MARITIME NEWS

Wednesday, April 2, 2014 International maritime news for seafarers

Oil tanker attacked in Strait of Hormuz

According to fresh reports from the IMB, an oil tanker was attacked by si assailants in the !"lf of #orm"$ on March %0& Assailants armed with machine'g"ns fired two shots at the tanker(s bridge and accommodation in an effort to force the )essel to slow down& #owe)er, the )essel so"nded emergency alarm and acti)ated fire hoses, forcing the skiff to t"rn away& *o in+"ries ha)e been reported& ,he attackers and the tanker ha)e not been identified so far& -eparately, the *A,. -hipping /entre also reported that si persons in a skiff armed with machine'g"ns attacked a )essel& #owe)er, it was "nclear if both so"rces were referring to the same incident& ,he Bahrain'based 0- 1ifth 1leet co"ld not immediately confirm the reports& #ea)ily armed pirates "sing high'powered speedboats ha)e operated in the nearby !"lf of Aden for years, preying on ships and at times holding them for weeks before releasing them for large ransoms paid by go)ernments or shipowners& #owe)er, the n"mber of pirate attacks has diminished since international warships began patrolling waters off the #orn of Africa& B"t s"ch attacks are rare in the -trait of #orm"$ at the entrance to the !"lf, a key gateway for global oil s"pplies& Iranian speedboats had sometimes swarmed aro"nd 0- warships passing thro"gh the strategic waterway& ,he 2entagon has grad"ally strengthened its na)al forces in the !"lf region in the past year after Iran at one point threatened to block the -trait of #orm"$& 3with inp"ts from A124

SAFETY STUDY

WHO'S IN CONTROL?
A newly'arri)ed set of crew, a malf"nctioning engine telegraph and a master who wanted to test his ship(s manoe")ring characteristics in an enclosed harbo"r are a perfect recipe for disaster& *A55A,I67 8"ring hando)er, the newly'arri)ed crew were told that the main engine(s a"tomatic bridge control system was "nreliable and that it was safer to operate the engine and gearbo man"ally from the engine room, partic"larly when manoe")ring in confined waters& ,he ship(s managers had not been informed abo"t the sit"ation& ,he main engine was tested (ahead( and (astern&( ,he pilot was informed that the )essel was operating correctly with no defects& ,he master ad)ised the pilot that he preferred not to "se the t"g beca"se he wanted to gain an "nderstanding of the )essel(s manoe")ring characteristics& After the mooring ropes were let go and the )essel cleared the dock, the master set the telegraph to (dead slow astern( to mo)e the )essel to the centre of the basin& When the )essel approached that position, he mo)ed the le)er to (stop&( B"t this did not check the )essel(s speed astern& ,he ship started to close a dredger on the opposite side of the basin, so the pilot told the master to go (ahead(& ,he master mo)ed the le)er to (slow ahead( and, afterwards, to (f"ll ahead&( B"t the )essel contin"ed astern& ,he dredger radioed the cargo ship, where"pon the pilot confirmed that the )essel was going (ahead&( 9ess than a min"te later, the stern of the cargo )essel str"ck the dredger(s starboard side and p"shed the dredger into another )essel alongside her& ,he cargo )essel contin"ed astern "ntil (stop( was ordered& All three )essels in)ol)ed were damaged& 97--.*1& 7ngine room ergonomics, the pro)ision of shaft speed and direction indication, means of comm"nication, crew familiarity and the potential for h"man error m"st all be taken into acco"nt when operating prop"lsion systems& 2& When manoe")ring, it is important that all orders are acknowledged and followed& Mistakes happen b"t, if :"ickly spotted, accidents can be pre)ented& %& 5eporting defects to ship managers and a"thorities s"ch as classification societies and ports is critical to safety& If a defect is not reported, it is likely not to get fi ed and co"ld easily stand a )essel into danger& 4& An enclosed dock is not the ideal place to familiarise with a )essel(s handling characteristics& -o"rce; 0< MAIB

Libya frees nationals seized on ro!ue oil tanker

,hree 9ibyans, who sei$ed a tanker illegally loaded with oil, ha)e been set free by the prosec"tor general& ,hey were acc"sed of forcing the captain and the crew of the tanker to enter Al'-idra 2ort and load 9ibyan oil& ,he 0- *a)y intercepted and boarded the tanker in the eastern Mediterranean and s"ccessf"lly escorted her back to 9ibya& ,he 7gyptian'flagged )essel was manned by 21 crew, belonging to )ario"s nationalities& Intense negotiations are reportedly ongoing between the 9ibyan a"thorities and rebels to allow normal f"nctioning of terminals blockaded by rebels& ,he weak ,ripoli go)ernment(s fail"re to stop the tanker pl"nged 9ibya into one of its biggest crises since M"ammar !addafi was toppled by a *A,.'backed "prising in 2011& ,he ship(s escape after a"thorities had repeatedly )owed to take all meas"res to stop it "nderscored the weakness of the central go)ernment, which has str"ggled to rein in hea)ily armed former rebels& 5ebels pressing for a"tonomy for 9ibya(s eastern /yrenaica region ha)e been blockading oil terminals in the east since ="ly& 3with inp"ts from A124

"SC# audio recordin! s$eds li!$t on Te%as oil s&ill

,he 0- /oast !"ard 30-/!4 has released an a"dio recording, which re)eals that the masters of both the colliding )essels in the #o"ston -hip /hannel were aware that they were )ery close to each other& 8espite that they failed to a)ert collision, which res"lted in 1>?,000 gallons of oil being spilled into the water& According to in)estigators, both )essels comm"nicated too late to a)oid the March 22 collision& ,he collision forced the clos"re of the nation(s b"siest seaports for se)eral days, stranding some 100 )essels& ,he clean'"p process is still going on& In the meanwhile the thick and sticky oil has reportedly killed many dolphins, sea t"rtles, sea birds and other wildlife& ,he captain of the smaller )essel, which was towing two barges carrying nearly a million gallons of marine oil, responded to the warning by attempting to back o"t of the channel at f"ll speed& With less than a mile of )isibility beca"se of hea)y fog and as the )essel towing the oil'laden barges backed "p, the smaller ship(s captain radioed the approaching carrier, saying, @I(m looking at yo" now and it don(t look good&@

Moments later, one of the barges was sideswiped by the larger )essel, res"lting in a p"nct"re that sent a stream of dense, sticky oil into !al)eston Bay& It then spread into the !"lf of Me ico and so"thward along the ,e as coast& 3with inp"ts from A24

'ritis$ submarine (oins )H *+ $unt

British ,rafalgar class s"bmarine #M- ,ireless has reached the so"thern Indian .cean to +oin the search for missing Malaysia Airlines 1light M#%A0, local media reported ,"esday :"oting the Ministry of 8efence& Another British )essel, coastal s"r)ey ship #M- 7cho, is to take part in the mission soon, Binh"a reported&

RESCUE Tanker rescues "S sailors ,+m off -anama

,he 0-/! along with a help of >00'foot 9iberian'registered tanker s"ccessf"lly managed to resc"e three sailors aboard a sinking sailboat appro imately C0 miles so"th of Balboa, 2anama& ,he sailboat, which was on a )oyage from /alifornia to 2anama, was reportedly taking in water for se)eral days& -oon after recei)ing the distress signals, the 0-/! "sed the A"tomated M"t"al'Assistance 6essel 5esc"e system and iss"ed a safety alert re:"esting )essels in the area to assist& A ham radio operator with the 2anama Air force also assisted with comm"nications and co' ordination of the resc"e& @,he 72I5B was the key to sa)ing these li)es& We appreciate the :"ick response from fellow mariners and #am radio stations in this case, b"t witho"t that initial signal from the 72I5B we may ne)er ha)e known abo"t this distress& We "rge all boaters to get an 72I5B, and register it with the *ational .ceanic and Atmospheric Administration,@ said /aptain Michael 7agle, /hief of the 11th /oast !"ard 8istrict 5esponse&

#reek Coast #uard rescues more t$an ++ immi!rants

!reek /oast !"ard resc"ed more than %00 "ndoc"mented migrants who were stranded for se)eral ho"rs on a )essel off the so"thern Aegean -ea island of /rete, according to an official anno"ncement iss"ed on ,"esday&

,he resc"e operation, which started early Monday when the %2m )essel iss"ed a distress signal in moderate weather conditions ended s"ccessf"lly by s"nset, the press release said& All passengers were transferred safely to a !reek tanker, which r"shed to the area along with other fi)e )essels "pon instr"ctions by the !reek -hipping Ministry& ,hey incl"ded cargo ships, a 0- warship from /rete(s na)al base and a !reek *a)y frigate with personnel who pro)ided first aid to the immigrants& Initial estimates from !reek a"thorities, based on acco"nts of the first migrants resc"ed, had p"t the total n"mber of persons on board the )essel to 40?, incl"ding some 100 women and children, Binh"a reported&

ENVIRONMENT No immediate "S tsunami t$reat from C$ile .uake

0- officials said they()e fo"nd no threat of a ts"nami along the coasts of Alaska, /alifornia, .regon or Washington after a ma+or earth:"ake near /hile, with danger to #awaii limited to potentially strong c"rrents at beaches& Bill <night, a scientist at the *ational ,s"nami Warning /entre, said early data show that by the time wa)es generated by ,"esday night(s magnit"de'?&2 :"ake reach the West /oast, they(ll be too small to pose any threat& 8irector /hip Mc/reery of the 2acific ,s"nami Warning /entre said officials don(t e pect a ma+or ts"nami threat to #awaii& B"t the centre iss"ed an ad)isory saying swimmers, boaters and others at beaches might see strong c"rrents and sea le)el changes& /hilean a"thorities ordered an e)ac"ation of coastal areas there in case of a ts"nami& 3A24

NSR/ releases forecast on ice conditions in /rctic Seas

,he official information on the e pected ice conditions in the Arctic seas for the na)igation season of ="ne to A"g"st 2014 has been released by 5"ssian 1ederal -tate Instit"tion, the *orthern -ea 5o"te Administration 3*-5A4& ,he forecast incl"des the e cl"si)e economic $one of the 5"ssian 1ederation, co)ering the internal sea waters, the territorial sea and tracks s"itable for na)igation&

,he na)igation season for transit passages on the *orthern -ea 5o"te 3*-54, which is a historically e isting 5"ssian national transportation ro"te, starts appro imately at the beginning of ="ly& ,he na)igation season on the *-5 lasts thro"gh to the second half of *o)ember&

SHIPPING DATA
'/LTIC 01CH/N#0
Market snapshot: 1100 GMT Dry Index BDI 1316 Capesize Index BCI 2 0 "ana#ax Index B"I !$% &'pra#ax Index B&I 106! (andysize Index B(&I 632 -46 -6! -4 -22 -10

01CH/N#0 R/T0S
)e* +ork ,T'e C-s. /0n C'rren1y in 2&D Britain ,"o'nd. 13662$ Canada ,Do--ar. 03$063 China ,+'an. 031611 4'ro 133%$4 India ,5'pee. 03016% Indonesia ,5'piah. 030000!! 6apan ,+en. 0300$643 )or*ay ,7rone. 0316%1 "hi-ippines ,"eso. 030224 "o-and ,8-oty. 033306 5'ssia ,5'9-e. 0302! &in0apore ,Do--ar. 03%$41 2kraine ,(ry:nia. 030$0$ 2&D in /0n C'rren1y 036013 131034 632062 03%2 0 $3$2 0 11314300 1033%000 3$!3 443%400 330200 3 30%% 132 $2 1130030

HI-TECH Rene2able biofuel reduces emissions 2it$out $am&erin! en!ine &erformance

,he latest tests cond"cted by the Maritime Administration 3MA5A84 ha)e pro)ed that renewable diesel f"el red"ces emissions witho"t hampering engine(s performance& ,he tests of ad)anced renewable biof"el technology were cond"cted onboard the training ship -tate of Michigan&

,he MA5A8 statement stated that the tests compared )ario"s aspects, incl"ding operational, )ibration and air emission differences between reg"lar "ltralow s"lf"r diesel 309-84 f"el and a A>D%% blend of 09-8 and Amyris 5enewable 8iesel 3A584 f"el, which is deri)ed from s"gar& ,he st"dy determined that A58 red"ced air emissions witho"t any significant difference in engine(s performance& ,he pro+ect was part of a MA5A8 initiati)e to cond"ct @at sea@ tests of ad)anced renewable f"els and assess its impact on the ship(s engine&

0niram launc$es ne2 &roduct for LN# sector

7niram 9imited has la"nched another f"el'sa)ing prod"ct based on the established 7niram )essel platform& While formally la"nching the prod"ct, the company(s 62 marketing said that 7niram 6essel 2erformance Manager 362M4 is a comprehensi)e energy management tool& ,he 62M will allow "sers on 9*! carriers to analyse and track the total energy efficiency of their )essel in real time& @With 62M a deep and complete "nderstanding of a )essel(s energy management is now possible& ,his is a ma+or shift in the ind"stry, yet 62M for 9*! is only a first step for 7niram; as today(s gas carriers, with co"ntless comple systems, are among themost ad)anced pieces of floating engineering mar)els in the world,@ he added& @We belie)e that thanks to o"r "ni:"e data platform, 7niram is the only player right now in the ind"stry who is tr"ly able to make sense of all this,@ the 62 said&