NL MARITIME NEWS

NL MARITIME NEWS

A NewsLink service for Dole Colombia International maritime news for seafarers

Monday, May 20, 2013 Headland SatNews

NATIONAL

Brazil approves law to modernise ports

Brazil plans to modernize and expand its overcrowded ports, attract private investments to the sector and make it easier for companies to hire skilled foreign workers, in a bid to spur economic growth, The Brazilian Congress approved legislation late Thursday that allows the private sector to invest in stateowned ports and lifts restrictions that have hindered the building of private terminals, The Associated Press reported. The legislation, which must still be approved by President Dilma Rousseff, eliminates a rule that forced private companies with their own terminals to only handle their own cargo. They now can handle third-party goods. The government has said the legislation will help eliminate bottlenecks that have hurt exports such as soybeans. It is part of a government plan to invest USD27 billion to make the country's ports more efficient and improve the competitiveness of Brazilian exports by reducing freight costs by 20%. Also on Thursday, the government's official gazette published new measures that reduce the paperwork foreigners need to go through to obtain visas for temporary or permanent work permits. The changes, approved earlier this week by the National Immigration Council, make life easier for companies in need of skilled labour. Skilled professionals can obtain visas without a contract and no longer have to leave the country and get a new visa every time they move to a new job or company. In addition, students working on their masters or doctoral degrees who want to work for up to 90 days for a Brazilian company will be able to easily obtain visas.

Greece to purchase 142 ships from China

Greek Shipping Minister Kostis Moussouroulis said here Saturday Greek shipowners have recently signed contracts to buy 142 new ships from Chinese shipbuilding companies, Xinhua reported. The orders, which were signed in April, accounted for more than 60% of the recent global orders of Greek shipowners, said the Greek official. The shipping industry, including shipbuilding, is one of the most important sectors for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. In the next decade, China will remain an important global exporter and become an increasingly important importer, according to the minister.

SAFETY SPDs aboard vessels

The Coast Guard recommends that vessel owners, operators, Class Society Surveyors, Insurers and other inspection personnel examine the risks associated with the use of Surge Protective Devices (SPDs) aboard vessels, and if necessary ensure their organisations have policies and procedures relating to their use. Vessels should have defined procedures for checking the condition and grounding capabilities of personal/ portable electrical equipment and trained shipboard personnel should be assigned to check and approve all

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IMO launches new interactive PSSA display

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) over the weekend announced that it has launched a new interactive display on Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSA) at its headquarters in London, United Kingdom and online at pssa.imo.org/. IMO is the United Nations body that looks after the welfare of 1.2 million seafarers manning the world's merchant fleet. A PSSA is an area that needs special protection through action by IMO because of its significance for recognized ecological or socioeconomic or scientific reasons and which may be vulnerable to damage by international maritime activities. To date, IMO has designated 14 PSSAs. The new display and website include videos, pictures, maps, and graphic displays, telling the unique story of each of the 14 PSSAs, together with a special insight on IMO's work on this topic, past, present and future., PNA reported. The display and website have been funded with the support of generous contributions from Australia, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea and Sweden.

SPDs in use or brought on board for compatibility with the vessel's electrical distribution system prior to use. A recent marine casualty investigation of two separate stateroom fires onboard a ship revealed that the sources of the fires were attributed to the use of SPDs plugged into a lighting circuit. It was discovered that a ground had developed on another circuit that was connected to the same distribution panel providing power to the staterooms. This ground created an imbalance of voltage between the two power conductors supplying the SPDs which caused excessive currents, overheating and subsequently, a fire. In this instance, even if the SPDs automatically tripped as designed, only one power conductor would have been secured while the other would continue to provide power, possibly shorting to the device's ground wire and the structure of the vessel. Routine checks of switchboard and distribution system 120 VAC ground detection systems are necessary to detect the presence of grounds that might cause similar circumstances with non-marine type SPDs. Source: USCG

Broker foots bunker bill after clerical error

A shipbroker was forced to arrange a settlement over an invoice error that resulted in a whopping USD777,278 bill.

In its latest Claims Review, ITIC cites the case of a chartering broker which arranged a fixture for a voyage from the Black Sea to Singapore. The recap showed the identity of both the registered owner and the disponent owner with whom the negotiations had been concluded. The disponent owner asked the broker to arrange the purchase of bunkers, and an order was placed with a supplier. The cost of the bunkers was USD777,278. However, instead of ordering the bunkers on behalf of the disponent owner, the broker mistakenly ordered them on the registered owner's behalf, taking the name from the recap. The bunkers were duly supplied and the ship signed for them. The bunker supplier invoiced the registered owner, care of the broker, for the cost of the bunkers. The invoice was sent to the disponent owner but was not paid when due. When chased for payment, the disponent owner replied, "Regarding the payment for bunkers, I have passed to the financial side and they should be arranging payment, the delay is due to our company currently being audited and will be ending in the coming weeks." The case, cited by the ITIC in a review, was brought to court and lawyers blamed the shipbroker for breach of warranty and authority.

INCIDENTS Philippines waiting for Taiwan anger to cool

The Philippines is waiting for tempers in Taiwan to cool before settling the dispute over a shot Taiwanese fisherman, the head of an office in charge of relations said Sunday, AFP reported.

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Issues like Manila's "one-China" policy and comments by Taiwanese investigators branding the incident as murder have complicated the situation, said Amadeo Perez, chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office. "We are waiting for the right time because I was told by the secretary-general for Asian affairs, we should wait for the temperature in Taiwan to cool," Perez said in an interview with DZMM radio. "The Taiwanese are highly emotional and... the media in Taiwan is heating things up so tempers are running high." Anger has grown in Taiwan after a 65-year-old Taiwanese fisherman was shot dead on May 9 by the Philippine coastguard. Taiwan has imposed sanctions against the Philippines, banning the entry of any more workers, recalling its de facto envoy and holding a military exercise in waters near the northern Philippines last week. The coastguard said the fishing vessel had intruded into Philippine waters and tried to ram their own patrol boat. Meanwhile, Taiwan has repeated calls for a joint investigation into the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by Philippine coastguards. A team of Taiwanese investigators returned to the island Saturday, accusing the Philippine government of failing to honour its agreement to conduct a joint probe. "The decision to send the investigators to Manila came only after the Philippine government had agreed to let us to do so," deputy justice minister Chen Ming-tang told reporters.

Sailor dies during Sri Lanka victory parade

Sri Lanka's navy Sunday recovered the body of a sailor who drowned during a parade marking the fourth anniversary of the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels, an official said. The body was found near a beach in Colombo where his small boat capsized while taking part in the victory celebrations presided over by President Mahinda Rajapakse on Saturday, AFP reported. "The boat was salvaged on Saturday and four crewmen were rescued, but one officer went missing and his body was recovered only this morning," a military official said on condition of anonymity, adding that the boat had got into trouble in choppy waters. Rajapakse, who addressed troops at the land and sea parade, vowed not to allow the Tamil Tiger rebels or any other separatist group to create trouble in the ethnically dived nation of 20 million people. His troops declared an end to 37 years of ethnic bloodshed after killing the top Tamil Tiger leadership in May 2009. In the north the main opposition ethnic Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), defied a military ban and staged a remembrance ceremony for those who died in the final battle which also killed Tigers leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

SECURITY EMSA-Frontex agreement boosts Euro maritime awareness

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and Frontex have reached an agreement wherein the latter will get help in reinforcing the Schengen external border. Frontex will tap EMSA's integrated maritime services in boosting security. Frontex assists Member States in cooperation at the operational level at all types of borders (sea, land and air).

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Upon signing the agreement, Markku Mylly, EMSA's Executive Director stated, "We are delighted to be part of this venture. It is gratifying to see our maritime service capabilities being used to support Frontex and the Member States. We look forward to fulfilling the new role entrusted to us, and to working with Frontex in the years to come." Realising that EMSA's expertise can be used to improve maritime awareness, Frontex has requested operational support for the detection of various illegal activities at sea. Under the new agreement, EMSA will develop tailored monitoring services, information products, and tools. Data from EMSA's Integrated Maritime Data Environment (IMDatE), including ship position reports and satellite images, will be provided to Frontex to enable them to construct a more comprehensive overview of activities at Europe's maritime borders. This will build on previous pilot project services developed by EMSA for Frontex, and on integrated services which EMSAalready offers to Member States and other EU bodies.

PORT OF THE WEEK Port of Santos

The Port of Santos is located in a coastal city in Brazil that carris the same name. As of 2006, it is the busiest container port in Latin America. It is equipped with a wide variety of cargo handling terminals for solid and liquid bulk, containers, and general loads. It is also Brazil's leading port in container traffic. The terrestrial access system to the port is made up by the Anchieta and Imigrantes highways and by the railroads operated by Ferroban and MRS. It was once considered the "port of death" in the 19th century due to the presence of yellow fever, and ships often avoided docking at the wood plank port. The floods in the city's area provoked illnesses and at one time in the 18th century, bubonic plague almost decimated the entire population. In the early 20th century, major overhauling and urbanization created the port's modern structure seen today, eliminating the risk of diseases and providing the port with modern, industrial-age infrastructure. Today it is the region's most modern and largest port. The Port of Santos's LOCODE is BRSSZ. The terminal operates three container terminals located at strategic points along the Brazilian coast: Tecon Santos, Tecon Imbituba, and Tecon Vila do Conde, apart from the Vehicle Terminal of the Port of Santos. All of these terminals are integrated into the logistic operation, offering customers a single, port-to-port logistic platform. Highly specialised work teams, state-of-the-art technology, security, quality, and productivity provide a highly-efficient cargo-handling service. The Port posted its busiest month in March, when it handled an estimated 9.39 million tons, a new record. This is 9.4% higher than the same month in 2012. With this peformance, the first quarter of 2013 reached 24.87 million tons, up 12.8% over 2012. The total number of vessels fell by 8.2% compared to March of last year.

SHIPPING DATA
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BALTIC EXCHANGE
Market snapshot: 12:25 GMT Dry Capesize Panamax Supramax Index Index Index Index BDI BCI BPI BSI 841 1326 930 851 -9 -8 -21 -2 -1 .

Handysize Index

BHSI 553

EXCHANGE RATES
New York (Fri Cls) Fgn Currency in USD Britain (Pound) Canada (Dollar) China (Yuan) Euro India (Rupee) 1.5173 0.9723 0.1628 1.2829 0.0182 USD in Fgn Currency 0.6591 1.0284 6.1435 0.7795 54.8860 9757.00 103.1800 5.8574 41.2300 3.2500 31.4400 1.2580

Indonesia (Rupiah) 0.000102 Japan (Yen) Norway (Krone) Philippines (Peso) Poland (Zloty) Russia (Ruble) Singapore (Dollar) 0.009691 0.1707 0.0243 0.3075 0.0318 0.7949

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