Mozambican fishing vessel pirated The Mozambican flagged Fishing Vessel VEGA 5, which was previously reported missing by her owner, is now confirmed as being pirated in the waters between Mozambique and Madagascar.On 31 December, the vessel was spotted near the Mozambique coast, approximately 200 nautical miles South West of the Comoros Islands, heading north. The vessel was towing what looked to be a pirate attack skiff and did not respond to any calls. There has been no further communication with the vessel. The FV VEGA 5 has a displacement of 140 tonnes and a length of 24 meters. The nationalities of the 14 crew members are unknown.Source: EU NAVFOR

USCG bulletin regarding proper maintenance The US Coast Guard issued a bulletin reminding owners, operators, and masters of the importance of ensuring proper maintenance of systems, equipment, and components. A commercial vessel recently suffered a partial propulsion failure. Investigation revealed that the companys Safety Management System and the vessels Maintenance Management System had both failed to include a line item for routine changing of lube oil filters, even though such maintenance was required by the associated equipment manual. Lessons Learned 04-10Source: USCG

All 207 passengers aboard have been safely evacuated Two people have died after an engine room fire on a Norwegian cruise ship and nine have been taken to the hospital, Norwegian police confirmed Thursday.The two killed are believed to be crew members, a spokeswoman for Sunnmore police district told CNN. There were 55 crew on board the ship, MS Nordlys.All 207 passengers aboard have been safely evacuated and taken to a hotel in the town of Alesund, operator Hurtigruten ASA said. They are of various nationalities.The local fire department was working to put out the fire, the operator said.The cruise ship was operating on a popular tourist route from Norway's second city, Bergen, to the small town of Kirkenes in the country's far northeast when the fire broke out, forcing the vessel to stop at Alesund, CNN affiliate TV2 reported.Alesund, a town of some 40,000 people surrounded by fjords, is 226 kilometers (147 miles) north of Bergen.The cause of the fire is under investigation.Hurtigruten staff in Alesund are booking guests on to alternative vessels or making arrangements for them to travel home, the company said.The 400 foot-long Nordlys, built in 1994, has 475 berths for passengers and can carry 45...

Marine Notice by The Republic of Marshall Islands The purpose of this Notice is to provide an outline of essential procedural steps to safely carry out simulated launching drills of free-fall style lifeboats.These steps are general in nature, and the lifeboat manufacturers instructions should always be followed before conducting simulated launching.To view more, click hereSource: Republic of the Marshall Islands

DMA issues casualty report about accident to a seafarer The Division for Investigation of Maritime Accidents/Danish Maritime Accident Investigation Board has published a report about accident to a seafarer.While preparing for departure a ship's assistant fell from the gangway. The lifting wire to the gangway got stuck in one of the stanchions and in an attempt to loosen it the ship's assistant fell approximate 5 metres to the pier. The Casualty Report can be read here.Source: Danish Maritime Authority

Urgent action is needed to protect biological diversity in the high seas and deep sea States meeting at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York agreed this week that urgent action is needed to protect biological diversity in the high seas and deep sea.WWF welcomes this announcement and congratulates the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC), a coalition of 70 organisations working together to protect cold-water corals and vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems. WWF praises their efforts in keeping the pressure on high seas bottom trawling nations and reporting on the performance of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) whose role is to implement previous UNGA fisheries resolutions. Resolution on sustainable fisheriesA new resolution on sustainable fisheries calls on high seas fishing nations and RFMOs to fully implement resolutions previously adopted by the UNGA to protect deep-sea ecosystems and species from the harmful effects of bottom trawling and other methods of deep-sea fishing."It's critical that the UNGA continues this level of oversight with regard to deep-sea life lest it become a case of 'out of sight out of mind'. The planet's largest biosphere remains the least protected and the most in need of international attention," said Matthew Gianni of the DSCC.The resolution...

Eugen Maersk

The worlds largest marine Emissions Control Area (ECA) has been approved by the International Maritime Organization Ships operating in waters off the North American coasts will be forced to use dramatically cleaner fuel and technology. The move is likely to make it easier for the EU to designate ECAs in European waters.The IMOs decision last month to approve the ECA proposal came in the shortest possible time, just one year since it was first proposed. It means ships visiting American and Canadian ports will have to use fuels with a sulphur content of no more than 1,000 parts per million from 2012, and be fitted with advanced emissions control technologies starting in 2016.If properly enforced, the new rules are expected to reduce sulphur content in fuel by 98%, which in turn will reduce particulate matter emissions by 85% and nitrogen oxides by 80%.The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the benefits will extend hundreds of kilometres inland, bringing nearly five million people relief from acute breathing problems by 2020, and avoiding 8,300 premature deaths each year. This is a change that will benefit millions of people and set in motion new innovations for the shipping industry, said Lisa Jackson of...

Training toolkit produced jointly by ETF and ECSA Joint ETF and ECSA initiative targets seafarers and shipping companies to tackle bullying and harassment practices in the sectorToday, the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) and the European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA) are organising a conference in Brussels to present the outcomes of a joint social partners' project that aims to eliminate workplace harassment and bullying in the shipping sector. The project produced a training package that addresses the maritime community at large for making efforts to raise maximum awareness on how to identify and effectively fight against bullying and harassment practices, which continues to be an issue in the sector.At the final conference, organised in the Husa Hotel President Park in Brussels, experts from the ILO (International Labour Organisation), the European Parliament and Commission officials and representatives from the two sides of the industry, union leaders and shipowners, will debate the issue in a panel discussion and exchange views on how to ensure effective follow-up in the European shipping industry. Around 100 sector representatives are expected to attend and can participate in the debate via a Q&A session.Philippe Alfonso, ETF Political Secretary and project's coordinator: "Bullying and harassment remain a problem...

EU Naval Force female officer measuring distance from replenishment ship at sea on De Ruyter (Photo Credit: EUNAVFOR) If you were able to fly on board an EU Naval Force warship at sea to look at how it conducts counter piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia, the navy pilot that flies you on board may be a women, the officer of the watch 'driving the ship' across the Indian Ocean may be a women, the operations officer coordinating the military response to a group of armed pirates at sea, may be a women, the sailor dragging the ropes across the deck as the ship prepares to enter port to replenish food and stores may be a women. Like their male counter parts, women have, since the start of Operation Atalanta in December 2008, been making a significant contribution to the European Union's mission to tackle piracy off the Somali coast. If you were to speak to the many women of the EU Naval Force, who come from different EU nations, wear different ranks on their shoulders and carry out different roles, the one thing that they would say is that they don't want to be judged by their gender,...