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  FLASHLIGHT - July 2004           Edition No: 33

(Past editions can be viewed on http://www.asiaconference.biz)

"10% of the world are risk takers, 90% are procrastinators"
ANON

Thought for the month ....

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, champagne in one hand - strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up and totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO - What a ride!"

The 2004 Asian Marine Insurance and Surveying Forum will be held at the Sofitel Hotel, Silom, Bangkok, Thailand, on 25 and 26 November.
Theme: Challenges for the Marine Loss Prevention Industry.
Delegate Fee : USD 595 (2 days)

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


CONTENTS (for full stories, select a headline)

At the Bow

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.

New Members this month:

Capt.M.Gautama, Wilson Surveyors And Adjusters Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai 400053.India
Douglas Granger, Mariser Marine, Inc., USA.
Larry Kwok, Royal and Sun Alliance, Hong Kong.
John Treacy, Australia.

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Spindrift

ILO seafarer i/d card to go ahead

A NEW International Labour Organisation convention (No 185) involving the issue of new biometric identity cards to 1.2M seafarers and maritime workers will come into force from 9 February 2005. The go-head follows ratification of the convention by Jordan and France, meeting the necessity for two member states to support it before it comes into force. The convention was agreed in June 2003 and is seen as a move that will further improve security in the global shipping industry. A spokesman for the ILO told Sea-Sentinel today that Nigeria was expected to submit its ratification papers tomorrow and that India and the Philippines were understood to be processing theirs. “The US,” he added, “has written tothe ILO stating that it recognises the convention as an important contribution to seafarer security.”

ED:  We hope that the introduction of a global seafarers' ID Card will reduce the arguments for seafarers not being allowed ashore by ports using the ISPS Code as an excuse.

Engineer pleads guilty

AN engineer from the Jane Maersk, an AP Moller 35,639m3 LPG carrier, pleaded guilty in federal court on 23 July to concealing and later destroying waste discharge records. This is an offence that could bring a 20-year prison sentence and up to a $250,000 fine.  Danish seafarer Johnnie Nielsen admitted in his plea that he hid oil waste records and later destroyed them on 25 May when his vessel was scheduled for a Coast Guard inspection, according to court documents. During the inspection, the boarding party found oil residue in the overboard pipe and then discovered evidence of false entries in the oil record book. Prior to the boarding, Nielsen removed the sounding log from the engine control room and took it to his private cabin. He further instructed the 3rd engineer to tell the Coast Guard that the vessel did not have nor use a sounding book, when he knew that they had used one as recently as the day prior to the Coast Guard's boarding. At some point Nielsen returned to his cabin, tore out the relevant pages of the sounding log and threw them away. His sentencing is set for 25 October.

Singapore cancels surveyor licenses

SINGAPORE’S Maritime and Port Authority will be cancelling the licenses of three bunker surveyors who pleaded guilty today in a local court to charges of accepting bribes. The investigations were carried out by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau. One of the surveyors was sub-contracted to fuel testing major DNV Petroleum Services. DNVPS, headquartered in Singapore, has suspended three sub-contracted surveyors after the CPIB began investigations. The other two are scheduled to appear in court at a later date to face charges. “Licensed bunker surveyors shall observe the professional ethics as specified in the Code, which requires that they must not breach public trust in the profession,” MPA stated today, referring to the SS CP 77 Code. Safeguarding the integrity of the bunkering industry is vital to Singapore, which is the world’s largest ship fuel trader accounting for over 20M tonnes a year.

ILWU president slams security

ILWU Local 13 president Dave Arian, who last week warned of an imminent and dramatic increase in ship congestion at Los Angeles and Long Beach, has also criticised security at the two California ports. Speaking during a conference call in Los Angeles, Arian said security and efficiency at the twin ports are being compromised by terminal operators and government officials. The union charged that operators were failing to check seals on incoming and outgoing loaded containers, as well as repeating charges of failure to inspect empties. The ILWU remains very upset about the container that blew up in the port a few months ago, and says that containers security is becoming even more lax.

India to cut scrap ship duty

INDIA’S shipbreaking industry will soon get a reduction in import duty on ships for demolition from 15% to 5%. This follows numerous representations to the steel ministry and constant lobbying by shipbreakers. Steel minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the high customs duty on ships imported for demolition is not justified, especially as the industry provides significant employment. The duty on a comprehensive range of non-alloy steel, including finished products, was reduced to 10% in the recent Union Budget, although scrap ship duty remained at 15%. The import duty on rerollable scrap is also 15% and many small mills are importing scrap directly from abroad, instead of sourcing it from Alang-Sosiya, after the price rise of scrap ships. Until 2002, the customs duty on rerollable scrap from ships had been the same as that on melting scrap at 5%. Scrap tonnage fell to 1.99M tonnes in 2003-04 from the peak of 3M tonnes in 1998-99, and if the current trend remains, would be about 1.2M tonnes in 2004-05, said Pravin Nagarsheth, president of ship-breakers association.

Investors discuss laid-up Norway

HAMBURG-based investors Dierk Koch and Klaus Peemöller, together with Munich-based consultant Treugast, are in talks with Hamburg city authorities about mooring the laid-up cruise ship Norway alongside as a floating hotel, leisure centre and casino. Negotiations are also said to be underway with the ship’s owner and operator, NCL, about the 76,000gt vessel’s sale. If Hamburg gives its approval, Treugast would undertake a feasibility study. However Hamburg is still seeking a suitable berth and is demanding a guarantee that would leave it free from financial burdens. Similar plans by a Bremen state-owned tourist company were dropped when Lloyd Werft warned of the high maintenance costs. Hamburg is competing with Amsterdam and Le Havre for the ship, but members of the 55 crew still on board have told Fairplay they expect the Norway to be towed to the Far East for employment as a Casino by Star Cruises. Operations were ended a year ago after a boiler explosion.

Watchkeeping rules 'not effective'

  TIGHTER bridge watchkeeping and lookout regulations have been called for by the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) following a study into 65 collisions. The study was set up after the cargo ship Jambo sank in Scotland last June. The Jambo, the MAIB highlights in the study, “is the latest in a series of remarkably similar accidents, the common features of which included fatigued officers, one-man-bridge operations at night, missed course alterations and no watch alarms". The present regulations “were not effective” said the MAIB and it has recommended that all merchant vessels over 500gt should have a minimum of a master and two bridge watchkeeping officers. It has also called for stronger rules on posting lookouts as its study identifies the late detection or failure to detect small vessels as a cause of collisions. The MAIB cites “minimal manning consisting of a master and a chief officer as the only two watchkeeping officers on vessels operating around the UK coastline, leads to watchkeeper fatigue and the inability of the master to fulfil his duties which, in turn, frequently lead to accidents".

(Above from Lloyd's Register - Fairplay web links:   news@fairplay.co.uk

Reduced PSC detentions

EU PSC authorities have welcomed a decrease in the number of substandard ships detained in the region over the last two years.  The annual report of the Paris MOU on PSC reveals that detentinos have declinded despite a steady increase in the number of ships inspected.  The report comments that the zero tolerance approach of the Paris MOU is beginning to show results  The threat of being banned from ports in the Paris MOU area after multiple detentinos is already shown to be an effective deterrent, the report adds.  However, whilst detentions have reduced, the number of deficiencies noted has increased over the last two years.  It also notes that the tripling of deficiencies in onboard implementation of onboard safety management systems in combination with more than twice as many SOLAS related operational deficiencies since 2001 are an indication that major incidents are waiting to happen.

(With thanks to the NUMAST Shipping Telegraph)

Mediation works

A GOOD example of the way in which mediation can work in shipping is to be found on the website of UK law firm Middleton Potts. The dispute involved a bulk carrier which was lying off its nominated load port in circumstances where its owners regarded as unlawful the charterers' orders to proceed to a last voyage under a time charter party.  The commercial background was a freight market that had increased by 300 per cent between the time of the conclusion of the charter and the time of the orders. If the orders were indeed unlawful, the owners would have been entitled to terminate the charter and withdraw the vessel, earning hire at $45,000 more per day. The charterers, meanwhile, would have been faced with an equivalent increase when making alternative chartering arrangements and, also, delays as well as possible claims from the shippers.  Middleton Potts represented the owner in an urgent mediation, arranged at less than two days' notice and while the vessel was still awaiting a decision about whether or not to comply with the charterers' orders. The result was that, in the course of an eight-hour meeting with the mediator, an agreement was reached between the parties, the vessel proceeded to load, and an acrimonious stand-off and expensive arbitration were averted.

www.middletonpotts.co.uk

(Thanks to Martime Advocate Online, Merlin Legal Publishing: maritimeadvocateonline@lb.bcentral.com)

Paint costs up

Sharply increasing raw material costs have forced paint companies to increase their prices as most of the raw materails used in the paint industry are aoil related and have been affected by the recent increase in the price of oil to more than US$40 per barrel.  Paint raw marterials such as epoxy resins have increased markedly over the last few months, some as much as 30%.  Metal prices have also increased, particularly zinc and copper which constitute a major part of the cost of many protective and marine coatings.

(Thanks to Fairplay Solutions: magazine@fairplay.co.uk)

(Ed:  Will we see substandard operators' costs cut by the reduction in paint thicknesses?  If so, paint thickness gauges could be in much demand!)

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Contributions

Beginner's Guide to Supply Vessels

Supply vessels are called supply vessels because they supply oil drilling rigs and platforms with water, fuel, drilling materials, and boxes containing all kinds of things ? every thing except liquor and drugs, as far is known. Some ships, known as anchor handling vessels, also help move rigs about. All are looked down upon by people working on the rigs, who occasionally pee upon them. Rig workers never travel on supply boats if they can help it, preferring helicopters, even though these crash occasionally.

Supply vessels should be easy to pee upon because they are supposed to stay steady under the platform even without the help of an anchor or stern moorings while cargo is pumped or lifted off by crane. Sometimes the pipework on the rigs reduces the cargo to a trickle. Sometimes the cranes don’t work. Sometimes there is no room on the rig for the cargo. Sometimes every one on the rig is having dinner. But supply vessel masters are used to taking the blame for delays. Obviously if they refuse to work ? because of bad weather say ? then they are regarded as incompetent, whereas if they agree to work in bad weather and hit the platform legs, then they are proved to be incompetent.

Supply vessels are chartered (or hired) fully crewed. There used to be a standard charter party (form) on 5 sheets called BIMCO Supply time. But charterers believed that BIMCO stood for Bloody Imposition by Mighty Cocky Owners, so they now each have their own charter party which, because it is printed on a word processor, can be varied in every case and has to be checked line by line, time after time. A typical charter party now runs to sixty pages, but efforts are being made to lengthen them. Since the terms now favour double insurance, and since disputes are now more likely to arise, the new system is a great improvement according to insurance brokers, underwriters, lawyers and arbitrators.

Charter parties may be agreed for a short period or for a long one. If for a long period, a clause has been devised to allow the charterer to break his agreement whenever he feels like it. (The inventor of this clause was  awarded the Doublespeak Award).

Charterers require of ships that they be :-

a) Able to take maximum quantities of each product in dedicated tanks, all in the middle of the ship (to avoid trim problems). But they all disagree as to the desirable combination of capacities.
b) The latest design but cheap.
c) Large but not heavy consumers of valuable fuel.
d) Very manoeuverable. Some ships have 6 thrusters (plus rudders). Since the Master has only one pair of hands, he has to be given a “joystick” to sort out the mess.
e) High “freeboard” for safety; “freeboard” is the term used for the most expensive aspect of a ship’s design since it represents unused carrying capacity.
f) High horsepower always sounds good, but it is only needed for towing (cf ploughing, especially with horses).

Owners duly oblige charterers in all respects.

Norwegian owners are in fact penurious brokers who get their own back on dentists by extracting their taxable profits to pay for the ships. Norwegian owners all know that they are the best.

French owners talk French to French charterers. French owners know they alone are French.

Dutch owners are all called Smit Lloyd. Dutch owners are very modest but if pressed will agree they are best.

Danish owners are all called Maersk, which is confusing, because there is also a well known British company with the same name. All Danes know that Maersk is best, particularly as the owners of Maersk have removed to Lichtenstein for tax reasons.

British owners complain they are hard done by but spoil their case by building more ships. British owners sometimes suspect they are not as bad as they are painted, but don’t like to make a song and dance about it.

All owners agree to give away their ships at any price and any terms in order to help solve the world energy problem.

(With thanks to Captain John Sweetman in Songkhla, Thailand, who is currently looking for a surveying position in Asia.)


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Comment

ISPS Code implementation.

When ISM was mooted and implemented many independent surveyors and others in the shipping industry were pessimistic, bordering on cynical, about it's application and effects.  I believe we have since been proved right in all respects.  So it is with the ISPS Code, something introduced to humour the USA Government.  I had to do a condition survey on a tanker a couple of weeks ago, at one of Hong Kong's three oil terminals.  I was informed by the agent and the terminal that I would not be allowed to access the vessel throught the terminal, only up the ship's gangway on the offshore side.  This I did dutifully.  However, during the day I had cause to take some photos of the hull so proceeded down the shoreside gangway and did so without any challenge.  I could have lobbed a couple of hand grenades into a strategice place to cause maximum damage and I think they still would not have noticed.  Sort of makes a mockery of ISPS doesn't it?

The other notable fact about this tankers berthing was that, again due to ISPS, the crew were not allowed ashore.

ED:  Readers are welcome to add their comments here on our profession and industry.

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Scuttlebut

Seatrade Awards 2005

Applications are now invited for the 2005 Seatrade Awards.  If your company has launched a new product or service in any of the fields below during the last year they want to hear from you.

• Safety at sea
• Protection of the marine and atmospheric environment
• Innoivation in ship operations
• New IT applications for the shipping industry.

For further information go to:   www.seatrade-global.com



EQUASIS MOVES FURTHER AHEAD
Four-Year-Old Agency Reports Record Figures
3.4m. Hits on the Website in 12 Months

Equasis, the online ship information agency that provides a free public service, reports a continuing rise in access and usage of its website ( www.equasis.org). In the 12 months from June 1, 2003, to June 30, 2004, the Equasis website recorded 3.4m. hits.

Following record figures in 2003, in the first half of this year the number of hits averaged 300,000 each month, with a peak of 327,257 in June, the highest monthly total ever.

Importantly, the number of active users each month is now well over 10,000, and at one point, also in June, the figure was a shade over 11,000.

Equasis is the acknowledged database of quality and safety information on the world merchant fleet. Data is displayed and continuously updated on some 66,000 vessels (of 100 gross tons and over).

The UK remains the biggest active user, followed by the US, Italy and France. Charterers and insurers continue to be the major users of Equasis data, followed by surveyors, government administrations, shipbrokers, classification societies and port authorities.

There has been a noticeable increase in the number of shipmanager and shipowner users. Encouragingly, the number of seafarer users has shown a steady increase, and they now account for 3.66% of all hits. At the bottom end of the figures for users are P&I clubs, shippers and financial institutions/banks.

George Barclay, director of Equasis, which is based in Paris, said: "Equasis was four years old in May and has come a long way since it was established by its original partners, the French maritime administration and the European Commission. Progress has indeed been dramatic, particularly since the agency was strengthened in 2001 when the maritime authorities of the UK, Spain, Singapore and Japan, and the US Coast Guard, decided to join the founding partners.

"These powerful organisations are committed to the job of increasing transparency in order to expose unsafe vessels and keep the pressure on substandard shipping until it is eliminated. To this end, Equasis has not shirked from taking some controversial decisions along the way as more data has been added to the website.

"Our goal has not changed - to improve ship safety through greater openness."

The seven partners named above which support and fund Equasis are all signatories to the Equasis Memorandum of Understanding.

Equasis should not be described as an EU database or a Paris MoU (or any other MoU) database. It is an independent source of information, which is collated and distilled from data provided by a number of
organisations.

Thanks to Denzil Stuart Associates, 67 George Row, London SE16 4UH
Tel: +44 (0)20 7231 9963    Fax: +44 (0)20 7232 1738    Email: ds@dsa-pr.com

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Insurance News

None this month.

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Wig & Gown

None this month.

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Education and Training

University of Newcastle upon Tyne ? MSc in Marine Technology (International)

A 2-Year MSc Program delivered totally by the university’s lecturers with industrial and research excellence through a web based learning environment and a face-to-face intensive school in Singapore.

Study during out-of-office hours and add high value knowledge to your organisation with work-based projects.

For further information, call +65 6286 3622
Email nicholaskoh@victoryknights.com.sg
marlina@victoryknights.com.sg

Web Page:   www.victoryknights.com.sg


Singapore launches maritime degrees

SINGAPORE has launched degree programmes in maritime studies in conjunction with BI Norwegian School of Management. Singapore’s maritime industry is projected to grow by 6-8% per annum until 2018. The introduction of Bachelor and Master of Science programmes in Maritime Studies at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is the first time such courses have been offered by a local educational institution. “As we move up the value chain to develop Singapore as an international maritime centre, there is a greater need for maritime personnel trained at the tertiary or higher levels,” Minister of State for Health and Transport Balaji Sadasivan said yesterday. The degree programmes have been initiated through co-operation between the industry, the Maritime and Port Authority and NTU. There are plenty of career opportunities in the maritime industry, the minister said, pointing out that demand for dedicated manpower in the industry will nearly double over the next 14 years. “With the positive growth projections for the maritime industry, career opportunities in the industry are expected to be considerable,” said MPA chief executive Lui Tuck Yew.


Diploma in Marine Surveying

Commencing 22nd September 2004, Lloyd’s Maritime Academy in partnership with The National Sea Training Centre are pleased to announce the 2004 Diploma course in Marine Surveying.

The Course which began in 1998, has laid the foundation stones of establishing an official internationally recognised qualification that identifies the marine surveying profession.   To date over 1000 participants have taken or are currently taking the Diploma from all corners of the world.

To solve the problem of how you can gain an academic qualification alongside the continuing need to work, Lloyd’s Maritime Academy are pleased to be running this Diploma Course by Distance Learning. The exam, as always, may be taken anywhere in the world to suit your convenience.

The course consists of 10 core modules including: The Maritime Industry and Marine Surveying, Marine Survey Practice, Effective Writing and Reporting, Naval Architecture for Surveyors, Marine Surveying ? Law & Insurance, Marine Incident Investigation, Safety Surveys, Hull and Structural Surveys and Fundamentals of Marine Engineering Surveys.

In addition exam candidates can choose from a number of specialist modules including: Non-Liquid Cargo Surveys, Liquid Cargo Surveys, Small Craft, Marine Environmental Surveying, Marine Engineering Surveys, ISM Code.

To see how you can benefit from undertaking the Diploma in Marine Surveying visit the web site today
http://www.lloydsmaritimeacademy.com/marinesurveying, call the distance learning customer hotline on +44(0) 20 7017 5510 or email ken.lovegrove@informa.com for further details.

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Epistles

None this month.

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People

After a long courageous battle against cancer, Andy Moore, of Andrew Moore & Associates, passed away on Monday, 12th July 2004.

A funeral service was held at St. Bartholomew's Church, Chipping, (Near Preston), Lancashire, UK, at 1100 hours on Tuesday, 20th July 2004.

Cards and letters of condolence should be sent to Catherine Moore at :

Saunderake House
Chipping PR3 2QR
United Kingdon

We believe that a memorial service will be held at the Mariners Club, Middle Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong at 1715 hrs on 7 September 2004.

Andy was much respected by all that he dealt with in the maritime fraternity.

We believe that David Browne will be taking over as Managing Director.

[Top]

Books and Videos

"The Outlaw Sea" by William Langwiesche.  Reports the latest issues with shipping. I found the book to be an informative book for those readers that have been following the shipping news or were not able to read the whole story. (Thanks to Lorne Gould of NAMS)

[Top]

Web Sites

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.kiwimarine.net
Website for Kiwi Marine Consultants Ltd, Hong Kong.

www.marinecc.com.au
Website for MCC Worldwide Pte Ltd, Australia.

www.shieldhall.co.uk
Web page of the classic steamship Shieldhall,
formerly a sewage sludge ship (Bovril Boat).

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.

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Conference Reports

None this month.

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IMO Conventions

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.

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Future Events

If you have a marine related conference coming up, why not let us know so that we can mention it below?

23 to 27 August 2004.  Background to Shipping - A Comprehensive Overview of the Structure and Framework of the Maritime Industry.  Lloyd's Maritime Academy, London
www.lloydslistevents.com/

7 - 10 September 2004.  'ODESSA 210' - 6th International Exhibition/Symposium on Shipping, Shipbuilding, Passenger Terminal and Concert-Exhibition Hall, Odessa Marine Terminal, Odessa, Ukraine. Organisers: Sudohodstvo Media Center
Tel: +380 728 79 30, Fax: +380 728 71 46
E-mail: expo2@smc.odessa.ua
URL: www.smc.odessa.ua

8 - 10 September 2004.  Ballast Water and Wastewater Treatment Aboard Ships and in Ports, Hotel Landgut Horn, Bremen, Germany.  Organisers: Eule&Partners - Maritime Conferences
Tel: +49 4461 98 65 55
E-mail: Lonicer@T-online.de
URL: euleandpartners.com

13-14 September 2004.  14th Annual Ship Management Conference 2004 Embracing the Challenges and Responsibilities of Today's Global Shipping Environment
The Hawaii Grand Hotel, Limassol, Cyprus
www.lloydslistevents.com/

23-25 September 2004  SIBCON 2004 (Singapore Bunkering Conference, Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore.  (Includes bunker dispute workshop)
Info at:   www.ibc-asia.com/SIBCON2004.htm

8 - 11 December 2004.  MARITIMA, Paris, France.
http://www.reedexpo.com/

3 - 5 May 2005, Cruise+Ferry 2005 incorporating Superyacht V Design, Construction and Operation For Passenger Shipping, Earls Court Two, London, UK.  Lloyds List Events.   http://www.lloydslistevents.com/

October:  36th National Conference West - Fall 2004. Long Beach.  More information as it becomes available at:
http://www.nams-cms.org/meetings.htm

10-12 April 10-12 2005.  NAMS Spring conference, Strand Palace Hotel, London. This conference will be organized by NAMS and supported by SCMS,IIMS, and IMarEST

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/

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From the Poop Deck

A man walked into the ladies' department of a Dillard's Department Store and said to the woman behind the counter, "I'd like to buy a Baptist bra for my wife, size 36B."
"What type of bra?" asked the clerk.
"Baptist," said the man. "She said get a Baptist bra, and that you'd know what she meant."
"Ah, yes, now I remember," said the saleslady. "We don't sell many of those. Mostly our customers want the Catholic type, the Salvation Army type, or the Presbyterian type."
Confused, the man asked, "What's the difference between them?"
The lady responded, "It is all really quite simple...
The Catholic type supports the masses.
The Salvation army type lifts up the fallen.
The Presbyterian type keeps them staunch and upright.
Then there's the Baptist type."
"What does that do?" asked the man.
She replied, "It makes mountains out of mole hills."



1. WILL THE REAL DUMMY PLEASE STAND UP?

AT&T fired President John Walter after nine months, saying he lacked intellectual leadership. He received a $26 million severance package.

Perhaps it's not Walter who's lacking intelligence.

2. WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS :

Police in Oakland, California spent two hours attempting to subdue a gunman, who had barricaded himself inside his home. After firing ten tear gas canisters, officers discovered that the man was standing beside them in the police line, shouting, "Please come out and give yourself up."

3. WHAT WAS PLAN B???

An Illinois man, pretending to have a gun, kidnapped a motorist and forced him to drive to two different automated teller machines, where the kidnapper proceeded to withdraw money from his own bank accounts.

4. THE GETAWAY!

A man walked into a Topeka, Kansas Kwik Stop, and asked for all the money in the cash drawer. Apparently, the take was too small, so he tied up the store clerk and worked the counter himself for three hours until police showed up and grabbed him.

5. DID I SAY THAT???

Police in Los Angeles had good luck with a robbery suspect who just couldn't control himself during a line-up. When detectives asked each man in the line-up to repeat the words, "Give me all your money or I'll shoot", the man shouted, "That's not what I said!"

6. ARE WE COMMUNICATING?!?

A man spoke frantically into the phone, "My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart!" "Is this her first child?" the doctor asked. "No!", the man shouted, "This is her husband!"

7. NOT THE SHARPEST TOOL IN THE SHED!!!

In Modesto, California, Steven Richard King was arrested for trying to hold up a Bank of America branch without a weapon. King used a thumb and a finger to simulate a gun, but unfortunately, he failed to keep his hand in his pocket. (hellooooooo! ...!)

8. AND THE GRAND FINALE...

Last summer, down on Lake Isabella, located in the high desert, an hour east of Bakersfield, California, some folks, new to boating, were having problems. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get their brand new 22ft going properly. It was very sluggish in almost every maneuver, no matter how much power was applied. After about an hour of trying to make it go, they putted to a nearby marina, thinking someone there could tell them what was wrong. A thorough topside check revealed everything in perfect working condition. The engine ran fine, the outdrive went up and down, the prop was the correct size and pitch. So, one of the marina guys jumped into the water to check underneath, he came up choking on water, because he was laughing so hard. NOW REMEMBER THIS IS TRUE. Under the boat, still strapped securely in place, was the trailer.......

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