With the assistance of approximately 300 applicants, including Officers, Cadets and Seafarers, the call made to Panamanian seafarers interested in embarking, ended up successfully, organized by the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), through the General Directorate of Seafarers (DGGM), in a joint effort with the leading international maritime transport company in the field of general cargo in Colombia, the shipping company NAVESCO, S.A.

This call, according to what was indicated by the shipping company according to its requirements, was directed mainly to First Officers (Deck and Engine), Chief Engineer, AB, Fitter, Cook, with previous experience, however other positions present during the appointment, were also interviewed.

The Administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority, Noriel Arauz, and the Deputy Administrator of the AMP, in charge, Elvia Bustavino, welcomed the attendees, who from early hours came to the facilities of the General Directorate of Seafarers, in the PanCanal Plaza building, Albrook.

The Director of the DGGM, Captain Juan Maltez, indicated that he is very satisfied with the great attendance, since it is a sign of the interest of the Panamanian seafarers to embark and perform functions on board, which will have a positive impact on their families and it will boost the national economy by attracting fresh foreign exchange; in turn, this brings us closer to the goal established in this Administration, that of creating mechanisms to facilitate the hiring of Panamanian seafarers who need to work on board ships, in this case general and bulk cargo.

The General Manager of the shipping company NAVESCO, Guillermo Solano, accompanied by the Director of the Operations Department, Norman Jimenez Espinel, were in charge of interviewing the personnel for the shipments.

Manager Solano expressed that his visit reinforces the bond created with the AMP, through an Agreement made in March 2020 and that they are pleased with the professionalism and competence shown by the Panamanian seafarers hired on board their ships, being so far, around 40 of them, sailing in their fleet, a figure that they wish to increase, which is why they requested this call.

The President of the Panamanian Association of Naval Officers (APOM), Captain Alberto Herrera, and the Prosecutor of the Association, Captain Aurelio Dutari, were also present, as were the Secretary General and the National Director of Employment of the Ministry of Labor and Work Development (MITRADEL), Winston Ivan Sanchez Aparicio and Alfredo Miter, respectively, who supported the work and reiterated the message to the Panamanian seafarers, that in addition to technical knowledge, it is urgent to strengthen command of the English language as the official language of the maritime industry for security, commercial and labor purposes.

The visit of the top management of the shipping company NAVESCO to Panama, includes a tour of the International Maritime University of Panama (UMIP) and Columbus University, in order to interact with the teaching staff and cadets, to learn more about to the directors, students, teaching staff, as well as the training that is given in these houses of higher education.
NAVESCO is an international company founded in 1980, dedicated to international sea transport and cabotage of solid bulk such as cement, lime, salt, fertilizers, coal, sugar and general cargo such as steel and pipes.

Its activity is mainly carried out in the American continent, especially in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America, both on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, the area of operations includes ports in Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru , Chile, Panama, Costa Rica, Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and the United States, for which it uses two (2) vessel sizes: 8,000 DWT and 14,000 DWT, it has twelve (12) vessels, of which nine (9 ) are owned and the others long-term chartered, by English, Dutch and German shipowners.

Source: https://maritimes.gr/en/maritimes-news/46080-call-made-by-the-amp-to-the-panamanian-seafarers-concludes-successfully

The decision by Ukraine late in August to exempt its seafarers from mandatory service in the armed forces, and to be allowed to leave the country to work on ships internationally, would free up manpower for both Ukrainian grain exports and the wider global shipping industry, reported Reuters, citing major industry figures.

The move was a concession by Ukraine that its merchant shipping workforce, one of the largest worldwide, would be able to serve the nation better in both economic and military terms by working on ships.

Ukrainian seafarers make up 4% of the total global mariner workforce of 1.89m sailors.

It was first announced in late August by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, and was decreed into law by his cabinet last Friday September 2nd, according to a copy of the order published on Monday evening.

Ukraine is looking to maximize its grain shipments via the Black Sea Grain Corridor agreed in late July and scheduled to run until at least late November/ early December. Viktor Vyshnov, deputy head of Ukraine’s Shipping Administration, told Reuters that “we understand that the grain corridor depends on them (seafarers) and the world of international logistics also depends on them”.

Shortly after the grain export deal was agreed it was noted that it would be difficult to find the seafarers to crew the estimated 80 vessels stuck in Ukrainian ports since the end of February. Most of the crews on board had long been evacuated, leaving the port-locked vessels with a minimum tick-over crew.

Able-bodied Ukrainian men aged 18-60 are barred from leaving the country, but Ukraine’s government has now waived the ban for qualified seafarers and those studying for a mariner qualification.

“According to the decree, all seafarers, whether they are leaving from Ukrainian ports or are going abroad to fulfil their contracts, can obtain the possibility to leave Ukraine,” Vyshnov said.

Shmyhal had said in August that the decision would be good for the Ukrainian economy, as it would “allow thousands of sailors to get jobs and (state) budget receipts to grow.”

Natalie Shaw, director of employment affairs at the International Chamber of Shipping, said that “the (ICS/BIMCO) report predicts that there will be a need for an additional 89,510 officers by 2026 to operate the world merchant fleet, and Ukraine supplies over 76,000 of the current workforce.”

The staffing situation on ships arriving in Ukraine was complicated by a lack of clarity on the status of Russian merchant sailors. The grain corridor deal made no comment on the status of Russian mariners aboard ships that entered Ukrainian ports.

Ukraine border agency spokesperson Andriy Demchenko told Reuters that, while he did not know of any cases of Russian seafarers receiving visas to enter Ukrainian territory during the invasion, this did not theoretically stop them from sailing into Ukrainian ports if they remained aboard their ship. “If these people are refused entry … then they must remain aboard the ship until it leaves the port.”

The International Transport Federation’s Stephen Cotton said that “common sense says Russian-owned ships and Russian-crewed ships should be very careful about visiting Ukraine. At the moment I would not recommend it.”

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday September 7^th at an economic forum in Vladivostok that Russia and the developing world had been “cheated” by the UN-brokered Ukrainian grain export deal. He said that he would look to revise its terms to limit the countries that can receive shipments. This could mean that any continuation after the end of the original 120-day term would be at risk, or could mean that a revision would be sought even earlier than this. However, Putin said that Russia would carry on with the deal in the hope that its aims would still be achieved, indicating that the corridor was safe, for now.

“What we see is a brazen deception … a deception by the international community of our partners in Africa, and other countries that are in dire need of food. It’s just a scam,” Putin said.

Putin warned of a global food crisis if the situation was not addressed and said he would contact Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan to discuss amending the deal to restrict which countries can receive shipments.

“It is obvious that with this approach, the scale of food problems in the world will only increase … which can lead to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” he said.

“Almost all the grain exported from Ukraine is sent not to the poorest developing countries, but to European Union countries,” claimed Putin.

According to UN data, Turkey, which is not part of the EU, has been the most frequent single destination for shipments from Ukraine, with cargoes also going to China, India, Egypt, Yemen, Somalia and Djibouti.

Putin also said some restrictions on Russia’s fertilizer exports had been eased, but “clever sanctions” were still complicating Russian trade.

“There are no direct sanctions against products, but there are restrictions related to logistics, freight, payments and insurance. Many of these elements of restrictions remain,” Putin said.

Ukraine responded by saying that Russian complaints about the deal were “flabbergasting” as the deal gave Russia no role in determining where the grain goes.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Wednesday that “the agreements signed in Istanbul … concern only one issue, and that is the transfer of cargo ships through the Black Sea. Russia can’t dictate where Ukraine should send its grain, and Ukraine doesn’t dictate the same to Russia”.

Source: https://insurancemarinenews.com/insurance-marine-news/change-in-ukraines-domestic-seafarer-rules-will-help-global-shipping/

The only way to prevent disasters related to offshore drilling is to permanently protect our coasts and workers from new offshore leasing, she said in an emailed statement. while Barak Obama was the president. The agency proposes to amend seven of the many amendments and additions introduced in 2019, director Kevin M.

The U.S. Department of Home Affairs said on Monday it wanted to reverse some of the retracted maritime safety rules by the Trump administration to prevent outbreaks, such as the BP disaster that killed 11 people and contaminated the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

“The proposed regulation will help ensure that offshore energy development uses the latest science and technology to keep people safe,” said Home Secretary Deb Haaland in a press release. “As our nation moves to a clean energy economy, we must commit to strengthening and modernizing marine energy standards and supervision.” The changes are a step in the right direction, but not far enough, said Diane Hoskins of the ocean conservation nonprofit. “No operator can promise that there will not be another disaster such as the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion. The only way to prevent disasters associated with offshore drilling is to permanently protect our coasts and workers from new offshore leasing, “she said in an emailed statement.

Under Trump, the Office of Safety and Environmental Enforcement acted in 2019 to change rules introduced three years earlier, when Barak Obama was president.

The agency proposes to change seven of the many amendments and additions introduced in 2019, director Kevin M. Sligh Sr. he said in a telephone press conference from Haaland.

This, he said, would require an accreditation bureau of independent agencies that inspect oil rigs and offshore equipment. Another would require blowout protection – equipment that failed in 2010 – so that they would always be able to cope with the maximum gas flow parameters of the wellbore.

Others would require operators to transmit accident data to the federal maritime safety agency rather than to designated third parties, and would reduce the time to start accident analysis and investigations by one month, allowing three months instead of four. Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, representing oil and gas companies, said: “The 2019 amendments to the well control rule have resolved technical issues and clarified ambiguities,” changing 68 of the 342 provisions of the original rule. “Any further updates… should follow a similar, tailored approach.” Environmental groups sued in 2019, claiming the changes will make oil and gas exploration and development off the Pacific, Atlantic, Alaska and Gulf coasts “much more dangerous.” “We are still examining the proposed rule to determine the best way to deal with the claim,” said Chris Eaton, a senior lawyer at Earthjustice who filed the lawsuit.

Source: https://www.bollyinside.com/today/news/agency/the-us-aims-to-roll-back-some-of-trumps-maritime-safety-rules/

Saudi Maritime Congress, the largest global shipping & logistics event in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will reinforce industry leaders’ commitment to achieving climate neutrality and discuss its impact on global supply chains, with the aim of creating a sustainable and safe environment in the maritime sector.

Scheduled to take place in Dammam in Saudi Arabia on September 28-29, 2022, industry leaders will come together to discuss the key challenges and opportunities.

As the leading maritime and logistics event in Saudi Arabia, the conference will witness a number of discussion sessions that will bring together decision-makers from private companies and government bodies from around the world. The aim is to focus on accelerating the transition to clean energy and adopting best practices to reduce carbon emissions, the Congress said in a statement.

Accordingly, the conference will highlight the adoption of effective policies and constructive strategies that will promote the transition to clean fuels such as hydrogen as an alternative to carbon intensive non-renewable energy sources. These discussions come at a time when the global community is looking to achieve climate neutrality in the marine sector and solve problems related to greenhouse gases.

Eng. Abdulaziz Sabri, President of Bahri Ship Management said: “As one of the world’s largest VLCC owners and operators, Bahri’s participation in the Saudi Maritime Congress, which will bring together the global maritime community, is an ideal opportunity to explore and identify the key drivers of carbon neutralisation for the sector and ensure that we are on the right track. We are also keen to participate in the discussions about the energy alternatives that would be available in shipping, and to learn about the latest developments regarding the use of innovative technologies.”

The maritime sector is a major tributary of Saudi Arabia’s economy and an essential element in supporting the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. Moreover, the country’s significant fleet is instrumental for the industry, it said.

Chris Morley, Group Director of Maritime Events at Informa Markets, said: “The Saudi Maritime Congress provides a comprehensive and integrated platform to amplify the effectiveness of thought leadership debate. Contributors, stakeholders, and participants at the event all play a vital role in the creation and provision of innovative solutions to everything from future fuels to the adoption of technology throughout the maritime industry. It’s important to the whole team at Seatrade Maritime that we support our communities and customers and provide a catalytic experience that contributes to the objectives of the maritime industry.”

He added: “The Kingdom is among the twenty largest economies in the world and has the largest purchasing consumer base in the region. Therefore, the vital role that the maritime sector plays in the Kingdom’s plan for economic diversification cannot be downplayed. We believe this event plays an important role in supporting sector growth and stimulating action toward the goals of Vision 2030.”

Saudi Arabia has increased the tonnage of its marine fleet, which includes 368 tankers and ships, reaching 13.5 million tonnes.

Source: https://www.zawya.com/en/business/transport-and-logistics/saudi-maritime-congress-to-focus-on-transition-to-clean-energy-iiiin6as