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  FLASHLIGHT - July 2006            Edition No: 55

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

Quote of the day

Be more splendid, more extraordinary. Use every moment to fill yourself up.
Oprah Winfrey

******

The 2006 Asian Marine Insurance and Surveying Forum

'Marine Surveyors - Guardians of Quality Shipping'

will be held on 12 & 13 October 2006
at the J W Marriott Hotel, Mumbai, India,

Early bird rates available.

CPD Certificates, accepted by all Marine Surveying Professional Institutes, will be issued upon request.  (Delegates earn one IIMS CPD point.)

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@pacific.net.hk
(Speakers earn three IIMS CPD points.)

******

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CONTENTS (for full stories, select a headline)

At the Bow

FLASHLIGHT is a free monthly emailed newsletter circulated to more than 5,000 people involved in marine surveying around the world.  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.  It is a collation of articles relevant to our profession taken from various publications together with contributions from readers.  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 readers this month:

Emin Ya?acan, insurance broker, Istanbul, Turkey.
Andrew Kinsey, Kinsey Marine LLC, Cutchogue, NY, USA.
Peter Pope, Small Craft Surveyor, Maritime Solutions, Brisbane, Australia.
KPS Maritime Surveyors, Coomera QLD 4209, Australia

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Spindrift

Shore-side industry depends on seafarers

LONDON 25 July ? The UK will not have a shore-side shipping industry in a generation's time unless the decline in British seafarer numbers is reversed, warns UK transport minister Stephen Ladyman. The warning came in an address by the minister to a meeting of UK officers' union Numast on 13 July, just revealed to Fairplay. Speaking ahead of an expected maritime employment reform package, Ladyman acknowledged that the UK tonnage tax had failed to bring about an increase in UK seafarer employment. ?You are right to be concerned?, he told Numast. ?We can?t accept continuing decline of UK seafarers. If we don?t reverse the decline we will not have a shore-side industry in a generation?s time". Details of the speech came after Numast last week called for stricter  testing of crew training levels to combat an alleged drop in safety standards on UK ships. Hinting that he had acknowledged Numast's concerns, the minister said: "The only place for UK shipping is at the quality end of the market. That means encouraging a professional industry, with well-trained, skilled employees and an industry that embraces technological change. We have to compete on quality and reputation, and on integrating our seafaring with our shore-side expertise. We can go upmarket by adding value.

Five countries targeted over waste reception

THE European Commission is to take legal action against five EU member states for failing to respect EU legislation on improving the availability and use of port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues. Greece, France, Italy, Finland and Portugal will now face legal action at the European Court of Justice following alleged insufficient implementation of the obligation to develop,  approve and implement waste reception and handling plans relating to all national ports, including fishing ports and marinas. ?These plans are a key element in ensuring that port reception facilities made available meet the needs of the ships normally using the ports that their operation does not cause undue delay to ships and that fair, transparent and non-discriminatory fees are applied,? the Commission said in a statement, adding that member states should have set up waste reception and handling plans for all their ports by 27 December 2002.? The EC has sent reasoned opinions on the issue to Germany, Estonia and Spain, but these states will not face legal

Bulker crew in hospital after attack

TARTOUS 17 July - Twelve Egyptian seafarers on board a vessel sailing to the port of Tartous in Syria were taken to the Al Bassel Hospital in  Tartous on Saturday after their vessel, the 6,105-dwt Lady Laila, was hit by fire from an Israeli barge taking part in the offensive against Lebanon. The Syrian news agency SANA reported that the crew of the ship issued an SOS late on Friday after the attack on the vessel while it was in international waters, about 65km from the Lebanese coast, with a cargo of cement. SANA quoted Syrian interior ministry officials as saying an Egyptian ship and a Syrian vessel, which happened to be in the area, went to rescue. Hospital officials described the condition of 11 of the injured seafarers as stable, while the twelfth is in a critical condition. The Cambodia-registered Lady Laila is owned in the US and operated by El Reedy Shipping Agency in Damietta, Egypt.action.

Four Bangla breakers die

BANGLADESH 14 July - Four workers engaged in shipbreaking in Bangladesh have died in the first half of this month alone, two of them from inhaling poisonous gas and the other two burnt in a fire, according to reports. In the latest accident, two days ago, two workers died after inhaling gas trapped inside a vessel being scrapped at Shitalpur in Sitagunta police district. According to sources, the accident happened in the early evening when two workers in the Royal Steel Shipbreaking yard went to examine an oil tanker before dismantling began. One of the two fell sick as soon as he entered the tank and the other one died of gas inhalation after entering the tank to help his co-worker. Both bodies were later recovered. The 8,000-dwt tanker had last carried soyabean oil before it arrived at the demolition site. The earlier accident occurred on 2 July when two workers were burnt to death while breaking a vessel at another yard.

Port delays 'should be specified'

SHIP owners have been warned to be clear about the safety of ports and berths before fixing voyage charters. Recent incidents, which rarely  come to court so decisions on them do not get an airing, made it imperative that owners watch the practicalities, said London barrister Henry Byam-Cook. He said that owners who know about problems at  particular ports should include trading exclusions in contracts. This also applied to time charters, he told a gathering at the London offices of maritime lawyers Lester Aldridge. Byam-Cook added that masters had rights that could assist them when considering the safety of a berth or port. ?The master is entitled to a reasonable time to consider whether a  port or berth is safe,? he said. ?Even though a charter party places him under the charterer?s orders, the master is entitled to refuse an order to proceed to an unsafe port or berth. In fact, he may be obliged to do so. Charterers do not have the right to give uncontractural orders.? Safety issues include physical problems at the port, poor weather warnings, inadequate berthing facilities or navigational aids and even political risks, war zones and fever epidemics, he explained.

(With thanks to Fairplay Daily News, news@fairplay.co.uk)

Briefly

Spanish boost: growth in the Spanish controlled fleet especially in the cruise sector _ has driven an increase in the number of officers and ratings employed by domestic operators. Spanish owners say they now employ about 9,900 seafarers, including 7,250 Spanish nationals. Union officials said the number of Spanish nationals working on merchant ships is half the figure of 10 years ago.

Ferry riot: Greek police arrested 13 supporters of the AEK Athens ootball club accused of causing extensive damage to the ferry that had brought them back from Crete following the defeat of their team in the final of the Greek football cup. Damaged rooms, drink distribution points and the bridge strewn with rubbish were all caught on film. The damage was estimated at ￡100,000.

Maersk delay: delivery of the first in a series of massive postpanamax container ships for Maersk Line is being delayed following a fire in the Odense shipyard in Denmark last month. The blaze severely damaged the bridge, engine room and accommodation block of Maersk's first 12,000 TEU_plus vessel, which had been due to start sea trials this month.

Japanese call: Japanese shipowners have presented their government with detailed plans for a UK_style tonnage tax scheme. Some 95% of Japanese_owned and operated tonnage is presently foreign flagged, and the owners have warned that the domestic shipping industry is at risk unless its competitive position is improved.

'White listed': Cyprus and Malta have both won a place on the Paris Memorandum of Understanding's port state control 'white list' ' The two flag states, which join 31 other nations on the white list, have been congratulated for having made the upgrade 'through careful and continued monitoring of their fleet performance'.

Barbados bid: the government of Barbados has introduced a series of tax concessions aimed at international shipping companies looking for offshore services. Under the rules, foreign companies are allowed to operate Barbados registered ships without being eligible for Barbados taxes.

MISC addition: Malaysian operator MISC has taken delivery of the 7,943 TEU Bunga Seroja Satu _ the biggest containership in its fleet. Built by Daewoo, the vessel links Chinese ports with Southampton, Rotterdam and Hamburg.

Master jailed: an Indian ship master has been sentenced to life imprisonment in the United Arab Emirates for murdering a crew member onboard his ship of the coast of Fujairah. Five other crew members onboard the tanker Champion Ranger were jailed for five years for their roles in the death of the fitter in February this year. The Indian embassy had tried to shift the ewe to India, arguing that the victim and the attackers were Indians, but the UAE courts claimed jurisdiction.

Sealed claim: the UK, Ireland, France and Spain have made a joint submission to the United Nations claiming rights to a 31,000 sq mile zone of the Atlantic seabed. Deposits of frozen methane, a possible future energy source, are expected to be found in an area stretching from the Celtic Sea to the Bay of Biscay. Environmentalists have slammed the claim as legitimising territorial grabs.

Indian Flag: plans to create an Indian second register, offering tax concessions and operational advantages to owners, have been drawn up by the oil company Reliance Industries. To be based in a Special Economic Zone near Mumbai, the register would allow operators to by_pass Indian crewing rules whilst continuing to enjoy preference in carrying national cargoes.

Budget blow. the European Union's spending on maritime projects has been slashed following a decision to reduce budget for the Marco Polo programme to shift freight off the roads and onto the sea. Funds available for the 2007 to 2013 period have been cut from ￡740m voted by the Parliament to ￡400 m (￡476 m to ￡267 m).

Fast orders: detailed plans have been revealed for a high speed ro ro service linking the ports of Sheerness, Drammen (Norway), and Vigo and Santander (Spain). The Norwegian operator Norferries says it is planning to order a total of four ferries to run the service, one more than the original plan.

Flag booms: the St Kitts and Nevis international ship registry, established in spring 2005, says it now has 162 ships of 525,000 gt on its books and expects to pass the 1 m gt mark this year. One reason the flag was created was to attract revenue to the islands to replace losses from the sugar cane industry

Killer fumes: an investigation was launched last month after three crewmen onboard the Japanese_flagged chemical tanker Shuho Maru died when they were overcome by benzene fumes during tank cleaning operations.

Collision concern: the Confidential Hazadous Incident Reporting Programme has raised fresh concerns over the large number of collisions  at sea. The latest issue of its CHIRP Feedback report raises particular alarm at overtaking accidents and calls for discussions on possible misunderstandings between deck and engineer officers over the availability of the engines for maneuvers.

Masters meet. the European shipmasters' association meeting in Nice expressed concern that the EU directive on maritime pollution is affecting recruitment into the profession. Among the other subjects discussed were the Erika III package, fatigue, minimum crews, language approaching ports, and container accidents.

Violent work: transport workers suffer particularly high risks of physical assault in their jobs, according to a new study. Published by the International Labour Organisation, the report warns that physical  and psychological violence in the workplace is on the rise worldwide and has reached epidemic levels' in many countries.

Shortsea probe: ports belonging to the Eurocast Network Association including Cherbourg, Cuxhaven, Ostend, Portsmouth and Rosslare are examining the potential for opening new shortsea routes. Eurocast believes that 5% of road traffic can be shifted to shortsea shipping.

Holiday boost. the TUC has welcomed government proposals to ensure that British workers get paid leave for bank holidays. Under the changes, as many as two million workers would get an extra eight days paid holidays a year, in addition to the statutory minimum 20 days annual leave.

Number collision: the Marine Accident Investigation Branch has opened a probe into the causes of a collision between the Swedish_flagged general cargoship Skagern and the containership Samskip Courier in the Humber last month.

Liverpool link: Irish operator Celtic Link Ferries has begun a new ro ro service between Liverpool and Dublin, using the freight vessel Celtic Stan The company will add a second vessel, Kilmore, to the route this
month.

London growth: despite a 4% fall in the number of visiting ships, cargo handled at port facilities on the Thames rose to 53.8m tonnes last year up 1% from 2004 the Port of London Authority announced last month.

Scrap work: the famous Belfast shipyard Harland & Wolf is set to enter the 'green recycling' market _ with an application for a licence to scrap ships and offshore installations.

Tilbury service: a new freight ro_ro service between Tilbury and Ostend is being launched by the operator Ferryways, initially making one sailing a day.

 

Ships will have to fit tracking equipment

NUMAST has welcomed International Maritime Organisation agreement on new requirements for long_range iden_tification and tracking (LRIT) which should deliver benefits both for security and for safety.

Under the amended SOLAS requirements which will come into effect in January 2008, the equipment will have to be fitted to all merchant ships of more than 300 gt, trading in international waters.

The amendments establish a multilateral agreement for sharing LRIT information for security and SAR purposes, and ships will be required to transmit their identity, location and date and time of the position to recipients who are authorised to receive such information.

Safeguards covering the confidentiality of the data have been built into the requirements. There will be no interface between LRIT whose information will be restricted to authorised recipients and the Automatic Identification System, the broadcast system whose data is generally available.

Performance standards and functional requirements for both ship and shoreside equipment have also been agreed for LRIT.

 

MCA holds Maltese Cruise ship

A Maltese flagged ship was detained in Tilbury Docks by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency after surveyors discovered a series of deficiencies onboard including unusable port and starboard tenders, a dirty engine room and various oily hazards.

The 7,4789t Vistamar was given permission to move to a mooring near the Tower of London to allow the 178 passengers to be disembarked.

The 17 year old Spanish operated vessel was refused permission to leave port until the deficiencies were corrected and MCA surveyors carried out a reinspection.

MCA surveyor Bryan Hopkins said the MCA took safety very seriously and the detention was undertaken in the best interests of passengers.

'Our concerns were raised when items such as fire dampers were clearly inoperative, both lifeboats were damaged, escape signs were mg and various means of escape were not marked clearly, he explained.

'Other issues raised during our inspection included out of date publications onboard, lifesaving signals were out of date and charts remained uncorrected; he added.

 

IMO agrees to radical rethink of minimum sate manning rules

NUMAST has welcomed International Maritime Organisation agreement on proposals to reconsider the rules covering minimum safe manning levels.

The IMO's maritime safety committee has approved a new work programme to review the principles for establishing the safe manning levels of ships, with a target completion date of 2008.

The decision reflects mounting concern that the existing rules are inadequate and are one of the reasons why seafarer fatigue is such a widespread problem.

The committee also agreed to begin work on a comprehensive review of the STCW Convention and STCW Code. The IMO said the review is needed 'in order to ensure that the Convention meets the new challenges facing the shipping industry including, but not limited to, rapid technological advances today and in the future'. A target completion date of 2008 was agreed.

- Mandatory minimum training and certification requirements for ship security officers (SS0s) were also agreed by the committee. Amendments to the STCW Convention and to parts A and B of the STCW Code include:

Requirements for the issue of certificates of proficiency for SS0s, Specifications of minimum standards of proficiency, and Guidance on SSO training.

The IMO has also agreed further amendments to part A of the STCW code, which will introduce additional training requirements for the launching and recovery of fast rescue boats. These are being introduced in a bid to reduce the number of accidents involving seafarers while launching and recovering fast rescue boats in adverse weather conditions.

The amendments are set to take effect on 1 January 2008.

 

Danes crack down on drink

Danish MPs have voted unanimously in favour of a new law introducing strict new alcohol limits in the country's waters.

Due to come into effect on 1 July, the new Act establishes a blood alcohol content limit of 0.05% for all merchant ships, as well as for the largest an d fastest pleasure craft.

Economic affairs minister Bendt Bendtsen said the rules had been drawn up in response to 'some regrettable incidents of navigation mixed with alcohol'.

Denmark is also supporting moves at the International Maritime Organisation to introduce mandatory global regulations on alcohol at sea.

 

Master is fined for pollution off coast of France

FRENCH courts are continuing to come down hard on owners and masters found guilty of maritime pollution, and in one of the most contentious cases a master was fined C400,000 (￡272,000) last month.

The penalty _ C350,000 of it suspended _ was imposed on Knut Havn, the Norwegian captain of the 5,0259t chemical tanker Trans Arctic for an incident in March 2005 when the ship was spotted off the French Atlantic coast trailing a 35 km slick.

The master was tried by the court in the port of Brest even though the ship's owner, Seatrans, had already been found guilty by a Norwegian court.

The Brest court refused a request from the Norwegian authorities that the case should not be valid in France, because Norway had exercised its prerogative under the Montego Bay international convention to deal with the case as the flag state.

But the French court found that the C360,000 fine the Norwegian court imposed was 'administrative' and not penal.

Under French law, eight environmental bodies affected by the case will receive C3,000 _ C10,000 in damages. It is understood that the Norwegian owner will appeal.

in a similar case, a decision on the Maltese_flagged general cargoship Fast Independence, caught in May 2005 off Brittany trailing 20 km of oil, was put off to later this month. The judge rejected a defence plea that the case be heard in Malta under the Montego Bay convention.

 

ITF urges UN action on abused crews

Report says Law of the Sea should be used to protect seafarers

The International Transport Workers' Federation has urged the United Nations to act to stop 'horrific' and systematic human rights abuses suffered by seafarers.

In a new report presented to a special UN meeting last month, the ITF said many seafarers continue to be physically and legally isolated in the same way that they were in medieval times.

The report titled 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind' highlights such problems as abandoned seafarers, criminalisation, recruiting ,seams', blacklisting, the impact of strict security rules, and unsafe working conditions in both the shipping and the fishing industries.

The ITF said that while the shipping industry seeks to portray

an image of being progressive and responsible, it continues to allow some 'astonishing' human rights violations and abuses of its workers.

'That such abuses occur should be recognised by the international community as an appalling anachronism in the 21st century,' the report adds.

Drawing from a selection of cases dealt with by the ITF, the study speaks of the 'shameful' abandonment of seafarers  with numerous examples of crews left stranded in foreign ports with no pay, little food or water and reliant upon charities for their survival.

The report also notes that 'seafarers are often expected to work in conditions that would be unacceptable in other industries'

with such problems as physical violence against crew members and systematic cheating by owners and agents of seafarers' wages'.

in some cases seafarers are forced to make illegal payments to secure employment and many are often afraid to complain or seek assistance from trade unions or welfare organisations for fear of blacklisting.

The ITF argues that while some of the cases cited may be attributed to 'exceptional rogue elements within the industry', there are more insidious 'routine exploitations that indicate severe failings in the international regulatory process'.

The report's publication was timed to coincide with last month's start of the LTN's open ended informal consultative process on the Law of the Sea (Uniepolos). The ITF is urging the UN to ensure that human and labour rights issues are included in the agenda for future discussions.

The report recommends that the UN acts to ensure that flag states meet their international obligations under the UN Law of the Sea convention.

it also calls for closer scrutiny of the UN's requirement for a genuine link 'between the beneficial owners of ships and the flag they use, as well as demanding measures to protect abandoned seafarers, to prevent further criminalisation of the seafaring profession, and to combat blacklisting in shipping and fishing.

 

Seafarers urged to be nice to Port State Inspectors

Shipmasters and officers are being urged to be polite to port state control officials. The advice comes from a P&I club that has issued special guidance on dealing with inspections.

Rather than criticising the checks, the North of England Club, says owners should accept port state control as a fact of life and take pragmatic steps to manage the process.

The club has sent a checklist to the owners, operators and masters of all its 2,850 entered ships, containing advice on the measures that can be taken to avoid potentially costly detentions.

The guide looks at the reasons why ships are targeted for inspections, and sets out ways in which masters can prepare for the cheeks and take control of the process.

'Once it is clear an inspection is likely, ships' officers and crews need to be prepared to meet and greet port state control officers, helping to ensure that first impressions are favourable" said loss prevention executive Andrew

Kirkham. The condition and general presentation of all aspects of the ship, its equipment and crew should be considered and, where possible, improved before arrival in port.'

Rather than allowing inspectors immediately to tour the ship and discover potential problems for themselves, Mr Kirkham says masters should provide them with comprehensive information on where access is restricted for security or safety reasons, where maintenance work is taking place, what

deficiencies currently exist and what is being done to correct them, and recently reported accidents or near misses.

'In addition to being polite and cooperative, ships' officers also need to be assertive' he added. 'They need to know their facts and their rights, and learn about the port state control process by reading marine notices and guide books.'

Over the past few years, the top five port state_control regions have carried out more than 60,000 inspections a year and detained around 3,500 ships annually _ and the club says these numbers are likely to grow as new IMO conventions come into force.

'Port state_control inspections are a fact of life and are here to stay,' said head of risk management Tony Baker. 'Rather than criticize the process, it makes far better operational sense to take pragmatic steps to manage it. The better the control of the process, the better the control of the outcome.'

 

Classification society probe clears twistlocks of blame for box losses

Classification society Germanischer Lloyd has cleared twistlocks of blame for a series ofeontainer losses earlier this year.

Following research into the circumstances surrounding the losses of as many as 500 boxes from ships in the Bay of Biscay in Febrtiary, GL concluded there was no need to remove approval for semi_automatic twistlocks and fully automatic locks (FATs).

Thousands of FATs are being replaced by the cargo equipment manufacturer MacGregor as a precautionary measure in response to the losses. But investigations by the classification society have determined that other factors, such as loose and overstretched container securing equipment, broken and broken off floor twistlocks, and enlarged ISO hole areas in the corner fittings, are crucial.

GL said such factors 'carry as much weight as any possible inadequacies in construction of the containers, the degree of wear on the container corner fittings for older steel boxes, as well as correct execution of the lashing procedure as prescribed in the Cargo Securing Manual'.

The classification society has tried to reconstruct events that led to the losses in the hope of producing recommendations for improvements in equipment and operations.

It has carried out extensive testing of FAT functions and durabilitya nd said of all those tested had passed the load threshold value and the simultaneous material load.

The investigating team is conducting further checks on the weight of the individual containers, their respective cargo, and their position in container stacks against the approved storage plan.

Lloyd Lutz Muller, head of GL's ship technology department, said it was clear that cargo losses can occur on containerships of any size, from the smallest to the very largest.

The investigations are now focussed on the stern design of the affected containerships. 'Those that lost containers in the Bay of Biscay had a flat stern shape, optimised for freight, so that when stern slamming occurred, it triggered vertical acceleration,' GL explained.

A series of theoretical and experimental tests are now being carried out including long term measurements on board an 8,400 TEU vessel to examine the forces at work during stern slamming.

 

Pilot ladder safety call

A FRESH warning about pilot ladder safety has been issued by marine insurers in response to an accident in the port of Dublin.

A pilot was lucky to avoid serious injury after the side ropes of a ladder gave way while he was boarding a ship in the port.

Investigations found that both the port and starboard pilot ladders were permanently rigged and open to damage from the elements, in breach of SOLAS rules.

The London P&I Club said the failure was found to have been caused by a significant loss of strength in the ropes as a result of extemal abrasion and flex fatigue.

Waming owners of the need to ensure that pilot ladders are inspected regularly and stowed when not in use, the Club also pointed out that the failed ladder appeared to have been in service 'for a considerable period of time.

(With thanks to the NUMAST Telegraph)

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Contributions


Browsing the nautical press this last month I noted that there are even more jobs  dvertised than before.  Things must be looking up but before you decide to look for pastures greener, bear in mind that a good CV will clinch it for you.

CV HINTS & TIPS

Your CV is your personal advertisement. Together with a covering letter, it gives you an opportunity to sell yourself to and impress a potential employer and/or its recruitment consultant.

"Most employers take no longer than 15 seconds to read your entire resume"

- Cool Careers for Dummies (IDG Books, 1998)

When drafting your CV, always keep in mind the fact that the employer may have another 50 in the in-tray.  A great many CVs are not even read because they are too long, too boring and badly laid out. You need to make your CV stand out from that pile. Do this by making it easy to read

and easy to find out what you are.

The 5 Golden Rules for your CV:

1. Start with a SUMMARY
2. Keep it SHORT
3. Keep if FACTUAL
4. Keep it LOGICAL and include clear headings for the following sections:-

* Employment History
* Education History or Qualifications
* Languages ? state whether basic, proficient or fluent
* Computer literacy
* Professional memberships and offices held
* References

5. Make NO spelling mistakes or grammatical errors

Starting with a Summary

Always include a short factual summary at the beginning. This allows the reader to establish what you are and what you have done within the first  10 seconds of reading your CV. Do not be tempted to mention subjective points such as "good team player" or "enthusiastic" which are often seen as 'cliches'.

Two examples:-

A 42 year old British solicitor and Master Mariner with command experience. Presently employed by a leading City law firm as an assistant solicitor handling mainly admiralty work and some charterparty cases, the candidate was previously at sea for 19 years gaining experience of VLCCs, product tankers, ro-ros, reefers and chemical tankers (command). Speaks fluent German.

A 23 year old Malaysian graduate (2:1) in Maritime Business and Law, with 18 months experience in dry bulk operations following graduation and periods of vacation experience totalling 4 months with a tanker broker. Based UK, she holds a UK certificate of right of abode and speaks fluent Malay and Mandarin.

Keeping it short

Your CV should be no more than 3 pages in length. You may be desperate to include every nuance of detail, but this will detract attention from important information.

* Following the factual summary, list your personal details

e.g. John Smith, British, DOB 23rd July 1959, Married

* Include your address, telephone number and contact details. If your e-mail can be read by colleagues at work, then do not include it. If you are a student, state your permanent address.

* Your employment history should be in reverse chronological order, i.e.
the most recent job first. Use a clear bold heading, e.g.

1989-1993

P&I Claims Executive, XYZ P&I Association, London

* Don?t forget that when applying for a job in shipping, an employer will know what various standard shipping jobs entail. Therefore, do not explain in detail what a second officer or second engineer does. State the title of the position you held, relevant information such as vessel types involved, categories of work carried out, responsibilities, achievements (quantify if possible such as into financial terms, improvements in safety figures or sales figures) and any additional experience or projects that are not usual for the job.

* If you are or were a seafarer, list both the level of certificate you hold and the job title you have held. It is confusing if you just state that you hold a Class 1 Deck Certificate of Competency as people cannot tell what rank you have achieved.

* If you hold a non-UK qualification, you should state the equivalent UK qualification / level of qualification, if you know it. You should also explain if you have taken any transfer qualifications ? for example, it is surprising how many foreign lawyers working in the UK do not make it clear if they have taken the foreign lawyers? transfer test and qualified in England.

* Do not give detailed descriptions of jobs held 20-30 years ago.

* Do not repeat yourself if several jobs held have included similar responsibilities.

* Your education history should also be in reverse chronological order.

The younger you are or the more recently you attained your qualifications, the more important it is to list the grades you achieved.

Keeping it factual

Don't state that you are hard-working, enthusiastic, a team-player, ambitious, etc. ?Let the facts, achievements (and references) speak for themselves. By all means refer briefly to statements made in employment appraisals. An example:-

Jan 1983 ? June 1994

Senior Operations Manager, J.S.Smith Shipping Ltd.

A gradual progression through the organisation from operations assistant to operations manager (since 1991), handling a full range of operations  duties, including claims (insurance and demurrage / charterparty problems), instructions to vessels, bunkering, scheduling, appointment of agents and management of a team of 7 people, with responsibility for recruitment.?The department is responsible for a fleet of 6 chemical tankers and 9 bulk carriers (20-45,000 dwt).

(ED:  We would be pleased to hear any other suggestions are readers may have.)


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Midships

Cadet uniforms

After our item on Cadet uniforms last month, we received one anonymous comment "Don't give them any uniform, just lots of boilersuits, then things will be just as they should be!"

Name and Shame - Pilots

Many of us have experienced downright neglect of duty on the part of pilots who are able to disclaim any liability with respect to accidents  to which they often contribute.  The argument goes that the Master is responsible for the vessel and that they are there only to advise. However, this argument wears thin when the pilotage service is compulsory.  What d o the port authorities do when one of the harbour pilots in their area is involved in such incidents?  We do not often hear of inquiries or the results of same.

Some years ago I was sailing on smaller cargo vessels around the European coast.  The Masters on these ships went in and out of some ports on a regular basis.  One Master I sailed with refused to take certain pilots on his vessel as he believed them to be dangerous.  There were only a few that he trusted with his vessel.

As there do not appear to be any other sanctions against negligent pilots isn't it about time we took some form of action?  How about a  'Name and Shame' scheme?  The names of offending pilots could be publicised so that the regular offenders are not used.  The pilot's employers may see the light when they have a man in their staff who is unemployable and cannot earn income for them.  I believe some employers call this 'natural wastage'.

Name and Shame - Bunker companies & ports

Some four years ago we had the Singapore bunker scandal when a number of bunker suppliers, and worse, a large  number of surveyors were found to be fiddling the books on the supply of bunkers.  The Singapore authorities took the necessary action to prosecute the worst offenders and ensure that none of them would operate again in their city.

More recently, we have heard of other ports where the bunker suppliers are behaving in less than appropriate ways, particularly Longbeach, California, USA.  The US authorities are very quick to complain about other country's behaviour.  Isn't it about time they kept their own house in order?  As this is unlikely, we believe that, as with poorly performing pilots, bunker suppliers and those who collude with them, should be named and shamed.  Question is, where do we do it?

Mike Wall

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Scuttlebut

ISPS (affectionately referred to by many as the ISSPISS Code!)

Conflicts continue to develop with respect to the implementation of the ISPS Code.  Each month, we will be listing some of the ways that the code interferes with normal ship operations which in some cases could be considered as hazardous together with transgressions of interest .....

If you have any glaring contradictions, please let us know.

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Insurance News

None this month.

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Wig & Gown

Tipping the balance

A DECISION of the Australian federal court in December last year may further tip the balance in favour of cargo interests on cargo claims litigated in Australia, according to Ebsworth & Ebsworth partner Joe Hurley.

The court found two carriers liable for corrosion damage to two cargoes of coiled steel sheet caused by condensation in the holds on voyages from Japan to Australia. It said there was a high probability that, as the vessels had travelled from the Japanese winter across the equator to Australia, conditions for condensation would be created in the holds during the course of the voyages if free water was not eliminated or if moist air was introduced into the holds.

While there was evidence that the shipper had knowledge that the vessels did not contain dehumidifying systems, the court determined that the vessels were nonetheless unseaworthy by reason of the shipowner's failure to install these systems within the holds for the voyages in question.

Writing in the latest issue of The Charterer, the newsletter of the Charterers P&I Club, Joe Hurley says, "This decision, if affirmed on appeal, further tips the balance in favour of cargo interests in cargo claims litigated in Australia.

"Prior to this decision, the question of whether the carrier had met its obligations under Hague-Visby was assessed by reference to the vessel's current structure ? This decision places a positive obligation on carriers to actively modify their vessels, even when these modifications or capabilities were not requested by the cargo interests. This obligation raises difficulties for many carriers since they may operate in areas where it is difficult to source the necessary equipment such as dehumidifying systems and the personnel who are trained to use them.

"Further, it also appears that carriers may need to obtain more specifics of cargo to be carried, as well as the mode and type of packaging ? It follows that the clausing of bills and mates' receipts must be sufficiently strong to at least raise the bar for any would-be
claimant."

 www.else.co.uk

(With thanks to Maritime Advocate On Line:
editor@afterofficehours.com)

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Education and Training

Why not attend a training course or a conference?  They could be beneficial!

******

World's best simulator for Queensland

QUEENSLAND 26 July ? Australia will soon be home to one of the world's most sophisticated vessel bridge simulators, according to senior industry sources. The ship simulation facility is planned for  Australia's Gold Coast in southern Queensland, and is expected to beready next year. There has been no official announcement, but it is understood that funding will partly come from government and will include contributions from pilotage companies. The Australian Maritime College in Launceston already operates Australia's only commercially available full size ship bridge simulator. This A$15M facility has been in place since 1985 and is used to train students and pilots as well as for research and development. It has also been involved in simulations for port development projects worth more than A$3Bn. AMC interim president Prof Peter Boyce said the federal government had recently invested A$3.7M to create Australia's first tug simulator at the college. However, many Australian pilots and marine industry participants have used the Star Cruises Ship Simulator at Port Klang near Kuala Lumpur. This has been used particularly for cruise vessel-related simulations. Of the 72 clients listed by SCSS on its website, 17 are in Australia. It is understood that the partners involved in setting up the Gold Coast facility want it to feature the  most advanced ship simulation technology in the world, with the aim of seeing the centre attract clients from the Asia-Pacific region and further afield.

(With thanks to Fairplay Daily News, news@fairplay.co.uk)

******

Ship superintendent's training course set up in the Isle of Man

A SPECIAL intensive training course for officers wanting to become ship superintendents has been launched in the Isle of Man.

Designed to meet growing worldwide demand for superintendents, the nine day training course has been developed as a collaborative venture between the Isle of Man International Business School, the island's marine administration, Dohle IoM Ltd and Dorchester Maritime.

With accreditation from the Nautical Institute and the Institute for Marine Engineering, Science and Technology, the course is aimed at  shipmasters and chief engineers looking to move to shore_based positions and covers a wide range of technical and soft skills _ including subjects such as managing safety, moving from ship to shore, different roles and responsibilities, changes in reporting lines, compliance issues, regulatory requirements, cost control, budgeting and asset
management.

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Epistles

My comment to the person who replied saying that Company employees do not get paid less for travelling would be to observe that, as an insurance company employee for several years now travelling around the Region etc. Whilst I do not get paid any less for travelling, neither do I get any more.  Most companies do not pay overtime or any time for travelling whether it is within office hours, outside office hours or over the weekend etc.

In response to a couple of comments around the scope of survey services and fee charging, I would encourage all surveyors, where possible, to  fully clarify with their principal, prior to setting out, the scope of their instruction and the basis of fee charging etc.  If the principal does not like the basis of charging, they can either negotiate before hand or opt for another company whose fee / service package may be more in line with their requirements.  It saves a lot of problems later on when the principal and the surveyors expectations may have been different at the time of instruction.

For larger jobs, I would also suggest providing an estimate of what the fee might be.  Whilst emphasising that it is an estimate, it at least  gives the principal some warning of the likely costs involved.  This enables them to judge whether the survey is really required and to set an appropriate reserve.    Having given an estimate, if the fees start to get close to the estimate and therefore the estimate is looking "light", advise the principal early.  Insurers, in particular, having internal difficulty when they have reserved US$ 10,000 for a survey fee (maybe without thinking about it too hard) and a US$ 100,000 fee comes
in.

As with many things, adequate, pro-active communication is the key.

Best regards

Willum Richards

******

Dear Mike,

Whilst I have no argument with anything your contributors have said in regard to fees, etc, the subject has brought to mind the time when we were starting off our surveying practice in the South Pacific in the early 70's. We really only had the Lloyds Agency fee rates to refer to and they were modest to say the least!.

We were given some advice from a naval architect/surveyor from Aussie who was visiting:-  the way to initially calculate fees should be to add up all your overheads and on-costs, salaries, etc, plus a 'profit margin' and divide by the number of 'chargeable hours' you want to work.

 

I wonder how many of our colleagues have done this simple calculation and how it compares with the hourly rate which is being charged.

Best regards (in retirement)

R.L. Wright, CEng
Surveyor

******

Mike,

Please add me to the Flashlight email list. I found you comments in the NAMS newsletter interesting. At present I charge a daily rate for travel. I just recently finished my shipping career, and when joining a vessel we would receive our daily rate for travel. If a shipping company is going to pay the crew for travel time, they can pay the surveyor.

Best regards,
Andrew Kinsey
Kinsey Marine LLC
P.O. Box 1219, Cutchogue, NY 11935

People

A R Brink & Associates are proud to announce their appointment as an alternative Correspondent for the UK P&I Club in South Africa.

******

Nick von Dincklage has moved to Expertise- en Ingenieursbureau, Coolegem, De Neef & Zeldenrust, Consulting Engineers & Marine Surveyors, Vlaardingen, Netherlands.  He can be contacted at surveyors@coolegempartners.nl

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Books and Videos


None this month.

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Conference Reports

(ED: If you intend to attend a conference which you believe would be of interest to our readers, we would be grateful to receive a short synopsis.)

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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.

For those of you who might also be interested, UK M Notices are available at:  www.mcagency.org.uk

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Future Events

If you have a marine related conference coming up, let us know so that we can mention it below:

SCMS holds a series of Buffet Lectures each year. The lectures cover a wide range of subjects that are of interest to Members and their guests.  They are held in London usually starting at 18:00 hrs. The winter programme will be published on the SCMS website http://www.scmshq.org  Those interested should send an email to sec@scmshq.org to be included on the announcement list.  CPD certificates are available for those attending.

17 August 2006.  Australian Institute of Marine Surveyors Biennial Conference - 'Reefer Cargoes - Consignor to Consignee'.  Carlton Crest Hotel, 169-179 Thomas Street, Sydney, Australia.
Contact: secretary@aimsurveyors.com.au

24, 25 and 26 September 2006. NAMS Annual Conference, Radisson Hotel Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco. For additional information go to nams-cms.org.

20-23 Sept 2006.  The Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors, Inc? 2006 Annual Conference & Educational Training Symposia, The Holiday Inn by the Bay Hotel & Convention Center, 88 Spring Street, Portland, Maine, 04101-3924. Reservations: +1-800-345-5050

12 & 13 October 2006.  The 2006 Asian Marine Insurance and Surveying
Forum - 'Marine Surveyors - Guardians of Quality Shipping'.  J W Marriott Hotel, Mumbai, India.
Info:  marine@asiaconference.biz

10 & 11 November 2006.  'Collision - Controlling the chaos'.  The Hilton Hotel Newcastle, Gateshead.  Email:  niseminar@nepia.com

4-6 December 2006, Seatrade Middle East Maritime, Dubai World Trade Centre, UAE.
Info:  www.seatrade-middleeast.com

6-8 February 2007.  Asian Shipping & Work Boat 2007.  Hall 401, Suntec Singapore.
Info at:  marinefo@baird.com.au or www.baird.com.au

24-26 April 2007, Cruise & Ferry 2007, ExCeL London, London, UK
Info:  www.cruiseferryex.com

 ******

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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Web Sites

NO NEW WEB SITES THIS MONTH

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:
http://www.maib.gov.uk/publications/investigation_reports/
The UK MAIB web page giving the reports on accident investigations - A must read page for all surveeyors!

http://www.shiptalk.com/shiptalk_rss_feed.asp
RSS Feeds for the Shiptalk newsletter.

www.nationlalcorrosionservice.org
National Physics Laboratory – National Corrosion Service

AIS information:
www.AISlive.com  (does not include SE Asian waters)

Canadian Coastguard:
http://www.cgc.gc.ca

International Bunker Industry Association
www.ibia.net
Good information and a good newsletter.

Admiralty and Maritime Law Guide
www.admiraltylawguide.com
Focus on US law, but still interesting

International Bunker Industry Association
www.ibia.net
Good information and a good newsletter.

Admiralty and Maritime Law Guide
www.admiraltylawguide.com
Focus on US law, but still interesting

Houston Marine Insurance Seminars
www.houstonmarineseminar.com
Lots of papers and presentations to download

IMO Country/Port/Terminal info and contact numbers:
http://www.tdconcepts.com/

Tactical Defense Concepts (TDC) - a good section on security alerts and analysis:
Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC)
http://www.ds-osac.org/
(OSAC was established in 1985 by the US Department of State to foster the exchange of security related i nformation between the US Government and the Amercian private sector operating abroad.  Administered by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, OSAC has developed into an enormously successful joint venture for effective security cooperation.  Through OSAC, the American private sector, including colleges and universities, is provided timely information on which to make informed corporate decisions on how best to protect their investment, facilities,personnel and intellectual property abroad.)

Those of you who use Equasis may also be interested to hear of three other web pages with similar information:

www.parismou.org/
www.tokyo-mou.org/
www.uscg.com

www.shiptalk.com/
-  Designed by seafarers for seafarers. Deck, engine, catering, hotel or concession, seafarers past and present, all are welcome. Seafaring is a global profession and we extend the hand of friendship to seafarers of all nationalities.

www.shippingfacts.com
-  Provides basic information about the structure of the shipping industry, its contribution to the world economy and its safety/environmental performance.  The site also contains links with more detailed sourcdes of information about the industry.

www.imarest.org
-  Website of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology.

www.nepia.com
- A fully searchable,  and provides full details of the club and its ships. It also features a new service from  the club's risk management department, called , which summarises shipping industry developments and offers links to primary sources, including the Maritime Advocate. Newsnet is updated weekly, or sometimes more frequently.

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.

http://www.femas.org
- The Federation of European Maritime Associations of Surveyors and Consultants

www.iims.org.uk/
- International Institute of Marine Surveyors

http://www.lloydsagency.com
- General access to the directory of the world network of Lloyd's Agents.

www.mariners-l.freeserve.co.uk
- Merchant Navy records on UK MN vessels and information merchant seamen, logs, agreements and crew lists, MN apprentices and deaths at sea

www.marinesupportonline.com
- Marine Support On Line

www.marinesurvey.org/
- Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors

www.nams-cms.org/
- National Association of Marine Surveyors

www.sas-intl.com
- Safety at Sea International

www.scmshq.org/
- Society of Consulting Marine Engineers and Ship Surveyors

www.sname.org/
- Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.

WHY NOT ADVERTISE HERE.  THIS IS THE FIRST PLACE OUR READERS GO TO!

[Top]

From the Poop Deck

A man boarded an aircraft at Heathrow and took his seat. As he settled In, he noticed a very beautiful woman boarding the plane.

He realised she was heading straight towards his seat and bingo! She Took the seat right beside him. Eager to strike up a conversation, he Blurted out, "Business trip or Holiday?"

She turned, smiled enchantingly and said "Business. I'm going to the Annual nymphomaniac convention in the United States".

He swallowed hard... Here was the most gorgeous woman he had ever Seen sitting next to him, and she was going to a meeting for nymphomaniacs!

Struggling to maintain his composure, he calmly asked, "What's your Business role at this convention?"

"Lecturer," she responded. "I use my experience to debunk some of the Popular myths about sexuality."

"Really", he smiled, "what myths are those?"

"Well," she explained, "one popular myth is that African American men Are the most well endowed when, in fact, it's the Native American Indian who is most likely to possess that trait. Another popular myth Is that French men are the best lovers, when actually it is the men of Greek descent. We have also found that the best potential lovers in all Categories are the Irish.

Suddenly the woman became uncomfortable and quiet.....

"I'm sorry," she said, "I really shouldn't be discussing this with You, I don't even know your name."

"Tonto," the man said... "Tonto Papadopoulos, but my friends call me Paddy."

******

All about Ass .....

The local pastor entered his donkey in a race and it won.

The local paper read:            PASTOR'S ASS OUT FRONT

The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the pastor not to enter the donkey in another race.

The next day, the local paper headline read:
BISHOP SCRATCHES PASTOR'S ASS.

This was too much for the bishop, so he ordered the pastor to get rid of the donkey. The pastor decided to give it to a nun in a nearby convent.

The local paper, hearing of the news, posted the following headline the next day:
NUN HAS BEST ASS IN TOWN.

The bishop fainted. He informed the nun that she would have to get rid of the donkey, so she sold it to a farmer for $10.* The next day the paper read:
NUN SELLS ASS FOR $10

This was too much for the bishop, so he ordered the nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to the plains where it could run wild.

The next day the headlines read:
NUN ANNOUNCES HER ASS IS WILD AND FREE

The bishop was buried the next day.

The moral of the story is....

being concerned about public opinion can bring you much grief and misery...and even shorten your life. So be yourself and enjoy life...
Stop worrying about what everyone else thinks and you'll be a lot happier and live longer! Have a nice day!*

******

A middle aged man bought a brand new convertible Porsche. He took off down the road, pushed it up to 160 and was enjoying the wind blowing through his (thinning) hair. "This is great," he thought and accelerated to an even higher speed. But when he eventually looked in his rear-view mirror there was a police car behind him, blue lights flashing. "I can get away from him with no problem" thought the man and he floored it some more, flying down the road at over 200 mph to escape. Then he thought, "What the hell am I doing? I'm too old for this kind of thing" and pulled over to the side of the road, and waited for the Police car to catch up with him.

The policeman pulled in behind the Porsche and walked up on the driver's side. "Sir, my shift ends in five minutes and today is Friday the 13th. "If you can give me a good reason that I've never heard before as to why you were speeding, I'll let you go."

The man looked back at the Policeman and said, "Last week my wife ran off with a Policeman and I thought you were bringing her back."

The Policeman said, "Have a nice day."

******

There is a factory in Northern Minnesota which makes the Tickle Me Elmo toys.

The toy laughs when you tickle it under the arms.

Well, Lena is hired at The Tickle Me Elmo factory and she reports for her  first day promptly at 8:00 AM.

The next day at 8:45 AM there is a knock at the Personnel Manager's door.

The Foreman throws open the door and begins to rant about the new employee.

He complains that she is incredibly slow and the whole line is backing up, putting the entire production line behind schedule.

The Personnel Manager decides he should see this for himself, so the two men march down to the factory floor.

When they get there the line is so backed up that there are Tickle Me Elmo's all over the factory floor and they're really beginning to pile up.

At the end of the line stands Lena surrounded by mountains of Tickle Me Elmo's.

She has a roll of plush red fabric and a huge bag of small marbles.

The 2 men watch in amazement as she cuts a little piece of fabric, wraps it around two marbles and begins to carefully sew the little package between Elmo's legs.

The Personnel Manager bursts into laughter.

After several minutes of hysterics he pulls himself together and approaches Lena.

"I'm sorry," he says to her, barely able to keep a straight face, "but I think you misunderstood the instructions I gave you yesterday..."

"Your job is to give Elmo two test tickles.

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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@pacific.net.hk

 
     
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