The captain and crew of Crowley's Prevention and Response tug (PRT) Alert were personally recognized by Representative Eric Feige from the Alaska State Legislature for courage, teamwork and professionalism during the emergency rescue tow of the drill barge Kulluk off the southern point of Kodiak Island.

During their meeting, he presented them with a letter of commendation from the members of the 28th Alaska State Legislature, which stated the following: "The crew safely and methodically adapted to changing conditions, used their training to identify and manage hazards, and then performed each task to minimize the risks associated with those hazards...We express our admiration and respect to each man individually, and to the crew for its superb teamwork, conducting themselves at all times as professional mariners in an extreme and challenging incident."

Typically used for tanker escorts to and from the Alyeska Valdez Marine Terminal, the 10,192-horsepower Alert departed Valdez in response to the Unified Command's request for assistance and arrived on scene to find Kulluk adrift at 4.5 knots in rough weather and sea conditions. The crew of Alert was able to catch a training line from Kulluk, despite having their deck awash by 30-foot seas, and proceeded to tie off and commence tow.  The crew slowed and re-oriented the Kulluk's drift so that the original towing tugboat could secure a connection to the drilling rig. However, with increasing heavy weather the original towing tug connection parted after approximately 10 hours.

Once attached, Alert remained tethered by emergency tow line to the Kulluk and continuously maintained tow. With 54-foot seas and 40 to 50 knot winds, the Alert was being pushed backwards up to two knots toward the Kodiak Island shore. A day later, the Unified Command directed the Alert to release the tow wire. Only after confirmation of the order, did the crew of the Alert reluctantly release their tow wire.

As stated in the commendation referencing the U.S. Coast Guard's investigation of the incident: "The tug Alert and all of Crowley Maritime Services [Crowley] equipment used in the evolution of the rescue attempt and towing of the Kulluk performed flawlessly, met and exceeded standards."

Source: Crowley

The purpose of this Marine Notice is to draw the attention of ship owners, ship operators and masters of Australian vessels, in particular those certified by Australian state and territory authorities to operate up to 600 nm from the Australian baseline, to jurisdictional changes arising out of the commencement of the Navigation Act 2012 on 01 July 2013.

Under section 15 of the Navigation Act 2012 any Australian commercial vessel that operates on overseas voyages is a Regulated Australian Vessel (RAV). Overseas voyages are defined by section 16 of the Navigation Act 2012 as essentially being any voyage beyond the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

AMSA is aware that some vessels have certificates issued by Australian state and territory marine authorities allowing them to operate beyond the EEZ to a maximum of 600 nm from the Australian baseline.  If no action is taken with regard to the certification of these vessels before 1 July 2013 they will automatically be subject to the Navigation Act 2012 instead of the Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law Act 2012.

During the consultation process undertaken as part of the development and implementation of the Navigation Act 2012and the Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law Act 2012 it was agreed, in principle, that operating limits for existing Australian vessels with state or territory certification could be preserved.

Therefore, AMSA has developed a process through which vessels that have certificates permitting domestic operations beyond the EEZ (essentially in excess of Class 2B and 3B) may be declared out of the RAV provisions of the Navigation Act 2012, using section 19 of that Act. Those vessels will then become domestic commercial vessels subject to the Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law Act 2012.

It is important to note that the process described in this marine notice only covers the policy that is applicable to vessels holding valid Australian state or territory certification permitting domestic commercial operations beyond the EEZ where this was issued prior to 01 July 2013. That is certification for operational area category "A" (Unlimited domestic operations), as detailed in 3.4 of Part B of the National Standards for Commercial Vessels (NSCV).

In order for a vessel to be considered for declaration under section 19 of the Navigation Act 2012, the owner/operator must apply in writing to AMSA and provide a copy of the relevant current valid certification issued by the relevant state or territory authority.

If the vessel for which a declaration is being sought has been issued safety certificates under the Navigation Act 2012for unrestricted operations, these will be revoked and are to be surrendered to the Manager Ship Inspection and Registration prior to the issue of the declaration. The vessel can still rely on its category A certification for domestic operations during this period.

Source: AMSA

Conditions under which Declarations are issued to existing vessels

AMSA intends to revoke a declaration if:

AMSA intends to impose the following conditions on declarations:

AMSA notes that these conditions do not limit the authority of the master of a vessel to render assistance in accordance with regulation 33 of Chapter V of SOLAS.

For additional information please click at AMSA Marine Notice No.9/2013

On becoming Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), one could immediately sense that Koji Sekimizu was determined to put his own stamp on the law-making body in a way that would mark a departure from his predecessor's tenure. One of the results of that new approach bore fruit in London last week when Sekimizu hosted a Symposium on the Future of Ship Safety as a prelude to the 92nd Maritime Safety Committee. The master plan was to discover whether or not there was sufficient support to write a new version of the SOLAS convention, thereby addressing safety concerns post-Costa Concordia and moving the IMO's agenda on from the seemingly intractable CO2 debate.

Of course the safety/environmental nexus could not be avoided entirely. The fact that technology has appeared to lead regulation in recent years, resulting in the unworkable Ballast Water Management Convention and the impractical and expensive air emissions rules to mention two, inevitably seeped into the debate. How could the same mistakes be avoided when the topic was safety? Sekimizu opened proceedings with the suggestion that to have the kind of ships it wants by 2050, the industry must act now. Safety culture must be encouraged beyond mere compliance, he added.

This would inevitably mean the use of new technology, but it would also require much better gathering of structured data, which could be used to help formulate regulations that replaced a prescriptive regime with a risk-based approach. The first contributor, RCCL's Harri Kulovarra, provided plenty of evidence that cruise operators were doing precisely that, building to probabilistic, risk-based standards based on advanced simulation and modelling. Even so, he said there was a "strong opportunity" for better safety and environmental performance if companies adopted an innovative mind-set towards vessel lifecycle and compliance. And Kulovarra set the tone for the entire event by drawing attention to the role of the human element, arguing for better standardisation of training and the use of advanced techniques such as psychometric and psychological analysis. The industry is good at designing systems and equipment, he said, but it often fails in transferring it to end users. The theme of technology fit for purpose was taken up by Maersk Technology's Bo Cerup-Simonsen who pointed out that though it represented a great opportunity in safety, the industry too rarely asked whether it was safe or practical.

There seemed to be a consensus emerging; that the new SOLAS would have to use technology in an increasingly straightforward way and put the human factor in the centre of the equation, based on much better data gathering. These are points that classification societies among others, have been promoting strongly in recent years. The welter of environmental regulation has served to prove how the tendency to make equipment and systems more complex has resulted in the human factor being overlooked in rule formulation and in practice. That might not matter if the equipment performs as specified but when it does not, it is not always (or only) the equipment that gets the blame. Part of the problem - and perhaps what Sekimizu hopes to solve with SOLAS II - is that some of the data needed to make better decisions is considered proprietary and thus not for sharing. Data that can be assembled is collected on the basis of anonymity and can still make a useful contribution, but much greater transparency will be needed if the industry is to add the human element to the safety jigsaw.

To view the full article please click here.

Source: Neville Smith , BIMCO

The West of England P&I Club 's correspondents, Dias Marine Consulting, Odessa have advised of new port access procedures at Yuzhny, Ukraine which may make it difficult for P&I surveyors to attend vessels at short notice.

Previously P&I surveyors were issued with yearly passes in order to enter port premises. This arrangement has recently been stopped and P&I surveyors must now apply for permission to enter the port for each attendance.

Under the new system, P&I surveyors must submit an application to the Port Administration seeking permission to enter the port. However, it may take between one and two days for the application to be approved and a port pass to be issued. Consequently significant delays may arise, particularly in the case of submissions made just before the weekend or prior to public holidays. There appears to be no provision to speed up the process if a P&I surveyor is required urgently.

Moreover, if a P&I surveyor is instructed to carry out a cargo survey, inspect the cargo, collect cargo samples and/or perform a draft survey, the Port Administration will no longer allow the surveyor to enter the port unless the shippers or cargo forwarders agree.

Although the Club's local correspondents have met with officials from the Port Administration and are endeavouring to resolve the situation, Members with vessels proceeding to Yuzhny that may need a P&I surveyor are advised to give ample notice so that permission to access the port can be obtained prior to the vessel's arrival. In the event of an incident requiring the urgent attendance of a P&I surveyor, the Managers should be notified immediately.

Source: The West of England P&I Club

Effective from the 1st of August 2013, the U. S. Coast Guard will terminate its radio guard of the international voice distress, safety and calling frequency 2182 kHz and the international digital selective calling (DSC) distress and safety frequency 2187.5 kHz.

Additionally, marine information and weather broadcasts transmitted on 2670 kHz will terminate concurrently.

The Coast Guard will continue to maintain a continuous watch on VHF FM channel 16 (156.8 MHz) and on existing voice and DSC frequencies in the 4/6/8/12 MHz bands.

This safety alert is provided for informational purposes only and does not relieve any domestic or international safety, operational or material requirement.

Source: USCG

LR has created a summary table and also a document which contains other tables summarizing the SOLAS requirements for 'Servicing, Inspections & Testing of Life-Saving Appliances, Radio & Navigation Equipment' and 'On-board Training, Drills and Inspections of Fire Appliances & Life-Saving Appliances'.

Owners and operators of new and existing ships should ensure maintenance, servicing and testing of safety equipment and on-board training, drills and inspections are carried out in accordance with the requirements summarised in the tables. If the vessel's flag administration has issued related instructions, these are to be taken into account.

You may view the document here

Source: Lloyd's Register

Drydocks World, the well-established international maritime service provider, announced today that Floating Storage Re-gasification Unit (FSRU) Toscana sailed away from Drydocks World - Dubai.

The unit, formerly the 138,830-cbm LNG carrier Golar Frost, has been under conversion since June 2009 at Drydocks world Dubai yard for contractor Saipem and owner OLT.  The LNG Carrier, built by Hyundai Heavy Industries was converted into a floating LNG receiving terminal of the FSRU type, and will be permanently moored off Livorno, Italy and connected to shore through a gas export pipeline. There are only a few such units in operation around the world.

(FSRU Toscana sails away from Dubai yard , photo credit: Drydocks World)

The unit has a net storage capacity of 137,100 m3 and it is classed as a marine unit designed to remain at the site for 20 years. The FSRU has a steel mono-hull with four Moss-type LNG tanks, the Re-gasification Plant is located at the forward end and the accommodation with central control room and utility machinery is at the aft end. The 3.75-billion-cbm-per-day (cbm/d) capacity FSRU Toscana will be located 19.31 kilometres (12 miles) off Livorno coast.

The project consisted of constructing, installing and commissioning various components such as the Turret mooring system, side by side berthing mooring system for LNG carrier, LNG storage tanks and loading system, LNG transfer system to re-gasification plant, process plant for re-gasification, boil-off gas handling and gas send-out to Export System, metering systems, utilities including power generation and sea water systems, control, automation and communications systems, gas flexible risers and riser base and control umbilical from FSRU.

Source: Drydocks World

Drewry's latest Tanker Insight reports that freight rates in most vessel categories remained on the softer side during the month due to weakness in chartering activity in the major loading regions barring Arabian Gulf. The same was reflected in the Drewry Tanker Earnings Index that declined 31% during the month to 31.2.

Despite this, the overall spot chartering activity in the dirty tanker market manage to inch higher in May on the back of strong in activity in AG. About 87 million tonnes of crude oil was fixed for shipments during the month, against 76 million tonnes last month.

In contrast, The freight rates in the very large crude carriers (VLCC) market got some stimulus in May with an uptick in long haul fixing from the Arabian Gulf (AG) on both sides of the Suez. About 40.0 million tonnes of crude were fixed for shipment in VLCCs compared with 30 million tonnes in April.

The spot rates in the tanker sector, especially for large vessel categories, have been very unattractive and owners are finding it difficult to recover the operating cost of their vessels.  In such a scenario, a modest recovery in freight rates in May gave some solace to the owners.

Spot rates on benchmark TD3 (AG-Japan) route increased by 15% to World Scale (WS) 38 pushing the vessel earnings in the positive territory at $4,100pd. Similarly, spot rates on West Africa to China inched higher by WS3 points to WS37.   However, looking at the seasonal weakness in demand and ample tonnage supply, the current firmness in rates might prove short lived.

Source: Drewry

Lloyd's Register's 'BoxMax' service, and accompanying notations, enables operators to load more cargo more flexibly, taking into account voyage (V) and weather (W) specific conditions. The target is greater efficiency and reduced operational costs - in safety.

BoxMax (V,W) enables container ship operators to increase and optimise container stack weights in confidence. This approach, pioneered by Lloyd's Register (LR) last year, has now been further improved by voyage and weather dependent criteria being incorporated into the modelling.

The result is that the right stow and lashing requirements can be planned for any voyage at any time of year. Following on industry feedback since the announcement last year of new container securing arrangement rules, Lloyd's Register has now created the BoxMax notation

Providing container ship operators with guidance for different weather and voyages is a breakthrough, building on the same principles behind summer and winter load lines and freeboard requirements.

The BoxMax method uses ship specific factors, supplied by LR, which define the key ship motion parameters of heave acceleration, roll and pitch angles and whipping accelerations in specific sea areas and for the required season. All the other ship motion acceleration values are dependent on these four parameters.

Source: Lloyd's Register