Chief Engineer of bulk carrier NORD SUNDA, 49-year old Filipino national, passed away on Jul 16 in hospital in Le Havre, presumably because of covid. 5 other crew who were hospitalized, recovered and will be repatriated to Manila on Jul 18. 6 other crew who were positive tested, have been repatriated to Manila on Jul 13.
… NORD SUNDA had to call Le Havre France on Jun 30, being in medical emergency. The ship was en route from Buchanan Liberia to Dunkirk France with cargo of iron ore. 16 crew tested positive, 5 of them in need of hospitalization. Bulk carrier was diverted to Le Havre, where she berthed at around noon Jun 30. Full initial story https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2021/34373/mass-crew-sickness-5-hospitalized/
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The ship reached Dunkirk on Jul 11, left on Jul 14, bound for Ust Luga, Russia, Baltic sea. As of 0530 UTC Jul 18, she was adrift in Baltic off Estonia since around 0100 UTC, reason unknown, probably waiting. Or as probably, one vaccinated crew was replaced with another, also vaccinated, crew.
Last Thursday, the World Trade Organization (WTO) gathered trade ministers from around the world to deliberate on new rules aimed at reducing government subsidies to the fishing industry. These subsidies are blamed for the decline of fish stocks globally, threatening the livelihoods of artisanal fishermen along with destruction of fragile ocean ecosystems.
Although trade negotiations on fish subsidies are one potent way to curb marine ecosystems destruction, marine protected areas are becoming a dominant strategy in ocean conservation, especially in low-income countries. In fact, in a place like Africa where people highly depend on natural resources, their protection is paramount in poverty alleviation.
This was the inspiration behind the Nairobi Convention. It is a partnership of ten countries in Western Indian Ocean (WIO) with programs domiciled within UNEP (the United Nations Environment Programme), and it aims to guide actions towards healthy coastal and marine environments. The region, stretching from Somalia in the north and South Africa in the south, is home to 244 million people. Its combined economic value is estimated at about $20 billion per year. In addition, three of the 64 Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) globally, as categorized by the University of Rhode Island and NOAA – the Somali Current LME, the Agulhas Current and the Arabian Sea LMEs – are found within the broader WIO border. Together, the LMEs are responsible for 95 percent of the productivity of world’s oceans. This immense wealth is the reason WIO countries are on overdrive in the creation of marine protected areas.
How effective are MPAs in protecting threatened coastal habitats? A report released last Friday by WIOMSA (Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association) and UNEP attempts to tackle this question.
MPAs are generally small, consisting of a median area of less than five square kilometers. Also, the vast majority of these are found close to the coast, meaning that deep-water habitats are heavily under-represented.
So far, WIO countries have declared 143 MPAs – an area covering 550,000 square kilometers, representing seven percent of the total area of all coastal states’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs) in the region. Approximately 63 percent of this overall size was brought under protection since the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in 2015.
For instance, in 2019 Seychelles brought 30 percent of its EEZ under protection, safeguarding the habitats of 2,600 species. South Africa declared 20 new MPAs in the same year. Buoyed by Seychelles Marine Spatial Plan and South Africa’s “Operation Phakisa”- which are framed as the wider Blue Economy framework-, both countries have balanced economic exploitation of Ocean resources and the need for conservation. Although the two countries have managed to exceed the 10 percent target for EEZ protection, at the regional level only seven percent is under protection.
The report also details how establishment of MPAs has evolved with Madagascar pioneering an innovative approach called Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs). Such enables coastal communities to collaborate with government and other stakeholders to protect coastal resources. This is a big leap in conservation management fostering inclusivity of the indigenous coastal communities. One such initiative is the MIHARI Network, which comprises 196 community associations and NGOs and manages 14,000 square kilometers of marine areas around the Madagascar coastline. Its efforts increase local communities’ lobbying at the government level and promise to address coastal poverty.
One major highlight of the report is that since the turn of this century, the objectives of MPAs have evolved from initially focusing on conserving inshore fish stocks, as strictly no-take zones, to covering much larger offshore areas, with diverse zoning schemes that permit multiple uses.
Meanwhile, despite the stellar progress thus far attained in protecting coastal and marine habitats in the WIO region, multiple challenges abound. Many MPAs in the area lack human resources, skills, equipment, and institutional commitment to fulfil their functions. They also suffer from serious decline in conservation funding, a situation that was further exacerbated by COVID-19. The lockdown measures affected tourism revenues, which MPAs in the WIO region depend on to finance operations.
Aggregates carrier SHI XIANG 156, deployed in dredging works in Pulau Indah waters, Port Klang, Malaysia, caught fire shortly after midday Jul 19. Eleven crew were evacuated, all reported to escape safe. Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency MMEA coordinated firefighting. Fire was taken under control and understood, extinguished, on some 6-7 hours.
As the newbuild market continues to heat up with orders running strongly ahead of recent years, Chinese officials are promoting their successes with orders up over 200 percent in 2021 and advancements in new ship designs such as in the VLCC segment. They are reporting the delivery of a vessel, which they are promoting as one of the most energy efficient VLCCs ever built, along with an effort underway to build the first LNG-fueled VLCC.
The 307,000 dwt CS Hunan Venture was delivered by the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Group during a naming ceremony in late June. The vessel, which is owned by China Shipbuilding Consulting Company and operated by Wah Kwong Ship Management Hong Kong, is being billed as one of the most advanced and energy efficient VLCCs ever built in China.
The ship was designed with energy-saving features, including a straight bow design, and it is equipped with a new type of main engine, a 7G80ME-C9.5 made by Dalian Marine Diesel. It also employs a large-diameter, high-efficiency propeller, and a propeller energy-saving device developed by DSIC. The tanker is also equipped with an open scrubber.
“This is a new highly competitive ground-breaking generation of ship design for the newbuild market,” said Fan Qiang, Vice President of the China Classification Society. The society said that it conducted extensive surveys during the construction process. They reported that the CS Hunan Venture’s innovative design ensured that its Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) is more than 20 percent below the baseline, which makes it one of the best in the world for VLCCs of the same size.
The CS Hunan Venture is 1,092 feet in length with a 197-foot beam. It has a capacity of two million barrels of crude oil and a cruising range of more than 26,000 nautical miles. With a design draft of 67 feet, it can transit the Strait of Malacca.
CCS President Mo Jianhui highlighted another major VLCC-related project CCS is also working on with DSIC. Due to be delivered at the end of 2021, is an order for an LNG dual-fuel VLCC, that they are promoting as the first LNG dual-fuel VLCC in the world.
“CCS continues to ramp up its scientific research and innovation capabilities and is jointly developing many VLCC ship types with major Chinese shipyards,” he said noting that they are focusing work on energy conservation, environmental protection, and intelligent shipping. In particular, CCS is cooperating with shipyards and manufacturers of LNG bunkering tanks and fuel gas supply systems, undertaking drawing approvals, risk assessments, and site surveys.” CCS now has more than 100 VLCC ships classed in its fleet.
Chinese officials also promoted the strength of the country’s shipbuilding orderbook. Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology highlights that China received 51 percent of the new shipbuilding orders in the first half of 2021 while delivering 49 percent of the new ships completed in 2021, or a total of 20.9 million dwt. They reported that Chinese shipbuilders received orders for 38.24 million dwt in 2021 bring the total backlog to 86.6 million dwt, up 13.1 percent year-on-year.
Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR and oil and gas contractor Technip Energies have signed an agreement to study the use of floating wind turbines to power offshore oil and gas operations in the Caspian Sea. If realized, the pilot project would be the first deployment of offshore wind technology in Azerbaijan.
At present, upstream operations in the Caspian Sea mainly use electricity generated from natural gas. Among the main objectives of the pilot project is to determine the prospects for the supply of sustainable energy to the country’s upstream sector, reducing natural gas consumption and increasing gas exports.
“The energy efficiency is in focus of many energy companies and is an important part of SOCAR’s strategic plans. In line with the development trends of technology, we are already entering this area. Our goal is to reduce operating costs, increase energy efficiency and ensure the sustainability of operations at SOCAR,” said Rovnag Abdullayev, SOCAR president.
Technip Energies is a young company with a long history. In February, French-American oil and gas services contractor TechnipFMC spun off its “green” energy and petrochemical engineering services as an independent entity, Technip Energies. The new firm is focused on the energy transition, with emphasis on LNG, hydrogen and ethylene production; it also holds large contracts for petchem plant construction and upgrading, including a recently-completed petchem project for SOCAR.
Leading MPA’s efforts in driving cyber security and resilience in the Maritime Singapore, in which you will play a crucial role in a dynamic cybersecurity team to carry out cybersecurity oversight of the Maritime sector, and develop regulatory initiatives to ensure compliance with sector-wide and enterprise-wide cybersecurity policies, standards and procedures. Your mission will be to strengthen the cybersecurity readiness and resiliency of MPA and the Maritime sector.
You will manage third party consultants, together with relevant MPA departments in conducting periodic compliance audits and risk assessments. You will work with Internal Audit team to conduct, monitor and identify systems due for audit in accordance to IM8 and CCOP requirements.
You will work with critical information infrastructure owners (CIIOs), to safeguard and strengthen cyber resilience of Maritime sector’s CIIs in Singapore. Review risk assessment and audit reports submitted by CIIOs as required by Cybersecurity Code of Practice and review classification of Maritime sector’s CII and CII boundary.
Requirements
To be successful in the role, the candidate should possess the following:
• At least 1 year of experience in IT/ Operational Technology (OT) related role in the areas of governance, audit and compliance work. Fresh graduates are welcome to apply.
• Prior experience with conducting risk assessment and audit for IM8 and CCOP will be preferred.
• Good verbal and written communication skills with stakeholders at all levels.
Candidates who are able to commit for a period of 6 months to 1 year are welcome to apply.
Cpt Tama identifies the transition to the Internet of Things (IoT) approach as a major source of that vulnerability. IoT is an information technology term that describes a system of devices or of self-contained systems that are connected and able to communicate over a single network. This connectivity is achieved largely by the introduction of firmware into vessel and onshore hardware systems. According to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, firmware refers specifically to the “combination of a hardware device and computer instructions or computer data that reside as read-only software on the hardware device.”
The Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) has announced plans to use a vessel to monitor foreign-flag operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, intending to use it as a platform to gather photographic evidence of Jones Act violations. The evidence will be submitted to enforcement authorities, made public and shared with the media.
The Jones Act requires seaborne cargo shipped between two U.S. points to be carried by U.S.-built, crewed, and owned vessels. It is at the center of America’s maritime policy and domestic shipping law, and it is a mainstay support for U.S. shipowners, mariners and shipbuilders. The law is vital to sustaining a domestic maritime industry that is strong enough to support national defense objectives, and it enjoys the support of the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, U.S. Maritime Administration, and many members of Congress.
According to OMSA, the Jones Act is not fully enforced by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency tasked with overseeing compliance. CBP’s interpretation process has left room for foreign-flag offshore vessels to perform certain functions on the U.S. continental shelf, like heavy lift and pipelay operations, so long as these vessels do not “transport cargo” between U.S. points. However, the definitions of “transport” and “cargo” have been a matter of debate for decades, and OMSA says that CBP has allowed foreign-flag operators to push the limits too far.
“The Jones Act is very simple, if a foreign vessel picks up cargo at one point in the United States, and takes it to another point, it has broken the law,” Smith continued. “Foreign vessels have succeeded in confusing this issue for a long time. Now, we’re going to shine a bright spotlight on their actions and show everyone just how many foreign mariners are taking money out of U.S. mariners’ pockets. If foreign vessel owners or the companies they work for don’t like this scrutiny, I suggest they hire U.S. owned, U.S. crewed, and U.S. built vessels.”
OMSA’s new patrol vessel, the Jones Act Enforcer, is a 150-foot crewboat built in 2007. Formerly known as the Harvey Hustler, she is fitted with a 7,000 HP powerplant and can make 20 knots.
The brand new cruise ship Crystal Endeavor has set sail from Reykjavik, Iceland for her maiden revenue voyage, a 10-night tour around the island nation. The sailing is the first of its kind for a luxury expedition vessel in Northern Europe and the Arctic since the pandemic shutdown began, the company said.
“This is an incredible moment for the entire Crystal family,” said Jack Anderson, president of Crystal. “Our new expedition yacht will take our guests further than ever before on bold adventures to the far corners of the globe.”
According to Crystal, the Endeavor is the roomiest, fastest and most powerful expedition ship in the cruise industry today. At 10,000 cubic feet per guest and a passenger space ratio of more than 100, she has the most room per guest of any cruise ship at sea. Her hotel operations can accommodate 200 guests in 100 all-veranda, all-butler suites, with a one-to-one staff-to-guest ratio.
The ship carries with her a small fleet of Zodiaks and kayaks, as well as the kinds of toys more commonly found aboard private yachts – a six-guest submersible and two helicopters (in select regions). She is also fitted with an ROV capable of making 300-meter unmanned dives. Wildlife lovers need not leave their suites to see amazing sights: the ship carries a mast-mounted high specification video camera capable of 90-power zoom, and it streams its output to high definition TVs mounted throughout the vessel. (Guests can give input on where to aim the camera with the help of an operator.)
To manage the COVID-19 risk, Crystal Endeavor set sail with a fully-vaccinated crew and passenger roster. Vaccination is mandatory under Crystal’s new operating protocol. As an upside, vaccinated personnel have the capability to visit shoreside attractions independently in Iceland – not something that would be possible for the unvaccinated.
After Iceland, the Endeavor will sail for Norway in September, then moving south to call in Scotland, France, England and Portugal.
Crystal Endeavor was delivered on June 26 at the MV Werften shipyard in Germany. The yard is owned by Genting Hong Kong, the owner of Crystal Cruises, and the Endeavor is the first ocean-going vessel it has delivered under the current ownership structure. The project was delayed by more than a year due to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic; MV Werften was forced to close in early 2020, putting Crystal Endeavor and other projects on hold. With hundreds of millions of dollars in loan support from the German government, MV Werften reopened and resumed work on the stalled project. As part of the German rescue package, Genting is also receiving a $374 million post-delivery financing facility for the expedition cruise ship.
The Maritime environment is not immune to the radical ability of modern digital communications and computing to be disruptive. In order to gain the advantages of modern technology those operating in the maritime must also become aware and develop strategies to handle the inevitable security issues that modern computing systems bring with them. This report presents a first step on the road to this understanding by presenting the findings from a joint workshop run by Security Lancaster and the Developments, Concepts and Doctrine Centre with participants from a range of government and commercial stakeholders. Here we present the salient points that we discussed within a framework that underpins a repeatable approach to scenario planning based on assessing key traits and trends in three key elements of the cyber maritime domain: Information, People and Technology. This report identifies how the use of technology is extending the scope for maritime security far beyond traditional littoral boundaries and the key influences shaping the cyber maritime environment.
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