Maritime cybersecurity is more important than ever, as made clear during an international webinar chaired Wednesday by the United States, the Netherlands and Denmark.

The webinar was a continuation of the maritime cybersecurity event in the margins of the One Conference in The Hague in October 2019.

Andreas Nordseth, Director General of the Danish Maritime Authority, said, “The technological developments hold great potential for improving the maritime sector even more, and ensuring the necessary digital and green transformation.”

However, when new technologies and digital solutions are introduced, the risk increases that cyber attacks can take place on board ships and in ports.

Cyber attacks on the maritime industry’s operational technology (OT) systems have increased by 900% over the last three years with the number of reported incidents set to reach record volumes by year end, according to cybersecurity specialist Naval Dome.

In the past few weeks alone, container shipping company CMA CGM and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have been hit by separate cyber attacks.

“Denmark view cyber threats on the same level as any other maritime safety and security related risk. An important part of finding solutions to the cyber vulnerabilities is by engaging in international collaboration and exchanging knowledge with other strong maritime nations,” Nordseth said.

Besides maritime experts from the U.S., the Netherlands and Denmark, participants from Canada, the U.K., Australia, Singapore, Israel, Germany, France and Belgium joined the discussions at today’s webinar as the fight against cyber pirates continues.

The U.S., the Netherlands and Denmark, will continue the international cooperation on maritime cyber security matters in 2021, and seek to expand participation with even more likeminded maritime nations.

Source: marinelink

The Maritime Union is backing a health and safety review at Ports of Auckland.

The inquiry was announced on 14 September by Auckland Mayor Phil Goff after the death of a stevedore working as a lasher aboard a ship at the port on 30 August.

Maritime Union National Secretary Joe Fleetwood says the Union has repeatedly called for a review of safety practices at all ports in New Zealand.

He welcomed the announcement by the Mayor and the interest from the Minister of Transport Phil Twyford in the issue.

“It’s very sad another worker had to die before this much needed review of the industry was announced.”

Mr Fleetwood says the health and safety culture is a national issue at ports, not just at Auckland.

“When you combine long hours, night shifts and relentless pressure for productivity, then the result is workers being killed and injured on the job.”

Mr Fleetwood says the Union has always maintained that owners of ports have the responsibility to ensure the wellbeing of all port workers.

Deaths and injuries on the waterfront have often occurred with privately operating stevedores who work at ports, he says.

He says port owners should not be able to pass off responsibility for health and safety behind third party operators supplying services in ports.

Mr Fleetwood says maritime and waterfront safety regulators Maritime New Zealand and Worksafe have to do their job and impose workable regulations for the waterfront that all port and stevedore companies must abide by.

“There needs to be one enforceable standard for all ports and all operators. How many workers need to die before this happens?”

Mr Fleetwood says that for every death or injury, there are several more near misses, many of which he believes are not reported.

“We would like to see corporate manslaughter laws to be set at a level that acts as a deterrent. Kill a worker, go to jail.”

He says the Maritime Union would be happy to share its expertise with any official investigators.

The Ports of Auckland is 100% owned by Auckland Council.

© Scoop Media

Transport Malta issued the report of its investigation of the 4 September 2019 collision of the laden tanker Kanala and the Chinese fishing vessel Liaodanyu 23626 on the Bohai Sea off the Chinese coast. As the two vessels were about to pass, the fishing vessel crossed the tanker’s bow with its trawling gear trailing behind. The trawling gear was snagged by the tanker, resulting in the foundering of the fishing vessel and the loss of one person on board.

Background info

On 04 September 2019, the managers of MT Kanala notified the Marine Safety Investigation Unit (MSIU) that Kanala had been in a collision with a fishing vessel in position 39° 02ʹ N 120° 49ʹ E (Bohai Sea, China). Kanala, laden with a full cargo of gasoline was en route to Sakai, Japan. Following the collision, the Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) of the People’s Republic of China instructed the master to alter course and anchor at Laotieshan Anchorage, China in order to carry out an investigation.

Preliminary information indicated that FV Liaodanyu 23626 was engaged in pair trawling with sister FV Liaodanyu 23625. Both fishing vessels were making way at three knots. Just before the collision, FV Liaodanyu 23625 cast off the trawling gear. Following a thorough review of the evidence submitted to the MSIU, the safety investigation established that when Kanala was about to pass the fishing vessels, FV Liaodanyu 23626 crossed the bow with the trawling gear trailing behind her. Kanala snagged the trailing gear which resulted in the fishing vessel foundering with the loss of one person on board.

Click below to download the Malta Marine Safety Investigation report

Source: Transport Malta

The world’s first in-water remote ship surveys using a remotely operated vehicle have been completed by leading classification society, DNV GL.

In-water bottom surveys using ROVs have now been carried out on three separate Wilson ASA-managed vessels with the first having been completed on the Wilson Fedje in December 2019 by a surveyor from Høvik. As with the two previous surveys, it was conducted in collaboration with VUVI AS, a Norwegian inspection company certified by DNV GL to perform underwater inspections for ships and offshore platforms using ROVs.

“We are delighted to have collaborated with VUVI and Wilson ASA to deliver this exciting new approach to remote surveys,” said Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO of DNV GL – Maritime. “DNV GL has been carrying out remote surveys since 2018, so this service is an extension of a broad suite of remote services that are already available.”

Ørbeck-Nilssen added: “Naturally, the pandemic has pushed us to scale up the intensity of remote service delivery and we are fortunate that our longstanding commitment to digital advancement has meant we are well positioned to respond to the needs of our customers during this difficult time.”

Survey planning and review of hull drawings were completed the day prior to the survey, thereby optimizing the degree of survey assurance. During the inspection, the surveyor used VUVI’s sonar technology to scan the vessel’s bottom in order to locate the hull equipment, such as echo sounder sensors; speed log sensors and sea chests, while simultaneously assessing the general condition of the hull.

Seamless connectivity was ensured throughout the survey thanks to the use of a powerful router. The in-water survey was concluded in a similar timeframe to traditional surveys, i.e. two-and-a-half hours, achieving the same level of assurance as an in-person survey. DNV GL’s digital industry platform Veracity was used by VUVI AS, DNV GL and Wilson ASA to ensure secure data transfer when saving and sharing the video stream from the remote survey.

“Working in a modern world, with technologies allowing us carry out a bottom-survey without deviation or off-hire, we are really enabling a huge potential for efficiency and environmentally friendly solutions,” said Thorbjørn Dalsøren, General Director of Wilson Ship Management. “We trust this will be adapted to several more of our operations, taking advantage of digital solutions.”

“VUVI AS has since the company was founded in 2013 focused on in-water survey of vessels as one of the company’s core services,” said VUVI CEO, Frode Rødølen. “We became DNV GL certified to perform in-water inspections in 2017, and re-audited earlier this year. We are proud to have become a trusted partner by DNV GL to perform inspections with our ROV teams, and we are inspired by the fact the we contribute in the shaping of the inspection-services for the future,” continued Mr. Rødølen.

Statutory and class regulations require two bottom surveys of a vessel within a five-year period, with an interval of less than 36 months in between. The certification of VUVI AS was conducted in accordance with Class Programme DNV GL-CP0484 for in-water inspections.

DNV GL has recorded a 33% uplift in the weekly number of remote surveys conducted compared to pre-pandemic levels. In total, DNV GL has now conducted an estimated 17,400 remote surveys worldwide since 2018 with on average 300 remote surveys being carried out every week.

Source: oilandgasadvancement

The Gulf Livestock 1 went down with a crew of 43 and nearly 6000 cattle.

Two New Zealand stock handlers, Scott Harris and Lochie Bellerby were on board.

Nelson maritime lawyer Peter Dawson said the ship was insured through the P&I Club, one of the largest mutual marine indemnity organisations.

”There’s provision for the payment out to crew who suffer injury or in this case have passed away, so yes there are pathways to claim,” Dawson said.

It would first need to be established whether the shipping company or the stock exporter employed the crew members working with the stock.

Any investigation into the sinking of the ship in the East China Sea would be carried out by Panama, the country where the Jordanian-owned ship was registered.

The Panama Maritime Authority would look at what went wrong and why, Dawson said.

”Its maintenance history, its maintenance records, whether there were issues with the main engine to start with before she commenced the trip. All of that will come into view when they do their investigation and at some point they will produce a report as to what in their view was the cause of the loss.”

Dawson said because Panama had a lot of ships sailing under its flag, it had experience in investigating accidents.

”Just how good or bad they are, I can’t really comment.”

Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) confirmed the investigation was the responsibility of Panama.

”As the search and rescue operation has now been suspended, we expect the focus of efforts will move to understanding the causes of the incident.

“Under international conventions, the Flag State for the vessel involved (the place where the ship is registered) – in this case Panama – has a responsibility to investigate the incident in accordance with established international procedures (known as the Casualty Code).”

MNZ said New Zealand had a strong interest in this incident, and it had contacted Panamanian authorities to express its interest in the matter so it could provide any support that may be required.

The vessel, which is a converted container ship, was built in 2002.

Dawson described the vessel as being in-class, which meant survey and maintenance was regulated by international class societies, which oversee the safety and condition of vessels.

He said in the case of the Gulf Livestock 1 it was a French company called Bureau Veritas.

Dawson said on some recent trips the Gulf Livestock 1 has had some deficiencies recorded against it.

”One was in respect of a satellite-based mapping system and one around voyage planning, which suggests to me the skipper of the vessel hadn’t been filing voyage plans properly before arriving in Australia.”

Dawson said going further back there were deficiencies recorded in Indonesia around emergency systems, propulsions systems around the main engine in particular and passage planning.

”It seems to me under the current owners the vessel has come to the attention of authorities before its arrival in New Zealand.”

He was surprised the ship continued on its voyage knowing a typhoon was heading its way.

”It seems odd to the that the skipper persisted in the track that he took.

”On looking at the marine tracking system, the only vessel that entered into that particular quadrant of the storm was this vessel when all other vessels were dodging or sheltering elsewhere.”

Dawson said ship captains were under significant pressure to meet deadlines.

”I am picking this particular captain had additional pressures to keep the stock fed and watered and in good condition and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was why he persisted with going through the storm.”

Dawson said looking at the tracking of the ship overlaid with the prevailing weather at the time would mean the vessel would roll alarmingly.

Source: rnz.co.nz

Families of the missing crew on the sunk Gulf Livestock 1 have urged authorities to resume their search and rescue operations.

The Gulf Navigation ship sunk in a typhoon eight days ago off southern Japan. Japanese authorities yesterday called off the official search mission, having managed to find two survivors and one dead crewmember. 40 men remain unaccounted for.

Families of the missing are holding on to the fact that four liferafts and one lifeboat remain missing, and the area where the ship went down is dotted with many uninhabited islands.

“In the whole search area after picking up two survivors and another Filipino who has since died, we expect to either find bodies or other debris that would indicate where the other survivors were, and there’s been nothing,” Guy Lockerbie, the father of one of the missing New Zealand crew, told Checkpoint, a drive-time show on Radio New Zealand.

The Gulf Livestock 1 started its trading career as a 630 teu containership in 2002 before being converted to carry animals 10 years later. The sunken ship had a chequered past. European shipping database Equasis lists 25 port state control deficiencies in 2019 and 2020 alone, including a number relating to the main engine. In July last year the ship drifted for a day undergoing repairs following an engine failure.

Source: splash247

Shipowners face gigantic new challenges in the COVID-19 era. In addition to the economic impact, they have to contend with a maze of government restrictions on crew changes and international travel. The restrictions also make it difficult to bring surveyors on board for mandatory inspections.

Ship registries, also known as flag states or flag registries, serve as regulators and facilitators for maritime commerce and play a key role in untangling these challenges to keep ships moving. They advocate on behalf of individual ships and crewmembers, make allowances for logistical hurdles by extending survey deadlines and green-light the selective use of remote inspections – all of which has helped sustain vessel operations during the pandemic.

Like all organizations, the registries themselves have had to make significant changes due to government shutdown orders and social-distancing requirements. Many have satellite offices and customers in East Asia, so they experienced the pandemic early on and began gearing up for remote operation before the novel coronavirus made its way toward the Western Hemisphere.

Robust IT systems and digital services have helped reduce the pandemic’s disruption. Electronic ship registry application forms, online payment processing and online certificate validation systems have all made it easier to do business with flag registries in recent years, and these simple features have now become essential.

“As one of the first registries to introduce online services with the Bahamas Online Registration Information System (BORIS),” says Captain Dwain Hutchinson, Managing Director & CEO of the Bahamas Maritime Authority, “we have always prioritized the use of technology. At the point when COVID-19 was really beginning to have an impact, particularly in the Far East, we were already working on enhancements to BORIS. The pandemic has accelerated this process, and more online services are being tested for delivery in the third quarter.”

Remote Inspections

Flag registries’ next technological frontier is remote vessel inspection, often facilitated by the vessel’s classification society. In some locales, in-person survey attendance is difficult or impossible due to government-imposed travel and quarantine restrictions.

Since this interferes with vessel compliance, some flag states now allow surveys to be conducted remotely, connecting the surveyor with the vessel’s crew over a videoconferencing platform. Registries have varying policies on their use. Some do not allow them at all. Others allow them for a limited number of minor inspections, and some now allow them for any annual inspection including the in-depth load line survey.

Remote surveys were a growing trend even before COVID-19, and the world’s largest flag states – notably, the Liberian Registry and the Republic of the Marshall Islands Registry – were among the early adopters. Liberia was the first to expand its remote survey program this year, and in late March it became the first to implement remote annual safety inspections.

“The COVID ‘push’ has accelerated discussions we’ve been having for quite a long time,” notes Alfonso Castillero, COO of the Liberian Registry. “All the technological changes that were only 50 percent-implemented because there was hesitation in the industry are now being adopted. But remote audits and inspections should not be the standard practice. They should be the exception for special cases when circumstances don’t allow an inspector to come on board.”

The U.K. Ship Register is moving more cautiously when it comes to remote surveys. Together with classification society Lloyd’s Register, the flag is trialing remote technology and techniques, but Director Katy Ware says it’s not in a hurry to follow the trend.

“We’re going with caution because this is serious stuff,” she says. “There’s nothing quite like having boots on the ground when it comes to doing a survey. Ultimately, as the U.K. flag state, we’re responsible for ensuring the safety of our vessels. There may be vessels for which we have to say, ‘Sorry, but we need you to have a physical survey.’”

The Cayman Islands Shipping Registry is also taking a conservative approach to remote surveys. Early in the pandemic it prepared a list of vessels that would soon be coming due for inspection and evaluated them for the possibility of remote attendance. While the registry does not consider this new option a panacea for all surveys, it’s found they can be a useful tool for smaller tasks like closing out deficiencies or examining specific elements of the ship, according to Regional Director/Americas Peter Southgate.

Crew Repatriation

Worldwide, an estimated 300,000 seafarers are stuck on board their ships and awaiting a crew change due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions. Every maritime stakeholder is invested in their safe return home. In addition to humanitarian concerns, the fatigue from extra weeks and months on board may elevate the risk of accidents and mental health issues.

The Cyprus Flag Administration has been closely involved in facilitating crew changes, both for its own fleet and other vessels. Its staff has worked directly with foreign embassies to secure visas for crew members and has even lent a hand with flight arrangements.

“In the beginning of May we introduced a specific protocol for ships to conduct crew changes in Cyprus,” says former Deputy Shipping Minister Natasa Pilides, who now serves as Minister of Energy, Commerce & Industry. “And that’s actually been quite popular. We’ve had so many requests and  completed so many crew changes in the past few months that we’re now easing those measures and, depending upon the ship’s details and voyage history, the crew change procedure can go forward without many special approvals.”

The Cayman Registry has also been providing advice and guidance to its fleet on crew change issues, but challenges remain. “International travel is starting to pick up, and agreements have been made on international protocols to facilitate crew changes,” says Southgate. “However, problems remain in many areas, and some seafarers have been working on board for significantly longer than originally contracted for and are unable to return home to their families.”

Rankings 

The pandemic has changed many things, but the need to maintain fleet quality remains the same. Port states evaluate flag registries based upon how often each flag’s vessels are detained for safety or compliance deficiencies.

If a flag’s fleet has had more detentions than average over the past several years, it’s more likely its ships will be selected for inspection by port state control officials. In Europe, the rankings are collated by the Paris MoU (“Memorandum of Understanding”) on Port State Control. For Pacific Basin port states, they’re administered by the Tokyo MoU.

The U.K. Ship Registry is the top-rated flag on the Paris MoU white list, and it’s a hard-won honor. Over the past four years, Director Katy Ware has led a transformation to recruit the right team of inspectors, technical specialists and managers. That effort is now paying off, she says, but her agency has no plans to let up: “We inspect vessels that apply to join the U.K. registry and decide whether we will take them or not. We want quality owners on the flag, and we will not compromise safety. We’re not looking to be the biggest, we’re looking to be the best-performing.”

The Liberian Registry, second-largest by fleet size, has taken a high-tech approach to maintaining its quality ranking. The registry has a new software tool that predicts when each vessel is likely to be inspected at its next port of call and what that inspection is likely to look like.

“When a ship changes its destination to a port where it’s likely to be inspected, our prevention program flags it and tells the ship to be careful,” says Chief Commercial Officer Alfonso Castillero. “Then we can advise the master and the shipowner about what the most commonly recorded inspection deficiencies are in that port. This helps them narrow their focus on what the likely problems could be. It’s like the Waze app for drivers. It tells you if there’s a traffic light camera or a cop or a car stalled on the road ahead.”

At the registry for St. Kitts and Nevis, which sits on the Paris MoU’s black list, administrators are working diligently to improve fleet quality. SKANReg, the U.K.-based company administering the St. Kitts registry, is known for its efficient, end-of-life flag services for vessels bound for recycling. It now aims to raise its ranking to the Paris MoU’s grey list by increasing inspections and attracting newer tonnage.

“We’re striving to improve the quality of the tonnage under our flag,” says Liam Ryan, International Registrar of Shipping & CEO at SKANReg, “and while we need to concentrate on revenue flowing to the government from vessel registrations, it’s also important we inspect more ships so we can progress onto the grey list and then ultimately the white list.”

Paul Benecki is the magazine’s News Editor-Americas/Europe.
Source: maritime-executive

During August, there were zero new detentions of foreign flagged vessels in a UK port.

1. In response to one of the recommendations of Lord Donaldson’s inquiry into the prevention of pollution from merchant shipping, and in compliance with the EU Directive on Port State Control (2009/16/EC as amended), the Maritime and Coastguard agency (MCA) publishes details of the foreign flagged vessels detained in UK ports each month.
2. The UK is part of a regional agreement on port state control known as the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MOU) and information on all ships that are inspected is held centrally in an electronic database known as THETIS. This allows the ships with a high risk rating and poor detention records to be targeted for future inspection.
3. Inspections of foreign flagged ships in UK ports are undertaken by surveyors from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. When a ship is found to be not in compliance with applicable convention requirements, a deficiency may be raised. If any of their deficiencies are so serious, they have to be rectified before departure, then the ship will be detained.
4. All deficiencies should be rectified before departure.
5. When applicable, the list includes those passenger craft prevented from operating under the provisions of the EU Directive on a system of inspections for the safe operation of Ro-Ro passenger ships and high-speed passenger craft in regular service and amending directive 2009/16/EC and repealing Council Directive 1999/35/EC (Directive EU 2017/2110).

Notes on the list of detentions:

• Full details of the ship:
  The accompanying detention list shows ship’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) number which is unchanging throughout the ship’s life and uniquely identifies it. It also shows the ship’s name and flag state at the time of its inspection.
• Company:
  The company shown in the vessel’s Safety Management Certificate (SMC) or if there is no SMC, then the party otherwise believed to be responsible for the safety of the ship at the time of inspection.
• Classification society:
  The list shows the classification society responsible for classing the ship only.
• Recognised organisation:
  Responsible for conducting the statutory surveys: and issuing statutory certificates on behalf of the flag state.
• White (WL), grey (GL) and black lists (BL) are issued by the Paris MoU on 01 July each year and shows the performance of flag state.
• Deficiencies:
  The deficiencies listed are the ones which were detainable.Source: miragenews

The Nautical Institute (NI) is proud to announce the formal launch of The Nautical Institute Foundation, a new charitable initiative that will allow the NI to extend the scope and reach of its current activities. The Nautical Institute Foundation has its roots within the NI, and aims to improve standards in maritime safety and marine environmental protection.

“We identified the benefits that could arise from a separate charity focusing on maritime safety initiatives that would attract potential donors keen to support such projects but only via a separate charity,” explained NIF Chief Executive Jonathan Stoneley FNI. “The NI Foundation is an excellent basis for developing and strengthening networking contacts with industry stakeholders, other foundations and specialist interest groups.”

The NIF’s vision is to be recognised by key industry stakeholders as a leading organisation in funding capacity-building solutions for the wider maritime community. These might, for example, include projects related to work such as marine surveying and training in port safety or environmental awareness – areas where the NI has an interest but which are not the main focus of its own activities.

Among other things, the Foundation will look at training and accreditation in the many maritime industries which are currently unregulated, focussing on areas with less developed safety cultures and standards.

The Foundation will plan its project delivery based on perceived need, by assessing safety and environmental statistics or by following up calls from industry bodies, NGOs or maritime communities. If a particular country suffers a series of incidents in a particular sector, for example, the Foundation may consider running local training. This would aim to address the issues that caused the accidents and provide workers with skills to avoid repeat incidents.

The first of these projects will look at bulk carrier safety, in particular at awareness surrounding cargo liquefaction. Proposed measures include a short, distance-learning course, which would be followed by a two-day workshop in relevant locations, leading to formal certificates valid for five years.

Source: cyprusshippingnews

In line with the commitment towards ensuring safety of The Emirate of Dubai water users, the Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) urged marine crafts and jet ski users to follow the set of marine safety guidelines, stressing the need to comply with the instructions and best practices for safe sailing, with the need to maintain a safe distance of 300 meters from the beach and well clear from facilities, amenities, construction sites, and projects located in Dubai’s waters and shores. The call to safety falls in line with DMCA’s efforts to increase public awareness regarding best ways to enhance marine safety and achieve the highest levels of safe navigation, while strengthening Dubai’s global leading position as a safe and ideal destination for marine leisure activities.

The DMCA explained that all water users should avoid reckless behaviors and dangerous activities, reiterating the call to marine craft drivers and water sports enthusiasts to put their own safety and safety of others first, by following all preventive instructions, complying with the safe speed limits, as well as wearing life jackets, keeping a sharp look out and giving way to other marine crafts when sailing. Water users should also avoid entering restricted areas marked by special marker buoys. They should also ensure that they are not blocking entrances of navigation channels and avoid impeding the safe passage of marine crafts. All sea users shall report of any accident, incident or obstacle in Dubai waters directly with the concerned authorities.

In addition, the DMCA also reintroduced its call to preserve the marine environment and maintain its safety and cleanliness by ensuring that garbage or oils are not thrown into the water, while also reducing noise, encouraging marine crafts to monitor weather conditions before sailing and maintain an emergency contact information list. It is also not permitted for Dubai water users to enter in restricted zones or sail within the designated areas for swimming. The restrictions also include avoiding anchoring in canals and navigational passages.

DMCA re-affirmed its commitment to lay solid foundations for marine safety, as it is a top priority and a fundamental pillar to enhance the competitiveness and attractiveness of Dubai’s maritime sector. The DMCA has also expressed keenness in raising public awareness about best practices that ensure the achievement of safe navigation, operational efficiency and environmental sustainability, in line with its efforts to regulate, develop and promote Dubai’s maritime cluster, aiming at building a secure, vibrant and sustainable maritime sector that supports sustainable growth and economic diversification, and strengthens Dubai’s leadership in global marine leisure industry.

Source: marasinews