Ms Zama Chonco Chonco, the Acting CEO, South African Maritime Safety Authority has emerged Africa Public Sector Magazine’s “CEO Of the Week” for the month August 21st-27th,2022 rankings.
She is a finance expert whose experience spans across financial and non-financial service sectors, controlling and providing financial strategies and innovative for the growth of the organisation at the capacity she is holding.
Ms Zama is a chartered accountant by professional, hardworking, lustrous and a smart worker, holding a crucial position in ensuring safety of life and property on the sea. She has become our face of the week, the highly rated CEO of the week is a weekly accreditation of Top performing CEO ‘s of public institutions, MDAs of African governments, following their achievements and portfolios amongst other criteria for the best in performances and developments… To read more visit www.publicsectormag.net
(www.MaritimeCyprus.com) Chirpmaritime has recently published their flagship magazine, a very educational publication on maritime safety. Anyone who comes across an unsafe situation in their maritime world can report this to Chirpmaritime. Chirpmaritime will anonymize the report and contact the parties involved. The purpose is to prevent an unsafe event from happening again without starting a blame game or pointing fingers.
2021 has been another very difficult year for seafarers with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic causing major disruptions, particularly regarding crew changes. Many of our colleagues are still trapped at sea long after they should have been repatriated, while others are stuck at home and do not know when they will be able to work again. The professional way our colleagues have continued to move the world’s trade goods, often in terrible conditions, has been an inspiration. Perhaps one day the world will acknowledge the great debt it owes to the men and women at sea.
Despite all the hardships, seafarers have still managed to submit reports to CHIRP but we believe the standard of those reports is higher than ever and we wish to publicly thank all contributors for their excellent feedback.CHIRP Maritime and the results are for all to see.
Students on the NMIT Superyacht course recently got to experience the process of inflating a life raft, gifted by Glen Andrews from Centreport in Wellington.
Centreport changed life raft suppliers recently and this RFD life raft had become surplus to requirements.
Glen is a Tug Master and is currently assigned to the ASD Tug Tiaki at Centreport. He obtained permission from Marine Manager Josh Rogers and chose to donate the raft to a good cause.
“Seeing as how we have a strong affiliation with NMIT and use the Maritime School for a large proportion of our training requirements, we thought you would appreciate the raft and put it to ongoing good use,” says Glen.
Glen says he has done many courses over the years with NMIT and always found the facilities, tutoring and administration staff to be helpful.
“Logistically, managing renewal courses and being at sea can be difficult,” he says.
The raft will be used for all future maritime training courses as a demonstration model in the classroom.
Students are required to complete Basic Safety Training (STCW) as part of the Certificate in Superyacht Crewing, a 12-week programme that features world-class learning facilities, thanks to Nelson’s boat culture and thriving port.
The programme not only offers multi-day yacht trips through Sail Nelson, but training on the only purpose-built 3-storey maritime firefighting facility in the country.
Students make connections with professional yacht recruiters and may walk into employment after completing the certificate.
Charlie Squance, maritime academic staff member at NMIT is grateful for the gift of the life raft.
“The life raft is a valuable contribution, and our tutors and students are certainly going to make the most of,” he said.
“It is wonderful to have such strong connections within the maritime industry.”
The next intake for the Certificate in Superyacht Crewing is in September.
Industry partners could still do more to ensure the safety of crews, says INTERCARGO, as it has submitted its latest Bulk Carrier Casualty Report to the Sub-Committee on IMO Instruments (III 8), convening at the end of the month.
Despite high levels of awareness from shipowners themselves of the dangers of improperly loaded cargo, the Report identified that liquefaction continues to be the greatest contributor to loss of life in the bulk sector. In the last ten years the lives of 70 seafarers were lost as a result of five bulk carrier casualties, four carrying nickel ore and one carrying bauxite.
Image for representation purpose only
During this period the Report identifies a total of 27 bulk carriers over 10,000 dwt as total losses, and 92 crew members lost their lives. Liquefaction accounted for 18.5% of the total vessel casualties in the past ten years yet was the cause of 76.1% of the total loss of life.
The Report highlighted that not only were IMSBC Code requirements not being followed, especially in relation to testing and certification of cargo condition, but that there was also lack of adequate assessment and monitoring of the condition of cargoes being loaded in the cargo holds by representatives of all interests.
Uttam Kumar Jaiswal, Vice-Chairman of INTERCARGO says: “Unusually, this report is not targeted at ship operators. They are well aware of the risks to their crews and their vessels caused by carrying cargos prone to liquefaction and make every effort they can to mitigate those risks.
“It is the lack of consolidated effort and commitment from many stakeholders to resolve the problem that is evident. These can include shippers, receivers and port state authorities at loading and discharging ports. We need action from those our industry relies upon for its safety – the IMO, legislators, and suppliers to ensure that that the minimum obligations under the IMSBC Code are properly fulfilled. The industry is simply talking to itself, if we cannot force action from our other stakeholder groups.
“INTERCARGO urges all shipowners, operators, and seafarers to exercise extreme caution when accepting, for carriage, nickel ore, bauxite, iron ore fines, ball clay and other cargoes that have the potential to liquefy. They need to be especially cautious when loading during a wet season as is currently being experienced in certain parts of South-East Asia and West Africa. We would like to stress the importance of adhering to the provisions in the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code (IMSBC Code) to ensure the safety of lives at sea and the safe transportation of dry bulk cargoes.”
The Report highlights grounding as the most common reported cause of bulk carrier losses from 2012 to 2021, with 13 casualties, representing 48.1% of total losses. The investigation reports available highlight that human error both operationally and in navigation contributed to the majority of the 13 casualties.
Accident reporting also comes under the spotlight. It is well known that lessons from incidents and casualties and sharing of experience are effective approaches to raise safety awareness and vital to deepen understanding and knowledge of existing rules, regulations and skills. All too frequently however, there is a significant delay between the time at which a report, or an initial report is submitted by an accident investigating organisation and when that information becomes publicly available.
There is some good news. Statistics of ship losses and consequential seafarer fatalities suggest that safety performance of the bulk carrier industry is heading in the right direction, with a clear trend of improvement. However, there is no room for complacency and there are still opportunities for further improvement by re-evaluating and implementing enhanced measures to address cargo safety and safe navigation, thereby striving to eliminate losses in the future.
The INTERCARGO Bulk Carrier Casualty Report can be accessed free of charge from the Association’s
website.
Israeli company SIXAI has invested US$4 million in compatriot start-up Captain’s Eye, a developer of safety, security and management systems used to identify and highlight real-time events occurring on ships.
Captain’s Eye was founded in 2020, offering an AI-based system that detects unusual incidents on ships in real time to prevent property, physical and financial damage that might occur at sea.
The company says that the system is able to alert users on a range of operational, safety and security issues on all types of vessels, such as smoke and leakages, security breaches, unsafe crew behaviour or performance anomalies. Implementation involves a network of cameras covering the critical areas on the vessel configured to detect anomalies in accordance with predefined parameters.
Captain’s Eye took part in the Techstars Eastern Pacific Accelerator in 2020, run by Techstars and Eastern Pacific Shipping, and already has a strategic partnership in place with XT Shipping, as well as a pilot underway at Ashdod Port in Israel.
“Our partnership with SIXAI is the right thing at the right time for Captain’s Eye. We welcome SIXAI’s decision to join the company as a strategic investor,” said Uri Ben-Dor, Captain’s Eye’s CEO.
“The investment will enable us to expand our activity to additional markets and offer our unique technology to additional segments in the maritime world. Our pilot with Ashdod Port proves that our system is extremely relevant to various customers in their effort to prevent accidents and severe environmental pollution.”
This new investment follows SIXAI’s signing of a partnership agreement with Israeli Aerospace Industries in October 2021 to convert military technologies from certain segments to commercial deployments to address civil market needs.
NEVE ILAN, Israel, June 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — SIXAI, founded by Israeli entrepreneur Ran Poliakine, invested 4 million US$ in Captain’s Eye, which developed an advanced safety, security and management system that identifies and alerts real-time events on ships.
Headquartered in Haifa, Israel, Captain’s Eye was founded in 2020 by Col. (Res.) Uri Ben-Dor and Col. (Res.) Doron Oizerovich. The company developed a holistic AI-based system that detects unusual events on ships in real time, thus preventing property, physical and financial damage that might occur at sea. The system is able to identify and alert operative, safety and security issues in all types of vessels, such as smoke and leakages, security breaches, unsafe crew behavior or anomalies.
The system is based on an infrastructure of cameras covering the critical areas in the vessel and monitors it automatically 24/7 in order to detect anomalies in accordance with predefined parameters. The company has a strategic partnership with XT Shipping, signed agreements with several global shipping companies, and a pilot at the Ashdod Port in Israel.
This strategic investment follows SIXAI’s signing a partnership agreement with the Israeli Aerospace Industries in October 2021 to convert military technologies from certain segments to commercial deployments to address civil market needs and introduce game-changing solutions that could potentially solve pressing global challenges.
SIXAI concurrently continues to develop its operations in Japan in partnership with the Japanese automotive giant, Musashi Seimitsu (TYO:7220). Together the companies operate MusashiAI, which developed the first AI-based robot for gear quality inspection for the automotive industry and 634AI, which developed the ‘Maestro’ – a platform controlling all traffic on the entire production floor, helping organizations improve their efficiency at a low operational cost without uncompromising safety standards.
Uri Ben-Dor, Captain’s Eye’s CEO commented: “Our partnership with SIXAI is the right thing at the right time for Captain’s Eye. We welcome SIXAI’s decision to join the company as a strategic investor. The investment will enable us to expand our activity to additional markets and offer our unique technology to additional segments in the maritime world. Our pilot with Ashdod Port proves that our system is extremely relevant to various customers in their effort to prevent accidents and severe environmental pollution.”
Ran Poliakine, SIXAI’s Founder, commented: “We are pleased to announce today the completion of our strategic investment in Captain’s Eye. The company’s platform and expert team are a significant addition to SIXAI’s AI-based service and product offering, and opens new and relevant markets to SIXAI, enabling us to provide our global partners with solutions to their burning needs.”
Since the beginning of May 2022, European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS) have been flying over the East Baltic Sea region following a coordinated request for enhanced maritime surveillance from the Finnish Border Guard, the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board and the Latvian Coast Guard Service.
IMSAR’s radar is supporting EMSA on the Textron Systems Aerosonde unmanned fixed-wing aircraft, flown by contractor Nordic Unmanned. The Aerosonde can stay in the air for 10 hours and can fly up to 140 km within radio range and further depending on the ground relay stations. It is equipped with a gimbal with optical and infrared sensors, and an AIS receiver alongside the IMSAR radar.
The regional scope of the operation enables cross-border flights over the Gulf of Finland and the exclusive economic zones of both Estonia and Latvia. While the service increases situational awareness for a wide range of coast guard functions, the focus of the operation is on maritime safety and security, environmental protection, fisheries control and search and rescue.
During this five-month operation, the national authorities from Finland, Estonia and Latvia are working in close cooperation, planning, following and receiving data from the flights irrespective of the point from which the RPAS is deployed. As the flights will continue throughout the summer, when maritime activities typically increase, the operation is expected to bring additional support to the emergency services as they monitor and respond to incidents in the coastal waters.
This operation builds on the services provided by EMSA in 2021 to both Estonia and Finland, taking forward the regional dimension by enabling cross-border flights within the airspace of the three participating countries.
A Hall Contracting backhoe dredge arrived in Port Hedland last week.
Due to its low clearance hull design, the dredge was transported from the Middle East on board a semi-submersible heavy load carrier.
After arriving at anchorage, the heavy load carrier was submersed, allowing the dredge to float off.
Now anchored at the Port of Port Hedland, prep work is underway on the dredge before dredging works commence at the Spoilbank Marina in early July.
Over the next few months, the backhoe dredge, accompanied by two split hopper barges, will start at the channel’s northern end and work toward the marina.
On completion, the 900-meter-long channel will be 2.5 meters deep at the lowest tide, enough to accommodate most recreational vessels.
Up to 190,000 cubic meters of marine sediments will be removed from the seabed and deposited at an existing offshore spoil ground, 12 kilometers away.
German trade union ver.di called on several thousand employees at German ports to take part in a 24-hour warning strike from Thursday morning, potentially further increasing difficulties at already strained ports.
Workers in Emden, Bremerhaven, Bremen, Brake, Wihelmshaven and Hamburg were called on to take part, after a fourth round of wage negotiations fell through. The union is demanding a pay rise of 1.20 euros ($1.26) per hour and inflation compensation over 12 months for some 12,000 workers.
The union had already called for temporary work stoppages to increase the pressure on employers at the start of June.
Ports are already clogged up as import containers are not being picked up and slots are in short supply, forcing shipping companies to go off schedule.
According to the Hamburg coordination office, half a dozen container ships are waiting to dock in Germany’s bay alone.
Industry experts expect the situation on the North Sea coast to worsen in the coming weeks, as many ships are on their way to Europe following the end of the lockdowns in China.
Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics, Inc. has just unveiled a new marine computer vision navigation system designed to improve safety and performance while vessels are underway.
Sea Machines’ new AI-ris, (Artificial Intelligence Recognition and Identification System) uses digital cameras and AI-processing to detect, track, classify and geolocate objects, vessel traffic and other potential obstacles in the majority of operational conditions, day or night, to equip crew with best-in-class situational awareness. Computer vision helps improve safety for vessels and is also a critical technology for the advancement of autonomous command and control systems.
The need for this technology is clear. Boats and ships operate in the planet’s most dynamic environment and the limitations of conventional navigation sensors leave the bulk of perception work to the human eye and brain for continuous scanning of the waterway.
Fatigue, distraction, and confusion can lead to misses and mistakes. The U.S. Coast Guard reported that in 2020, 36 percent of boating accidents were collisions and allisions, with the primary cause being improper lookouts and operator inattention.
The commercial marine industry suffers from similar challenges. Sea Machines designed AI-ris to be ever-alert, with the ability to deliver predictable operational results that can improve vessel reliability, as well as eliminate liabilities caused by human error. Now commercially available, this technology can radically improve vessel safety.
THE FUTURE OF OCEAN MOBILITY
“Sea Machines is dedicated to building the future of ocean mobility. We envision a future with fewer accidents at sea. We are revolutionizing marine navigation with data-driven intelligence, autonomy and connectivity,” said Sea Machines CEO Michael G. Johnson. “AI-ris enables a tremendous performance and safety increase. The superior capabilities of computer vision and AI will ensure a safer, more productive voyage.”
“AI-ris is always scanning for obstacles and can alert the operator of potentially dangerous situations. It also labels objects very small in size, like swimmers, kayakers or animals, to those very large, like another ship,” said Trevor Vieweg, CTO at Sea Machines. “With the ability to detect, classify and geolocate such targets via optical sensors, AI-ris augments and surpasses the capabilities of existing marine sensor technologies, like radar and automatic identification system (AIS), enabling greater performance and achieving the highest levels of safety. In the future, this technology may also help responders detect marine oil spills.”
The AI-ris navigation system is commercially available now and can be installed aboard existing vessels, as well as newbuilds.
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