Issue No. 360 29 September 2008
Pirate attacks
Another week and yet another pirate attack. This time a Ukrainian ship was captured at the weekend and the pirates must have had quite a surprise to find the hold full of 30 T-72 tanks, together with other weapons. It does not appear that the ship was targeted because of its cargo, in fact, although the weapons will no doubt fetch a high price, it will prove almost impossible to dispose of the tanks without alerting authorities to the identity of those behind the piracy operations. In addition to the cargo, the pirates have seized the 21 seafarers on board the Belize-flagged 1978 built 10,932 dwt ro-ro FAINA. According to a BBC news report, the pirates have demanded a USD20million ransom, but are apparently now surrounded by 3 warships. One seafarer has been reported to have died of natural causes.
Earlier in the week Lloyd’s List reported comments made by Commander Keith Winstanley of the Royal Navy’s Coalition Task Force 150. He was responding to criticism from some quarters that the force was not doing enough to combat the pirates. He pointed out that with 40-50 ships they cannot all be concentrated on the Gulf of Aden and he urged that the merchant shipping industry should look to the private sector for security while transiting this dangerous area.
Beware of cargo crime
A recent report in Lloyd’s List has highlighted the problem of global cargo crime which is estimated to cost between USD 25 billion to USD 50 billion per year. The Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) organised a conference in Amsterdam where some of the issues were highlighted and case studies were put forward. A recent example was that of a truck driver who, using inside knowledge, had obtained loading instruction documents. These documents were forgeries, but with these, he managed to persuade the cargo handler that the container in question was due to go on a truck rather than on a barge as planned. The truck driver then left with a container load of Playstations and nobody was arrested. Traditionally, many criminals targeted high-value air freight, but there are worries that the criminals involved will turn their attention to the ocean freight sector.
Dangers of asphyxiation
Yet another case of death by asphyxiation has been reported by the MAIB. In this tragic case, which happened in January this year near the Dover Strait, the Latvian cargoship, SAVA LAKE was en route from Copenhagen to Leixoes laden with parcels of steel turnings. This cargo is liable to self-heat which reduces the amount of oxygen in the hold. A flexible bellow piece fitted adjacent to the ventilation fan had been cut. The decreased amount of oxygen in the air led to the asphyxiation of the 2 seafarers when they entered the forward store. It is not known why they entered this space, nor why no precautions were taken. The MAIB has published a flyer highlighting the safety lessons learned which can be found on the MAIB website :-
www.maib.gov.uk/cms_resources/Sava_Lake_flyer.pdf
United States : proposed changes to discharge permits for incidental discharges from ships
After a challenge in the US courts, it has now been held that “incidental” discharges from ships need to be covered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permits rather than be exempted from the Clean Water Act as had previously been stated.
The new rules are scheduled to come into force on 18 December 2008 and there are steps that vessel operators can take to prepare for compliance :-
1. Download a copy of the Notice of Intent and determine which discharges are applicable to their vessel.
2. Review existing monitoring, sampling and record-keeping requirements used for these wastes, such as Oil Record Books, ISM requirements etc.
3. Advise all vessels of these requirements and ask for any questions to be raised in good time for the December deadline.
The rules are complex and as there are 28 regulated discharges it is strongly recommended that Members study the requirements and all the supporting documents and explanations which can be found at the EPA website www.epa.gov/npdes/vessels/