POST STATE CONTROL Archives - Page 10 of 21

Singapore secured its lead as the world’s top maritime centre in the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development (ISCD) Index. This is the ninth consecutive year that Singapore is ranked first on the index.

2. The ISCD index is published by the Baltic Exchange, a global maritime data provider, in collaboration with Chinese state news agency, Xinhua. The index provides an independent ranking of the performance of 43 maritime locations on factors including cargo throughput, port facilities, maritime services and business environment. Singapore is ranked first, based on its robust port infrastructure, a comprehensive range of maritime services and supportive government policies.

3. Mr Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport, said, “Maritime Singapore’s continued success as a leading maritime hub would not have been possible without the strong collaboration between our tripartite partners. I thank our industry and unions for their resilience during the pandemic. We will continue to innovate and grow together, and bring Maritime Singapore to greater heights.”

4. Please refer to the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index at https://balticexchange.com/en/news-and-events/news/press-releases-/2022/singapore-ranked-number-one-for-ninth-year.html, and the Annex for additional quotes from industry partners.

Source: https://www.mpa.gov.sg/media-centre/details/singapore-secures-top-spot-as-international-shipping-centre-for-ninth-consecutive-year

The Paris and Tokyo MoU’s will be carrying a joint Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) starting on 1 September until 30 November. It is anticipated that the CIC will focus on the evaluation of competences of the Master, officers and crew when performing duties and during emergency scenarios. These are explained in detail in Appendix 7 of Res. A.1155(32) “Guidelines for control of operational requirements.” This appendix was completely revised and published in the beginning of 2022. It covers a huge variety of operational inspection areas – from efficient communication between crew members, and assessing navigational controls such as ECDIS, to voyage planning or safe navigation, and witnessing emergency drills.

Source: https://shippingmatters.ca/port-state-control-cic-to-focus-on-stcw/

The federal government has gotten involved in a dispute onboard a ship anchored in Halifax harbour following complaints from Ukrainian crew members that the company is keeping them from returning home.

The crew has been on board since November, initially for a six-month contract, which was extended. They were then asked to work another extension, which they refused.

“They’ve never been home since [the war]. They want to go home, contact their families, and make sure everybody’s safe,” said Karl Risser, an inspector with the International Transport Workers’ Federation.

MSC Manzanillo departed Portugal in late June and arrived in Halifax on July 5, when it was detained by Transport Canada.

Karl Risser stands in front of the Halifax Harbour. George's Island and a detained cargo ship can be seen in the background. — Karl Risser is the ITF inspector for Atlantic Canada. He’s been dealing with complaints from Ukrainian crew members on board this vessel, and others, for several months. (Mark Crosby/CBC)

Risser said Transport Canada “did the right thing” in detaining the ship in Halifax for inspection. Its next port of call is New York, which he worries could complicate things for Ukrainian crew members trying to get home.

Canada is a signatory to the Maritime Labour Convention, which outlines rights for seafarers. Among them is the right to go home at the end of a contract. The U.S. is not a signatory of the convention.

“We’re not sure if the seafarers’ rights will be upheld in the United States, and there could be issues with visas with these guys that aren’t an issue here in Canada,” Risser said.

In an email statement to CBC News, Transport Canada confirmed it briefly detained the MSC Manzanillo.

A cargo ship, MSC Manzanillo, in the Halifax Harbour. — MSC Manzanillo arrived in Halifax harbour on July 5 and was detained by Transport Canada. (Mark Crosby/CBC)

“To verify the crew members’ seafarer employment agreement, Transport Canada inspectors issued a deficiency notice under the Maritime Labour Convention. The vessel had to remain alongside at the Port of Halifax pending verification of all items to the satisfaction of Transport Canada,” the statement said.

Following verifications by inspectors, the detention was lifted on July 6, the statement said.

No further details were provided.

According to the Atlantic Pilotage Authority, MSC Manzanillo was set to depart Halifax at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Nine Ukrainan crew members on board

There are nine crew members from Ukraine with contracts that have expired.

“These guys are real heroes keeping our supply chain going and we have to respect their rights as seafarers to be repatriated home at the end of their contract,” Risser said.

ITF has been dealing with complaints from Ukrainian crew members on board this vessel, and others, for several months.

“It’s a continuing problem to get these guys home, but it’s important that we live up to our obligation … We’re anxiously awaiting to see the employer’s plan to see these guys repatriated home, and give these seafarers answers,” he said.

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/cargo-ship-detained-halifax-ukrainian-crew-1.6511862

Looking to expand the emphasis on export shipping from U.S. ports, three members of the U.S. House of Representatives from California proposed new legislation that would require U.S. ports to emphasize exports by giving priority to carriers that demonstrate their predominance of export bookings versus carrying empty containers or departing with unused capacity. While clearing the way for the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 to become law last month by accepting the Senate version of the legislation, members of the U.S. House said they would seek additional legislation addressing points removed from the bill emphasizing exports.

“Foreign exporters’ access to the American market and our consumers is a privilege, not a right. Cargo ships looking to offload foreign-made products and profit off West Coast ports must provide opportunities for American exports in return,” said Congressmen John Garamendi, one of the co-sponsors of the bill. Representatives Jim Costa and Mike Thompson joined in introducing the American Port Access Privileges Act.

According to the co-sponsors of the legislation, the American Port Access Privileges Act would ensure fair trade for U.S. businesses and keep hard-won foreign markets accessible to California’s agricultural growers as well as other exporters.

The bill calls for establishing a secondary berthing preference for ocean-going commercial vessels servicing multiple ports in the United States or with significant cargo bookings of American exports. Priority they write should continue to be with the U.S. military as well as Jones Act, and other US-flagged vessels and the bill also seeks to codify the current preferences in place at many major American ports for these segments. However, after those vessels, ships carrying exports should be prioritized.

“Our legislation would put American exports at the front of the line at our ports to support American businesses and workers. Congress must restore fairness at our ports for American exporters to help reduce the United States’ longstanding trade imbalance with countries like China,” said Garamendi.

To receive the port priorities, vessels would have to document that they have cargo booking for exports totaling either 51 percent of the vessel’s carrying capacity by weight or 51 percent of the vessel’s TEU capacity that would be loaded before calling at a foreign port. The cargo could be loaded in single or multiple U.S. ports, but foreign vessels calling at more than one U.S. port before departing for international ports would also be eligible for the priority berthing in U.S. ports.

“Supply chain disruptions are hurting California farmers and exporters like never before,” said Costa. “We need to remove bottlenecks and mitigate congestion at our ports to carry out American exports.”

Not later than 90 days after the passage of the legislation, the Secretary of Transportation would be required to issue the definitions of preferential berthing. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics would also be required to collect data on berthing and cargo practices at U.S. ports to evaluate ocean carriers’ practices for port calls and cargo bookings, as well as the impact of preferential berthing afforded under the bill.

The “American Port Access Privileges Act” is endorsed by the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC), National Milk Producers Federation, and US Dairy Export Council.
Source: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/legislation-proposes-port-priority-for-ships-carrying-u-s-exports

The Ports of Amsterdam and Duisburg (duisport) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand their cooperation and jointly develop a hydrogen value chain and hinterland network.

Under the agreement, the ports will explore the potential of several hydrogen carrier technologies, with the aim of establishing an international supply chain for hydrogen on a commercial scale.

“I am very pleased to announce the partnership between duisport and Port of Amsterdam,” said Koen Overtoom, CEO of Port of Amsterdam.

“Both ports recognise the great value of joining forces in developing new corridors for sustainable energy carriers, with the aim of decarbonisation of international supply chains.

“This partnership strengthens our strategic initiatives, aimed at taking the lead in facilitating the energy transition, and complements our strong collaborations with our trusted partners.”

The Port of Amsterdam is already part of the H2A consortium, which aims for the import of one million tonnes of green hydrogen to the port and includes multiple significant players in the hydrogen industry. The project will now be integrated with this new partnership, allowing for the establishment of an end-to-end value chain for green hydrogen carriers between both ports.

“By expanding our trusting partnership with the Port of Amsterdam, we are sending an important signal across national borders: only together will we be able to overcome global challenges such as the energy transition,” said Markus Bangen, CEO of duisport.

In addition, duisport and Port of Amsterdam said they will set up joint commercial projects to further develop their hinterland networks, whilst promoting sustainable multimodal transport connections between the two ports and other European destinations.

Last month, duisport signed a partnership with the Port of Rotterdam to expand initiatives in the area of digitisation and energy transition.

With regards to the energy transition, both ports plan to investigate the development of hydrogen hubs to transform Rotterdam into the future ‘hydrogen gateway’ to Europe and duisport as the hub for Germany.

Talks to reach a new contract with union workers at West Coast shipping ports before the existing deal expires this week are going well with no major sticking points, U.S. Labor Secretary Martin Walsh told Reuters on Tuesday.

The current contract covering more than 22,000 port laborers at 29 West Coast ports expires on July 1. Retailers, farmers and other U.S. shippers worry that any breakdown in the often-contentious West Coast port labor talks will further disrupt cargo flows and send inflation-fueling transportation costs even higher.

Walsh said he checks in weekly with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) employer group. They “continually tell me that we’re in a good place. It’s moving forward,” Walsh said.

In a rare joint statement on June 14, the ILWU and the PMA said they are not planning any work stoppages or lockouts that would worsen supply chain logjams.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden met with the two sides as he grapples with supply-chain disruption and inflation that are fueling voter discontent ahead of key mid-term elections in November.

Asked if port automation is a sticking point in the talks, Walsh said: “There’s been no issues that I’m aware of that have come up that have made either side concerned.”

Meanwhile, wary shippers are routing cargo away from the West Coast to avoid potential labor-related slowdowns, particularly at the nation’s busiest seaport complex at Los Angeles/Long Beach.

That change is giving those Southern California ports, which employ the lion’s share of ILWU workers, a chance to clear backlogs. But it is also causing cargo backups at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports like New York/New Jersey, Savannah and Houston.

U.S. importers turn to prayer and the President ahead of West Coast port labor talks.

West Coast port union, employers say no plan for strike or lockout.

Source: https://www.maritimeprofessional.com/news/union-talks-west-coast-ports-377665

The United Kingdom has once again achieved White List status under the Paris MoU Port State Control regime.

At its 55^th meeting, the Paris MOU Committee approved the 2021 inspection results and adopted new performance lists for flag States and Recognised Organisations. The “White, Grey and Black Lists”, which represent the full spectrum of flags, will take effect from 1 July 2022.

The UK has maintained a spot on the White List, which represents quality flags with a consistently low detention record.

Ratings are based on the total number of inspections and detentions over a three-year rolling period for flags with at least 30 inspections in the period. There are 40 flags on the White List for 2021, an increase of 1 compared to 2020 and equal to the 2019 results.

Dan Vivian, Commercial Director for the UK Ship Register, said it was good news for all those who had worked hard to maintain UK standards.

Source: https://www.ukshipregister.co.uk/news/uk-retains-paris-mou-white-list-status/

For the second year in a row, Denmark is at the top of the Paris MoU white list, which shows how flag states perform during inspections in European ports.

The Port State Control Regime Paris MoU has just published their latest whitelist, where Danish ships are once again performing well at the top of the list. Also within Tokyo MoU’s port state control regime, Danish ships are still on the white list. Denmark is also placed on the US Coast Guards Qualship 21 list, which covers port state controls in the USA.

The “White, Grey and Black (WGB) List” presents the full spectrum, from quality flags to flags with a poor performance that are considered high or very high risk. It is based on the total number of inspections and detentions during a 3-year rolling period for flags with at least 30 inspections in the period.

The “White List” represents quality flags with a consistently low detention record. Flags with an average performance are shown on the “Grey List”. Their appearance on this list may serve as an incentive to improve and move to the “White List”. At the same time flags at the lower end of the “Grey List” should be careful not to neglect control over their ships and risk ending up on the “Black List” next year.

The whitelists from Paris MoU (Europe) and Tokyo MoU (Asia) show how flag state ships perform when going through port state controls around the world.

Martin John, director of Ship Survey and Certification at the Danish Maritime Authority:

“The Danish flag stands for quality shipping and high standards. Maintaining a position at the top of the whitelists is a great achievement by both the shipping companies and the seafarers on the Danish ships. This indicates a high level of safety awareness and benefits the industry by marking Danish shipping as quality shipping.”

Port State controls are an important tool for ensuring that ships comply with international standards for safety, health and the environment, as well as proper working conditions for the seafarers.

Source: https://maritime-professionals.com/danish-shipping-remains-at-the-top-of-the-whitelists/

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) recently released its investigation report into the fatal sinking of the fishing vessel Island Lady in the Labrador Sea in September 2021.

The TSB’s investigation into this occurrence could not determine with certainty the cause of the disappearance of Island Lady or its two-person crew.

The TSB said it is likely that the vessel sank and that both crewmembers entered the water unexpectedly.

The vessel or crew did not carry any operable distress alerting devices and there was no distress call received from the vessel. This resulted in a delay in search and rescue (SAR) efforts being initiated and a large search area, greatly reducing the crew’s chance of survival.

The investigation also revealed that while Island Lady was registered with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) as a requirement of the licence to harvest marine resources, it was not registered with Transport Canada.

The TSB’s recent investigation into the sinking of the fishing vessel Sarah Anne identified that a large number of fishing vessels are operating in a similar manner.

As a result, the TSB issued a recommendation that DFO require all commercial fishing vessels to have a current and accurate Transport Canada registration.

The TSB also noted that accurate vessel registration gives Transport Canada an opportunity to provide safety oversight and make available up to date information to SAR authorities.

The TSB said the issue of commercial fishing safety has been on the TSB Watchlist since 2010. Despite various initiatives underway to enhance the safety culture within the commercial fishing industry, the same deficiencies on board fishing vessels continue to be found.

Source: https://www.bairdmaritime.com/fishing-boat-world/catching/canadian-transport-safety-board-issues-report-on-fatal-sinking-of-fishing-vessel-island-lady/

he Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MoU) is currently conducting an inspection campaign to verify compliance with the requirements of the Polar Code. The inspection campaign goes from Monday June 13 to Friday July 1, 2022 and from Monday August 1 to Friday August 19 2022.

According to the Pais MoU, the inspection campaign is additional to the regular Concentrated Inspection Campaigns and is held in a different time of the year due to the seasonal voyage plans of the ships sailing to the Polar area.

A ship will be subject to only one inspection related to this inspection campaign during this period. Port State Control Officers (PSCOs) will use a pre-defined questionnaire to assess whether the information and equipment provided onboard complies with the relevant conventions. Polar Code elements in SOLAS and MARPOL will also be taken into account.

The Paris MoU listed the reasons for the campaign as: polar waters have a unique ecosystem that is vulnerable to human influences such as ship operation; polar waters impose additional navigational demands beyond those normally encountered in non-polar waters; and polar waters impose additional demands on the ships, their systems and operations beyond the existing requirements for normal operations at sea.

The goal of the campaign is to determine the level of compliance with the requirements of the Polar Code and also to create awareness amongst ship crews and ship owners with regard to the importance of compliance with the provisions of the code.

In addition, the Paris MoU said it wants to highlight the increased risk to ships operating in polar waters and the need for protection of the vulnerable polar environment; to send a signal to the industry that safety- and pollution prevention related requirements are mandatory and enforcement with the applicable requirements is high on the agenda of the member authorities; and to underline the responsibility of the Port State Control regime with regard to harmonized enforcement of compliance with the requirements of the code, thus improving the level of compliance and ensuring a level playing field.

The results of the campaign will be analyzed and findings will be presented to the Paris MoU Committee.

Source: https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/27734-polar-code-inspection-underway-by-paris-mou.html

Newer Posts

Older Posts

POST STATE CONTROL Archives - Page 10 of 21 - SHIP IP LTD

Singapore Secures Top Spot as International Shipping Centre for Ninth Consecutive Year

Port State Control CIC to focus on STCW

Cargo ship briefly detained in Halifax amid complaints from Ukrainian crew Social Sharing

Nine Ukrainan crew members on board

Legislation Proposes Port Priority for Ships Carrying U.S. Exports

Port of Amsterdam, duisport sign agreement for green hydrogen value chain

Union Talks at West Coast Ports Going Well, US Labor Secretary Says

UK retains Paris MoU White List status

Danish shipping remains at the top of the whitelists

CANADIAN TRANSPORT SAFETY BOARD ISSUES REPORT ON FATAL SINKING OF FISHING VESSEL ISLAND LADY

Polar Code Inspection Underway by Paris MOU

News

Panama Introduces Enhanced Screening Measures for New Vessel Registrations

Maritime Garbage Log Book Electronic – The Smart Compliance Solution for Modern Ships

What Is the Best Software for Recording Work and Rest Hours on Commercial Vessels?

Quick Menu

Company DETAILS

ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED