Indian sailor Captain Sunil James released from Togo jail: Foreign Ministry

sunil james with is wife 

Captain Sunil James, who was languishing in a jail in Togo in western Africa for five months, has been released, the ministry for external affairs said today. He will leave for India later today, the ministry said.

"Sailors from #India Capt Sunil James & Vijayan released from detention in #Togo. Will leave for home later today," Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson, ministry of external affairs, tweeted today.

"After meet between #India's High Commissoner in Accra & Prez Gnassingbe of #Togo Capt Sunil James & Vijayan released. Now with HC Sagar (sic)," he added.

Mr James' family had been fighting for his release since July, when he was arrested on charges of aiding the pirates who had attacked and looted his ship, MT Ocean Centurion, near Togo. They met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week, asking his officials to coordinate efforts to free the Mumbai sailor.

His 11-month-old son, Vivaan, died earlier this month of septicemia. The baby's body has been kept in a morgue, with the family hoping his father can see him one last time.

The sailor's family has alleged that Mr James was tortured by the pirates and has lost 15 kgs in the custody of the Togo police, but the government took too long to step in. "Does it take the death of a baby for the government to act?" his brother-in-law Rakesh Madappa questioned earlier this month.
support from: NDTV 

Alfa Laval Wins a Repeat Environmental Order for Marine Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems

Alfa Laval - a world leader in heat transfer, centrifugal separation and fluid handling - has won an order to supply Alfa Laval PureSOX exhaust gas cleaning systems to the Dutch ship owner Spliethoff. The order is booked in the Marine & Offshore Systems segment and delivery is scheduled for 2014. Due to a confidentiality agreement Alfa Laval is unable to disclose the value of the order.

The Shipping Industry must continue to take reasonable security measures through the Suez Canal

Shipowners and Charterers should continue to take normal precautionary security measures when transiting through the Suez Canal, said Andrew Varney, Managing Director Port2Port Maritime Security in a recent webcast discussion: “Is the Suez Canal Safe for Shipping?” with the US Journal of Commerce.

Korean companies investing $940m in floating power plant

Korean firms Polaris Shipping, Korea Midland Power, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and 

Siemens Energy Solutions have decided to invest in floating power plant and have agreed to 

put $940m to create a Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU).

This ambitious project will be ready according to plans in 3 years. The 'Mobile Powership' will 

have similar design to the known HHI's LNG FSRU with power capacity of 880MW. The floating

 power plant will be able to handle the needs of power in the time of natural disasters. Polaris 

Shipping informed that the produced power will be transmitted with the help of the existing 

infrastructure of cables.

Why are 10-year-old vessels essential to shipping analysis?

Older vessel prices are another indicator that reflects shipping companies’ fundamentals. Because these vessels are sold and bought in the secondary market, it doesn’t take as long for the buyer to receive these vessels. So changes in price for older vessels often reflect a nearer-term fundamental outlook, and they tend to move ahead of new builds.

New ICS initiative to maintain IMO primacy on shipping AND CO2 issues

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) – the worldwide trade association for shipowners – has made an important written submission to the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) suggesting a possible way forward with respect to complex discussions about additional global regulations to further reduce CO2 emissions from merchant ships.
 

In particular, ICS wishes to ensure the primacy of a global IMO framework for addressing the reduction of shipping’s CO2 emissions in the face of proposals by the European Commission for unilateral regional regulations that will apply to international shipping trading to the EU. 
 
In a carefully worded ‘political’ paper, ICS has suggested that IMO Member States should initially focus on developing regulations for the mandatory reporting of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by internationally trading ships, deferring further discussions on how the information collected might subsequently be used to develop additional efficiency measures.
 

Cocaine worth £136m found among bananas

The biggest shipment of cocaine for the last two years has been caught in the Hampshire, UK

. Border Force officers together with the National Crime Agency found 850kg 80% pure drugs

 with an estimated value of £136m if sold on the street.

The massive shipment was found onboard MV Crown Jade, a Panamanian vessel, hidden 

between bananas cargo. The ship was sailing from Colombia and according to an officer from

 the NCA's border policing command, Tom Dowdall, this was a ''major blow''.

How To Know If A Shipping Company Is Worth Working For?

Internet has made life so easy for all of us. Whether it’s shopping online or looking for a job from the comfort of your home, all the information is available at the press of a button. Today e-commerce sites offer lucrative discounts and an exhaustive detail of the products you desire to purchase. You also have the choice to read reviews about the services of an e-commerce website or the product of your liking which you intend to purchase. In other words, it is a well informed decision before you decide to hit the PAY button. Does the same criterion apply to maritime websites offering job opportunities?

There are hundreds of shipping companies advertising on maritime websites with attractive offers similar to those offered by online e-commerce websites. Other than their own fancy write-ups about themselves, you don’t get much feedback about the shipping company in the form of reviews from other seafarers who have already worked for them. So in spite of the large scale attrition some of these shipping companies with dubious backgrounds, these companies still manage to attract several seafarers to run their ships and businesses.

It is no great secret that the biggest anxiety of any seafarer on board is with regards to his wages. After a month’s hard work he expects his employers to fulfill their obligations of remitting his full monthly wages to his nominated bank account. Some seafarers are lucky to get their money in time, however, several unfortunate ones have to spend endless days and nights in deep anxiety when their wages are held back by their employers. With the recent downturn in shipping industry, the local unions and ITF data bases are full of complaints from seafarers against their employers for either  non-payment  of their wages or for not relieving them in time or both. Several other types of complaints being received monthly by ITF offices worldwide are mainly related to:

1. Poor working conditions on board.
2. Threats from senior officers or employers for carrying out illegal jobs.
3. Unsafe or unseaworthy ships.
4. Unhealthy or inadequate Food

and many others…..

Today it is hard to define which shipping company is good and which is bad. Each seafarer has his own criteria of judgement and job requirement. Mostly, seafarers rely on word-of-mouth publicity from fellow seafarers or are attracted by the fancy advertisements when it comes to selecting a shipping company. In some cases for their own dire needs, seafarers take the first available job only to regret later. The fact is that the seaman fraternity is the most disconnected lot and there is no website or forum or online blog which can guide them about the working conditions on board, before signing their contract of employment.

Most seafarers today are aware of Flag of Convenience Ships. These Flag of Convenience ships or simply FOC ships are prime targets of the ITF.  The worst ones have a bad history of crew problems and trouble with port authorities. Their heavily paid executives and agents lure seamen with sugar coated words and their true identity is revealed only after few days of the seaman landing up either in their office or joining their ship. These ship owners survive on coercion, blackmailing and threats to seamen. They hold back wages of seamen and refuse to relieve them whenever  a seaman complains of poor working conditions on board  Or  disobeys illegal orders  Or acts as a whistle blower.

The dearth of good quality ship crew has been in existence for a long time now and the situation will not change for some time due to premature retirement of ratings and officers due to thegrowing menace of piracy. Sometimes the shortage is so severe that a job is settled between a seaman and shipping company on the phone itself. More affluent shipping companies arrange for video conferences. Commitments are exchanged on phone but the gamble doesn’t always pay off.

There is a saying that “Precaution is better than the Cure” and if seafarers follow these basic rules, they can save a lot of headaches for themselves and their families when joining a new shipping company.

1. Get as much information about the company, its promoter and his reputation from as many sources as you can. Don’t just get attracted to the big label.
2. Get information on the manning agent/executive responsible for all your benefits. Sometimes a good company but a bad manning agent/executive can ruin your life and career.
3. Never agree for a telephonic job agreement and do not commit unless you have secured all necessary information about the company or the person interviewing you.
4. Never join without undergoing a proper medical examination. There have been cases when seamen have returned back home after few days due to unknown pre-existing illness and had to pay heavily for their repatriation.
5. Read your service terms and conditions carefully prior signing your contract and never agree to sign your contract either at the airport or on board.
6. Clear all your doubts prior joining rather than asking questions later from other officers and Master on board. It may be too late to ask then.
7. If you are carrying your family, cover them with an overseas medical policy as they are not covered by the company’s insurance.
8. Check the company policy on sailing in pirated water. Check if you have the rights to sign off with full repatriation benefits in case you refuse to sail to pirated waters of countries such as Somalia or Nigeria.
9. You may be going on board for a long contract. It is always a good idea to find out about the kind of crew welfare existing and provided by the ship owner/manager on board. Does it exist only on paper?
10. If you are joining a FOC ship. Check with your local union affiliated to ITF about your minimum assured wages, benefits and rights on that ship and a directory of ITF offices worldwide. You may even access the directory online.
11. If you are required to do any in house courses do not accept computerized signatures on certificates provided by the manning office as you could land into trouble with port authorities.
12. Ensure that monthly wages agreed on telephone or email is the same as that on the contract.

There will be several other things you may have on your mind like contractual allowances, food, victualing on board.  Rather than asking and troubling the master on board your ship, joining a ship with a clear mind with all required information under your belt, will save you from all the headaches which otherwise would arise as a result of  lack of information exchange with the employers prior to joining.

Remember seafaring today is a tough and difficult profession. Join a ship armed with information and knowledge. Trust me – it’s not worth gambling with your career and your life. 

Thanks to marine insight

Search and Rescue Underway off Christmas Island - 88 rescued, 8 missing

Rescue operation is underway following the capsizing of a ship on July 12, Friday

 night about 87 n.m. north of Christmas Island.

According to the initial reports received by the Rescue Coordination Centre Australia

 (RCC Australia) of Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) at nearly 9:15 a.m. 

UTC on Friday suggested the ship was in need of assistance.



Additional assistance was requested from Border Protection Command at 10:31 a.m. 

UTC to locate the ship and subsequently RCC Australia issued an urgency broadcast 

to shipping in the region at about 1:05 a.m. UTC.



An oil tanker ship responded to the broadcast and reported the ship was making way

. ACV Triton vessel was tasked to respond and arrived on scene at about 8 a.m. UTC

 on Friday and boarded the ship.

The ship capsized about 10:30 p.m. AEST. A total of 88 people have been safely

 rescued from the ship, there is 1 deceased and an estimated 8 people still missing.

A search of a 285 square nautical miles involving 2 contracted aircraft and a Defence

 P3 Orionbegan at first light. HMAS Bathurst and HMAS Albany remain in the zone and

 have been searching for the missing 8 people.

Life of Junior Engineer on Ship

Life of Junior Engineer on Ship 

In the previous article we saw the various tasks a junior engineer has to perform and also how the work on board is different from what he did in his training. Here are some more responsibilities and duties that he is supposed to do in addition to his routine work. There is no turning away from it.

Marine Engineering Essential Attributes

Marine engineers must possess the following personal attributes to succeed in the field

• Organizing ability
• Practicality
• Ability to get on well with people of all types at all levels in the hierarchy
• Ability to keep calm under pressure and in crisis
• Enjoy working with tools
• Good at conceptualizing forms and structures
• Excellent communication skills
• Physical fitness
• Liking for the sea travel 

359 elephant tusks found smuggled in ship containers

Three shipping containers found in Sri Lanka stuffed with 359 elephant tusks came from Kenya, the Kenya Wildlife Service reported Thursday.

EGYPT vessel ADAM caught with 20 tons of MARIJUANA

Italian police stopped an Egypt vessel with the name Adam carrying 20 tons of marijuana with established value of £250 m the Mediterranean

2 Italian custom vessels sailing near the island of 

pantelleria  detected Adam.


This ship was loaded with more than 800 packages of

 drug wrapped in stack. 


ADAM was under surveillance for 2 days.

Lt col cristino alemanno announced "to my knowledge this is the biggest of its kind ever seized in the Mediterranean" 

 The ship had been fallowed for some time but we needed certain amount of luck as until it entered Italian waters there was nothing we can do.

The vessel belong to Egyptian shipping line with registration in Comoros island. It is believed that the cargo was for on European Market. 6 Syrians were held in custody for international drugs trafficking

Bill of Lading

In this article we will discuss about the ADDRESS and REFERENCE  details :

SHIPPER:
                  Its the name and the address detail who is shipping the cargo.this may or may not be the actual owner or the manufacturer of the cargo,but also be the trader but it depends upon the type of bill of lading issued .

CONSIGNEE:
                             It is nothing but a actual buyer. This may or may not be a actual owner or recipient of the cargo it could be a bank or trader it depends upon the type of lading issued.

NOTIFY:
                     It is the name and address details of the persons who should be notified for the arrival of cargo.Depending upon the bill of lading issued it may be the actual buyer or the receiver of goods. Normally the notice of cargo is sent to the notify party.

BILL OF LADING NUMBER:
                             It is a unique number given to the shipment cover under the specific bill of lading.

REFERENCE NUMBER:
                                  This is used to update any reference number which will use to trace their shipment.

CARRIERS AGENT:
                              The details of the agent at discharge port is usually recorded by the shipping line so that the destination agent  of the client can contact the shipping line agents to query or the status of the shipment 
                                     The rest will be my next post......

Malta bound ship accused for smuggling diesel

A Panama registered cargo vessel The levante had been arrested by libyan coast for smuggling the diesel from LIBYA to MALTA.

                                                                  levate in malta <marine traffic.com>
According to navy:

3 crew members are jailed for 14 years for smuggling COCAINE

United states on March 7th announced the united states judge steven D. MERRUDAY. accordingly he stated for 14 years of federal prison for a role as a crew member in the vessel ( self proppled semi submersible vessel ) or spss that smuggled approximately 6,700 kg of cocaine in the caribbean sea.

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.