SAFETY4SEA Team

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Troop Training

Irish troops are training 2,000 soldiers to help fight Somali pirates who have plagued international shipping. The five Irish soldiers, who include a member of the Army Rangers, are giving the Somali troops the skills to fight effectively. They are carrying out the training at an army base in Uganda which is considered safer than war-torn Somalia.The EU training mission for Somali forces was set up following a decision earlier this year to make the commitment as part of the security and defence policy brought in under the Lisbon Treaty. It is the first time the existence of the mission, which began in February, has been publicly revealed.Commandant Ronan Corcoran said one of the key aims was to improve the fighting skills of the troops so they could tackle the activities of Somali pirates on land.Until there is security on the ground, they cant be security at sea because these pirates have to come back into ports, he said.EU-NAVFOR, the European Union Naval Force, is protecting shipping off the coast of Somalia from piracy. The Somali troops are being taught how use AK-47 assault rifles in built-up areas and how to counter improvised explosive devices.Source:shiptalk

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ClassNK President and Chairman Noboru Ueda Assumes IACS Chairmanship

ClassNK President and Chairman Noboru Ueda Assumes IACS Chairmanship Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) Chairman and President Noboru Ueda assumed the role of Chairman of the IACS Council today. The IACS Council is the apex decision making body of IACS, the International Association of Classification Societies. Mr. Ueda was elected to the new position during a meeting of the IACS Council in Hamburg last week. As the new chair society of IACS, for the next year, ClassNK will also chair the IACS General Policy Group (GPG), which is responsible for the deliberation, revision, and adoption of IACS technical standards.Following his election by the IACS Council, Chairman Ueda offered his thanks to previous chairman Dr. Hermann Klein for his leadership, and then gave a brief policy speech outlining his three main goals for his term. Excerpts of the speech are given below:1. Provide a greater contribution to the maritime industryAs the IMOs Technical Advisor since 1960, IACS has always been at the forefront of change in the maritime industry. As the demand for new safety and environmental regulations continues to grow, now more than ever before, IACS must provide leadership for the maritime industry. Every one of our members is working to...

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Wind Both Blow

Wind Both Blow BP has been thrashed by political tempests and market turbulence since its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico became the worst environmental disaster in US history. But its the prospect of a real live storm that is really worrying the financial and scientific experts alike, as Hurricane Alex swirls its way towards the south US coast.This particular hurricane the first of the brewing season is likely to avoid hitting the slick directly, but winds could sprinkle more oil inland. The states are now reporting 413 miles of oiled shore, up from 179 miles this week after a re-appraisal of what constitutes pollution in Louisiana. BP is hoping to have plugged the leak by mid-July or August, but the risk that a hurricane will spread the millions of gallons already lurking in the ocean will remain until November, when hurricane season is over.The risks are not limited to further contamination, as storms also jeopardise current clean-up efforts and the struggle to stop more oil spewing into the ocean.For now, the collection of 25,000 barrels of oil a day from BPs leak is safe. But the bad weather has now stymied any efforts to increase the amount captured...

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Call To Arms

India has called for the fullest cooperation among the SAARC countries to combat terror coordinated action that could include real-time intelligence sharing. India has called for the fullest cooperation among the SAARC countries to combat terror coordinated action that could include real-time intelligence sharing.The meeting of the interior ministers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) also decided to consider Pakistans proposal for creating SAARCPOL, an institution on the lines of Interpol.Underlining the serious security situation in South Asia, Home Minister P. Chidambaram exhorted the eight SAARC members to share information on potential terrorists and planned acts of terrorism.The increasing threat of terrorism poses a major challenge to the maintenance of peace and security and adversely affects economic development in our region, Chidambaram said at the conference here.We can all undoubtedly agree that the South Asian region is faced with a serious security situation, he said.Home ministers from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan and the Maldives, besides India and Pakistan, participated in the conference to focus on security and counter-terror cooperation among the countries.Stressing that only the fullest cooperation will enable SAARC countries to effectively tackle the grave threat of terrorism in our region, Chidambaram asked whether...

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Antifreeze Heist

Pirates hijacked a ship carrying a poisonous chemical used in antifreeze off the northern tip of Somalia and took the 19 Chinese sailors onboard hostage, officials said. The Singaporean-flagged Golden Blessing was seized inside the internationally recommended transit corridor in the Gulf of Aden that is patrolled by the anti-piracy naval coalition, said Lt. Col. Per Klingvall, a spokesman for the European Unions anti-piracy force.All 19 crew are reported to be safe, he said. The ship was reported to be on its way from Saudi Arabia to India.Klingvall said the 14,445-ton chemical tanker was carrying a cargo of glycol ethylene which is used in antifreeze when it was captured approximately 60 miles (95 kilometers) off the northern Somali coast. The vessel was moving toward the Somali coast after the hijacking.Pirates rarely steal or damage the cargo of the ships they take, instead holding crews for multimillion-dollar ransoms. In 2008, pirates hijacked a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying 33 Soviet-designed tanks and crates of small arms but later released it after receiving a reported $3.2 million.The ship hijacked Monday is owned by Golden Pacific International Holdings Ltd. and is chartered out to Shanghai Dingheng Shipping Co. Ltd.In a statement, the Singapore Maritime...

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Bureau Veritas launches Green Rating

New indices will compare the environmental performance of ships French-based classification society Bureau Veritas has introduced a Green Rating Composite Index which will provide charterers and regulators with a tool to compare the environmental performance of ships and will give owners a tool against which to assess environmental investment in the vessel.The move comes as IMO is developing its Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) as part of a strategy to meet anticipated changes to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. A Several major classification societies are working on competing indices which they believe meet a commercial need in addition to IMOs EEDI.BV says its Green Rating Composite Index builds on BVs international experience with rating the environmental performance of buildings and its research into new technologies to make ships more fuel efficient.BVs senior vice-president Didier Chaléat says: "To encourage the market to use the most environmentally-friendly ships, and to encourage owners and yards to invest in greener technology, we must have a clear standard to compare the environmental performance of ships. We have started two years ago with our Golden Pearls labels to allow cruise companies to show to the public the specific attention paid to environmental matters related...

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Revised Annex VI in force

New global and regional emissions caps now in place The more stringent regulations contained in the revised Annex VI (Regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL convention) enter into force today, 1 July 2010. This means the sulphur limit applicable in the current Emission Control Areas (ECAs), the Baltic and North Seas, has now been reduced to 1.00%.The main changes to MARPOL Annex VI will see a progressive reduction of SOx emissions from ships, with the global sulphur cap reduced initially to 3.50% (from the current 4.50%), effective from 1 January 2012; then progressively to 0.50 %, effective from 1 January 2020, subject to a feasibility review to be completed no later than 2018.The revised Annex VI allows for Emission Control Areas (ECAs) to be designated for SOx and particulate matter, or NOx, or all three types of emissions from ships, subject to a proposal from a Party or Parties to the Annex, which would be considered for adoption by the Organization, if supported by a demonstrated need to prevent, reduce and control one or all three of those emissions from ships.The limits applicable in sulphur...

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GL issues boxship EEDI certificate

German classification society claims container vessel certification first Hamburg-based classification society Germanischer Lloyd (GL) says it has issued the first-ever IMO Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) certification for a large container vessel, Hapag Lloyds Vienna Express.The news comes as other classification societies, including just this week Frances BV, are developing their own indices. GL, however, is working to IMOs voluntary EEDI guidelines, MEPC.1/Circ.681 and 682.In a statement GL says that the EEDI value achieved by the Hapag-Lloyd vessel is significantly better than the present average vessel of this size (based on Lloyds database), underlining the high energy efficiency of the vessels design.GL says that the EEDI certification shows that leading members of the maritime industry are actively pursuing measures to improve the energy efficiency of merchant vessels and thus reducing the CO2-emissions considerably.The classification society notes that IMOs recent focus has been on the EEDI which is intended to become a mandatory newbuilding standard. The EEDI compares theoretical CO2 emissions and transport work of a vessel (gCO2/(t*nm)) and will eventually be benchmarked against an IMO-set requirement.As a ships EEDI represents the basic energy efficiency of a design, it can be used as a benchmark within an operators fleet as well...

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Bureau Veritas to class unique powerships

Bureau Veritas to class unique powerships French classification society Bureau Veritas is to class three floating dual fuel power generation units.The self-propelled units are being converted from existing bulk carriers at Sedef Shipyard in Turkey. Each vessel features a MAN Diesel dual-fuel engine and generator suitable for natural gas or heavy fuel and can be plugged into national grids when required.The first powership has 144 MW generation capacity and the remaining two will have capacity of 180-220 MW. The project is being financed and designed by Turkish energy company Karadeniz Powership Co.Kerim Kiper, head of Bureau Veritass Turkish office said: We have just seen the first of this series of three vessels delivered and it is now in successful service in the Middle East Gulf. Two more powerships based on panamax bulkers are still under construction to our class at Sedef and will be delivered later this year.Source:bureau veritas

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Best Performance

Classification society RINA has been recognized by the Paris MOU as the best performing Recognized Organization in 2009. At its 43rd meeting the Paris MOU Committee approved the 2009 Port State Control inspection results for ships and adopted new performance lists for Flag States and Recognized Organizations. These lists take effect from1 July 2010 and show RINA as having the best performance in the high quality section of the list of classification societies.Ugo Salerno, CEO, RINA, says, It is good that the results of the rigorous inspection regime of the Paris MOU countries confirms what we already know that the owners who choose RINA class work hard to maintain the highest standards. We work hard to support those owners, not because we want to top any lists, but because we want our classed fleet to maintain a consistent high level of quality. That will become even more into focus when the Paris MOU begins to implement its Thetis project in 2011, under which all ships will be inspected and then those which meet certain standards will be free of inspection for a set period. High quality owners such as those who underpin this years MOU performance will benefit by seeing...

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