AQueen Mary 2 master Captain Kevin Oprey poses on the bulbous bow of

the Cunard vessel off the coast of Bali last month as part of a series of celebrations to mark the ship’s 10th birthday.

The dramatic shot was taken as the ship sailed towards Sydney during a round-the-world cruise that is due to fi nish in Southampton in May, with two safety craft standing by while the fi lm crew photographed the master from various angles.

‘When I was left alone on the bulb everything was very quiet,’ said Capt Oprey. ‘It was almost like an eerie silence. I was actually facing ahead at this stage and couldn’t really see what was behind me.

‘In years to come I will be very proud of the picture’, he added, ‘but the important thing is that it is the ship that counts.’

gGo the the Nautilus website — www.nautilusint.org — to see a behind-the-scenes video of how the pictures were taken. Picture: James Morgan

Volume 47 | Number 04 | April 2014 | £3.50 €3.70

Chamber’s leaderMy seafaring past will help, says new head of UK owners’ body 19

All under controlPSC chief promises new inspection focus on human factors24-25

NL nieuwsTwee pagina’s met nieuws uit Nederland36-37

Insurers warn of new safety risksNautilus backs concerns over competence shortfalls as report highlights ‘emerging challenges’

PShortages of skilled and experi-enced seafarers are posing a grow-ing safety risk as ships get larger

and more sophisticated, insurers warned last month.

The annual safety and shipping review published by the Allianz insurance group warns of ‘new risks and challenges’ emerg-ing around crew safety and training — and most notably associated with the take-up of alternative fuels and the growth of ‘mega-ships’.

It also expresses particular concern about a rise in engine damage linked to cat fi nes and ‘a lack of knowledge on proper handling for the grades of fuel available today’.

The Allianz alert was echoed by the classifi cation society Lloyd’s Register as it released a report on the future of marine fuel, with a warning about the competence and training issues arising from the move to ‘greener’ fuels — including LNG and hydrogen.

Nautilus said the concerns should serve as a wake-up call to the industry. ‘There have been countless warnings about the skills

shortage in recent years,’ said general sec-retary Mark Dickinson. ‘However, despite all the evidence there has been very lim-ited action to increase training to the levels required.

‘What is clear from the Allianz and LR reports is that the complex technology and systems now being used onboard, coupled with the scale of the risk presented by the new generation of mega-ships, are ramp-ing up the demand for highly skilled and well-trained seafarers.

‘If the industry is serious about main-taining high safety standards, it also needs to be equally serious about the recruit-ment and retention of the professionals it requires for that,’ he added.

On the plus side, the Allianz review notes a 20% reduction in ship losses last year — with the total of 94 reported world-wide being only the second time in the past 12 years that the fi gure has been below 100.

But Allianz pointed to 21 key risks to the future safety of shipping, including:

zeco ships

zalternative fuels

zincreasing ship sizes

zhuman error

zskill shortages

zlack of standardised training

zreduced crewing numbers

zcrew fatigueIt said the fi rst 24,000TEU container-

ships could be in service around 2018 — raising the prospect of a total insurance liability for a single vessel of more than US$700m.

Increasing ship sizes are also posing huge salvage challenges, the report adds, with ‘staggering’ timescales involved in removing thousands of containers. Point-ing out that the total salvage costs for the Costa Concordia are likely to top $2bn, it warns that while the capability to handle huge accidents may exist, the potential fi nancial burdens are immense.

Dr Sven Gerhard, of Allianz Global Cor-porate and Specialty (AGCS), said there was a risk that such vessels could block access to port and terminal accesses and added: ‘The large loss potential has increased for events which are not extraordinary on these big ships, and these are uncharted waters for salvors.’

Allianz said it was worried that machin-ery damage continues to be the cause of the majority of losses on marine insurance and it warned that this trend is set to increase — and the growing use of low-sulphur fuels is likely to exacerbate the problem of cat fi nes.

‘The fear is that we will see more and more cat fi nes problems and more dam-aged engines,’ said Captain Rahul Khanna, AGCS senior marine risk consultant.

‘Higher amounts of cat fi nes can be dealt with by experienced and competent engineers onboard the ships, but a lack of such engineers and a lack of training and awareness is also adding to the problem,’ he warned.

The report also argues that another emerging risk for shipowners and ports is the growth in LNG and other alternative fuels. ‘The technology itself is not new; the concern is storing the LNG as a fuel and handling it onboard,’ Capt Khanna pointed out. ‘LNG expertise is not easily available — there needs to be a change in mindset and training.’

gLR future fuels study — see page 23.

InsideFReporting linesNew head of the confi dential incident reporting programme wants to breathe new life into the scheme — page 20-21

FSmart ships?Satcoms company Inmarsat has launched an industry debate on the potential impact of the ‘industrial internet’ services to shipping — pages 26-27

FWriting winnersThe pick of the entries from the Nautilus/Marine Society writing competition — pages 31-33

Leading from the front...

01_front.indd 25 19/03/2014 18:10

Bob Crow: ‘a tireless fi ghter for the trade union movement’F

Nautilus joined the many tributes paid last month

following the sudden death of Bob Crow, general secretary of the UK Rail Maritime & Transport union (RMT), at the age of 52.

Politicians and labour movement fi gures spoke of their shock at the loss of Mr Crow, who had been leader of the RMT since 2002. After leaving school at 16, he became an apprentice track worker with London Underground and by the time he was 20, he was a local representative for the then National Union of Railwaymen and he became assistant general secretary of the RMT in 1991.

Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson said he had been proud to work alongside the RMT leader on a wide range of campaigns to defend jobs and conditions in the shipping industry and to secure more investment in the employment and training of British seafarers — most recently in getting tonnage tax support for UK ratings training.

‘The crude media caricature did Bob few favours — but may have led many to under-estimate his quick thinking and sharp intellect,’ he said. ‘And whatever anyone said or wrote about him, no one could question Bob’s remarkable drive and commitment to his members.

He was a formidable negotiator and a tenacious fi ghter for the cause of British shipping and seafaring.

‘Behind Bob’s public persona was a really decent bloke — someone who I came to respect as a man of deep principle and determination,’ Mr Dickinson added. ‘He will be hugely missed and our sincere condolences are extended to his friends, family colleagues, and his partner, Nicola.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady described the news of Mr Crow’s unexpected death as shocking. ‘Bob was an outstanding trade unionist, who tirelessly fought for his members, his industry and the wider trade union movement,’ she added.

Steve Cotton, acting general secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, commented: ‘Bob was such a vital, tough, campaigning tower of strength that it’s almost impossible to believe that he is no longer with us. Bob was many things: a true fi ghter for workers’ rights, an internationalist and an inspiration to the last.’

Guy Platten, chief executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping, added: ‘At his core, he was a man who cared. He believed in his members, and he fought for them every single day.’

General secretary calls for action to stop unfair competition in ferry sector

Nautilus warns UK minister over jobs

FDelegates from maritime unions around the world are

pictured with Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson at last month’s meeting of the ITF International Offi cers’ Forum (IOF).

Held in Rotterdam, the two-day meeting was chaired by Mr Dickinson and issues on the agenda included the need to further enhance the ITF’s work in the International Maritime Organisation, ITF activity in the

International Labour Organisation and International Bargaining Forum, and the forthcoming ITF Congress and proposed work programme of the ITF’s seafarers section.

Mr Dickinson also briefed the meeting on latest developments in the the Nautilus/SEKO initiative on fair transport, as well as the results of EU-funded projects on maritime career mapping and dealing with harassment and bullying at sea.

PNautilus general secre-tary Mark Dickinson has held top-level talks on a

range of maritime policy issues with UK shipping minister Ste-phen Hammond.

Topics covered during the meeting at the House of Com-mons included seafarer training, the tonnage tax, and concerns over unfair competition in the ferry sector arising from the cut-backs proposed by Stena Line.

Mr Dickinson said he had urged the minister to ensure that UK national minimum wage pro-visions are applied for the crews of ferries operating on routes in and out of the country and he also called for the UK to reopen moves to develop the European ‘man-ning directive’ to regulate condi-tions on intra-EU services.

Nautilus also discussed pro-posals for increasing UK seafarer training numbers, stressing its concern that current numbers are not suffi cient to prevent long-term shortages — and the minister said he was keen to do

something more on this, together with training for ratings under tonnage tax.

Mr Dickinson said he had told Mr Hammond of his disappoint-ment that the UK had not repat-

riated the crew of the Panama-fl agged vessel Donald Duckling following its detention in the Port of Tyne last year.

The Union argued that the UK had a responsibility to act follow-

ing the failure of the fl ag state, the owner and the labour-supplying nation to provide the assistance required by the Maritime Labour Convention. Mr Dickinson said the minister had agreed to con-sider this matter with the Mari-time & Coastguard Agency.

‘I also expressed our frustra-tion at Panama over the case of the Danny FII and the lack of a publicly-available fl ag state report on the ship’s loss,’ Mr Dick-inson added. ‘I asked that the UK government keep the pressure on the IMO to ensure that the likes of Panama investigate causalities in a timely and through manner, ensuring transparency and dis-semination of the fi ndings.’

Nautilus also told the min-ister about the evidence it had recently present to the Maritime & Coastguard Agency detailing cases in which offi cer trainees had complained of problems with the quality of their training — particularly during seatime on ships with no other UK nationals onboard.

Petition to PM seeks help for guards under arrest in India

FThis notice is issued for and on behalf of the Trustee of the Merchant Navy Offi cers

Pension Fund. Date of publication: March 2014.Were you a Merchant Navy offi cer before April

1978 and in the Merchant Navy Offi cers Pension Fund (MNOPF)?

The Trustee of the MNOPF is intending to wind up the Old Section of the Fund. The assets will be used to provide pensions for all Old Section members by way of individual policies, covering each member’s full benefi t entitlement, issued in each member’s name. Such policies will also be issued to dependants (such as widows) already in receipt of a benefi t.

This announcement is a call to any members of the Old Section of whom the MNOPF is unaware, to make contact. Members of the Old Section may include any persons with employment as an offi cer

in the Merchant Navy on or before 5 April 1978. The Old Section of the MNOPF relates only to

MNOPF benefi ts in respect of service accrued up to that date.

Please note that you do not need to contact the Trustee if you fall into one of the following categories:

zyou have already been notifi ed of the proposal to wind up the Old Section by the Trustee,

zyou are already receiving a pension from the MNOPF,

zyou have made a claim for benefi ts from the MNOPF and received a response.

Any persons, unless they fall into one of the above categories, having a claim or interest in the Old Section are required to send particulars in writing of such claim or interest, together with details of their full name, address, and date of

birth, to the MNOPF Trustee c/o Ensign Pensions Administration Limited, Leatherhead House, Station Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 7ET, UK, no later than 31 May 2014.

In order to ensure that the Trustee receives notice of any such particulars, the Trustee recommends that the details of any claims are sent by a guaranteed delivery method.

As soon as possible after the expiry of the two month period referred to above, the Trustee will arrange for the distribution of the remaining MNOPF assets, in accordance with the MNOPF Rules, in order to provide benefi ts for the members and dependants (such as widows) having regard only to claims and interests of which it is aware/had notice. The Trustee will not be liable to any person of whose claim it has not had notice.

ANautilus has backed a call from the relatives of six British crew

members who have been detained onboard an anti-piracy support vessel in India for more than fi ve months for the government to do more to help them.

The family members went to Downing Street last month to deliver a petition signed by more than 143,000 people urging prime minister David Cameron to help secure the release of the men, who were alleged to have illegally carried weapons in Indian waters.

The six Britons were among a multinational crew of 35 onboard the Sierra Leone-fl agged piracy protection

vessel Seaman Guard Ohio, which was detained in the port of Chennai after Indian authorities intercepted the ship and said they found weapons and ammunition onboard which was claimed to have not been properly declared.

The crew members have been held in prison, on charges including fi rearms off ences and illegally entering Indian territorial waters. There have been complaints that they have been subjected to inhumane conditions in jail — including being deprived of proper medical treatment, bathing facilities and adequate food.

The Mission to Seafarers has been providing prison-visiting services

and working to support families in the UK. Secretary general the Revd Andrew Wright described the case as traumatic and pointed out: ‘These men have now been held for over fi ve months and these issues need urgent resolution.’

Nautilus has written to Foreign Offi ce minister Hugo Swire to support the calls for UK government intervention. General secretary Mark Dickinson described the circumstances surrounding the arrests and the subsequent treatment of the crew as ‘deeply disturbing’.

‘The UK has commendably taken an international lead in developing standards and protocols to govern

the use of armed guards and the need for intervention by the UK in this case is an important extension of those principles, because it is surely not right that those who risk their lives protecting seafarers themselves face the additional risk being of criminalised and prosecuted,’ he added.

gThe families of the men have decided to launch a fi ghting fund to help support their loved ones in prison. The Mission to Seafarers is manaing the fundraising campaign, via the JustGiving website: www.justgiving.com/Yvonne-MacHugh.

MNOPF: notice from the Trustee

02 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

NAUTILUS AT WORK

Mark Dickinson meets shipping minister Stephen Hammond

Bob Crow, left, at a protest against EU shipping policy in Brussels in 2008Picture: Jess Hurd/Report

02-03_at work.indd 2 19/03/2014 19:28

shortreportsRESIDENCE TEST: Nautilus members have been reassured that their entitlement to UK Seafarers Earnings Deduction (SED) will not be aff ected by a new residency test introduced by HM Revenue & Customs. HMRC’s Statutory Residence Test (SRT) — introduced in April last year — will be applied from the tax year 2013/14 onwards, and revised guidance explaining how the rules determine the residence status of an individual in the UK for the purposes of income tax, capital gains tax and, where relevant, inheritance tax. Members with queries should email sed@nautilusint.org.

JURISDICTION CLAIM: a man accused of starting a fi re on a North Sea ferry which sparked a major rescue operation off the UK coast is set to argue the court has no jurisdiction in his case. Boden George Hughes is charged with arson and aff ray following the blaze onboard the DFDS vessel King Seaways in December last year. In a hearing due to take place on 8 May, his legal team will claim that the vessel was not British-fl agged and was on the high seas at the time of the alleged off ence, and therefore the court has no jurisdiction.

SPILL FINE: the German owners of a containership which spilled 1,000 litres of heavy fuel oil into Tauranga Harbour in New Zealand while the vessel was refuelling last year have been fi ned NZ$30,000 ($25,500). Jule Schiff ahrtsgesellschart admitted a charge that a harmful substance was discharged into water in a coastal marine area when the oil over-fl owed during bunkering of the vessel Liloa in July last year as a result of confusion between the chief engineer and the second engineer as to which tanks were to be fi lled.

SINKING PROBED: the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch is looking into an incident in which a Barbados-fl agged cargoship started to sink off the coast of Cornwall last month. The Sea Breeze was towed to safety in St Austell Bay by a local tug after taking on water in the engineroom while sailing to Shoreham with a cargo of limestone and six crew members had to be rescued by helicopter.

P3 PROTEST: the Global Shippers Forum (GSF) has called for international regulators, including European competition authorities, to investigate the impact of the proposed P3 vessel-sharing agreement between the world’s three largest container lines. It wants authorities to make ‘appropriate changes’ to ease unfair competition concerns.

CANAL DEAL: the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has secured an agreement to end a dispute over cost over-runs which threatened the completion of work on the expansion of the waterway. Under the deal with the consortium building the third set of locks, both sides will put in US$100m to ensure the project is fi nished by the end of 2015.

MLC APP: the classifi cation society Lloyd’s Register and the UK P&I Club have produced a new version of their Maritime Labour Convention pocket checklist smartphone app. The new edition is said to be more interactive and complements similar checklists for ISM and ISPS Code requirements.

PLANE SEARCH: merchant ships transiting the Indian Ocean and South China Sea have been asked to help search eff orts for a missing Airlines Boeing 777-200 ER, which disappeared while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in the early hours of 8 March.

SECURITY SUPPORT: the Japanese government has contributed US$1m to a fund established by the International Maritime Organisation to implement counter-piracy projects off the coast of west and central Africa.

FATAL COLLISION: one seafarer died and eight were missing, feared dead, after a collision between a containership and a general cargo vessel in Tokyo Bay last month. The Panama-fl agged Beagle III sank following the collision with the South Korean-registered boxship Pegasus Prime.

PNautilus has joined the UK Chamber of Shipping in welcoming the gov-

ernment’s announcement last month that ship ratings — includ-ing engineering, navigation and catering roles — will be included in the latest phase of an innova-tive apprenticeship programme.

Ministers have approved the inclusion of the maritime rat-ings scheme — led by employers including DFDS, Princess Cruises, Carnival UK, P&O Ferries, the Royal Navy and James Fisher (Shipping Services) — as one of the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) ‘Trail-blazer’ apprenticeships.

Trailblazers are a new model of apprenticeships that will super-sede all existing schemes by 2016, ensuring that apprentice-ship training meets standards required by industry and employ-ers rather than training providers.

Shipping industry organisa-tions — including the Merchant Navy Training Board (MNTB) and the Maritime Skills Alliance (MSA) — campaigned success-fully through 2013 to allow the Trailblazers model to extend to elements of seafarer training.

Chamber of Shipping CEO Guy Platten commented: ‘The UK is known the world over for its seafaring skills and the UK has a proud maritime history, but this investment proves we are deter-mined to build a maritime future too.

‘The long-term prosperity of the UK shipping industry depends completely on the peo-ple entering it. Training must equip seafarers with key skills and develop their careers as fully as possible while meeting the needs of employers, and the Trailblazer announcement is a huge step towards this.

‘This announcement is extremely valuable for the indus-try and demonstrates the govern-ment’s recognition of the impor-tance of maritime careers,’ he added.

Gemma Griffi n, DFDS Seaways vice president of HR and crewing, attended a Downing Street recep-tion to launch the new Trailblaz-ers as part of National Apprentice-ship Week, accompanied by deck rating apprentice Brandon Payne.

DFDS Seaways was the fi rst ferry company to introduce rat-ings apprenticeships, taking on six deck rating trainees in Decem-ber 2012 on a two-year train-ing programme. The company announced last month that it is to take on an additional six appren-tices — three further deck ratings and three engine ratings — in the second phase of its scheme.

‘Employer-led apprentice-ships of this kind are not only vital for DFDS Seaways, but also for the maritime sector as a whole,’ Ms Griffi n said. ‘They help us safe-guard the future of our industry by ensuring that we have young

people entering the industry with the right skills, expertise and sup-port they need to be able to work effectively and safely.

‘At DFDS Seaways, we also have a ratings to offi cer scheme, pro-viding our able seafarers with the training and support they need to progress to the top of their cho-sen fi eld,’ she pointed out. ‘That means that the apprentices who sign up to our scheme could fea-sibly become a captain or chief engineer in the space of 15 years or so, if they demonstrate the right aptitude and competence.’

As chair of the UK Chamber’s employment committee, Ms

Griffi n will chair a Trailblazer employer group that will work with the MNTB and MSA to defi ne the scope of the Maritime Trail-blazer Apprenticeship Scheme.

Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson commented: ‘This is good news and we hope it will deliver a real incentive for owners to do more to invest in rat-ings training. It is much needed and there is a lot of work to do to get the numbers to the right level.

‘We hope the government will now enact the extension of the tonnage tax training commit-ment to ratings, as agreed by the unions and the owners,’ he added.

Ratings training programme chosen as one of new model apprenticeships

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 03

NAUTILUS AT WORK

‘Trailblazing’ boost for UK sea training

DFDS rating trainee Brandon Payne with HR vice-president Gemma Griffi n in Downing Street last month

02-03_at work.indd 3 19/03/2014 19:29

04 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

NAUTILUS AT WORK

shortreportsWAGE WARNING: plans to ‘name and shame’ employers who breach the UK’s national minimum wage laws are a good start — but more needs to be done to enforce the rules properly, the TUC said last month. General secretary Frances O’Grady welcomed the government’s decision to expose employers who fl out the rules, but said greater eff orts had to be made to publicise all companies cheating their staff .

BUDGET BOOST: the UK Chamber of Shipping has urged the government to do more to attract maritime companies to the country, in order to support the goals set out in last month’s Budget. Chief executive Guy Platten said the Chancellor’s announcement of a cut in VAT for maritime rescue services was hugely welcome and will ‘help ensure the safety of our seafarers’.

PNTL PRESSED: Nautilus is seeking a date to meet management to discuss a pay and conditions claim for members employed by Pacifi c Nuclear Transport Limited. The claim includes an RPI increase, a move towards a one for one leave ratio and shared duties remuneration for members operating on reduced manning.

TUNNEL DELAY: the UK Competition Commission (CC) has delayed the publication of its latest provisional decision into Eurotunnel’s ownership of the MyFerryLink service, following the Competition Appeal Tribunal judgment quashing the original CC decision. The report was due as the Telegraph went to press.

BW CONSULT: members serving with BW Fleet Management are being consulted on a 2.25% pay off er, in line with the settlement for Norwegian unions. Industrial organiser Paul Schroder said the deal is the best that can be secured through negotiations.

BRIGGS CLAIM: a pay and conditions claim for an RPI pay increase has been submitted on behalf of members employed by Briggs Marine and serving onboard Environmental Agency vessels.

DFDS DATE: Nautilus is awaiting a date for a further meeting with DFDS to discuss this year’s pay and conditions claim, with the anniversary date switched to 1 April.

LCT MEETING: Nautilus is to meet LCT (Newhaven) management early this month to discuss this year’s pay claim. The Union is seeking an above-infl ation increase.

HANSON DEAL: following consultations with members employed by Hanson Ship Management, Nautilus has accepted an across-the-board 2% pay off er.

INTRADA CALL: Nautilus is pressing for a meeting with Intrada Ship Management to discuss this year’s pay and conditions claim.

FNautilus has secured an additional £4,000 in

redundancy pay for a member who was unhappy with the weight and the score of the criteria used by his company when he lost his job last year as a result of a ship sale.

Industrial organiser Paul Schroder

spent several months negotiating the enhanced payment, on top of the statutory entitlement, for the offi cer.

‘The settlement is an example of the practical support that Nautilus can provide when things go wrong and it shows the value of maintaining your membership,’ he said.

Nautilus urges parental rights for seafarers

PNautilus members at Orkney Ferries have voted to accept a 1% pay

offer for 2014/15, bringing their long-running dispute with the company to a successful conclu-sion.

The deal was accepted after the board wrote to the Union advising that the Council’s grant from the Scottish government, and therefore the overall budget, had been reduced, but that the agreed budget for Orkney Ferries included a provision for a 1% pay increase.

The company also confi rmed that this new offer was in addi-tion to the existing 2012/13 and

2013/14 offers, which were out-standing.

Members at Orkney Fer-ries have been taking industrial action involving working to their contracts since March 2013 and have been locked in a stalemate since October last year when the company refused to remove a line from the 2013/14 offer which stip-ulated that the fi nancial impact of a 2% increase would be taken into account in the 2014/15 negotia-tions.

The members requested that this statement be removed from the offer and when this was refused by the board, members rejected the offer.

‘It was a surprise when I received details of this new offer, as we had not heard anything from Orkney Council since the end of last year,’ explained indus-trial organiser Derek Byrne.

‘In February we met with MSP Liam McArthur, member for Ork-ney Islands, to discuss the dispute and I wonder if he put pressure on the council to make a new offer ahead of Scottish Parliament and local elections later this year.’

‘The offer made by the coun-cil did not seem to include any reference to the fi nancial impact of last year’s offer so it is a bit of a mystery as to why they couldn’t remove it when we asked last year.

‘For more than 12 months, members have solidly sup-ported the industrial action and this helped to eventually reach a negotiated settlement,’ Mr Byrne added. ‘I have really appreciated members’ support during this dif-fi cult time and the solidarity they have shown will not have gone unnoticed by the company.’

The acceptance of this lat-est offer means that members employed by Orkney ferries will now receive £600 (consolidated) for 2012/13; a 2% salary increase, annual pay scale increments and an additional one week’s leave for 2013/14; and a 1% pay increase for 2014/15.

Pay deal ends long dispute at Orkney

F UK seafarers should be entitled to the same maternity and

paternity benefi ts as colleagues ashore, Nautilus women’s forum vice chair Jessica Tyson told the Women’s TUC conference last month.

Moving the Nautilus motion at the conference, Ms Tyson called on the TUC to support eff orts to secure better legal protection for women at sea and provide the best possible maternity and paternity rights for seafarers.

‘Maternity and paternity rights are not something that you think about until you fi nd yourself in that position,’ she said. ‘At that point it is too late to fi nd out you don’t have any, or at best very limited, rights. It can have an extremely detrimental eff ect on your life and your career prospects.

‘If you don’t have any legal rights it is impossible to feel you have any security in the future,’ she added. ‘No male or female should feel that they have to choose between their career and having a family.’

The motion was seconded by the RMT and unanimously agreed by the conference.

Nautilus delegates at the meeting also supported a motion tabled by the construction workers’ union, UCATT, which highlighted the problems of bullying and harassment in male-dominated industries.

Karolina Bieganska told the conference that Nautilus had produced a Protect and Respect handbook which helped members recognise and deal with bullying and harassing behaviour, and helped to deliver new industry-wide guidance.

The Union’s women’s forum had also conducted training specifi cally for women members on supporting members and changing cultures of bullying onboard, she added.

Ms Bieganska urged the TUC to convene a meeting of female union members working in male-dominated workplaces to share best practices and support.

Union praises members for solidarity during year-long wrangle over off er

Talks lead to extra severance

Tribunal fees lead to big fall in cases

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F Claims to UK employment tribunals have fallen by almost

80% over the past year following the government’s controversial introduction of fees for workers bringing cases such as unfair dismissal.

Charges for lodging a claim were introduced in July last year and offi cial statistics show that the number of claims received in the last quarter of 2013 was 9,801 — compared with 45,710 in the same period in 2012.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady commented: ‘These fi gures show that introducing fees for tribunal cases has stopped many people seeking justice.

‘No one will believe that Britain’s workplaces have got fairer overnight’, she added. ‘Too many of Britain’s bad bosses are getting away with treating staff badly, confi dent that the government is on their side.’

She argued that workers are being deterred from taking cases for unpaid wages where the fees are greater than the sums held back by their bosses. ‘Only the very poorest get relief from fees — TUC research shows that more than one in three households containing at least one worker on the minimum wage has to pay £390 to bring an unpaid wage claim,’ she added.

Charles Boyle, head of Nautilus legal services, said the fi gures demonstrate the importance of union membership. ‘With the costs of bringing employment tribunal claims being signifi cant, it is even more important that workers join unions which meet these costs,’ he added. ‘Nautilus will pay these costs for members where the prospect of success is at least 51%. This is a very important membership benefi t for seafarers.’

Nautilus industrial organiser Lisa Carr is pictured with PAW delegates at talks with Global Marine Systems management on issues including changes to competency, tax, auto-enrolment, bullying and harassment, and the employee handbook review.

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Nautilus Women’s TUC delegates Lisa Carr, Karolina Bieganska, and Jessica Tyson Picture: Janina Struk

04-05_at work.indd 4 19/03/2014 19:32

shortreportsPRINCESS SWITCH: Nautilus has welcomed a move by Princess Cruises to refl ag two ships to the UK register. Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess are being transferred ‘in order to better support business operations’, the company said. Nautilus national secretary Jonathan Havard said talks are taking place with management to ensure that no members are disadvantaged in any way as a consequence of the changes.

CONDOR WARNING: French seafaring unions have warned that their dispute with Condor Ferries is not over, despite an agreement to end a two-week strike by members on the fast ferry Condor Rapide. The action was called off when the company off ered talks on French contracts for crew members and the possibility of refl agging to the French RIF register. Union are continuing to press the company for seafarers to have the same rights as workers ashore.

PUBLIC PROTEST: the TUC has condemned the UK government’s announcement of a fresh round of below-infl ation pay increases for public sector workers. General secretary Frances O’Grady, commented: ‘Ministers’ message to Britain’s young people is that they should not seek a career in health, education or other public services if they want a decent standard of living or to work for an employer who values them.’

ABSOLUTE START: talks on the pay and conditions claim for members employed by Absolute Shipping and Absolute Shipping Management got under way late last month. The Union is seeking an above-infl ation pay rise and a formal response from the company will follow in writing.

MAERSK CONSULT: members employed by Maersk Off shore in the tanker fl eet are being consulted on the company’s ‘full and fi nal’ pay off er. Management said the company was unable to improve an initial 1% off er in the light of the 2013 fi nancial results. The results of the consultations were due late last month.

WESTMINSTER CLAIM: following feedback from members serving with Boskalis Westminster, Nautilus has submitted a claim for an above-RPI pay increase, improved travel allowances and study pay, and reversion to an annual bonus system.

LIGHTHOUSE MEETING: Nautilus industrial organiser Derek Byrne is seeking a meeting with Northern Lighthouse Board to discuss a claim for an above-infl ation pay rise after the original meeting was postponed.

BOSKALIS DEAL: the Dutch shipping company Boskalis has secured an agrement to takeover the towage fi rm Fairmont Marine from the French group Louis Dreyfus Armatuers.

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 05

NAUTILUS AT WORK

ANautilus members serving with Fleet Maritime Services on

P&O Cruises and Cunard vessels have rejected the company’s 2.5% pay off er.

Industrial organiser Paul Schroder has requested further talks with management after consultations showed just over 51% of members wanting to reject the package, which also included new proposals for travel arrangements.

Mr Schroder described the level of participation in the consultations as disappointing. He said the feedback indicated that the biggest concern was around the travel proposals and he hoped the company would be able to make a positive response to the Union.

In line with the commitment to partnership at work principles, the company has agreed a programme of Nautilus visits to all 10 ships and this will begin in May, Mr Schroder said.

PNautilus is undertak-ing a series of ship visits throughout the Stena

Line fl eet to consult members on the company’s controversial cost-cutting plans.

Stena is seeking to slash its crewing costs by 10% to help it compete with other operators using cheaper foreign crews. Although it has yet to produce detailed proposals, the company has already moved to impose a pay freeze for all staff and to post-pone the second stage of pay har-monisation for onboard services staff.

Stena has indicated that it wants to cut current pay rates by 5% and is also seeking to increase work time from 24 weeks to 26 per year, to introduce new lower-graded positions in some depart-ments and to bring in a different pay scale for new entrants.

Nautilus has told the company that whilst it is prepared to nego-tiate on proposals to ensure that UK crewing is retained, it is not

prepared to discuss any reduc-tions in members’ existing terms and conditions.

Senior national secretary Garry Elliott and national fer-ries organiser Micky Smyth last month began a programme of ship visits that will run into the second week of April.

‘We are trying to get onboard every vessel to gather feedback on the company’s proposals before going back into negotiations with management,’ Mr Elliott told the Telegraph.

‘It is clear that the proposals have caused a lot of concern and have lost the company a lot of goodwill and motivation, with a lot of anger among members at pay being frozen.

‘We are now waiting for the company to present us with for-mal detailed proposals, and man-agement’s position will deter-mine whether we can go forward as we have consistently said we cannot remain at the negotiat-ing table unless existing terms

and conditions are protected,’ he added.

Nautilus is expecting to hold further talks with the company in mid-April, once the programme of ship visits is completed. If man-agement table detailed propos-als during these discussions, the Union plans to conduct further consultations with members.

zStena Line has acquired the Irish-owned Celtic Link ferry service, which operates on a year-round basis between Rosslare and Cherbourg.

The service uses the Italian-fl agged ferry Celtic Horizon, which will be renamed and tech-nically managed by Northern Marine Ferries. The ship’s exist-ing crew will be transferred to employment with a Northern Marine group company.

Stena described the move as ‘an important acquisition’ and said there was potential for reve-nue growth ‘by utilising the exist-ing lower cost base of the opera-tion’.

Stena visits on cutback plansNautilus consults members before talks with company

Unions and employers at last month’s International Bargaining Forum negotiations in Tokyo

Nautilus industrial organiser Lisa Carr is pictured right with members and management at a meeting with the Natural Environment Research Council to discuss ownership and governance proposals aff ecting members serving on ships operated by NOC-NMFSS and British Antarctic Survey. Nautilus was due to meet the company again at the end of March to formalise the pay structure and review the terms of reference.

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FNautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson took part in top-level negotiations last month

on a proposed new agreement on the pay and conditions of thousands of seafarers covered by the International Bargaining Forum total crew cost agreement.

Held in Tokyo, the second round of talks between International Transport Workers’ Federation delegates and shipowner representatives in the Joint Negotiating Group made little progress on the key issue of a pay increase.

Further talks are due to take place in London in April, to be followed by a fi nal meeting in June.

‘The JNG maintained the position that the recovery in global shipping is too weak and it is premature to be talking of pay increases,’ Mr Dickinson told the Telegraph. ‘The off er they made

earlier — of holding the current IBF wage rates for a further three years — was repeated.

‘For the seafarers, the ITF presented market research that suggested the recovery was more positive and maintained the demand for a 10% increase for a two-year deal and 15% for a three-year deal, plus other contractual improvements such as aligning IBF benchmark wages for offi cers more closely to actual pay, reduced voyage lengths, improved leave and overtime rates.

‘We are also pressing the JNG to support joint work on a range of partnership, issues such as eff orts to eradicate harassment and bullying at sea; the promotion of more jobs for women, and best practice guidelines on cadet training,’ he added.Nautilus also took part in talks which resulted in an agreement on an increase in the International

Labour Organisation’s minimum wage rate for seafarers. Under the terms of the deal, this will increase by $7 per month from 1 January 2015, and by a further $22 on 1 January 2016. The ILO governing body has also been asked to arrange further talks early in 2016 to consider updating the wage rate with eff ect from January 2017.

The increases take the minimum monthly basic wage for an AB from $585 to $592 and then to $614, with the commensurate monthly total earnings for an AB based on the agreed ITF/ISF interpretation to $1,040 and $1,078 respectively.

Mr Dickinson described the deal as ‘a good result’ in a diffi cult climate. ‘The increase is very close to 5% over the two years of the deal — about 1.2% in 2015 and 3.8% in 2016 — and potentially sets a helpful benchmark for negotiations elsewhere,’ he added.

Slow progress in global pay talks

AMembers serving with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary have been asked

for their views on the contents of this year’s pay and conditions claim.

The submission is set to be made ahead of the 1 July review date, although the Union is continuing negotiations with management on a number of non-pay issues, including concessionary travel, study leave arrangements, certifi cation, disciplinary policy and hotel payments for personnel standing by ships and national secretary Jonathan Havard said he was hopeful that progress can be made on these.

Formal consultations are also due to begin soon on proposals developed through the Future Development programme, although informal discussions are seeking to resolve some issues before then. ‘One of the main stumbling blocks at present is the thorny issue of pay on promotion, which currently rests at 8%, and we hope to fi nd a solution to this,’ Mr Havard added.

First moves in RFA claim

04-05_at work.indd 5 19/03/2014 19:32

06 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

OFFSHORE NEWS

shortreportsSEACOR SUBMISSION: Nautilus has submitted a pay and conditions claim which includes an RPI infl ation-plus increase for members employed by Seacor Marine and serving onboard BPOS vessels. The claim also includes Christmas and new year bonuses and a comparison of all ranks with the market rate. Industrial organiser Lisa Carr said members had raised a number of other issues which she will discuss separately with the company. These included improvements to communications, clarifi cation on travel expenses and docking day payments; and for surveys to be divided equally between crews. Ms Carr is currently seeking a meeting with the company to discuss the claim.

CHOPPERS ‘SAFE’: the safety record of North Sea helicopters is as good as other sectors, aviation experts told a Parliamentary inquiry last month. Mark Swan, from the Civil Aviation Authority, told the House of Commons transport committee that off shore helicopter services are not inherently unsafe, even though there have been fi ve major crashes in the past four years. The Scottish TUC has supported calls for a review of the fatal accident inquiry system after it took fi ve years to report on an Super Puma EC225 accident in which 16 people died in April 2009.

GULF CLAIM: a pay and conditions claim has been submitted on behalf of members employed by Gulf Off shore. The detailed claim includes an RPI-linked increase, a reduction in leave days held by the company, compensation for crew change delays and training, fi rst class travel for offi cers, and increases in sick pay and compassionate leave.

FARSTAD TALKS: Nautilus has held talks with Farstad Singapore management on the Union’s claim for an RPI infl ation-plus pay increase for members serving with the company. Industrial organiser Gary Leech and liaison offi cers Peter Tipping and Neil Coltman took part in the discussions and a formal response was awaited late last month.

SEALION PRESSED: Nautilus was set to meet Seahorse Maritime management late last month for more talks on this year’s pay and conditions claim, following members’ rejection of a 2% off er. Industrial organiser Paul Schroder said the Union will be pressing the company for an improvement to the package.

SKILLS CALL: the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology and the recruitment agency Matchtech have published a report with 16 recommendations to tackle a shortage of marine engineers which, they warn, is particularly aff ecting the off shore oil and gas sector.

TECHNIP CALL: Nautilus is continuing to press Technip Singapore management for a meeting to discuss the Union’s claim for improvements to a two-year pay and conditions off er that was rejected by members.

NKOSSA DEAL: members employed by Maersk Off shore and serving on Nkossa II have voted to accept the company’s off er of a 2.7% increase in salaries.

PWith the referendum on Scottish independence fast approaching, British

prime minister David Cameron has promised to ‘use the UK’s broad shoulders’ to invest further in the offshore oil and gas indus-try.

His words followed the publi-cation of a UK government-com-missioned report by Sir Ian Wood, tackling the question of how to maximise output from the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). The Wood report calculates that the British economy could receive a potential £200bn boost over the next 20 years, through the recov-ery of an additional 3-4bn barrels of North Sea oil and gas. Its key rec-ommendations include:

za new shared strategy for maximising oil and gas recovery,

with commitment from the government and the oil and gas industry

zcreation of a new arm’s length regulatory body to oversee and develop this programme of change and growth

zgreater collaboration by industry in areas such as development of regional hubs, sharing of infrastructure and reducing the complexity and delays in current legal and commercial processes

Campaigners for Scottish independence wish to see the country reap the full benefi t from oil and gas extraction on its terri-tory. However, Mr Cameron and his Westminster colleagues argue that an independent Scotland could have diffi culty fi nding the money needed for investment

— with a greater sum needed per head of population than in the ‘broad-shouldered’ UK.

Whatever the outcome of September’s referendum, the North Sea offshore sector cannot survive without substantial and sustained investment, stressed Malcolm Webb of Oil & Gas UK, and he urged the government to continue providing a ‘competi-tive environment’ for this.

Oil & Gas UK published its own report in late February: the Activity Survey 2014. The indus-try body’s analysis is generally upbeat about the state of the UKCS, forecasting capital expend-iture of around £13bn in 2014, the second highest year for invest-ment on record.

The report also points to bet-ter than expected production last

year, with new developments and an increased focus on production effi ciency credited for the out-come of 1.43m barrels of oil equiv-alent per day (boepd) produced in 2013, 8% lower than in 2012 but a signifi cant improvement on the average yearly decline of 15% experienced between 2010 and 2012.

Production is expected to pick up further in 2014, but, with exploration, Oil & Gas UK says the industry is facing its biggest chal-lenge in 50 years. Only 15 explo-ration wells were drilled in 2013, continuing a steep downward trend since 2008 when 44 explo-ration wells were drilled. Explora-tion over the past three years has been at its lowest in the history of the UKCS and in 2013 replaced just 80m barrels.

UKCS ‘could deliver a £200bn boost’

FMaersk Training has launched two new off shore emergency

courses at its Aberdeen centre, using a newly-built helicopter simulator and helideck fi re ground.

It is now off ering the four-day OPITO helideck emergency response team member training (HERTM) course and the six-day OPITO combined helideck and team member training programme using equipment which can simulate the Sikorsky S92 and the Eurocopter 225.

The HERTM course provides a solid knowledge of all procedures associated with the helideck and helicopter landing, as well as a more general

understanding of emergency response procedures on an off shore installation.

The combined course aims to enable off shore workers to potentially fulfi l a dual role as both a helideck assistant and an off shore emergency response team member.

‘By adding the HERTM to the company’s course list, Maersk Training is one step closer to being a one-stop shop for all off shore wind and oil and gas training needs,’ said MD Stuart Cameron. ‘The simulators will enable us to off er a better off shore emergency response learning experience which is not only realistic but also unique.’

Report recommends new regulatory body to maximise North Sea output

Maersk launches emergency coursesExcellence in Training

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HOTA is a limited company with Charity Status, open 51 weeks a year with a rolling timetable of courses held at its Malmo Road and Albert Dock sites in Hull

Phoenix given an extra 17 metres...A

Nautilus members have been involved in a remarkable conversion project which has

seen an off shore construction support vessel lengthened by more than 17m and equipped with state of the art cable-laying and trenching equipment.

The 9,418gt Havila Phoenix, originally built in 2009, has been transformed at the Havyard Ship Technology shipyard in Leirvik, Norway, ahead of its planned return to service next month on a major seven-year contract for off shore construction and trenching activities.

The work began in the second half of 2013 and fi rst involved the vessel being cut in two and

extended from 110m to 127.4m, with almost 700 tons of extra steel being installed at a yard in Poland before going to Norway to complete the upgrade.

New equipment fi tted to the ship includes state of the art trenching machines and a vertical carousel with capacity to store 2,000 tons of cable. The ship’s stern has been reinforced and a 250-tonne A-frame installed.

DeepOcean — which has chartered the ship from Havila — described the new equipment as the world’s most sophisticated subsea trenching system, including the world’s largest self-propelled trencher. Key features of the spread

include a 3,200hp track-based machine, equipped with a high sea state handling system, which will be capable of working in a combination of mechanical cutting and jetting modes.

The vessel has also been fi tted with a high power, neutrally buoyant ROV jet trenching system and two DeepOcean owned and operated ROVs.

Work on the conversion has involved around 100 marine staff . The DeepOcean contract is for seven years with four one-year options. Havila Phoenix is booked for most of 2014 following its delivery in April and will work on three projects in Norway.

Emergency training at Maersk’s new Aberdeen-based facilities

The construction support vessel Havila Phoenix, left, has had a new section, above, inserted at a yard in Poland

06_offshore.indd 6 20/03/2014 08:47

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 07

NEWS

PNautilus is urging ship-owners to install CCTV onboard passenger ves-

sels to help improve safety and to reduce the number of ‘missing without trace’ cases of people fall-ing overboard.

The Union has tabled a paper at the UK national maritime occupational health and safety committee, calling for the intro-duction of a policy to require the fi tting of CCTV cameras on the open decks of all cruiseships and ro-ro passenger vessels.

Similar provisions were intro-duced in the US by the 2010 Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act. This requires owners to use tech-

nology to capture images of pas-sengers, or to detect passengers, who have fallen overboard.

The US regulations also require owners to maintain a video sur-veillance system to assist in docu-menting crimes on their vessels and in providing evidence for the prosecution of such crimes.

There is currently no require-ment in UK law for the installation of CCTV cameras on passenger vessels or ro-ro passenger vessels — but Nautilus argues that such rules would be of benefi t to ship-owners, passengers, crew, SAR services and law enforcement and investigation agencies.

The Union’s paper argues that

such technology would help SAR services by determining the exact time and place a person went overboard and assist investiga-tions into the reason why a person went overboard.

‘It would eliminate unneces-sary costs incurred by shipping companies and SAR services in the event of a missing person or MOB false alarm,’ senior national secretary Allan Graveson added.

‘We believe that it would also help to prevent crime through deterrence and give assistance to investigators when a crime has been committed.’

The use of CCTV could improve safety onboard by discouraging

staff from carrying out unsafe acts and enabling companies to identify areas where further training is required, Mr Graveson pointed out.

‘Evidence provided by surveil-lance cameras can reduce a ship-owner’s liability in cases involv-ing crimes, accidents and other incidents onboard a vessel,’ he argued.

The UK Chamber of Shipping has established an ad hoc work-ing group to consider the value of CCTV cameras on open decks of passenger vessels, in the after-math of the disappearance of pas-senger Richard Fearnside from the Pride of Kent in May last year.

Union urges CCTV rules for UK shipsPassengership cameras would cut crime and improve safety, Nautilus says

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PLACING PEOPLE AROUND THE GLOBE

FOR 25 YEARS

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Thank you to the Maritime industry for making the last 25 years so exciting

ANautilus industrial organiser Paul Schroder is pictured

left after completing the adidas half marathon at the historic Silverstone racetrack as part of his training towards running the London marathon to raise money for Seafarers UK this month.

Paul — a self-confessed former couch potato — was one of 6,930 runners taking part in the event and managed to complete the course at the motor racing circuit in comfortably less than two hours (1.52.29), despite diffi cult conditions.

gHe is now aiming to raise at least £1,500 for Seafarers UK by completing the London Marathon on 13 April. You can donate through the website: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/schroder.

Paul’s marathon eff orts

F A Dutch-fl agged ship was detained in the UK port of

Southampton for almost three weeks after a port state control inspection revealed 29 defi ciencies onboard.

The 1,512gt motor hopper Deo Gloria was held by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) with problems including missing seafarers’ hours of work records, missing charts and navigation records, and damaged rescue boats.

Deo Gloria was one of nine foreign ships detained in UK ports during February. One of the other ships failing inspections was the Panama-fl agged livestock carrier Express 1, which was found to have 31 defi ciencies when it was towed into Fowey after suff ering engine failure. Problems included false records of work and rest hours, inoperative fi re doors and fi re alarms, lack of knowledge in fi re drills and defective pipes.

FNautilus has backed a UK and Irish General

Lighthouse Authorities warning over the vulnerability of Automatic Identifi cation Systems (AIS) information.

The warning was issued last month in response to research showing that AIS information provided on internet sites can be spoofed — enabling false information to be presented, including the names and other details of vessels, their position and status.

‘AIS was originally provided for safety reasons, not for security purposes, so it was never designed to be resistant to malicious interference,’ said Dr Nick Ward, research director for the GLAs.

Although the vulnerabilities of the system have been known for a long time and maritime authorities do not rely on AIS internet sites, there is concern about failures arising from such causes as:

zincorrect data input to AIS unit

zdisruption to GNSS (GPS)

zfailure of AIS unit

zdegradation of VHF propagation

zloss of VHF reception

zcontrol system malfunction‘Spoofi ng’ of data input or GPS

signals can result in a false position or identity being broadcast and the GLAs stress that, in common with other navigation and communications systems, AIS should not be relied upon as the sole source of information.

All AIS information should be verifi ed by some other means, for example radar or VHF DF, they advise. Any apparently false or anomalous signals should be investigated by cross-checking with other AIS receiving stations and displays and the integrity of broadcast information, especially AIS AtoN, should be monitored to ensure that identity, position and status are correct.

Local navigation warnings should be considered if false AIS signals are being broadcast, the GLAs add.

Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson said the advice was important. ‘Nautilus stated this at the outset,’ he added. ‘AIS should be used with extreme caution — and particularly on collision avoidance.’

Conference considers North Sea safety

Nautilus backs GLA warning over AIS vulnerabilities

First arrival at new boxship berthA

The UK port of Southampton’s new facilities for handling

‘mega’ containerships were christened last month with the arrival of the 13,082TEU Hyundai Tenacity, pictured left.

Built as part of a £100m expansion programme, the 500m long new berth (SCT5) is designed to handle the largest vessels in the world, including the new generation of 18,000TEU boxships. It has a depth alongside of 16m, and can be deepened to 17m in the future.

Equipped with four new Liebherr cranes capable of reaching across a span of 24 containers, the new quay also has a fi fth crane, relocated from elsewhere in the terminal, to speed up loading and discharge operations.Picture: Gary Davies/Maritime Photographic

F Proposals for ensuring the safety of shipping in the increasingly busy North Sea Region were

presented to the second annual conference of the EU-funded ACCSEAS project last month.

Workshops to consider the future of e-Navigation training, the provision of e-Navigation services — including the concept of the Maritime Cloud — and the impact of e-Navigation on the wider logistics chain were on the agenda at the three-day meeting.

The three-year ACCSEAS project was established to look at ways of improving maritime access to

the North Sea Region by minimising navigational risk. It is examining ways of harmonising maritime information and improving e-Navigation training provision.

It is hoped the results will shape policy development and infl uence the creation of any necessary institutional structures and regulatory instruments for future e-Navigation services.

The conference included demonstrations of a number of potential e-Navigation solutions developed in the project, including a vessel

operations coordination tool, dynamic predictor, multi-source positioning service and ‘no-go area’.

‘The waters of the North Sea Region are forecast to become increasingly congested, with an estimated 50% increase on the number of ship movements by 2020,’ said project manager Dr Alwyn Williams. ‘Likewise, the navigable space taken up by wind farms could increase from 440km2 to 23,500 sq km in just a few years. This poses signifi cant safety concerns for vessels in the North Sea, which already has some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.’

UK detains Dutch ship

07_news.indd 7 19/03/2014 18:56

08 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

LARGE YACHT NEWS

by Michael Howorth

HThe term free surface eff ect is not one reserved only for

commercial ships with fuel, ballast or cargo tanks — it also explains the reason superyachts need to empty swimming pools before they sail.

Refi lling the pool can be a lengthy process and some guests get agitated that they cannot use the pool as soon

as the yacht is at anchor. In short, it is a problem the large yacht crews wish they could do without.

Dutch naval architects Cor D Rover Design believe they have found the solution with an idea so good they have patented it: pressing up the pool before and after the large covering doors are closed. The clever part of the patent is that the adjustable fl oor of the swimming pool moves upwards

and solves the disadvantage of the free surface eff ect of the water. The novel feature is the watertight closure used in conjunction with top-fi lling the pool after its closure. To guarantee a 100% fi ll, a small but constant overpressure is applied

The idea of covering a pool means that the extra deck area a closed pool provides can be used for large parties and on-deck sports.

by Michael Howorth

PIn only the second year since it began, the 2014 Palma Superyacht Show

is fulfi lling its potential as a sea-son opener in the Mediterranean. Majorca’s hospitable climate, combined with mainland Europe’s 1 May public holiday, have made the prospect of visiting the show an attractive proposition.

As the only public admission event organised by the industry itself, the Palma show benefi ts from a recently signed partner-ship agreement with MYBA, the worldwide yachting agency.

Timed at the beginning of the season and taking place between 30 April and 4 May, the show clashes somewhat with MYBA’s own Superyacht Charter Yacht Show in Genoa (28 April to 2 May) and slightly confl icts with those of the Antibes Yacht Show, held from 23 to 26 April in Port Vauban, Antibes.

From an organisational point of view, take-up has exceeded all expectations, with berths for over half the expected number of 60-plus yachts over 24m length taken, and 75% of shore-side exhibitor stand space already allocated.

Running concurrently with the 31st Boat Show Palma, exhibi-tors and visitors benefi t from the prospect that yachts can be sold and charters booked in readiness for the coming season.

Palma Superyacht has proved to have the pleasing ability to attract an approximate 50:50 ratio of sail to power. Confi rmed highlights include: Mystere 43.2m, currently the largest sail-ing yacht signed so far, and the 38.9m Ganesha 1, built by Fitzroy Yachts in 2006.

Arne Ploch, CNI Palma senior yacht broker and member of the show’s organising committee, commented: ‘Most of the yachts attending fall between 28m and

35m, with the 47m Heesen Let it Be the largest booked to attend so far, but that may change between now and when yacht registrations close on 1 April.’

zNautilus will have a stand at the Palma crew show and the Union will return 10 days later to conduct the latest in its series of Maritime Labour Convention training sessions, between 5 and 6 May.

Expert speakers will provide essential information about the way in which the convention is being implemented and enforced, covering such issues as seafarer employment agreements, collec-tive bargaining agreements, com-plaints procedures and inspec-tions.

gAttendance at the seminar is free to members, and costs £268 for non-members. To register for the course, contact Hilary Molloy on (+44)0151 639 8454 or email: hmolloy@nautilusint.org.

Palma shapes up for success

FThe sale in February of a newbuild 54 superyacht

highlights the increasing trend of owners towards semi-production craft. Amels, the yacht-building division of the Dutch-based commercial shipbuilding group Damen, has perfected the art of semi-production superyachts to guarantee superior delivery times and exceptional quality and design.

Across the industry delivery time is seen as increasingly pivotal in owners’ decision-making, and this new order, which was brokered by Burgess, confi rms the trend. The yacht will be delivered in May 2015, just 16 months after she was commissioned.

The platform used by the builder eliminates technical risk and allows the owners to focus on customising the ‘fun parts’ secure in the knowledge that their yacht will be delivered on time.

Nautilus plans to attend show and return for MLC course

Concern raised over sector skills shortage

Big sales at Dubai event

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Dutch builder shows off new concept at Gulf exhibitionA

The Dutch builder Oceanco was among the exhibitors at the

Dubai International Boat Show last month — with its 88.5m motor yacht Nirvana being the largest vessel on show.

The company also displayed scale models of several projects, including the 110m Rialto, pictured left. First revealed at the 2013 Monaco Yacht Show, this 5,600gt

concept vessel will be capable of accommodating 18 guests and 37 crew.

Powered by four 4,290hp MTU 20V 4000 M 73 engines, Rialto will have a maximum speed of around 21.5 knots. Designed by Oceanco’s in-house team, Nuvolari-Lenard and BMT Nigel Gee, Rialto will be compliant with the Passenger Yacht Code (PYC).

FThe French yachting professionals’ association,

Gépy, has expressed concern at standards of competence in the sector.

Members attending the organisation’s annual meeting in Cannes criticised what they described as an increasing infl ux of under-trained and untrained skippers, and also expressed concern about the scarcity of competent engineering and service staff .

The meeting also condemned European Union regulations banning fi nancial arrangements that enable crews sailing on foreign-fl agged vessels to contribute to Enim, the French maritime social security system, on the grounds that the Commission considers that they

are not employed by ‘companies engaged in maritime activity’.

Gépy chairman Jacques Conzalès also spoke of concern about the distortion of competition arising from discrepancies in the amount of VAT to be paid on contracts by charterers. He said that when a charter is contracted the client must pay national tax, which diff ers according to country and is even non-existent in Croatia, the newest EU member.

‘Distortions in competition are huge and the consequences on the price of food, fuel and other supplies are enormous,’ he added. The consequences will include an increasing number of departures this year that will originate in Greece and Turkey, he pointed out.

Pool problems designed out

AThe German builder Abeking & Rasmussen has launched the

second largest superyacht it has ever built — the 81.8m Kibo, pictured above.

Set to become the 76th largest yacht in the world by the end of this year, Kibo is due to be delivered in June following a series of sea trials and equipment tests.

The project, managed by Y.CO, was built with a steel hull and an aluminium superstructure, with exterior and interior design by Terence Disdale.

FWhen the owners of the superyacht Hampshire chose to

move from commercial to private use classifi cation they contracted Andrew Weir Yacht Management to provide services to the yacht.

AWYM, a division of ship managers Andrew Weir Shipping, was asked to review the yacht’s management and safety systems and provide emergency response services and assistance to the captain and crew where required.

Hampshire’s master, Captain Edmund Wilkinson, said: ‘Andrew Weir’s response to our change in classifi cation allowed us to immediately continue with the safe management of the yacht. Their advice was clear, proactive and has fi tted in well with our operations onboard.’

AWYM provides a range of services, including of technical supervision, ISM, ISPS, crew payroll, insurance and claims management.

FThe 22nd edition of Dubai International Boat Show has

closed and reports coming from exhibitors seem to suggest it has been a most successful event, with organisers claiming more than 26,000 visitors from 70 countries to see 430 boats, including 19 superyachts.

Within hours of the fi ve-day show opening at the Dubai International Marine Club, the Sunseeker Middle East offi ce signed a deal for a 48m superyacht, worth more than AED153m (£25.5m) and Turkish builder, Bilgin Yachts Shipyard, reported a sale of a 50m superyacht worth AED114m on day three.

Exhibitors reported sales of small and medium sized boats were also on the rise with solid leads and sales reported by international and regional yacht and boat manufacturers. These boats proved popular with visitors, as the leisure boating community continues to take advantage of growing network of inner waterways and marinas.

Demonstrating the region’s growing maritime market, there were 750 exhibitors — up 20% from 2013 — who came from 50 countries, and a total of 42 launches. The 88.5m Nirvana and 88m Quattroelle, two of the largest superyachts in the show’s history, proved to be the biggest draw.

Just in time deliveries on the rise

Help for Hampshire switch

08_yachts.indd 6 19/03/2014 18:11

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 09

NEWS

PEuropean governments need to urgently deliver clarity on state aid measures to help shipping

companies comply with environmental regulations, Nautilus has warned.

General secretary Mark Dickinson said he was increasingly concerned at warnings by shipowners over the threat to key services arising from the costs of falling into line with the fuel sulphur cap taking effect on 1 January 2015.

A report commissioned by the UK Chamber of Shipping last year found that the extra fuel costs alone could total more than £300m for ferry operators in the West-ern Channel and North Sea and that this could in turn threaten some 2,000 jobs at sea and ashore.

‘We cannot dismiss such warnings as

simple scaremongering,’ Mr Dickinson said, ‘and it is important that the European Commission and member states face up to the impact of these regulations on a sector that has already been struggling to adjust to the effects of the economic downturn.’

Mr Dickinson said more governments should follow the example set by Finland, which last month announced a second round of fi nancial support totalling €12.6m for companies fi tting emission-abatement equipment to their vessels.

The European Community Shipowners’ Association has called for rapid action to address both the state aids regime and the legal issues surrounding the introduction of Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECA).

Secretary general Patrick Verhoeven told the Clean Shipping Conference in the port

of Gdansk last month that compliance with the rules is a major challenge — with questions about fuel availability, price and the effectiveness of abatement technolo-gies such as scrubbers.

‘The business case for certain shipping routes in the SECA region is already mar-ginal, and the slightest cost increase could mean the end of profi tability,’ he warned.

Mr Verhoeven called for ‘concrete sup-port’ for reconversion projects and new-builds, and urgent clarity on the aid that could be given at national and interna-tional level.

ECSA is also seeking legal certainty over the rules and regulations covering the treatment in ports of scrubber wastewater and LNG bunkering operations, as well as monitoring and enforcement measures to

ensure that early adopters are not penal-ised.

‘With the SECA implementation date approaching fast, there is a lot of talk about monitoring and enforcing compliance,’ Mr Verhoeven added. ‘I would make a plea for a playing fi eld that is level but fair.

‘It means fi rst of all that the early adop-ters, those operators that completed all the investments and are ready to meet the sulphur norms in time, are not penal-ised’ he stressed. ‘But it equally means that those that can demonstrate that they made the necessary commitments to meet the norms, but may not be entirely ready by the time the deadline elapses for technical or other good reasons, are given a compli-ance path within a limited and conditional timeframe.’

Call for ‘green’ aidGovernments should ease cost burden of sulphur rules, say Nautilus and European shipowners

AThe Scottish Maritime Academy’s new £60,000

ECDIS suite, above, opened for business last month — refl ecting a mood of optimism and expansion at the Aberdeenshire nautical college.

Centre manager Linda Hope said that the equipment could be used to train up to nine delegates at a time, each with their own ECDIS station. ‘This MCA-approved course uses the Transas software,’ she said, ‘and given the level of interest we have had, more dates have been added.’

Formerly part of Banff and Buchan College, the Academy has seen substantial changes in

recent months, due the Scottish government’s post-16 education legislation, and its parent body is now North East Scotland College.

The institution is still the main training provider for Scottish fi shing crew, but has also been building a substantial portfolio of Merchant Navy courses, including STCW Offi cer of the Watch training.

Strong demand from the thriving North Sea off shore sector has contributed to a 19% increase in enrolments in the last year, but the Academy has pledged to continue with the small class sizes for which it is known.

Strong turn-out for Fleetwood’s open day

FA US-based maritime communications company has

revealed a new telemedicine service for shipping which, it claims, will create a ‘virtual ER’ onboard merchant vessels.

Globecomm Maritime has teamed up with the medical company Future Care to launch the video-enabled telemedicine service ‘to provide a revolutionary level of medical care to commercial shipping and marine personnel during emergency illness or injury at sea, as well as to respond to routine healthcare needs’.

Originally developed for military use, Future Care Live will use the video-streaming properties of Access Chat Plus to enable the simultaneous remote participation of doctors,

shipowner representatives, family members and a Future Care case manager while the patient is onboard ship.

Globecomm Maritime president Malcolm McMaster said the launch of the service was timely following the introduction of the Maritime Labour Convention. ‘Shipowners and managers are more than ever focused on the human factor as the key to safe and effi cient operations,’ he added. ‘Until now, this realisation has lacked the mechanism to truly provide innovative services like telemedicine. Putting Access Chat Plus together with Future Care creates the opportunity to deliver a service that can improve healthcare for mariners and also be highly cost-eff ective.’

UKHO staff protest over pay policy

Captain cleared on charges of putting his ship in danger

AMore evidence that young people remain interested in

maritime careers was highlighted by the strong turn-out at this year’s Fleetwood Nautical Campus open day — pictured right.

Just over 500 people attended the careers day and the college has 166 potential candidates following the annual event which gives school leavers the chance to meet current cadets and lecturers, and representatives from training providers including BP, Bibby, Maersk, Carnival, Clyde Marine Training, Trinity House, James Fisher and the RFA.

As well as being able to watch fi re-fi ghting and survival training demonstrations, prospective MN trainees had the opportunity to have a go and the bridge simulator, see the newly refurbished engineering simulator and other facilities.

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a wide range of issues including:

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CONTACT US FOR ADVICE

Phone: 08457 413 318 (Monday to Friday, 10.00am to 4.00pm)

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New ECDIS training suite

New service offers ‘virtual ER’ at sea

FStaff at the UK Hydrographic Offi ce staged a mass walk-

out last month in protest over the government’s hardline public sector pay policy.

Members of the Prospect union staged a week-long series of actions short of a strike — including a work-to-rule and an overtime ban — following the imposition of a 1% pay off er.

The union says UKHO is a successful organisation which makes a profi t and could aff ord to give a bigger increase.

Prospect negotiator Helen Stevens said: ‘We need a new pay system because the existing arrangements have driven down morale, are unfair to large numbers of staff and ultimately aff ect UKHO’s ability to attract the specialists it needs to operate eff ectively.

‘Prospect members are proud of the specialist skills they deploy to ensure the safety of those at sea and to serve the national interest,’ she added. ‘They should be paid fairly for it.’

F A shipmaster has walked free from a court in New Zealand

after being cleared of causing unnecessary danger to passengers and crew by taking a ferry to sea with a hole in the hull.

Captain John Henderson, master of the 14,588gt ro-pax Santa Regina had denied the charge, which was brought by Maritime New Zealand following an incident in April 2011 in which the Cook Strait ferry was damaged during berthing operations in the port of Wellington.

Prosecutors alleged that the ferry had been left with a 3.5m hole in its side after colliding with a fi shing boat while berthing in bad weather and that this had not been not noticed while the ship sailed to Picton and back to Wellington.

But defence lawyer Michael Reed called for the case to be thrown out. He said the ferry had suff ered two

holes in the collision — the smaller of which had been repaired before the vessel left port.

Capt Henderson had been very thorough in his inspection of the ship after the incident, but the other hole — which was an opening of 1.8m —had not been noticed by anyone until the ferry arrived back in Wellington.

While the hole should have been fi xed had it been spotted, he argued that it posed no threat to the safety of the ship. ‘No water got in and it was nonsense to suggest that any water getting in would have caused a problem,’ Mr Reed told the court.

District court judge Tom Broadmore granted the application to reject the case on the basis that there was insuffi cient evidence from the prosecution to prove that a failure to fi nd the hole and deal with it had caused a danger or risk to passengers and crew.

09_news.indd 9 19/03/2014 18:12

PHull MP Alan Johnson has helped to launch a new scheme developed

by a national charity to sup-port former seafarers and their dependants to start up their own businesses.

The Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise (PRIME) staged the launch event at the Maritime Museum in Hull to enable local ex-seafarers to fi nd out about the support they can receive to start their own enterprises as an alter-native route to get back into sus-tained employment.

Backed with funding from the Seafarers UK charity, the PRIME scheme, which aims to help out of work and unemployed over-50s into self-employment, has launched a scheme to help ex-sea-farers and their dependants start up their own businesses.

It is the fi rst time PRIME has developed a programme for those with a seafaring background, as well as their dependents, and the scheme can provide an intro-duction to self-employment workshops, mentoring schemes, networking events, as well as business clubs, to help aspiring ‘mature entrepreneurs’.

PRIME also offers business

training courses to ex-seafarers, which will include three work-shops spread over six to eight weeks, covering the essentials to any start-up a business, including managing accounts, understand-ing legal requirements and how to write a business plan.

Mr Johnson — who held a string of Cabinet posts in the last Labour government, including education minister, health min-ister and home secretary — com-mented: ‘The seafaring commu-nity is a valuable source of skills and experience and a scheme

like this would not only be ben-efi cial for the ex-seafarers who are unfortunately out of work but would also be positive for their families, local communities and the wider economy.’

Commodore Barry Bryant, Seafarers UK’s director general, added: ‘We are excited to be part-funding a pilot of this initiative that is specifi cally for seafaring veterans.

‘Getting people into work is an absolute priority and we hope that this initiative will support more of our veterans to view self-employment as a viable option and go on to set up their own busi-nesses.’

PRIME’s northern develop-ment manager, Terry King, said the Hull event had been a great success. ‘We’re looking forward to working with the seafaring community in Hull and the sur-rounding areas and we hope our support will result in new busi-nesses, as well as new avenues of employment, making use of this much-valued community’s skills and experience to benefi t their local areas, as well as the wider economy.’

gFor further information: www.prime.org.uk.

10 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

NEWS

New directions for former seafarers F Do you know someone who

deserves an award for their bravery at sea or their work to support seafarers? Now is the time to nominate them for the 2014 Merchant Navy Medal (MNM) presentations.

Established in 2005, the MNM is awarded annually to honour acts of courage afl oat, or meritorious service, by people from the UK or British overseas dependent territories, within the Merchant Navy or the fi shing fl eet.

Up to 20 medals may be awarded annually and the committee responsible for the MNM is now seeking nominations for this year’s awards. The committee is particularly keen to receive nominations for personnel serving at sea — and these can be put forward by colleagues or employers.

The award is made for meritorious

service to those who are judged to have made a worthy contribution to merchant shipping, including operations, development, personnel, welfare and safety, or who have performed an act of courage afl oat.

A small number of medals can be awarded as ‘honoris causa’ to those who have made a major contribution to the shipping sector but have not served afl oat.

gThe closing date for 2014 nominations is 30 June and further information — including the regulations and a nomination form — can be found the Merchant Navy Medal website: www.merchantnavymedal.org or from the Merchant Navy Welfare Board, 8 Cumberland Place, Southampton SO15 2BH. Tel: 00(44)2380 337799 enquiries@mnwb.org.uk

Hull launch for project to help ex-MN personnel start their own businesses

Do you know a MN Medal candidate?

FPictured right is 23-year-old port services trainee Josh

Francis, who has embarked on a maritime career thanks to a back-to-work scheme run by Isle of Wight youth charity UKSA.

The Change Direction course is a four-week programme for UK-based 16 to 24 year-olds seeking to move off benefi ts and into employment. It involves a two week residential at UKSA’s Cowes HQ, made up of marine industry workshops and water-based activities, followed by another two weeks of hands-on work experience back home — which in Josh’s case meant a spell at the Port of Dover.

Josh explains: ‘I’d been unemployed for 18 months and felt really low and worthless, so when my local Job Centre Plus recommended Change Direction last summer I jumped at the chance. It was brilliant fun and I learnt so much in a short

space of time. My communication skills improved and I became a lot more assured around new people, plus I discovered a new-found confi dence around the water, having not had much to do with boats before.’

During his work experience at the Port of Dover, Josh says he felt very much part of the team, cleaning and maintaining the launch boats, and working in the engineroom on the dredger. He was so keen to work at the port that he stayed on as a volunteer after the Change Direction placement fi nished, and eventually won a place as an ICT apprentice.

Around 85% of all Change Direction participants to date have moved into some form of work or training.

UKSA is hoping to roll out the programme throughout the country, and expects to have 2,000 participants by 2017.

UKSA scheme gets Josh a job in Dover

Pictured, left to right, at PRIME’s launch in Hull are: Alan Johnson MP; PRIME CEO Alastair Clegg ; PRIME northern development manager Terry King; and author Rose George

FSeveral companies employing Nautilus members have been

shortlisted for the International Seafarers’ Welfare Awards, due to be presented this month.

The awards are organised by the International Seafarers’ Welfare Assistance Network (ISWAN), which has sifted through a wide range of seafarers’ nominations to select the following fi nalists for Shipping Company of the Year: BW Maritime; China Navigation Co; Royal Caribbean Cruises; Shell Shipping; and Wallem Ship Management.

The other categories in the competition are Port of the Year, Seafarer Centre of the Year and Welfare Personality of the Year. Winners will be announced at a ceremony in Geneva on 7 April, hosted by International Labour Organisation director general Guy Ryder.

F Traditional maritime skills are to be given a helping hand with

a £261,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant to National Historic Ships UK (NHS-UK).

The money will go towards the Shipshape Heritage Training Partnership project, which aims to train young people in traditional skills and techniques while also taking part in work on the conservation, handling and maintenance of historic vessels.

NHS-UK director Martyn Heighton said he was delighted by the award. ‘The funding will help to promote the traditional seamanship skills that are integral to the future of the UK’s

operational historic vessels,’ he added. ‘It will also aid the development of specialist training across fi ve regions via our Shipshape Network which we have set up to help support such initiatives.

‘A skills mapping exercise, coupled with the development of an assessment framework in traditional seamanship skills, will ensure a legacy which will endure beyond the length of the two-and-a-half year project,’ he added.

The project will support 10 year-long training placements with a wide range of partner organisations across the UK.

Lottery grant boost for historic ship training

Crew welfare awards for best practice

10-11_news.indd 10 19/03/2014 18:59

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 11

NEWS

AEuropean MPs have agreed binding new rules on search

and rescue which, they claim, will protect shipmasters and seafarers from criminalisation as a result of picking up refugees in distress at sea.

A package approved by the European Parliament’s civil liberties committee last month aims to clarify how border guards serving in EU Frontex border agency sea operations should deal with migrants and where they should disembark them.

The rules on SAR operations and the disembarkation of migrants will only cover operations coordinated by Frontex, in an attempt to dispel confusion created by EU member states’ diff ering interpretations of international law and practices.

A provision allowing ‘pushback’ operations on the high seas was deleted from the text. The only possibility that remains is to ‘warn and order’ a vessel not to enter in the territorial waters of a member state.

‘The shipmaster and crew should not face criminal sanctions for the sole reason of having rescued persons in distress at sea and brought them to a place of safety,’ states an amendment inserted into the text by MEPs.

The text also reiterates that member states facing migratory pressure may activate several solidarity tools — including human, technical and fi nancial resources — in the event of a sudden infl ux of migrants.

The new rules have been drawn up in response to problems caused by a dramatic increase in migrants seeking to reach EU countries by sea.

Frontex said 42,618 people came ashore in the third quarter of 2013, some four times as many as in the fi rst quarter of the year. Particular concern has been raised over the number drowning as a result of substandard boats sinking.

The agreement is to be put to a vote by Parliament as a whole in April.

FThe International Maritime Organisation has agreed to

an eff ective grace period for the implementation of new training and certifi cation requirements for ship security offi cers and seafarers with designated security duties.

The organisation’s human element, training and watchkeeping sub-committee has approved new guidelines which seek to ‘address practical diffi culties seafarers have reportedly experienced in obtaining the necessary security certifi cation’ required by the 2010 Manila amendments to the STCW convention.

The guidance recommends that, until 1 July 2015, relevant training

under section 13 (training, drills and exercises on ship security) of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code should be accepted as being equivalent to that required under the STCW Convention and Code.

The meeting approved an STCW circular on advice for port state control offi cers, recognised organisations and recognised security organisations on action to be taken in cases where seafarers do not carry the required certifi cation.

It also sought to clarify training and certifi cation requirements for ship security offi cers and seafarers with designated security duties,

by agreeing that SSO training encompasses the competence requirements of the STCW Code (section A-VI/6). Therefore, holders of SSO certifi cates should not be required to undergo further training and obtain certifi cation.

The move follows a request from the International Chamber of Shipping for an extension of the 1 January deadline for compliance with the rules in response to concern that large numbers of seafarers were unable to access approved training courses or to be issued with certifi cation of security-related training in accordance with the STCW regulations.

EU seeks to clarify rules on search and rescue

PEuropean Union politi-cians are facing fresh industry calls to main-

tain counter-piracy patrols off Somalia and to spearhead a con-certed drive to reduce the growing risks of attack on ships off the west coast of Africa.

An analysis published by the maritime security fi rm Control Risks last month warned that a 5% global decline in reported inci-dents of piracy and armed rob-bery at sea has been outweighed by the changing threat in the Gulf of Guinea.

It cautioned that while improved ship security measures and naval coordination have dramatically cut Somali piracy, groups continue to launch attacks and political tension in the area presents a real risk of a resurgence of piracy.

Its RiskMap Maritime 2014 analysis also points to a 30% increase in piracy incidents and armed robbery in the Gulf of Guinea. Kidnapping for ransom off the Niger Delta has soared by some 335% over the past year, it added, and successful attacks are being recorded much further from the Nigerian coast.

Although there have been improvements such as ‘secure anchorages’ in some ports, local navies still have a limited capabil-ity and the region lacks a central-ised reporting and coordination centre to assist ships under attack, the report adds.

If the growing piracy problem

in the Gulf of Guinea is to be tack-led effectively, shipowners need to share information about pirate attacks on their vessels, UK-based maritime intelligence provider Dryad warned last month.

Ian Millen, Dryad’s director of intelligence, said many vessels are ill-prepared for kidnap attempts because they do not fully under-stand the risks and the true scale of the problem.

In the last three months, reports Dryad, eight vessels have been attacked in the west African region and 20 crew members kid-napped. Shipowners and seafar-ers need to gain a better under-standing of the ways that criminal gangs operate using the cover of estuaries and the riverine system of the Niger Delta — and heading out to sea is not necessarily a way to avoid the gangs either, as last year a vessel was targeted some 160nm offshore.

Speaking at a European Parlia-ment event last month, European Community Shipowners’ Asso-ciation secretary general Patrick Verhoeven urged MEPs ‘to main-tain a credible military presence off the coast of Somalia while also scaling up their efforts in West Africa’.

Jan Fritz Hansen, chairman of ECSA’s piracy taskforce, added: ‘Piracy in west Africa needs to be addressed effectively now before it escalates. The situation affects not only seafarers and shipown-ers but also jeopardises effi cient trade with the entire region.’

Alarm at new risk of piracyOwners warn on west African attacks

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STCW deadline extended

Fort Victoria begins refi tH

A major £47m refi t for the 23-year-old Royal Fleet

Auxiliary vessel Fort Victoria got under way at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead last month.

The project — the biggest ever to be undertaken by the yard since it began its 25-year ‘through-life support’ contract to maintain nine of the RFA’s 13 ships — will include an accommodation upgrade and an overhaul of the engine, main propulsion systems and the steering systems.

The yard will replace six diesel generators with complete new fuel, lube oil, salt water and fresh

water systems and pumps. Two new environment-friendly ballast water treatment plants will be installed, along with a new incinerator and reverse osmosis plants.

The ship’s fi re detection system is being replaced and a new local fi re suppression system will be installed for the main engines and generators. All the weapons and weapon systems will also be overhauled. And work will also include painting and blasting of tanks and the underwater hull, as well as painting the superstructure and decks.

Captain Ian Schumacher, the

RFA’s chief technical superintendent, commented: ‘Fort Victoria has been at the forefront of military operations for most of her life and is in need of some tender loving care to re-invigorate her for future adventures.

‘This challenging project will require signifi cant eff ort from the joint MOD and Cammell Laird teams in order to refi t and deliver this complex platform,’ he added. ‘I look forward to accepting Fort Victoria back into service at the end of this year refreshed, invigorated and enhanced to meet the future operational challenges that await.’

APlans for a common European Union approach to maritime

security — including coordinated action to cut the risks of piracy and terrorism at sea — have been revealed by Brussels.

The package, jointly developed by the European Commission and the EU’s foreign aff airs and security policy section, proposes cooperation between member states on functions including coastguards, navies, port authorities and customs.

Put forward as the fi rst stage in the adoption of a full-fl edged EU maritime security strategy, the document argues that eff ective maritime security is essential — with 23 of the 28 member states being coastal states, 90% of external trade going by sea, and more than 400m passengers passing through EU ports each year.

The document calls for a holistic EU-wide approach to maritime surveillance and information sharing,

capacity building, risk management, protection of critical maritime infrastructure and security research, education and training.

‘The security and well-being of Europeans greatly depend on open and safe seas,’ said maritime aff airs commissioner Maria Damanaki. ‘Our citizens expect eff ective responses to the protection of ports and off -shore installations, securing our seaborne trade, addressing potential threats from criminal activities at sea or possible disputes of maritime boundaries.’

Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy head, added: ‘We need a joined-up approach, as demonstrated in the Horn of Africa where we have achieved signifi cant results in fi ghting piracy. This communication paves the way for a more systematic use of all the tools we have at our disposal and will allow us to speak with one voice to our international partners.’

Europe plans joint maritime security

10-11_news.indd 11 19/03/2014 18:59

PCalls for action to improve the mainte-nance of wire ropes in

lifeboat systems have come fol-lowing an investigation into an accident onboard a cruiseship last year in which fi ve seafarers died.

The fi ndings are reinforced by the results of an investigation into a similar accident only a couple of weeks later, which found severely corroded wire ropes to be a key factor.

Three other crew members onboard the Maltese-fl agged Thomson Majesty were injured when a lifeboat plummeted 20m into the water after a wire rope fall parted and a hook failed during a drill in the port of Santa Cruz de La Palma in February 2013.

An investigation by the fl ag state found that the wire rope had parted as a result of ‘very severe’ corrosion wastage which had not been spotted during regular inspections.

Investigators also discovered that the wire rope was not of a high strength type and did not meet minimum break load strength specifi ed by the manufacturer.

Nautilus senior national secre-tary Allan Graveson commented: ‘This illustrates a total disregard by those responsible for procure-ment and operation of the safety management system. It is regret-tably all-too common.’

The report notes that the ship’s safety management system had recommended that the lifeboat should fi rst be lowered and recov-ered without anyone onboard. ‘This would have ascertained whether the system was func-tioning correctly and would have identifi ed the hydraulic leak that resulted in the lifeboat crew hang-ing idle for 40 minutes,’ it adds.

Investigators suggested the crew may have ignored the advice as they had been given a false sense of security because the lifeboats had been fi tted with approved

fall preventer devices. ‘However, these devices are meant to stop the accidental release of the hooks and are ineffective against failure of the wire rope or any other part of the lifeboat launching system,’ the report points out.

The accident investigation also concluded that crew mem-bers lacked the knowledge and skills to adequately analyse the condition of the rope and deter-mine problems. The location and design of the davit made it diffi -cult to inspect the rope for signs of corrosion, the report adds.

Although the number of sea-farers in the boat was double the recommended hoist crew, the investigation ruled that this was not a contributory factor to the rope parting.

Just over a fortnight later, a sim-ilar accident occurred onboard another Maltese-registered cruiseship, Celebrity Century, during tender boat operations in Hawaii. A wire rope fall parted, and the tender plunged 15m into the water. Fortunately no one was onboard.

An investigation found the rope had parted as a result of a ‘severe corrosion attack’ — with electron-microscope and X-ray analysis showing that this amounted to as much as a 50% reduction in its cross-section.

The report notes that the cor-rosion was the result of a lack of adequate anti-corrosion protec-tion, but it acknowledges that the change in the internal cross-section of the wire rope would not have been obvious in a visual examination.

The Thomson Majesty report calls for Malta to request the Inter-national Maritime Organisation to conduct ‘appropriate research and analysis’ into ways in which the inspection of wire ropes can be improved to detect internal corrosion and also to review the methods for their maintenance.

Salvors stress need to cut engineroom fi res

HEALTH & SAFETY

12 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

FResearchers investigating ways in which the collision

prevention regulations can be made simpler and easier to understand are this month hosting the fi rst in a series of college-based workshops to discuss the issues.

The two-year EU-funded ACTS project is examining the problems

of applying colregs in a bid to develop a new online course to help navigators to interpret and apply the requirements. The fi rst workshop will be held on 7 April at Warsash Maritime Academy, with a second planned for June or July in SW England.

gFull details: www.ecolregs.com

Containership cracking probe set for completion by August

Dutch wreck to be removed

Action sought on wire rope risksInvestigations into lifeboat falls point to problems in checking for corrosion

FA leading salvage fi rm has warned that the shipping

industry is suff ering too many engineroom fi res and is failing to learn the lessons of previous incidents.

Following a review of cases from 2013, Braemar SA said it was particularly concerned at evidence of a ‘continuing neglect of areas where fl ammable liquids can escape from high pressure (HP) and LP (low pressure) fuel, HP and LP lubricating, purifi er and fuel valve cooling systems’.

Graeme Temple, regional director of Far East operations, commented: ‘Last year we attended a signifi cant number of engineroom fi res — the industry is still experiencing far too many unnecessary casualties where fl ammable liquids in enginerooms

are fi nding their way onto hot spots. ‘On many of the vessels I visit,

these hot spots are only too easy to fi nd, with thermal imaging photographs readily identifying these defects.’

Braemar stresses the need for potential problems to be detected earlier to ensure a fast and effi cient fi rst response. ‘In reality, basic maintenance is all that is required,’ Mr Temple added. ‘Engineroom crew should carry out regular inspection of pipes and associated fi ttings; they should refi t brackets and lagging when carrying out maintenance; leaks should be repaired quickly before a drip becomes a spray; spares for HP fuel pipes should be available, and leakage alarm systems should be tested regularly. Prevention is as straightforward as that.’

AThe Japanese classifi cation society ClassNK has promised

to complete an eagerly-awaited investigation into the loss of the containership MOL Comfort by August.

The fi ve-year-old 8,110TEU vessel split apart and sank in the Indian Ocean last year after developing a hull fracture that began below the waterline in the bottom shell plates of one of the cargo holds, according to preliminary results of the probe.

The ClassNK investigation — which is looking into the safety of

large containerships — is examining factors such as the possibility of similar casualties and is conducting onboard measurements of containerships in operation to verify actual hull structure responses and acting wave loads.

The UK classifi cation society Lloyd’s Register has also been involved in the investigations, as a technical advisor.

The results will be reported to the Japanese transport ministry and given to the International Association of Classifi cation Societies

(IACS), which established a new project team in February to address large containership safety issues. Based on the fi ndings of its expert panel and the results of related IACS discussions, ClassNK said it will also carry out a review of relevant rules and guidelines.

MOL has begun legal proceedings to sue the ship’s builders, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, for damages related to MOL Comfort and to cover the costs of precautionary strengthening of six sisterships.

Warning issued after officer dies

Colregs workshop at college

FDutch shipping fi rms Boskalis and Mammoet Salvage have

secured a contract to remove the wreck of a car carrier which sank in the approaches to the port of Rotter-dam following a collision in 2012.

The Dutch department of public works said the Baltic Ace and its cargo of 1,400 cars need to be salvaged because they pose a threat to the environment and to shipping safety.

The salvage project is expected to begin later this year and will be completed before the end of 2015. Work will include the removal of the entire wreck, its cargo and 540,000 litres of fuel oil.

F An industry-wide warning has been issued following an investigation into the death of an

engineer offi cer during a routine task to drain water from his ship’s main air receiver.

The offi cer was fatally injured by fl ying debris when the receiver drainage pot observation window exploded onboard the Liberian-fl agged bulk carrier Nireas in March last year.

Investigators said the glass had exploded as a result of a build-up of pressure. The design of the drainage pot had been modifi ed to create a closed

system and the water being drained restricted the fl ow into and through the pot outlet line.

During the investigation, the Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) discovered that similarly designed drainage systems had been — and continue to be — fi tted to other ships by various yards around the world.

It issued a safety alert to draw industry attention to the incident and to highlight the need for ‘appropriate safety action’ to be taken when such systems are found.

The ATSB said the design modifi cation had been made by the Chinese builders of a previous ship following a request by the owner’s representative, who was seeking to eliminate the splashing of condensate during draining.

No risk analysis or engineering scrutiny and testing of the design had been carried out, the report notes, and the yard had been unable to show that the modifi cation to the drainage pot — pictured right — had been checked against the ship specifi cations and class requirements.

The corroded inner strands of the wire rope fall onboard Thomson Majesty Picture: Transport Malta

12-13_h+s.indd 12 19/03/2014 18:12

ANautilus has expressed concern about an investigation into a

serious fi re onboard a cruiseship last year which revealed that the vessel had been fi tted with non-SOLAS compliant aluminium hatches.

The Bahamas Maritime Authority probe of the incident onboard the 73,817gt Grandeur of the Seas concluded that the two non-insulated aluminium hatches had been installed without the necessary authority and integrity tests when the vessel was built in 1996.

Although aluminium is non-combustible, it melts at a low temperature without evidence of ‘red heat’, the report points out, and the structural failure of the hatches signifi cantly increased the spread and extent of the fi re after it broke out in the aft mooring area on deck 3.

The ‘serious and large confl agration’ spread rapidly up to deck 6 — where stowed liferafts ignited outside the glass screening of the lounge area — and it took crew members more than three hours to extinguish the fi re, with boundary cooling fi nally called off eight hours after the blaze began.

The investigation also revealed

problems with fi re-fi ghting systems — with crew members unable to reach the master control valve for the water drencher system in the aft bosun’s store on deck 3 because of the fi re, and it could not be used because there was no remote operations system.

Investigators said they had been unable to determine the cause of the blaze, despite expert forensic analysis, and described the most probable causes — a discarded cigarette end

or electrical equipment failure — as ‘speculative’. They also found that the lack of any detection system and the timing of fi re patrols had resulted in a delay in discovery which had ‘allowed smouldering materials to become an intense blazing fi re’ Materials on the aft mooring deck — including dirty rags and exposed mooring ropes — had also fuelled the fi re, the report adds.

Investigators praised the crew’s

‘eff ective and highly professional’ response in successfully dealing with the incident without external help and with no reported injuries.

During the incident, the passengers had to be mustered in anticipation of a potential need to abandon ship. Problems with the electronic mustering system delayed the tally of passengers and crew, and the investigation found that it had taken ‘a considerable time’ before all 2,224 passengers and 796 crew were fi nally accounted for.

Recommendations in the report include a call to review the storage of combustible materials on open deck spaces, more eff ective CCTV for open deck areas, and remote activation capabilities for manual fi re-fi ghting system valves which could become inaccessible as a result of localised fi re.

Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson said some of the report’s fi ndings were disturbing. ‘Urgent attention is required to the design and construction of passenger vessels, with particular attention to fi xed fi re-fi ghting systems and the continued use of aluminium,’ he added. ‘How many more such warnings do we need?’

HEALTH & SAFETY

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 13

Fatal falls prompt alert on working at heightCruiseship hatches did

not comply with SOLAS

PEurope has been urged to toughen up its rules on the provision of ports of

refuge following an investigation into an incident in which it took eight weeks to provide shelter for a containership that had suf-fered a serious fi re in the Atlantic in 2012.

The report, from the Ger-man marine accident investiga-tion bureau BSU, also calls for the introduction of new rules to improve fi re-fi ghting equipment onboard containerships.

Running to more than 180 pages, the report examines the causes of the blaze onboard the 75,590gt MSC Flaminia and the response to the incident in which three crew members died and two suffered serious injuries.

Investigators said they had been unable to establish the sole cause of the fi re or the location of the explosion. But they said it was likely the blaze was the result of three tank containers carry-ing the chemical divinylbenzene being exposed to temperatures exceeding 30C for an extended period.

They also found that around

10% of the containers in the area of cargo hold 4 had ‘exhibited shortcomings or negligence’ in their dangerous goods declara-tions.

And the BSU expresses con-cern about the ‘inappropriate’ classifi cation of divinylbenzene in the IMDG Code, recommend-ing further development of the regulations to refl ect the chemical properties of several substances.

The report notes that the crew were ‘not fully prepared for fi ghting a fi re in the cargo hold’ and incorrectly installed pipes in the extinguishing system had delayed the discharge of CO2.

Investigators said they could also see no reason why cooling work started two hours after the fi re alarm, although the report concludes that an earlier start would probably have made no dif-

ference to the course of the fi re or the explosion.

BSU said its investigation had shown the need to use both CO2 and water to control a cargo fi re on a containership, and high-lighted the case of a general carriage requirement for an addi-tional water-based extinguishing system. The ability to use such systems for cooling and to cre-ate fi re zones before professional

fi re-fi ghters arrive onboard is extremely important, the report adds, especially onboard increas-ingly large vessels.

Permanently installed equip-ment on the upper decks would reduce the risk to seafarers and enable them to do other duties in an emergency, it points out.

The report also recommends improvements to IMO require-ments for the provision and posi-tioning of fi rst aid equipment — to ensure that they are readily available even on very large ships.

The fi re and explosion occurred on 14 July, as MSC Flaminia was sailing from the US to Antwerp with 2,876 contain-ers onboard; but it was not until 9 September that the ship was able to berth in the port of Wilhelms-haven after attempts to fi nd ports of refuge in Ireland, Spain, Portu-gal, France, Belgium and the Neth-erlands proved unsuccessful.

BSU said it feared the case showed that the existing legal framework was limited in its abil-ity to cope with disasters of the magnitude of MSC Flaminia. The report says the EU directive on ports of refuge fails to ensure ‘the

swift allocation of the objectively most appropriate place or port of refuge after a ship has an accident at sea’ and gives coastal states the impression that they only have to take responsibility for a ship if the accident occurred within their jurisdiction.

The report praises the ‘exem-plary’ role played by the UK’s Secretary of State Representative for Maritime Salvage and Inter-vention (SOSREP) in attempting to coordinate the response to the stricken ship and to provide a temporary place of refuge to enable the vessel to be inspected off the south coast of England.

And the BSU calls for the Euro-pean Commission to draw up new regulations to establish harmo-nised and effective procedures to ensure a coordinated approach by member states on granting a place of refuge to vessels in an emergency.

Nautilus senior national secre-tary Allan Graveson commented: ‘This report demonstrates the inadequacy of current interna-tional regulations in a number of areas — the lowest acceptable compromise being the norm.’

Blaze report calls for EU to act on ports of refugeGerman investigation recommends new IMO regulations to improve fi re-fi ghting systems on large containerships

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F Seafarers have been urged to take more care when working

at height in cargo holds following two ‘avoidable’ fatalities.

The warning has come from the P&I Club Steamship Mutual following a recent review of death and injury claims. In a special risk alert, it highlighted the need for crew members to properly plan such work, conduct risk assessments and ensure appropriate supervision.

The club stressed the need for the use of a safety harness with a lifeline or arresting device attached to a strong point. A safety net should

be rigged where necessary, and care should be taken to avoid risks to anyone working or moving below.

The alert highlights a case in which a fi tter died after falling from a platform in the hold of a bulk carrier. His safety helmet was not fi tting tightly and he had not connected the safety harness before stepping off a ladder onto the platform.

In another case, the bosun on a bulk carrier lost his balance while climbing on a hatch coaming during hold cleaning work. He had failed to use a safety harness, and fell about 25m to the tank top, where he died.

MSC Flaminia is escorted into port almost eight weeks after the fi re broke out Picture: Havariekommando

The fi re-damaged stern of the Grandeur of the Sea Picture: Bahamas Maritime Authority

12-13_h+s.indd 13 19/03/2014 18:13

14 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

INTERNATIONAL

shortreportsDIEPPE RE-THINK: French politicians have promised a new style of public service ferry operations on the Newhaven-Dieppe service following a decision not to accept any of the companies bidding for the contract. Nicholas Roudy, the newly-elected chairman of the Seine Maritime district council, said discussions with unions, ports, and other stakeholders will lead to a ‘new-type public service mission’ for the route. This may include diff erent ownership arrangements, a possible change in the type of ferries used and in the number of crossings, as well as a review of the ownership of the port of Newhaven.

COASTGUARD PROTEST: three seafaring union branches in the French port of Marseilles have given notice of strike action in protest at the reorganisation of local Coastguard services. The CGT-CFDT-Unsa joint union committee said removal of vessels stationed in Marseilles and six other ports would lead to the ‘programmed death of the Marseilles coastguard’. They have made representations to the sea minister and launched an online petition.

DISMISSALS RULING: a court in Calais has ruled that French Rail (SNCF) wrongly dismissed 93 employees of its former cross-Channel ferry subsidiary SeaFrance. SNCF was criticised for not off ering alternative jobs within the group and was ordered to pay almost six months of salaries in compensation. A further 200 cases are set to be heard later this year.

CLAIM SETTLED: the French ferry operator SNCM has secured a settlement with insurers over damage to the ro-pax Napoléon Bonaparte incurred during an accident in the port in October 2012. Reports suggest the company could receive around €60m from the insurers following fl ooding suff ered when the ship broke its moorings in the port of Marseilles.

CHERBOURG BOOST: the French port of Cherbourg has seen the fi rst growth in cross-Channel ferry volumes since P&O pulled out in 2004. Last year saw a 3.2% rise in freight traffi c and stabilisation of annual passenger loads at 300,000. While passenger traffi c with Ireland last year fell 8%, freight on the services grew by 4%.

DUNKIRK WORK: a €12m project to improve Dunkirk’s cross-Channel ferry facilities has secured support from the European Commission. The scheme aims to improve ship turn-around times and will enable DFDS Seaways to increase its capacity from the current 12 daily calls to 13 or 14 visits.

WELFARE WARNING: a French maritime welfare leader had expressed concern over fi nancial problems aff ecting seafarer centres in the ports of Calais and Dunkirk, calling for visiting ships to pay more to help fund the facilities.

SNCM DELAY: French seafaring unions have voiced concern at the slow progress being made on the confi rmation of an order for four new ferries for the Mediterranean operator SNCM.

AA Filipino chief engineer is facing up to six years in prison

and fi nes totalling as much as US$250,000 after being found guilty of illegally discharging bilge water into the sea.

And the Singapore-based owners of his ship, Odfj ell Asia, have been ordered to pay $1.2m and put on probation for three years after admitting polluting international waters between October 2011 and October 2012.

The case was brought after a US Coast Guard inspection of the 46,047dwt tanker Bow Lind in the port of New Haven, Connecticut, in November 2012 uncovered evidence of illicit discharges on three occasions.

Senior engineer Ramil Leuterio was said to have ordered crew members to bypass oily water separator equipment and make false records in an attempt to conceal the discharges.

A number of the engineroom crew testifi ed that Mr Leuterio had told them to use a complex system to transfer the bilge water from the bilge holding tank to the sewage tank, from where it was dumped directly into the sea.

The chief engineer then directed crew members to put a mixture of fresh and salt water into the tank and fl ush this through the pollution prevention equipment to create an electronic record to account for the bypassed bilge water.

Mr Leuterio also pleaded guilty to his role in directing lower ranking crew members to make the illegal discharges and for failing to accurately maintain the vessel’s oil record book. He is due to be sentenced on 14 May 2014.

Acting assistant attorney-general Robert Dreher said the convictions should ‘send a strong message to the shipping industry that committing crimes at sea will not be tolerated’.

Engineer faces jail in the US

by Andrew Draper

PScandinavian seafarers fear they are becoming a dying breed as they are

still increasingly being replaced by foreign crews on Nordic-fl agged vessels, with little let-up in the downward trend.

New statistics on employ-ment in the Danish fl eet confi rm that the decrease in the number of jobs for Danes has acceler-ated, even though the number of ships increased last year and the country’s shipping industry contributed a record amount of foreign earnings.

The DMMA seafarers’ union says the reworked employment fi gures from the Danish Maritime Authority are diffi cult to com-pare with previous years, but the offi cers’ union SL believes the sta-tistics suggest the Danish captain is a dying breed.

In a commentary on the sta-tistics, the union laments that shipowners were supposed to provide 75 to 100 work experience places for Danish ship assistants

a year as part of the deal in 2007 that brought in tonnage tax. But it also notes that the number of Danish ship assistants on Danish vessels dropped to just 49 in 2013.

SL says this position is a major route into the industry for many young people and the cut in places under the DIS register is cause for further concern. There was also a drop of some 10% in the number of navigating offi cers last year. ‘If the development continues, the only Danish item left on the ships will be the fl ag,’ says the union.

Norwegian offi cers’ union (NSOF) director Hans Sande asked at a recent conference whether it was too late for the Norwegian International Ship register (NIS) to safeguard national maritime skills — pointing out that there are fewer than 1,000 Norwegian seafarers serving on NIS ships, and the number is going down.

Foreign owners operating under NIS are leaving the fl ag while Norwegian owners are still loyal, Mr Sande said. But NIS ves-sels offer very little recruitment in Norway, he added.

In Sweden, the government has launched one of its periodic hand-wringing exercises, which will result in its fi rst national maritime strategy this autumn. ‘Shipping is of major signifi cance to the Swedish transport system,’ the government said, adding two sentences later: ‘The number of merchant vessels has dropped from around 250 a few years ago to about 100 today.’

zThe Norwegian Seamen’s Union has welcomed new government proposals to switch more freight from road to sea. But it has asked why Fjord Line, a Norwegian company, should be carrying cargoes between Bergen and Stavanger — two Norwegian ports — on a Danish-fl agged vessel crewed by Danes.

Union chairwoman Jacque-line Smith commented: ‘For many years, the union has been looking for this kind of resolute action from the authorities when it comes to ensuring the subsidy scheme for employing Norwe-gian seafarers in Norway, the so-called net salary scheme.’

Nordic flags‘fail on jobs’Unions warn over decline of jobs for national seafarers

SAMTRA celebrates 10 years of training

AA Greek shipmaster has been sentenced to 16 years

in prison by a French court for his role in smuggling drugs onboard a Panamanian-fl agged cargoship.

Capt Sokratis Vassis was among fi ve people jailed by the Rennes Assizes

special court of appeal on charges brought after three tonnes of cocaine was found onboard his vessel, Junior, when the French navy intercepted the ship in international waters in the Gulf of Guinea in February 2008.

The drugs were valued at €900m

and were said to have been loaded onto the ship in Brazil, apparently destined for Algeria.

Tried in his own country , the Greek owner of the ship, Nikolaos Kornilakis, was sentenced to life imprisonment in July 2009.

FOffi cials and staff at South Africa’s Maritime Training

Academy (SAMTRA) have celebrated 10 years of existence — during which time almost 10,000 trainees have passed through the state-of-the-art maritime simulator training centre.

Since the centre opened its doors a decade ago, the number of courses it provides has more than tripled, and it now delivers cadet training management services to companies and organisations including the SAMSA national cadet programme, Safmarine/Maersk Line, Maersk Supply (Angola), Transnet National Port Authority, BW Fleet

Management Services (Nigeria), the Gulf Agency Company, Anglo Eastern and Shell.

SAMTRA chief executive Andy Maclennan said he had been pleased to boost local maritime skills. ‘As trade with Africa increases, so the need to provide the global maritime industry with skilled maritime personnel will continue,’ he added. ‘This provides wonderful opportunities for developing Africa’s vast human resources.’

Pictured, left to right, are: SAMTRA chairman Fred Jacobs; SAMSA CEO Tsietsi Mokhele and SAMTRA founding chairman Tony Farr.

AThe Swedish owner Erik Thun has ordered up to four LNG-powered

shortsea dry cargoships from the Dutch yard Ferus Smit.

The design of the 5,875dwt ‘bulk-oriented general cargo vessels’, pictured left, will include an option to convert them to self-unloaders.

The vessels will feature a Wärtsilä dual-fuel main engine and a pressurised LNG tank, enabling round trips of about two weeks. The fi rst delivery is due in autumn 2015.

Smuggling master goes to prison

14-15_int.indd 14 19/03/2014 18:57

shortreportsSEAFARER SUPPLY: Ukraine and Russia are now second and third in the ‘league table’ of countries supplying offi cers for the global shipping industry, coming in behind the Philippines, according to a new report. In all, 27,000 Ukrainian and 25,000 Russian offi cers are employed internationally, along with a further 40,000 Ukrainian and 11,000 Russian ratings. Russia’s merchant fl eet is ranked 31st in the world while the Ukrainian-fl agged fl eet is the world’s 72nd biggest.

INDIAN AIM: India’s shipping ministry has announced plans to increase the country’s share of the global seafarer labour market from 7% to 9% over the next fi ve years. Shipping minister GK Vasan said the programme will include the opening of new Indian Maritime University campuses across the country, Currently India has more than 135 maritime institutes off ering pre-sea and post-sea training in various forms.

MOROCCAN ROLE: the Italian ferry fi rm Gran Navi Veloci (GNV) is awaiting confi rmation from the authorities in Morocco to continue running services between France and the ports of Tangiers and Nador. GNV took over the routes in June 2012 following the collapse of the Moroccan operator Comarit Comanav and last year carried 170,000 passengers on the services and almost the same number on the route to Genoa.

DATA GAP: the CGT union in France has urged the country’s government to provide better data on French seafarers. It warned that the patchy information currently provided by offi cial sources fails to give a clear picture of employment trends in the French shipping industry, and it is calling for fi gures for the last fi ve years by operator, vessel category, nationality, number of offi cers and ratings and type of register.

FERRIES SALE: Italy’s state-owned train company Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), Europe’s last rail operator with a maritime fl eet, has announced its intention to sell its Bluferries subsidiary, which runs services between Sicily and mainland Italy. The route is the third busiest in Europe and FS’s nine vessels — including four train ferries — carried 6.7m passengers in 2012.

ORDERS UP: a total of 2,958 ships worth around US$131bn were ordered by owners around the world last year, the Greek broker Golden Destiny has reported. The fi gures compare with the total of just 665 ships ordered in 2009, and the broker said last year had also seen growth in sales of secondhand tonnage — with some 1,490 ships changing hands.

GUARDS DEBATE:: French seafaring unions and shipowners have welcomed an announcement by the country’s transport minister that the parliamentary debate on the government’s bill to authorise private armed anti-piracy forces onboard French fl agged ships will take place on 9 April.

MAERSK JOBS: a big majority of the seafarers employed by Maersk Tankers France have voted to accept management’s redundancy plan ahead of the company’s closure later this year. The agreement aff ects 95 people serving on Maersk’s six French-fl agged tankers.

CUTS CHALLENGE: six French ratings serving with the gas tanker company Gazocéan have challenged the operator’s plan to replace 57 French crew members with cheaper foreign labour.

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 15

INTERNATIONAL

by Jeff Apter

STwo French maritime unions are warning that skilled seafarers are

being lost as the country’s tanker fl eet dwindles away while new rules to tighten fl ag restrictions in the country’s cabotage trades are being considered.

Two of the biggest unions representing French offi cers and ratings have attacked the Total oil company for failing to use national-fl agged ships in the country’s cabotage trades.

FOMM-CGT and FNMS-CGT claimed the company was using Gibraltar-fl agged tankers to carry cargoes between French ports and had also replaced a French-fl agged tanker supplying the island of La Réunion with foreign-registered tonnage.

FOMM deputy general sec-retary Jean-Philippe Chateil accused Total of ‘destroying’ French maritime employment and he criticised the government for allowing the company’s fl ag-ging policy to have a negative effect on the highly skilled sea-faring jobs needed for oil and chemical tankers.

Mr Chateil said he was con-

cerned that, despite govern-ment promises, updated rules to extend a 1992 law requiring a pro-portion of French oil cargoes to be carried on national fl agged ships have still not gone before parlia-ment.

Meanwhile, he warned, com-panies such as BWM, Maersk

Tankers and others are quitting the French fl ag and destroying French maritime jobs and condi-tions. ‘The CGT is expressly asking the French government to take rapid action over these vital ques-tions concerning the French fl ag and French jobs,’ he added.

The French oil industry asso-

ciation, UFIP, has expressed its opposition to the government plans to upgrade the 1992 law. But unions and owners are back-ing the proposals, which are now expected to come before parlia-ment in the autumn. Bordeaux-based Socatra — the only French oil tanker operator — is warning that it will withdraw its 50,914dwt tanker Tamarin from the coun-try’s RIF international register if the government does not extend the crude oil carriage law to refi ned products.

zFrench unions have welcomed the offi cial go-ahead for plans to give equal rights to seafarers on foreign ships operating in country’s cabotage trades, irrespective of the ship’s fl ag.

The provisions — which include social security, leave enti-tlement, salaries and other bene-fi ts — will apply to all ships calling at French ports on the way from or going to other countries, but will not affect cross-Channel ferries.

The government says the measures — which were approved by 27 votes to two in the Senate — will ensure fair compe-tition in French territorial waters. The plans will go the National Assembly later this month.

French union alarm over tanker tradesGovernment urged to move faster on extended oil cargo fl ag restrictions

Ships warned on Argentina customs fi nes

Charity ship chalks up record visit

FSeafarers and shipowners have been warned to beware

of fi nes being imposed by customs authorities in Argentina for misdeclaration of shipboard stores.

The American P&I Club says customs offi cials in ports such as San Nicolas have been taking a hard line on such issues as the declaration of lube oils, bunkers, chemicals, spare parts, grabs and other items in lists of stores carried onboard vessels.

It says ships have even been boarded by customs agents asserting that the lube oil in the sump tank has not been declared, meaning a customs infringement.

Masters are advised to take great care when declaring quantities. ‘There have been instances of customs agents fi nding discrepancies which, in reality, do not exist but are diffi cult to disprove after the owner has already been fi ned as a consequence,’ the club adds.

CThe crew of the charity ship Logos Hope have marked the vessel’s fi fth anniversary with a record-breaking

fi ve-day visit to Sri Lanka in which a total of 73,783 people came aboard in the port of Trincomalee, above.

Since the former car ferry came into service in 2009 as a ‘fl oating book fair’ for the GBA Ships organisation, it has sailed the equivalent of 2.7 times around the world, made 87 port visits in 48 diff erent countries and more than 3.5m people have come onboard.

The 12,519gt vessel is operated by a volunteer crew from some 45 nations, who all have fi nancial sponsorship to cover their living costs while onboard. GBA Ships also off ers a seafarers’ fund in place to help qualifi ed crewmembers

who may not otherwise have means to raise sponsorship.‘We are always on the lookout for qualifi ed crew who are

willing to volunteer with us and who are committed to the Christian faith and the principles we live by onboard,’ said director of marketing John Crowe. There is a special need this year for a chief engineer offi cer and other engineers, he added.

Towards the end of the year, the ship will enter the installation phase of the Power Up Logos Hope Project — replacing two generators and the main electrical switchboard, as well as installing a heat recovery system to improve energy effi ciency.

gMore information on the website: www.gbaships.org.

ASeafarers serving onboard the French-fl agged cable-layer

Raymond Croze, above, took action to delay the vessel’s departure from the port of Brest last month in protest at plans by Orange Marine to reduce the number of French junior offi cers ahead of the delivery of new tonnage.

Three of Orange Marine’s fi ve

ships fl y the French fl ag, employing a total of 132 offi cers. The CFDT union has accused the company of ‘craftily’ encouraging seafarers to take individually enhanced redundancy packages to cut the number of jobs without consulting unions before th e new vessel, Pierre de Fermat, comes into service in October. Picture: Eric Houri

14-15_int.indd 15 19/03/2014 18:57

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16 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

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Molliette, Violette and the mystery concrete coaster at Greenhithe...C

I read with interest the article about the concrete coasting motor ketch Molliette a little while ago.

There were some inaccuracies; however, we’ll let those pass... I see in the February 2014 issue there is a letter from John M. Dines, a retired member, regarding the vessel at Greenhithe in Kent. Greenhithe was of course the headquarters of that great sailing barge owner, Everard, who became one of Britain’s largest coastal and near continental ship owners before amalgamation with another.

Everard, I understand, owned a small number of concrete coasters during the inter-war years and after. I looked at the vessel discussed by John Dines during a sailing trip up the Thames in 2011. She has the humdrum name of ACT 10 — clearly there were just a few more. The vessel, apparently, had her bow cleaved off when the waterfront was piled and the sea defences improved during clearance and redevelopment of the old Everard shipyard and wharves — now a des-res housing development. The ship had latterly been in use as a

crane barge. With regards to the Molliette and Violette, built by

Pollock of Faversham, and mentioned by John Dines. Angular they are, but both these vessels had elliptical transoms that swept up from the propeller ‘dead wood’ and the deck line did have a little sheer to ease the eye too.

The Violette sits at Hoo in Kent ‘awaiting’ a buyer: surely she is of importance to our maritime history, especially now the country is commemorating the world confl ict of 1914-18, for which she was built, to save precious steel. The Molliette sits, shattered by RAF bombs, on the Mersea Flats, Essex.

The latter two vessels are mentioned and illustrated in my books, Salt Marsh & Mud: A Year’s Sailing on the Thames Estuary, and Mudlarking: Thames Estuary Cruising Yarns.NICK ARDLEYmem no 154620Retd Member

Picture: Nick Ardley

Our heritage sites are still under threat P

Admiral Lord Nelson is, by now, probably rather used to

looking down from his column to see which bands have taken over Trafalgar Square. No longer just a focus for celebration, protest sometimes, it’s a music venue promoted by City Hall.

The Merchant Navy Memorial in Trinity Square Gardens, by Tower Hill tube station, is a memorial to tens of thousands of merchant seamen who have no grave but the sea. Yet, in 2011, Tower Hamlets Council gave party licences for Christmas ‘functions’ in the gardens until objections made them see sense. It’s obscene that anyone should think a war memorial suitable for parking one’s glass.

Now, Wren’s Old Royal Naval

College, Greenwich, centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich and a World Heritage Site, is to be an outdoor concert venue in August. What state the place will be in after four nights and 16,000 people is hard to imagine, though the mess that Hyde Park is after big events gives a clue.

It is often said the British are sea blind. Our civic leaders are deaf, too, it seems, to ancient mariners, dead and alive. Those involved with these plans probably don’t even see these memorials and heritage sites as revered parts of our national story but as open spaces ideal for loud noise, alcohol and partying, what others might call desecration.LESTER MAY (Lt Cdr RN, rtd)

On all the seas and rivers where British seamen go,

From the tropics to the edges of where the icebergs grow,

You will see the ruddy bunting of bright or smoky red,

It’s our Merchant Navy Ensign fl ying overhead.

Many an eye has danced at our banner fl ying true,

Our hearts and souls are British and our colours too,

Whipping in defi ance when white waves are below,

It fl ew above the vanquished and defeated foe.

No one should prevent us from

hoisting it by day, Since eighteen twenty four its

prominence held sway, Either fl ying in the breeze when

trading near and far,Or draped upon a coffi n when a

seaman’s crossed the bar. It’s more than just a symbol of a

nation brave and free,Not only just an emblem

proclaiming liberty,For the showing of our ‘duster’

from gaff or lofty spar,Sets pride among our mariners,

no matter where they are.

JOE EARLmem no 097338

fFor more creative writing by talented seafarers, see pages 31-33.

The Red Ensign: a poetic tribute

16-18_lets+your news.indd 16 19/03/2014 18:59

YOUR LETTERS

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 17

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Our unpaid working time verges on slavery As an offi cer working for one of the world’s leading ferry companies, I have just returned home after a two week voyage in which I calculated that I had worked 189 hours in that time.

We are contracted to work 168 hours, but due to operational commitments, extremely bad weather and onboard contractors’ time demands, an extra 21 hours was steadily added — all unpaid, naturally.

Using an average UK working week of 37 hours, this equates to over fi ve weeks’ work for the average person compressed into two.

This, at a time when the certain aforesaid company are asking us to seriously consider a pay cut of 10% and the loss of our four weeks’ leave, amongst other things, which simply leaves us speechless and demoralised.

To put it into more simple terms, the loss of leave alone equates to us working a 42 hour week, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year without a single day off , no weekends or bank holidays — would anyone in their right mind accede to such a deal?

In fact the only thing left to do is to shackle us down and be handed an oar each…KUNTE KINTESV Amistaden route to the plantationsName & no supplied

PI am writing to agree with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA)

investigation into the possible de-recognition of Filipino certifi cates (front page, March Telegraph). I am hoping that all the EU states actually enforce the report’s fi ndings. The reason for this, in my opinion, is that shipowners in all sectors have been getting away with using substandard cheap foreign labour since the year dot and at last it has been proved.

I have worked with excellent Filipinos before, but they have been through the UK colleges or approved colleges around the world. The others come onboard with a piece of paper for everything you could imagine,

but in practice are useless and frankly dangerous. To stop this is excellent —hopefully, the same kind of inspections will be done in Russia and its former Soviet states, as I feel that these guys will also need checking.

It is good that this is happening as I know that a lot of UK cadets don’t get the opportunity to get to sea as they are undercut by the Filipinos. Now, as it turns out they are substandard, so no wonder they accept a pittance of a wage; it just shows how unscrupulous shipowners are and I am glad they have been caught red-handed.

My second point is a topical one in the UK, that is the fines parents receive for taking kids

out of school during term time. I wrote to the department of education about this, (as I work in the offshore sector and I am always busy over summer and I can’t remember the last July or August I have had time off) — but they said that there is no reason that I can’t take my children on holiday at the correct time.

So to actually have a holiday with my children, I have to take a fine. I think that the Union should be campaigning on our behalf about this as I hit a brick wall and I am sure that many fellow officers are having the same problem. Maybe the government should be made aware that some professions don’t get to choose when we have time off.mem no 180850

School holiday rules unfair to seafarers

Regarding the incident on the Marco Polo reported in the March Telegraph, I am surprised that Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson stated that: ‘It is not acceptable to say that there was an abnormal wave and there are questions to be asked about how a vessel can be struck in such a manner.’

Well, there are such abnormal waves. I was on a laden 16,000 ton tanker, with bridge amidships, in 1967. Due to bad weather, the pilotage was suspended and we were hove-to off the Elbe.

Shortly after the evening meal, without warning, we were struck by one of these waves and the damage was enormous. All the glass ports/windows on the forepart of the superstructure were

smashed-in. The wheelhouse was fl ooded and damaged. The master’s accommodation below that was also fl ooded and damaged, and below that, the saloon and some engineers’ cabins were wrecked by the force of the water.

Fortunately, the saloon had been vacated half an hour earlier. After eventually berthing and discharging our cargo, we spent over two weeks at a Hamburg dockyard being repaired and refurbished.

The damage on the foredeck was considerable and even some of the bridge front had to be renewed, as it had been set back one and a half inches in places.

Yes, there are these abnormal waves.T. HAMILTONmem no 169215 (rtd)

My first-hand wave experience

FUK seafarers are being invited to contribute their memories

and anecdotes to a new book about the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, which will be published to celebrate the charity’s 150th anniversary next year.

The book is to be titled Home from Sea, taken from a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. Written by maritime historian John Allan, it will explore the charity’s work providing housing, residential and nursing care since 1865.

Commander Brian Boxall-Hunt, the Royal Alfred’s chief executive, commented: ‘As the Society prepares to celebrate its landmark birthday next year, it is an excellent opportunity to share with the public the Society’s rich and detailed history whilst looking after former seafarers during an unbroken 150 years. We have already discovered gems of

information and some fantastic images from our archives and held some vivid interviews — we look forward to being able to share all this next year.’

gAnyone with anecdotes or memories of the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society to contribute to the book should contact the charity directly on +44 (0)1737 353 763.

Memories and anecdotes welcomed for new book

16-18_lets+your news.indd 17 19/03/2014 18:59

CNautilus members Joe Mattock (Princess Cruises), Solomon

Appiah and Furqan Masoodi (both Havila Shipping) are pictured right after graduating from Fleetwood Nautical Campus with their HND in nautical science as part of their training towards Chief Mate’s.

They were among 20 students attending the graduation ceremony (above) for the 44 students who completed the HNC and HND in nautical science. The graduates with gold hoods are HNC, while the blue hoods are the HND students.

‘Thanks to friends and family and the college for fundamental support in an important step in our career,’ said Joe. ‘Part of the course involved state of the art simulator training and Human Element in Leadership and Management training.’

A couple of months ago I wrote to you saying that I had just read Rose George’s excellent book Deep Sea & Foreign Going. Another superb book — Below the Waterline, by David Carpenter — was recommended to me recently by a friend in New Zealand who worked, as I did, with the New Zealand Shipping Company.

Where Rose’s book is set in the modern day merchant navy, which seems to me rather depressing and leaves much to be desired as a way of life, David’s is about his experiences in

the late 50s to early 60s which, as he says, was probably the era of the last ‘hands-on engineer’.

What a diff erence in lifestyle! For me, his descriptions of life and work onboard, in what would be termed today as a ‘health and safety’ nightmare, brought back many happy memories. I read about their escapades onboard and ashore and thought we didn’t do that! But thinking about it properly, we did! What an excellent, enjoyable life it was, even on the long nine-month

double-header voyages, helped along with the ‘occasional can or two or three’!

His book is well illustrated with photos of life onboard and the pay-off forms show how little we earned, but still had a good life on leave. I highly recommend David’s well written book to any ship’s engineers of that era, particularly those who worked for NZS Co and the Federal steam Navigation Company. DAVID KIRKMANmem no 95476

Giving you a voice on your future

1 & 2 The Shrubberies, George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1BDt +44 (0)20 8989 6677 f +44 (0)20 8530 1015 npa@nautilusint.org www.nautilusint.org

Worried about your retirement? Join us!

The Nautilus Pensions Association is a pressure group and support organisation that:

z provides a new focal point for seafarer pensioners — increasing their infl uence within, and knowledge of, the Merchant Navy Offi cers’ Pension Fund and other schemes within the industry

z serves as a channel for professional advice on all kinds of pensions, as well as off ering specifi c information on legal and government developments on pensions, and supporting the Union in lobbying the government as required

z provides a ‘one-stop shop’ for advice on other organisations providing support and assistance to pensioners

z off ers a range of specialised services and benefi ts tailored to meet the needs of retired members

z operates as a democratic organisation, being a Nautilus Council body — with the secretary and secretariat provided by the Union

PNautilus is supporting a recently-qualified deck officer who will this month set out on a

gruelling seven-day run across the Sahara desert to raise money for charity in tribute to his brother, William, who committed suicide earlier this year.

Union member Nicholas Chubb will be running the 150-mile Marathon des Sables course — which is claimed to be the toughest footrace on Earth — with all of his food and survival equipment on his back, and is aiming to raise £10,000 for the mental health charity Mind.

Nicholas said he had wanted to run the race for many years, but never intended to do it in memory of his brother. ‘It was meant to be a run to show support for William in his ongoing battle with mental illness,’ he told the Tele-graph. ‘But, tragically, after fighting so

valiantly for the last seven years against psychosis and bipolar disorder, William could no longer bear the torment of his illness, and he took his own life in Janu-ary of this year, aged just 25.’

Runners in the Marathon des Sables have to complete a series of stages of up to 50 miles, facing the challenge of diffi-cult terrain and temperatures that can hit 50°C during the day and plummet to just above freezing at night.

Nicholas, who was a Trinity House cadet and studied at Fleetwood Nautical Campus, has never run a marathon before, although he has always enjoyed endurance sports such as rowing. ‘I’m not new to running or keeping fit and while I was a cadet I took part in the South Tyneside versus Fleetwood rowing race each year,’ he added, ‘but running this distance, and in this environment, is a

totally new ball game for me.‘The race is split up into six stages, and

it is mandatory to rest after each stage,’ Nicholas explained. ‘One particular stage is usually between 50 and 60 miles long, meaning competitors have to race through the night. So, yes, I will need to take the full seven days to complete it!’

As well as raising money for Mind, Nicholas says he hopes he will help to raise awareness of mental illness — espe-cially within the shipping industry. ‘I believe it is an issue that is often swept under the carpet for fear of the stigma

attached, and I particularly believe that mental illness among seafarers is often overlooked,’ he added.

‘The pressure of being away from home, without proper contact with fam-ily or friends, and often being the only person who speaks a particular language can be very isolating and can cause peo-ple to become ill,’ he pointed out, ‘and there is a distinct lack of support for sea-farers who are suffering from mental health problems.

‘The story is as much about coping with loss, and bringing about something

positive out of tragedy, as it is about rais-ing money and awareness for a good cause, and I want to say to people that it’s OK to talk about their mental health,’ he added. ‘Being able to talk about mental illness, spotting the warning signs, and getting the right help quickly are all criti-cal to making a full recovery.’

gDonations can be made via: www.virginmoneygiving.com/nicholaschubb or by text: ‘EPIC91’ plus the amount you wish to donate (£1, £2, £3, £4, £5, or £10) to 70070. Texts are free, and the amount you donate will be added to your phone bill.

Member’s desert trek to bring hope from tragedy

From sandy beaches to the dunes of the Sahara: Nicholas trains for the 150-mile Marathon des Sables

Fleetwood graduation

NZ book is another good read

YOUR NEWS

18 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

16-18_lets+your news.indd 18 19/03/2014 18:59

MARITIME CAREERS

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 19

AAs chief executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping, Guy Platten leads a body

which has traditionally been seen as the shipowners’ organisation, and as a master mariner who began his career as a cadet with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 1982, he hopes to bring a direct and dynamic approach that comes with time served at sea.

The Chamber traces its roots back to 1878, and today it repre-sents the interests of around 140 member organisations — includ-ing not just the owners and man-agers of UK-based shipping, but also a wide range of UK-based legal, banking and other mari-time service providers.

Describing himself as ‘pas-sionate’ about shipping, Mr Plat-ten says he had always loved his time at sea and believes his seafar-ing experience will bring a fresh dynamic to the Chamber. ‘I think they were keen to get someone with a practical rather than a theoretical experience base, and it gives me the confidence to speak in meetings on the basis of my direct professional knowl-edge,’ he explains.

‘I understand the stresses and strains of seafaring and know how small changes made ashore can have a massive impact onboard,’ he adds. ‘You understand the problems a bit more — the practi-cal and technical difficulties of dealing with the sulphur regula-tions, for example.’

‘The industry has been very good to me, and it has been great to have a whole career involved in ships and ports; and latterly to be commissioning newbuilds and see them coming into service is a terrific thrill.

‘I’ve never had a defined career plan — I don’t think many people do — but I’ve always had the aim of having a varied career and not wishing to end up looking back and thinking “what if?”,’ he says.

‘My grandfather had worked for Cunard, in a shore-based post, and my dad had wanted to go to sea but couldn’t because of his eyesight. University was not an option for me for a number of rea-sons, and going to sea looked very attractive and a lot of fun, so I applied to a number of compa-nies and the RFA picked me.’

The RFA was a great place to work, he recalls, with the varied mix of different operational roles and responsibilities. ‘I was serving on Argus in the first Gulf war and part of a big convoy going up the Gulf, and I remember looking out

and thinking this was something quite special,’ he recalls.

But marriage and family com-mitments made the long tours of duty difficult, and so he moved ashore — first as a divisional inspector with the RNLI, with responsibilities including the training of lifeboat crews, and then as a salvage and mooring master with the Ministry of Defence.

Seeking to gain some manage-ment experience, Mr Platten moved to the Northern Light-house Board as director of marine operations, running ships and support bases and taking care of navigation requirements.

And in 2007, he became chief executive of Caledonian Mari-time Assets Ltd (CMAL) — the newly-formed organisation set up by the Scottish government to provide the ferries, ports and infrastructure for the Western Isles and Clyde lifeline services in line with European Commission tendering requirements.

‘CMAL was a new body and we had no real remit to begin with,’ Mr Platten said. ‘We tried to push the boundaries forward a bit, developing maintenance and replacement regimes for ships and harbours and ordering new ships like the hybrid ferries. I think we achieved a lot in a short time.’

Mr Platten says he hopes his appointment will provide further evidence to young people of the opportunities opened up by sea-farer training. ‘I want to get it across that going to sea is not a life sentence,’ he adds. ‘If you choose to stay at sea, that’s great, but there are also so many other options available to you. The one piece of advice I would give is to get your master’s or chief engi-neer’s ticket — then your options are as wide as possible.’

In fact, his daughter has fol-lowed in his footsteps and is now serving as an officer with Red Fun-nel ferries. ‘She had done some sail training and enjoyed that, but I didn’t push her one way or the other,’ he says. ‘I think she has a natural aptitude and she really loves the ship handling side of things.’

Mr Platten firmly believes there is a future for British seafarers — but he accepts that developments such as Stena Line’s current move to cut its employment costs reflect the commercial pressures that affect the labour market.

‘Stena is having an honest

engagement and that is really important,’ he argues. ‘Responsi-ble owners do want to employ our people, but I don’t think we can legislate our way out of an open market. We have to differentiate ourselves and make sure our workforce is more attractive and more productive, with high skill sets. Highly trained and highly qualified people will always have jobs because they will be worth every penny they are being paid.’

ASince starting at the Chamber, Mr Platten has been busy meeting min-

isters, MPs and other politicians, as well as key fi gures in the mari-time sector — including Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickin-son.

He’s been especially busy in Scotland, where the Chamber is seeking assurances on a long list of maritime policy issues arising from the independence debate. ‘Whatever Scotland decides, we need to be sure we are there fight-ing for the industry and protect-ing everything that has been built up over the years,’ he adds.

Shipping is of immense importance to Scotland — with many leading owners and manag-ers operating in the country and Scottish seafarers making up a significant proportion of the UK

skills base, Mr Platten points out. ‘However, there are presently many unanswered questions: who would run a Scottish ship registry; would there be public money to support seafarer train-ing, income tax concessions for seafarers, or capital allowances

for ships; would shipping compa-nies in Scotland be covered by the UK tonnage tax; and what would the maritime safety infrastruc-ture be — to name just a few. Our members need to have some cer-tainty on these issues.’

Mr Platten is also leading a major review of the Chamber’s future strategy. ‘We’re starting from basics: do we want a Cham-ber, what is it for, what do we want

it to be, and how do we give it a vibrant future,’ he explains. ‘The Chamber has changed enor-mously over the years, but needs to carry on changing to remain relevant .

‘I think it is clear that we want the Chamber to be the voice of British shipping and to help cre-ate the environment where own-ers and operators can thrive,’ he adds. ‘What is special about the Chamber is the depth of knowl-edge that we have here and the expertise we can provide on things like employment, training, the environment, health and safety, and piracy.

‘So we are looking at the stra-tegic goals which flow from this and how we can be the natural home for companies with busi-ness in the maritime sphere,’ Mr Platten says.

‘The more we have, the stronger we become and we are engaging with our members and organisations like Nautilus to see how we deliver those strategies.’

He believes the shipping pol-icy package developed last year between the industry and the gov-ernment has helped to give the maritime sector a voice at the highest levels. ‘And that’s only right,’ he argues. ‘This is a sector that employs over half a million people and contributes more

than £32bn a year to GDP, and maybe in the past what we haven’t been good at doing is persuading governments that we should be listened to and our needs consid-ered like any other major industry.

‘Now we have a real partner-ship, and ministerial round-tables that make sure that all the government departments under-stand us and are aware of the impact of their decisions and poli-cies. There’s a genuine engage-ment and that is good news for our industry.’

That said, Mr Platten stresses the need for continued dialogue to keep the regime for British shipping and British seafaring as attractive as possible — and he says the Chamber is looking at further ways to encourage more companies to use the UK flag. ‘The register has been built on heritage and history, but that’s not the way the world works now and it needs to be more customer-friendly,’ he adds.

‘I’m genuinely passionate about the industry and want to see it have a vibrant and a thriving future,’ Mr Platten concludes. ‘From what I’ve seen so far in this job, I am very positive and I think it can offer a good future to young people who are highly motivated and highly skilled.’

“I want to get it across that going to sea is not a life sentence”

From cadet to chief execNautilus members can be found in all sorts of jobs at sea and ashore. But there are few who can match the role fi lled by Guy Platten since the start of this year. ANDREW LININGTON meets the member who broke the mould at the UK Chamber of Shipping…

Guy Platten Picture: Andrew Linington

19_chamber.indd Sec1:1919_chamber.indd Sec1:19 19/03/2014 18:1419/03/2014 18:14

KJohn Rose has a clear mes-sage for seafarers in his role as head of the mari-

time sector of the Confidential Human factors Incident Report-ing Programme (CHIRP): ‘If you don’t report anything, we will never get any change.’

Since his appointment as CHIRP’s maritime director last year, John has been busy trying to breathe new life into the body which seeks to provide a no-blame channel for seafarers to highlight hazardous occurrences in the hope of securing effective action

to prevent them from happening again.

He sees his role at CHIRP as the culmination of a career which began as a Shell cadet in the 1970s. Growing up in Coventry, he was about as far from the sea as you can get in the UK, but the attrac-

tion of travel and gaining respected qualifications was irre-sistible, and he has never regretted his career choice.

Following more than a decade at sea, John progressed into a series of operational and manage-ment positions ashore in the UK and overseas and he feels his experience has given him a deep understanding of the pressures on safety in the industry.

‘As a junior officer at the tail end of the 70s, I enjoyed the fruits of the tanker boom at the time before going on to take my Extra Master’s and leaving the sea as a result of marriage and children,’ he recalls.

A spell as harbourmaster and chief executive at Yarmouth in the Isle of Wight was followed by a return to Shell, where he worked as a marine superintendent and marine manager in London, Aber-deen, Melbourne and Houston.

For the past eight years, John has been running his own consul-tancy specialising in ship man-agement and operational safety — but says he now wants to ‘put something back into the industry that has given me so much.’

He has big ambitions for CHIRP — and it certainly needs the boost he is seeking to deliver. Launched in 2002 in response to recommen-dations made in a House of Lords report on ship safety a decade ear-lier, the maritime scheme mirrors the programme pioneered by the aviation industry in the early 1980s to help individuals raise issues of concern without being identified to management or the authorities.

However, following the loss of government funding in 2011, CHIRP is now a charitable trust that relies on sponsorship from organisations such as the Corporation of Trinity House, the Lloyd’s Register Foundation and the Britannia P&I Club. The maritime and aviation programmes have only five staff — and two of them are part-time.

‘I’m working hard to get new sources of sponsorship and fund-ing to help develop a more global approach,’ John explains. ‘At pre-sent, the focus is very northern

European and there is only so far you can go on that basis.’

He’s seeking a massive increase in the global distribution of the Maritime Feedback newsletter which summarises reports to CHIRP and sets out lessons to be learned.

John is also harnessing social media to take CHIRP to a much wider audience and is delighted to report that the number of Face-book followers has risen more than fourfold in the past few months — and that these followers come from almost 50 different countries.

Underpinning this drive is his

belief that there is huge under-reporting of incidents and ‘near-misses’ in the shipping industry. ‘I know from my work in vetting on tankers that even with the oil majors the level of incident reporting is very poor, as people do not think there is any value in submitting reports,’ he notes.

The ‘incident pyramid’ that is topped by fatalities and lost-time incidents has its base in unsafe acts, unsafe conditions and at-risk behaviours — all of which serve to reinforce the argument that the number of near-miss reports should be much higher than it is.

‘When I arrived at CHIRP we

New chief at CHIRP has global plans

“Even if you can save just one or two lives, it has got to be worth it”

SAFETY AT SEA

20 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

For all enquiries contact us:E: wma@solent.ac.ukT: +44 (0)1489 576161

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Warsash Maritime Academy is at the forefront of training and developing maritime personnel. We provide the necessary advice, training and certification to advance your career, including progression to senior certificates of competency and advanced professional development for experienced seafarers.

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John Rose meets general secretary Mark Dickinson during a recent visit to the Nautilus head offi ce

Back in the day: John Rose as a harbourmaster in the Isle of Wight

Confi dential reporting scheme’s marine director tells the Telegraph how he hopes to encourage seafarers to share their ‘near miss’ experiences to prevent similar incidents from occurring onboard other ships...

20-21_chirp.indd Sec2:20 19/03/2014 18:15

SAFETY AT SEA

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 21

Over the next 12 months a state of the art training and conference facility will be built in Dover, Kent, perfectly located for links to the UK and Europe. The Academy will specialise in STCW training and professional development courses for everyone involved in the maritime industry.

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were down to just three reports for the previous five months,’ John says. ‘I’m glad to say that we’ve now got that up to 17 since August, which equates to around three a month.’

But, he adds, CHIRP’s aviation programme gets more than 300 reports a year, and he reckons the maritime figure should be higher than that. ‘Whilst there is a big dif-ference in culture between the two industries, the number of ships means that the reporting figures should be far higher than they are — and at least in the region of 10 reports a month.’

Consequently, one of his immediate priorities is to regen-erate awareness of CHIRP and the value of making reports to the organisation. ‘My simple message to seafarers is that if you don’t report anything, there will be no data and it will be impossible to change anything,’ he points out. ‘If you just take 10 minutes to put something over to us it could make a real difference.’

CHIRP provides a safety report-ing structure that is not always available to all seafarers, John stresses. Those most likely to ben-efit are: seafarers operating on vessels with hazards or incidents not managed within an appropri-ate safety management system; seafarers with concerns over fatigue or stress-related issues; seafarers encountering gaps in the interface between two safety management systems; and man-agers whose ships encounter poor application of the collision regula-tions by other vessels.

KJohn is particularly concerned at the low level of reporting from

engine room staff, and he is also keen to see marine pilots and even shipping companies making more use of the pro-gramme. ‘There are still big issues like deaths in enclosed spaces and substandard pilot ladders, and if we get the reports it is very easy for us to take things up with the relevant bodies,’ he stresses.

‘But it’s not all about numbers,’ John adds. ‘I don’t think there is any incident that you can’t learn something from, and even if you can save just one or two lives it has got to be worth it.’

He says CHIRP’s approach to the reports it receives helps to deliver a deep understanding of safety issues and challenges. ‘When a report comes in we will ask why did the incident happen — and ask that question again and again. By the third or fourth “why” you will arrive at the root cause — and that is the most important thing.’

John urges seafarers to be con-stantly vigilant and to provide CHIRP with reports on problems that they come across in all sorts of circumstances. ‘It shouldn’t finish when you step off your ship,’ he adds. ‘Many hazardous occur-rences involve lots of different par-ties or interaction between the ship and third parties such as bun-kering or drydocking, and if you see something wrong ashore — like line-handling men standing in the bight of a rope — let us know.’

In fact, he adds, after receiving just such a report from a ship visit-ing a port in the Caribbean, CHIRP took it up with the authorities and got a good result.

Since taking over the job, John has spent as much time as possi-ble getting out and about to pro-mote CHIRP. He is especially keen to get solid support from compa-nies and he has clear views on how this could be done. ‘While change often comes from the top, it is usually implemented by middle management, and that is an area where I think we can do much more,’ he explains. ‘If marine superintendents are better trained in safety and commercial issues, and if seafarers have faith and confidence that middle man-agement are supportive of them, so much more could be achieved.’

He would also like owners and operators to share their safety data. ‘If we had just 10 companies giving us their near-miss reports, the scale of what we could learn and the results that could be achieved would be fantastic,’ he points out.

‘I am very positive about the future for CHIRP and what we can achieve,’ John says. ‘I am passion-ate about the need to improve safety at sea, and the reaction from everyone I have spoken to is extremely encouraging. I will carry on meeting the movers and shakers in the industry. There is a huge opportunity and I am excited about the way we can make a big change for the better.

‘I would hope that in two years’ time we will be able to say that we are a better junior relative of the aviation side of CHIRP rather than being something of a country cousin in rags…’

“If you don’t report it, we can’t change it”

FThe Confidential Hazardous Incident Reporting Programme (CHIRP) investigates

hazardous occurrences — those that nearly result in injury or damage and which are often referred to as a ‘near-miss’.

The aim of CHIRP is to seek out root causes, identify the lessons learned and to consider how best this information can be used to prevent reoccurrence elsewhere in the maritime industry. CHIRP does not seek to apportion blame to any company or individual(s) and the organisation avoids the use of the term ‘whistleblowing’ as it is often used to cast blame on an organisation or an individual.

Reports can be made to CHIRP either online (through the secure website www.chirp.co.uk), as a written report (via post/Freepost), or by telephone to the office in Farnborough.

The programme covers the commercial transport, fishing and leisure communities, and reports come from professionals and ‘amateurs’ in all these sectors.

Upon receipt, all reports are validated by the maritime director. Anonymous reports are not normally acted upon as they cannot be validated. User privacy is taken very seriously, always maintaining the confidentiality of the source. And only de-personalised data is used in discussions with third party organisations.

The same data is presented to CHIRP’s

Maritime Advisory Board. Its expert members provide advice and recommendations on whether there is benefit in sharing the results in the Maritime Feedback publication, which has a global circulation of some 33,000 copies. The results are also fed back to the reporter.

On completion of the investigation, all personal details are removed from all files. Only key information is retained to help establish trends or identify root causes linked with ‘human element’ behaviours.

To date more than 800 hazardous occurrence reports have been reviewed. These cover all aspects of vessel operations including cargo handling, catering, engineering, navigation, shipboard services, and activities at the ship/shore interface.

Examples of hazardous occurrences examined by CHIRP include:

za very hazardous operation in severe weather on an offshore vessel with potentially fatal consequences. This was followed up with the vessel operator, which took up the lessons learned and applied them to all the vessels in its fleet

zsailing club members injured by a shackle after webbing failed during the recovery of their safety craft. Advice provided on inspection of equipment, risk assessment and the need for supervision

zexpert advice given on a concern expressed over the information contained in operational and

maintenance manuals; where text can be inaccurate and/or poorly written, which can create confusion for the operator

zexplosion as a result of heavy corrosion of an air bottle in a ship’s lifeboat. This incident highlighted the importance of regular inspection and survey of all parts of a lifeboat, including bottles containing pressurised gas or air

za major argument witnessed between the captain and the pilot when entering port has highlighted the importance of establishing a positive relationship when the pilot first boards and then reaching agreement when the passage plan is discussed

za small passenger ferry was on passage when the vessel suffered intermittent power loss on both engines. The loss was due to blocked filters due to fuel bugs in the diesel fuel. This flagged up that increased care is needed on small vessels in the storage of diesel where this contains biodiesel

zpoor application of the collision regulations led to feedback reiterating the need to take positive and early action when altering course, noting also that although there is often a reluctance to do so, reducing the speed of the ship can be used as an alternative means to avoid a collision

gTo access past Maritime Feedback publications and to submit dangerous occurrence reports, visit www.chirp.co.uk

Learning from experienceClose call: CHIRP says ‘near-miss’ reports are essential to understanding root causes and accident trends

20-21_chirp.indd Sec2:21 19/03/2014 18:15

KThe contents of this article are concentrating on the International

Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the relationship that IFSMA has with the IMO as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in consultative status.

The IMO is something that everyone has heard of and has an opinion on, but how many people are actually aware of how it works — of the full spectrum of what it does and achieves beyond producing more legislation that the mariner has to deal with?

It would be very good if anyone reading this article who wanted to express their thoughts on the IMO were to pass them to me. This can be done via email and addressed to jj.wdickie@btinternet.com. All emails received will be treated in full confidence and the information given will be kept with no identification of the sender being revealed. This will help me to gain an understanding about the views of mariners on the IMO and enable me to make some suggestions as to what the Organisation might do to engage with the seafarer.

The IMO is a United Nations (UN) Agency and its HQ is at 4 Albert Embankment, London. It has a website — www.imo.org — which is full of information that can assist anyone to a better understanding of how it operates and what it does. The question I would ask is when was the last time that you used this website and did you find what you needed? If you did not find what you wanted, let me know about this too.

You may not be aware of the

relationship between the IMO and the World Maritime University (WMU) located in Sweden, and the International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) in Malta. The IMO’s support and engagement make these bodies possible and they work for the betterment of the global

maritime industry through the education of postgraduate students from all over the world.

There are many initiatives and other work being conducted at IMO, and this is carried out in a quiet and purposeful manner, taking positive steps towards raising safety standards, as well as protection of the marine environment and other major issues affecting the maritime industry.

One of the major projects currently under way that is taking a lot of resources is the development of the so-called

Polar Code. This is a new undertaking and it has been necessary to allocate different parts of this code to various committees and sub committees. Bringing all of this together and having a working Code is going to take a lot of effort.

A lot of work has recently been undertaken to reduce the number of IMO sub committees (from nine to seven) to ensure balance and also absorb the contents of the previous sub committees so that none of the ongoing work is lost.

There are also inter-sessional

meetings as well as correspondence groups and panels of experts who work between meetings to progress the work of the IMO.

All of this is overseen by the secretary- general and his secretariat, who are the professional full time employees of the IMO and who are never acknowledged for the work that they do above and beyond their contract. There is also all of the administration staff who supply the support mechanisms which enable the IMO to function.

The current IMO secretary-general, Koji Sekimizu, has a vision of what the IMO should be and how it should operate. He is working hard on these changes and how to ensure that they do not distort the main aim of the IMO: ‘…to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and effective, universally adopted and universally implemented’.

This can be seen in the Strategic Plan for 2014 – 2019 and the High Level Action Plan for 2014 -2015. All of the information about this work can be found on the IMO website.

KOver the years IFSMA has always been active and works with IMO member

states and other NGOs to prepare papers and take part in the dis-cussions in the committees and their subsidiary bodies, including working groups (WG) and drafting groups (DG). As an NGO there is no voting right awarded to IFSMA; only the member states hold this right, although it is very rarely used as almost all decisions are reached by consensus.

NGOs cannot raise new items for consideration by the committees but can seek support from a member state for a specific item. For matters that are already on the agenda, IFSMA can submit a paper as long as it has

been prepared in the desired format and structure required by the IMO and has been presented by the closing date in advance of the meeting. This is not days but weeks or months, depending on the size of the document and its content.

IFSMA and the other NGOs are industry representatives bringing their skills to the forefront to allow their expertise to be used and assist the passage of new legislation to a style that can be used onboard ship by the crews that work on them.

IFSMA is at the IMO to represent the shipmaster and this is the prime consideration, but as we all know a master is only as good as his crew and in this matter IFSMA supports and assists other NGOs in their work to further seafarers’ rights and their working conditions; although these issues are chiefly dealt with by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Being granted NGO consultative status requires a commitment by that organisation to be an active participant at the IMO by attending the meetings, being proactive in papers and making constructive interventions where deemed necessary.

In this respect IFSMA has been supported by member associations who have provided additional personnel to spread the load. Also, at many of the meetings IFSMA members can be found as part of member state delegations. This enables a good dialogue on how IFSMA is performing, as well as on proposals for the direction it should take.

fJohn Dickie would like to thank the member of the IMO secretariat who reviewed this article to ensure that the content was accurate and no errors existed which might lead readers in the wrong direction.

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22_ifsma.indd Sec2:22 19/03/2014 19:27

GREENER SHIPPING

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OHeavy fuel oil is set to continue as the main fuel for deepsea shipping

over the next 15 years, according to a new study produced by Lloyd’s Register (LR) and Univer-sity College London’s Energy Institute.

Announcing the fi ndings last month, the authors of the report also expressed concern about competence and training issues arising from the increased use of alternative ‘greener’ fuels — including LNG and hydrogen.

LR marine director Tom Board-ley described the skills required for safety-critical operations such as LNG bunkering or onboard fuel switch-overs as ‘a huge open ques-tion’ and warned that there are signifi cant doubts about the future supply of suffi cient well-trained crews despite long-stand-ing warnings about the growing shortage.

‘With 138 LNG carriers on order, you might think the com-petence issue is being addressed because of the large number of seafarers required,’ he pointed out. ‘One would have hoped that the need would have been recog-nised, but there is no sign that is happening.’

Mr Boardley noted the ‘horror stories’ about problems associ-ated with switching over to low sulphur fuels. ‘When switching from gas to fuel oil, you pray for a high degree of reliable automa-tion so we don’t have to think about these things,’ he added.

Setting up a good safety pro-cess for LNG bunkering is a major challenge, Mr Boardley said. ‘You can’t just do a cut and paste from the existing regime,’ he stressed.

The LR/UCL study — Global Marine Fuel Trends 2030 — was undertaken as a follow-up to the classifi cation society’s previous two-year research project to investigate the prospects for world shipping between now and 2030. It seeks to provide an insight into future fuel demand for the containership, bulk car-rier/general cargo and tanker sec-tors — together accounting for approximately 70% of the global shipping industry’s fuel demands.

Mr Boardley said that the pro-ject had raised a lot of questions about future fuel sources for ship-

ping, and the new research had been undertaken to address these within the context of the wider debate over energy supplies, emissions controls and regula-tory demands.

Consideration of the future is ‘really important’, he added, to ensure that marine fuels are not only available, but also cost-effec-tive, compatible with technology and compliant with all regula-tions.

The fuel trends research builds on three potential scenarios for shipping that were identifi ed in the earlier study:

zstatus quo — in which the world will continue its current growth momentum, with some booms and busts, over the next 20 years

zglobal commons — govern-ments will fi nd common ground and accelerated economic

growth, within a framework of sustainable development

zcompeting nations — states act in their own national interest, with little effort to forge agree-ment on sustainable development leading to a rise in protectionism and slower economic growth

Researchers found that in all three of these scenarios ship-ping’s demand for fuel will increase — by as much as double by 2030 — and heavy fuel (HFO) will remain the main fuel for deepsea shipping, ranging from 46% of the total in the status quo scenario to 66% in the competing nations model.

Consequently, demand for HFO in 2030 could be up to 23% higher than the demand in 2010 and emissions from shipping are likely to increase despite the introduction of new regulations and new abatement technology.

OThe declining share of HFO will be offset by low-sulphur alternatives

(such as marine diesel oil, marine gas oil or low sulphur HFO) and by LNG, and the report suggests this will happen differently for each ship type and scenario — with LNG likely to reach a maximum 11% share by 2030 in the status quo model and hydrogen having the potential to be ‘a serious con-tender’ if there is more political pressure to cut carbon emissions.

Compliance with the energy effi ciency design index require-ments will be achieved by a mix of

speed reductions, technology and alternative fuels — with the mix dependent upon factors such as ship type, size and which of the three scenarios comes to fruition, the report suggests.

Luis Benito, LR’s global strate-gic marketing manager, said HFO — with exhaust gas cleaning sys-tems — and LNG are set to domi-nate the fuel mix for the immedi-ate future, with biofuels, hydrogen and nuclear power being options for the longer-term. Other alternatives include methanol, ethane and glycerine, he added.

Some of the challenges facing the industry include the availabil-ity of LNG and the port-based bunkering infrastructure, costs of retrofi ts, designing leak-free cryo-genic systems and minimising the space for fuel tanks, and regu-latory demands.

‘I think that the report under-lines that any transition from a dependency on HFO will be an evolutionary process,’ said project leader, Dimitris Argyros — LR’s lead environmental consultant.

Previous propulsion advances — such as the move from sail to steam — had delivered major leaps forward in effi ciency, speed and reliability, he added, but the future for marine fuel is now more complex, with different sce-narios likely to deliver different types of fuel demand.

‘LNG is forecast to grow from a very low base to a signifi cant mar-ket share by 2030 — even if there is no major retrofi t revolution — and most of the LNG take-up will be in newbuildings,’ he added. ‘But it is important to note that an 11% share in 2030 is the equiva-lent in volume of about 20% of the bunker market today.’

Mr Argyros said the uptake of alternative propulsion systems for ships was not limited by tech-nology. ‘The biggest driver will be society’s response to climate change,’ he argued. ‘Key will be policy and markets. Shipping can control its own destiny to some extent — but shipowners can only focus on compliance and profi tability.

‘If society wants lower green-house emissions and cleaner fuel, change in shipping has to be driven by practical regulation and market forces so that cleaner, more effi cient ships are more profi table than less effi cient ships with higher GHG emissions.’

gTo download a PDF of the report, go to www.lr.org/gmft2030 — hard copies can be ordered from the Lloyd’s Register Web-store at www.webstore.lr.org

Fuelling the debate…Given the challenges surrounding the move towards ‘greener’ bunkers, a new study predicts that HFO will be with us for a long time to come

AUnited European Car Carriers (UECC) has announced an

order for two new ‘dual fuel’ car carriers capable of running on LNG or heavy fuel oil and marine gas oil.

Capable of carrying up to 3,800 cars over 10 decks, the two ships will be the fi rst PCTCs of their kind to be fi tted with an LNG fuel propulsion system and will be built at the NACKS shipyard in Nantong, China, with delivery expected in the second half of 2016.

Of 181m loa, the vessels will have 1A super Finnish/Swedish ice class, facilitating year-round trading in the Baltic area. A signifi cant part of their cargo capacity can also be used to transport high and heavy cargo and any other cargo loaded on to mafi trailers.

The LNG capacity has been calculated to give the vessel a two-week round trip, and the ships include a range of other design features to cut CO2 and NOx emissions.

‘The LNG installation is a pioneering design and will be

one of the largest employed on a commercial vessel — and the largest of its kind on a pure car and truck carrier,’ said UECC CEO Glenn Evardsen. ‘We are proud of the exciting step UECC is taking towards greener and more environmentally friendly shipping.’

UECC newbuilds to be LNG-ready

Graphic: Lloyd’s Register Marine

23_fuel.indd 23 19/03/2014 18:36

HEALTH AND SAFETY

24 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

PAs head of the organisation leading port state con-trol work in almost 30 countries, Richard Schiferli has a clear message for seafarers. ‘I want them to

know that we are there for them. As an inspector, you can leave the ship — but they are staying onboard, and if you can leave knowing that you would have sailed with them, then you are doing a good job.’

And as a former ship’s offi cer, Mr Schiferli remains fully aware of the pressures and problems that seafarers face today — pointing out that port state control inspectors are now starting to switch their focus from the ‘hardware’ to the ‘software’ of shipping operations.

‘Human factor’ issues like fatigue and training are to be increasingly targeted by port state control offi cers, he promises. Concentrated inspections over the next three years are set to focus on hours of work and rest regulations, crew familiarisation and entry into enclosed spaces, as well as the rules on shipboard living and working condi-tions laid down by the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC).

Mr Schiferli, who has headed up the Paris Memoran-dum of Understanding (MOU) on port state control (PSC) since 1997, says the approach to inspections is coming full circle after almost two decades in which attention has been directed largely at the physical state of ships and their equipment.

The time is right for such a shift, he adds, with increas-ing concern about issues like training standards, reduced manning levels and communication problems between multinational crews.

He’s conscious of the demands that PSC puts on sea-farers — and masters in particular — but hopes they can accept that inspections aim to uphold their safety and wel-fare.

The paperwork demands of the industry also have an impact on port state control offi cers, he stresses. ‘What worries me is the bureaucracy today, which means that half the time PSC offi cers spend on inspections is dedi-cated to going through all the documents, certifi cates and record books.

‘It’s not only a nightmare for the master, but also for the inspectors who would much rather spend their time on the bridge, on the deck or in the engineroom or crew areas which are where the real PSC inspection takes place,’ he adds.

Mr Schiferli believes PSC is not given enough credit for the marked improvement in maritime safety standards over the past 30 years. The proportion of unseaworthy ships having to be detained after inspections has fallen from almost 20% to less than 4%, he says, and the statistics show a substantial reduction in the scale of structural and maintenance problems.

The development of performance lists has helped to expose poorly performing fl ags and recognised organisa-tions, he adds, and has extended the scope of the inspec-tion process to other parties with responsibility for ship-ping operations. This increased transparency means that anyone involved in the transportation process has access to data to demonstrate whether they are doing business with a quality owner, he suggests.

Mr Schiferli points to Panama as an example of the way PSC can bring about benefi cial change. ‘For years it was on the blacklist, and one time when I was in London the Pana-manian ambassador told me she was very upset with the Paris MOU. This led to meetings between us and the Pana-manian administration, and they must have listened — because two years later they went through some major changes and went on to move onto the whitelist, which shows that even the biggest registers can change.’

He emphasises that the Paris MOU was born out of the attempts in the 1970s to secure effective enforcement of the key measures governing seafarers’ living and working conditions — the International Labour Organisation con-ventions 147 and 180. But in response to the 1978 Amoco Cadiz tanker disaster, the focus soon switched to struc-tural and operational safety — and, fuelled by further acci-

dents like the Prestige and Erika — it continued to concen-trate on SOLAS and MARPOL.

Now, some three decades later, Mr Schiferli says it is appropriate to put the spotlight back onto the way ships are crewed. And the Paris MOU is kicking this off later this year with a three-month concentrated inspection cam-paign to check compliance with the STCW Convention rules on watchkeepers’ hours of work and rest.

However, this is not a sudden shift of emphasis, Mr Schiferli says. The Paris MOU had already become the fi rst to address operational drills — even though there had been scepticism about the ability to do this during inspec-tions. ‘When I started, port state control was all about the hardware,’ he recalls. ‘If something is corroded, you can spot the rust. But if a crew member doesn’t understand how to operate a lifeboat in an emergency, it’s a very differ-ent concept.’

The shift to ‘human’ issues is just part of a radical trans-formation of port state control philosophies and practices in recent years, Mr Schiferli contends. ‘We used to get a lot of criticism from the industry, and the new inspec-tion regime that we introduced in 2011 is based on crite-ria which are much more based on ship risk profi les,’ he explains.

The previous system — in which port state authori-ties had to check at least 25% of visiting vessels — has been replaced by a system in which ships judged to be of greater risk because of factors such as age, fl ag, class or type undergo expanded inspections, while those fi tting the profi le of quality tonnage can go for up to three years without being checked.

‘It is fair to say that it had started to become inspect-ing for numbers and that a lot of good ships were being inspected again and again,’ Mr Schiferli admits. ‘So we did

away with the numbers and started focussing that really needed attention.’

Mr Schiferli says the MLC will give inspecbetter framework in which to conduct the inhfi cult work of checking seafarers’ conditionstates that a valid certifi cate of compliance isevidence that the ship is in order,’ he pointever, the Paris MOU experience with SOLAS antifi cates is different and inspectors have all cunsafe ships with certifi cates that are so becould use them as a picture on the wall.’

PInspectors can already make a pretty gment of a ship’s state when they look agalleys, storage rooms and accomm

adds. But it can be harder to get to the bottomrest periods — especially if the record books akept properly.

‘Most inspectors have served at sea, so thesort of thing that goes on onboard ships anble records that can be kept,’ Mr Schiferli notoffi cer has to look at the system and try to detecthe master has to satisfy them that things are in

He says the impact of the MLC was evidenmonths of it coming into force in August lastis confi dent that its benefi ts will be felt by semore once it takes full effect in the countries thin the fi rst wave of ratifi cations.

‘We have been very supportive of the MLCthe beginning and worked closely with the InLabour Offi ce on its development,’ he adds. ‘Wput a lot of effort into enforcement. If the into do a good job, they need the right tools anspecial task force to produce particular gu

As the Paris MOU prepared for an inspection campaign onhours of work and rest, the organisation’s leader Richard Schiferli spoke to ANDREW LININGTON about port state coMLC, the human factor and an inspector’s intuition...

FPort state control (PSC) has its roots in the Netherlands and originated from an initiative developed by the

Dutch ministry of transport which resulted in the 1978 ‘Hague Memorandum’ — an agreement by eight European nations on the enforcement of International Labour Organisation standards for shipboard living and working conditions.

Events — in the shape of the Amoco Cadiz tanker disaster off the coast of France in March 1978 — overtook the agreement, however. The outcry over the oil spill from the grounded tanker prompted political pressure for much stricter controls over shipping safety and saw the Hague Memorandum replaced by the 1982 Paris Memorandum of Understanding, which was extended to cover the enforcement of rules governing the safety of life at sea and the prevention of pollution by ships.

Originally agreed by 14 European countries, the MoU came into force on 1 July 1982. Since then, its membership has grown to 27 nations — including not just European Union member states, but also Russia, Norway, Iceland and Canada.

The Paris MoU represented the fi rst attempt to develop a coordinated and harmonised programme of putting into practice the pre-existing powers of maritime authorities to conduct port state control inspections under the terms of such conventions as SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW and Load Lines.

PSC through the decades

FThe PSC authorities usually conduct one conceinspection campaign (CIC) every year — target

area of concern that is usually selected in response toof detention and defi ciency results or the introductioregulations and requirements for shipping.

Subjects are chosen by the advisory board and arplanned on a long-term basis. A technical evaluationdevelop guidance for inspectors and special survey foaddress important items.

Last year was one in which two CICs were carried one on propulsion and auxiliary equipment and the on passengership safety. The cruiseship campaign reconcerns raised by the Costa Concordia accident andpreliminary results are due soon.

‘It was very important for us to look at operationapassengerships after Costa Concordia,’ Mr Schiferli ex‘The data is being analysed now and the fi rst signs arencouraging. We hope to have some good news — ialways have to be bad!’

Concentratinspection campaigns

24-25_spread_sr edit.indd 24 19/03/2014 19:20

HEALTH AND SAFETY

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 25

CDanish seafaring unions have welcomed a banning order on a Greek-owned cargoship

which has failed a second port state control inspection within the space of 36 months.

The CO-Sea confederation of unions said the 1,856gt Moldovan-fl agged Mermaid had been issued with the three-month bar from EU ports after it was found to be in breach of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC).

Failure to issue proper contracts for the crew and

a lack of procedures for handling onboard complaints by crew members resulted in the latest detention, in the Danish port of Aabenraa last month, the unions said.

The ship had been detained in Germany for seven days last July after an inspection revealed 16 defi ciencies, including problems with charts, the safe manning document, and machinery and safety equipment.

CO-Sea chairman Ole Philipsen said he was

pleased to see the results of the Danish Maritime Authority’s focus on the MLC during port state inspections, but said he was concerned that some of the problems had not been detected when the Mermaid was inspected in the Netherlands in the previous week. ‘The Danish Maritime Authority deserves praise for focusing on MLC,’ he added. ‘In this case you get both visible and tangible consequences for the owner where conditions are not right for the crew. This confi rms again that the MLC works.’

MLC works, say Danish unions

Picture: Kim Rasmussen

CThe seeds of a seafaring career were sown when Mr Schiferli was a child; the son of a

Dutch Navy offi cer. ‘We moved around a lot and he was based in Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles for four years,’ he recalls. ‘In those days, the offi cers had the choice of returning home by plane or by ship, and I had my fi rst experience of the sea at six or seven when we left from New York on the Holland America Line ship Nieuw Amsterdam.’

After studying at the Dutch merchant navy academy in Den Helder, Mr Schiferli joined Holland America Line as an apprentice in 1973 — initially

serving on ro-ro containerships, but switching to the company’s passengerships in part to satisfy his love of celestial navigation.

He gained his master’s certifi cate in 1982, but decided to come ashore a couple of years later as the company’s fl eet reductions narrowed promotion prospects and career opportunities. Starting as a marine surveyor with the Dutch shipping inspectorate, he moved into shipping policy work for a few years before deciding that he wanted more than driving a desk fi ve days a week.

‘In 1989, I saw an opening at the Paris MOU,

which was very small in those days, and joined as deputy secretary,’ Mr Schiferli recalls. ‘When I started, there were just two full time and one part-time members of staff — now we are eight — and the membership has grown from 14 countries to 27.’

He says he loved his time at sea — which also resulted in his marriage — but is well aware of the sweeping changes since he came ashore. ‘I was lucky to sail in a period where we had time in port and didn’t have to put up with so many restrictions. It was a nice time in the 70s and 80s, and it is much harder now,’ he adds.

Richard Schiferli — a life devoted to the sea

sing on the ships

spectors a much he inherently dif-itions. ‘The MLC

nce is prima facie points out. ‘How-AS and other cer-

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dds. ‘We have also he inspectors are ols and we had a

ar guidelines for

port state control offi cers and spent a lot of resources on training.’

The MOU runs a special four-day course for inspectors, which includes expert training on human element issues, addresses areas such as STCW and ISM, and covers inter-cultural communications to help them in their dealings with shipmasters and seafarers from different countries.

‘The skillset of an inspector today is completely differ-ent from what it was 20 years ago,’ Mr Schiferli points out. ‘It used to be reasonably straightforward and simple, and not only was there hardly any MARPOL then, but there was no ISM and no ISPS.’

Seafaring expertise is still an essential part of the job, he believes. ‘A good inspector will be able to walk up the gangway and be 80% sure when they step onto the deck whether it is a good or a bad ship. If you have been at sea, you have that kind of intuition,’ he adds. ‘For a standard inspection, you may not need a master’s or chief engineer’s ticket, but if it gets diffi cult, complex or technical, people with high level experience can address the situation much better.’

However, Mr Schiferli recognises the increasing pres-sure of recruiting suitably qualifi ed personnel. ‘Everybody is fi shing in an increasingly smaller pond and in many MOU member states there are many fewer seafarers than there used to be,’ he refl ects.

There’s also the problem of austerity-driven public spending restrictions in many member states, which have not only put pressure on the number of inspector jobs but also the pay and conditions packages offered to them.

For the future, Mr Schiferli suggests that while safety standards have improved, there is no room for compla-cency. He believes the inspection/detention rate has ‘stabilised’ at around 3.5% and he doesn’t see it going dra-matically lower than that. ‘Overall, the industry is now pretty good and most owners are very responsible — but there is an element that does not care about responsibility and is only interested in money. Those are the ones that we will always be chasing,’ he adds.

While it might be nice to have the aviation approach of grounding entire fl eets that are found to breach standards, Mr Schiferli says it is much harder to take broad brush action against substandard owners — especially as many vessels are operated through one-ship companies.

However, he adds, the banning powers introduced in 2007 for repeat offenders have been a big success — ‘we often see ships that have been banned going off to be scrapped’ — and the Paris MOU works with its counter-parts in other regions to try to prevent such vessels from continuing their operations in different areas.

Global cooperation between the various PSC authori-ties is at an all-time high, Mr Schiferli says, and it is enhanced by systematic exchanges of information and training programmes that seek to support technical expertise and common standards.

Port state control has also moved into the superyacht sector, matching the dramatic increase in the size and sophistication of such vessels and the regulatory require-ments they have become subject to. ‘We had never had a dialogue with this sector before, and they misunderstood what PSC is all about,’ Mr Schiferli explains. ‘International conventions require you to do certain things, but once we had some meetings to discuss their concerns we were able to deliver guidelines that make it clear for the industry when yachts are subject to PSC and when they are not. The dialogue is continuing, but I think they are much happier now.’

While he does not entirely support the idea that ship-ping faces a regulatory ‘tsunami’, Mr Schiferli says the con-stant introduction of new rules and requirements means inspectors can never rest on their laurels and regular refresher training and updating is essential.

‘There’s lots to do in this job,’ he refl ects. ‘If I thought that our work was fi nished, I would have done something else a long time ago.’

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24-25_spread_sr edit.indd 25 19/03/2014 19:01

SEAFARER COMMUNICATIONS

26 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

HOW YOU CAN HELPA regular donation of £10 per month will help support seafarers from the Merchant Navy and their families when they need it most. We also welcome one-off donations. Thank You.

The Merchant Navy Fund is a collaborative initiative by two national charities, the Merchant Navy Welfare Board and Seafarers UK.  Both organisations recognise that many people would like their donations to be used specifically in support of British Merchant Navy seafarers and their families.

HOW YOU CAN HELPA regular donation of £10 per month will help support seafarers from the Merchant Navy and their families when they need it most. We also welcome one-off donations. Thank You.

Please help us to help serving and retiredUK Merchant Navy seafarers and their families who are struggling in these difficult times.

F U N D

Email: mnfund@seafarers-uk.org Phone: 020 7932 0000

www.merchantnavyfund.org

The Merchant Navy Fund is administered by Seafarers UK (King George’s Fund for Sailors), a Registered Charity in England & Wales, No. 226446, incorporated under Royal Charter. Registered in Scotland SC038191. Registered Office: 8 Hatherley Street, LONDON, SW1P 2QT.

IThe president of Inmar-sat Maritime has chal-lenged the maritime

industry to consider what the next 5,000 days in the shipping industry will look like — suggest-ing that ‘smart’ ships will be a common occurrence, with infor-mation analysts becoming vital members of the crew.

‘The future is already here for the shipping industry,’ Frank Coles told the inaugural Smart Operations conference in Lon-don. ‘Communication has been the central theme in most of the recent technological develop-ments, but it has been the one thing that the maritime industry has most struggled to come to terms with.’

Mr Coles said he felt that fol-lowing the invention of the astrolabe 5,000 years ago and sails 4,000 years ago, shipping developments had levelled out

until the industrial revolution.‘Everything sped up from

there and developments have come faster and faster. The industrial revolution changed everything — including ship-ping. First there was steam power, then electricity, new fuel, aviation and submarines.

‘During this time shipping was keeping up and even leading new technology advances,’ he added. ‘Shipping was the begin-ning of the global economy, with Solas being the first global legis-lation. We were the first globally connected industry.’

But Mr Coles suggested that from the mid-20th century tech-nological developments in the maritime industry slowed down and the only real changes were to build bigger and bigger ships.

‘By the 1980s the internet rev-olution began. It was driven by faster and faster computers and

larger and larger data networks. Today we find ourselves with unprecedented access to infor-

mation and communications and those of us who work ashore take this level of access for granted.’

Communications onboard ships had lagged behind in the new world of instant access to communications and informa-tion, Mr Coles pointed out. ‘But things are now changing,’ he added. ‘Many shipyards, builders and equipment manufacturers are looking at “Smart” ships. New ships being launched today have more and more technology onboard and new platforms are being built to permanently con-nect the ship to the shore.

‘The “industrial” internet is coming,’ he argued. ‘Faster machines which are more intelli-gent require advanced analytics to filter through all the data and turn it into something useable ashore for smart decision mak-ing.’

Mr Coles said that the new industrial internet and the vast amout of information it delivers will need to be communicated from the ship to the shore so that it can be validated, filtered and used for business intelligent decision-making which will then be communicated back to the ship.

‘All of this needs the support of the stakeholders,’ he contin-ued. ‘But I believe the leaders will be equipment manufacturers and ship builders who are already building and developing these things.

‘There will be the need for skilled analysts who will have the ability to make decisions on the ships, as well as network operat-ing centres to manage ships, sys-tems from ashore.

‘And this leads to the most dif-ficult question — can we work to an open standard? Engineer and bridge equipment manufactur-ers want to bring their informa-tion ashore, but not everybody is using the same standards. If we work to a common standard we

can bring all this information ashore.

‘And critical to all of this is reliable and fit-for-purpose com-munications, along with reliable hardware and software, like those of us ashore take for granted.’

Mr Coles pointed to research which showed that if informa-tion is dealt with in a better way, the potential value creation or savings for the maritime indus-try could be around US$20bn. This value is created through ‘smart’ operations, such as reducing downtime and switch-ing out equipment at the right time.

‘Shipowners only do things for two reasons,’ Mr Coles con-

cluded. ‘Because they think it will save them money or because the IMO or governments tell them to through legislation.

‘The future is now, in 5,000 days’ time (or nearly 15 years) we will be looking at connected ships, making smart decisions with smart people running them in a much more efficient way.’

David Balston, director of safety and environment at the UK Chamber of Shipping, agreed that the shipping industry had changed a lot in the last few years. However, he believes the next 5,000 days could be very negative ones if charter rates continue to decline and no sup-port is given to shipping compa-nies to deal with the financial impacts of the ‘huge numbers’ of new regulations — especially environmental measures — due to come into force.

‘The International Chamber of Shipping estimates that between 2015 and 2025 [the cost of complying with new regula-tions] will be about $0.5 trillion,’ he said. ‘I believe that is a very conservative estimate, but there is no doubt that the one thing that all the new regulations have in common is that they will all cost shipping an awful lot of money to comply with.

Industry professionals have been discussing how the maritime industry will change over the next decade, and despite the varied answers all agreed that communications would be key…

5,000 days in shipping

The maritime industry has lagged behind the internet revolution in the last few decades, but ship -to-shore communications are set to improve rapidly

“Many of these new technologies will require better communications from ship to shore.”

Frank Coles from Inmarsat Maritime Pictures: Debbie Cavaldoro

26-27_inmarsat.indd 26 19/03/2014 18:37

SEAFARER COMMUNICATIONS

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 27

Inmarsat offers your ship a highly evolved maritime communications ecosystem which makes every trip or voyage more efficient, safer and more productive. In short, just a lot smarter. Visit inmarsat.com

SMARTERSAFERSHIPPING_

ENABLING TECHNOLOGIESThe iFusion platform brings a revolution in enhanced commercial maritime fleet technology management. The new industry standard, this open architecture vessel technology suite reduces operational overheads and enables bespoke IT integration.

MANAGED SERVICEWith Inmarsat, you’re not just getting cutting-edge maritime connectivity and technology, you have the backing of a global team of highly skilled technicians with over 30 years maritime experience. They advise on end-to-end network agnostic solutions that help you optimise your maritime business.

OPTIMISED OPERATIONSInmarsat brings unrivalled high-reliability, premium quality global voice and data connectivity. This facilitates ultra-reliable ship-to-shore communications, linking shore side experts to your crew and seamlessly connecting your office with your fleet.

‘I am not saying these new regulations aren’t needed,’ he added. ‘Many of them are. It is just a shame that they are all set to come into force at a time when the industry is suffering. We need a more pragmatic approach from governments, especially in the UK where the shipping industry is so vital to the economy.’

IPaul McStay, lead envi-ronmental specialist from Lloyd’s Register

Marine, added that he felt energy effi ciency issues are going to dominate the shipping industry in the years to come.

‘A lot has already been said about this subject and it can be associated with a lot of negativ-ity,’ he said. ‘But it is clearer now which are the better options and which aren’t. I appreciate that there is nothing new in this and everyone understands there is a need for a solution on energy efficiency. But it is connected, as it is all about future-proofing assets.’

He agreed with Mr Balston about the amount of new regula-tion coming into force, making it a difficult decision for owners when considering how to secure their assets in the future.

The next 5,000 days will see ships which are operating today competing with ships which have been built to comply with all those new requirements, he pointed out.

‘Therefore, we must ensure that ships built today have the flexibility in their operations to adapt to an uncertain future. It requires a bit of “crystal ball gaz-ing” or scenario planning to try and see what future holds for issues like what fuels there may be available and how quickly the market will recover.

‘There is a need for greater transparency of data across the industry to try and make these predictions more accurate.’

Mr McStay also agreed that the future would continue to be dominated by new technologies and the challenge will be to ascer-tain which of the claims made about emerging technologies are realistic and deliver the benefits they purport to have for the investment required.

‘Many of these new technolo-

“The ‘industrial’ internet is coming. Faster machines which are more intelligent…”

ANautilus has welcomed the launch of Inmarsat’s ‘smart

operations’ debate — and believes that the new generation of satellite communications should lead to big improvements in crew connectivity.

The fi rst of the three new Global Xpress satellites is now in orbit and has successfully passed a month-long testing programme — the fi rst stage in the global launch of the world’s fi rst high-speed mobile broadband satellite service to the maritime industry, scheduled for early 2015.

Inmarsat says the ‘game changing’ Ka-band service will transform communications between ship and shore, off ering

ultra-fast data transfer rates — with the ability to send bundles of between 15 to 20MB.

Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson said the service should pave the way for some long-awaited and welcome enhancements in seafarers’ access to the internet. ‘This package will enable not only improved social and welfare conditions, which will assist recruitment and retention and provide new opportunities for education and training, but will also make very good sense for shipowners with respect to commercial operations, search and rescue, and the potential use of telemedicine,’ he added.

Next generation of satellite comms will bring crew benefi ts

gies will require better commu-nications from ship to shore. It will be interesting to see over the next 10 years how developments in communications technologies will improve onboard ships,’ he added.

‘The benefits of improving the communications from ship to shore are there and owners will have to weigh the costs of imple-menting them with the business cost of not. There won’t be a one size fits all solution and owners will need to look closely at develop-ments to see what best suits their business.’

Mr McStay concluded that the next 5,000 days for many ship-owners would be about research-ing the emerging and existing technologies and quantifying which will be worth investing in and which would not.

All three keynote speakers at the Smart operations conference were in agreement that the next 5,000 days in shipping would see vast improvements in ship-to-shore communications along-side other developments which would mainly be driven by com-pliance with new regulations.

gNautilus International would like to continue the debate about what the next 5,000 days in ship-ping will bring, and is interested in finding out members’ views. Do you agree that ship to shore communications will be the major development, will ship operations eventually be major-ity managed from the shore, and what will this mean for the mas-ter’s role? Will environmental or energy efficiency be more domi-nant and how will this compete with the ever-present need to keep costs down? Join the debate on the Union’s social media channels — Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter, or email telegraph@nautilusint.org.David Balston from the UK Chamber of Shipping addresses the conference

26-27_inmarsat.indd 27 19/03/2014 18:37

MARITIME LEGISLATION

28 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

OThe department for mar-itime and transport within the European

Commission, known as DG MOVE, held a seminar last month to update member states on EU maritime policy and projects ahead of European Parliamen-tary elections later this year.

Fotis Karamitsos, director of logistics for DG MOVE, opened the seminar by confirming that members of the European Union have long been proud of the region’s record for providing high quality shipping.

He explained that there was an important balancing act within the European Commis-sion to not over-legislate, forcing shipping companies to move ships onto flags of convenience, or member states to try to ‘go it alone’ within the global shipping body — the International Mari-time Organisation — or intro-duce unfair regulation of their own.

‘We have to ensure that the measures we apply compare globally, and ensure that member states comply with the measures in the state aid guidelines which provide for fair competition within Europe,’ he said.

‘On the global arena we must encourage member states to stand by agreements made within the EU. Individually, they may have up to 10% of the global fleet and this makes it difficult to compete at IMO. However, the EU together is a much stronger nego-tiating power and represents over 40% of the global fleet.’

When asked about the lack of an imperative to provide training and skills commitments within the state aid guidelines, Mr Kara-mitsos said that there was guid-ance to countries on training but that it was for individual coun-tries to decide how they would implement this.

He also stressed the impor-tance of the Connecting Europe project, TEN-T, which aims to close the gaps between member states’ transport networks by removing bottlenecks and imple-menting modern technology. The project officially launched at the start of this year to run until 2020 and has a budget of €26bn.

Magda Kopczynska, head of maritime for DG Move, told the audience that one of the favour-ite sayings of Siim Kallas, vice president of the European Com-mission and the commissioner responsible for transport, is that ‘cargo doesn’t vote’ and there-fore, despite the high reliance on shipping within Europe, decision-makers can overlook the sector in their desire to do the best thing for voters.

OOne of the main projects that DG Move is currently working on is simplify-

ing the administration demands on the ship’s master when enter-ing ports. The IMO agreed that by 2015 a large amount of documen-tation must be accepted in an elec-tronic form, and following this the EU has set a directive to allow these documents to be transmit-ted via a ‘single window’ from 1 June 2015. This means that mas-ters will only be required to com-plete ship information once and the port state will then undertake to ensure that the required infor-mation is duplicated to all nec-essary authorities, via a system called SafeSeaNet (the maritime transport information system)

‘It is a huge undertaking,’ explained Ms Kopczynska. ‘It is not only about creating a system where electronic documents can

come in but completely changing the way authorities on land talk to each other and how they exchange information. It is also focussed on ensuring that vessels have to report just once, leaving the master free to run the ship.’

Related to this is the EU Blue Belt initiative, which aims to bring a better internal market to European shipping.

‘Currently when a ship leaves the 12 nautical mile zone of an EU country it is considered to be in international waters and will therefore be subject to customs on entering the next port. Cur-rently, if a cargo is loaded in Ham-burg and goes to Rotterdam it considered an international cargo but we believe this is against the EU internal market policy.

‘Goods which are travelling within the EU should not be sub-ject to any additional customs procedures and the systems for those with goods from outside the EU should have one set of cus-toms forms to be completed at the first EU port of call.

‘We are just about to reach an agreement to simplify customs agreement for EU ships,’ Ms Kop-czynska confirmed, ‘But again this means standardising docu-mentation across many coun-tries and therefore it takes some time to finalise.’

Christine Berg, head of the unit for maritime safety, spoke about the importance of EU regu-lation for safe shipping and re-inforced the notion that the mar-itime industry does not get the attention it deserves by high-lighting how shipping is often reported in the press.

‘Between 2011 and 2013 there were around 5,300 accidents involving EU-flagged ships or in EU waters, and 211 of these were registered as very serious acci-dents in that they involved loss of ship, death or severe damage,’ she

explained.‘There were 232 fatalities; 180

of these were crew members and they barely figured in any news stories. There were 35 passenger deaths and 32 of these were from the Costa Concordia, and these deaths have dominated the news agenda for shipping.’

The human element is high on the agenda for the safety unit of DG Move, and currently the issue of certification for Filipino offic-ers is dominant.

‘Our colleagues in EMSA have been working to ensure that the training and certification of Fili-pino officers is improved and they have been visiting the Phil-ippines twice a year since 2006. European owners and member states have also provided help and support through various programmes to increase the standards of the training pro-vided.

‘There have been improve-ments, especially in the last two years,’ Ms Berg confirmed. ‘The government and maritime schools have started to take the matter very seriously but there was another set-back recently with the typhoon.

‘We are now at the junction where we think that despite the credible efforts of everyone involved to change the situation,

there have not been enough improvements. The question therefore arises of whether the European Union should with-draw recognition of certificates so that European shipowners are not able to employ Filipino offic-ers or do we look at the problem with the IMO to resolve the issue and ask them to build on the work already undertaken by the EU.

‘The Philippines is a large labour supply country and we believe it is of benefit to shipping globally for training standards to be improved. Therefore, we intend to have further discus-sions with the IMO to resolve the problems and decide how to bet-ter support the Philippines mari-time industry.’

Ms Berg concluded that mem-ber states would be meeting in April to have further discussions on the issue and that de-recognition of Filipino officer cer-tificates is still a possibility along-side discussions on raising it with the IMO in October.

Ms Berg added that the next project which her unit would be looking into was the safety of the offshore energy sector — espe-cially with regards to windfarms — and research would begin on this issue shortly.

Finally, Robert Missen, head of the land and maritime security

unit, admitted that maritime security hadn’t been on the EU agenda at all before the terrorist attacks in New York in 2001.

‘It took the events of 9/11 for the member states to give us a mandate to develop a maritime transport policy for security,’ he said.

‘This prompted the develop-ment of the IMO ISPS code — the International Ship and Port Facil-ity Security code. One of the problems with developing this code was that there was no one defined definition of security in a maritime context. Security means many things to many peo-ple.’

In developing the ISPS code, maritime security was eventually defined as: ‘the combination of preventing measures intended to protect shipping and port facili-ties against threats of intentional unlawful acts’. This became the foundation for three codes — the regulation on maritime and port facility security, the port security directive and the commission regulation on inspections.

OSince its inception the maritime security unit has also taken on respon-

sibility for piracy issues within the European Commission.

‘Thankfully the measures taken to reduce piracy in the Somali basin have been effective and the number of attacks is reducing,’ continued Mr Missen. ‘However, the problem arose because Somalia was a failed country with a non-functioning government, and this is still the case. The long term aim is to make Somalia a functioning country and eliminate piracy as a career option in Somalia.’

He gave credit to the three aspects that had contributed to the decline in piracy off Somalia — the employers’ compliance with Best Management Practices, the member states’ commitment to EU Navfor’s Operation Atal-anta and the increased use of pri-vately contracted armed guards on ships.

However, he did note the wor-rying announcement from the French government that they would be down-grading their involvement in Operation Atal-anta and stressed that there was little the Commission could do if countries did reduce their com-mitment.

Mr Missen went on to acknowledge that whilst the number of piracy attacks off the coast of Somalia have declined, attacks in the Gulf of Guinea have increased, and these operate to a completely different business model.

‘There are many states border-ing the Gulf, all of which have functioning governments,’ he explained. ‘The issue is that there is no coherent approach from those countries to eradicate the piracy problem. Because many of the attacks are in coastal waters armed guards are not an option and neither is an EU Navfor-style approach.

‘The situation is of considera-ble concern but the next steps are not known at this time. Ideally this will be dealt with by the IMO but given the politics and num-bers of countries involved this may not be realistic or quickly resolved.’

Again Mr Missen stressed the importance of all the EU member states working together to find solutions to piracy and other maritime security issues, to build on the successes that have already been made.

EU know we’ll keep on moving

“The EU together is a much stronger negotiating power”

With European Parliamentary elections due to take place in May this year, the department responsible for EU maritime policy is keen to reassure the industry that it’s a matter of ‘business as usual’ in Brussels…

Seafarers protest outside the European Parliament in Brussels about the risks to European seafarers’ jobs Picture: Thierry Roge / Reuters

28_europe.indd Sec2:28 19/03/2014 18:37

MARITIME WELFARE

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 29

www.seafarersupport.org

Freephone 0800 121 4765

Are you serving or retired

MERCHANT NAVYFISHING FLEET

ROYAL NAVYROYAL MARINEor a dependant

or do you know someone who isand needs help?

Seafarer Support is a free confidential telephone and award winning online referral service helping you find support for serving and

former UK seafarers and their families in times of need

First the book, now the run!Early this month, award-winning writer ROSE GEORGE will be running the London Marathon in aid of Seafarers UK. In this special article, she explains how her voyage on a Maersk containership inspired her to dust off her trainers...

KI used to be a sprinter. Two hundred metres was my limit at school sports days; 400 meant gasping and 800 was unthinkable.

But after school I did running only on a hockey pitch, and that was that until 2010, at the age of 41, when I decided to do two things. One: go to sea on a containership for five weeks. Two: learn to run properly.

This plan was somewhat flawed. Picture this containership for a minute: it is a working ship, the length of three football pitches, 10 stories high. Its decks are covered with stacks of many-coloured metal containers. There is no pretty promenade deck; no shuffleboard. There is only metal and water, neither of which are conducive to running, nor was the obligation to wear a hard hat while on deck.

But I was lucky enough to go to sea on a good ship. Maersk Kendal, operated by the largest multinational most people have never heard of, took its seafarers’ welfare seriously enough to provide them with a basketball court on the poop deck (an odd choice, when balls must surely have bounced merrily over the rail into the ocean), a swimming pool (though I never saw it filled), and a gym on B-deck, with several machines, weights, a TV, and in the corner, my salvation. A treadmill.

The gym was in the accommodation house. I learned my bearings in a couple of days: my quarters were on D deck, the bridge was two decks up, food was two below and the gym was one deck further down. I’d loaded Get Running, a couch-to-5K app, onto my iPhone before I left — there was no chance of uploading it at sea, when they only had dial-up email access twice a day, and Skype or browsing was a distant dream — and off I went.

There was no risk that I would skip a session: I had a lot of downtime, and a lot to run off, such as a stepfather sectioned with violent Alzheimer’s, a recent diagnosis of severe endometriosis, and a book to write that was going nowhere.

All those fuelled plenty of miles. Ship-running also taught me a rare stability, as the monsoon waves of the Indian Ocean sent the gym swaying by about 20 degrees each way.

I could always get my sessions in, because the gym wasn’t popular. The captain liked to use the rowing machine, but in the evening when other crew members weren’t likely to be there.

The first officer, an Indian, did some desultory exercises, and gladly accepted my yoga DVD because his brother swore yoga had cured his migraines.

But it was really only a trio who were regulars: Julius Jefferson, a muscled Able Seaman, and the quieter of the two cadets onboard, who was training to run a marathon with his dad. I knew when he had been in because the clock was covered with a towel: a trick that treadmill runners use to avoid watching the minutes tick by, so, so slowly.

The cadet wanted to run with his dad but really he just wanted his dad, and as the five weeks passed his quietness magnified along with his homesickness. The crew joked often that their job was like being in prison with a salary, although researchers have found that UK prisons provide better facilities than many working ships.

So why weren’t they in the gym? Because they were too knackered. When a fitness trainer was embarked at Rotterdam for four days, there was a flurry of gym attendance, but once the trainer disembarked, so did the enthusiasm.

So Julius, the quiet cadet and the supernumerary carried on in our little empire out of sight, and I completed five weeks of couch to 5K, and disembarked at Singapore, having gone through pirate waters, monsoon weather and 9,288 nautical miles of ocean, more of a runner than when I embarked.

Did I go running immediately around a Singaporean park? No, because I was too sad at leaving the ship, and because I’d got mentally stuck on the treadmill. It took me another year to discover outdoor running, build up a daft number of running shoes in my collection, and learn to love mud.

And then I decided to run a marathon. That was a surprise. After Kendal, I joined a running club in Leeds where I live, and was surprised I could run six miles.

But being in a club infects you: your mileage increases, and so does your ability and your ambition. On Kendal, I would have laughed aloud at the thought that running 26.2 miles was something I aspired to. Eventually, slowly, it became normal.

So here I am, three and half years after leaving Kendal’s small gym, running 40 miles a week, and

preparing to run the London Marathon for Seafarers UK.

My choice of charity has puzzled some people. They say, why should we donate to people who have jobs and salaries? So I tell them about seafarers held hostage for months and years for doing nothing more than their job. I tell them about the crew of the Donald Duckling, abandoned on a ship in a piteous state, or countless others also abandoned by unscrupulous owners.

I tell them that the network of port missions and welfare is partly funded by Seafarers UK, and that if those missions and seafarers’ centres didn’t exist, seafarers would be even more isolated than they are already, unable to Skype home, and easily exploited in the little time they have ashore.

I tell them of Father Colum Kelly, parish priest of Immingham, who spends his life going up and down

gangways of ships, asking only, ‘How can I help you? What do you need?’ He does that now even though his seafarers’ centre has been ruined by a tidal surge, and will take eight months to repair. And he lives there now, in a building site, because he thinks he should be there, for the seafarers’ building, and for the seafarers.

That’s why I’m running 26.2 miles around London on April 13. Please sponsor me; it’s a good cause, and I’m going to earn every penny, in sweat and chafing.

gRose’s fundraising page: www.justgiving.com/rosegeorge3.gDeep Sea and Foreign Going: Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry that brings You 90% of Everything, by Rose George was published by Portobello Books last September — www.portobellobooks.com

Rose George’s 2013 bestseller

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“My choice of charity has puzzled some people. They say, why should we donate to people who have jobs?”

29_rose.indd 29 19/03/2014 18:18

LIFE AT SEA

30 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

keeping the course9 – 12 september 2014

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scan the QR code and view the traileror visit smm-hamburg.com/trailer

HMC_533633_SMM_AZ_Image_284x190.indd 1 03.03.14 13:38

MWho makes a cruiseship tick? Cunard provided an answer by staging this

portrait showing more than 120 crew members with diverse roles and responsibilities onboard the Queen Mary 2.

Taken during the ship’s visit to Sydney last month during a round-the-world cruise, the strik-ing shot by internationally-acclaimed photographer James Morgan was arranged to mark the ship’s 10th anniversary.

It captures crew from every one of Queen Mary 2’s broad spectrum of roles — from the master, Captain Kevin Oprey, to ‘gentlemen dance hosts’ and housekeepers to the kennel mas-ter and florist. Props featured in the shoot range from dogs for the kennel master through to a dou-ble bass and a harp for the liner’s musicians and a large frozen sculpture for the resident ice carver.

Since her first visit to Sydney in February 2007, when specta-tors gridlocked the city and brought traffic to a halt, Queen

Mary 2 has become a firm favour-ite with Australians. Her call in Sydney, her ninth to date, came at the start of her second circum-navigation of the country, a 23-night roundtrip voyage which saw her visit seven ports around Australia.

In the 10 years since coming into service, Queen Mary 2 has: sailed the equivalent of three times to the moon and back; served more than 58m meals, enough to feed the combined population of Sydney, Hong Kong, Cape Town, Rio and Dubai for an entire weekend, and 21.9m cups of tea, enough to fill three Olympic swimming pools; and baked 2.7 million scones, which if stacked on top of each other would reach a soaring 80km in height.

Queen Mary 2 will return home to Southampton on 9 May where her 10th birthday celebra-tions will continue with all three ships of the Cunard fleet taking part in special sail-pasts, a cele-bratory lunch and a spectacular send-off of fireworks.

Cunard crew highlight job diversity

Crew members from children’s entertainers and chefs to deck offi cers and dance troupes created an iconic image of life at sea Picture: James Morgan

Crew members from every staff role onboard the Queen Mary 2, including the canine variety, came together to celebrate the ship’s 10th anniversary in Sydney...

30_cunard.indd Sec2:3030_cunard.indd Sec2:30 19/03/2014 18:1819/03/2014 18:18

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 31

Only Us, by W. Ken Davies‘They say Grundy likes young girls,’ says Griff to the mate as the ancient steamer Belinda Jolly eases out of the Swansea locks into the Bristol Channel. Wouldn’t surprise

me. Nasty bit of work, Grundy — and he has dedicated his life to making my life hell; the only downside to this ship as far as I am concerned. My shipmates grumble at the prospect of an uncomfortable four January days. They reckon only fools and misfits sail in this class of vessel in 1958, but I don’t give a damn. The early-hours cold bites to the bone, my ears sting, and I hug myself into my donkey-jacket. The smell of smoke and the taste of salt makes me feel real. Antwerp with coal from Swansea; the very idea sends a tingle up my spine. I am alive, at the heart of the things, and a warm sense of being surges through me.

‘Go aft and brew up,’ says the mate. ‘Me an’ Griff will square the ropes up.’ I make my way across number one hatch, up the ladder to the lower bridge, to trot alongside numbers two and three. We’ve washed all the coal dust away before sailing, but the whiff of bunker coal comes up from the stoke-hold door, top half open for air. Next to it is the galley, smelling of hot metal, the cooking range taking up most of its space. I know the score: keep half-door open on the lee side to let a breath of air in; drag the cast-iron kettle on to the heat; swill out the chipped enamel teapot and shovel in ten handfuls of tea — both watches are out leaving port. Spread the mugs out across the scrubbed deal work-top, sugar and condensed milk in ready. Watch the drizzle damp evaporate out of my jacket until the kettle boils, spitting globules to scurry about the hot iron like little silver mice.

Griff comes in, grey eyes squinting through gusting tobacco smoke. The raindrops glisten on his duffel coat, its grease stopping the rain as well as any oilskin. He’s smirking. ‘Do anything with that little blonde I saw you with on Wind Street?’

I don’t rise to the bait and he stares at the rivets in the bulkhead, squinting through his cigarette smoke. Without taking the roll-up from his mouth, he starts to murder an old Joseph Locke number, ‘He-arr my song, read my let ta-ta, dum de dum… He-arr my song-ah beneath the moon.’ They’re the only words he knows, and his imperfect rendering makes it sound all the more comical. He laughs, throws his cigarette stump into the ash pit beneath the fire, then stretches out on the deal bench and sings the same lines again. Silence again but for the thunk thunk thunk of the old triple expansion engine and the scrape of the Somali fireman’s shovel on the stokehold plates. Griff starts to snore.

The Swansea girl slides into mind — the warm little breast, the touch of soft fabric as the soft bush hiding the coy sweet moisture of her body is revealed — blue eyes in a pinched face framed by blond curls. My body begins to respond in the warmth of the galley range, so I go out into the cold to get the log-line ready for streaming. I flake the cord up and down the deck, then dodge back into the galley. Can’t get the girl out of my mind. She was sitting alone in a coffee bar on Wind Street. Said her name was Sally, and I took her to the pictures. She told me her father was a brute. Her mother had left him years ago, but he insisted on seeing her, and she shuddered. Then we huddled in a back alley.

‘Be quiet, and the world is ours,’ she said, echoing a line fresh from the film. ‘There is only us,’ I reassured her with another line from the same one.

‘Just us,’ she said, and we fumbled with each other’s clothes, each believing the other to know more about how these things should be approached.

She seemed anxious to leave as midnight approached. I slipped my address into her hand and she blanched when she looked at it. Seemed put out when I told her my ship was sailing in the small hours. Probably doesn’t care for sailors. Can’t blame her really, but you never know. I really hope she will write — something warm about her.

Once the pilot is away, we stream the log at the Helwick light ship, then make more tea for the wheelhouse. ‘Read the log an’ we’ll go up,’ says Griff, peering at the

galley clock.Griff takes over from O’Donovan on look-out on the wing of the

bridge. In the wheelhouse, I give the mate his tea. He winks at me, a beret, pulled forward to look like a peaked rat-catcher cap sharpening the leanness of his face. I seek out the skipper’s bulk, hunched in the window on the port side.

His lighter flares as he lights a Capstan and gropes for the mug. The

flame lights up a scowl out of hell. Livid blue eyes glare out of so many wrinkles I wonder how he shaves without mincing himself. ‘Wha’d’y’ do,’ he snarls after tasting the tea, ‘piss in it?’ I might do just that the next time, I’m thinking; then aloud, ‘Sorry, Skipper, the spray got into it.’

‘Don’t call me Skipper — how long’ve you been aboard?’‘Nearly eighteen months, Cap’n.’‘It’s Captain Grundy to you,’ he growls. ‘Remember, you’re just the

ordinary seaman — d’y’ get the log?’‘Five point six miles at eight bells,’ I tell him. I reckon she’s run

more like eight, over the land, having a strong ebb with her, but I choose not to air my new-found knowledge. I grope my way to relieve Murphy at the wheel. ‘Sou’west by west,’ he tells me, ‘She’s usin’ half a turn of port,’ then he whispers, ‘but ye have to watch her like a fucken hawk.’

I grasp the spokes of the wheel, brace myself against the vessel’s movement, and peer at the compass, bobbing about in its bath of alcohol. ‘She’s all yours, Davey,’ Murphy says, and repeats the course to the skipper. Grundy grunts his reply. What do you expect from a pig but a grunt? Running before the brisk ebb, she’s testing me. Like a big dog on a leash, she gripes out to starboard. Easy to notice with all the Bristol Channel traffic, and I get a gob-full off Grundy. ‘Watch y’ bloody helm,’ he screams. He’s like a cat with piles when there’s traffic about; windy. The mate peers into the binnacle and winks at me ‘ Built like a bloody box,’ he remarks. ‘Better lines on a fooking coffin.’ An ex-skipper, the mate is as cool as yesterday’s custard.

Five minutes later Grundy decides to go below, and turns to the mate. ‘Call the second mate yourself at seven bells,’ he says. ‘Keep the crew out of our accommodation for the rest of this trip.’ I’m puzzled. What’s got into him all of a sudden?

‘How’s she heading now?’ Grundy growls as he leaves the wheelhouse.

‘Sou’west by west,’ I tell him. She’s spot on course; a fluke if there ever was one.

Aboard the Belinda Jolly, some jobs are heavy and most are dirty, but my next task is pure heaven. The best way to ensure a full belly is to get the cook on your side, and I

know the secret. Get a good fire going in the galley range, warm the pans, boil the kettle — things like that. You coax the fire like she’s a woman. Stoke her gently and check the damper is right for the draught. Build the heat up slow and she’s putty in your hands. The

rattle of the poker makes my mouth water.The galley boy uses the corner of his apron to rub the sleep from

his eyes. He slings two loaves onto the bench without stepping over the washboard, throws back a lock of greasy hair and disappears behind the open door of the cold room to return with the bacon and a tray of eggs.

Charlie the cook is a giant who starts laughing the minute he wakes up. ‘You want breakfast early, Davey boy?’ he drawls in an accent, nurtured in a sunshine thousands of miles away, rising and falling with the vessel’s motion. He ladles up a bowl of burgoo for me then pours a deluge of syrup over it. He laughs his bulky way around the galley with a grace to shame a ballerina. Charlie’s philosophy on life is simple: live fast an’ die young — leave a decent lookin’ corpse. One hand breaks two eggs into the ocean of fat whilst the other splits bacon slices from the pack. Black pudding, flapjack mix, bubble and squeak, the whole thing chuckles away in a frying-pan the size of Belfast Lough. The three of us tuck in.

‘Don’ go to the saloon this trip,’ Charlie tells the boy. ‘Captain’s orders; prob’ly got some poor young tart in there — he’ll end up in jail, dirty old bastard. ‘He shakes his head and starts putting the crew’s breakfast into the stainless steel kits.

It’s nearly one bell, so I pick up the kits, and hurry across the hatches for’ard to call O’Donovan and Murphy. The chill spray in my face livens me up.

The fo’c’sle is divided by tongue-and-groove bulkheads into three rooms. The door off the deck opens into a tiny mess-room in the middle, with a twin berth room each side. I call Murphy and O’Donovan who live on the starboard side, then I shake up the fire of the little range that struggles to heat the whole fo’c’sle. After plating up the breakfasts and putting them in the oven, I get the kettle boiling before snatching a rest on the bench crammed between the bulkhead and the plain deal table. The kettle’s hiss and the rattle of cutlery in the drawers beneath the table make me feel good. The Belinda Jolly’s soul has been cobbled together from the rattle of riveters, the thump of grabs and the buffeting of endless gales.

The wind’s down to nothing by evening, and she goes round the Longships easy, to heave her way through the Channel. The passage is marked by familiar events: keeping a sharp look out for the French and Spanish ferries in and out of Plymouth; passing the Bill of Portland and St. Catherine’s Point; crossing the Bournemouth traffic; avoiding the ships anchored off Shoreham; and keeping an eye out

Lost at sea, but not on usOverall winner W. Ken Davies wowed the judges of the Writing@Sea competition with his short story, Only us. Now’s your chance to discover the secret of his success for yourself…

WERE YOU AWARE that following the successul outcome of a judicial review in respect of two Seatax clients, (brought before the Courts by Nautilus in collaboration with Seatax Ltd as expert advisors on the Seafarers Earnings Deduction), it was deemed that the two Seatax clients did have a legitimate expectation in applying the only published Revenue Practice with regard to the application of a day of absence in relation to a vessel sailing between UK ports. HMRC did not want to accept this practice (although referred to in their very own publications) but have now accepted that expectations of a claim based on such practice would be valid until the published practice is withdrawn. Following on from this, HMRC have now confi rmed that this Practice is withdrawn as of the 14 February 2014. Seatax was the only Advisory Service that challenged HMRC on this point.

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Last month, we announced the winners of the Nautilus/Marine Society Writing@Sea competition, and we are now pleased to publish some of the creative writing picked out by the judges.

The overall winning story, Only Us by W. Ken Davies, was felt to be outstanding, and is printed below in full for readers to enjoy.

We also have space for two section winners, and hope these will whet readers’ appetites for the anthology of stories and poems from the competition that will be published later in the year.

Continued overleaf A

WRITING COMPETITION

p31-33_writing comp_june edits.indd 31 19/03/2014 18:38

32 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

for the Dieppe ferry from Newhaven. The rhythm of four hours on and four off gets easier as we catch up on our sleep, but the sea air encourages sleep, and I’m glad it’s our watch below once we’ve cleared the Dover traffic.Sleep has barely claimed me before Murphy bursts into the room. ‘Get ye’s arses outa there,’ he calls. ‘Grab ye’s life-jackets and get aft.’

‘What’s up?’ says Griff.‘Fog thick as a bag out there,’ Murphy tells us.

‘Steamin’ full speed through it — the second mate reduced speed, but Grundy came up and puts the telegraph right down. Reckons he only knows how far we’ve steamed when he’s sure what our speed is.’

‘Damn’ fool,’ says Griff, and we crowd out into the messroom. Next thing, there’s the most godawful crunch I ever heard — like a train steaming head-on into a steel shed. The whole vessel shudders, and the door to our room flies open. There’s water gushing in, and the screech of steel-on-steel as she heels over to port. Out on the deck the port side is awash, the cargo pouring out of a mighty gash. A tanker towers above us, and we can see the officers leaning over the wing of the bridge as she disappears into the fog astern of us.

‘Another eejyit steaming full ahead,’ says Murphy as we climb up the ladder onto the lower bridge, where O’ Donovan and the second mate are sliding down the bridge ladder.

‘Where the hell’s the old man?’ asks the second mate.

‘I’ll get ’im,’ says O’Donovan, and tugs at the door to the skipper’s day-room. The housing leans crazily at forty five degrees, and it is like trying to open the lid of a great chest as seawater replaces our cargo.

‘Pull, damn you, pull.’ It is Grundy’s voice on the other side, and he’s trying to push the door upwards. Then there is an agonised cry and the sound of stuff sliding down the deck as the angle gets steeper. The Belinda Jolly is on her beam-ends now, and the second mate is already aft, grabbing a fire-axe from the fiddley. He climbs up on the boat-deck to hack away at the falls to allow the port boat to float clear. The galley boy and the down-below men join him to push the boat off its chocks and into the water. Charlie is struggling toward us, one foot on the coaming the other on the sloping deck.

‘Where’s Grundy?’ he says. ‘There’s a girl in there with him.’ The four of us renew our efforts to open the door and find the day-room half full of water. No sign of Grundy, but the girl is like a rag-doll splashing about in the darkness. O’Donovan jumps into the room and lifts her up so that I can grab her and pull her clear.

‘Get her aft fast,’ says Charlie, who is straining to hold the door open. ‘This ol’ bitch is gonna turn over any time now.’

I clutch the girl to my chest and struggle between the hatch and the bulwarks. The old vessel shudders and there is an almighty thud behind me. I look over my shoulder to see no sign of the others. One more lurch, and I’m tumbling across the hatch.

We are in the water, and there is only one thought in my head: must get away from the vessel before she sucks us down with her. Turning on my back, I grip the girl’s head up to my chest and begin kicking. The Belinda Jolly has turned turtle, her red bottom like a huge lobster, and she’s going down fast by the head. Swallowing and spitting salt water, I kick and kick, remembering my old life-saving lessons from school. The old vessel’s stern rises high into the fog, and her dying plunge pulls us under. I suddenly realise how cold the water is as it closes over me, then everything goes dark.

The voice of death is quiet. There is no threat in its hoarse call. The ship has gone, and the images that float before

the eyes I cannot open are heavenly. In that sacred stillness the air is like gaseous crystal, and my senses are graced by the smell of a thousand spices and a dozen brands of rich tobacco. Then I smell a tinge of disinfectant. Two women are talking. I know just about enough waterfront French to understand them.

‘He’s survived.’‘Needs a shave.’The voices are burdened with sadness, and I

force my eyes open. They smile out of nurses’ uniforms and one has an electric shaver in her hand. She holds a mirror to my face. The eyes peer from dark caverns peering from the growth of black stubble.

‘I will shave you.’‘I can shave myself, thanks.’ The words are barely

a murmur. My hand is lying on the counterpane, and the nurse puts the shaver into it. When I try to lift it, my hand stays where it was. She shaves me, telling me how I had hypothermia and have slept for eighteen hours. ‘Must get you looking nice for a special visitor,’ she says, but there is an unfathomable sadness in her voice.

The girl stands at the entrance to the ward, peering along the beds until her eyes settle on mine. The hospital robe

she clutches tightly about her slight form accentuates the rag-doll image, as does the paleness of her face, and the straight fair hair. She is pretty, pert, and even without the make-up there is no mistaking her. It is the Swansea girl.

‘Thank you,’ she says, sitting on the edge of my bed, her hands lying limp in her lap. ‘You saved my life.’

Not a single platitude will float into my mind, and I must look as dim as Goofy. ‘Sally...’ I say dumbly.

‘Sally Grundy,’ she says.‘Grundy...’ I say, still short on words.‘He was my father,’ she says, and begins to weep.Was. The significance slowly sinks in. ‘And the

others?’ She shakes her head, and sinks into my arms. ‘Only us,’ she says. ‘There is only us .’

I find myself weeping with her, wanting only to help her out of the terrible darkness that has engulfed us.

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WRITING COMPETITION

Meet the authorW. Ken Davies originally came up with the plot for Only us as part of an attempt to write his first novel, but when life got in the way and the novel had to be set aside for a while, he crafted the material into a short story.

He told the Telegraph that his most important aim was to give the reader a flavour of the shipping industry in the post-war period: ‘It’s never adequately treated in fiction’. Dr Davies was at sea as an AB in the 1950s and 1960s, and he even met his wife through his job — although not in quite such a dramatic way as the protagonist of Only us.

‘My wife was at sea too; she was a ship’s cook when I was working onboard a Norwegian vessel,’ he explains. But they both decided to come ashore when they started a family, because Dr Davies remembered how tough life had been for his mother when his engineer officer father had been away on long trips.

Although he has done a wide variety of work ashore since the 1960s — and taken his education to PhD level — Dr Davies says he still identifies strongly with the Merchant Navy. ‘You never forget; you’re always an ex-seaman. The story I wrote was about something that is part of me.’ Happily, this gifted writer is now back on track to complete his maritime-themed novel. Keep your eyes peeled for a future review in the Telegraph… Picture: Mary Evans Picture Library/Roger Mayne

p31-33_writing comp_june edits.indd 32 19/03/2014 18:38

The full story

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 33

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Training to be prepared

The poetry prize and short story prize for serving seafarers were both won by Nautilus members — and both wrote about the challenges of maintaining personal relationships when at sea.

Jack William Metcalfe says he wrote his poem Sail Away With Me while sailing on a twin gaff rigged schooner around the Greek islands last summer — and he actually sent it to the loved one waiting for him at home.

In A Watchkeeper’s Arms, Philip C. Mack writes thoughtfully and honestly about the attractions and downsides of a career at sea. The story’s narrator lives in the internet age, but the problems he and his girlfriend encounter would have been familiar to the characters in the 1950s-set overall winner ‘Only us’ — being apart on special occasions and dealing with misconceptions about the Merchant Navy.

Extracts from A Watchkeeper’s Arms, by Philip C. Mack‘Where are you? I can’t find your ship on the tracking website.’

‘Just arrived in Mauritius. It looks really nice. I just went out on the bridge and there’s a smell of sweet burning wood in the air, we’re pretty close to shore. I wish you could smell it.’

‘Me too.’

Growing up he always said he would never go to sea, because he knew how hard family life was with his dad away all the time. But he tried several different career paths, and none could satisfy him. He could no longer ignore the call of the sea, so

it wasn’t a choice as such. He had seen the most breath-taking sunsets and sunrises, he had seen the northern lights and the green flash many times. Starry skies and shooting stars filled most of his nights out on the open seas and oceans — sights and views not attainable anywhere else — and you would find him outside enjoying it all, with the feeling of absolutely nothing but God Himself and a million miles of sky above him.

A message came through from her on her night out. ‘I’m so miserable here without you . I can’t stand this job of yours. I know you love the sea, but it’s torture for me. It’s like you love another woman, and she’s your wife.’

Yet another email came through. ‘My friends don’t get it either. They don’t have a clue how it is. Jane’s boyfriend did a tour of Afghanistan and everyone says how he is a hero. He was away once for six months. He didn’t miss a birthday or

Christmas, they had Skype every day, good mail service and everything. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that they don’t do a good job because they do, but people know all about it. What do people know about you? Nothing.’

Her hair was shorter now, but it suited her he thought. She swept some behind her ear revealing better her perfect face. It still hurt him every day, the way in which he let her go. But here she was. Smiling, gathering groceries, so he must have done

right by her. She was pushing a buggy with a baby in it. He snuck around the aisle to get a closer look and he could tell somehow that the baby was hers. He had wrestled with himself ever since that night at anchor off Mauritius. But looking at her now he knew — a stone thrown into the ocean can never be retrieved. He put down his shopping basket where he stood, making a swift, stealthy and distressful exit .

Every ship he joins now, he takes her old photo and hangs it on the bulkhead. It’s dog-eared and well looked at by now. It’s travelled the world several times over. Other crew members ask presumably, ‘She is very beautiful, is that your girlfriend?’

He replies very simply, every time, ‘No. That’s just the girl I love.’

Picture: Thinkstock

Timeless mariners’ tales

Here is the complete list of winners from the Nautilus/Marine Society Writing@Sea competition.

Entrants were invited to submit poems or short stories for the creative writing competition, on the theme of ‘life at sea’. The judges were Mark Windsor of the Marine Society, poet Jeremy Reed, novelist Howard Cunnell, retired shipmaster and author Colin Darch, and retired engineer offi cer and author Bob Jackman.

The overall winner receives the Marine Society Prize of £1,000, and the other winners and runners-up listed below each receive a Kobo Aura e-reader. All the winners will be invited to an awards ceremony later in the year.zOverall winner: W. Ken Davies, for Only UszPoetry prize for serving seafarers:

Jack William Metcalfe, for Sail Away With Me; second place, Marc Rattle; third place, Christopher StevensonzStory prize for serving seafarers: Philip Mack, for The Watchkeeper’s Arms; second place, Matthew Winwood; third place, Buchanan BailiezPoetry prize for entrants not serving at sea: Roy Cockcroft, for Finisterre; second place, Ellen Cranitch; third place, David BroadbridgezStory prize for entrants not serving at sea: Robert Francis Harris, for A Titan’s Case; second place, Kevin Field; third place, Robert OgdenzPoetry prize for entrants aged 12-18: Amy Bales, for We’re Here; second place, Lucas FerrarzStory prize for entrants aged 12-18: Caitlin Vinicombe, for Story With No End; second place, Clementine Thompson

Speak up…g Have you had your say yet in the Nautilus/Marine Society Book ofthe Year survey? Lots of Telegraph readers have already taken part in our 10-minute online quiz about seafarers’ reading habits and favourite books, but we want to hear from as many people as possible. Go to www.nautilusint.org to take part.

Sail Away With Me, by Jack William MetcalfeSail away with me O FriendPlease do not leave meSail away with me until the very endFrom the touch of light at dawnTill the last flash of illumination at dusk

Sail away with me O FriendPlease comfort me alwaysFill my sails with windDirect my rudder with easeI ask this of you, Please, Please, Please

Sail away with me O FriendAllow my course to meanderFor my soul to float freeMake the Ocean blue and clearSo my desired path experiences little danger

Sail away with me O FriendAlways I ask watch over MeThe shackles that bind my bonesShall be released for all eternityThank you my lover, for Sailing Away With Me

WRITING COMPETITION

p31-33_writing comp_june edits.indd 33 19/03/2014 18:38

by Trevor Boult

FScotia was a twin-screw passenger steamer built on the Clyde at

Dunbarton in 1902 by William Denny, for the LNWR — London & North Western Railway, to serve the Irish Sea route between Holyhead and Dublin.

In 1914 Scotia was requisitioned by the Admiralty and is recorded as having delivered ‘laudable service in the Mediterranean’ as a fast armed boarding steamer. After the war she was renamed as Menevia and in 1923 began operating for the LMS Railway. In 1928 the ship was sold to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and was sent for scrap later that year.

Scotia was an elegant twin-funnelled vessel with an impressive speed of 21 knots. As such she attracted the eye of contemporary marine artists. Perhaps her most unusual yet signifi cant depiction was that of a poster advertisement in 1905 by the artist Norman Wilkinson. It proved to be a seminal image which helped inaugurate a new era in such advertising, the lineage of which remains evident up to the present day.

Railway posters have an enduring appeal which stimulates the imagination. The fi rst such notices appeared in the 1820s. The posters were similar to those made earlier by the stagecoach companies and were intended to be informative rather than persuasive or artistic.

At the beginning of the 20th century almost every town had a railway station and the rail network was virtually complete. Travelling for pleasure had become commonplace and there were over one hundred railway companies vying for attention and a distinguishing brand. Some of the major players also opened up their own shipping links, such as to the Continent, and Ireland. As tourism continued to grow, the role of publicity became ever more important. Eventually, this was to bring a high standard of modern art to advertising hoardings.

It was normal practice for railway companies to use printing agencies to source images for posters, with traditional subjects of coastal or rural holidays and outdoor activities. However, the railway companies were beginning to see the true value of such advertising, and gradually a number of particular artists were becoming recognised for their work.

Concurrently, there was lively debate about how rail services were advertised on hoardings. On the one hand, text-based notices were considered best, as they could be understood instantly. Others stressed the additional need for advancement in poster design, citing that a poster’s message should be obvious through its picture, even to a passenger who did not wish to stop and read the text. A single clear image would grab the passer-by’s attention and its considered design would sell the product.

Norman Wilkinson was an artist who speculatively submitted paintings to railway companies. He, too, was unimpressed by the design of contemporary pictorial posters, describing them as ‘an uninspired jumble of small views of resorts...with a good deal of meaningless decoration and quite unintelligible at a distance.’

In 1905, Wilkinson produced a poster for the LNWR that stood out from many of its predecessors.

The design for ‘To Ireland’ [above] gave him the opportunity to break with tradition, in which he rendered a simple view of a steamer in the Irish Sea. Company directors were not keen on his realistic depiction and considered that the ship should be more prominent. It was

only through the efforts of the General Manager that the design was used.

Norman Wilkinson’s simple bold design caused a stir in the press and has latterly been appraised: ‘The image told the story; the customer was not required to stop and read the poster but could readily see that on the LNWR one could travel to Ireland on a modern steamer, enjoying a pleasant and calm crossing of the Irish Sea. Its symbolic pictorial content was felt to be superior to the explicit narrative of posters such as those for the East Coast route. Wilkinson had come down fi rmly in support of greater simplicity and clarity in both the image and composition of posters...Keeping the text to a minimum, Wilkinson painted a calm sea with a small ship in the distance, which he intended to represent accurately the small tonnage of the steamer.’

In 1975 Sealink produced a poster which was an extension of Norman Wilkinson’s concept of visual impact and clarity, which gave prospective passengers a cross-sectional look inside what had then become huge ro-ro ferries, for a glimpse of the facilities on offer.

Much is owed to Norman Wilkinson, and to the TSS Scotia for her inspiration.

fWith thanks to Lorna Frost/National Railway Museum.

OFFWATCH ships of the past

QUICK CLUES Across1. Reporter (10)6. Helen’s city (4)9. Coin (5)10. Set out (9)12. Baker’s prayer (3,5,5)14. Singlet (3-5)15. Baker/s residue (6)17. Fruit (6)19. Wine (8)21. Using power (13)24. Cattle space (9)25. Oil producer (5)26. Capp (4)27. Off -colour (10) Down1. Obscure Hardy character (4)2. Open up (7)3. Resolved to go on (2,7,4)4. ‘Vive …’ (2,6)5. French philosopher (5)7. Chemical agitator (7)8. Giving way (10)

11. Life support (9,4)13. Flower (10)16. Self-destructive (8)18. Robot (7)20. Not night (7)22. Andean pack animal (5) 23. Hardy girl (4)

CRYPTIC CLUES Across1. Graft lounge from outer space

to make a container (10) 6. Technology divides Brussels

with information for case in French (4)

9. Rock city to its foundations (5)10. Mistake after start of trial fi rst

to label one others’ freedom fi ghter (9)

12. Repaired medal with red paste mixture, it’s a craft (6,7)

14. Otherwise currency of Iraq and capital of Yemen are much of a muchness (8)

15. Presenter has to be weighed before cruise (6)

17. Make contact and a resounding hit with French fencing fraternity (6)

19. I guess I’d look diff erent in wig and dark glasses (8)

21. Imagine stately residence becoming a cinema (7,6)

24. Haute couture, so high it fl oats and creates its own atmosphere … (9)

25. … to bring into the world through airtight opening (5)

26. Catch sight of English agent (4)

27. Be grateful for increase in value (10)

Down1. How I perfectly concealed a

cleaner (4) 2. Used keys again to instil some

class into communist (7) 3. Getting on with MPs’

workplace, enter as

accommodation (8,5)4. Done with moving around —

let’s rest (8)5. Note change for much of the

continent (5)7. If not Kipling’s imposter then a

two-wheeler (7)8. Mate with a mate (10)11. CIA change poor results from

main research (13)13. Brushed up on dentistry (10)16. If not Kipling’s other imposter

then rides sat uncomfortably (8)

18. ‘Peace, cousin! say no more: And now I will --- a secret book’ (Henry IV Part 1) (7)

20. Not going anywhere, i.e., train derailment (7)

22. As expedition starts with a joke, prepare for it (5)

23. Redesigned hose for item of footwear (4)

J Crossword answers are on page 46.

Telegraph prize crosswordThe winner of this month’s cryptic crossword competition will win a copy of the book The Unseen Britannic (reviewed in last month’s Telegraph).

To enter, simply complete the form right and send it, along with your completed crossword, to: Nautilus International, Telegraph Crossword Competition, 1&2 The Shrubberies, George Lane,

South Woodford, London E18 1BD, or fax +44 (0)20 8530 1015. You can also enter by email, by sending your list of answers and your contact details to: telegraph@nautilusint.org.

Closing date is Friday 11 April 2014.

Name:

Address:

Telephone: Membership No.:

50 YEARS AGOShipowners in many parts of the world seem to be actively engaged in studies relating to the manning of their vessels. One recent study suggests that the manning of UK foreign-going ships is exceeded only by one other long-established maritime nation, namely Denmark. The variations are quite marked, for instance on tankers of about 35,000 tons the total crew ranged from 58 under the Danish fl ag, with 52 under the UK fl ag, 43 under the German fl ag and 36 under the Belgian fl ag. Members will not be surprised to learn, therefore, that some British owners are complaining of being handicapped by having to carry larger crews than many of their competitors. The MNAOA is represented on high-level groups looking at increasing effi ciency and we would be foolish if we tried to ignore the pressure for manpower savings MN Journal, April 1964

25 YEARS AGOMore than a year after launching the world’s fi rst marine ‘black box’, Lloyd’s Register has announced its fi rst customer for the device. Wescol International is to fi t the voyage data recorder (VDR) to its 29,411gt containership Gulf Spirit. LR said the unit will collect and store data such as hull stresses, ship motion and machinery performance during the ship’s regular 35-day voyages between Europe and the US. As well as providing safety information, the equipment could also enable savings in operating costs by cutting fuel consumption, optimising ballast draughts and reducing heavy weather damage, the classifi cation society claims. The decision has been welcomed by NUMAST. Assistant general secretary Derek Bond said the VDR had the potential to supply information on ship losses which might otherwise remain a mystery and could also be useful in assessing the cause of marine casualties The Telegraph, April 1989

10 YEARS AGONUMAST has expressed concern over disturbing evidence that the shipping industry is on course to fail to meet the July deadline for compliance with the International Ship & Port facility Security Code. The Union has also protested over an International Maritime Organisation decision that there should be no restrictions placed on shipmasters being designated as ship security offi cers (SSOs). A conference in London last month heard that only 3% of the 30,000 ships covered by the Code have so far gained certifi cation and only a small proportion of the 6,000 ports aff ected have demonstrated they are in line with the requirements. NUMAST said the industry had no excuse for failing to meet the rules and the Union has also warned about the serious workload implications of the SSO role The Telegraph, April 2004

1 What proportion of the current global cruiseship orderbook is being built in Japanese yards (in gross tonnage terms)?

2 How many 150,000gt-plus cruiseships are currently in service in the world fl eet?

3 The Caribbean is the leading cruise destination in terms of ship deployments — what percentage

of global itineraries does the region account for?

4 What proportion of the current global orderbook for off shore support vessels is accounted for by platform supply vessels?

5 The ferry company Buquebus recently took delivery of the world’s fi rst LNG-fuelled high-speed ferry. Where does it operate?

6 What was an octant?

J Quiz answers are on page 46.

THEQUIZ

Scotia in the picture

34 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

34_offwatch.indd 34 19/03/2014 18:19

OFFWATCH books

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 35

First-class text book can help with career developmentReeds 21st Century Ship ManagementBy John DickieAdlard Coles Nautical, £30ISBN: 978 14729 00685

KShip management has become an increasingly important

element of shipping operations, challenging the traditional model of ship ownership and operation in a way that has sometimes attracted concern and criticism.

John Dickie, who will be familiar to many Telegraph readers as the secretary-general of the International Federation of Ship Masters’ Associations, has produced this book as a sort of ‘best practice’ compendium to address those concerns — and not least the role of genuine and eff ective safety management in delivering quality operations.

It also serves as a highly accessible introduction to the work of ship management for seafarers considering the move. As well as off ering clear and practical information on the intricacies of strategic and operational management, it provides some excellent material describing the skills required and the responsibilities demanded of good managers.

Over 18 chapters, John Dickie guides the reader through the

complex management models and the way they interact with both commercial demands and regulatory requirements. There is a healthy emphasis on the principles of planning and strategic thinking, and on the true delivery of compliance with ISM, ISPS and all the other elements of eff ective operational cultures.

The book also explains with clarity and depth the way in which managers can develop positive relationships with their teams and with external authorities. Ways to deliver eff ective communications and coordination, clear identifi cation of responsibilities and resources required, and coherent planning and preparation are all set out — with useful ‘self-assessment’ tests at the end of each section to help the reader refl ect on the subject matter.

Produced to high standards, well laid out, referenced and indexed, this off ers fi rst-class advice and information to both prospective and practising ship managers and should serve a standard reference to the subject for many years ahead.

Provocative polemic argues for privatisation

Who Pays the Ferryman?By Roy PedersenBirlinn Publishing, £9.99ISBN: 978 17802 71224

KSubtitled The Great Scottish Ferries Swindle, this book

provides a detailed critique of what the author describes as ‘scandalously inadequate’ current operations that will probably win few plaudits from Nautilus members.

The son of a shipmaster, and a former manager with the Highlands & Islands Development Board, Roy Pedersen assembles the case against state-run ferry operations — arguing that the publicly-supported services are both ineffi cient and ‘indiff erent’.

He provides background for lay readers to explain the development of the Scottish ferry network and the diff erent types of ferry used on the

routes, as well as the reasons why the ‘state’ became involved in the provision of lifeline operations run by what he lambasts as ‘bloated, polluting and secretive’ subsidised operators.

In a nutshell, Mr Pedersen claims that the CalMac and NorthLink services perform ‘conspicuously badly’ against the private sector in terms of capital cost, crewing and fuel consumption, with old-fashioned ships, poor environmental performance and inappropriately long routes. Not only are the ‘state’ ships over-manned, their crews are over-paid and work only 21 weeks a year, he argues.

His recipe for the future includes a move from ‘large live-aboard crews’ to a local shore-based crews working on a more diverse range of vessels — including catamarans, high-speed passenger ferries and medium-speed river ferries — along with detailed proposals on diff erent structures for individual routes.

It adds up to a controversial and provocative read, and there is much to take issue with — including the failure to address concerns over the ‘human’ issues of the low-cost crewing alternatives and the social, safety and human impact of remodelling services that have delivered impressive safety records. But it does need to be taken seriously as part of the continuing hot debate over the future of Scottish shipping services and the prospect of yet more tendering for the CalMac and NorthLink operations…

Comprehensive guide draws on years of best practice adviceShip to Ship Transfer GuideWitherby Publishing, £225ISBN: 978 15560 95945fwww.witherbyseamanship.com

KShip to ship transfers of liquid cargoes have become an

increasingly common practice — and one which has attracted some controversy off the east coast of the UK in recent times.

Mindful of the need to maintain safety in these potentially hazardous operations, there have been industry guides on operational procedures since the mid-1970s and the industry organisations OCIMF, SIGTTO, CDI and the International Chamber of Shipping have cooperated to produce this new publication to consolidate previous recommendations and refl ect the experience gained over the years.

Aimed at masters, marine superintendents and others involved in the planning and execution of STS operations, the new edition brings together the latest advice on the transfer of petroleum, chemical and LNG cargoes and is intended to be applicable to transfers involving all bulk liquid cargoes, with specifi c recommendations for particular

cargo types included in dedicated appendices.

A model of good layout, clear guidance and good graphics, the book reinforces key principles of safe operations, including the eff ective planning and control of operations, risk assessment, training and the management of workloads to minimise fatigue.

The guidance aims to cover the wide range of ship types, including barges, which may be involved in transfer activities, as well as transfers at sea and in port. Although emergency lightering operations involving a disabled or stranded ship are not specifi cally addressed, many of the principles contained within this guide will apply.

There are more than 50 pages of appendices, including additional advice on particular cargoes, sample checklists and guidance on risk assessment processes.

The Sea: A Cultural HistoryBy John MackReaktion Books, £17.95ISBN: 978 17802 31846

KThere has been something of a spate of interesting books about the sea in recent

months, and this title — fi rst published in 2011 and now available in paperback format — helps to explain why the subject is one that engages not just writers, but also artists, anthropologists and scientists so intensely.

John Mack, a professor of world studies at the University of East Anglia, ranges far and wide in his geographic, historic and social considerations of the way people interact with the sea — both professionally and intellectually.

While the book makes many references to writers such as Conrad and Melville, artists such as Turner, and Shakespeare’s plays, it also addresses ‘culture’ in a broader anthropological sense —

examining, for instance, the way in which early African and Arab sailors made remarkable voyages of exploration, or the differing navigational techniques used around the world.

Very much a meditation on what the sea means to different people, the book refl ects on the way knowledge about the sea has changed our relationship with it — typifi ed, Prof Mack argues, by the advances in charting and ship technology which have reduced some of the inherent challenges of venturing away from the coast and diluted the direct contact between mariner and the marine environment.

Telegraph readers are likely to be particularly interested in the sections that explore the realities of seafaring and the culture of life at sea. There is a substantial focus on the concept of the ship as a ‘micro-society’ and the way shipboard communities are created, although it is a shame that this does not really extend into contemporary shipping operations.

Prof Mack notes the long history of multinational crewing — reminding readers that barely half the seafarers on British merchant ships in the mid-19th century were British. He draws on history and the works of maritime writers to explain how these diverse crews managed to work together and how captains maintained discipline and order in often diffi cult circumstances.

Noting the cosmopolitan nature of ships as a working and living space, he argues that seafaring makes an ideal subject for ethnographic study — although anthropologists ‘have rarely exposed themselves to the shock of being on ships’.

Prof Mack also muses on the cultural differences between ship and shore — looking at the use of language (‘sailortalk’), rituals and superstitions to create bonds between crew members, and how symbols from the sea are used on land, not least within architecture and religion, or in metaphors such as ‘ship of state’.

If it sounds like a pretentious or a diffi cult book, don’t be put off — Prof Mack brings the subject to life with good writing and remarkably varied approaches to his core themes. Studded with arresting facts and fi gures and drawing from a deep range of sources, it is a thought-provoking work that asks readers to question the way in which they see the sea.

Pacifi c Steam Navigation Company: Fleet List and HistoryBy Ian CollardAmberley, £19.99ISBN: 978 14456 34845Available as an e-bookfwww.amberley-books.com

KThis is a decent history of a company which no doubt

featured in the early careers of many Telegraph readers. The Pacifi c Steam Navigation Company was founded in 1838, and the name endured until 1984 — although many of its vessels

continued after that date as part of Furness Withy and then Eurosal or Hamburg Sud.

The company was the fi rst to operate steamships in the Pacifi c, primarily trading from the UK to the Pacifi c coasts of South America. Its fl eet encompassed passengerships and cargoships, and included the well-known Reina del Pacifi co and Reina del Mar. As promised in the subtitle, the second half of the book off ers a full list of vessels, with particu-lars, launch dates and notes on each ship’s fate when taken out of service.

Before this, there’s a narrative history, well-illustrated with photos, maps, historic advertising posters and the like. The text is enlivened

by anecdotes from seafarers who worked for the company, and all in all, it’s a nice volume to add to the bookshelf.

A Pacifi c pioneer that lasted almost 150 years

If it d lik t ti

Maritime meditation is scholarly but accessible

BOOK SAVINGSTelegraph readers can buy the books reviewed on these pages at a whopping 25% discount on publisher’s price through the Marine Society’s online shop.

gTo qualify for this off er, readers need to make their purchase

at www.marinesocietyshop.org. Click on the ‘Books of the month’ button with the Nautilus logo to see the books featured in the Telegraph, and use the promotional code Nautilus when buying your book.

35_books_SR edit.indd 35 19/03/2014 18:20

AIn haar lange geschiedenis heeft Nautilus (en haar voorgangers) vele markante

bestuurders gekend. De collega die afgelopen januari door zijn collega’s werd geëerd, maakt ontegenzeggelijk deel uit van dit illustere gezelschap. Hylke vierde zijn 40-jarig jubileum in de besloten kring van vrouw en collega’s.

CarrièreHylke begon zijn carrière bij de bond in 1974, vrijwel direct na het beëindigen van zijn carrière als stuurman. In de ‘dienstgang’ viel hij al snel op door zijn gedrevenheid bij de behandeling van individuele en collectieve zaken. Na een aantal jaren verruilde hij de dienstgang voor de post Singapore waar hij gedurende 3 jaar de rol van vlootbezoeker vervulde. Eenmaal terug in Nederland pakte hij de zaken weer voortvarend op. Hij werd al snel bevorderd tot bestuurder en ging zich steeds intensiever bezig houden met het beleid van de bond en een toenemend aantal zware portefeuilles. Na zijn bevordering tot hoofdbestuurder nam Hylke de rol op zich van vice voorzitter/penningmeester, een rol die hij tot op de dag van vandaag bekleed. Inclusief zijn nautische

opleiding en de tijd aan boord kan Hylke zich bogen op bijna een halve eeuw betrokkenheid bij de maritieme sectoren.

RedevoeringIn zijn toespraak memoreerde voorzitter Marcel van den Broek de belangrijke rol die Hylke tot op de dag van vandaag speelt bij de belangenbehartiging van de leden. Met zijn scherpe geest, aangevuld met een bewonderenswaardig doorzettingsvermogen

en een sterk gevoel voor rechtvaardigheid heeft Hylke zich een alom gerespecteerde positie in de maritieme sectoren verworven. Ook Hylke’s vrouw Ida werd door de voorzitter volop in het zonnetje gezet. Door Hylke’s lange werkdagen en talloze overleggen in het buitenland leefde zij min of meer het leven van een zeemansvrouw. Een rol die zij met liefde vervulde en het Hylke mogelijk maakte om zich vol voor de bond in te zetten. Zij werd derhalve ook bedankt voor haar tomeloze inzet over de afgelopen 40-jaar.

General secretary Mark Dickinson roemde Hylke in zijn speech voor de belangrijke rol die hij heeft gespeeld bij het tot stand komen van Nautilus International en de doortastende wijze waarop Hylke heeft bijgedragen aan de goede afl oop van menig dossier.

Na wat geestige overpeinzingen van collega Jos Hilberding was het de beurt aan de jubilaris zelf. Hij dankte allen voor de collegialiteit die hij al die jaren heeft mogen ervaren. Ook stond hij uitvoerig stil bij zijn werk voor de bond. ‘Veertig jaar is weliswaar een lange tijd maar als je die tijd mag gebruiken om heel direct wat te kunnen betekenen voor de leden, dan vliegt de tijd ongemerkt voorbij’.

NL NEWS

36 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

AStel: je werkt en leeft 12 jaar met je werkgever in goede harmonie dag en

nacht samen op een binnen-vaartschip en je krijgt dan zomaar zonder mededeling vooraf een schriftelijke aan-vraag tot een ontslagvergun-ning in je brievenbus omdat je werkgever de bedrijfsactivitei-ten gaat staken... dat was wat ons lid enige tijd geleden overkwam.

Op het moment van beëindi-ging van het dienstverband zagen de kansen op ander werk er niet rooskleurig uit, aangezien ons lid nog herstellende was van een operatie en het onzeker was of hij op korte termijn weer in staat zou zijn om te werken. Voor ons lid een reden om zijn werkgever te vragen of deze bereid was een beëindigingsvergoeding te betalen ter compensatie van zijn inkomensschade die hij zou ondervinden door de beëindi-ging van het dienstverband. De werkgever gaf helaas geen enkele

respons. De werknemer wendde zich daarom tot Nautilus International met het verzoek om contact op te nemen met zijn werkgever om het verzoek om een beëindigingsvergoeding te herhalen.

Pijnlijk Een juriste van een rechtsbij-standsverzekeraar meldde zich namens de werkgever met de mededeling dat de werkgever tot geen enkele vergoeding bereid was en een gerechtelijke proce-dure met vertrouwen tegemoet zag. Voor ons lid kwam dit hard aan. Hij had het liefst in overleg met zijn werkgever een redelijke beëindigingsvergoeding overeen willen komen ter compensatie van zijn inkomensachteruitgang en als waardering voor alle jaren, die hij voor zijn werkgever werk-zaam was geweest. Met name de wijze waarop de werkgever het dienstverband had beëindigd was voor hem onacceptabel: hij ontving immers zonder enige

waarschuwing vooraf een verzoek tot een ontslagvergunning.

Kennelijk onredelijk ontslagGelukkig herstelde ons lid na enkele maanden goed van zijn operatie en vond na verloop van tijd nieuw werk via een uitzend-bureau. Omdat de werkgever echter geen enkele beëindigings-vergoeding wilde aanbieden is de Juridische Dienst van Nautilus namens ons lid een ‘kennelijk onredelijk ontslagprocedure’ gestart.

Op de zitting heeft de Kanton-rechter nog geprobeerd een schikking tussen de partijen te treffen, maar de werkgever bleek niet bereid het door de rechter voorgestelde bedrag te betalen. De Kantonrechter deed daarom enkele weken na de zitting schriftelijk uitspraak en gaf aan dat er, gelet op alle omstandigheden, inderdaad sprake was van een kennelijk onredelijk ontslag. In haar overweging nam zij onder meer de leeftijd van ons lid

mee, de duur van het dienstver-band en het jarenlang nauw samen wonen en werken. Maar ook het feit dat ons lid ten tijde van het einde van het dienstverband arbeidsongeschikt was, de bedrijfsbeëindiging ter vrije bepaling was van de werkgever èn het feit dat de werkgever in het geheel niet bereid was om een vergoeding toe te kennen (zelfs geen geringe vergoeding), waren voor de Kantonrechter voldoende reden om te bepalen dat er sprake was van een kennelijk onrede-lijk ontslag.

VergoedingDe Kantonrechter veroordeelde de werkgever dan ook tot betaling van een vergoeding die hoger lag dan het bedrag dat de Kanton-rechter ter zitting aan de werk-gever had voorgesteld. Ons lid was hiermee tevreden en kon deze zaak nu eindelijk voor zich- zelf afsluiten. Nu kon hij zich weer echt helemaal richten op de toekomst.

Uit de dienstgang

HYLKE HYLKEMA 40 JAAR IN DIENST BIJ NAUTILUS

FNautilus International en Stichting Greenpeace Council wilden graag een nieuwe CAO afsluiten

voordat de huidige op 31 december 2013 was afgelo-pen. Daarom is tijdig gestart met het bepalen van de inzet voor een nieuwe CAO vanaf 1 januari 2014. Namens de leden heeft Nautilus International de lopende CAO schriftelijk opgezegd. Tijdens de leden-vergadering in oktober zijn de voorstellen bepaald, waarbij het loon- en arbeidsvoorwaardenbeleid voor 2014 van de FNV richtinggevend is geweest.

De looptijd en gageverhoging zijn vaste onderde-len van de CAO, waarbij de looptijd gebaseerd is op een eenjarige CAO. Een langere looptijd is bespreek-baar, maar dan gelden dezelfde uitgangspunten als voor het eerste jaar. De voorgestelde gageverhoging bedraagt 3,0%. Tevens zijn aanvullende voorstellen benoemd, waaronder het aanpassen van de verlof-regeling, overleg over een pensioenregeling en het aanpassen van de CAO aan de MLC afspraken. Na het versturen van de voorstellenbrief aan de

werkgever zijn er twee onderhandelingsgesprekken geweest, waarbij de werkgever ook voorstellen heeft ingebracht.

Resultaat en ledenvergaderingBegin januari 2014 vond een ledenbijeenkomst plaats waarin het resultaat van de onderhandelingen, ter goedkeuring werd voorgelegd. De leden konden zich

echter niet vinden in het resultaat; zij waren het met name niet eens met de punten die door de werkgever waren ingebracht en het resultaat werd afgewezen. Vervolgens hebben de leden per punt het mandaat bepaald waarbinnen de onderhandelingsdelegatie met de werkgever afspraken kon maken om toch tot een nieuwe CAO te komen.

Terug naar de werkgever Er volgde een nieuw overleg met de werkgever, waarbij de reacties op de afgewezen punten werden besproken. Uiteindelijk ging de werkgever akkoord met alle punten binnen het afgegeven mandaat waardoor de CAO voor de werknemers in dienst van Stichting Greenpeace Council een feit is! De CAO heeft een looptijd van twee jaar en loopt van 1 januari 2014 tot en met 31 december 2015. De leden zijn over de uitkomst geïnformeerd en de afspraken worden nu uitgewerkt en vastgelegd in een resultatenlijst, man-telovereenkomst en aangepast reglement.

Nieuwe tweejarige CAO voor Stichting Greenpeace Council

De poll van deze maand is: Denkt u dat Lloyd’s Register gelijk heeft met hun verwachting dat zware stookolie nog steeds de belangrijkste brandstof voor schepen zal zijn in 2030 ? Geef ons uw mening online, op www.nautilusnl.org

Ja67%

Nee33%

Geef uw meningVorige maand vroegen wij: Bent u van mening dat het Europees Agentschap voor Maritieme Veiligheid de erkenning van Filippijnse zeevaart certifi caten moet intrekken?

CAl in november bereikten de vakbonden Nautilus en VOC

een principeakkoord met Heerema Fleet Personnel. Toch duurde het nog tot februari dit jaar voordat de tekst helemaal in kannen en kruiken was, maar nu is de nieuwe CAO dan ook echt defi nitief.

Het betreft een tweejarige CAO, lopend van 1 januari 2014 tot en met 31 december 2015. De onderhandelingspartijen zijn een loonsverhoging overeengekomen van 2,5% per 1 januari 2014 en 2%per 1 januari 2015 voor alle mede-werkers van Heerema Fleet Personnel (HFP). Dit is inclusief prijscompensatie en exclusief de periodieke RSP (verhoging op basis van beoordeling).

Levensfasebewust personeelsbeleidDe reden waarom de nieuwe CAO wat langer op zich liet wachten was het levensfasebewust personeelsbeleid. Hoewel HFP wel een bepaald ad hoc beleid hanteerde, was dit nog niet echt gestructureerd. Door de bonden is erop aangedrongen om van langer doorwerken een realistische optie te maken, bijvoorbeeld door het introduceren van parttime werk. De werkgever heeft toegezegd de looptijd van de CAO te gebruiken om invulling te geven aan het

levensfasebewust personeelsbeleid. De eerste stappen zijn inmiddels gezet en de verwachting is dat er in 2014 een geïntegreerd beleid wordt ontwikkeld, dat in de daarop volgende jaren geleidelijk kan worden uitgebreid.

Aanpassing pensioenenMet ingang van 1 januari 2014 wordt de pensioengerechtigde leeftijd vastgesteld op 67 jaar en de opbouw op 2,15% per jaar.

Per 1 januari 2015 moet er een heel nieuw pensioenpakket liggen dat voldoet aan de eisen van het nieuwe Fiscaal Kader voor pensioenregelingen.

De per 31 december 2013 opge-bouwde pensioenafspraken wordenpremievrij gemaakt. Deze aanspra-ken blijven echter volledig intact en verminderen niet onder de invloedvan de wijziging van de pensioen-regeling. Het pensioenreglement wordt nu aangepast, waarbij de bonden in de gelegenheid worden gesteld om te controleren of de ge-maakte afspraken ook correct ver-werkt zijn in het reglement.

De CAO is met een positief advies aan de leden voorgelegd. Tijdens de ledenvergadering op 13 februari jl. hebben de leden hun akkoord gegeven waarmee de nieuwe CAO een feit is.

Heerema Fleet Personnel en Nautilus bereiken akkoord over tweejarige CAO

Wij hebben Facebook.

Volg ons ook!

Bezoek www.nautilusint.org

36-37_nl.indd Sec2:36 19/03/2014 18:22

FIn de vorige uitgave van de Telegraph kon u lezen dat de

leden in dienst bij P&O NSF bereid waren tot acties als de werkgever geen boter bij de vis zou doen over een bijdrage in de zorgpremie. Inmiddels zijn we een aantal weken verder en er is nu eindelijk groen licht. Dit was echter nooit gelukt zonder de steun van de (kader)leden.

Sinds de invoering van de zorgver-zekering in 2006, ontvangen de werknemers geen particuliere zorgbijdrage meer. De werkgever beloofde toen dat er een bepaalde vorm van compensatie zou komen voor de vrijgekomen loonruimte en dat deze aangepast zou worden in het nieuwe reglement. Ondanks deze belofte kwam P&O NSF maar niet over de brug. En ook tijdens de CAO-onderhandelingen voor 2013 werd de zorgkwestie op de lange baan geschoven. De leden hadden er inmiddels schoon genoeg van en maar liefst 83% was zelfs bereid tot actie. Hierop gaf de werkgever aan wel wat te

willen doen aan de zorgbijdrage per 1 januari 2014, maar in een gesprek met de kaderleden werd meteen duidelijk dat dit absoluut geen optie was.

Overstag De werkgever is vervolgens naar Dover teruggegaan om de boodschap over te brengen. En eindelijk ging men overstag en kwam er witte rook uit de schoorsteen: de leden ontvangen per 1 januari 2013 €30,- per maand bruto ten behoeve van de zorgbijdrage! Bovendien is de werkgever tegemoet gekomen aan de eis dat deze bijdrage structureel is en dus elk jaar terug komt. Na een pittige onderhandelingsperiode is de CAO voor 2013 nu een feit.

Dankwoord Nautilus werd tijdens de CAO-onder-handelingen met raad en daad bijgestaan door de kaderleden. Het is dankzij de steun van de (kader)leden dat we tot het gewenste resultaat zijn gekomen!

Witte rook uit Dover: P&O NSF gaat overstag inzake de particuliere zorgbijdrage

NL NEWS

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 37

FIn Brussel wordt gesproken en besloten. Of men het hier

politiek mee eens is of niet, het is een feit dat de macht en de reikwijdte van de Europese Commissie steeds groter wordt. In plaats van zich hier tegen te verzetten (en men zich dus schaart onder de beste stuurlui aan wal) is het dus zaak dat men er voor zorgt wel aan tafel te zitten met deze Europese beslissers.

Deze inspraak vindt onder meer plaats via de z.g. sectorale ‘Social Dialogue’ bijeenkomsten waaraan zowel de Europese werkgevers- als de werknemersorganisaties deelnemen.

In de afgelopen jaren is de werkgelegenheid in de binnenvaart naar schatting met 10 procent gedaald, terwijl de gemiddelde leeftijd van werknemers in de sector

boven de 50 jaar ligt. De Europese Commissie bezint zich samen met de lidstaten en de sector op geschikte maatregelen.

Begin dit jaar is het NAIADES IIprogramma door de EU aangeno-men. Onder NAIADES II worden concrete acties op volgende terreinen voorgesteld:

zkwaliteitsinfrastructuur, waar-onder ook wordt verstaan de betere verbinding en integratie van binnenvaart met andere modaliteiten. Daarbij spelen de havens (zee- en binnenhavens) als connectors een belangrijke rol;zinnovatie;zeen goed functionerende markt;zafname van de milieubelasting

door middel van lagere emissies;zgekwalifi ceerde werknemers en hoogwaardige arbeidsplaatsen;zintegratie van de binnenvaart in de multimodale logistieke keten.

NAIADES II beoogt onder meer de attractiviteit van de sector op de arbeidsmarkt te verhogen en kwalitatief hoogstaande arbeidsplaatsen te creëren, alsmede de arbeidsmobiliteit te stimuleren. Daarvoor bestaat het voornemen om tot een harmonisatie van beroepsprofielen en Europese afstemming van beroepskwalificaties te komen. Dit kan bijdragen tot het oplossen van het tekort aan gekwalificeerd personeel in de binnenvaart.

Ten aanzien van de sociale

zekerheid (één communautair sociaal beleid voor de binnenvaart) is in de afgelopen jaren in het kader van de Sociale Dialoog nader uitwerking gegeven en een en ander heeft inmiddels geleid tot de totstandkoming van een specifieke regeling op het gebied van de arbeidstijden in de binnenvaart, waarvoor de sociale partners een overeenkomst hebben getekend.Verdere initiatieven die binnen de sociale dialoog momenteel besproken worden en die de attractiviteit van het beroep kunnen verhogen zijn zaken zoals de arbeidsomstandigheden en sociale zekerheden, harmonisatie van de opleidingen en kwalificaties, bemanningseisen en oneerlijke concurrentie.

‘Social Dialogue en NAIDES II’

CBegin maart 2014 zijn op het kantoor van Nautilus

International ledenvergaderingen gehouden om voorstellen te bespreken en de inzet vast te stellen voor het verlengen van de CAO voor de Handelsvaart tot 9000 GT en de CAO met Spliethoff Beheer BV. De onderhandelingen voor deze CAO’s worden vanuit de werkgevers gelijktijdig ge-daan door een delegatie van de Vereniging van Werkgevers in de Handelsvaart (VWH) en Spliethoff.

Beide CAO’s lopen van 1 april 2013 tot en met 31 maart 2014. Tijdens de ledenvergaderingen is aangegeven dat de CAO’s — met inachtname van één maand opzegtermijn — door Nautilus International schriftelijk zijn opgezegd. Samen met de leden is de inzet voor de nieuwe CAO bepaald, waarbij het loon- en arbeidsvoorwaardenbeleid voor 2014 van de FNV richtinggevend is geweest. Onderdeel van dit beleid is dat de arbeidsvoor-waardenruimte zoveel mogelijk wordt omgezet in geld en arbeids-voorwaarden die zekerheid scheppen.

VoorstellenVoor beide CAO’s zijn de looptijd en gageverhoging vaste onderdelen en de looptijd is gebaseerd is op een éénjarige CAO. Een langere looptijd is bespreekbaar, maar dan gelden dezelfde uitgangspunten als voor het eerste jaar van de CAO. De voorgestelde gageverhoging in beide CAO’s bedraagt 3,0%.

Bij de Spliethoff CAO zijn er bovendien een aantal aanvullende voorstellen. Dit betreft onder meer het opstellen van een toeslagenregeling voor de schepen die in toenemende mate werkzaam zijn in de off shore en het fi scaal faciliteren van de vakbonds-contributie via de werkgever.

Levensfasebewust personeelsbeleidIn het principeakkoord van beide CAO’s 2013 — 2014 is een afspraak gemaakt over het uitvoeren van een levensfasebewust personeelsbeleid gericht op jongere en oudere zeevarenden. De leden van zowel de VWH als van Spliethoff hebben benadrukt dat hieraan serieus invulling gegeven moet worden, tegen de achtergrond dat werknemers langer moeten doorwerken en de door hun in de praktijk ervaren toename van de (administratieve) werkdruk. Dit mede door toegenomen wet- en regelgeving (o.a. ISPS, MLC, Security, Ballastwater- en Emissie eisen) en kleinere bemanningen.

Uitnodiging Nautilus heeft de werkgever inmiddels uitgenodigd voor een bijeenkomst om voorgaande onderhandelingspunten namens de leden toe te lichten. Vervolgens kunnen de onderhandelingen beginnen.

U en de overige leden worden over het verloop van de onderhan-delingen en de uitkomst op de hoogte gehouden.

Ledenvergaderingen bepalen inzet voor nieuwe CAO met VWH en Spliethoff

ADat was de vraag die voorlag aan de Nautilus ledenvergadering van 20

februari jl. in het NH Hotel te Utrecht. De leden waren heel duidelijk; het pauze-artikel mag niet worden geschrapt maar, er kan wel worden gekeken naar een mogelijke aanpassing van het artikel.

Na het uitspreken van een woord van welkom kregen de aanwezige leden van Nautilus voorzitter Marcel van den Broek een uitgebreid verslag van al hetgeen er aan de vergadering vooraf was gegaan. Het door de reders ingediende verzoek ter verwijdering van het pauze-artikel en het onderzoek dat het Nautilus bestuur vervolgens in nauw overleg met de Nautilus Raad van Advies had ingezet. Het was van meet af aan duidelijk dat de aanwezige leden, in lijn met de ontvangen schriftelijke reacties, niets wilden weten van afschaf-fi ng. Het twee-mans-wachtstelsel werd unaniem beoordeeld als ongewenst en het schrappen van het pauze-artikel zou het nog moeilijker maken om dit wachtstelsel te bestrijden.

Middels een presentatie nam de voorzitter het vraagstuk puntsgewijs met de leden door

daarbij alle voor en tegens benoemend. Hierbij was, zoals reeds aangekondigd, veel plaats ingeruimd voor de vorig jaar afgeronde studie Project Horizon en de daarbij behorende rekentool Martha. Martha maakt het mogelijk om op wetenschappelijk verantwoorde wijze wachtpa-tronen door te rekenen op de opbouw van fatigue. Tevens kan worden berekend wanneer fatigue zodanige vormen aanneemt dat het kan leiden tot problemen. Bij het tegen elkaar afzetten van diverse wachtstelsels zijn het met name die kritische waarden die een belangrijke rol spelen.

Er werd een aantal doorge-rekende scenario’s gepresenteerd die uiteenliepen van de klassieke 6-op/6-af variant tot wachtsche-ma’s op basis van 5/7 en 7/5. Tevens waren er de Martha-uit-komsten van de voornoemde wachtschema’s maar dan met een verschuiving van de aanvangstijd

van de hondenwacht van middernacht naar 01.00 uur. Hetgeen direct duidelijk werd was het feit dat de loper van de hondenwacht de meeste risico’s loopt bij het overschrijden van de kritieke waarden. Dit laat zich eenvoudig verklaren. Hij of zij loopt namelijk wacht op een tijdstip dat de mens normaal gesproken zou moeten slapen. Tevens heeft deze persoon over het algemeen moeite om vooraf-gaand aan deze wacht voldoende slaap te krijgen met als gevolg dat hij/zij niet voldoende uitgerust aan de wacht begint. Uit de Martha berekeningen werd onverkort duidelijk dat in alle doorgereken-de scenario’s fl inke winst te beha-len valt door het verschuiven van de aanvangstijd van de eerste wacht. Indien deze wordt verscho-ven naar 01.00 uur nemen in alle doorgerekende wachtschema’s de risico’s op kritische fatigue waarden af. Echter, veruit het

meeste voordeel valt te behalen uit een combinatie van deze verschuiving met een wachtstel-sel van 5/7 of 7/5.

Na afl oop van de presentatie volgde er een diepgaande discussies waarbij alle voor- en nadelen nogmaals werden gewogen. Mede gezien de uit-komsten van de Martha bereke-ningen werd in unanimiteit besloten dat het pauze artikel niet mag verdwijnen maar ook, dat het niet verstandig zou zijn om de Martha uitkomsten te negeren. De leden konden zich uiteindelijk unaniem vinden in een optie waarbij zonder het pauze artikel te schrappen er door de overheid toestemming wordt gegeven om in de vorm van een pilot tijdelijk af te wijken van het betreffende artikel. Door de periode van 6 uur zoals in het artikel genoemd te verleggen naar 7 kan dan worden geëxperimenteerd met het varen in 5/7 cq 7/5 en dit, idealiter in combinatie met de voornoemde verschuiving van de aanvangstijd van de hondenwacht.

Het Nautilus bestuur gaat met deze uitkomst van de ledenverga-dering van start. Er zal contact worden gezocht met overheid en werkgevers om te bezien hoe e.e.a. vorm kan worden gegeven.

Moet het pauze-artikel uit het arbeidstijdenbesluit vervoer zeescheepvaart?

Follow us on Twitter

WILT U EEN ADVERTENTIE PLAATSEN IN DE TELEGRAPH NEEMT U DAN

CONTACT OP MET:

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36-37_nl.indd 37 19/03/2014 18:22

ADVERTISEMENT

38 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

38_advert rfa.indd Sec2:38 19/03/2014 18:29

APPOINTMENTS

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 39

OM Ships, a worldwide charity, is looking for qualified engineering officers, mechanics, fitters and welders to volunteer to serve on their ship Logos Hope

which is presently in the Far East.

OM Ships, a worl qualified engin

fitte to ser

which

For details visit www.omships.org or email: recruiting@omships.org

Join us in bringing knowledge, help and hope to the nations!NOTICE TO

READERSNautilus International

advises members that some crewing agencies may not

be advertising specific positions, but instead may be seeking to develop their databases of job hunters.

9 April 2014is the closing date for May 2014.

You can still advertise online anytime.

If you have moved recently,

your home copy may still

be trying to catch up with

you — particularly if you

gave us a temporary

address such as a hall

of residence.

To let us know your new

address, go to www.

nautilusint.org and log in

as a member, or contact our

membership department

on +44 (0)151 639 8454 or

membership@nautilusint.org.

Where’s my Telegraph?

CV ProfessionalsMaritime

& o shore specialists

www.cvprofessionals.co.uk

Sealion Shipping manages a eet of platform supply, anchorhandling tug supply, DP o shore construction/ROV support/saturation diving and

well testing vessels. Due to further expansion and delivery of new vessels

Farnham Marine Agency invites applicationsfrom suitably quali ed:

Experienced Masters & Chief O cers for our new

build anchor handlers Applicants must hold valid STCW 95 Certi cation,

and have recent seagoing experience.

Applications should be made online at:www.farnhammarineagency.co.uk

Marine Surveyorrequired for survey and

consultancy work, mainly in ship and small commercial

vessel sector in UK and abroad. The post is based in Central

Scotland, and applicants should hold a full driving licence.

Applications are invited from suitably qualified and

experienced marine engineers, preferably holders of Class 1 Certificate of Competency.

To apply send a recent CV to info@aadamson.co.uk

ANGLIAN MARINE

RECRUITMENT LTD Marine Placement Agency

Ongoing vacancies for all offi cers and ratings deep sea, coastal, st.by,

supply, ahts, etc. To register send cv and copies of all

certifi cates to: 6 Birch Court, Sprowston,

Norwich NR7 8LJ Tel/Fax: 01603 478938

Email: malcolm@anglianmarine.co.uk www.anglianmarine.co.uk

Your First Port of Call

Address: 114-118 Hampton Lane Southampton SO45 1WE UK

Telephone: +44(0)2380 890432 Email: recruitment@seamariner.com

www.seamariner.com

ISO9001:2008 accredited and KvK and MLC compliant

Reg Co number: 2745210

Leading Marine Recruitment Specialists We are seeking all ranks of seafarers, offshore and shore based personnel and in particular:

Deck Of cers - AHTS, PSV & RoRo’s Engineering Of cers - Tankers, Cruise & RoRo’s All Of cers & Crew - ERRV All DPO’s/SDPO’s (Unlimited DP Cert.) Various temporary assignments (Of cers, Ratings & Catering)

If you would like further information in registering with Seamariner or you would like to discuss your crewing requirements, please contact one of our experienced consultants

Farstad Shipping is actively looking for the following ranks with experience in working on AHTS DP I / DP II vessels and excited with the prospect of working in Asia:

Masters for AHTS (Requirements apply from 1, 4 & 7 to 14)

Chief Mates for AHTS / PSVs (Requirements apply from 2, 5 & 7 to 14)

Chief Engineers for AHTS / PSVs (Requirements apply from 3, 6 & 12 to 19)

Requirements: 1. Master - Master COC– Unlimited Gross Tonnage and unlimited area of operation 2. Chief Mate - Chief Mate COC– Unlimited Gross Tonnage and Area of Operation. 3. Chief Engineer - Chief Engineer COC– Unlimited BHP / KW and Area of Operation. 4. Minimum two years’ experience as Master onboard AHTS / DP1 / DP 2 vessels more than 2,000 GRT / 10,000BHP or 100tBP. 5. At least two years’ experience as Chief Mate onboard AHTS / OSV DP1, DP1 vessels. AHTS vessels more 8,000BHP or 100tBP. 6. At least two years’ experience as Chief Engineer onboard AHTS vessels >8000BHP / PSVs >2500dwt. 7. Valid DP unlimited certificate. 8. Jack-up support, semi-sub rig/barge moves and regular platform supply duties. 9. Excellent vessel manual handling and station keeping skills. 10. Operational experience in anchor handling and towing. 11. Additional experience in Pre-lay mooring activities is an advantage. 12. Medically fit. 13. All valid STCW required training certificates. 14. Fluent in English both verbal and in writing. 15. Experienced operating and maintaining work/tow winches, bulk & liquid cargo handling systems, HV switch boards & controls systems. 16. Operational experience with jack-up, semi-sub rig/barge moves and regular platform supply duties on PSVs. 17. DP maintenance training is an advantage. 18. Experience with diesel electric propulsion systems and advantage. 19. Operational experience with jack-up, semi-sub rig/barge moves and regular platform supply duties on PSVs.

If you think, that you have what it takes for this position then send your comprehensive and up to date CV with personal information, work experiences and references to our Human Resource Department: hr.singapore@farstad.com

Pritchard-Gordon Tankers (Guernsey) Ltd

Pritchard-Gordon Tankers Ltd, a family owned and managed company, operating British and Isle of Man registered oil tankers of between 5,000

and 12,000 dwt, are seeking experienced and suitably quali ed, high calibre:

Senior Deck and Engineering Of cersWe lay great importance on teamwork and continuity, with a

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Voyage lengths are of 10 to 13 weeks duration followed by an equal period of leave. Terms and conditions are competitive and

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p39-45_TELApr14.indd 39 18/03/2014 14:54

40 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

APPOINTMENTS

For service onboard their Lighthouse Tenders on a fi xed manning rota – 28 days duty followed by 28 days leave.

The Northern Lighthouse Board – www.nlb.org.uk is the General Lighthouse Authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man, responsible in law for the provision and control of a network of marine aids to navigation – lighthouses, buoys, beacons and a precision satellite-based navigation service.

The Engine Room Technician assists the Engineer Offi cers with the operation of ships machinery in a safe, effi cient and environmentally friendly manner. The Engine Room Technician will be required to carry out maintenance and repairs on ships machinery.

Applications are invited from those who have the following:• An STCW95 Engineering Watch Rating certifi cate • Mechanical engineering background & experience• Valid STCW95 basic training courses• Knowledge & experience of ship’s engineering and safety systems• Recent relevant sea-going experience in a similar position• Valid unrestricted MCA Medical Certifi cate (ENG 1)

Flexibility and good interpersonal skills are essential, as is the ability to communicate at all levels.

The current pay band for an Engine Room Technician is £27,852 per year rising to £30,084 per year depending on performance. Benefi ts package includes generous career average occupational pension scheme

For further details and an application form please e-mail jobs@nlb.org.uk or telephone Paul Keane, HR Advisor on 0131 473 3123. Closing date is Friday 18th April 2014

Northern Lighthouse Board, 84 George Street, EDINBURGH EH2 3DAThe Northern Lighthouse Board is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualifi ed and eligible people regardless of sex, race and disability

Engine RoomTechnician

Based in Taunton, Somerset

Salary range £23,680 - £31,124 + benefits (dependent on skills and experience)

The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) is at the forefront of the digital revolution in maritime navigation and the organisation behind the highly successful Admiralty brand. We provide comprehensive world coverage of navigational charts and publications, digital products and services to the mariner, international shipping and our Defence customer.

We need Navigation Specialists to provide navigational and maritime guidance to Production Teams within UKHO. Using excellent judgement, combined with extensive sea-going experience, you will produce safe, accurate, clear, comprehensive, timely and up-to-date volumes of sailing directions to mariners for the maritime customer.

Your key role is to assess and verify new information, including Foreign Government Hydrographic Office charts and Sailing Directions, photographic views and reports of survey from HM Ships and contract companies; updating databases and products accordingly. In addition to this, you will be required to produce Notice to Mariners to update Sailing Directions, liaise with and advise internal colleagues and liaise externally with Harbour Masters and Port Companies as appropriate.

To be successful, you must hold a Deck Officer Certificate of Competence or a seagoing Royal Navy/Merchant Navy equivalent qualification. With practical navigational experience on an international scale, you will be a strong communicator with the ability to distinguish significant information from data presented and keep accurate records of the actions taken. Excellent IT skills, including experience of MS Suite packages, are essential.

This is a UKHO non-reserved post for which applicants must be British citizens, citizens of the Irish Republic, a Commonwealth state, or EEA nationals. Successful applicants will require security clearance; you will therefore need to have resided in the UK for a minimum of 5 years.

Please visit www.ukho.gov.uk for an information sheet and an application form. Alternatively, you can contact the Recruitment Team at the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, Admiralty Way, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 2DN. Tel: +44 (0)1823 723353. Email: recruitment@ukho.gov.uk

The closing date for applications is 30th April 2014.

Navigation Specialist

The MoD is an Equal Opportunities employer and seeks to reflect the diverse community it serves. Applications are welcome from anyone who meets the stated requirements.

HM GOVERNMENT OF GIBRALTAR

OFFICIAL NOTICE

VACANCY FOR MARINE SURVEYORThe Government of Gibraltar invites applications for appointment as Marine Surveyor with the Gibraltar Maritime Administration. Applicants must by virtue of their citizenship, be entitled to take up employment in Gibraltar and to travel without restriction within the EU.

This is an opportunity to join a Maritime Administration which is growing quickly and the duties are varied and interesting and include: conducting ship surveys, fl ag and ILO inspections and ISM/ISPS audits of Gibraltar ships; PSC inspection, survey of harbour craft, examination of seafarers and approval of service providers for the maritime industry.

The successful applicant will have a positive approach, the drive to eff ectively carry out his duties, the ability to work with a small team, IT skills and be fl uent in English.

What you will need:-a) A Chief Engineer’s Certifi cate of Competency (Unlimited) - STCW Reg. III/2 issued by

an EU Flag Stateb) 5 years experience as Chief Engineer, marine superintendent or marine surveyorc) ISM Lead auditor qualifi cation and experienced) A minimum of 5 years relevant experience in a marine environment

Preference may be given to applicants with Flag State and/or Port State inspector experience.

The appointment is on contract terms, initially for three years. Further particulars may be obtained from the Maritime Administrator on Tel +350 200 46862.

Application forms may be obtained from the Human Resources Department, 82-86 Harbour’s Walk, New Harbours, Rosia Road, Gibraltar, and (Tel No. +350 200 51680, email: humanresources@gibraltar.gov.gi) and from the Maritime Administration web site at www.gibraltarship.com.

Applications must be handed in or received by the Human Resources Manager, at the above address by no later than 1.00pm on Monday 28th April.

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APPOINTMENTS

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 41

Shore-based: +44 (0)23 8020 8840shipping-uk@faststream.com

Seagoing: +44 (0)23 8020 8820seagoing-uk@faststream.com

Search for ‘Faststream Seafarers’

@faststreamsea

www.faststream.com

SHORE BASED

Senior Marine Personnel AdviserSouth East England - £35K

Marine SuperintendentSouth East England - £60K

Marine Operations OfficerSwitzerland - 140K CHF

Offshore Technical SuperintendentHamburg - €60K

Tanker, LNG & Ro-Ro TechnicalSuperintendentGlasgow - £55-60K + Benefits

Tanker Marine SuperintendentGlasgow - £58K + Benefits

Assistant Tech SuperintendentThe Netherlands - €60K + Benefits

Safety OfficerThe Netherlands - €52K + Benefits

Offshore Marine SuperintendentAberdeen - £65K + Benefits

Offshore Technical SuperintendentSouth East - £60K + Benefits

YACHTSCaptain - 60m M/Y - €120K

Chief Engineer - 45m M/Y - €72K

Chief Engineer - 50m M/Y - €78K

Second Engineer - 46m S/Y - €54K

AV/IT Engineer - 90m M/Y - $54K

Chief Officer - 60m M/Y - €60K

2nd Officer - 100m+ M/Y - $60K

Chief Steward/ess - 100m+ M/Y - €42K

CRUISEMaster - Cruise - €69K

Chief Engineer - Cruise - €63K

Junior Chief Engineer - Cruise - $90K

1st Engineer - Cruise - $75K

3rd Engineer - Cruise - £28K

Chef de Partie - River Cruise - €15K

Hotel Manager - River Cruise - €48K

WORKBOAT/FERRYChief Engineer - Tug - £48K

2nd Engineer - Workboat - £40K

Chief Engineer - Ferry - £50K

3rd Engineer - Ferry - £35K

OFFSHOREChief Officer - AHTS - £300/day

Master - AHTS - $500/day

Master - PSV - $450/day

Chief Engineer - PSV - $400/day

Master - PSV - £64K

2nd Master - AHTS - $140K

Master - AHTS - $165K

Senior DPO - DSV - £65K

Electrical Tech - FPSO - £58K

Stg 3 Crane Op - Construction - £375/day

DEEP SEAMaster - LNG - $120K

Chief Engineer - LNG Steam - $117K

Chief Engineer - LNG Motor - $117K

4th Engineer - LNG - $52K

3rd Officer - LNG - $52K

Chief Officer - LNG - $96K

Electrical Officer - LNG - $56K

Chief Engineer - VLCC - $117K

2nd Engineer - VLCC- $96K

4th Engineer - VLCC - $52K

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42 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

APPOINTMENTS

Catering Superintendent

DECK COURSES START DATES

Class 1 Orals Preparation Course 18 Aug 2014, 3 Nov 2014 & 2 Feb 2015

Chief Mate Full Reg II/1 18 Aug 2014 & 5 Jan 2015

Chief Mate Post HND 18 Aug 2014 & 10 Nov 2014

OOW Post HND 29 Sep 2014 & 19 Jan 2015

Email contact for above courses: Senior.Marine@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk

MERCHANT NAVY OFFICER TRAINING COURSESENGINEERING COURSES START DATES

Class 1 Naval Architecture & Electrotechnology 22 April 2014 Class 1 & 2 Engineering Knowledge (General and Motor/Steam) - Unlimited 12 May 2014

Class 4 EOOW & IAMI Preparation 25 Aug 2014 & 27 Oct 2014

Email contact for above: Engineering@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk

For further Marine enquiries please contactAlison Bryce - 0141 565 2700 Marine.Short.Courses@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk

Department of Marine Operations - SHORT COURSES We offer a full range of STCW, MCA & Specialised Marine Short Courses.

For info on our other courses: LICOS, GMDSS, NAEAST, Freefall Lifeboat, Advanced Ship Handling, BRM.

Lecturer in Nautical Studies Permanent Full Time, 35hrs per week £27,167-£35,254 (Starting Salary will depend on industrial experience)

We are currently recruiting for specialist Lecturing staff. For detailed post descriptions and to apply for either of the vacancies above please visit the ‘work for us’ section on the College website at www.cityofglasgowcollege.ac.ukSuccessful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory PVG Disclosure Check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from applicants who add diversity to the College.

City of Glasgow College SC036198

BTMT: 07/04/14, 23/06/14

CPSCRB (Certification of Proficiency in Survival Craft & Rescue Boats): 21/04/13, 28/04/14, 05/05/13, 02/06/14, 09/06/14, 16/06/14, 23/06/14

ECDIS: 28/04/14, 12/05/14, 09/06/14, 30/06/14

HELM Management: 31/03/14, 21/04/14, 28/04/14, 19/05/14, 26/05/14, 02/06/14, 16/06/14, 30/06/14

HELM Operational: Please contact for availability

PSSR: 02/05/14, 20/06/14

Safety Officer: 16/06/14

Shipboard Security Officer: 22/04/14, 09/06/14

Specialised Chemical Tanker: 07/04/14, 21/07/14

Specialised Gas Tanker: 14/04/14, 23/06/14, 04/08/14

Specialised Oil Tanker: 07/04/14, 16/06/14, 28/07/14

Tanker Familiarisation: 16&30/06/14

Lecturer in Marine EngineeringPermanent Full Time, 35hrs per week £27,167-£35,254 (Starting Salary will depend on industrial experience)

For other Engineering enquiries please contactCaroline Alderdice - 0141 565 2713 Caroline.Alderdice@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk

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APPOINTMENTS

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 43

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44 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

APPOINTMENTS

If you’re currently a Marine Engineer looking for a new challenge, who wants their career to make a sustained difference, then Bureau Veritas should be your rst choice. Bureau Veritas ranks as the world’s second largest group in conformity assessment and certi cation services in the elds of quality, health and safety, environment, and social responsibility (“QHSE”) and the world leader in QHSE services not including raw materials inspection. Our Inspection teams offer the highest levels of engineering In-service inspection solutions to organisations the world over. Bureau Veritas can offer, complete training in the industry, a stable long term career, a dynamic work environment, generous salary and a comprehensive bene ts package.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS Hold NVQ III/ONC/HNC/HND or comparable in a mechanical

discipline Hold a current UK driving license Proven experience and sound technical knowledge of the relevant

engineering discipline Experience of inspection/maintenance of pressure systems (air,

steam, hydraulics, pneumatics) Computer literate skills

BENEFITSBureau Veritas offers a comprehensive nancial package which includes:Competitive salary and allowances; De ned contribution pension 25 days holidays plus public bank holidays; Various insurances Private health insurance; Various exible bene ts to suit individual requirementsTo apply for this role send your CV and covering letter by email stating the role title in the subject line to yourcareer@uk.bureauveritas.com

Engineer Surveyor – Pressure Various UK locations: NE England, South/Central/West Scotland, South London, Salary: £28,000 - £32,000 and company car or £3,400 allowance with up to £6,000 London weighting allowance and excellent bene ts

OFFSHOREAdvanced Fire Fighting – 26 May, 2 June, 30 June, 14 July, 21 July, 28 July | Basic Training for

Seafarers – 28 April, 12 May, 19 May, 23 June, 4 Aug | Deck Ratings (Apprenticeship) – 5 May, 10 NovEfficient Deck Hand – 28 April, 19 May, 23 June, 21 July | Medicare – 28 April, 23 JuneMedical First Aid – 26 May, 23 June, 7 July, 28 July | NEBOSH General – 7 July, 6 Oct

NEBOSH Oil/Gas – 12 May, 11 Aug | PSC&RB – 28 April, 19/May, 23 June, 4 Aug

E offshore@blackpool.ac.uk T 01253 779 123 W blackpool.ac.uk/offshore

Facebook /FleetwoodNauticalCampusOffshoreOperations

MARITIMEECDIS - 14 July | NAEST (M) - 28 April, 14 July, 21 July, 28 July

HELM (M) - 14 July, 21 July, 28 July | Bridge Team Management - 22 Sept, 10 Nov

For more information E maritime@blackpool.ac.uk T 01253 779 123

W blackpool.ac.uk/nautical

If you are interested in working at Fleetwood Nautical Campus, call 01253 50(4760) to register your interest or for information on current vacancies.

Fleetwood - a top UK Nautical College with a long established reputation for being a leading provider of

training to the Maritime industry.

Commended

WWW. BLACKPOOL. AC.UK

THINK YOU CAN MASTERONE OF OUR PSVs?

Gulf Offshore retrain Masters from all shipping sectors through

their unique Skills Transfer and Development Training Programme.

If you are a serving Master and are looking for a rewarding career

change please send your CV to mastermind@gulfoffshore.co.uk

THE DIFFERENCE IS OUR PEOPLE

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APPOINTMENTS

April 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 45

Holyhead Towing has an excellent reputation for the supply of modern support vessels to projects throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa and beyond. Continued expansion means we are looking to recruit:

Engineering Superintendent The role will include

• arranging repairs and maintenance • carrying out ship visits• dry dock supervision• liaison with regulatory bodies and classifi cation societies

The ideal candidate will have qualifi ed to 2nd Engineer (Unlimited CoC) level or above.

Marine SuperintendentThe role will include

• carrying out ship visits and inspections• assessment of crew • dry dock supervision• liaison with regulatory bodies and clients

The ideal candidate will be qualifi ed to Class 1 Master Mariner level, experience of tug and anchor handling work is essential. Consideration will be given to candidates with Chief Offi cer (Unlimited CoC) if they have the right background and experience. Shore based experience in a similar role would be advantageous.

Send letter of application and CV to: superintendentapplications@holyhead.co.uk

There will be time away from home during vessel visits and dry dockings and because of the international nature of the operations there will be a considerable amount of foreign travel. The offi ce is based in Holyhead, the successful candidates will be expected to live on, or near, the beautiful Isle of Anglesey or be prepared to move to the area. Only UK residents or those able to work in UK will be considered.

Salary is negotiable, depending on experience and quali cations.

www.holyheadtowing.co.uk

Holyhead Towing

INTERISLANDER Wellington, New Zealand

Have you thought of working in New Zealand? Would you like a way of life which incorporates:

Masters Job Reference 2420

First Officer Engineers Job Reference FOE14

To find out more about these roles, or to apply, visit careers.kiwirail.co.nz and enter the job reference code.Applications close Thursday, 10 April 2014.

careers.kiwirail.co.nz

To advertise your vacancy contact Paul Wade on+44 20 7880 6212 or paul.wade@redactive.co.uk

When advertising your maritime and off shore opportunities in the Nautilus Telegraph, we will now give you a standard listing on nautilusint.org/jobs for no extra charge.This gets you extra visibility to 8,000 active jobseekers as well as 100,000 readers who read the magazine.

p39-45_TELApr14.indd 45 18/03/2014 14:55

Quiz answers1. Around 9% of the current global cruiseship orderbook is being built in Japanese yards.2. There are six cruiseships of150,000gt and above presently in service in the world fl eet.3. The Caribbean accounts for 37.3% of all global cruiseship itineraries.4. Around two-thirds (65%) of the OSV orderbook is accounted for by platform supply vessels.5. The LNG-powered Burquebus ferry Francisco operates a service between Argentina and Uruguay.6. A predecessor of the sextant.

Crossword answersQuick AnswersAcross: 1. Journalist; 6. Troy; 9. Ducat; 10. Formulate; 12. Our daily bread; 14. One-piece; 15. Gluten; 17. Orange; 19. Muscadel; 21. Hydraulically; 24. Stockyard; 25. Olive; 26. Andy; 27. Pallidness.

Down: 1. Jude; 2. Unclose; 3. No turning back; 4. La France; 5. Sorel; 7. Reagent; 8. Yieldingly; 11. Umbilical cord; 13. Monochasia; 16. Suicidal; 18. Android; 20 Daytime; 22. Llama; 23. Tess.

This month’s cryptic crossword is a prize competition, and the answers will appear in next month’s Telegraph. Congratulations to Nautilus member Derek Forward who has won the prize draw for the March cryptic crossword.

Cryptic answers from MarchAcross: 7. Feldspar; 9. Plural; 10. Ditto; 11. Validate; 12. Go the extra mile; 15. Mosque; 16. Scream; 18. Chinese whisper; 20. Bleacher; 22. Limbo; 24. Miller; 25. Bacteria.

Down: 1. Headroom; 2. Edit; 3. Privet; 4. Opal; 5. Quadriceps; 6. Rattle; 8. Prosecute; 13. Hospitable; 14. Alcoholic; 17. Mnemonic; 18. Collie; 19. Enrobe; 21. Hart; 23. Meet.

M-Noticesg Basic lay reps training course Monday and Tuesday 28/29 April 2014at Nautilus House, Northern Offi ce, Mariners’ Park, Wallasey, Merseyside CH45 7HP The basic Lay Representative course aims and objectives are to give an insight into what each department does to support members and give representatives the knowledge to assist their colleagues in the workplace.Contact Hilary Molloy: +44 (0)151 639 8454 or email membership@nautilusint.org.

g Advanced lay reps training course Monday and Tuesday 19/20 May 2014at Nautilus House, Northern Offi ce, Mariners’ Park, Wallasey, Merseyside CH45 7HP This course is for those with experience in representing members or who have attended the basic course. It covers representing members to Employment Tribunal stage and taking a pay negotiation to industrial action.Contact Hilary Molloy: +44 (0)151 639 8454 or email membership@nautilusint.org.

g Professional & Technical ForumWednesday 7 May 2014at 1300hrs for 1330hrsat the FNV Bondgenoten, Pegasusweg 200, 3067 KX, RotterdamThe forum deals with a wide range of technical, safety, welfare and other professional topics of relevance to all members, including training and certifi cation.The meeting is open to all members (UK, NL & CH).Contact Sue Willis:+44 (0)20 8989 6677protech@nautilusint.org

Member meetings and seminarsNautilus International organises regular meetings, forums and seminars for members to discuss pensions, technical matters, maritime policies and legal issues. Coming up in the next few months are:

College contactsInduction visitsSee www.nautilusint.org/news-and-events for dates of upcoming college visits by the Nautilusrecruitment team (scroll down to ‘latest events’).

For further information, email recruitment@nautilusint.org or call Garry Elliott on +44 (0)151 639 8454.

Industrial support for cadetsAn industrial offi cial is appointed to each of the main nautical colleges. In addition the industrial depart-ment is responsible for representing

trainee offi cers in line with all members that we represent;please contact the union on+44 (0)20 8989 6677. Your enquiry will then be directed to the relevant-industrial organiser for youremployer/sponsoring company.The union also facilitates a YoungMaritime Professionals Forum toprovide an opportunity for young members to engage in discussions on the specifi c challenges facing young workers in the maritimeprofession.For further information members/ trainee offi cers should contact Paul Schroder at youth@nautilusint.org.

Contact Nautilus International Nautilus International welcomes contact from members at any time. Please send a message to one of our department email addresses (see page 17) or get in touch with us at one of our offi ces around the world.

For urgent matters, we can also arrange to visit your ship in a UK port. Please give us your vessel’s ETA and as much information as possible about the issue that needs addressing.

Quiz and crossword answers ACDB

Maritime & Coastguard Agency+44 (0)23 8032 9100www.dft.gov.uk/mcaImplements the UK government’s maritime safety policy and works to prevent the loss of life on the coast and at sea.

Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport+ 31 88 489 00 00www.ilent.nlDutch maritime authority (separate from Dutch coastguard).

Swiss Maritime Navigation Offi ce+41 (0)61 270 91 20www.smno.chSwiss maritime authority.

International Transport Workers’ Federation +44 (0)20 7403 2733www.itfglobal.orgA federation of over 700 unions representing over 4.5 million transport workers from 150 countries.

Merchant Navy Training Boardwww.mntb.org.ukUK organisation promotingmaritime education and training,and providing careers guidance. Administers the Careers at Sea Ambassadors scheme, underwhich serving seafarers canvolunteer to give careers talks inUK schools.

Merchant Navy Welfare Boardwww.mnwb.orgUmbrella body for the UK maritime charity sector, promoting cooperation between organisations that provide welfare services to merchant seafarers and their dependants within the UK.

Seafarers UK (formerly the King George’s Fund for Sailors)+44 (0)20 7932 0000www.seafarers-uk.orgSupports and promotes UK charities helping seafarers from the Merchant Navy, Royal Navy and fi shing fl eets. Often organises places for maritime fundraisers to enter marathons and other charity challenges.

International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network +44 (0)300 012 4279www.seafarerswelfare.orgGlobal organisation providing a24 hour, year-round multi-lingual helpline for all seafarers’ welfare and support needs, as well as an emergency welfare fund.

SAIL (Seafarers’ Information and Advice Line)08457 413 318+44 (0)20 8269 0921www.sailine.org.ukUK-based citizens’ advice service helping seafarers and their families with issues such as debt, benefi t

entitlements, housing, pensionsand relationships.

Seamen’s Hospital Society+44 (0)20 8858 3696www.seahospital.ukUK charity dedicated to thehealth and welfare of seafarers. Includes the Dreadnought health service.

Seafarers’ Link+44 (0)20 7643 13856www.csv-rsvp.orgTelephone friendship project connecting retired UK seafarers at home through a fortnightlytelephone conference service.

Seatax Ltd+44 (0)1302 364673www.seatax.ltd.ukCompany providing specialist tax advice for merchant seafarers.

Marine Society+44 (0)20 7654 7050www.marine-society.orgUK charity dedicated to thelearning and professional development of seafarers.Off ers 120,000 books to ships through its library service, plus distance-learning programmesand scholarship schemes including the Nautilus-administered Slater Fund.

Useful organisations To suggest an organisation which could appear here, email telegraph@nautilusint.org

UK Head offi ceNautilus International1&2 The Shrubberies, George LaneSouth Woodford, London E18 1BDTel: +44 (0)20 8989 6677Fax: +44 (0)20 8530 1015enquiries@nautilusint.org

Northern offi ceNautilus InternationalNautilus House, Mariners’ ParkWallasey CH45 7PHTel: +44 (0)151 639 8454Fax: +44 (0)151 346 8801enquiries@nautilusint.org

Off shore sector contact pointMembers working for companies based in the east of Scotland or UK off shore oil and gas sector can call: +44 (0)1224 638882

THE NETHERLANDS Postal AddressNautilus InternationalPostbus 85753009 An RotterdamPhysical AddressNautilus InternationalSchorpioenstraat 2663067 KW RotterdamTel: +31 (0)10 477 1188 Fax: +31 (0)10 477 3846infonl@nautilusint.org

SWITZERLANDGewerkschaftshaus, Rebgasse 14005 Basel, SwitzerlandTel: +41 (0)61 262 24 24Fax: +41 (0)61 262 24 25infoch@nautilusint.org

SINGAPORENautilus International10a Braddell Hill #05-03Singapore, 579720Tel: +65 (0)625 61933Mobile: +65 (0)973 10154singapore@nautilusint.org

FRANCEYacht sector offi ce in partnership with D&B Services3 Bd. d’Aguillon06600 Antibes, FranceTel: +33 (0)962 616 140nautilus@dandbservices.comwww.dandbservices.com

SPAINYacht sector offi ce in partnership with dovastonC/Joan de Saridakis 2, Edifi cion GoyaLocal 1A, Marivent07015 Palma de Mallorca, SpainTel: +34 971 677 375recruitment@nautilusint.orgwww.dovaston.com

SHIP TO SHORE

46 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | April 2014

M-Notices, Marine Information Notes and Marine Guidance Notes issued by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency recently include:

MGN 504 (M) — Maritime passenger rights: role of the national enforcement bodyThis note summarises the rights of passengers on vessels operating in and out of EU ports, and explains who should handle any complaints. It replaces MGN 488 (M), as it contains information about certain changes eff ective since 1 January 2014.

EU Regulation No 1177/2010 establishes the right of all passengers to assistance in cases of cancelled or delayed departures and lays down the right, in certain circumstances, to compensation in case of delay in arrival. The Regulation also provides disabled persons, or those with reduced mobility, with rights to accessibility assistance when travelling by water comparable with those in other transport sectors.

If an individual has a complaint, they should fi rst raise it with the operator. Within the UK, if it cannot be resolved in this way, the complaint may then be referred to the appropriate voluntary Complaint Handling Body (CHB). MGN 504 contains a list of these CHBs, their areas of operation and their contact details, as of 1 January 2014.

If it is not possible to resolve a complaint via the operator or CHB, it may then be investigated by the National Enforcement Body (NEB), which will consider whether there has been a breach of the EU Regulation. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) will operate as the National Enforcement Body for the whole of the UK. All complaints that are upheld by the CHB involving a breach of the Regulation are to be reported to the NEB.

MIN 474 (M) — Training and certifi cation: changes to IAMI Offi cer of the Watch written examinationsThis note reports that, from 1 September 2014, a new syllabus will be introduced for examinations leading to UK Engineer Offi cer of the Watch certifi cation under STCW 78, as amended. The change will apply to International Association of

Maritime Institutions (IAMI) written examinations, which will now include an exam on ‘Control Engineering’.

At present (prior to 1 September 2014), candidates must pass the following exams in order to qualify for an Engineer Offi cer of the Watch Reg III/1 Certifi cate of Competency (CoC):

zGeneral Engineering Science (GES) A & B — Minimum 50% pass in each section

zEngineering Knowledge (EK) ‘General’, ‘Steam’ and/or ‘Motor’. Minimum 50% pass in each section

From 1 September 2014, candidates must meet the following examination requirements in order to qualify for the Engineer Offi cer of the Watch Reg III/1 CoC:

zGeneral Engineering Science A & B — Minimum 50% pass in each section

zEngineering Knowledge (broken down into the following sections)a) General, consisting of the subjects Auxiliary Equipment, Electrical and Ship Construction. A 40% pass rate is acceptable for each subject individually; however, an average of 50% overall must be metb) Motor and/or Steam — minimum of 50% pass requiredc) Control Engineering — minimum of 50% for a pass

MIN 474 sets out the time frames within which candidates must pass the various examinations and apply for EOOW certifi cation. It also notes that some candidates may be exempt from the Control Engineering paper if they have already studied this subject as part of an approved qualifi cation.

MIN 476 (M+F) — Codes of practice for controlling risks due to noise and vibration on shipsFollowing the implementation of several pieces of legislation on shipboard noise and vibration, the MCA has produced three codes providing guidance and interpretation to help users comply with the regulations. These are:

zCode of practice for controlling risks due to noise on ships

zCode of practice for controlling risks due to whole body vibration on ships

zCode of practice for controlling hand transmitted vibration on ships

Those primarily aff ected by the noise and vibration regulations will

be operators and managers of ships, fi shing vessels and other marine craft, including yachts and work boats registered in the UK on which workers are employed. The regulations will apply also to charities and similar organisations that operate vessels, but only when there are workers on such vessels.

The codes of practice are intended to assist those concerned with designing, building and owning or managing ships to comply with the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Control of Noise at Work) Regulations 2007, and the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Control of Vibration at Work) Regulations 2007.

The codes of practice collectively deal with:

zthe assessment of risk from noise and vibration onboard ships

zthe measurement and evaluation of noise and vibration

zthe assessment of the severity of exposures to noise and vibration

zthe identifi cation of controls to eliminate or reduce exposures to noise and vibration

zthe involvement of crew members in the control of noise and vibration risks, including the provision of information and training

zthe provision of health monitoring and surveillance for noise and vibration

MIN 476 lists the publication details of the codes of practice, which are available for purchase from The Stationery Offi ce (TSO) as paperback books or downloadable PDFs. See www.tsoshop.co.uk.

zM-Notices are available as electronic documents or as a set of bound volumes.

zA consolidated set of M-Notices is published by The Stationery Offi ce. This contains all M-Notices current on 31 July 2009 (ISBN 9780115530555) and costs £210 — www.tsoshop.co.uk

zIndividual copies can be electronically subscribed to by emailing a request to mnotices@ecgroup.co.uk or downloaded from the MCA website. Go to www.dft.gov.uk/mca and click on ‘Ships and Cargoes’, then ‘Legislation and Guidance’.

Nautilus International is staging more of its seminars to help members get to grips with the Maritime Labour Convention 2006.

The next seminar is being staged for members in the superyacht sector

and will be held on 5 and 6 May, at the Mood beach in Portals, Palma.

All the course materials are free and lunch will be provided on both days. Accommodation and travel will be at attendees’ own cost. Non

members are welcome to attend this event if they pay a full year’s membership subscription of £276.00. gFor more information about the forum, or to register, email: hmolloy@nautilusint.org.

What does MLC 2006 mean to you?

46-47_info+join.indd 4646-47_info+join.indd 46 19/03/2014 19:0019/03/2014 19:00

Pay and conditionsNautilus International is the fi rst truly trans-boundary trade union for maritime professionals, refl ecting the global nature of the industry. We negotiate with employers on issues including pay, working conditions, working hours and pensions to secure agreements which recognise members’ skills and experience, and the need for safety for the maritime sector.

Legal servicesNautilus Legal offers members a range of legal services free of charge. There are specialist lawyers to support members in work related issues and a number of non-work related issues. The Union also has a network of lawyers in 54 countries to provide support where members need it most.

Workplace support Nautilus International offi cials provide expert advice on work-related problems such as contracts, redundancy, bullying or discrimination, non-payment of wages, and pensions.

Certifi cate protectionMembers are entitled to free fi nancial protection, worth up to £116,900, against the loss

of income if their certifi cate of competency is cancelled, suspended or downgraded following a formal inquiry.

Extra savingsMembers can take advantage of many additional discounts and benefi ts organised at a local level. These include tax advice, insurance discounts and advice on pension matters. In the Netherlands, discounts are organised through FNV, and trade union contributions are mostly tax-friendly, entitling members to receive a signifi cant part of their contributions back.

International representationNautilus International represents members’ views on a wide range of national and international bodies including the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the International Federation of Shipmasters’ Associations (IFSMA). We work at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on key global regulations covering working

conditions, health and safety and training. The Union is affi liated to the TUC in the UK, FNV in the Netherlands and SGB/USS in Switzerland.

In touchAs a Nautilus International member, help is never far away — wherever in the world you are. Offi cials regularly see members onboard their ships and visit cadets at college. Further support and advice is available at regular ‘surgeries’ and conferences. The Union has offi ces in London, Wallasey, Rotterdam and Basel. There are also representatives based in France, Spain and Singapore.

Your union, your voiceThe Union represents the voice of more than 23,000 maritime professionals working in all sectors of the industry at sea and ashore — including inland navigation, large yachts, deepsea and offshore.

For members, by membersNautilus International is a dynamic and democratic trade union offering members many opportunities to become actively involved and have your say — at a local, national and international level.

It’s never been more important to be a Nautilus member and it’s never been easier to apply for membership. You can now join over the phone, or online at www.nautilusint.org. If you can’t get online or to a telephone, post us this form to start the joining process. A member of the recruitment team will contact you as soon as possible. Please note that membership does not begin until subscriptions are paid.

FIRST NAMES

SURNAME

ADDRESS

POSTCODE

EMAIL ADDRESS

MOBILE (INCLUDING DIALLING CODE)

HOME TELEPHONE

GEN DER DATE OF BIRTH

EMPLOYER

SHIP RANK

DISCHARGE BOOK NO (IF APPLICABLE)

COLLEGE OF STUDY (CADET APPLICATIONS ONLY)

COURSE (CADET APPLICATIONS ONLY)

Please post this form to:Membership services departmentNautilus InternationalNautilus House, Mariners’ ParkWallasey CH45 7PH, United Kingdom

Join today so we can be there for you too!

Wherever you are, we are

CALL NOW TO JOIN NAUTILUS ON:UK: +44 (0)151 639 8454 NL: +31 (0)10 477 11 88 CH: +41 (0)61 262 24 24

g Joëlle Knegt is a personal assistant who has been working in the

Nautilus Rotterdam offi ce since June 2012, providing vital support to assistant general secretary Marcel van den Broek and other senior offi cials.

Joëlle was born and brought up near Spijkenisse, part of the Rotterdam municipal area, and she has her home there now — describing it as a very nice place in which to live.

After fi nishing school and ‘spending some time fi guring out what I wanted to do’, Joëlle spent almost three years

studying at a college to qualify as a personal assistant.

‘You learn things like time management and how to take minutes, as well as working with programs like Outlook, Excel spreadsheets, Word and Powerpoint — and typing very quickly,’ she explains.

She went on to work in administrative roles in a health care centre for old people and at a hospital, before applying for a job with Nautilus.

Much of her work is in support of Marcel van den Broek — and other offi cials in the Rotterdam offi ce, such as Marcel van

Dam, Dirk Broek and Hylke Hylkema, when it’s necessary. ‘I really enjoy organising meetings and making sure all the appointments in the diaries fi t together,’ Joëlle says. ‘I like to help people as much as possible.’

Joëlle knew something about shipping and seafaring, as her grandfather worked at sea for many years as an electrician. But she says she has learned a lot more about the industry through her attendance at Nautilus national committee meetings, where she takes minutes and listens to the debate and discussions.

Outside of work, she is keen on keeping fi t and does a lot of fi tness training. Joëlle also enjoys socialising with friends and family and is an avid movie-goer. She particularly recommends the recent release Wolf of Wall Street and also highly rated Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks as the captain of the Maersk Alabama, the US-fl agged ship hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009.

‘It was a great fi lm — very real — and I couldn’t help crying in the last part when Captain Phillips is asking for his family and you see his shock. It’s so sad…’

The face of NautilusJoëlle Knegt, personal assistant

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NEWS

PThe European Commis-sion has had to aban-don its latest attempt

to secure agreement on plans to deregulate key port services, including pilotage and increased market access.

Work on the controversial pro-posals has been suspended after it became clear that MEPs would be unable to approve the draft regu-lation in time for it to be adopted before the European elections in May.

The draft regulation was the third attempt within the space of a decade to deregulate port ser-vices, but it had attracted some 500 amendments since it was published last May.

MEP and rapporteur Knut Fleckenstein said the measure could not be approved within the time constraints as a conse-quence of a lack of compromise on the scope of the market access

chapter and because of the need to better understand the Euro-pean Commission’s intentions over state aid rules for ports.

Nautilus senior national sec-retary Allan Graveson said the proposals had been the subject of signifi cant opposition, but it was unlikely that this will be the last attempt to deregulate the sector. ‘It is worrying that the dis-credited Ports Directive has re-emerged as a Regulation targeted at certain safety-critical sectors of the industry with the objective of dividing and conquering all opposition,’ he added.

The European Maritime Pilots Association (EMPA) said the time-out should be used to give care-ful consideration to proposed amendments to exclude pilotage from the market access chapter.

EMPA president Captain Stein Inge Dahn said he was pleased to note a ‘better understanding’ of

the role of pilots. ‘The European pilots agree that the public ser-vice of pilotage should be subject to transparency and local port users’ infl uence and consultation processes,’ he added.

‘European pilots will continue participating in efforts to increase the effi ciency of the traffi c fl ow in ports throughout Europe, for example by utilising new tech-nology and supporting propor-tional nautical guidelines — measures that have proved to be effective in allowing for substan-tially higher cargo volumes and increasingly larger ships’ sizes in our ports over recent decades.’

The European Sea Ports Associ-ation said it welcomed signs that the proposals would be recon-sidered following the elections. ‘We understand that achieving a good compromise on such a con-troversial fi le in such a short time frame, especially in the run-up to

the European elections, is not an easy job,’ said secretary-general Isabelle Ryckbost.

‘We are pleased that there is a clear will from the main players on this fi le to continue the work after the elections, away from any electoral pressure.’

Patrick Verhoeven, secretary-general of the European Com-munity Shipowners’ Associations, said the ‘time out’ on the debate was probably the only sensible option.

‘It should, however, not stop the European Commission from encouraging port development and effi ciency in the meantime,’ he argued.

‘There is now an opportunity to make progress on the long-overdue proposal regarding pilot-age exemption certifi cates and follow up on those areas where market access and transparency are problematic.’

New bid to open up EU port services is haltedNautilus warns that controversial plans may re-emerge as Brussels runs out of time in third deregulation package

Training courses for the maritime and offshore industriesMerchant Navy Operations (Deck)Certificate of CompetencyOfficer of the Watch (Unlimited) Jan, May & Sept intakesChief Mate/Masters (Unlimited) Jan & Sep intakesMaster Mariner (Unlimited) Orals Prep Mar & Oct intakesMaster Mariner (200Gt) Orals Prep (2 weeks)

STCWSafety5 day STCW Basic Safety TrainingPersonal Survival TechniquesPersonal Safety & Social ResponsibilitiesElementary First AidFire Prevention & Fire FightingAdvanced Fire FightingEfficient Deck HandMan Over Board / Rib Capsize DrillsIMDG awareness

Shipboard Safety OfficerShipboard Security Officer

Medical and First AidMedical First Aid Onboard ShipMedical Care Onboard Ship (and Refresher)HSE Offshore First Aid (and Refresher)HSE First Aid at Work (and Refresher)HSE Emergency First Aid at Work

RadioGMDSS GOC/ROC/LRC/CAAVHF Short Range Certificate

NavigationNAEST (O) & (M)ECDIS generic and type specificBridge Team ManagementPre ARPA and ARPASVNR

TankerTanker FamiliarisationSpecialist Tanker Training (Oil)

Dynamic PositioningDP InductionDP SimulatorDP Introduction

Offshore Oil & GasOIM Management of Major EmergenciesCRO Controlling EmergenciesCommand & Control for ERRVs Masters & MatesOil Spill Crisis Management (OPRC)COMPEX EX01 to EX04

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Lowestoft College, St Peters Street, Lowestoft,Suffolk NR32 2NB United Kingdom

Tel: 00 44 1502 525025Email: maritime@lowestoft.ac.ukWeb: www.lowestoft.ac.uk/maritime.asp

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Cadets in 24-hour lifeboat challenge for cancer charityH

Pictured above is the team of intrepid cadets from Warsash Maritime Academy

who were last month preparing to do what seafarers all hope they will never have to do for real — spending 24 hours on the water in a liferaft.

As the Telegraph went to press, the 39 offi cer trainees were due to squeeze into fi ve

liferafts secured to a buoy on the River Hamble — and were hoping to raise nearly £8,000 for charity from their crowded, bumpy experience.

It’s the fi rst time that a nautical college has taken part in Sail 4 Cancer’s 24 hour liferaft challenge, which raises funds to provide respite breaks for families aff ected by cancer.

WMA cadet liaison offi cer David Baker

commented: ‘This is a chance to enhance their training, and a great opportunity to raise funds and awareness for those facing far longer and more diffi cult challenges — UK families living with cancer.’

Maersk Crewing cadet Thomas Jones said he wished he’d known about the charity when he lost his mother to cancer. ‘I feel that this

charity would have helped me deal with the stress of the situation,’ he added. ‘They support people by helping to take their minds off things and creating some great lasting memories.’

gEach cadet has been given a target of £200 to raise for the charity. To support the cadets with a donation, go to www.sail4cancer.org and select ‘Liferaft challenge 2014’.

FPoliticians in the Philippines have agreed to create a single

body to govern seafarer training and certifi cation in an attempt to stave off the threat of de-recognition by the European Union.

Ahead of the long-awaited results of a new European Maritime Safety Agency audit of STCW compliance in the Philippines, the government has secured agreement on a bill to make the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) the sole administration responsible for oversight of the training and certifi cation of Filipino seafarers.

Marina administrator Maximo Mejia said the move would ensure that Filipino seafarer certifi cation is ‘backed by a credible, responsible, and high quality monitoring system’.

Some reports suggest the Philippines is now urging the EU to give it another 12 months to prove that the changes have addressed concern over its training standards.

HPictured above is last month’s naming ceremony for the

latest addition to the ABP Humber Estuary Services fl eet of pilot launches — Humber Jupiter.

Built as part of a programme to upgrade the fl eet, the £1.2m Nelson class vessel complements the existing four launches and can carry

as many as eight pilots and a crew of two at speeds of up to 23 knots.

Humber Jupiter was christened by sponsor Mrs Rachel Cooper in a traditional ceremony hosted by ABP Humber director John Fitzgerald and harbourmaster Captain Phil Cowing, with the service of dedication by Fr Colum Kelly.

Philippines bid to stave off EU ban

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