IFSMA Monthly Logs

IFSMA visited Manila in the Philippines during 2010 with some strength for three key events; The IFSMA AGA, The Diplomatic Conference for the review of STCW and then our Forum ‘2010 the Year of the Seafarer’.

It was pleasing to see that the 36^th Annual General Assembly was well attended with 55 delegates representing 17 associations. There were excellent presentations which have been recorded in our Annual Review and also in our AGA report Part B which contains the AGA minutes and Statements and Resolutions made.

This year’s AGA also elected by acclaim the following new Vice Presidents; Remi Boissel Dombreval, Hans Sande and Marcel van den Broek. These were appointed following the resignations of Mark Dickinson, Patrick Vigneron-Larosa and Petr Osichansky who had served the Federation well over the years..

At the Diplomatic Conference for the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, Manila, the Philippines, 21-25 June 2010, major revisions were adopted. These amendments will be known as "The Manila Amendments to the STCW Convention and Code" and are to enter into force on 1 January 2012.

Much of the debate from IFSMA’s perspective was the issue of hours of rest and although we did not achieve everything we aimed for the consensus that was agreed was much better than had been tabled by other delegations. Our focus on this issue at the Diplomatic conference may make us overlook the fact that much has been achieved during the last four years leading up to the Manila Amendments. A number of important changes have been made to each chapter of the Convention and Code, including:

• Improved measures to prevent fraudulent practices associated with certificates of competency and strengthen the evaluation process (monitoring of Parties' compliance with the Convention);
• Revised requirements on hours of work and rest and new requirements for the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse, as well as updated standards relating to medical fitness standards for seafarers;
• New certification requirements for able seafarers;
• New requirements relating to training in modern technology such as electronic charts and information systems (ECDIS);
• New requirements for marine environment awareness training and training in leadership and teamwork;
• New training and certification requirements for electro-technical officers;
• Updating of competence requirements for personnel serving on board all types of tankers, including new requirements for personnel serving on liquefied gas tankers;
• New requirements for security training, as well as provisions to ensure that seafarers are properly trained to cope if their ship comes under attack by pirates;
• Introduction of modern training methodology including distance learning and web-based learning;
• New training guidance for personnel serving on board ships operating in polar waters; and
• New training guidance for personnel operating Dynamic Positioning Systems.

It is perhaps worth bearing in mind that the Manila Amendments will require more practical demonstrations of competence in the assessment of both deck and engine room officer qualifications and it will be interesting to see how the maritime education and training  centres deal with this issue.

The forum 2010 The Year of the Seafarer was a great success with over six hundred attending which included about four hundred active seafarers and cadets. We are awaiting a video of the event which we hope to make available for those interested.

Some encouraging news regarding Somali Piracy

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the Security Council that the increase in success is attributable to the additional defensive measures put in place by merchant ships, their more cautious navigational routes, and effective naval operations. NATO which runs one of three naval operations in the region, has instructed cargo ships to improve their vigilance and, if approached, run at full speed and use evasive manoeuvres and fire hoses to repel pirates. The success rate of pirates operating off the coast of Somalia will fall to below 20% this year, from 63 percent in 2007, in part due to defensive measures cargo ships are taking.  The 30 attacks in the first quarter of 2010 projects to a year total of 120, compared to 217 in 2009

It is also understood that the Indian Ocean nations want to create their own naval force because of the threat posed to their economies. Insurers are charging higher rates for commercial ships that transport goods to Comoros and its neighbours, and this creates financial hardships for local populations.

Criminalisation relating to pollution – a warning, for extra vigilance during bunker and oil cargo operations

I hear that North of England P&I club has warned that ever more sophisticated oil-spill detection technology means there is a greater risk of being investigated for maritime pollution offences.  According to North’s loss prevention executive Colin Gillespie, “As indicated by recent events in the Gulf of Mexico, the use of satellite imagery for tracking and measuring oil spills is becoming increasingly sophisticated. A less well-known use is to assist in the detection and prosecution of vessels that pollute the sea, whether accidentally or deliberately”.

The club highlights the CleanSeaNet satellite surveillance service which is used by both coastal states and the European Maritime Safety Agency to identify oil slicks. Oil spill alerts can be provided to coastal states within 30 minutes enabling them to send spotter aircraft to confirm whether there is a slick. All ships in the vicinity - or known to have passed through it - are potentially subject to investigation.

Samples of a slick can then be taken, analysed and cross-referenced against samples from suspect ships. ‘If the samples match or there are no other ships in the vicinity, the evidence against the vessel is very strong and the usual outcomes - including claims, vessel arrest, fines for the owner and officers, and custodial sentences - can result.

So take extra vigilance during all bunker and oil cargo operations - including maintaining comprehensive records - to ensure they do not become the subject of an aerial surveillance investigation or, if they do, that they can provide a full defence.

Continuing the green debate IMO suggests an Energy Efficiency Design Index

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has suggested the introduction of an Energy Efficiency Design Index at its latest meeting, initially to apply to container vessels and cruise liners. Although the meeting was able to prepare draft text on mandatory requirements for the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new vessels and on the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) for all ships in operation, the Committee noted in particular, that, among other things, issues concerning ship size, target dates and reduction rate in relation to the EEDI requirements all required finalisation.

The Committee agreed on the basic concept that a vessel’s attained EEDI shall be equal or less (e.g. more efficient) than the required EEDI, and that the required EEDI shall be drawn up based on EEDI baselines and reduction rates yet to be agreed. The Committee noted guidelines for calculating the EEDI baselines using data from existing ships in the Lloyd’s Register Fairplay database.

Other ship types, including the various categories of Ro-Ro ship would not be covered in the first tranche. Ships that have diesel-electric propulsion, turbine propulsion or hybrid propulsion systems are also to be excluded from the draft regulations until an appropriate reference line (previously known as the “baseline”) for ships with these propulsion systems has been established.

The main technical issues remaining are the lower size limits for the required EEDI levels and future emission reduction rates for the various ship types.  The decision on the instrument to be used to make the EEDI mandatory is expected to be subject to heated debate due to the political sensitivities involved. 

US DOT to turn underused waterways into Marine Highways – what a good idea!

A new priority of the US Department of Transportation is an age-old idea: Transport freight by ship for as long as possible. The DOT is proposing designated shipping channels known as Marine Highways, and one may be leading to a port near you (if, that is, you are reading this bulletin in the US). According to MARAD Administrator Dave Matsuda, the United States is going to catch up with the rest of the world when it comes to marine highways. I find this quite surprising having seen photographs of tugs and barges using the Mighty Mississippi and other US waterways, but I live and learn.

As an example, goods from Asia come into the port of Oakland and are trucked across the state while agricultural products are trucked in the opposite direction. This is a tax on commuters, and adds to the congestion, damages bridges and raises the cost of maintaining infrastructure. It’s not just getting the trucks off the road, but also putting people to work in some of these areas that are really devastated. A marine highway would move some of that traffic onto barges and guarantee two-way traffic for the company operating the barges.

At least Matsuda has acknowledged that truck transportation is far from efficient as it clogs highways with multiple trucks headed in the same direction and brings pollution into the cities particularly near freight terminals. So the proposed a system of marine highways where ships would transit goods within the United States. Along designated corridors, ships could provide safe, environmentally friendly and reasonably quick freight transit among a network of well-situated ports.

Matsuda has recognised that in Europe and Asia where it also known as short sea shipping, coastal trade or coastal shipping, the rivers and seas are filled with small container vessels carrying cargo within a continent. He also acknowledged that some short sea shipping operations are already moving freight in the United States, (well that is a relief) and Matsuda wants to help them expand.

Matsuda quotes “These operators are the experts; these are people who have started up new markets in the past. They know the industry; they know the people and the operations”. Matsuda is clear about engaging existing operators. “The government’s role here is really to help promote these and get them up and running,” he said. “We can talk to local transportation planners and say, ‘Hey, here are some of the federal programs that help.’ There’s a limited amount of federal dollars to put towards buying cranes or barges or fixing up a port or something that we need to have up and running”.

Should this idea worry the truckers? In a country where the majority of freight travels along marine highways, Matsuda envisions some long-haul truckers working instead in freight yards or in regional distribution, while others remain on the roads with cargo that can’t wait for slower-moving vessels. If estimates of 70% growth in the freight industry over the next 10 years are accurate, trucks will always be in high demand.

According to Matsuda, the US DOT chose to refer to the project as Marine Highways rather than short sea shipping because the network of waterways would often be parallel to an existing interstate highway. “We wanted to draw a parallel with the interstate system, if you can draw a highway on a map, that you can draw a waterway along the map — maybe M-95 — and it’ll get you to the same place,” he said.

One kind of freight that Matsuda thinks is best suited for the water is hazardous material.
In addition to transporting hazardous materials outside of populated areas, a clear advantage of short sea shipping is the reduced environmental impact of moving freight on ships.

I have to admit that I was surprised that this seems to be regarded as a new idea in the USA. It is a fact that us mariners have always been aware of and often despair at the lack of using coastal shipping. If Dave Matsuda starts a new maritime revolution in the USA then I salute him and wish him every success.

Rodger MacDonald
Secretary General