40 Ship Certificates and Documents that are Checked in a Port State Control (PSC) Survey

A Port State Control (PSC) survey is a general practice that is followed by port authorities around the world to ensure that the foreign ships coming to their ports is in proper condition and complies by the standards put forth by international maritime authorities.

Remote Worker Tracking System (RWTS)

Transas Marine launches its brand-new Remote Worker Tracking System (RWTS), enabling clients to substantially increase OHS levels in construction works on offshore structures such as wind and wave generators or any other offshore platform, by offering an innovative and easy-to-use personnel tracking system.

Maritime Terms

Very often we hear different maritime/shipping terms being bandied about during the course of many conversations and communications.
You can read about many of the maritime terms and their meanings at http://ports.co.za/maritime-terms.php

Some of the terms maybe directly relevant to you and the work that you do, some may not be, but it never hurts to learn.. 

Common shipping and freight abbreviations

We deal with a lot of abbreviations on a daily basis, but not all of us know what it is and what it means.. Here are some of the practical and common day to day abbreviations used.. This is by no means complete, but so far it just covers the terms that we use on a daily basis in terms of containerised operations..

If you wish to contribute any more abbreviations please do so in the comments section and i will update in the page..

Top 10 Things to Keep In Mind When Shipping Overseas

There are a lot of additional custom regulations that should be followed and a huge amount of paperwork that needs to be sorted out. Moreover, you also need to consider the shipment costs and time it will take for the shipment to reach different destinations.

Disasters 2012

Date	Event	Vessel lost	People died
January 2	Boxship Main Trader suspect in hit&run accident	+
January 8	Taiwanese freighter Tycoon sank in Christmas Island harbor	+
January 11	Korean fishing vessel Jung Woo 2 destroyed by fire in Antarctic	?	3
January 13	Boxship FAS Provence sank in Mediterranean	+
January 13	Costa Concordia disaster	?	25 ?
January 15	An explosion tore apart South Korean tanker Doola No.3	+	10
January 15	Turkish tanker Edirne sank in Adriatic sea after an explosion	+	3
January 15	Irish fishing vessel Tit Bonhomme sank in Co Cork	+	5
January 15	Lady Moon sank approaching Sharjah port	+
January 16	Jack-up KS Endeavour on fire, offshore vessel Mako destroyed	+	2?
January 21 - 22	Freighters Sun Spirits and Seaford 2 sank in Philippines waters	+ +
January 25	Fishing vessel Hallgrimur sank in Norwegian sea	+	3
January 31	General cargo vessel Vera sank off Eregli, Black sea	+	7
February 1	Rabaul Queen disaster	+	126
February 2	The sinking of Bolivian general cargo vessel Katrine Krog	+
February 3	Ro-ro Astongate lost 52 cars in rough Japan sea
February 7	Russian freighter Tanya Karpinskaya sank after collision	+
February 8	Turkish coaster Hay K and Russian ferry Feruz beached by the storm in Samsun	?
February 10	Freighter Bien Nam 17 sank on Dong Nai river		1
February 16	Tanker Karakumneft in full load ran aground in Kurilsk, Kuril Islands	?
February 17	Superyacht Yogi sank in Aegean sea	+
February 18	Chinese freighter Xin Yuan Shun 6 sank in Taiwan Strait	+	10
February 26	Fishing trawler Esther sinks off the Canary Islands	+
February 27	Dredger Chabira sank in Klaipeda, Lithuania	+
February 28	Tra Ly 18 sank in Tonkin Bay	+
March 01	Dozens of vessels trapped in ice in frozen Azov sea	? ?
March 01	Indian bulk carrier Prabhu Daya is a prime suspect in a deadly hit and run accident	1	5
March 02	Chinese freighter Boyun 018 sank after collision	+	8
March 03	Cursed name. Another Jung Woo fishing vessel destroyed by fire.	?	2
March 05	Tanker Alfa 1 sank in Saronic Gulf under unclear circumstances	?	1
March 09	Freighter Serunting 1 sank in Sunda Strait, at least 15 missing	+	15?
March 09	Boxship Celina grounding
March 10	Tanker Gelso M grounding	+
March 10	Collision m/v Seagate vs. reefer Timor Stream
March 10	Fishing vessel Lady Cecelia sank near Willapa Bay, Washington	+	4
March 13	Ferry Shariatpur-1 tragedy		132 ?
March 13	Chinese freighter Yuan Tong sank after leaving Ship Repair Yard	+	8
March 13	Tanker Kenos Athena with 7000 tons of sulfur acid sank in South China Sea	+
March 15	Stolt Valor on fire and drifting after explosion, Persian Gulf	+	1
March 15	Fishing vessel Easy Rider sank in New Zealand	+	8
March 15	Boxship Bareli broke in two on a reef	+
March 17	Locals torched the vessels of the owner of sank ferry Rabaul Queen	?
March 19	The sinking of Ocean Glory	+	8
March 20	Cargo vessel Shivan sank in Arabian sea	+	22
March 23	Trawler Kasuga Maru sank in East China sea	+	2
April 03	German freighter Carrier ran aground in Irish sea	+
April 03	Freighter New Lucky VII sank in East China Sea	+	6
April 09	Vietnamese freighter Truong Hai Star sank after collision with Thai bulk carrier Krairatch Dignity	+
April 11	General cargo vessel Tikhon Syomushkin sank in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy Port	+
April 11	Trawler Onward destroyed by fire	+
April 16	Chinese boxship Yong Cai sank Japanese fishing vessel	+	2
April 21	Fishing vessel Hsin Man Chun destroyed by fire, Pacific	+
April 30	Brahmaputra ferry tragedy, India	+	200?
May 1	Tug Al Deebel hit by explosion of the SPM, Persian Gulf		7
May 6	Spanish fishing vessel Loamar Segundo sank in the Atlantic	+
May 12	Freighter Rio Turbio sank after collision with tug Ava Payagua, Parana		7
May 19	Turkish freighter Erol Senkaya sank in Ionian sea	+	4
May 26	Oceanic trawler Kapitan Bolsunovskiy sank in Bering sea	+
May 29	Coaster Jinghuai 188 sank near Shanghai	+	3
June 8	Freighter Miss Ellisa capsized and sank on Demerara river, Guyana		1
June 12	Passenger vessel Josille-II sank in Palawan, Philippines	+	5
June 18	Fishing vessel No.53 Chung Yong on fire	+
June 28	Bulgarina freighter Seawind sank in South Atlantic	+	?
July 1	Freighter B&E Uno sank off Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines	+
July 1	m/v Sea Angel sank off Karachi	+
July 8	Coaster Indra Jaya sank off Malacca Strait	+	4
July 9	Fishing vessel Actinia sank in North sea	+
July 11	Cargo vessel Changqing 16 sank in Yangtze River	?	9
July 13	Mutiny on Italian trawler Fatima II, skipper killed, vessel hijacked	?	1
July 14	Fire on board of container ship MSC Flaminia in the Atlantic	?	3
July 18	Ferry Skagit WSF sank in Tanzania	+	145 ?
July 19	A dredge Arthur J sank, and a tug Madison capsized, in lower Lake Huron	?
July 20	Dozens of prostitutes burned alive on board of offshore supply vessel, Nigeria	+	30 ?
July 26	Fire and explosion on chem tanker Bunga Alpinia, Borneo	+	5
July 29	Ferry Super Shuttle Roro 1 capsized engulfed in fire after grounding	+	1
August 1	South Korean tug Kosco 202 sinking in South China sea off Luzon, crew rescued	+
August 3	Cruise vessel Didim Mavisi destroyed by fire, 100 passengers safe	+
August 8	French cable layer vessel Chamarel on fire and grounded, Namibia	?
August 10	Trawler Audacious - BF 83 sank off Lossiemouth, North sea	+
August 12	Ukrainian freighter Yukka sank on Eregli Road after fire on board	+
August 16	Bulk carrier Ocean Breeze aground and battered by storm, Chile	+
August 23	Greek bulk carrier Thermopylae Sierra sank on the road of Colombo	?
August 26	Tug Phil Pasig capsized with crew trapped inside, Philippines	+	1
August 28	Two Chinese fishing vessels with 34 crew sunk by typhoon Bolaven in East China Sea	+ +	16
August 28	Bulk carrier Pacific Carrier broke in two in typhoon Bolaven	+
August 30	Dutch freighter Hammelwarden abandoned and adrift off Sahara, Atlantic	?	?
September 1	British trawler Chloe T sank in English Channel	+
September 6	Vietnamese freighter Hoang Thinh 8 sank in Gulf of Tonkin	+	5
September 9	Fire on container ship Amsterdam Bridge
September 9	Local fishing boat sunk by Taiwanese bulk carrier Tai Harvest, China	+	6
September 11	Trawler Sarah Jayne capsized off Berry Head, Brixham	+	1
September 14	Tug CMM Coatzacoalcos sank or capsized, Veracruz, Mexico	?	2
September 15	Taiwanese freighter New Lucky 3 crew evacuated, vessel drifting with heavy list, Taiwan	?	1
September 19	Chinese Dong He on fire, crew rescued by Japanese Coast Guard	?
September 23	Reefer Vest sank in Okhotsk sea	+	2?
September 24	Long liner Horiei Maru sank after collision with freighter Nikkei Tiger	+	13
September 25	Major fire on Greek freighter Everton, Mozambique Strait	?
September 26	Indonesian ferry Bahuga Jaya sank after collision with LPG tanker Norgas Cathinka	+	8+
September 29	Unidentified tanker, allegedly m/t Shun Cheng, on fire in Gulf of Tonkin	?	1
October 1	Passenger vessel Lamma IV and ferry collided in Honk Kong		39
October 5	Two Chinese freighters caught fire in Japanese waters in 8 days
October 18	Malaysian freighter Shinline 8 sank off Jeju island, East China sea	+	5
October 20	Chinese reefer Ming Yang on fire in the Pacific
October 27	Taiwanese longliner Chin Zuei Yin on fire, 28 crew evacuated, Pacific ocean	?
October 27	m/v Amurskaya and its’ cargo of gold disappearance	+	9
October 29	HMS Bounty sank off Hatteras, Atlantic ocean	+	2
October 30	Vietnamese freighter Saigon Queen sank off Sri Lanka	+	4
October 31	The failure of the Captain. Indian tanker Pratibha Cauvery tragedy.	?	6
December 4	Black sea disaster. m/v Volgo-Balt 199 sank, rescue boat Kiyiemniyeti 7 crashed in S&R.	+	12?
December 5	Corvus J and Baltic Ace collision, North sea	+	11
December 6	Hopper Onezhskaya sank in Ust-Luga Port	?
December 15	Bulk carrier Yi He 6 Hao sank after grounding, China	+
December 22	Crew of the Korean freighter Han Splendor rescued, vessel still afloat, Pacific	?
December 29	Freighter Ocean Legacy sank offloading container on pier, Ormoc, Philippines
December 29	Vietnamese freighter Royal Prime sank or still afloat abandoned by crew, South China Sea	+	?
	Total Year 2012	78	981

Strict IMO Regulations Boost Demand for Low Sulphur Fuel in Singapore

 Demand for low sulphur bunker fuel in Singapore is expected to rise at least 20 percent this year.
Singapore is the world’s largest bunkering port by volume and a major transit port for vessels plying the route between Asia and the United States.
Low sulphur bunker fuel demand in Singapore could reach 60,000 tonnes a month this year, up from 45,000-50,000 tonnes per month last year, the survey participants said, attributing the rise to the latest emission control area 

Top 10 Busiest Ports In The World

The busiest ports in the world are determined on the basis of the container traffic passing through them.

What are the documentation prepared by the various parties involved in a sea freight shipment..??

An interesting question posed by a reader of this blog..

1. what are the documents prepared by clearing and forwarding agent ?
2. what are the documents  prepared by the exporter and importer ?
3. what are the documents prepared by shipping company ? 

There are many documents that need to be prepared by the various parties involved, in order to effect a shipment..

Statistics of pirated and released vessels and crews 2010 – 2012

Updated Jan 02 2013

Classification of highjacked vessels:

Filed in Table only ocean-going merchant marine vessels, with unique IMO number, with more or less transparent history and known owners and operators, with known number and nationalities of crews.

No local vessels included, almost all of them, with regards to Somali piracy region, are so-called “dhow’. They are engaged in regional trade, goods may be anything from charcoal to illegal migrants. They don’t have IMO number, they aren’t listed in international reference books, they aren’t insured with international insurers, their owner may be any petty company or person along the coastlines of India, Pakistan, Persian Gulf, Oman or Red Sea. For world shipping, these vessels, their owners, their masters and their crews, are simply non-existent. Their costs may be thousands of USD, even maybe tens of thousands, but not anywhere close to the costs of international freighters. Their goods may cost thousands or tens of thousands USD, but not anywhere close to costs of cargoes carried by international freighters. To include in statistics local vessels means to mess all up – even those who’re trying to monitor hijacked local vessels  can’t tell exact details of vessels and crews (including number of crews and nationalities), and hijack circumstances, whether vessel was really hijacked or it was prearranged, and vessel stays with pirates on some agreement

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List of merchant vessels presently held by Somali pirates:

Tweendecker

Tweendeckers are general cargo ships with two or sometimes three decks. The upper deck is called the main deck or weather deck, and the lower deck is the tweendeck. Cargo such as bales, bags, or drums can be                                  stacked in the tweendeck space

Today the tweendecker is more likely to be referred to as a multi-purpose ship, a term that is quite vague and has different meanings to different people. While some do apply it to traditional tweendeckers, others believe that for the term to be valid, some additional feature must also be present. There are, for instance, vessels that have folding or moveable tween decks and some also which have a RORO ramp included into the design.

Port of Ngqura officially opened

Port of Ngqura Container Terminal

Port Elizabeth – The multi-billion port of Ngqura was officially opened on Friday (16 March) by President Jacob Zuma.

More than 15 years in the making, the port has been commercially active for the past two and a half years, having handled the first container ship on 4 October 2009.

Container ship Sinks Off Chinese Coast

The container ship Guangyangxingang sank off the Chinese coast on Monday, due to bad weather and strong winds, leaving 11 crew members dead and two missing, according to Shangdong province authorities.
At least 11 crew members are reported to have died after a containership with 14 on board sank off the coast of China yesterday, authorities said today.

Two rescue vessels retrieved 11 bodies, while one person was rescued by a helicopter, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Rescuers are still searching for two missing crew members.
The ship, named Guangyangxingang, capsized around 40 nautical miles northeast of Longkou in Shandong Province last evening amid strong winds, the report said.

The ship was allegedly traveling from Tianjin to Taizhou in Zhejiang province when it capsized.

Dynamic positioning - DP systems a brief

Dynamic positioning (DP) is a computer-controlled system to automatically maintain a vessel's position and heading by using its own propellers and thrusters. Position reference sensors, combined with wind sensors, motion sensors and gyro compasses, provide information to the computer pertaining to the vessel's position and the magnitude and direction of environmental forces affecting its position

 The full range of dynamic positioning systems to keep the vessel within specified position and heading limits. These systems are designed to minimise fuel consumption and wear and tear on the propulsion equipment.

Typical applications for dynamic positioning systems:

• Drill ships
• Cable-laying vessels
• Crane vessels
• Cruise ships
• Diving support vessels
• Dredging
• FPSO's
• Flotels
• Maritime research vessels
• Mega yachts
• Mine sweepers
• Pipe laying vessels
• Platform supply vessels
• Rock dumping vessels
• Survey ships
• Supply vessels
• Shuttle tankers

is that Intrinsically Safe Cameras Used on Ships?

                                      yes  its being used in tanker vessels.....In recent observations by vetting inspectors during tanker ship inspections, use of digital cameras on ships has been regarded as “High Risk” Observation. With tankers safety matters attaining paramount importance in the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF), a number of steps have been considered to make oil tanker operations safer.

As per the IACS Paper no. 72(2000) Rev. Oct.2003 and April,2007 – Confined Space Safe Practice - Use of non-explosion proof equipment like cameras, torches, chipping hammers, may be allowed provided that it is stated in the Entry permit issued and the space is safe for hot work or safe for workers and LEL is measured to 0%.

The Biggest Deep Water Port in the World

              Yangshan Deep Water Port

Built to allow the Port of Shanghai to grow despite shallow waters near the shore, it allows berths with depths of up to 15 metres (49 ft) to be built, and can handle today's largest container ships.It is connected to the mainland via the 32.5 km (20.2 mi) Donghai Bridge, opened on 1 December 2005 as the world's longest sea bridge. The six-lane highway bridge took 6,000 workers two and half years to construct. 

The Yangshan Deep Water Port is one of the three major constituents of the Shanghai Port, one of the busiest port facilities in the world. Considered as the world’s biggest deep water port, Yangshan is built on the islands of Greater and Lesser Yangshan and is connected to the mainland through the world’s largest sea bridge – Donghai Bridge.

heat exchanger

Shell type Heat Exchangers:

Sell and Tube Heat Exchangers for engine jacket water and lubricating oil cooling are normally circulated with seawater. The seawater is in contact with the inside of the tubes and the water boxes at the cooler ends. The oil or water being cooled is in contact with the outside of the tubes and he shell of the cooler. Baffles direct the liquid across the tubes as it flows through the cooler. the baffles also support the tubes.

Tubes of Aluminium-brass (76% copper; 22% zinc; 2% aluminium) are commonly used. The remedy in these systems is to fit sacrificial soft iron or mild steel anodes in water boxes or to introduce iron in the form of ferrous sulphate fed into the seawater. The latter treatment consists of dosing the seawater to a strength of 1 ppm for an hour per day over a few weeks and subsequently to dose before entering and after leaving port for a short period.

Early tube failures may be due to pollution in coastal waters or to turbulence in some cases. Many coolers are fitted with tubes of 70/30 Cupro-Nickel. More expensive materials are available. Tubes are expanded into tube plates and may be further bonded by soldering.

CMA CGM buying 50,000 bamboo eco-containers

The CMA CGM MARCO POLO, the world’s largest containership (16 020 TEU), is equipped with the latest environmental technological innovations. The CMA CGM Group has finalized the purchase of 50, 000 bamboo eco-containers.  

INNOVATIVE SHIPS

The CMA CGM Marco Polo will soon be followed by the delivery of the CMA CGM Alexander Von Humboldt and the CMA CGM Jules Verne in May and June 2013, all three carrying the following equipment:

- An electronically controlled engine which significantly reduces CO2 emissions

- An “Exhaust Gas Bypass” system, which improves the energetic efficiency of the vessel when slow steaming, reducing CO2 emissions by 1.5% at low speeds.

- A twisted leading edge rudder improving the hydrodynamics of the vessel (optimisation of the water flow) and significantly reducing energy expenditures as well as CO2 emissions.

- A Pre-Swirl Stator® which straightens the water flow upstream from the propeller in order to improve its efficiency. Combined with the twisted leading edge rudder, this innovation optimizes the hydrodynamics of the vessel and makes it possible to reduce by 2 to 4% energy consumption of and atmospheric emissions.

- An optimized hull design significantly improving the propulsion of the vessel into the water.

- A ballast water treatment system, to preserve the biodiversity of the oceans.

Other innovations show the commitment of CMA CGM regarding its vessel fleet which include the Fast Oil Recovery System, the emergency towing system, the trash compactor combined with the sorting of recyclables and additional tanks for treating bilge, engine and grey waters.

CMA CGM Group is also working with shipyards and ranking agencies such as Bureau Veritas and DNV on several projects of LNG-fuelled containerships.

O2 REDUCTION

As part of its environmental policy, the CMA CGM Group is committed to reducing its emissions (CO2, sulfur), to limit the impact of its activities.

In 2012, the CO2 performance of the Group improved by 6%. Since 2005, the Group has reduced its CO2 emissions by 37% per container transported and per km, making it the most impressive reduction in the history of the industry and is aiming for a reduction of 50% by 2015.

In order to cut back its sulfur emissions, it chooses to use a fuel of a higher quality than required by the current regulation, with sulfur concentration estimated at 2.57% (or lower in certain areas), instead of 3.5%.