Looking ahead Safety fears raised at conference on navigation trends 21
Make spaces safer How can industry cut death toll in enclosed spaces? 22-23
NL nieuws Vier pagina’s met nieuws uit Nederland 34-37
Volume 49 | Number 04 | April 2016 | £3.50 €3.70
DFDS gets new ships Channel capacity with the F addition of two former MyFerryLink DFDS has boosted its cross-
vessels, which entered into service on the Dover-Calais route last month after refit work at the Damen yard in Dunkirk, pictured left. The 33,796gt Côte des Dunes and the 33,940gt Côte des Flandres have increased the company’s crossChannel fleet to six ships, with up to 30 daily crossings between Dover and Calais, and 24 between Dover and Dunkirk. Work carried out by Damen on the two ships included new livery, extensive interior renovations, and new facilities for commercial drivers. The yard also drydocked the three ‘D-Class’ ferries — Dover Seaways, Dunkerque Seaways and Delft Seaways — overhauling propulsion, stern and bow thrusters, rudders, and engines.
Insurers warn on depth data risks Union endorses concerns over growing hazards posed by outdated hydrographic information
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Nautilus International has backed a report from a major maritime insurance firm which calls for urgent action to address disturbing shortcomings in vital hydrographic information in many parts of the world. Research published by the London-based broker and risk advisor Marsh warns that accurate bathymetric data is inadequate or non-existent for vast areas of national and international waters. Many busy shipping routes — including parts of the Channel — have not been re-surveyed since lead-line soundings were used to measure fathoms nearly a century ago, the study notes. The lack of reliable data is posing an increasing threat to safety in the era of ‘mega ship’ services,
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it warns. ‘Having ever more valuable and complex cargoes sailing through areas of the world where the salvage industry is illequipped to handle such large casualties is a concern for operators, insurers, salvors and environmentalists alike,’ it adds. Former seafarer Steve Harris, now VP of Marsh’s global marine practice, said International Hydrographic Office data showed that only 49% of UK coastal waters up to 200m have been surveyed to modern standards. The figure is just 35% in Australia, 20% in Nigeria, 25% in Panama and 46% in Japan. The picture is even worse in other parts of the world, the report notes. In Bermuda, only 1% of coastal waters have been adequately surveyed, and 95% of Arctic waters — increasingly used by cruiseships and cargo vessels
— have either not been surveyed to modern standards or not surveyed at all. However, Mr Harris stressed, the performance of some countries puts others to shame. The US has surveyed 75% of its waters to modern standards, India has a 100% record, and Germany, Spain, China, Singapore and Iran are all on 90% or more. Marcus Baker, chairman of Marsh’s global marine practice, said ships should not assume that established trading routes are safe. ‘They may have been safe up to now, but as we have longer, wider ships drawing a greater draught, there may be a false confidence,’ he stressed. ‘The known safe depth for the navigation of many is only as good as the draught of the largest, deepest vessel ever to have used it.’
The report warns that the dangers will increase as larger ships will transit the widened Panama and Suez Canals, and with the increasing use of electronic charts that are based on questionable bathymetric information. ‘There is an over-reliance on technology, and my concern is that ship’s officers believe what they read when they see officiallooking charts,’ Mr Harris said. ‘The fact is, we are not altogether sure how accurate that data is in all circumstances.’ The report — titled Plumbing the Depths: Hydrographic Concerns for Modern-Day Large Vessels — calls for governments to show more urgency in tackling the threat by investing more in systematic hydrographic surveys and collaborating to conduct far more extensive bathymetric sur-
veys of international waters. Mr Harris suggested that the International Maritime Organisation could use its new flag state audit powers to check whether countries were meeting their SOLAS Convention responsibilities to collect and provide hydrographic data. He said shipping companies should also share the bathymetric data collected by their ships, rather than regarding it as commercially sensitive information. Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson welcomed the report. ‘The surface of Mars is mapped more accurately than the coastal waters of Earth,’ he pointed out. ‘Investment in hydrographic surveying to 21st century standards not only improves safety but if made openly available can add significantly to a country’s GDP.’
Inside F College calls
Nautilus takes its message to the new generation of British officers — page 19 F Knocked for six?
US seafaring union questions research into six-on/sixoff watchkeeping safety — page 20
F Voluntary work
Maritime training and community service charity seeks new recruits — pages 30-31
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