By Brendan Murray (Bloomberg) The Port of New York and New Jersey is working to clear a small but rare bottleneck of container ships anchored off the coast of Long Island as Covid-19 cases among dockworkers collide with a pandemic-fueled surge in cargo volumes.

“We have seen a spike in the number of labor going out into quarantine,” Port Authority Director Sam Ruda said in an interview this week. The average wait at anchorage for container carriers was 4.75 days in the final week of 2021, compared with an average of 1.6 days for all of last year.

Jim McNamara, a spokesman for the International Longshoremen’s Association, said in an email that the number of its members unavailable to work because of Covid is running about 350 a day. Still, he called the impact “slight” because some crews are returning from quarantine or illness and others are available from cruise-ship terminals.

The New York area’s port terminals, the busiest on the East Coast, have largely avoided backlogs like those gripping the twin gateways of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, where scores of vessels are still running into delays of more than three weeks to offload.

Ruda credited the waterfront workforce and other stakeholders that run 24-7 operations for keeping short the anchorage waits for New York. But some factors have converged to require the queue: omicron’s spread across the region, year-end holiday time off for workers, and an increase in charter vessels needing one-time berth space.

Add those issues to what was already a busy 2021 and a backlog was unavoidable. The port has been running at full capacity for almost two years, handling almost 27% more volume in November 2021 than it did in November 2019.

“We’ve essentially had five years of cargo growth in the space of 18, 20 months or so,” Ruda said.

The number of containers per ship visit is also notable. From January through October last year, the New York-New Jersey terminals greeted 298 vessels capable of carrying 10,000 to 15,000 20-foot containers, up from 55 four years earlier, when a $1.7 billion project to raise the Bayonne Bridge to accommodate those bigger vessels was completed.

Ruda said the port started 2022 with 12 to 13 ships at anchor and by the middle of this week, the tally was down to nine. By mid-afternoon Friday — as a snowstorm interrupted operations — the port listed 11 ships at anchor.

“On an order of magnitude, it does seem quite small, but it does have our attention,” he said.

Source: gcaptain

Seaborne LNG imports to the EU have grown in size and importance of late, reversing the trend set for the most part of 2021. In a recent note, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “global seaborne LNG (liquified natural gas) trade has been very disappointing in 2021. Already in 2020 trade slowed down considerably, given the impact from the Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions. In the 12 months of 2020, total seaborne exports of LNG increased by a very modest +1.5% year-onyear to 362.8 mln tonnes, according to vessel tracking data from Refinitiv. Whilst this still represented an increase from the 2019 figure, the growth rate was significantly slower than the +11.1% increase recorded in 2019 and the +9.1% y-o-y in 2018. In the first 11 month of 2021, things were significantly worse”.

According to the shipbroker “in the period of January to November 2021, global LNG exports actually declined by a massive -9.1% y-o-y to just 299.6 mln tonnes, down from 329.7 mln tonnes in the same period of last year. Nevertheless, these totals mask significant differences in demand from the different importers. In Jan-Nov 2021, LNG imports to Mainland China still managed to increase by a very modest +1.7% yo-y to 59.8 mln tonnes. This is a significant slowdown from previous years, when volumes increased by +10.5% y-o-y in the same period of 2019, and by +14.0% y-o-y in the same period of 2018. Imports to Japan in Jan-Nov 2021 declined by -8.6% y-o-y to 61.1 mln tonnes. Japan remains the top importer of LNG in the world, but it’s margin over China is now wafer thin. Volumes to South Korea increased by +5.2% to 38.0 mln tonnes so far this year. To India they declined by -18.1% y-oy to 19.2 mln tonnes”.

Source: hellenicshippingnews

In September 2020, the stranding of the Bangladesh-flagged ship Maa, which ran aground in Visakhapatnam, India, was turned into an opportunity and turned into a touristic spot.

Source: news2sea

On Sunday morning, the boxship MSC Shannon sustained an engine room fire at a position in the Gulf of Finland, disabling her and prompting a large-scale emergency response.

At about 0200 hours Sunday, the Finnish Coast Guard received a distress call from the MSC Shannon reporting a fire in the engine room. The vessel was located about 11 nm to the south of Jussarö, a small island near the mouth of the Gulf of Finland. She had 24 crewmembers aboard and about 1,200 tonnes of containerized cargo – including dangerous goods like flammable liquids and oxidizers – and was under way on a voyage from Russia to Le Havre.

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Finnish authorities mounted an emergency response, mobilizing the patrol ships Turva and Uisko, along with two rescue helicopters. However, the MSC Shannon’s crew managed to bring the fire under control on their own, and did not require firefighting assistance.

At about 0800, a maritime patrol aircraft conducted an overflight and found no signs of pollution. No injuries were reported aboard the ship.

Tracking provided by Pole Star indicates that MSC Shannon successfully anchored off Sommaro, Finland, where she remained on Sunday evening. Janne Ryönänkoski, a rescue official for the Helisinki region, told local media that the shipowner is in talks to arrange an emergency tow. However, the MSC Shannon’s crew will first attempt to make repairs and resume the voyage under the vessel’s own power.

Source: assafinaonline

A team from the Transportation Safety Board has been assigned to investigate the fire that destroyed containers aboard a freighter now moored off the south coast of Vancouver Island.

A statement from the board says the team will “gather information and assess the occurrence” aboard the MV Zim Kingston.

The fire was reported in a row of containers stacked on the deck of the ship shortly after the vessel was caught in a severe storm on Oct. 22, near the entrance to Juan de Fuca Strait.

Source: cbc

Shipping has become an essential mode of cargo transportation in the world and the number of global ships is also on the rise, along with the increasing marine environment pollution caused by ship waste. Various countries and regions have attached increasing importance to the pollution caused by ship waste in recent years. How to address ship waste management from international shipping has been brought to the official agenda of the international community. This article starts with the ship waste management framework in the international maritime sector and compares and analyzes the regulatory challenges of ship waste management faced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and typical countries and regions such as China, the United States, and the European Union, by analyzing the issues in their international maritime ship waste management regulations, including inconsistent and unclear standards, inadequate law enforcement efforts, and blind spots in high seas supervision. Targeting these challenges, this article proposes measures and directions for future supervision and stresses the necessity to unify ship waste discharge standards, improve port facilities, clarify standards, strengthen supervision and law enforcement, and establish a global monitoring system. This article lists the challenges of international maritime ship waste management and proposes practical countermeasures, which will help the international community better supervise ship waste discharge and reduce marine environment pollution.

MOSCOW — 

Russia’s Black Sea naval forces practiced destroying enemy targets on Tuesday as Moscow bristled at the presence of two U.S. warships in the area.

President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russian forces could observe the USS Mount Whitney navy command ship “through binoculars or in the crosshairs of its … defense systems” and complained about NATO activity near Russia’s borders.

On Tuesday, the Black Sea fleet said its ships had rehearsed destroying enemy targets and that their air defense systems had been put on alert at its bases in Novorossiysk and on annexed Crimea, the Interfax news agency reported.

“They … destroyed airborne targets of a mock enemy with anti-aircraft missile weapons and artillery,” it said in a statement.

Russia has previously warned Western countries against sending warships to the Black Sea and approaching the coast of Crimea, the peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Russia considers Crimea part of its territory, but the peninsula is internationally recognized as part of Ukraine.

The U.S. Navy said on Monday that the USS Mount Whitney had arrived in Istanbul and that it would soon join forces with other ships in the Black Sea.

“Following this port visit, Mount Whitney will join USS Porter (DDG 78) in the Black Sea to further enhance collaboration between U.S. and NATO forces at sea,” the U.S. Navy said in a statement.

The Kremlin on Tuesday rejected as a “low-quality fake” a U.S. media report about a Russian military buildup near Ukraine, although it said it was up to Moscow where it moved troops around on its territory.

The Politico news outlet reported that commercial satellite photos taken on Monday confirmed recent reports that Russia is once again massing troops and military equipment on the border with Ukraine after a major buildup this spring.

Ukraine said on Monday it had not observed any increase in Russian troops or equipment near the border.

A NATO official said: “NATO is vigilant and routinely monitors Russian force movements. It’s important to ensure transparency and avoid any miscalculation.”

Russia has repeatedly accused NATO of carrying out provocative activities close to its borders. The alliance says it is determined to reinforce the security of member states close to Russia following Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and its backing for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Source: voanews

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has introduced new measures to check security threats in the Nigerian maritime domain, as well as deter persons seeking illegal means of entry into the country as stowaways.

Under the new procedures, all ship captains are to submit the Security-Related Pre-Arrival Information (SRPA) forms to the agency not later than 48 hours before the ship’s arrival at any Nigerian port.

Ship captains are also required to exchange the Declaration of Security (DoS) with the Port Facility Security Officer, PFSO, of their next port of call not later than 72 hours before the ship’s arrival at that port for conveyance to NIMASA within 48 hours. Additionally, all ships are to maintain 24 hours vigilance and surveillance to detect strange movements, including small boats and skiffs that may not be captured by radar.

Source: vanguardngr

Merchant vessels plying international waters carry flags of the states where they are registered. The Flag State provides the nationality of the vessel and the jurisdiction under whose laws the vessel is registered or licensed. It has the authority and responsibility to enforce national and international regulations including those under IMO and the Law of the Sea.

“The core function of a ship registry is to ensure compliance with national and international regulations and conventions applicable to ships registered in their country,” explains Nick Sansom, Chief Business Development Officer of the Bermuda Shipping and Maritime Authority.

He adds that “Bermuda goes a step further in providing solution-based support to help shipowners comply and meet port state requirements through having its own experienced staff of former chief engineers, captains and naval architects with a deep understanding of clients’ operations and requirements. This is reflected in Bermuda’s top five position on the Paris MOU list and membership in the USCG’s QUALSHIP 21 program.”

The register of vessels maintained by the Flag State allows owners to register ownership and lenders to register securities held on the vessels.

Under the principle of Port State Control (PSC), vessels must also comply with the laws and regulations of the ports in the countries they call at. PSC operates under the purview of the Paris and Tokyo MOUs, whose principal goal is to eliminate the operation of substandard ships through a harmonized system of regulations and requirements.

FOCs – Flags of Convenience or Compliance?

An open registry is one where the vessel’s owner is in a country other than the Flag State and where seafarers of any nationality may be used aboard its ships.

One of the oldest and most reputable open registries is the U.K. Ship Register (UKSR), part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

“The UKSR is an international register with eligibility available to over 120 countries and, as a government entity, there is no profit-making agenda,” says Katy Ware, Director of UK Maritime Services and Permanent Representative of the U.K. at the IMO. “The focus is on the safety of ships and seafarers and the impact on the environment. Those sailing under the U.K. flag know their safety is the top priority regardless of whether a vessel is domestically or internationally operated.”

There’s considerable misunderstanding regarding use of the term “Flags of Convenience,” which was coined as a pejorative phrase several decades ago when there was a shift from traditional maritime nations and national flags such as the U.S. and European flags to the open registries of nations like Panama and Liberia.

The term was used to describe all ship registries that operate as an open registry as opposed to a closed or domestic registry, i.e., one that only allows national companies to register vessels. The implication was that these were substandard and unsafe registries used solely to skirt safety rules and prevent owners from needing to provide for their crews – falsehoods that have been refuted given the high rankings of many so-called “FOCs” versus national flags.

In the 2021 International Chamber of Shipping survey of vessel deficiencies identified by Flag States, vessels flying the flags of Panama, Liberia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) – the three most popular ship registries – along with many others operating on an open registry basis scored positive results and are included on the Tokyo MOU and Paris MOU White Lists as well as the USCG’s QUALSHIP 21 program, often ranking higher than many traditional national flags.

RMI is the only registry in the world to achieve 17 consecutive years of recognition by the USCG’s QUALSHIP 21 program.

Alfonso Castillero, Chief Operating Officer of the Liberian Registry, says: “Ship registries have a great responsibility to ensure that the vessels flying their flag are fully compliant with the national and international regulations and conventions to which that State is a party. This high commitment to compliance and safety should not be confused with the demonized word “convenience,” used by those who push the archaic ‘Flag of Convenience’         line. The proof is in the Port State Control rankings. These so-called FOCs are actually ‘Flags of Compliance.’ Those who actually understand the maritime industry already know this fact well.”

Bill Gallagher, President of International Registries/RMI, adds, “The RMI registry, the youngest and greenest in the world (more than 50 percent of RMI’s gross tonnage uses green technology as categorized by Clarksons) and the best performer in PSC rankings of the top 10, has invested heavily in technical resources worldwide to provide its hallmark service and support to the industry as it continues to innovate and change.”

Each registry brings unique propositions to shipowners. Panos Kirnidis, CEO of the Palau International Ship Registry (PISR), a relative newcomer founded in 2012, says its proprietary software platform (ePISR) allows speedy same-day electronic delivery of certificates and documentation for its vessels. Additionally, its Deficiency Prevention System assists vessels prior to and during a PSC inspection.

Cabotage and the Jones Act

Most countries (e.g., the U.S., Nigeria, Indonesia, Malaysia among others) protect their domestic shipping by confining domestic shipping routes to only those vessels flying their flags. This is called cabotage, and it’s implemented under the countries’ merchant shipping laws. In the U.S., cabotage is enforced under the Jones Act.

Benedict Oregbemhe of Benfield Attorneys Nigeria notes that a peculiarity of the Nigerian cabotage regime is that the vessel must be built in Nigeria. Indonesia’s regime covers Indonesian-registered vessels with domestic ownership requirements but also covers specified commodities.

Nicole Andrescavage of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith in the U.S. explains that the Jones Act generally requires that vessels engaged in domestic trade be built and flagged in the U.S. and owned by U.S. citizens. The law also limits foreign repair work and sets requirements for crew: All officers and three-fourths of crew members must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Different aspects of the Jones Act are enforced by both the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs & Border Protection.

Katy Ware says that, since withdrawing from the E.U., the U.K. has maintained an open coast policy and places no restrictions on foreign vessels conducting maritime cabotage operations within its waters.

Some Flag States register bareboat charters, e.g., Singapore, U.K., Italy. In the U.S., according to Andrescavage, these registrations are slightly different as the owner’s Flag State has permanent oversight over its vessels. For bareboat charter registration to take place, the owner’s Flag State must suspend its registration for the duration of the charter.

Green Shipping

“We believe Flag States have an important role to play in promoting green shipping and helping the industry meet IMO environmental targets,” says Cameron Mitchell, Director of the Isle of Man Ship Registry. “It’s our collective responsibility to respond to the climate emergency by taking action to effect real change for the benefit of our environment and industry. The Getting to Zero Coalition brings together a diverse range of organizations, and we look forward to working closely with them to help make commercially viable, zero-emission vessels a scalable reality.”

Mitchell could be speaking for many others as well as ship registries up their game and take ownership of their role in bringing about sustainable change.

The Bahamas Maritime Authority registered Carnival’s Mardi Gras, the first LNG-powered cruise ship operating in the Americas. LNG-powered vessels feature less energy consumption and leave a much smaller environmental footprint than traditional diesel-powered ships.

“Innovation is key to a Flag’s maintaining its status,” says Katy Ware. “The UK Ship Register is acutely aware of the need – and growing desire in the industry – for more sustainable shipping technology, and we’re working towards achieving this with our dedicated Maritime Future Technologies team.”

Philip Teoh is an international lawyer and maritime arbitrator based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and a frequent contributor to The Maritime Executive.

Source: maritime-executive