stability instructions must be consistent with the ability of the master or the individual in charge of the vessel. The format of the stability instructions may include, at the owner’s discretion, any of the following:

• Simple loading instructions;
• A simple loading diagram with instructions;
• A stability booklet with sample calculations; or
• Any other appropriate format for providing stability instructions.
• Stability instructions must be developed based on the vessel’s individual characteristics.

While the 46 CFR Subpart E requirements for stability instructions may only apply generally to vessels over 79’ long and meeting the other criteria listed above, USCG NVIC 5-86 recommends all fishing vessels have stability instructions.

The North Pacific Fishing Vessel Owners Association Safety Manual, an industry standard not necessarily limited to those vessels operating in the North Pacific, also recommends all vessels have stability instructions and has a chapter dedicated to vessel stability and stability instructions.

After reviewing the above it would appear that marine surveyors surveying fishing vessels should always ask to see the stability instructions for the vessel they are surveying. When they are provided, they should review the document to ensure that it is up to date and takes into account any substantial alterations that may have been made to the vessel since the stability instructions were promulgated. It should be noted that a number of small alterations over the years may cumulatively make for a substantial alteration and should be taken into account when reviewing to see if they are current for the vessel in question. Furthermore, if the vessel is used for multiple fisheries, requiring changes to deck equipment, etc., they should ensure that the Stability Instructions include all fisheries the vessel may engage in.

Survey reports for fishing vessels that do not have stability instructions or whose stability instructions do not reflect substantial alterations or multiple fisheries, should reflect those deficiencies in their findings with a strong recommendation that the owner have stability instructions created at the earliest possible opportunity. If the vessel falls under the criteria of 46 CFR 28.500 this is a major shortcoming and should be described as such in your report. Under those circumstances it would appear appropriate that the recommendation should be that the vessel not proceed on a voyage to the fisheries until stability instructions are completed.

Marine surveyors acting as Third Person Fishing Vessel Examiners should be aware of Supplement 2, Subpart E, to the USCG Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Examination Checklist, which calls out the requirement for Stability Instructions for vessels describe in 46 CFR 28.500 above.

The best place for a marine surveyor to learn about fishing vessel stability and stability instructions is to take the “Stability For Fishermen” correspondence course that is available from the NCB. This is a self-study course with eight lessons covering everything a fishing vessel owner, captain or marine surveyor needs to know and understand about fishing vessel stability.

After studying chapters in the study guide, students answer questions and perform calculations to solve practical problems in fishing vessel stability that are found in the workbook. The calculations use formulas that require only basic mathematical skills. Other requirements are reading graphs that are typical of a vessel’s stability instructions. The completed lessons are submitted for grading to experts at the NCB, who work with the student to ensure they understand the lessons.

More information on this course can be found at http://www.natcargo.org/ssfish.html. It costs $250 and graduates are considered by the USCG to have gained two weeks sea service credit (deck or engineering) toward a U.S. Merchant Mariner’s Document or License. They also receive 84 CEUs from NAMS and SAMS. NAMS recommends that all NAMS marine surveyors surveying fishing vessels complete this course and awards personnel testing for the NAMS- CMS FV designation 10 points toward the score on their test if they can show successful proof of completion.

The NCB also offers courses in Ship’s Stability and Damage Stability that are recommended for all marine surveyors who survey commercial vessels. Information on these courses may be found at http://www.natcargo.org/stability.html.

As seen above due to the nature and location of fishing operations fishing vessel stability is a key element in vessel safety. For that reason marine surveyors should understand stability and be able to read and understand vessel Stability Instructions when surveying fishing vessels.

Digital Selective Calling

To read an article on DSC, please click here.

NAMS Towing Vessel Surveyor Certification Committee Inaugurated

The NAMSGlobal Towing Vessel Marine Surveyor Certification Committee has been inaugurated in anticipation of the upcoming Subchapter M Regulation in the US. The committee members (all NAMS-CMS) are: Joe Derie (Southwest Passage Marine Surveys), Richard Frenzel (Dixieland Marine, Inc.), Glenn J. Davis (Davis Marine Surveyors, Inc.), Richard W. Singley (Singley Maritime Consulting, LLC), Greg Weeter (Riverlands Marine Surveyors & Consultants, Inc.), and Ed Shearer (The Shearer Group, Inc.).

The committee hopes to have Policies and Procedures in place in the third quarter of 2014. Dick Frenzel and Joe Derie will initiate the preparation of the certification examination with the committee having final approval.

The committee will meet again in April at the 52nd NAMS Conference in Norfolk, VA. The meeting is tenatively planned for Sunday, 6 April 2014. All interested parties are invited.

USCG – TVNCOE Listserv

You can now receive email notifications from the US Coast Guard Towing Vessel National Center of Expertise (TVNCOE) by subscribing to the mailing list which is hosted on the Coast Guard List Server (CGLS). They will use this mailing list to send out information that would be of interest to the owners and operators of Coast Guard regulated towing vessels and Coast Guard members who conduct towing vessel examinations and inspections. Items posted will include safety information, regulatory updates, updates to the TVNCOE website, etc. http://www.uscg.mil/TVNCOE/

To subscribe you will need to fill out a short electronic form. Clicking on that hyperlink will take you to the electronic form used to subscribe to the email list. (6/8/12). Courtesy: Bryant’s Maritime Blog

Barges Seek New Cargo As An Industry Declines

The decline of the Appalachian coal industry is forcing businesses that once depended on the black rock to turn their focus to gas and other commodities. When the Hatfield’s Ferry power station near Pittsburgh closed in October, Campbell Transportation Co. was a casualty. For the previous five years, Campbell had shipped coal from West Virginia and other states to Hatfield’s Ferry via the Monongahela River. The closure idled 60 to 80 Campbell barges, says Chief Executive Peter Stephaich. He says he was blindsided by the decision to shut Hatfield’s Ferry. Pittsburgh-based Campbell says coal generates 70% of its revenue, down from 85% five years ago. The company predicts that coal will fall to below 50% within 10 years. The 50-year-old closely held company says it has annual revenue of more than $50 million and employs 500 people. Campbell is coping by finding other goods to ship and by trimming the size of its fleet. The company, which owns 500 barges and 37 towboats, plans to scrap 30 coal barges this year, up from an average of five in previous years. It helps that scrap prices are relatively high. Campbell can get $40,000 to $60,000 by scrapping a barge, which costs $500,000 to buy new. Campbell also is looking at the natural-gas industry for opportunities. Hydraulic fracturing, a fast-growing method for extracting gas from shale rock, generates considerable wastewater that often must be transported elsewhere for treatment. Campbell plans to begin transporting grain, as well, converting 10% of its barge fleet for the purpose. In some cases, that means installing fiberglass covers on barges. Campbell’s tugboats – pushing phalanxes of around a dozen barges, each carrying up to 1,800 tons of coal – remain a common sight on the Ohio and Monongahela rivers. This year, Campbell christened two $3 million tugs, the first major commercial vessels built in Pittsburgh in 30 years. Still, the decline of Appalachian coal is a sea change. “We’re thinking of this as having to rebuild an entire platform,” Mr. Stephaich says. (Wall Street Journal, 1/8/2014) Courtesy AIMU Weekly Bulletin.

USCG Issues Marine Safety Alerts

The U.S. Coast Guard Inspections and Compliance Directorate has issued two Marine Safety Alerts on deck and entanglement accidents. According to U. S. Bureau of Labor statistics, in 2012 commercial fishing was the second most dangerous occupation in the country, with over 117 fatalities per 100,000 workers (1). This alert serves to remind commercial fishing vessel owners, operators, and crew members of the dangers associated with working around moving deck machinery, rigging, and equipment. A recent marine casualty resulting in the death of a crew member highlights the need to remain ever vigilant to unsafe practices and conditions. (Marine Log, 1/2/2014) Courtesy AIMU Weekly Bulletin.

NTSB – Marine Fatalities Declined In 2012

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a news release stating that deaths related to marine transportation declined in 2012 as compared to the previous year. Aviation and pipeline deaths also decreased, while highway and rail fatalities rose. Of the 706 marine deaths in 2012, 651 occurred in recreational boating. There were 803 marine deaths in 2011. (2/14/14). Courtesy: Bryant’s Maritime Blog

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Sue Shipbuilder

Japan’s MOL has begun legal action against the shipbuilder of the ill-fated 8,100teu MOL Comfort, which sank in July last year. The company has filed a claim in the Tokyo District Court for compensation from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the cost of having to strengthen the hulls of six sister ships, after inspections by Class NK found “buckling-type deformations” on their bottom shell plates. If the claim succeeds there could be significant implications for thousands of other claims related to the 2008-built ship, which was loaded with 4,382 containers. It broke its back and split in two in adverse weather last summer, about 200 nautical miles off the Yemen coast while en route from Singapore to Jeddah. The MOL Comfort is the largest containership to be recorded as a total loss, with Japanese insurers holding the bulk of the $66 million hull and machinery policy – however, the cargo loss is likely to greatly exceed that figure. Cargo insurance underwriters normally work on an average value of a container’s contents as being around $50,000, but given that the MOL Comfort, on its headhaul voyage from Asia, would have been packed with high-value consumer goods for European markets, the real value would have been much greater. Moreover, the high-tech contents would normally have been insured at sale, rather than cost, price – thus the latest estimates are that claims could easily exceed $500 million. (The Loadstar, 2/7/14) Courtesy AIMU Weekly Bulletin.

Harmonization Of Standards For Fire Protection, Detection, and Extinguishing Equipment

The US Coast Guard proposes to amend its regulations for certain design and approval standards for fire protection, detection, and extinguishing equipment on inspected and uninspected vessels, outer continental shelf facilities, deep-water ports, and mobile offshore drilling units. The proposed amendments would harmonize Coast Guard regulations with appropriate national and international consensus standards; address advances in fire protection technologies and standards; update Coast Guard approval processes for fire detection and alarm systems; and revise Coast Guard regulations for other types of equipment or components, such as spanner wrenches, non-metallic pipes, and sprinkler systems. These proposed changes are necessary to ensure Coast Guard regulations remain current and address advances in technology. Details at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-01-13/pdf/2013-29863.pdf (US Government Printing Office, 1/13/2014) Courtesy AIMU Weekly Bulletin.

Costa Concordia Tow Away Set For June

As ceremonies marked the two year anniversary of the Costa Concordia tragedy which cost 32 lives, details emerged on progress with plans to tow the wreck away and scrap it. It now appears that the ship will be towed out in June. However, its final destination will not be known until by the end of February-early March 2014 when the responses to an invitation to tender that was sent out last month have been evaluated. Removing the wreck of the giant cruise ship from the environmentally sensitive waters of Italy’s Isola del Giglio is widely considered the most daunting salvage ever attempted on a ship of its size. (Marine Log, 1/13/2014) Courtesy AIMU Weekly Bulletin.

Car Identified As Cause Of Fire On Containership

Officials in Miami have identified a car as the source of a fire that broke out Saturday night onboard a Liberian-flagged containership while underway off the coast of Florida, but the cause of the fire is still unknown.

Officials said that the crew of the 656-foot Leda Trader detected a fire below deck in one of the ship’s cargo holds shortly after departing Port Everglades late Saturday night for Costa Rica, forcing the ship to make an emergency stop at the Port of Miami. The ship then docked Sunday morning at Dodge Island where crews had to offload a total of 48 containers so that fire crews could determine the extent of the damage and source of the blaze.

It was later determined that the ship’s fire suppression system had extinguished the fire, which was said to have broken out near the top of one of the ship’s cargo holds. A spokesman Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said that a car was destroyed by flames inside the hold where the fire originated. No injuries were reported in the incident. Courtesy G-Captain.com

Unseawortiness Due To Lack Of Safety Training

In an unpublished decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit largely upheld an award of damages to the estate of a seafarer for injuries incurred on an anchor-handling vessel. The suit was brought alleging Jones Act negligence and unseaworthiness. Of interest, the appellate court sustained the district’s finding that the vessel was unseaworthy based on a finding that the crew was “incompetent for lack of training safely to perform the task at issue when presented with the particular combination of circumstances of an open stern tug with a stainless steel deck lacking non-skid paint and a vessel positioned abeam the sea.”Marasa v. Atlantic Sounding, No. 13-272-cv (2nd Cir., January 21, 2014). Courtesy: Bryant’s Maritime Blog

ABS Publishes Advisory For Navigating Northern Sea Route

ABS, a leading provider of global maritime classification services, released its “Navigating the Northern Sea Route Advisory” to support shipowners and operators intending to transit the increasingly popular commercial shipping routes through the Arctic seas. The comprehensive advisory, which was developed with assistance from Russia’s Central Marine Research and Design Institute, provides owners with the information they need to apply for permits and to identify the possible technical and operational risks that could arise when trading in some of the world’s most challenging commercial shipping environments. “The Northern Sea Route was virtually unnavigable by all but powerful icebreakers just a few short years ago,” says Todd Grove, Chief Technology Officer for ABS, noting that the Russian Federation’s recent moves to encourage international shipping through the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and the melting ice floes there have opened commercial shipping opportunities. “The NSR’s growing popularity has positive implications for transit times between Asia and Northern Europe,” Grove explains, “but the often unpredictable and unfamiliar shipping environment through the north also poses operational and technical challenges. This Advisory was developed to provide the industry with some of the information it needs to navigate those challenges safely and efficiently, while also helping to minimize the impact on the environment.” Trading through the NSR has the potential to reduce the typical transit times between Japan and Rotterdam by as much as 3,400 miles – or 10 days – compared to the traditional route via the Suez Canal. This reduction brings with it commensurate gains in overall vessel utilization and reductions in bunker costs. The NSR also will provide access to the growing energy and industrial activity in northern Russia, projects that already have led to greater tanker traffic in the area and provided the impetus for several recent orders of ice-class LNG carriers for future export trades. While the Advisory captures the latest regulatory information available at the time of publication and an overview of typical shipping conditions, it is intended strictly for informational purposes. Owners and operators interested in using the NSR should visit the Northern Sea Route Administration website (www.NSRA.ru you’ll need to make a language selection) for the most current information, and refer to the ABS Guide for Vessels Operating in Low Temperature Environments, available for free download at www.eagle.org. (ABS Corporate Communications, 1/29/2014) Courtesy AIMU Weekly Bulletin.

General Order On Port And Starboard

On 18 February 1846, Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft issued the following General Order: “It having been repeatedly represented to the Department, that confusion arises from the use of the words ‘Larboard’ and ‘Starboard’, in consequence of the similarity of sound, the word ‘Port’ is hereafter to be substituted for ‘Larboard’.” Courtesy: Bryant’s Maritime Blog

Useful Links

NTSB – Sinking Report Of Offshoe Supply Vessel. For the report, please click here.

NTSB – Sinking Report Of Tall Ship Bounty. For the report, please click here.

NTSB – Mooring Bollard Failure. For the report, please click here.

NTSB – Other Reports – To browse NTSB reports, please click here.

Poem Of The Month

Courtesy of Ted Crosby, NAMS-CMS

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