The new 89 metre INFINITY is the superyacht industry’s first delivery in 2015 – constructed by Oceanco. Built under the project name Y710, this magnificent yacht boasts a commanding exterior design by Espen Øino and an exceptional interior design by Sinot Exclusive Yacht Design and David Kleinberg Design Associates. Continue reading “Oceanco Delivers the first superyacht of 2015 – INFINITY”
The Missing Seafarers Reporting Programme is the flagship programme delivered to the international and maritime communities by the Human Rights at Sea (“HRAS”) organisation. It is a privately funded programme delivered through the generosity of international donors having been conceived by the HRAS Founder in September 2013.
The vision is to primarily support seafarers, fishermen and their families by the registration of seafarers and fishermen missing at sea through a secure, independent and international on-line platform. That platform is known as the Missing Seafarers Register.
Continue reading “Missing Seafarers Reporting Programme goes live”
Communicating effectively on the bridge, between ships or to the shore is the topic under discussion in the eighth issue of The Navigator – the free publication from The Nautical Institute. The 12-page magazine, aimed at marine navigational officers at all stages in their career, is now being distributed to SOLAS vessels around the world.
Editor of The Navigator, Emma Ward, said: “Miscommunication or the use of poor information is a leading cause of accidents at sea. In this issue of The Navigator, we aim to encourage readers to adopt effective communication techniques onboard ship. We also want to open a discussion about best practices across the industry.”
The new issue looks at the importance of different methods of communications at sea and examines the difference between data and information. There is an interview with a serving third officer and a brand new letters page offering insight into a number of maritime issues from members of the magazine’s readership.
The opening marks the completion of the third and final phase of the development of the new facility. This third phase will enable the terminal to cater for an additional 80,000 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) per annum bringing the terminal’s total capacity to over 400,000 TEU per annum.
The initial two phases of the project created new runways for three rows of rubber tyred gantry cranes (RTGs), a type of large mobile crane used for stacking shipping containers. The third and final phase added a fourth runway for RTGs and deepened and strengthened the quay wall to allow bigger container ships to be loaded and discharged with modern high speed ship-to-shore gantry cranes.
Continue reading “Dublin Port Company opens new Alexandra Quay Container Terminal”
The NGO Shipbreaking Platform has released a complete list of all ship owners and their ships sold for breaking last year.
Out of a total of 1026 ships dismantled globally in 2014, 641 – representing 74% of the total gross tonnage (GT) scrapped – were sold to substandard facilities in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh where ships are dismantled directly on tidal beaches. None of the South Asian yards comply with international standards for safe and environmentally sound ship recycling.
End-of-life ships contain toxic materials such as asbestos, heavy metals, PCBs, oil residues and organic waste within their structures – these pollutants can not be contained or safely removed on a tidal beach. The demolition of the largest movable man-made structures is hazardous and must be conducted in a controlled manner using adequate infrastructure such as cranes as well as necessary health and safety provisions – in 2014 the Platform reported 23 deaths and 66 severe injuries due to accidents such as explosions, workers crushed under steel plates and falling from heights on the South Asian beaches.
The rather dramatic grounding of the large car carrier Hoegh Osaka on the 3rd January raised the spectacle of first, how did it happen and second, how would it be removed.
As I write this article the salvors, Svitzer, have successfully brought the ship into Southampton.
The ship sailed from Southampton at about 2020 hours on the 3rd January. It has been reported that soon after leaving the berth she developed an alarming list. The Master and pilot became extremely concerned and just after passing the notorious Bramble Bank located between the mouth of Southampton water and Cowes on the Isle of Wight a Continue reading “Thoughts on the salvage operation of Hoegh Osaka”
At the end of 2014, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) that will require every packed export container to have a verified container weight as a condition for loading aboard a vessel, as decided by The World Shipping Council.
This requirement will become legally binding on July 1, 2016. Continue reading “World Shipping Council advice post SOLAS”
The first building block for Seven Seas Explorer was placed on 21 January 2015 during a special keel laying ceremony at the Fincantieri shipyard in Genoa, Italy. The keel laying signals a significant milestone in the construction for what will be the most luxurious ship ever built, and brings the vessel one step closer to its July 2016 maiden voyage.
In a ceremony befitting of the world’s most luxurious ship, a sleek black Rolls Royce Phantom transported the three symbolic coins to the keel laying event. Upon arrival, a dapper butler emerged with a red velvet pillow carrying the coins to be welded into the keel, including a rare 1921 U.S. silver coin known as the Peace Dollar symbolizing the safe passage of Seven Seas Explorer; a 1959 silver Italian Lire representing the year the Fincantieri shipyard was established; and a commemorative coin specially minted for this occasion.
Continue reading “Fincantieri lays keel for the Seven Seas Explorer”
The car transporter ship, Hoegh Osaka, was deliberately grounded following the decision made by the Captain and Pilot on Bramble Bank in the Solent early in January after it began to list heavily. The ship was only 50 minutes into its voyage from the port of Southampton and was carrying a full load of Landrover Jaguar cars and heavy duty construction equipment. It is felt that the quick thinking and decision making, taken to protect the lives of the 25 crew on bard, was courageous and correct.
At that time, the Hoegh Osaka was listing at more than 50 degrees and a salvage operation is expected to take several days. She became an instant tourist attraction for not only locals on the south coats, but also further afield. Such a sight as this is rarely seen.
An RNLI crewman has clocked up more than 1,000 lifeboat launches to emergency calls – rescuing 295 people and saving 47 lives in reaching the milestone. Tower lifeboat station helmsman and former Brighton RNLI volunteer Stan Todd reached the impressive milestone in December, after clocking up more than 34 years saving lives at sea and on the River Thames in central London.
During that time he has plucked drowning swimmers from certain death, rescued sailors from sinking yachts in Hurricane winds and found frightened children drifting miles out to sea in rubber dinghies.
Continue reading “RNLI lifeboat hero clocks up more than 1,000 missions”
Tanker hijacks off South East Asia’s coasts caused a rise in global ship hijackings, up to 21 in 2014 from 12 in 2013, despite piracy at sea falling to its lowest level in eight years, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has revealed. Pirates took 442 crewmembers hostage, compared with 304 in 2013.
IMB’s annual piracy report shows 245 incidents were recorded worldwide in 2014 – a 44% drop since Somali piracy peaked in 2011. Somali pirates were responsible for 11 attacks, all of which were thwarted. However, IMB warns shipmasters to follow the industry’s Best Management Practices, as the threat of Somali piracy has not been eliminated.
Worldwide, 21 vessels were hijacked last year, 183 were boarded, and 13 fired upon. Pirates killed four crew members, injured 13 and kidnapped nine from their vessels.
According to new statistics published by the British Marine Federation at the 2015 CWM FX London Boat Show, the UK leisure marine industry sector continues to grow.
For the third consecutive year, the industry posted growth in 2013/14, with total revenue in the UK leisure, superyacht and small commercial marine industry totalling £2.93bn (a 1% increase on 2012/13).
Continue reading “British Marine Federation says growth continues in the UK leisure marine sector”
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