(Past editions can be viewed on http://www.asiaconference.biz)
Don't miss the
SNAMES Technical Forum, Singapore Expo2
5 - 26 March 2004.
Jointly organised by SNAMES and Reed Exhibitions.
Contact: Reed Exhibitions Pte Ltd, apm@reedexpo.com.sg
or Rahul Bhatnagar, ritik@singnet.com.sg
Quotes of the month
"In view of the enormous energy currently being dedicated to security
issues it is ironic that the problem of piracy and armed robbery at sea
is still being given inadequate attention by the international community."
Simon Bennett, Secretary of the International Chamber of Shipping.
"The slogan 'safer ships cleaner seas' does not contain the caveat
'unless it fails to interest the mainstream press.'"
Fairplay, 19 February 2004.
"The standard of competency of seafarers on international ships
is of concern to us"
Clive Davidson, CEO, AMSA.
CONTENTS (for full stories, select a headline)
- At the bow - Registration is free!
- Spindrift - Call for papers. Controls on flags. Danish dispute. New guidelines on piracy. Safety base. France gets tough. Dumping charges. Coal deaths. 21st century efficiency.
- Contributions - Fire hazards of natural rubber in bales, Roger Womersley.
- Comment - Pilots. Where are the sea marshals?
- Scuttlebutt - Burke & Parsons
- Insurance News - None this month.
- Wig & Gown - None this month.
- Education and Training - Call for BRM training for engineers. Tug simulator.
- Epistles - Mark O'Carroll.
- People - Eric Galloway, Jeff Forshaw, Bill O'Neil, Andrew Moore.
- Books - Practical Guides for Marine Professionals.
- Useful web sites for marine surveyors.
- Conference reports - None this month.
- IMO Conventions - Updates.
- Future events - Some upcoming events which might be of interest to marine surveyors.
- From the Poop Deck - Letter changes. Ten golden rules of doing business in China.
FLASHLIGHT is a free monthly emailed newsletter for Marine Surveyors. It is circulated to anybody who wishes to receive a copy, eg, Marine Surveyors, P&I Clubs, their correspondents, Underwriters, Professional Institutes, Admiralty Lawyers, etc. Please pass it on to any of your contacts who you feel might be interested in receiving it. If you do not wish to be included in the circulation list, please contact the Editor at the email address below. Letters, opinions and articles relating to our profession are welcomed for the newsletter.
Call for Papers
The 2004 Asian Marine Surveying and Loss Prevention Forum will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, on 25 and 26 November.
Those interested in attending should contact Ms Astor Tsang at Asia Conferences: marine@asiaconference.biz
Those interested in giving a paper at the conference should contact Mike Wall at mikewall@so-net.com.hk
Controls on Flags
Plans for controls on the operation of ship registries have been unveiled in a bid to reduce their vulnerability to terrorists. A new policy paper published by the OECD calls for greater vigilance to prevent potential misuse by terrorist or criminal interests. According to the OECD, the existing system offers many mechanisms to Shipowners seeking to hide their identities and there are no clear international standards or rules governing the eligibility of people seeking to register their vessels. The organisation also proposes that countries should consider coordinated action against flag states that continue to allow anonymity, including targeting ships from such flags and even banning ships whose ownership and control is unknown.
Danish dispute
Danish shipowners are under fire for not allowing crews to sign off ships sailing into piracy hot spots. The navigators' union said it had told the employers its members should be free to leave a ship if they do not want to enter such waters. But the Owners ruled this out, saying that they do not send ships into risk areas without taking precautions.
New Guidelines on Piracy
The ICS and ISF have published new guidelines, updating existing advice on high risk areas and offering advice on how to prevent attacks and what to do in the event of an incident. The publication has been updated to take account of the ISPS Code and should provide invaluable material for training with respect to ship security. ICS Secretary, Simon Bennett commented that "In view of the enormous energy currently being dedicated to security issues it is ironic that the problem of piracy and armed robbery at sea is still being given inadequate attention by the international community. Whilst Owners indicate commitment to tackling these problems they do not seem to show any enthusiasm for actually spending money"
See: http://www.marisec.org/pubs/index.htm
Safety Base
The European Union has decided to base its new Maritime Safety Agency in Lisbon,. The Portuguese capital was chosen in preference to Nantes in France, Piraeus in Greece, Genoa in Italy and Gothenburg in Sweden.
France gets tough
France is getting tough with Masters and officers found to have polluted its waters after a warning that some vessels have been taking advantage of the Prestige tanker disaster to dump waste. Under the measures, owners and masters will have to pay a E250,000 penalty if their ship is detained, while maximum penalties could be equivalent to five times the value of the ship's cargo. The new penalties follow a spate of recent court cases. In one, a court in Brest fined the master of the Bulgarian roro containership DOBRUDJA E250,000 after an aircraft spotted a 5 km oil slick trailing from the vessel off the NW coast of France in July 2003. The master denied discharging oily matter, but after film footage was produced at the hearing, his lawyer said that there had been a techncal problem with the ship that resulted in the pollution.
Dumping charges
Three former Norwegian Cruise Line engineer officers have been charged in a US federal court with concealing the dumping of oil contaminated waste at sea over a three year period. The three were accused of creating false oil record books to cover up the illegal discharges. The company was fined US$1.5 million after admitting the discharges.
Coal deaths
Two seafarers died on board a Hong Kong flagged bulk carrier after inhaling toxic fumes from the coal cargo last month. The men were reported to have entered a confined space while the ship was off the coast of Australia bound for Korea.
(With thanks to the NUMAST Shipping Telegraph)
21st Century Efficiency
Excess of anything is bad, goes the proverb. This also seems to be the case with Bangladesh's principle seaport Chittagong.Thare are currently 49 stevedore/shore handling contractors at the port which is more than is needed according to a World Bank report of 1982 which suggested reducing them to 33.
There are a total of 4,548 dock workers of different categories in the port, which the concerned authority is contemplating reducing to 4,000. Meanwhile some 1,728 unregistered dockers are trying to become registered. There are 1,436 stevedoring staff of different categories whilst stevedoring agents are about to be reduced to 1,000. There are also 700 sweepers yet to be brought under the Dock Workers Management Board.
There are also about 2,500 clearing and forwarding agents in the port, considered to be more that needed for a healthy competitive trade.
In comparison, Singapore has only 200 C&F agents, handling far more
business than Chittagong which should need only 150. There are also 2,903
merchant labourers in Chittagong who are always creating problems with
the smooth functioning of the port.
This from Roger Womersley in Thailand:
Fire Hazards of Natural Rubber in Bales
Natural rubber (Hevea Brasiliensis) has been used industrially since the early nineteenth century and the raw rubber, in its ‘Rubber Smoked Sheet’ (RSS) form consists of essentially about 95% of the hydrocarbon cis-polyisoprene, with small amounts of other naturally occurring substances.
Some Malaysian and Thai grades may also contain very small amounts of added substances such as bleaching agents, preservatives and crumbing agents; details of such additives however can only be found from the suppliers.
Raw natural rubber is chemically quite stable at temperatures up to 200° C, although it will soften and begin to flow. Above 220° C it will start to decompose, finally emitting vapours which may be toxic and flammable at temperatures approaching 300° C. However the flash point and ignition temperature are not less than 300° C. As with most hydrocarbons, combustion of natural rubber with restricted access of air can result in the evolution of carbon monoxide gas.
Raw natural rubber in bale form such as RSS is not readily ignitable. Although it can be ignited by a match held at a cut edge if cannot be lighted by a low energy source such as a smouldering cigarette. However once ignited it will burn readily with much evolution of heat, smoke and fumes.
Once rubber is ignited the spread of flame is usually rapid and in the case of raw rubber, it readily melts and flows, dropping burning globules which may assist the spread of the fire. Molten rubber, which is lighter than water forms a sticky scum with extinguishing water which can block drainage and impeded fire fighting operations as it flows away, cools and re-solidifies on the surfaces over which it passes.
A rubber stowage fire can be divided into two stages, In the initial stage after ignition the fire builds up slowly as the rubber gains heat. During this stage it can be controlled comparatively easily by the application of adequate water. The second stage is reached as sufficient bulk of the rubber becomes heated to the temperature at which it rapidly decomposes into flammable hydrocarbon liquids and gasses. At this point the fire grows very rapidly into a major conflagration and extinguishing becomes extremely difficult if not impossible.
The most important factor in rubber stowage fires is the speed with which adequate quantities of water can be applied to the burning rubber. The transition from the first to the second stage is reached, typically, in about ten minutes after ignition, so that it is unlikely that the fire will be detected and effective firefighting action commenced before a major fire has been established.
Burning rubber is said to be more difficult to extinguish than many other materials because it is not wetted by water and once rapid decomposition is established extinguishing becomes almost impossible, particularly if the rubber is stowed within containers, which is generally the case these days.
Finally with regard to the treatment of bales of rubber after packing. The bale of rubber is made up of folded sheets and when these reach the appropriate bale size they are then wrapped in two or three other sheets, thus presenting a more or less smooth surface on each side of the bale. These smooth external surfaces are then painted with a wash coating of talc suspended in a turpentine solution of rubber and according to the Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia, should the bale coating be excessive and the solvent not have had enough time to evaporate prior to being stuffed in a container, then the solvent vapours continue to be produced in the container.
With regard to containerised rubber, this is likely to ignite if the
container is adjacent to other containers that are on fire due to heat
conduction, bearing in mind that the heat effect of fire on steel, after
blistering the surface coating away, causes it to turn blue at about 350°
C and red at 450° C. Similarly dunnage/timber ignites at about 300°C
[Top]
Pilots
This publication has, since its inception, advocated organisations taking responsibility for their actions. One such organisation which does not appear to be doing so is that of the Pilots. Many of us regularly investigate incidents in which the fault for a collision or grounding has rested with the Pilot who regularly hides behind the premise that navigation of a ship is the ultimate responsibility of the Master.
However, the Master must trust in the Pilot's judgement and knowledge of local waters, currents, tides, submerged obstacles, etc, but when does he put his foot down to recover full command of navigation of the vessel because he considers the Pilots actions to be hazardous to his vessel's safety?
Surely it is time to change this situation and make the Pilots responsible for their actions. The H&M Underwriters and P&I Clubs who are bearing the brunt of the damage costs should be bringing pressure to bear in appropriate quarters to have Pilot organisations get their house in order.
Where are the Sea Marshals?
There is much controversy concerning the possible introduction of 'sky
marshals' on planes to prevent terrorist attacks. With the increase in
piracy attacks on ships should we not have 'sea marshals' to protect shipping
from such attacks? As usual, shipping is the poor relative and receives
only scant attention with respect to the safety of seafarers. Whether
an armed marshal on board would deter such attacks is a moot point. Some
have argued that having armed personnel on board will not do so but instead
raise the possibility of blood baths. Of course, the key factor here is
the cost of the additional crew member.
Burke & Parsons, law firm, recently moved across town to 100 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017-5533 USA. Contact: burke@burkeparsons.com
None this month.
None this month.
Call for BRM training for Engineers
A report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has recommended that Engineer Officers should receive bridge resource management (BRM) training after a Korean bulk carrier lost power and steering off the coast of Australia. During the incident it was reported that the Chief Engineer failed to convince the Master of the gravity of the generator problem and no contingency plan had been produced to respond to the situation. Stressing the need for effective communication between all members of a ship's team, the report says Owners and managers should consider BRM training for Engineer Officers and more frequent testing of emergency power arrangements.
Tug Simulator
Lairdside Maritime Centre has started training tug masters and ship's
officers in escort towage and berthing of tankers on its new enhanced
tug simulator which is based on a 120 degree full mission ship's bridge
simulator fitted with Z-drive controls and detailed tug models, linked
to two other simulators to allow interaction between the tug, pilot and
ship's team.
Many thanks for your edition of Flashlight. Latest news from Dubai is
that the 'old' pot of Al Jadaff (near Garhood Bridge) is being torn down.
The facilities - an old syncrolift dock and the
non-dhow buildings facilities are being moved to a position next to Port
Rashid / Dubai Drydocks.
The same location is close to the location of the site of the new Maritime
University - heavily subsidised, but an interesting project; they are
throwing 30,000 tonnes of sand per day onto a reclamation site at present.
On a personal note, I have a load of new business, both in Dubai and in
China. I know many of your reader list and would be happy to hear from
them anytime.
I have so much business at the moment I'm sure that I can hand something
on to anybody who spends the time to contact me. Most biz is projects
in the Middle East, Shanghai, Singapore, some in Europe.
Only interested in Class 1 people who are prepared to put up with the
45 to 48 deg C temperatures in the Middle East in summer, and those who
do not mind a 24-hour prior call to travel worldwide with a laptop. Sorry
it sounds pedantic but that is the nature of the business.
Mark O'Carroll
e-mail: ocarroll@emirates.net.ae
Arrived in Jeddah and settling in.
My full style here now as follows:
Mutual Marine Services Al Mushtaraka Ltd.
Saudi Business centre, 3rd Floor,
P.O. Box 12635,
Jeddah 21483,
K. S. A.
Tel: 966 2 652 2666
Fax: 966 2 652 1944
Mobile: 966 54 667 728
e-mail: larry.heron@mushtaraka.com
Larry Heron
It is with regret that we report that Eric Galloway FIMarEST, formerly with the New Zealand Marine Department, died on Sunday 22 February 2004 at home after a short spell in hospital.
Jeff Forshaw, Assistant Principal, has retired as Glasgow College of Nautical Studies. We wish him well in his retirement.
It is reported that retired IMO general secretary Bill O'Neil is to be the new President of maritime Videotel International.
We hear that Andrew Moore of Andrew Moore and Associates (Hong Kong,
Shanghai and Liverpool) recently returned home after prolonged hospital
treatment. We wish him a speedy recovery.
Practical Guides for Marine Professionals - Lloyd's Register Fairplay Handbooks
Classification and Statutory Surveys Handbook 2004 US$415
Safety and Environmental Handbook 2004 US$415
Ship Repair and Maintenance Handbook 2004 US$415
Port Security Handbook US$490
Docking Handgbook 2003 US$415
Superintendent's Handbook US$415
Available from: customer.services@lrfairplay.com
If your (marine surveying) company has a web site, let us know and we will try to mention it. Below are some web pages we believe might be useful to marine surveyors.
www.isa-surveys.com
International Surveyors & Adjusters Ltd
www.numast.org
Web site for the National Union of Marine Aviation and Shipping Transport
Officers who publish the monthly NUMAST Telegraph.
www.aimsurveyors.com.au
Web site for the Australian Institute of Marine Surveyors.
www.friendsreunited.co.uk
Here you can register some personal information, together with your school/college
and the year you left to go on to greater things. You can also enter your
nickname in school, which class you were in, your mates' names and what
you've done since leaving. You may be one day surprised to receive a message
out of the blue from an old school chum.
www.marine-society.org
The Marine Society is a worthy marine charity offering many services to
mariners.
www.imo.org
International Maritime Organisation web page. Keep up to date with new
conventions.
www.lrfairplay.com
Scroll down the home page until you see the heading 'Free Access' appear
on the left hand side. Clicking on the words 'shipping sites' takes you
to a search function. You can then search either by company name or by
category (there is a 'consultants and surveyors' category, for example)
or by country. Or by a combination - so you could search for consultants/surveyors
in Australia beginning with the letter 'D', for example.
That pulls up a list; if you then click on the word 'free' in the right hand column you are linked through to the relevant website.
If your readers know of any companies with sites that we do not list (or that we have an out-of-date address for) we would like to have details to update the database.
http://www.acms-usa.com/
The Association of Certified Marine Surveyors
www.equasis.org
Database containing safety-related information on the worlds merchant
fleet from both public and private sources. Gives ship's particulars,
Class Soc, P&I Club and PSC inspection record. Very useful for surveyors
looking for vessel particulars before carrying out a survey.
The Federation
of European Maritime Associations of Surveyors and Consultants
International Institute
of Marine Surveyors
General access
to the directory of the world network of Lloyd's Agents.
Merchant
Navy records on UK MN vessels and information merchant seamen, logs, agreements
and crew lists, MN apprentices and deaths at sea
Marine
Support On Line
Society of Accredited
Marine Surveyors
National Association
of Marine Surveyors
Safety at Sea International
Society of Consulting Marine
Engineers and Ship Surveyors
Society of Naval Architects
and Marine Engineers.
None this month.
IMO regularly updates its web page with new and amended conventions: http://www.imo.org/
Here you can browse through the various publications that are available and buy those which interest you. To navigate the publications you can either select one of the categories or use the advanced search.
If you have a marine related conference coming up, why not let us know so that we can mention it below?
22 - 24 March 2004, International Chemical and Oil Pollution Conference
and Exhibition. Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore.
Contact: yuhtyan.lew@ibc-asia.com
26 March 2004, Port and Shipping Security Compliance 2004. Shangri-la
Hotel, Singapore.
Contact: audrey.chen@ibcasia.com.sg
25 - 26 March 2004. SNAME Technical Forum, Singapore Expo.
Contact: Reed Exhibitions Pte Ltd, apm@reedexpo.com.sg
or Rahul Bhatnagar, ritik@singnet.com.sg
19 & 20 April 2004. The National Association of Marine Surveyors,
Inc. Spring National Conference, New York, NY. Theme is “Looking
into the Future.”
Contact: Ghulam M. Suhrawardi, NAMS New York Regional Director at: gms@natmar.com
26-30 April 2004, Fifteenth International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators,
London
See: www.icmaxv.org
3-5 May 2005 Cruise & Ferry 2005, Earls Court Two, London. Lloyd's List Events
18-20 May 2004, Logistics Hong Kong 2004, Hong Kong Convention &
Exhibition Centre
Lloyd's List Events
Some maritime conference web sites for you to keep up to date:
http://www.cconnection.org/
http://www.reedexpo.com/
http://www.grc.uri.edu/
http://www.wholelife.com/
http://www.ship-technology.com/exhibitions/
http://www.apmaritime.com/
http://www.lloydslistevents.com/
http://www.marineexpo.com/
http://www.seaworkexhibition.com
http://www.toc-events.com/
The Washington Post's Style Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are this year's winners:
1. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until
you realise it was your money to start with.
2. Reintardation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
3. Bozone: The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas
from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of
breaking down in the near future.
4. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting
laid.
5. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject
financially impotent for an indefinite period.
6. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
Ten golden rules for doing business in China
1. Everything is possible.
2. Nothing is easy.
3. Patience is the essence of success.
4. "You are the expert so…" means they are setting you
up.
5. "You don't understand our country" means they disagree with
you.
6. "Provisional regulations" means they can change the rules
any time they want, even retroactively.
7. "Basically, no problem" means you have a BIG problem.
8. "Signing a contract" means the beginning of real negotiation.
9. When you re optimistic, think about rule No 2.
10. When you are discouraged, think about rule No. 1.
Thanks to Paul O'Neill, Deloitte partner, (also mentioned in Maritime
Advocate On Line) who says it was the guidance given him by his Chinese
partners when he first went there.
Disclaimer: Articles and reports reflect the views of the individuals who prepared them, and, unless indicated expressly in the text, do not necessarily represent the views of the editor. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this publication is accurate, the editor makes no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or correctness of such information. The editor accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any loss, damage or other liability arising from any use of this publication or the information which it contains. The contents of the publication are the responsibility of the editor alone.
News, views, enquiries, suggestions, articles and letters for inclusion
in
future editions of FLASHLIGHT may be sent to:
Mike Wall
Tel: +852 2259 3150
Fax: +852 2259 3151
Email: mikewall@so-net.com.hk
Do not print this page unless absolutely necessary.