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August 17 is Indonesia’s Independence Day. Usually, I celebrate by attending events held in my neighborhood and then a flag ceremony at the nearest government office. But this year, it is different as I have an opportunity to celebrate on a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) ship.

I started my journey on the evening of August 16. It was not easy getting to the ship. From where I live in the city of Surabaya, I travelled to Sampang Regency which is approximately 85 km away to get to the shore base of the ship management company for a briefing and inspection of my carry-on and personal items. Matches and firearms are prohibited.

“The inspection is to ensure the safety of all crew members in the middle of the sea,” said Bimo Aryo, Shorebase Superintendant.

After that, I continued on to the Port of Branta, Pamekasan Regency, to board a utility boat, which took an hour to reach the FPSO in the Java Sea. For me, the hardest part of the journey was getting on to the FPSO as the structure was so tall and everyone has to use a rope basket, which is lifted by a crane from the utility boat to the deck of the FPSO.

“It feels like paragliding, if the wind is strong, the basket will rock constantly. If the wind is calm, then it is ok. But for a first timer, it can be a very nervous experience. My advice is always follow the safety instruction of the crew on duty,” said Umar, a crew member who was with me at that time.

There are strict regulations on the ship. While working, the crew has to have safety goggles, overalls, helmets and emergency breathing equipment, among others.

Ship captain Boy Valentino said: “These tools are essential as we are working in dangerous environment. Also, there are prohibitions like cellphones can only be used in accommodation area and nowhere else, disposal of garbage must be separated, fires must not be lighted carelessly, not recommended to lock rooms due to need for rescue in case of emergency, footwear must be worn at all times, etc.”

When I arrived, crew members who were not on duty were busily taking part in several competitions like table tennis, karaoke and digital games. Because of the coming holiday, the mood was lively. Everyone was in a celebratory mood, even those that are not Indonesians.

A Canadian crew member said: “It has been like this for a week already. There are many activities and competitions leading up to Independence Day. It is great and we enjoy taking this chance to interact with our Indonesian colleagues. There was even one American colleague who won the karaoke competition.”

I stayed the night onboard the ship. The next morning at around 6.30 am, all Indonesian crew members joined the flag ceremony to commemorate Independence Day. The entire crew stood in formation at the stern, which is also the Heli Deck. The wind speed on this morning was 15 knots and the waves were half a meter high. Standing tall and at attention in this situation was not easy at all.

Despite the tough condition, pride was seen on all the crew members’ faces. When Indonesia’s red and white national flag was hoisted, they saluted proudly.

Captain Boy said: “Our Indonesian colleagues took two months, during their spare time, to prepare for the celebration and this flag ceremony. They did this in spite of their busy schedule and difficult job. Instead of using their spare time to rest and relax, they showed love for their country.”

Source: https://maritimefairtrade.org/indonesian-seafarers-celebrates-independence-day-on-fpso-ship/


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						SAFEEN Marine Services, part of AD Ports Group’s Maritime Cluster, announced today it has marked more than 5 million man-hours with Zero Lost Time Injuries (LTI) and zero environmental incidents since its launch in 2012.
Operating in nine commercial ports in the UAE and the Middle East, SAFEEN Marine Services extends HSE policy across a comprehensive portfolio of integrated and tailor-made marine services and solutions, which include towage, quayside-support services, emergency response, vessel assistance, inspections, and shipping maintenance.
Captain Adil Alhammadi, CEO of SAFEEN Marine Services, AD Ports Group said: “We are proud to announce our success in achieving 5 million man-hours with Zero Lost Time Injuries and zero environmental incidents, highlighting our commitment to AD Ports Group’s robust Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) practices that have been cultivated from the highest industry standards.

“We have achieved this remarkable feat by promoting a safety culture across the organisation that comprises progressive HSE policy updates, regular audits, emergency drills, and regular in-house safety and training programmes to promote the wellbeing of our employees whilst maintaining a seamless supply chain network for our customers.”
SAFEEN Marine Services’ commitment to HSE has been celebrated by the industry’s most acclaimed awards and recognitions including the recent 2021 Stevie Business Awards. In addition, the company’s fleet of tugboats, speedboats, and vessels are revered as the most efficient and sophisticated units both regionally and globally, leveraging state-of-the-art technologies that keep energy consumption and emissions to a minimum.
Overseen by more than 200 high professional marine experts, SAFEEN Marine Services’ fleet is today one of the largest and most sophisticated fleets operating within the region, comprising tugboats, pilot and speed boats, maintenance vessels, landing craft and ferries.
Source: https://www.seanews.co.uk/shipping-news/safeen-marine-services-marks-5-million-man-hours-with-zero-lost-time-injuries-or-environmental-incidents/


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						Jurong Port, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Asia Pacific (MHI-AP), a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and JERA Asia, a subsidiary of JERA, August 19 concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly explore establishing a 100% ammonia direct combustion power plant on Jurong Island, Singapore, which houses the country’s chemical and energy industries.
Under the MoU, a joint study will be conducted, where a 60MW class gas turbine combined cycle plant fueled by 100% ammonia is planned to be set up to produce carbon-neutral electricity, as well as stimulate ammonia demand to be ready for ammonia bunkering in future.
This MoU builds upon an initial agreement between Jurong Port and MHI-AP signed in August 2021 for a pre-feasibility study on ammonia direct combustion technology for green power generation, which was concluded successfully in March 2022.
In February this year, the Singapore government raised its climate ambition to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by or around 2050. This project is in alignment with the overall national decarbonization goals, as it aims to utilize ammonia – which can efficiently transport and store hydrogen in a liquid state at low cost – as a fuel to generate carbon-free electricity, and as the main bunkering fuel in future to decarbonize the maritime sector. The MoU will hence explore the viability and commercialization of ammonia for these purposes.
Ooi Boon Hoe, Chief Executive Officer, Jurong Port, said: “We feel this MoU could help pave the way for encouraging the adoption of hydrogen in Singapore through aggregation of demand across multiple sectors, mainly the power sector and the maritime sector, thereby addressing the chicken-and-egg conundrum of infrastructure versus demand needs for maritime and domestic power generation.
“This collaboration is certainly consistent with the spirit of reinforcing Singapore’s premier bunkering hub status – for current, transition and future fuels.”
Osamu Ono, Managing Director, MHI-AP, said: “Ammonia, which consists of hydrogen and nitrogen, is a highly efficient hydrogen carrier and can be directly combusted as a carbon neutral fuel, thereby contributing to the establishment of a robust hydrogen value chain.
“At MHI, we believe that ammonia and hydrogen are key fuels that can help countries meet their net zero goals, and this MoU is an exciting opportunity for us to contribute our technology and expertise to achieve sustainable development in Singapore and subsequently realize the global sustainability agenda.”
Toshiro Kudama, Chief Executive Officer, JERA Asia, said: “JERA is committed to providing cutting edge solutions to the world’s energy issues and is actively working to strengthen both the ammonia and hydrogen value chains. We believe this MoU offers a unique opportunity to support Singapore’s decarbonization efforts while advancing the ammonia technology development for carbon neutral power generation.
“Through initiatives like this, JERA will leverage its experience and capabilities to help countries to reach their net-zero CO2 emissions targets and to build a clean energy supply chain in the region.”
Source: https://maritimefairtrade.org/jurong-port-signs-mou-to-set-up-ammonia-direct-combustion-power-plant/


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						The Vanuatu Maritime Safety Authority team has arrived at the site of a ship fire to investigate the cause of the blaze onboard the LC Western Star.


The LC Western Star caught fire during a trip to offload fuel at a depot in Wintua on the island of Malekula. Photo: Supplied

The authority’s commissioner, Less Napuati, said other relevant government institutions such as the environment department were due to fly to Malekula to assess the ship, and how it would affect the people and marine resources of the area.
Eight crew members fled the vessel on Wednesday and by early Thursday local time fire-fighters had extinguished the blaze.
One crew member was injured and flown to Luganville hospital.
The vessel’s trip was to offload fuel at the fuel depot stationed at Wintua. Benzine had been offloaded and the crew were in the process of offloading mazut when the unfortunate incident occurred.
Villagers near the scene are threatening to sue the fuel company and the ship owner if there is a fuel leak into the surrounding reefs.
Chief Alben Reuben, a former field worker from the Vanuatu Cultural Center, said there were taboo reefs in the area of Wintua and Lawa, where it was prohibited to fish and swim.
Reuben is from Lawa village, which is near Wintua in the west of Malekula Island.
He said only chiefs could swim in those areas after pig killing ceremonies to appoint a new chief or promote an existing one.
Reuben said if there was fuel leakage it would be catastrophic for the area’s marine resources and local traditions.
Source: https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/473131/vanuatu-cargo-ship-fire-safety-authority-investigating


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						Teams from Fugro and the Ocean Industries Concept Lab (OICL) at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design are working together on a research project exploring how best to harmonise maritime design by integrating standardised open-source elements into workplaces for remote operations.
Fugro and OICL have been exploring the application of user interface design elements from the open-source OpenBridge library for applications at sea and on land, to improve user experience when dealing with systems that require the integration of multiple types of hardware and software from different suppliers.
With the expanding pool of assets being utilised from Fugro’s remote operations centres this standardised interface will ensure consistency and promote safe and efficient operations, the partners note, enhancing training, removing the potential for error and enabling operators to perform successfully.
“The collaboration with Fugro has allowed us to accelerate the expansion of the OpenBridge platform to new maritime applications,” said OICL Professor Kjetil Nordby.
“In addition, we have a strategy of supporting all ocean industries’ workplaces at sea and on land, and direct collaboration with industry leaders such as Fugro helps us accelerate OpenBridge growth.”
Source: https://smartmaritimenetwork.com/2022/08/19/fugro-researches-open-source-standardised-design-for-remote-operations/


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						Darussalam Pilotage Services (DPS), a provider of pilotage and towage services for the port of Muara in Brunei, has agreed a deal to implement the MarineM software system from Singapore-based Innovez One.
DPS will use the application to digitise and optimise marine services for vessels arriving and departing the port of Muara, from vessel registration to billing.
The digital platform will replace paper-based processes to capture job requests, track the progress of each job in real time, and generate invoices automatically, while agents will be able to use an online portal to register their port calls and order services directly from mobile devices.
The AI-powered system will also be used to automate and optimise the scheduling of port, tug and pilotage services. Key operations including vessel allocation and job planning and tracking will be managed digitally rather than using manual processes such as whiteboards, paper and spreadsheets.
MarineM uses GPS and AIS data to track the position of each vessel and the status of jobs in real time and applies artificial intelligence to automate scheduling, allocating resources and allowing any changes in vessels’ ETAs to be handled instantly.
“We are excited to enter the digital era with Innovez One’s state-of-the-art solutions, which will help us unlock the full potential of our tug, pilot and towage services, maximise our operational efficiency, and deliver a paper-free and stress-free experience for our clients,” said Zil Husam Abd Rahman, General Manager at Darussalam Pilotage Services (DPS).
“As the main gateway for international trade, the Port of Muara is an essential hub for the development of Brunei Darussalam and other economies in the region. Entering the digital era will enable us to not only offer the best possible service to our customers, but also play an even greater role in delivering sustainable development for our country and communities.”
Source: https://smartmaritimenetwork.com/2022/08/19/darussalam-pilotage-services-moves-to-digital-platform-from-innovez-one/


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						Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to have repercussions in the Baltic. Already, Finland and Sweden have sought to join NATO. Now, long-time NATO member Denmark is planning to invest up to DKK 40 billion (about $5.4 billion) in naval shipbuilding and new warships.
“With Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the new European security situation, it is more important than ever that Denmark is able to defend itself. Here, security of supply plays a decisive role. It is crucial that the armed forces can obtain the material which is absolutely central to ensuring a strong Danish defense. This applies not least at sea, where Denmark is one of the world’s largest maritime nations,” said Defense Minister Morten Bødskov last week as he announced a new national partnership, charged with coming up with recommendations on how Danish industry can respond to the need.
“Within the next few years, the defense forces will have to replace a large number of ships. This means purchases in the region of DKK 40 billion. The new partnership will make recommendations so that the Danish maritime defense industry can share in these investments. For the benefit of the Danish defense industry, Danish jobs and not least for Denmark’s security,” said Bødkov.





The Minister of Defense has appointed Anne H. Steffensen, managing director of the Danish Shipowners Association (Danske Rederier) as chairman of the partnership.
“We are a large maritime nation with a strong maritime industry both by virtue of our civilian merchant fleet and our navy, which have always had a close interaction,” said Steffensen. “In the coming years, we must strengthen the navy, as a crucial part of Denmark’s defense. A close public-private partnership is the right way to go. In Denmark, we have many competencies that can and must be used when new ships are to be developed and built. As chairman of the new partnership, I look forward to making recommendations on how we can best and on reasonable terms support the needs of the Armed Forces in the maritime area.”
Two of the objectives of the partnership make it clear that beefing up Denmark’s naval shipbuilding capabilities and capacity will be a key part of the strategy.
According to the Ministry of Defense:

The new, national partnership for the maritime area must ensure coordination across the state, industry, professional organizations and financial institutions. This applies, among other things, to the work to strengthen Denmark’s national shipbuilding capacity.


The partnership must prepare an analysis that results in concrete recommendations on how to best nationally support the Norwegian Armed Forces’ long-term needs for ship procurement – among other things by ensuring that Denmark has the skills to design, build and maintain warships.

Identifying the physical shipyard space needed for naval shipbuilding will be one of the challenges facing the partnership. The most recent additions to the Royal Danish Navy, its three Iver Huitfeldt-class frigates, were constructed in blocks in Estonia and Lithuania. These blocks were then towed to the Maersk Group’s Odense Steel Shipyard (OSS) where they were assembled. Following the delivery of the last of the trio in 2012, the shipyard was closed and became an industrial park dedicated to the offshore renewables sector.
That industrial park is not all that’s left of the shipyard. Consultancy OMT (Odense Marine Technology) was spun off in 2010 to take the OSS technology expertise and experience and evolve into a leading international maritime consultancy. It is part of the team selected by the U.K. Ministry of Defense to develop the Type 31 general purpose frigate, which just happens to be based on the Iver Huitfeldt-class.
Source: https://www.marinelog.com/shipbuilding/denmark-eyes-5-4-billion-return-to-naval-shipbuilding/


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						While inbound container growth appears to be flattening for now, the long-term outlook spells trouble for U.S. ports.
Liner industry veteran John McCown, founder of Blue Alpha Capital, is out with his July report on the top ten U.S. ports, showing another month of gains in July even as U.S. consumers’ pandemic-fueled spending is starting to cool.
McCown’s report shows the ten largest ports in the United States registered a 0.7% increase in inbound container volumes in July compared to the same month last year.
There’s been much debate about when the U.S. import growth would flatten or turn negative. The time appears to be now.

McCown’s report shows year over year gains have fallen considerably since last August following many months of double digit growth. This flattening was inevitable, considering ports are already operating at or near capacity. Looking towards the rest of the year, growth is expected to remain flat or likely turn negative during some months. This can be attributed to more difficult comparisons to last year and wider port congestion, McCown says in his report.
West to East Cargo Shift
Speaking of congestion, McCown points out that the situation has changed more in its composition rather than total impact. While West Coast ports, particularly in Southern California, have made some progress in reducing backlogs, congestion has spread elsewhere, with places like New York, Savannah and Houston seeing high numbers of ships waiting for berths. Even smaller ports are seeing record volumes.
According to McCown, the West Coast represented two-thirds of containerships waiting for berths in January, but it now represents less than on-third as congestion has shifted eastward as ports there struggle under the weight of heightened imports (and empties, in some cases).
McCown has been talking about this West to East cargo shift for months now. Shippers and ocean carriers facing long wait times on the West Coast have shifted cargoes and capacity to East and Gulf coast ports in hopes of finding greener pastures. Meanwhile, the possiblity of challenges resulting from ongoing labor talks between West Coast dockworkers represented by the ILWU and port employers has further contributed to this shift.
“This whack-a-mole effect where relief of waiting times on the West Coast resulting from deployment changes led to moving some of that congestion to East/Gulf Coast ports is yet another example of network effects within container shipping systems that have been evident throughout the pandemic,” McCown writes.
Long-Term Challenge
Bigger picture… the fact that containerships are now waiting on all three U.S. coasts, particulary now during a period a flat growth, is a “tangible reminder” that many U.S. ports are operating at or near capacity and not equipped to handle foreseable future growth.
Even if the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for inbound containers comes in at a conservative 2.8%, as estimated by DNV (which is half of the 5.6% CAGR witnessed from 1995-2026), the number of inbound containers to U.S. ports will be twice as much in 25 years and four times as much in 50 years, according to McCown.
“The present U.S. port system is not in the position to accommodate the geometric growth in container volume that is on the foreseable horizon. To handle that growth, something more than just marginal improvements to capacity are needed,” McCown writes. “Among other things, new container terminals and even entirely new container ports will be needed to efficiently handle container volume over the ensuing decades. This will require significant infrastructure investment… Without meaningful steps taken, such disruption will be more episodic in the future as volume grows over time.”
According to McCown’s calculations, disruptions related to congestion is costing the U.S. economy $82 billion annually in additional container shipping costs, based on Q2 2022 numbers. While infrastructure investments may be costly, the cost of doing nothing is likely to be much, much greater.
Source: https://gcaptain.com/u-s-ports-see-another-month-of-gains-in-july-but-pandemic-fueled-growth-is-fading/


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						Fire erupted in the fore part of general cargo ship HAPPY ROVER early in the morning Aug 21, dry docked at Schiedam, Rotterdam, and undergoing repairs, including fire works. The ship arrived at Rotterdam on Aug 8, from Canada. Fire engines responded, at one time ship’s horn self-switched and woke up local residents, until it was switched off. As of 0600 UTC Aug 21, fire most probably, is still raging, officials said fire fighting might stretch on into the day.
New FleetMon Vessel Safety Risk Reports Available: https://www.fleetmon.com/services/vessel-risk-rating/


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						The Nation reported the arrest of a supertanker by the Central African country after it fled from the AKPO oilfield in Nigeria when its notorious activities were unveiled by the operatives belonging to the Nigerian Navy.
Confirming the arrest on Wednesday, Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Navy, mentioned that the feat indicated renewed collaboration among the Gulf of Guinea nations.
Image for representation purpose only





Ayo-Vaughan confirmed that the supertanker with International Maritime Organization (IMO) reportedly raised a fake alarm that it had come under the attacks of pirates when ‘NNS GONGOLA’ ordered the vessel to head out for Bonny Fairway Buoy for extensive interrogation.




He said the regional centre for Maritime Security for West Africa (CRESMAO) in Abidjan also agreed that the vessel raised a fake alarm regarding an attempted boarding between 10 to 15 NM of Akpo oil field located in Nigeria to the Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre (MMCC), International Maritime Bureau (IMB), as well as other international platforms.
On 7 August this year, the Nigerian Navy personnel on a routine patrol reported the unexpected presence of the MT HEROIC IDUN at the Akpo Oil Field. The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) is a 336-meter tanker that boasts a capacity of 299,995 MT. Its owner is Hunter Tankers AS. The vessel is reportedly domiciled in Scandinavia. However, Trafigura Maritime Logistics, located in the Netherlands, operates it.
Failing to share NNPC clearance papers for loading, MT HEROIC IDUN was prevented from proceeding by the Nigerian Navy Ship named GONGOLA.
The Captain of MT HEROIC IDUN revealed that the vessel’s agent commanded him, Messrs Inchcape Shipping, strictly not to follow any directives provided by the Nigerian Navy. The VLCC also resisted arrest when it was reportedly ordered by NNS GONGOLA to stop, and the supertanker escaped toward the Nigeria-Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development Zone Area.
Rear Admiral Istifanus Albarra, the Head of CRESMAO, also confirmed that the tanker captain refused to cooperate and altered the course toward Sao-Tome and Principe. Later on, he deliberately raised false alarms to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) that she was under a pirate attack. The IMB broadcasted the information to relevant international stakeholders and authorities.
Per Ayo-Vaughan, the admiral observed that it is imperative that incidences of piracy reported by vessels must be crosschecked with authorities (especially the Yaounde Architecture) to authenticate the veracity or otherwise before the broadcast.
Ayo-Vaughan added that this is to prevent raising false alarms, particularly during this time when the maritime domain of the Gulf of Guinea has been recording a significant reduction in maritime incidences compared to what was happening two years back. IMB is implored to cancel the alert broadcast, coordinate with authorities, and put out the correct information.
As a demonstration and proof of renewed cooperation among Gulf of Guinea nations, the Nigerian Navy welcomed MT HEROIC IDUN’s arrest. The seizure was facilitated by the Equatorial-Guinean Navy on 12 August, just about four days after the supertanker mistakenly assumed that she had successfully evaded an arrest by the Nigerian Navy and raised a fake alarm of a robbery/pirate attack that did not happen in reality.
References: Business Day, The Cable


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Indonesian Seafarers Celebrate Independence Day On FPSO Ship

`SAFEEN Marine Services Marks 5 million Man-Hours with Zero Lost Time Injuries or Environmental Incidents`

`Jurong Port Signs MoU To Set Up Ammonia Direct Combustion Power Plant`

`Vanuatu cargo ship fire: safety authority investigating`

`Fugro researches open-source standardised design for remote operations`

`Darussalam Pilotage Services moves to digital platform from Innovez One`

`Denmark eyes $5.4 billion return to naval shipbuilding`

`U.S. Ports See Another Month of Gains in July, But Pandemic-Fueled Growth is Fading`

West to East Cargo Shift

Long-Term Challenge

`Dutch general cargo ship on fire, Rotterdam`

`Motor Tanker Arrested By Equatorial Guinea Forces Owing To Alleged Crude Oil Theft In Nigeria`

GPS Interference and Tanker Collision Raise Safety Alarms in Strait of Hormuz

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