NL MARITIME NEWS

NL MARITIME NEWS

A NewsLink service for Dole Colombia International maritime news for seafarers

Thursday, March 14, 2013 Headland SatNews

NATIONAL

EC urges member states to improve maritime policy

The European Commission (EC) has urged all EU member states to better prepare maritime policies in an attempt to encourage investment in the growth-enhancing maritime and coastal activities. The EC also asked the European countries to protect marine and coastal eco-systems. According to the Commission, the European governments require proper policy so that the maritime space could be utilised equally for different activities. "And to achieve the target, better co-ordination of spatial planning and coastal zone management between member states are also needed," said the EC in a proposal that was published on Wednesday. The Commission also advised the EU countries to prepare a common European framework that could assure consistent application of maritime spatial planning and integrated coastal zone management. Commenting on the issue, a senior, the EC official said that the main aim of the maritime spatial planning would be to maintain a balance among competing sectoral interests to efficiently and sustainably use maritime space and resources. According to him, the countries should make decisions on the basis of reliable data and thorough knowledge of the marine environment. The official stressed that EU countries should also enhance legal certainty for investors and encourage economic development. He, meanwhile, said that as per the proposed directive, EU member states would have to map these activities in maritime spatial plans; otherwise it would be difficult to make more efficient use of the seas. The EC official is of the opinion that coastal management strategies should be developed for co-ordinating measures across different policy areas to be applied to activities in these zones. The EC's proposal, according to him, will ensure that economic activities factor in the protection of natural resources at an early stage. It will also help tackle risks related to climate change and natural hazards to which coastal areas are extremely vulnerable.

Malta ratifies MLC

Malta has become the 34th country and 12th EU member to ratify the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC). As per the convention, the European country has agreed to take the necessary measures aimed at ensuring decent working and living conditions for around 1.2 million seafarers. It will also create conditions for fair competition between ship-owners. Malta's permanent representative in the UN, John Grech, said that his country, despite being a small archipelagic state in the Mediterranean, has always considered the shipping industry an important sector for economic development.

SAFETY Stowage and securing containers

Planners at the loading terminal and the ship's officers should ensure that both the stowage and securing requirements of the Cargo Securing Manual are complied with. The Cargo Securing Manual should provide planners and ships' staff with the information required to ensure that both stowage and securing are carried out properly. This is aimed at ensuring that the forces acting on the ship's structure, the container lashing system and the structure of an individual container do not exceed design limits. The ship's Master and officers should exercise due

ICS updates 'Flag State Performance Table'

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The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) launched its latest version of "Shipping Industry Flag State Performance Table" on Wednesday. In a statement, the ICS confirmed the news, saying that main aim of the new table is to encourage ship-owners to hold dialogue with their flag administrations for ensuring safety of the seafarers and the environment. According to the statement, the table will also help create decent working conditions. Director (External Relations) of ICS Simon Bennett said that the 2013 ICS table included some new Flag States, which would soon become popular with ship-owners. According to him, the table also included data that could be regarded only as potential positive indicators. "The absence of a couple of positive indicators is probably not very important. But if a flag is lacking a large number of positive indicators, then ship-owners might want to ask serious questions," said Bennett.

diligence to make the ship seaworthy, which includes ensuring thatcontainers are stowed and secured so as to prevent damage to the ship or to other containers, even if stowage and securing is the responsibility of the charterer under the charterparty. Ships officers should not allow loading to commence until a stowage plan or equivalent information for the relevant under-deck or on-deck area (bay) has been provided, even if a final stowage plan is not available. This will allow time for an inspection as to whether the stowage is correct and stack and tier weights are within the allowable limits. As loading continues, any changes made by the planners to the initial stowage plan should be notified to the ship's officers, who should also note any changes to the actual stowage. If any problems with the stowage plan are noticed, especially when stack or tier weights would be exceeded, the ship's officers should bring these to the attention of the stevedores and terminal planners so that the stowage can be rectified.

Dorset hosts workshop on coastal pollution

Source: NEPIA Dorset, a county in South West England on the English Channel coast, recently hosted a workshop on coastal pollution. Speakers concentrated mainly on the procedures to tackle coastal pollution incidents. Reports suggest that the Maritime and Coastguard Agency organised the two-day workshop. Talking to the local media, Emergency Management Officer of Dorset County Council Nigel Osborne said that the city council recently introduced a course for environmental staff after an oil spill killed hundreds of seabirds on the south coast of England, including 200 in Portland, in January. According to Osborne, council staff will take part in a training programme to learn how to deal with oil spills, clean beaches and use equipment, like floating booms, in emergency situations. Osborne told the British media that coastal pollution was "always a risk", as around 126,000 vessels with 354 million tonnes of hazardous cargo use the English channel every year. Top officials and representatives of Dorset's local authorities, the Environment Agency and Natural England participated in the workshop.

COMMERCE Ahead steady for drybulk, new tankers on order

The dry bulk cargo sector market has kept its steady upward momentum during the week ending as more freight become available, according to industry sources. On Wednesday, the industry benchmark Baltic Dry Index (BDI) was up by ten points, posting a 'promising' 875 points. The steady recovery is reportedly being led by the Capesizes, which, although unchanged on Wednesday at 1,314 points, gained an impressive 11% in charter rates in just one day on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Lion Shipbrokers reported that there is a "light breeze of optimism" over the shipping community as more operators believe that the worst has probably passed, and that 2013 will not be so challenging businesswise. Due to this, the second hand vessel sector is seen as "very active" as ship values remain strong and resilient. Fearnley's shipbrokers said that in the VLCC market, some owners continued to show some resistance that paid off a couple of ws-points for east destinations. On their part, it was a bit quiet as only two Aframax product tankers reported. A tanker company was said to have signed deals for a total of USD 99.5 million for two

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114,000-DWT tankers to be delivered in 2014. Still another tanker operator has placed an order for two MRs with HMD to be built at a yard in Vietnam, valued at USD 29 million.

SECURITY Australia rescues 77 after asylum boat sinks

A naval vessel has rescued 77 asylum-seekers to safety after their boat broke up on its way to Australia. The Australian rescue authorities said on Thursday that nobody was missing. The boat was spotted on Wednesday afternoon by an Australian border protection plane on a routine patrol 60 nautical miles north of Ashmore Island in the Indian Ocean, with a number of people in the water. Three more aircraft, three merchant vessels and an Australian Navy ship were dispatched immediately to the scene. In a statement, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said: "A short time later, the crew of the Navy vessel reported to have recovered 77 people from the water." It added that an aerial search found no one else. "Following interviews with the survivors, crewmembers of the Navy ship are confident to have rescued all the people onboard the vessel when it broke up," said an AMSA spokeswoman. She, however, told the media in Canberra that no distress call was received and AMSA had no information of the nationalities of the survivors. "We have limited information at the moment. We don't know what caused the boat to break up but bad weather could have been a factor," she said. Australia is facing a steady influx of asylum-seekers arriving by boat, many of whom use Indonesia as a transit hub, paying people-smugglers for passage on leaky wooden vessels after fleeing their home countries. Hundreds have died making the treacherous journey over the past few years. The AMSA said that survivors of the latest sinking had been taken to the remote Australian territory of Christmas Island for processing. (AFP)

LEGAL Indian PM demands Italy return marines for trial

Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh demanded on Wednesday that Italy return two marines accused of killing a pair of fishermen in 2012 or face unspecified consequences, deepening a diplomatic dispute between the two countries. The Indian government allowed the marines to return home in February to vote in the National Elections and celebrate Easter with a promise from the Italian ambassador that they would return to stand trial. Italy announced on Monday that it would not send them back. The dispute, along with allegations of bribes and kickbacks in a USD 750 million helicopter deal between India's military and an Italian defence company, has badly damaged bilateral relations. In India, angry politicians have attacked the government for allowing the two Italians to leave the South Asian country in the first place, and they demanded retaliation. "I want to make it clear that these actions of the government of Italy are not acceptable," the Indian PM told the Parliament on Wednesday. He said: "They violate every rule of diplomatic discourse and call into question solemn commitments given by the accredited representative of a sovereign government to our Supreme Court.'' He told the House that Italy's actions were damaging bilateral relations which were built on trust. "Our government has insisted that the Italian authorities respect the undertaking they had given to the Supreme Court and return the two accused persons to stand trial in India," he said. Dr Singh added: "If they don't, there will be consequences." (AP)

WORLD TRAVEL Moldova

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Travellers, who want to spend their holidays with red wine, should visit Moldova. The small European country is popularly known as the true hidden gem of the continent. In 2013, Moldova is one of the top 10 Eastern European destinations to visit. The country, popular for its vineyards, beautiful natural scenery and old Sovietstyle architecture, is situated in the contact zone between different cultural and historic trends, such as Carpathian-Balkan, Central-European and Eurasian. While the northern, eastern and southern parts of the country are surrounded by Ukraine, the western part is separated from Romania by the Prut River. The best time to visit Moldova is from July to October. In January 2007, Moldova established a visa-free regime for the US, Canada, Japan, Switzerland and EU countries. As a result, visitors from these countries can make frequent trips to Moldova. Foreigners can enjoy wine tours not only in the capital city of Chisinau, but also in other major towns, such as Cricova, Purcari, Ciumai, Romanesti, Cojusna and Milestii Mici. As far as the main attractions in Moldova are concerned, those are National History Museum, Muzeul Memoriei Neamului, Capriana monastery, Hancu monastery, Noul Neamt monastery, Saharna monastery, Milestii Mici (winery), Central Chisinau and Old Orhei. In Moldova, visitors should also pursue leisure sports, like biking, caving, horse riding and kayaking, apart from drinking red wine. Biking in Moldova's rolling hills and picturesque landscape, with woodlands, vineyards, villages, and farms, will be a memorable experience in true sense. Hora, a massive public bike ride in the country, starts at the Great National Assembly Square Streets and then proceeds through the city on closed off streets of Chisinau. Caving will also be enjoyable, as Moldova has a number of caves, like the "Cave of Surprises" near Criuleni and the Emil Racovita Cave near Criva village in Briceni District. Horse riding is possible only at the Sparta Equestrian Club in Budesti outside of Chisinau. For travellers, local farms breed Orlov Trotter horses. And if you are interested in kayaking, visit the Nistru River where you can enjoy the sights and sounds of nature on the peacefully flowing river. Foreigners can easily catch a Chisinau-bound flight from any major cities across the world. Chisinau International Airport is the main airport of Moldova. There is another airport in Kishinev.

SHIPPING DATA
BALTIC EXCHANGE
Market snapshot: 11:30 GMT Dry Index Capesize Index Panamax Index Supramax Index Handysize Index BDI BCI BPI BSI BHSI 875 1314 1138 903 490 +10 +0 +7 +14 +4

EXCHANGE RATES
New York (Wed Cls) Fgn Currency in USD USD in Fgn Currency

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Britain (Pound) Canada (Dollar) China (Yuan) Euro India (Rupee)

1.4927 0.9735 0.1608 1.2961 0.0184

0.6699 1.0272 6.2186 0.7716 54.3810 9690.00 96.0400 5.7425 40.5600 3.1900 30.8060 1.2486

Indonesia (Rupiah) 0.000103 Japan (Yen) Norway (Krone) Philippines (Peso) Poland (Zloty) Russia (Ruble) Singapore (Dollar) 0.010413 0.1741 0.0247 0.3131 0.0325 0.8009

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