Nautilus Telegraph August 2015 by Redactive Media Group

The write stuff Cruiseship captain whose books aim to inspire children 19

Class action Inner city school is helping to shape maritime lessons 27

NL nieuws Drie pagina’s met nieuws uit Nederland 34-36

Volume 48 | Number 08 | August 2015 | £3.50 €3.70

Officer shortfall ‘may be easing’ Report says global supply gap has narrowed, but more than new 40,000 officers will be needed

The global gap between supply and demand for ships’ officers has eased, according to the results of a new study published last month. But Nautilus International has warned that owners and managers should not take comfort from the figures — with evidence showing that a large chunk of the current workforce is due to retire within the next decade. The annual report on worldwide manning trends produced by the maritime consultancy Drewry estimates the current supply of officers as 615,000 — meaning that there is a ‘nominal’ shortfall of around 15,000. The report suggests that the industry will need to find an additional 42,500 officers by the end of the decade to cope with the expected growth in the main cargo-carrying fleet — equivalent to 7% growth over the five-year period. ‘Between now and the end of 2019 our projections suggest that the shortfall of officers will remain more or less the same,’ the consultancy stated. ‘Training is no doubt part of the issue,’ it added, ‘but it is also about access to the right type of officers, with some grades more in demand than others.’ The London-based consultancy says there are signs that ‘the persistent shortage of officer crew is receding’ and that there has been a slight increase in numbers over the past 12 months — even though ‘political events in countries such as the Ukraine have had an impact on seafarer supply’. ‘The shortfall in officer supply naturally remains a concern for the industry, but the data in the report indicates that the situation has not deteriorated since the last assessments of supply and demand were undertaken,’ it added. The study found that owners have been managing to mitigate the shortfall by officers working longer tours of duty and spending

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MPs call for action to boost jobs signed a Parliamentary motion F urging the government to support More than 30 UK MPs have

the International Day of the Seafarer by introducing policies to improve the employment, safety and rights of ships’ crews. Tabled on the day before this year’s event by Lancaster & Fleetwood MP Catherine Smith, the Early Day Motion notes the importance of the shipping industry and voices concern over forecast shortages of skilled seafarers. The motion points out that UK seafarers now account for only 1.5% of the global maritime workforce, with numbers having declined by some 60% since 1982. It also notes that International Transport Workers’ Federation inspectors found 2,300 ships in breach of provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention last year.

Inside F Top ratings

Summit meeting seeks to ﬁnd a sound future for UK ratings — pages 22-23 F Records online

Crew lists from 1915 are put on show to honour ‘forgotten heroes’ — page 25 across the UK came together to promote A opportunities to work at sea, Warsash Maritime In a week when maritime organisations

Academy opened its doors and attracted more than 400 visitors to this year’s annual careers at sea open day. Pictured above greeting guests and demonstrating liferafts, are officer cadets less time on leave, although crew complements have remained relatively stable. ‘It is also the case that ships are getting bigger and larger ships provide more shipping capacity for the same number of vessels,’ the report notes. ‘This is also helping to ease some of the pressure on manning.’ Drewry says there is still a worldwide surplus of ratings, and their wages tend to be determined on the basis of International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) standard terms, while

William Hawke (standing), Patrick Pointon and Ben Ashley. Visitors journeyed from as far as Cornwall and Aberdeenshire to learn more about officer training, with school and college parties from University Technical College in Norfolk, London Nautical School, and Brune Park School, Gosport.

officers’ salaries ‘tend to be more market-driven’. ‘In absolute terms officer earnings in NW Europe remain higher than many other countries, but they remain subject to the same market forces,’ it adds. ‘In the current market, most shipowners cannot afford significant increases in wage rises and any increases which have been seen between 2014 and 2015 have been modest in nature,’ the report states. Malcolm Jupe, lead analyst at Drewry, commented: ‘There is still

Academy director Andrew Hair commented: ‘We are always pleased to see evidence from our open days that there continues to be a strong interest in pursuing a career at sea. This is supported with the feedback from the shipping companies of the high calibre of enquiries on the day.’

a shortage of ofﬁcers, but the gap between demand and supply has narrowed as the recent growth in ﬂeet size is coming to an end.’ ‘Manning is normally the single largest cost head in ship operations,’ he added. ‘Keeping these costs under control remains very important to all shipowners, especially when trading conditions are weak, as is the case in some of the key shipping freight markets — such as dry bulk carriers.’ Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson commented: ‘This is a very interesting report

and it will be fascinating to see if the findings are confirmed when the BIMCO/ICS five-yearly manpower report is published in a couple of months’ time. ‘While the pressures might have eased a bit, there are no grounds for shipowners to relax on recruitment and training,’ he stressed. ‘They are standing on the cliff edge in terms of the age profile in traditional maritime nations, while the demand for quality and experience is rising all the time.’

F Get in the frame

Don’t miss life at sea photo contest or the Union’s General Meeting — pages i-iv

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NAUTILUS AT WORK

Funding deal for new Hub homes

Fly the flag on MN Day to see the red ensign being F flown from public buildings and

Nautilus is backing a campaign

Nautilus Welfare Fund chairman Mike Jess, left, and Seafarers UK chairman Vice Admiral Peter Wilkinson sign the memorandum of understanding for the funding of the Seafarers UK Centenary Wing at the Trinity House Hub in the Mariners’ Park retirement complex Picture: Juli Van Breemen

On the Day of the Seafarer, 25 June, residents of the Nautilus Mariners’ Park retirement and welfare complex in Wallasey turned out to witness a formal signing ceremony that will help to provide new residential facilities at the 16-acre site on the banks of the Mersey. A memorandum of understanding for the development was signed by Seafarers UK chairman Vice Admiral Peter Wilkinson and Nautilus Welfare Fund secretary Mike Jess. The agreement will see the maritime charity providing £1.17m in funding towards the costs of a major extension to the Trinity House Hub, which was formally opened by the Princess Royal last year. The new Seafarers UK Centenary Wing will provide a further 22 single and double occupancy apartments for retired and elderly seafarers and their dependants, and is due to open by the late spring of 2017 — during Seafarers UK’s 100th year.

The additional apartments will meet a growing need for high quality housing for former seafarers and, with a 24-hour care staff team on-site, will be able to support ‘a balanced community’ of those with low, medium and high needs. Vice Admiral Wilkinson said the funding from Seafarers UK would meet just over half the finance required over the next two years to construct the new facilities. ‘The remainder of the funds will be raised by the Nautilus Welfare Fund, and we hope through local fundraising as well,’ he added. ‘Today marks the beginning of that process by hopefully helping to raise awareness of the project locally.’ Mr Jess added: ‘These extra 22 state-of-the-art apartments will boost the overall accommodation on offer at Mariners’ Park by almost 20% and will make a major contribution to meeting the needs of an increasingly elderly population of merchant mariners.’

landmark flagstaffs throughout the UK on Merchant Navy Day, 3 September. The Union is supporting moves by the charity Seafarers UK and the Merchant Navy Association to persuade some 400 local authorities across the country to fly the flag. The campaign has been endorsed by The Earl of Wessex and former First Sea Lord Admiral The Lord West, and Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson said he hoped members would also help by urging their local councils to sign up to the scheme. ‘It is an excellent way to raise awareness of the historic role of the MN and the continuing importance of shipping for an island nation,’ he added. g The Merchant Navy Fund has developed a guide to taking part in ‘Fly the Red Ensign for Merchant Navy Day’ — download from the website: www.merchantnavyfund.org

Inspectors warn on crews’ work hours Concern raised as checks reveal ‘worrying’ non-compliance with STCW rules

Nautilus has backed calls from port state control (PSC) authorities for more concerted action to enforce seafarers’ hours of work and rest rules. The calls came as the results of a coordinated three-month concentrated inspection campaign conducted in key areas of the world last year were presented to the International Maritime Organisation last month. During the special checks on compliance with STCW requirements, a total of 72 ships had to be detained in the Paris, Black Sea and Indian Ocean PSC MOU regions. Between 14% to 28.6% of ships were found with one or more work hour-related deﬁciencies. Reports submitted to the

IMO’s implementation subcommittee by the PSC authorities expressed concern that so many problems were identified when the concentrated inspection campaign had been highlighted many months in advance. Particular concerns were also raised about the significant number of ships operating a twowatch system with the master as a watchkeeper, and about the numerous cases where no bridge lookouts were being maintained. The most common deficiencies found during the inspections included incorrect recording of hours of rest, lack of daily rest hour records for individual watchkeepers, insufficient rest for watchkeeping personnel and failure to post watch schedules in an accessible area.

Concerns were also raised about the disproportionate numbers of problems found on ships over 25 years old, as well as the level of non-compliance with minimum safe manning documents. The reports recommend that PSC inspectors continue to ‘emphasise the vital requirements’ of the STCW rest hour rules when checking ships Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson welcomed the reports and, speaking on behalf of the International Federation of Ship Masters’ Associations, he told the committee that seafarers are often not given the resources, in accordance with the ISM Code, in order to comply with the STCW rules. Mr Graveson said the PSC

reports provided some worrying findings — especially in light of the Project Horizon research into the impact of excessive hours on the performance and alertness of seafarers. ‘It should also be noted that these inspections related to the STCW requirements, rather than those set by the Maritime Labour Convention,’ he added. z Port state control authorities have produced proposals to target substandard flag states and classification societies. The IMO’s implementation sub-committee was presented with the findings of criteria identifying eight poorly performing class societies, with a recommendation that the information is used to advise flag states when authorising recognised organisations to act on their behalf.

Ex-seafarer elected as new head of IMO have extended a welcome to F the new leader of the International

All sides of the shipping industry

Maritime Organisation — former South Korean seafarer Lim Ki-tack, pictured right. Mr Lim beat candidates from Denmark, Cyprus, the Philippines, Russia and China to win the vote last month to serve an initial four-year term as the new secretary-general of the specialist UN agency. Mr Lim gained a nautical science degree from Korea Maritime University, and also holds a master’s in political science and in maritime

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safety administration. He served at sea with Sanko Shipping and joined the Korea Maritime & Port Administration in 1985, going on to hold a number of posts at the South Korean embassy in London before becoming president of the Busan Port Authority in 2012. ‘As a maritime professional with lifetime experience in a wide spectrum of maritime trades including seafaring, international maritime regulation and port operation, I believe I have the competence to serve IMO for its brighter future,’ he said.

International Transport Workers’ Federation president Paddy Crumlin welcomed the news and added: ‘Mr Lim’s experience of safety issues will also be important and we trust he will remember the human element — the seafarers — in every IMO technical discussion.’ Kuba Szymanski, head of the ship managers’ association InterManager, added: ‘The role of the IMO was never more important than it is today, and the appointment of a new IMO head with the experience and knowledge that Mr Lim has is crucial to it continuing its important work.’

Top team: Nautilus communications team members take the honours at the TUC trade union communications awards

Nautilus wins TUC top comms prizes two top awards in the UK TUC’s A annual competition for the best trade Nautilus International has won

union communications. The Telegraph took the top spot in the main category for best journal or magazine, and the website www. nautilusint.org — launched in December last year — won first prize in the best website section. Judges described the Telegraph as a worthy winner that was ‘outstanding in every respect’ and with a good mix of news, job opportunities and ‘engaging’ features. ‘With its fine production values it looks and reads like a professional mainstream journal and is a fine advert for the union,’ they stated. The Union’s new website was praised for its accessibility options and varied content. The judges said the

low-bandwidth version designed for shipboard viewing typifies the site’s ‘member-centred feel’. Nautilus also won second place in the one-off publication category for its maternity and paternity guidelines. The judges praised the clear layout and good signposting, along with the clear advice for members. General secretary Mark Dickinson said the awards were a tribute to the hard work and dedication of the Union’s communications team. ‘To take the top awards for both the Telegraph and the Nautilus website is a tremendous achievement for the Union,’ he pointed out. ‘It is, however, a team effort not only within the department but also within the Union itself,’ Mr Dickinson added. ‘We all should feel extremely proud.’

Maritime lobbies link up behalf of the maritime clusters F in London and the Mersey met last

Two organisations lobbying on

month to discuss ways in which they can work more closely together. Maritime London chairman Lord Mountevans and chief executive Doug Barrow spent the day in Liverpool meeting counterparts from Mersey

Maritime. The day included a tour of Liverpool2, the new £300m deepwater container terminal due to open at the end of 2015. Key topics of discussion included addressing the maritime skills gap and developing new career routes for apprentices — especially in marine engineering.

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NAUTILUS AT WORK

Minister urged to act on skills Training numbers are falling short, Nautilus warns new shipping minister

Nautilus International has met the new UK shipping minister, Robert Goodwill, who was appointed following the general election in May. Topics covered during the hour-long meeting at the Department for Transport headquarters in London included the budget for Support for Maritime Training (SMarT), the UK tonnage tax link to training, the future of the UK Ship Register, job losses in the offshore support vessel sector, and staffing and resources for the Maritime & Coastguard Agency. ‘We were pleased to have the chance to sit down with the minister at this crucial time for the British maritime sector, and we welcome his evident interest in the points that we raised,’ general secretary Mark Dickinson said. The Union told the minister that current officer cadet intake levels are insufficient to reverse a growing seafaring skills gap — which will see the UK short of around 5,000 deck and engineering officers by 2021. Mr Dickinson told the minister Nautilus wants to see improvements to the SMarT scheme and the tonnage tax training requirements to increase the number of cadets and to improve their employment opportunities after gaining their first OOW certificate. ‘The contribution that SMarT makes is now less than 35% of training costs, when it used to be worth at least 50%,’ Mr Dickinson said. ‘We believe that companies would train more if SMarT made it more cost-effective for them to do so.’ Doubling cadet numbers would not only help to avert the looming crisis posed by the large number of officers due to retire over the next decade, but would also bring significant economic benefits, he added. Mr Dickinson pointed out that there is no shortage of young people interested in seafaring careers and when companies do offer training opportunities the number of applications far exceeds the number of vacancies. Increasing the number of ‘homegrown’ seafarers should be supported by measures to

MEMORIAL DEMAND: relatives of some of the estimated 4,000 people who lost their lives when the troopship Lancastria was torpedoed off France in June 1940 are calling for the UK government to ensure that the vessel is designated an official war grave. MPs are also calling for the government to release all the documentary evidence, much of which was suppressed at the time of what was Britain’s biggest ever maritime loss of life, without further delay. RESCUE COURSE: the Human Rights at Sea charity has launched a new e-learning course to help address ‘a significant knowledge gap’ in the shipping industry on the rescue of migrants at sea. Developed in conjunction with the training provider Marlins, the course aims to provide masters, officers, crew and companies with up to date information to prepare for search and rescue missions involving migrants and refugees. TRADE THREAT: the International Transport Workers’ Federation has warned that seafarers’ wages and conditions are at risk as a result of negotiations on a new global trade pact. It said leaked documents from the discussions on the Trade in Services Agreement showed that countries could undermine the minimum standards set by the Maritime Labour Convention. CLYDE CALL: politicians in Glasgow have called for the Scottish government to rescue the former Cunard liner from its ‘neglected’ state in Dubai and to return the vessel to the Clyde. Councillors say the ship could become a ‘magnet’ for Scottish tourism following the failure of plans to turn it into a floating hotel in the United Arab Emirates. CALAIS DISPUTE: officials at the UK port of Dover claim that a series of strikes by French seafarers protesting about the threat to the MyFerryLink operation have cost the UK economy as much as £1bn. DFDS has offered to take on 202 of the MFL seafarers, but this has been rejected by the SCOP Seafrance cooperative the crewed the ships. SPACE DEATHS: three seafarers died last month in the latest in a growing list of enclosed space accidents. The crew members were discovered by Malaysian rescue teams after the Vietnamese-flagged vessel Hi Ram sent a distress message while off Tanjung Penyusup last month. Two other crew members had also suffered breathing difficulties.

Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson, left, meets shipping minister Robert Goodwill last month

encourage more owners to use the UK Ship Register, he told Mr Goodwill. ‘We continue to be concerned about the failure to address the fact that two-thirds of UK-owned shipping operates under foreign ﬂags,’ he added. Nautilus is also alarmed by the impact of budget cuts on the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA), he told the minister. Shortages of surveyors threaten to undermine efforts to encourage more companies to use the red ensign, Mr Dickinson said. Mr Goodwill — who is MP for Scarborough & Whitby — told the Union he understands the concerns about the supply of UK

seafarers and said that the government’s decision to restore the SMarT budget to £15m was ‘a significant achievement in a climate of cutbacks’. The minister said he recognises the importance of maritime expertise to maintain the UK’s global lead in many City-based shipping services. He said he could also see a strong economic incentive to use well-trained officers to ensure safe and efficient shipping operations. Mr Dickinson said he welcomed the minister’s positive response to the points raised in the meeting. ‘We hope that the government’s Maritime Growth

Study will come up with measures to boost the UK flag and increase British seafarer employment and training when its findings are published in September, but this was a valuable opportunity to discuss some of the very important issues that affect the industry and its ability to compete in global markets. ‘We believe the case for further government action is clear, and that relatively small increases in support for the industry will deliver significant long-term benefits for employment and the economy,’ he added. g Warning on MCA cuts — see page 44.

Hopes that study will deliver industry boost measures to boost UK seafarer training and F employment will be tabled in September. Hopes are rising that a package of new

Nautilus is among a wide range of organisations which have submitted evidence to the Maritime Growth Study, set up by the government late last year to find ways of improving the international competitiveness of British shipping-related industries and services.

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The Union argued that forecast shortfalls in UK seafarer numbers present a major threat to the national maritime infrastructure, and that much more needs to be done to boost training and employment. It is expected that the results of the study will be published during London International Shipping Week — which runs between 7 and 11 September — and there are signs that it will address issues raised by Nautilus.

The UK Chamber of Shipping has described the study as ‘a once-in-a-generation opportunity’ and highlighted the need to safeguard the sector’s economic contribution. It has also been taking part in a UK flag advisory panel which has been looking into the reasons for the recent decline in tonnage on the UK Ship Register and will soon publish proposals for ways to make the red ensign ‘the flag of choice for quality owners’.

DREDGING DEAL: Dutch dredging major Royal Boskalis Westminster has been awarded a contract from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) of the UK Ministry of Defence to dredge the approach channel to the port of Portsmouth. The contract is worth €35m and work is due to commence in the second half of this year. BOXSHIP BLAZE: the Japanese Coastguard was called in last month after the Liberian-flagged containership Kamala suffered a fire in the East China Sea. The blaze began in one of the containers onboard the 2,0111TEU vessel and crew members had reported that they were unable to contain its spread. PORT AID: the Port of Cork has received almost €13m in EU funds for a €100m project to redevelop the port of Cork. The funding, under the Ten T — Connecting Europe programme, will support work including the construction of a new deepwater container facility at Ringaskiddy in Cork Harbour. CUBAN CONTRACT: MSC Cruises is set to become the first major passengership operator to permanently base a ship in Cuba. The company announced last month that its vessel MSC Opera will operate out of Havana from December. VISION EVENT: the Sea Vision organisation held an interactive maritime festival at Wyvern College in Hampshire last month as part of its programme to enthuse and educate young people about the maritime industry.

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NAUTILUS AT WORK

Navigation Service liaison C representatives Roy Potter and

Pictured above are Medway

Paul Smith, Nautilus industrial organiser Paul Schroder, and liaison representatives Richard Fearn and Jayne Betts. Mr Schroder met the reps and management at the Port of Sheerness to discuss the pay claim for members serving as VTS operators. During the talks the

company made an offer for a 2% increase in pay and, following the meeting, liaison reps discussed it with members who accepted it. In addition to pay, the meeting also discussed members’ concerns around annual leave entitlement and the company has committed to investigating this further. Once management have responded to Mr Schroder, he will inform members about the feedback.

Nautilus industrial organisers Lisa Carr and Paul Schroder are pictured with Red Funnel members during a recent series of ship visits to introduce Mr Schroder as the new official representing members at the company

CalMac is accused of lack of respect between the joint unions F and management at Caledonian Meetings have continued

MacBrayne over the controversial proposed pension reforms . Nautilus senior national organiser Ronnie Cunningham, national ferry organiser Micky Smyth and liaison officer Alex Forrest reminded the company last month that it had not shared answers to previously asked questions and management agreed to do so after this meeting.

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All unions taking part in the discussions stated that the company had shown a lack of respect to members by issuing revised proposals before further discussions had taken place. They also raised concerns about the proposed timescale of the proposed changes and highlighted the confusion which seemed to exist about the reason behind the reforms. Further meetings were planned to be held before the end of July.

To find out about advertising opportunities in the Telegraph contact: Jude Rosset T: 020 7880 6217 E: jude.rosset@ redactive.co.uk

Will you be part of the (credit) union? responded to the Union’s A request for expressions of interest in a More than 250 members have

proposed credit union. Many members have also indicated that their family would be interested in the proposals — meaning that a total of almost 600 people have expressed an interest in being an owner/member of the Nautilus scheme. Credit unions — described as not-for-external profit ‘community banks’ — are a well-established and ethical way to save money and access loans. They are run by members for members, which means there are no outside shareholders to pay and any profit is used to develop the credit union and provide a return to savers. The proposed Nautilus Credit Union will be a regular credit union, with the aim of providing members with an alternative to high street banks and other financial institutions for their personal finance needs — and, in particular, assisting with the costs of career development. The next stage of the process is for the Union to approach the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK for agreement to set up the Nautilus Credit Union. In order for the Union to be granted approval they need to demonstrate that there is sufficient interest in the scheme. Therefore all members who think they may consider investing in, or one day borrowing money from, a Nautilus members’ credit union, should respond to the online expression of interest as soon as possible. Completing the expression of interest form to be an owner/member does not commit members, to any financial outlay or obligation, but simply lets the Union know and anticipate the level of interest. Members are urged to ensure that they have registered their interest, in the scheme before the end of August. This information is needed so that the mandatory draft strategic business plan can be submitted to the regulators as a vital part of the authorisation process. The more members who complete the forms, the more likely the request will be granted. Members can complete the form online at www.nautilusint.org/en/ ncu/, links can also be found from the home pages of the English, Dutch and Swiss language sites and the form will be available in Dutch and Swiss languages shortly.

Zero inflation (CPI) inflation rate fell to 0% in A June, down from 0.1% in May, whilst The UK’s consumer price index

the retail prices index remained unchanged at 1%. The TUC said the figures were not enough to secure future living standards and showed that the stability of the recovery could not be taken for granted.

Union welcomes graduation of Ireland’s first ETO cadets graduation of the first group of F electrotechnical officer cadets from Nautilus has welcomed the

the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI), pictured above. It marks the first time in the college’s 10-year history that ETOs have graduated alongside navigational and engineering cadets The four-year ETO cadet training programme closely follows the International Maritime Organisation’s 2014 model course, and includes modules in electrical, electronics,

control and instrumentation, as well as trying to be as practical as possible and using actual ship systems as working examples. ‘It is particularly pleasing for Nautilus to see the ETO qualification — which originated at South Tyneside College and was adopted by IMO in STCW 2010 — being delivered to officer trainees of companies that appreciate the demands of technological change in shipping,’ said Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson.

‘For these graduates the future is theirs,’ he said. ‘More need to be trained by these companies, and those companies that do not train should start now.’ Course coordinator Ian Black added: ‘Such was the enthusiasm of these students that they also made a short video to promote the ETO course and career. They felt they wanted to give something back to the college.’ g The video can be viewed on YouTube by searching for NMCI ETO course.

RFA claim to target leave Nautilus submission looks at pay, bonuses and time off

Nautilus members, reps and officials attending the quarterly Royal Fleet Auxiliary meeting last month

Nautilus has begun the 2015 pay and conditions negotiations on behalf of members serving with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) with the submission of members’ aspirations. The detailed submission includes the maximisation of this year’s pay award within the constraints the RFA faces. These limitations will include the government’s recent Budget announcement that the public sector will face a further four years of pay increases limited to 1%. Nautilus is calling on the RFA to increase death in service beneﬁt to three times salary. There are currently some schemes that offer this — but the alpha, classic

and premium schemes only offer two years. The submission to the Commodore and the Pay, Policy and Conditions of Service team also reafﬁrms the Union’s longterm commitment to securing one-to-one leave ratios for members at the RFA. This includes a move to 90 days’ leave for 120 days onboard, a reduction in tour length from 2016, and maximum tour lengths of three months. The Union is also seeking action on a number of other issues, including bonuses and allowances, and the submission calls for wi-ﬁ broadband access on all vessels. Following feedback from

members, Nautilus is asking for the reinstatement of club class flights and the introduction/ reintroduction of first class rail travel, as well as an increase in uniform allowance and consultation on new uniform designs. National secretary Jonathan Havard is now waiting for a formal response to the submission. Mr Havard also met with RFA representative body members and management last month for a quarterly meeting, pictured above. The meeting discussed a number of ongoing issues, including the proposed public relations officer (PRO) positions being put forward as part of the communications role onboard all vessels.

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NAUTILUS AT WORK

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Successful series of HAL visits

FERRY RETURN: P&O Ferries’ European Seaway is due to return to the Dover route this month for the peak season. She will make eight sailings a day carrying freight traffic to free up other shortsea vessels on the route to carry tourists over the summer season. National secretary Jonathan Havard said that Nautilus will ensure that there will be no detrimental effects to the collective bargaining agreement covering members onboard.

continued their round of F member visits on Holland America

Nautilus International officials

Line (HAL) vessels last month, with meetings onboard Zuiderdam and Nieuw Amsterdam in Barcelona. On the first day they visited Captain Christopher Turner and the Zuiderdam crew — some of whom have been members of the Union for more than 25 years — to discuss the upcoming collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations. As well as meeting members and prospective members during the meeting, the Nautilus representatives toured the ship and met other members, especially those in the engine department, who had been unable to attend the meetings. On the second day industrial organisers Lisa Carr and Maarten Keuss, and senior assistant organiser Danny McGowan visited Nieuw Amsterdam and held a CBA meeting with Staff Captain Pieter Bant and crew, as well as visiting Captain Edward van Zaane. Ms Carr said the meetings were a great success, providing an opportunity for discussions on a wide range of issues, including concerns about some current working practices. Many new members were recruited to the Union across the two days, she added. HAL members who have not been able to attend any of the visits are still able to submit their aspirations for the renewed CBA and there will be another meeting at the Nautilus offices in Rotterdam on Tuesday 11 August. All members who are working on the HAL Beheer contract are welcome to attend. The HAL CBA negotiations are due to begin on Monday 17 August in Rotterdam.

NERC REVIEW: Nautilus industrial organiser Lisa Carr has reassured members employed by NOCS-NMFSS and serving onboard Natural Environment Research Council vessels that the pay and conditions review does not have to be concluded by 17 July, as previously stipulated by the company. Ms Carr said that the unions were still awaiting a final version of the offer, which will then be sent to members for consultation. LIGHTHOUSE MEETING: industrial organiser Derek Byrne is due to meet with Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) and other unions to discuss the 2015 pay and conditions claim. The NLB met the Department for Transport, requesting permission to award a pay rise outside of government guidelines and the meeting will receive feedback on the response to this claim. ORKNEY OFFER: following a number of meetings and revised offers, members employed by Orkney Ferries are now being consulted on a two-year offer including a 3% front-loaded pay rise and the provision for noncommittal discussions to be re-opened in April 2016 if there is a significant rise in RPI in the intervening period. HEYN REVISED: members employed by Heyn Engineering Solutions and serving onboard RV Corystes, overwhelmingly rejected the company’s revised pay and conditions offer for a 0.75% pay increase and increases to death in service benefit. Ms Carr has written to the company to try and seek an acceptable offer. FORELAND PARTNERSHIP: a partnership at work committee meeting was held with management at Foreland Shipping last month. The meeting discussed issues of concern including stores, training and expenses. The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 November.

TUC attacks plans to restrict unions

CEFAS CONSULT: members employed by P&O Maritime Services and serving onboard Cefas Endeavour had until Thursday 23 July to accept or reject the company’s 1.5% pay offer. As part of the negotiations the company has also agreed to investigate the possibility of improving internet connections onboard. BW REJECTION: members employed by BW Fleet Management have rejected the company’s offer of changes to technical provisions from 1 July 2015 and a 2% pay increase from 1 January 2016. Nautilus has requested further discussions with the company.

UK move to toughen up strike laws as Dutch court delivers ‘landmark’ ruling

The TUC has condemned UK government plans to tighten up laws governing strike action — warning that the proposals are ‘an unnecessary attack on workers’ rights and civil liberties that will shift the balance of power in the workplace’. The Trade Union Bill began its journey though Parliament last month and the new rules could come into effect as soon as next year — although many predict the Bill will be signiﬁcantly amended during both House of Commons and House of Lords readings. Under the proposed new law unions will need a turn-out of at least 50% of members to authorise industrial action and in the public sector 40% of those entitled to vote must support a strike.

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Trade unions will also need to give employers 14 days notice of strike action and allow them to bring in agency staff to cover for striking workers. TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said the restrictions ‘are not something you would expect in a country with a proud tradition of liberty’. ‘Getting a pay rise or defending terms and conditions will become far harder for working people,’ she warned. ‘Even when ballots meet the government’s new thresholds, employers will soon be able to break strikes by bringing in agency workers.’ Ms O’Grady said that online balloting, something Nautilus has been calling for to help members at sea participate in union

democracy, would be a far more effective way for ministers to improve workplace democracy. ‘However,’ she added, ‘they would rather silence protests against their cuts to children’s centres, libraries and social care services.’ z In contrast, in the Netherlands, the Supreme Court has delivered what is described as a ‘landmark’ judgement on the rights to take industrial action. It has overturned previous rulings that strikes and other forms of industrial action are only lawful if the action is taken as a last resort and after prior notiﬁcation. The court has determined that these two rules no longer apply as ‘stand alone’ requirements for lawful industrial action. Stefan

Sagel, of the law firm De Brauw who secured the ruling on behalf of trade union FNV, described it as a breakthrough. ‘A strike can now also serve as a warning in advance, before the negotiations are at a deadlock,’ he added. ‘Moreover, as the requirement of prior notification has been set aside as a formal requirement, unions can now resort more easily to more modern forms of industrial action, such as unannounced flash mobs.’ Industrial action can still be found unlawful by the courts if, taking all the circumstances of the case into account, that action has a disproportionate effect on the rights and freedoms of third parties, or general interests such as public health or safety, he added.

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15/07/2015 18:51

06 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

OFFSHORE NEWS

shortreports

North Star takes last new D-class ship

MARKET WARNING: offshore support vessel operators need to address over-supply problems, a new report has warned. Fearnley Offshore Supply AS said last month that the number of ships in lay-up is increasing — with more than 50 idle in the North Sea alone as a result of lower exploration activity and rig fleet utilisation. ‘The market is out of balance when it comes to supply and demand. Even with the entire rig fleet working, we would have a surplus of support vessels,’ it stressed.

delivery of the last in a series of A eight emergency response and rescue North Star Shipping has taken

vessels (ERRVs). The D-class IMT-950 Grampian Devotion forms part of a £110m investment programme, which will come to an end next year with the launch of two F-class IMT-958 multirole ERRVs, Grampian Fortress and Grampian Freedom. Pictured following the delivery in Aberdeen are, left to right: Grampian Devotion master Captain Malcolm Trott; Craig Group chairman and managing director Douglas Craig; and North Star Shipping MD Callum Bruce. Since 2003, Craig Group has invested a total of £350m in 26 new vessels for North Star Shipping. The company’s fleet, which now stands at 38 vessels, includes a mix of platform supply, tanker assist, ROV support and ERRVs, and supports more than 50 installations in the UKCS.

TECHNIP TALKS: Nautilus was due to meet Technip management late last month to discuss the likely impact of the company’s restructuring plan. The company is seeking to make savings of €830m, cutting its global workforce by approximately 6,000 and reducing its fleet to 23 vessels. National secretary Steve Doran says he hopes the impact on Nautilus members can be kept to a minimum. NKOSSA CONSULT: members serving with Maersk Offshore onboard Nkossa II are being consulted on the company’s ‘full and final’ offer of a 1.5% pay increase. National secretary Steve Doran said management had refused to improve the package despite ‘robust’ arguments from partnership at work delegates during the meeting. FARSTAD CONTRACTS: Farstad Shipping has agreed a series of new contracts which will put some of its laid-up vessels back into work. Far Spica is to begin a 14-month contract in the UKCS in August, Far Sagaris is to operate a two-year contract in Brazil, while Far Solitaire has a project on the Norwegian continental shelf. MAERSK SALE: AP Moller-Maersk has sold the Danish-based safety and support vessel owner Esvagt to two private equity funds in a US$610m deal. Esvagt — which was founded in 1981 to ease unemployment in the fishing industry — operates 43 vessels and has been sold to 3i Infrastructure and AMP Capital. BIBBY TECHS: following the rejection of a pay freeze by members employed by Bibby Ship Management as dive techs on the DSV agreement, industrial organiser Derek Byrne has met management to seek an improved offer. A formal response was awaited late last month. BIBBY CREW: industrial organiser Derek Byrne has also met Bibby Ship Management to discuss the rejection of a pay freeze by members employed as marine crew on the DSV agreement.

Supply vessel hit jack-up rig DP officer sent for re-training after cargo transfer crash

Concerns over the safety of offshore support vessels have increased following another incident involving a PSV collision with a drilling rig leg. A series of accidents has led to warnings about levels of skills and experience in the sector. In the latest case, a DP2 type vessel lost its position-keeping ability while undertaking deck cargo transfer operations at a self-elevating three-leg jack-up platform in 25-knot winds and 3.5m waves. A Marine Safety Forum report notes that the vessel was pushed out of position after being struck by a large wave. ‘As the DP System responded to this position and heading change, the vessel came back toward the rig, overshot her

position and collided with the aft starboard leg of the rig,’ it adds. ‘It was concluded that the ofﬁcer of the watch had missed several early warning signals that should have driven his decision process to move away from the rig to either settle the DP sensors, or wait until the weather conditions had decreased,’ the report states. However, it points out, later signals from the rig that he was too close, and communications with the deck crew about the amount of spray and water on deck, as well as the fact that he had to change the ship’s ballast to hold station, were likely to have been too late to avoid the collision. The safety ﬂash says resulting recommendations and action include retraining of the DPO

and quarterly DP drills to be conducted using the simulation mode built into the system. The forum has also issued another safety alert following a man-overboard incident on an ERRV daughter craft during a routine operation in good conditions. The boatman was uninjured by the fall, which occurred as the daughter craft was being recovered from the water, but the report notes that he had failed to secure his safety harness and the deck crew had lowered the davit wire without checking that the man was secured. It was considered that a slide rail securing system would have been used if ﬁtted, and all daughter craft in the ﬂeet have now been retro-equipped.

North Sea accidents reduced be made in the management F of major safety hazards in the UK Improvements continue to

offshore sector, operators have claimed. The annual Oil & Gas UK health and safety report shows that the total number of hydrocarbon releases is at its lowest ever level, and that the nonfatal injury rate for offshore workers has continued on a declining trend. The report notes that the sector has a lower level of personal injury rates than many other industries, including construction, transport, manufacturing, health, retail and education. The trade body reported that effective search and rescue helicopter cover for offshore workers in the central North Sea had been a major milestone for the sector. It also welcomed the introduction into UK law of the EU Offshore Safety Directive – describing it as the ‘single biggest shake-up of offshore health, safety and environment management for a decade’. The report notes a growing backlog of safety-critical maintenance, although it says work was delayed on the basis of ‘robust’ processes.

Operators welcome Budget tax changes welcomed last month’s Budget, F which included a commitment to UK offshore operators have

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06_offshore.indd 6

a 2% cut in corporation tax and a broadening of the types of project qualifying for the Investment Allowance. Oil & Gas UK chief executive Deirdre Michie said the moves would support competitiveness in the sector, alongside the commitments already made by industry to address the current challenges. ‘With continued signs that investment in the UKCS is falling rapidly, it is vital the scope of the Investment Allowance encourages all forms of productive investment if it

is to provide the strongest engine for growth,’ she added. ‘There is increasing evidence that big strides are being made to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of operations, and we would like to acknowledge the continued commitment of the government to provide a competitive tax regime as part of the shared objective to maximise economic recovery from the UKCS.’ However, Ms Michie also called on the government to continue with a programme of fiscal reform and to start promised consultations on further measures to support exploration.

has successfully completed data collection for a geochemical coring A campaign in the Caribbean during its maiden voyage. The US-flagged geophysical survey vessel Fugro Americas, above,

The 1,340gt vessel was deployed on the survey immediately after leaving the construction yard in Louisiana in April, and is said to have delivered results beyond expectations. The 59m shallow-draft ship was custom-designed for Fugro and is optimised for working in the Gulf of Mexico, and is capable of carrying out services including high resolution geophysical and light geotechnical surveys in water depths of up to 4,500m.

15/07/2015 18:57

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 07

NEWS

Tall ship training plan for cadets Trinity House and Jubilee Sailing Trust unveil joint programme for seatime

Trinity House and the Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST) have launched a new cadet training scheme which will see cadets gaining some of their sea time onboard a tall ship. Matt Banks, who begins a foundation degree in maritime studies in September, has become the first cadet selected for the joint three-year programme. Matt has sea in the blood, as his parents met when they worked onboard a cruiseship and his deck officer father would sometimes take his son to sea with him. Alongside his studies with Warsash Maritime Academy, Matt will gain practical experience onboard the Tenacious, the UK’s largest square-rigged sail training tall ship. As part of his Trinity House cadetship, he will also gain sea time on a number of different types of ships, including tankers, containerships, ferries and cruiseships. ‘I shadowed a deck officer on Ventura a few years back and that solidified my aims to work at sea,’ he said. ‘I decided to take up this new opportunity with Trinity House and the JST as I have always enjoyed adventure and learning all the rigging and workings of a tall ship, and the team-work

Trinity House secretary Cdr Graham Hockley, Tenacious master Captain Simon Catterson, deck officer cadet Matt Banks, and Trinity House director of maritime training Captain Nigel Hope

aspect of this type of ship really ﬁts my personality,’ he added. ‘Because the cadetship is with Trinity House I also get the opportunity to sail on a wide variety of ships before deciding where to ultimately work.’ The organisations believe that their new joint partnership will give cadets all the normal maritime skills they need, as well as additional training in the traditional arts of ship rigging, sail making and boat building.

The cadetship will be part of the Trinity House Merchant Navy Scholarship Scheme, which provides ﬁnancial support for young people seeking careers as ofﬁcers in the Merchant Navy. ‘We are thrilled to be welcoming such a promising cadet to the JST and thank Trinity House for their sponsorship,’ said Duncan Souster, chief executive of the Jubilee Sailing Trust. ‘This is a truly unique opportunity for everyone involved,’ he

Yard criticised for tank blast on UK-managed boxship managed containership suffered F serious injuries following an explosion A seafarer onboard a UK-

on the vessel while repairs were being carried out in a shipyard in China. The AB on the 1,102TEU Munich Trader suffered second degree burns, a slight eye injury and the effects of smoke inhalation when the blast occurred in a heavy fuel oil bunker tank in July last year. A welder from the yard fractured an arm in the accident. An investigation by the flag state, Malta, concluded that sparks from an oxy-acetylene torch being used by the

welder had ignited flammable gases in the tank, causing the explosion. The Maltese Marine Safety Investigation Unit report is critical of a lack of cooperation and information from the yard — which had claimed that a crew member using a power tool had caused the blast. Investigators said the seafarer had been cleaning the cross-deck at the time, in preparation for painting. The report also notes that language problems between the crew and the yard workers ‘severely hindered effective communication’ — leading to different interpretations

over the location of the hot work permit— and the limited extent of information–sharing meant the master was unaware of the full extent of the work being carried out. The report recommends that the UK managers of the vessel, Lomar Shipping, should ensure that yard selection procedures address potential barriers to the effective communication of risk and the management of safety onboard. Masters should ensure that they are made aware of all critical tasks and kept updated on any developments, it adds.

We are able to offer competitive, specially negotiated fares for all types of air travel, be it UK Domestic, European or Worldwide.

added, ‘and we hope to be able to build on this success and bring new cadets into the JST every year.’ Commander Graham Hockley, secretary to the Corporation of Trinity House, added: ‘The Trinity House Cadet Scheme always aims to give its members a broad experience of vessel types during their time at sea, and we are delighted that this programme will add tall ships to the range of vessels where our cadets can learn their profession.’

Union warns on ferry safety Seafarers union (UFS) has A questioned the performance of

The head of the United Filipino

the country’s maritime regulators following a fresh ferry accident last month in which 62 people died. Police have filed murder charges against the owner, captain and a number of crew of the ferry Kim Nirvana after ruling that the vessel made too sharp a turn before it capsized off the port of Ormoc in heavy swell conditions. But UFS president Nelson Ramirez said the national maritime authority Marina needed to answer questions about over-loading, lifesaving equipment, stability and the enforcement of safety rules.

Guard ship crew facing further ordeal in India F

Crew members serving on a counter-piracy vessel who have been held in India without trial for more than 18 months say they are ‘devastated’ by a Supreme Court decision last month ruling that they do have a case to answer. The 35 men — including six Britons working for a private maritime security company — were arrested by Tamil Nadu police on 18 October 2013 after the Sierra Leone-flagged Seaman Guard Ohio was accused of illegally entering Indian territorial waters with undeclared weapons and ammunition onboard and illegally refuelling at sea. Ruling in favour of an appeal by the criminal investigation department to press charges against the crew, the Supreme Court found that a previous High Court decision to quash all the charges was ‘illegal and erroneous’ and ordered a new trial to be completed within the next six months. Crew member Paul Towers told the Mission to Seafarers that the men were ‘devastated’ by the news — especially as they had been expecting to return home any day. ‘We are taking urgent advice to understand the reasons for our case being referred back to the original court who imprisoned us,’ he added. ‘[This follows] the decision that there were no charges to answer in

Paul Towers: ‘devastated’ by court ruling

July 2014. However, we were unable to leave India as our passports and belongings were retained by the court, and to that end we could not return home to our distraught families. ‘I cannot express any further the pain and agony this has caused to our families, friends and the charities who have supported us throughout this protracted nightmare,’ he added. Without their assistance we would be sleeping in the streets.’ The Mission to Seafarers has appealed to the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office to make urgent and immediate diplomatic intervention in the case.

Calls for piracy action risks of pirate attacks off the F coast of west Africa have been made Calls for action to combat the

at a special European Commission workshop in Brussels. Held in advance of a high-level conference on maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, the meeting considered issues including regional cooperation, capacity building and economic development of the coastal areas. Patrick Verhoeven, secretarygeneral of the European Community

Shipowners’ Associations, warned that shipping was not only directly affected by attacks in the area but was also vital to the region’s prosperity. ‘Regional specificities and different pirate practices mean that the solutions that have worked well in east Africa cannot simply be exported to the new piracy hotbed in the Gulf of Guinea,’ he warned. Mr Verhoeven said more can be done by raising maritime awareness and better coordinating the naval assets already deployed.

Crisis support scheme set up a special crisis response F scheme to support seafarers in need

The Sailors’ Society charity has

throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The project aims to provide a rapid response service to help traumatised seafarers after piracy attacks and other at-sea crises through a network of trained port chaplains in South Africa, Ghana, Madagascar, Mozambique and Reunion. Sailors’ Society South Africa CEO Revd Boet van Schalkwyk said the

24-hour service had been developed in response to an evolving trend in seafarer demand. ‘We were finding that traumatised crews were no longer being dispatched to Durban after their release, which raised fears that they were being repatriated before receiving front-line trauma counselling,’ he explained. ‘By making this resource available, we can meet this need for seafarers as near after an incident as possible.’

Staff employed in the marine industry, from crew and shore-based staff to spouses travelling to and from vessels, can make use of our extensive marine fare programme, while those seeking flights for other types of travel will benefit from our efficient and personal service.

07_news.indd 7

15/07/2015 18:01

08 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

LARGE YACHT NEWS

Thailand opens to charters

Steel-hulled fast first delivered by Heesen has delivered the first fast A displacement steel-hulled yacht over Dutch builder Heesen Yachts

50m — the 55m Azamanta, pictured right undergoing intensive sea trials in the North Sea. The yacht is powered by two MTU 12V4000M53 engines and during the trials, carried out in ‘moderate’ conditions and changing winds, Azamanta was said to have performed beyond expectations by exceeding the contractual speed of 16.5 knots and reaching 16.9 knots. ‘Propelling around 600 tonnes of

steel and aluminium at 15 knots with only 1,650kW of power, the yacht has proved to be a benchmark in terms of efficiency,’ the company said. Built for an experienced owner, Azamanta has an ice-reinforced steel hull and is designed to operate in a range of exotic locations, including high latitudes, with a range of 4,500nm. Azamanta’s hull form was developed by Van Oossanen in collaboration with Heesen Yachts’ in-house naval architects, with the exterior design by Omega Architects.

by Michael Howorth

for superyacht crew has been A developed as part of a regulatory A new system of special visas

Agreement advice Union guide to help yacht members comply with MLC

P Tunisian assurances

on marina security marinas has been stepped C up in an effort to persuade the

Security at Tunisian ports and

international yacht community that the country is still safe to visit. The country’s tourist industry is reeling from last month’s UK government advice that all British nationals should leave immediately. In the immediate aftermath of the 26 June beach attack on European tourists in Sousse, the British Foreign Office had merely advised vigilance, but by mid-July a warning had been issued that further atrocities were ‘highly likely’. The governments of Ireland and Denmark also issued advice that their citizens should evacuate, but not all European countries followed suit, and the Tunisian prime minister rejected claims that tourists were

at risk. He would do everything in his power to keep visitors safe, he stressed. Kim Williams, of Yacht Services Tunisia, said the firm’s management and staff would ‘continue to support yachting tourism by riding out this horrific incident, the same way we did during the Tunisian revolution; by reassuring yachtsmen that security has been greatly increased in Port Bizerte and Port Yasmine.’ Port Yasmine director Imed Mzoughi reported a sharp decline in reservations, but confirmed that the government and the marina had enforced measures to protect the marina and surrounding areas in a bid to save the rest of the season. g For the latest UK Foreign Office guidance, go to www.gov.uk and search for ‘Tunisia travel advice’.

New French tax fears recede tax on yachts cruising off France H have eased after a national assembly Fears of a ‘catastrophic’ new

vote to abandon the proposals. Under the plan, yachts would have been required to pay extra taxes for cruising in any of the 322 Frenchmanaged marine areas — totalling

around one-quarter of the country’s territorial waters — during the summer season. The European Council for Professional Yachting said a similar tax in Sardinia had resulted in yacht cruising being almost halved in the three years following its introduction.

Nautilus International has produced a simple guide to help yacht crew ensure that their employment contracts are in line with the requirements of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC). The two-page PDF — which can be found on the publications section of the Union’s website — is based on the advice that Nautilus International gives to individual members across the maritime industry who are about to sign a Seafarer Employment Agreement (SEA). The guide covers the written

statement required under a seafarer’s terms and conditions of employment, what happens in cases where the vessel owner is not your employer, what to look out for when signing a SEA, deductions for tax, national insurance or pensions, repatriation issues, and an overview of crewing agency responsibilities. The advice has been produced in response to evidence that problems with SEAs are one of the most common MLC-related deﬁciencies found during port state control inspections — together with hours of rest issues accounting

Ship’s officer injured while loading yachts that kept him off work for a F year after a 2.4m fall while loading

A ship’s officer suffered injuries

yachts onto his vessel in the UK port of Southampton. The chief mate of the 8,406gt general cargoship Norjan suffered multiple fractures to both ankles when he fell from a hatch cover as a cargo of privately-owned motor yachts was being loaded in June last year. He was acting as the cargo officer onboard the Antigua & Barbuda-registered ship at the time of the accident, with the operations organised by the specialist transportation company Peters & May, and overseen by one of its loadmasters.

The fall occurred after the officer went to the stern of a yacht, close to the unfenced edge of the hatch cover, after being asked by the loadmaster to check the alignment of the boat as it was being lowered into its cradles. In an interim report published last month, the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch said issues under consideration have included safe systems of work for the storage and securing of deck cargo, hazards associated with working on hatch covers, safety controls for work at height, the role and responsibilities of the loadmaster and the lines of communication between the ship and Peters & May. A final report is expected soon.

HOTLINE FOR YACHT CREW Nautilus has established a dedicated phoneline in Antibes to offer advice and assistance:

+33 (0)9 62 61 61 40 Nautilus International, in strategic partnership with D&B Services, 3 Bd. D’Aguillon, 06600 Antibes, France.

08_yachts.indd 8

for around 90% of the casework. Nautilus recently staged a seminar on the requirements of the MLC for members in the yacht sector. This heard that the enforcement of the Convention has been particularly strict in Antibes recently, with a number of vessels that had been detained for non-compliance. The guide is produced by the Union’s legal department for the beneﬁt of superyacht ofﬁcers and crew, but it is a summary and members are advised to contact Nautilus if they have any further questions.

package to enable foreign-flagged superyachts to operate charters within Thailand’s waters. Under the measures, which came into effect in July, yachts will be able to apply for licences that will be valid for 12 months from the first arrival date of the vessel. Yachts must be longer than 30m and have full hull and third party liability insurance, and a maximum carrying capacity of 12 guests has been stipulated. The new licences, which are to be issued by the Ministry of Transport, must be applied for through an appointed superyacht agent in Thailand before arrival. Processing is expected to take around 30 days, with the issue of permits commencing in September or October. The Thai government says it wants to keep costs low to encourage more superyachts to visit the country and to boost the local economy with investment in infrastructure such as new marinas and facilities. Adam Frost, MD of Seal Superyachts, commented: ‘This is an important decision for the [Thai] government, and the broader superyacht industry. Thailand is clearly extending a warm welcome to superyacht owners, with only a bare minimum of restrictions to be placed upon them if they wish to operate their charters here.’

Pendennis jobs boost staged a recruitment day last F month as part of a programme to

The Cornish shipyard Pendennis

take on 60 new workers following upgrading and expansion work at its Falmouth facilities, pictured above. Work carried out over the past two years has seen the shore-side buildings almost completely rebuilt, replaced by larger modernised construction halls, workshops and office space, along with two 90m and one 45m double bay halls. A 7,564 sq m non-tidal wet basin was also constructed, capable of accommodating superyachts for alongside berthing and refit work as well as supporting yacht commissioning before and after time

out of the water. The new basin was christened as the 65m schooner Adix moved in following the completion of an eight-month refit programme. Pendennis has now handled a record sized visitor, with the arrival of an 85.6m motor yacht, and the company says this record is certain to be broken as the new wet basin and the pre-existing dry dock can cater to vessels up to 110m. The company says the developments will safeguard 315 existing full-time jobs and create a further 60 in the next two years, with opportunities for engineers, plumbers, joiners, electricians, exterior outfitters and fabricators/ welders.

15/07/2015 17:17

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 09

NEWS

Fresh warnings on seafarer job scams ITF highlights warning signs after new spate of fraudulent recruitment ads

Warsash cadet awards P

Maritime Academy officer A cadets celebrated the end of their More than 150 Warsash

three-year study programme at the summer passing-out ceremony, held at Southampton Guildhall on 27 June. The cadets were each presented with ceremonial completion certificates by WMA director Andrew Hair, and a number of special awards were made. The 2015 deck cadet of the year prize went to Carnival UK cadet Constantin Stoica, above, and the marine engineer cadet of the year award was made to David

Barfoot, Clyde Marine Training for Wilhelmsen Ship Management, below. Other award winners included: z The Matthew Flinders Navigation Cup: Marianne Clapton, Chiltern Maritime for Trinity House z The Isambard Brunel Engineering Cup: Caroline Waldie, Royal Fleet Auxiliary z The John Milner Prize for Navigation: Justin White, Maersk Crewing z Commendation for Individual Achievement: Lauren Hookey, Clyde Marine Training for Red Funnel Group

Nautilus and the International Transport Workers’ Federation have issued fresh warnings to seafarers to beware of job ‘scams’ — especially those promising work in the cruise sector. The alarm has been raised again following a series of cases in which bogus recruitment agencies have been trying to extract money from seafarers thinking they are applying to reputable shipping companies. Some of the recent scams have involved companies purporting to be based in the UK, South Africa and Australia — and they often use different tactics to target the unwary. In one case last month, vacancies ranging from master to deck and engineer ofﬁcers, ratings and cooks were being touted

by a company claiming to be Folkestone-based Saga Shipping, offering monthly salaries of between £2,500 to £8,500, with ‘ﬂight expenses, accommodation, feeding and a monthly training on arrival’. It asked applicants to contact a +44 70 number — which, the ITF advises, are international redirects (usually to Nigeria) and often used for scams because they appear to be a UK number. In another recent case, a Ukrainian seafarer approached the ITF after he was asked to hand over US$600 for crewing agent services for a job onboard a bulk carrier but never received any ﬂight or embarkation details. Checks revealed that the ship was covered by an agreement signed with the Japan Seafarers’ Union, and that all its crew were from

Myanmar, with none recruited in Ukraine. Some of the scammers are using websites that seem legitimate, or use scanned-in logos and letterheads to give the impression they are genuine recruiters. Both Nautilus and the ITF have been reporting the cases to the authorities and to the genuine shipowners, and members are urged to provide any evidence of similar cases. The ITF says job hunters should always check directly on company websites to see if vacancies are available. ‘If an offer sounds too good to be true, it usually is,’ it stresses. ‘Any website or advertisement guaranteeing a job onboard but requiring the payment of a fee is a scam, since the International Labour Organisation (ILO),

through the Maritime Labour Convention, clearly states that seafarers should not have to pay any agency fees to obtain employment,’ it adds. ‘This goes for all positions, since every person working on board a cruiseship is a seafarer, regardless of whether they work in the deck and engine or the hotel and catering departments.’ Other warning signs include: unsolicited job offers that arrive by e-mail; mentions of ‘agency’ or ‘registration’ fees; payments for a medical examination, visa, passport processing or bank transfer; payment of money direct to a local bank in order to join a ship; payment to have your job application or CV circulated to prospective employers; websites that invite you to post your CV for free; and spelling mistakes.

€6m funding agreement secures future of DFDS Scottish freight ferry service ro-ro ferry link to continental F Europe has been secured under a new The future of Scotland’s only

Female first at Celebrity Captain Kate McCue as the first F female US master of a cruiseship.

Celebrity Cruises has appointed

A graduate of the California Maritime Academy, Capt McCue is to take command of the 90,940gt Celebrity Summit this month. The Maltese-flagged vessel presently operates cruises between the US east coast and Bermuda. Capt McCue said she was honoured

to take on the role. ‘Becoming the first female American captain of a cruiseship has been a goal of mine for as long as I can remember,’ she added. Celebrity paid tribute to her ‘15 years of successful experience and leadership in the maritime industry’ — including serving ‘as a maritime leader while sailing several transatlantic and repositioning cruises’.

agreement signed by DFDS Seaways, the Scottish government and Forth Ports last month. The Rosyth-Zeebrugge route has been threatened with closure after DFDS warned of the adverse impact of extra costs involved in switching from heavy fuel oil to meet the European sulphur emission limits introduced in January this year. Under the plans agreed last month, DFDS Seaways and Forth Ports will invest more than €6m in scrubber technology and a fuel optimisation programme for Finlandia Seaways, the Lithuanian-flagged ship used on the service. The project also includes infrastructure adjustments at the

Rosyth terminal, which will boost capacity on the 11,530gt vessel. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the agreement and said the Scottish government is committed to examine further ways of improving the service. ‘The Rosyth to Zeebrugge freight route is a vital link for Scotland’s economy and hugely important for the large number of customers who use it to get their goods in and out of the country,’ she said. DFDS route director Stein van Est added: ‘We are very pleased with the investment programme as it will secure a long-term perspective for the Rosyth-Zeebrugge route and enable companies to continue to use a direct, environmentally friendly means of transport between Scotland and the Continent.’

Finlandia passes under the iconic Forth Bridge Picture: Bruce Peter

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15/07/2015 18:52

10 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

NEWS

Call for owners to act on ECDIS rules UKHO offers advice about updated standards for electronic chart displays

Nautilus has welcomed a set of updated electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS) standards, due to be published by the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) this month. The technical standards govern the display of Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs), and the UK Hydrographic Ofﬁce (UKHO) is urging shipowners to speak to their ECDIS manufacturers about the changes. Most notable, says the UKHO, is the updated presentation library within ‘S-52’ — the standard responsible for the portrayal

of an ENC on an ECDIS screen. The UKHO says the safety and integrity of the data it provides is of paramount importance, and it wants seafarers to be able to see all the information provided — whether it is on an Admiralty paper chart or as an ENC. ‘However, without the latest presentation library (version 4.0) this won’t be the case with an ENC,’ it stresses. The UKHO points out that the IHO has listened to feedback from seafarers, with the new presentation library addressing the ‘number one complaint levelled at ECDIS; constant audible alarms. By providing clear guidance to

manufacturers on ENC objects that will raise an alarm, the IHO has tackled the issue of alarm fatigue on the bridge,’ it adds. Information such as fairway and anchorage area names now appear on screen, with landmarks, lights and buoys viewable via a ‘hover-over’ function. Both initiatives reduce the time-consuming need to ﬁnd information buried in a pick report, the UKHO notes. Existing ECDIS systems will have to be upgraded to the latest presentation library within 12 months. Tom Mellor of the UKHO is chair of the IHO’s ENC working

group. He said owners should take prompt action to plan for the transition to the new standards. ‘The upgrade requirements will vary between different ECDIS makes and models, so it is important that owners work together with their ECDIS manufacturers to identify the steps that need to be taken for all ECDIS systems across their ﬂeet,’ he added. Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson commented: ‘This is sound technical advice. However, it would carry more authority if the UK did not have one of the worst surveyed waters in the western world.’

As looks ex etur into sumqui Project ‘drone’ ships volume sam

CHIRP board meets at Cammell Laird secretary Allan Graveson A was among the members of the Nautilus senior national

Confidential Human Incident Reporting Programme’s (CHIRP) maritime advisory board, pictured above during a visit to the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead last month. Maritime director Captain John Rose commented: ‘The maritime advisory board tries to visit sponsors when opportunity arises, and our quarterly meeting was held in the board room at Cammell Laird. ‘Before the meeting, members from Nautilus, the Nautical Institute, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, Royal Navy, RFA, UK Marine Pilots Association, Honourable Company of Master Mariners, Port

of London Authority and Warsash Maritime Academy were shown around the yard,’ he added. ‘Everyone was impressed with the quality of work, cleanliness and layout of the yard and the strong evidence of a good safety awareness amongst the workforce, which now has an average of 42 years of age,’ Capt Rose said. ‘The building of sections for two new aircraft carriers and sections of the Astute submarines, along with repairs and maintenance of RFA and other customers’ ships, appears to be in very professional hands.’ Mr Graveson added: ‘What was particularly impressive was that 10% of the workforce are apprentices — demonstrating an investment in the future.’

Confidence levels slump in shipping launched in a drive towards A the introduction of ‘autonomous’

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crewless ships. The two-year Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications Initiative will bring a range of academic and industry experts together to look at ways to overcome some of the biggest obstacles to the use of ‘drone’ vessels. Supported by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, the project has been tasked with producing ‘the specification and preliminary designs for the next generation of advanced ship solutions’. Due to run until the end of 2017, the project will see universities, ship designers, equipment manufacturers and classification

societies investigate the economic, social, legal, regulatory and technological factors which need to be addressed to make autonomous ships a reality. It will examine the business case for autonomous applications, the safety and security implications of designing and operating remotely operated ships, the legal and regulatory implications, and the ability to deliver commercially applicable products in the short to medium term. The technological work stream, which will be led by Rolls-Royce, will encompass the implications of remote control and autonomy of ships for propulsion, deck machinery and automation and control, using, where possible, established technology for rapid commercialisation.

industry has slumped to a level F equal to the lowest rating recorded

Confidence within the shipping

in the past seven years, according to a new survey of owners, managers, brokers and charterers. Feedback gathered by the maritime accountants Moore Stephens shows the average confidence level within the industry was just 5.3, on a scale of one to 10, in May this year— compared with 6.8 in May 2008. The report revealed concerns about the length of the downturn affecting key shipping markets and pessimism over future prospects because of the mix of low charter rates and surplus tonnage in many sectors. Moore Stephens shipping partner Richard Greiner said the survey showed ‘the current volatility of

markets and the fragile nature of confidence in an industry where, little more than 12 months ago, it was at an all-time high’. He said there are also some grounds for optimism, with the volume of over-tonnaging being reduced and rates rising in some sectors. ‘There will always be a demand for shipping,’ Mr Greiner pointed out. ‘Moreover, given the high operating and regulatory costs involved, and the fact that the economic and industry downturn has already claimed significant numbers of weaker companies, the shipping industry is likely to be stronger than it has been for many years once the recovery does get under way. ‘In the meantime, it is just a question of holding one’s nerve.’

Virgin Group unveils cruise fleet plans Group has announced its longF awaited entry into cruise shipping Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin

— unveiling plans to build three new ships in Italy, each capable of carrying more than 2,800 passengers and 1,150 crew. Initial details of the Virgin Cruises

operation are limited, with the company stating that the ships will be based in Miami and will operate seven-night Caribbean itineraries. The 110,000gt ships will be built by Fincantieri, with the first one due for delivery in 2020. ‘It’s no secret that I’ve dreamed

of starting a cruise line for a very long time,’ Sir Richard said. ‘The Virgin Cruises approach will appeal to cruisers and non-cruisers alike and we look forward to delivering an experience for people who want a new way to cruise.’ Former Disney Cruise Line head

Tom McAlpin has been appointed CEO of Virgin Cruise. He commented: ‘There are people who understand why cruises are so compelling but haven’t found a home on the seas that suits them yet. We think we will be that — something different that will appeal to those young at heart.’

15/07/2015 18:31

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 11

NEWS

Cruiseship firms in EU warning

Shieldhall — the oldest F passenger cargo steamship still The Southampton-based

active in Europe — is pictured left celebrating her 60th birthday with a three-hour cruise on Sunday 5 July, following part of the route taken whilst in service with Southern Water in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Shieldhall was launched in July 1955 at the Lobnitz Shipyard on the Clyde and operated as a sludge carrier for the Glasgow Corporation for 21 years. Following five years of similar service for the Southern Water Authority, the vessel was bought by the Solent Steam Packet charity in 1988. Thanks in part to a £1.4m Heritage Lottery Fund grant, the Shieldhall has undergone a range of upgrade work and is presently running a series of excursions scheduled until mid-September.

for European countries to act to A address a ‘worrying’ downward trend

Cruiseship operators have called

in passenger numbers in the region. The number of passengers embarking on cruises from European ports dropped by 3.6% last year and the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) warned that thousands of jobs could be at risk if measures are not put in place to tackle the reasons behind this. ‘This downward trend in Europe as a destination is a result of the serious hurdles to growth, which if ignored risk leaving that potential forever locked up and risk stalling the year on year economic growth we have all worked hard to deliver,’ said CLIA chairman Pierfranceso Vago. ‘Europe needs to tackle them by implementing environmental legislation in a harmonised way, streamlining visa procedures, investing in coastal infrastructure, and improving port facilities,’ he added. CLIA said a record number of 6.4m European nationals booked a cruise last year and the industry’s economic output in Europe hit a new high of €40.2bn in 2014, with employment in cruise and cruise-related businesses rising to 349,000.

US passenger safety plans A

US politicians have tabled proposed new laws which seek to cut the number of incidents involving cruiseship passengers. The Cruise Passenger Protection Act of 2015 (CPPA) would introduce requirements for improved surveillance cameras and technology to detect people falling overboard, along with additional ‘sea marshals’ and stricter medical standards. The new legislation — which has been welcomed by the advocacy group International Cruise Victims — would also establish a free hotline for passenger complaints and would introduce new onboard crime reporting requirements.

‘Toxic’ market hits boxship operators Report calls for action to cut catastrophic containership over-capacity

A ‘toxic mixture’ of overcapacity, weak demand and aggressive pricing means that container shipping operators will struggle to make any proﬁt this year, a new report has warned. In its latest Container Forecaster report, the maritime consultancy Drewry warns that companies need to take radical and decisive action to cut catastrophic levels of over-capacity ‘which is now plaguing virtually all major trade routes’. At the start of the year Drewry forecast that container shipping carriers would collectively generate proﬁts of up to US$8bn in 2015, but it now warns that they will be lucky to break even this year and

that some lines will be back in the red by the end of 2015. Drewry says there is ﬁerce competition on many key routes and carriers passed cost savings from falling oil prices onto shippers in the form of much lower freight rates. The consultancy estimates that average global freight rates will decline this year at the fastest pace since 2011, when they plunged by as much as 10%. It said owners will struggle to continue reducing unit costs in line with the expected erosion in freight rates, as bunker prices stabilise. Each quarter brings another 10 to 15 ultra large container vessels into the market, it points out, and the consequent ‘trickle-

down’ of tonnage into the transpaciﬁc, Latin American and AsiaMiddle East services is blamed for depressing rates in those sectors. Drewry estimates that as many as 129 ships of 8,000TEU and above need to be placed across a number of routes in the second half of 2015. And it adds: ‘With the exception of the westbound transatlantic and Asia to Middle East trades, rarely have we seen so many major routes performing so poorly all at once.’ Neil Dekker, Drewry’s director of container shipping research, commented: ‘There are not enough good homes for ships of over 8,000TEU where they can be placed without doing some damage to the supply/demand bal-

ance. Ocean carriers do not want to idle these expensive assets. ‘The orderbook is starting to get out of control, with another 1.14m teu added since January,’ he warned. ‘Carriers’ emphasis on ordering so many big ships is starting to backﬁre and virtually all major headhaul trades are plagued by overcapacity. ‘We are entering a new era which will be dominated by big ships, and all ocean carriers need to be thinking of average headhaul trade route ﬁll factors of 80-85% as the norm, rather than 90% or more,’ he added. ‘They cannot keep adding capacity and expect there to be no substantial impact on unit revenues.’

$1.1bn order for Maersk Line fleet US$1.1bn order for nine new A 14,000TEU ships, to be built at the Maersk Line has placed a

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) yard in Korea. The 353m vessels will be flagged in Singapore and are due to be delivered during 2017. The contract — which is part of a $15bn investment programme —includes options for a further eight vessels. Maersk Line’s chief operating officer Søren Toft said the company had taken a new approach with the order, and the ships are designed with a versatile operational profile, capable of deployment on either east-west or north-south trades. ‘They will help us stay competitive and make our fleet more flexible and efficient,’ he added. The order is the third since Maersk announced its fleet investment programme in September 2014 and follows the seven 3,600TEU feeder vessels and 11 19,630TEU Triple-E vessels announced earlier this year. HHI has delivered more than 50 containerships to Maersk Line since 2002, including 22 4,500TEU WAFMAX vessels.

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15/07/2015 18:05

12 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

HEALTH & SAFETY

Royal opening for UK’s new national Coastguard centre pictured left with Coastguard F officers after officially opening the HRH the Prince of Wales is

UK National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) in Fareham last month, marking the start of a new way of working for the service. The NMOC is at the heart of a new national network that manages coastguard work around the UK coastline. It is the first point of contact for 999 calls relating to maritime or coastal emergencies, and has dealt with nearly 2,500 incidents since it went live in September 2014.

Collision is blamed on bridge misjudgements collided in thick fog off the coast A of Denmark in November last year

Bridge teams on two ships which

both misjudged the positions of their vessels, an investigation has ruled. The 37,258dwt chemical tanker Kraslava and the 8,864gt refrigerated cargoship Atlantic Lady both suffered minor damage in the incident, which occurred in the Drogden Channel. Investigators said both ships had assumed the other would position itself in the outermost part of the 300m wide channel, and at the time of the accident both were convinced

that the other was on the wrong side of the channel. It was only 13 seconds before the accident that one of the bridge teams had raised concern about the closequarters situation — and by then it was too late to avoid the collision, the report notes. The DMAIB said the incident showed the dangers of relying on assumptions about the actions of another vessel, and it also noted that steps are being taken to improve the safety of navigation in the narrow Drogden Channel.

Dutch study warns of seafarer safety risks taking ‘short-term’ pragmatic F solutions to dealing with risks onboard Seafarers need to beware of

their ships, the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) has warned. In the first edition of a periodic summary of shipping incidents issued last month, the Board expresses concern over the number of occupational accidents in the Dutch shipping sector and notes that investigations often highlight a lack of focus on personal safety among seafarers. The DSB said its background

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Interim report on ferry blaze onboard a DFDS ferry in which A three people suffered serious injuries Investigators assessing a fire

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say they are focussing on issues including construction and survey regimes. Two crew members and a fire-fighter were hurt as a result of a fireball while dealing with the blaze, which broke out in the furnace of a thermal oil heater onboard the French-flagged ro-pax Dieppe Seaways while alongside in the port of Dover last May. In an interim report published last month, the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch said it is concentrating on issues such as the construction of the oil heater, the associated survey regime and the fixed fire extinguishing systems in the compartment.

The centre also monitors vessels when asked, including those arriving from West Africa which may be affected by the Ebola virus. Eighty coastguards are already based at Fareham, and the number is expected to rise to 96. According to the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, all have been through an extensive training programme, including live exercises with lifeboats and coastguard rescue teams. MCA chief executive Sir Alan Massey said the new centre marked a huge step forward in the Coastguard’s ability to coordinate

effective rescues. ‘When the network is fully in place by the end of this year,’ he added, ‘both mariners and the general public will be able to count on an unprecedented quality of service from our excellent systems and highly trained staff.’ Of the 10 operation centres chosen to support the NMOC around the UK, Falmouth, Holyhead, Milford Haven and Humber are already on the new network, with Aberdeen, Shetland, Belfast, London Coastguard, Stornoway and Dover set to join by the end of this year.

Port state control change ‘pays off’ Risk-based inspection regime credited with 8% fall in detention rate in 2014

A new port state control inspection regime to target substandard shipping has paid off since it was introduced in 2011, the head of the Paris MOU on PSC has claimed. Secretary-general Richard Schiferli said the initiative to use a risk-based matrix to focus checks on ships and to reward good operators with fewer inspections has helped to cut the detention rate to a new low last year. Fewer substandard ships are operating in the Paris MOU region, he added, and an increasing number of ships have been banned from the region after being repeatedly detained. ‘Although it has become more difﬁcult for substandard ships to slip through the net, some continue to take their chances visiting our ports,’ Mr Schiferli warned. ‘These ships and their owners do not respect the international requirements and apparently have no intention of doing so. They continue to pose a

threat to safety, the environment and working and living conditions onboard.’ The annual Paris MOU report shows that the number of ships having to be detained fell by 8% in 2014 — even though the number of inspections in the area increased by 4%. Detentions fell from 668 in 2013 to 612 last year, while the total number of deficiencies discovered during inspections fell to 45,979 — compared with 83,751 in 2008. Deficiencies related to safety of navigation accounted for 13.47% of all deficiencies, closely followed by fire safety deficiencies (13.43%) and life-saving appliances (8.73%). Last year was the first full year in which the Maritime Labour Convention was in force, and the Paris MOU said its analysis of the 14 key areas covered by MLC showed the highest areas of noncompliance to be with hours of work and rest (21%), food and catering (14%) and health and

safety and accident prevention (37%). The most common detainable MLC deficiencies were wages (20.08%), safe manning (9.27%), seafarers’ employment agreements (8.49%), work and rest hour records (5.79%) and sanitary facilities (5.41%). The Paris MOU report also notes that 16 ships were detained in the region during a threemonth concentrated inspection programme carried out last year in response to concern over fatigue. ‘Whilst the detention rate appears low (0.4%), it has to be borne in mind that detention was not always the most appropriate action, as the breach of hours of rest may have happened in the past,’ it adds. ‘There was some concern that, although the CIC questionnaire was publicised in advance, 912 deficiencies recorded (22.57% of inspections) related specifically to STCW hours of rest.’

A VHF antenna fixed with tape was found on one detained ship Picture: Paris MOU

Master covered up accident about an attempt by the master of a F UK-flagged general cargoship to cover up an incident Accident investigators have raised concern

in which the vessel grounded while entering the Spanish port of Gijon. The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch found that the Russian master of the 6,190gt Vectis Eagle failed to immediately report the accident, failed to save information on the VDR and instructed crew members not to say that the ship had hit the breakwater. ‘Six days earlier, Vectis Eagle had struck and caused significant damage to a lock gate in the Kiel Canal,’ the MAIB pointed out. ‘This accident influenced the master’s decision-making and actions in Gijon.’ But, it warned, the failure to report the accident

was potentially dangerous. ‘Vectis Eagle’s next scheduled port was in Venezuela and, had the damage not been found and the vessel sailed as planned, its passage across the North Atlantic Ocean in winter with a weakened hull would have put the vessel and its crew at unnecessary risk,’ the report notes. Class surveyors who boarded the ship — which was carrying a cargo of coal — to carry out prearranged annual inspections and surveys found substantial damage to bottom plating and internal damage between the forepeak tank and the pipe tunnel. They instructed the ship to be dry-docked, where significant damage to the forward section of the hull was discovered. The MAIB said the grounding in Gijon followed a loss of directional control soon after the pilot started

to manoeuvre the Carisbrooke Shipping vessel towards the inner harbour. Investigators said they could not verify the reported failure of the steering system. Records showed that none of the 14 alarms associated with the system had been triggered and subsequent tests found no defects. They said the master had placed excessive reliance upon the pilot, who had taken the ship ‘unnecessarily close’ to the breakwaters and had started to turn the ship too early. The master had also failed to sufficiently challenge the pilot’s ‘navigation by eye’, the report adds. The MAIB recommends that Carisbrooke highlights to its crews the importance of honesty in reporting accidents and incidents, saving VDR information, and challenging pilots when necessary.

15/07/2015 17:18

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 13

HEALTH & SAFETY

Unseaworthy FoC ship ‘being run down by owners’ Ageing vessel nearly sank off UK after engineroom repair work went wrong

Nautilus has expressed concern over conditions onboard a ﬂag of convenience cargoship which nearly sank off the UK coast in March last year when the engineroom ﬂooded after maintenance work went wrong. A UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch report on the case states that there was ‘a complete breakdown in safety management’ onboard the ship — the Barbados-registered Sea Breeze — and that it appeared the vessel was being intentionally run down by its owners. The 1,959gt vessel was sailing from North Wales to the Sussex port of Shoreham with a cargo of limestone when it began taking on water after engineroom crew tried to change the mechanical seal on the port main ballast pump. Salvors managed to tow the stricken vessel to safety, but it was abandoned by the owners — who failed to pay the salvage costs — and it was sold in January this year. Investigators were highly critical of the conditions they found on the 25-year-old ship — noting that no arrangements had been put in place for an annual survey that was six months overdue at the time of the accident and that there was ‘little evidence of systematic preventative main-

Sea Breeze following the engineroom flooding Picture: MAIB

tenance having been carried out onboard’. An independent survey report commissioned by the MAIB found that the vessel was probably unseaworthy at the time of the accident — with problems including a defective anchor windlass brake, main watertight deck cracks, and temporary patches covering corrosion perforations. A Lloyd’s Register surveyor had issued a major non-conformity during a Maritime Labour Convention inspection in the previous month, but it had been down-

graded following assurances from the ship’s manager. The MAIB found that the isolating valve for the pump that was being worked on had not been fully closed before the work began. Subsequent tests showed a ‘totally inadequate’ repair had caused jamming of the valve gearing which could give the false impression that it was closed. Inspectors said the experienced chief engineer had allowed basic errors to be made during work on potentially dangerous systems. And when the engine-

room was evacuated, the watertight door was left open — causing the flooding to spread to the accommodation. The report points to an absence of a safety culture onboard, with no planned maintenance systems or any evidence of routine greasing or painting. Had the annual survey been carried out on time, it adds, the poor condition of the ship might have been noticed and dealt with. The MAIB recommends the vessel’s Russian managers, Shipmar, to conduct a full review of their fleet safety management systems. It also calls for classification societies to introduce requirements for the actuator mechanisms of ship side valves to be fully function tested during special surveys. Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson said the report was shocking. ‘It demonstrates the failure of a number of parties who are complicit in a bankrupt international regulatory system,’ he added. ‘The question to the ship’s managers by Captain John Rose of CHIRP — namely “What were you thinking of to allow the Sea Breeze to get into such an unseaworthy condition? These conditions were noted in the MAIB report and did not happen overnight!” — requires an answer.’

Lookout was left alone on bridge before collision judged’ decision to leave the F bridge of a Dutch-managed chemical A watchkeeper made an ‘ill-

tanker 22 minutes before it collided with a fishing vessel off the Dutch coast, an accident investigation has found. The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said the OOW of the Gibraltar-flagged Orakai had left the lookout on his own when he went below to search for a cable tie to repair a light on the chart table. The 6,450dwt Orakai suffered minor damage as a result of the collision — which occurred in the early hours of 21 December 2014, in the North Hinder Junction, some 45 miles off the Dutch port of IJmuiden — but the 441gt UK-flagged trawler Margriet was seriously damaged above and below the waterline and eight tons of

12-13_h+s.indd 13

diesel escaped from a damaged fuel tank. The MAIB said it had discovered the tanker’s OOW had left the bridge for brief periods on previous watches, in breach of STCW requirements. He had placed the OS lookout in a very difficult position, the report states. The lookout’s reluctance to call the officer back to the bridge when the trawler altered course was understandable, as the OOW had only just left and had said he would be absent for just a few minutes. But he should have recalled him when the trawler had closed to a range of 2.4 miles, the report argues. ‘By the time the OS eventually tried to contact the chief officer, Margriet had turned further to starboard and had closed to a range of about one mile,’ it adds. ‘By this time, the options

The Margriet’s damaged wheelhouse Picture: MAIB

available to avoid a collision had reduced significantly.’ Only when collision was imminent

The LNG tanker Zarga at the Milford Haven terminal Picture: MAIB

Snap-back zone alert after rope injures officer Marine Accident Investigation A Branch warning about the risks of Nautilus has echoed a UK

mooring lines. The MAIB issued a special safety bulletin last month following an incident in which a deck officer suffered severe head injuries when he was struck by a line which parted while the LNG tanker Zarga was berthing in the port of Milford Haven in March this year. The Marshall Islands-flagged ship had been declared all fast alongside the terminal around 40 minutes before the accident. But gusty winds moved the vessel out of position while the mooring teams fitted chafing guards to the line and crew were tasked with tensing the forward spring lines to warp Zarga back into the correct position. A spring line broke when a winch stalled as the winch operator attempted to heave in on the springs. The port shoulder roller fairlead struck the officer on his head, causing severe trauma that required emergency surgery. The MAIB said the 44mm diameter mooring lines were made of ultra-high modulus polyethylene (UHMPE) and were five years old. Crew members had assumed this material meant the ends of the line would simply fall to the deck in the event of a failure under load. Tests carried out for the MAIB showed that the failed end attached to the Euroflex tail of the line

snapped back over 15m in less than one second. The danger of snap-back was identified in the Zarga’s risk assessments, but snap-back zones had not been marked on the mooring decks. The MAIB said investigations are continuing, but it issued the safety bulletin to warn that snapback hazards can be significantly increased when synthetic tails are connected to UHMPE, HMPE and wire mooring lines. It said owners should ensure that the type of lines and tails used are suitable for the task and that the dangers of snap-back are fully considered. Mooring teams should be aware of the risks and ship operators and masters should regularly review risk assessment to ensure potential snap-back zones are identified. Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson warned that snapback zones can give a false sense of security. ‘There is considerable difficulty in determining the scope of a zone and the entire mooring deck should be considered hazardous,’ he added. ‘Mooring decks are designed with cost in mind, not safety,’ Mr Graveson pointed out. ‘The officer in charge, winch operator and crew members need to connect as a team and be alert to potential dangers. Ropes need to be examined regularly and, regardless of appearance, discarded after sustained use.’

did the lookout put the engine telegraph to ‘stop’ — and Orakai making 10.8 knots when the vessels collided. The MAIB said the trawler’s watchkeeper had failed to keep an effective lookout — having not seen the tanker, which was only 1nm away when he altered course towards it. Both the tanker’s OOW and the Margriet’s watchkeeper may have been affected by fatigue, the report notes. The MAIB has urged Orakai’s Dutch managers, South End Tanker Management, to reiterate to its fleet that OOWs should not leave the bridge unless relieved by another qualified officer. And it also recommended the Margriet’s Dutch owners to take steps to improve the standard of watchkeeping on their vessels.

15/07/2015 17:18

14 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

INTERNATIONAL

shortreports

Wind power helps cut ferry’s fuel costs by 2.6% flagged ro-ro Estraden, which A has just completed successful sea

CAPTAIN JAILED: the captain of a US tug has been jailed for six months after being found guilty of felony maritime negligence which led to a fatal explosion onboard his vessel in 2005. Prosecutors said Dennis Egan had illegally allowed a deckhand to use a propane torch to unfreeze a cargo pump, which resulted in an explosion that killed the deckhand and resulted in a 600,000 gallon oil spill in the Chicago Ship Canal.

Pictured left is the Finnish-

trials of a new wind propulsion technology which claims to be able to cut fuel bills by up to 20%. The 18,205gt Bore Line vessel — which operates on a service between the UK and the Netherlands — was fitted with a single 18m-high Norsepower Rotor Sail, delivering savings of 2.6% during the six-month trial period. The company said the ‘groundbreaking’ trials showed that the system could pay for itself within four years — with two rotors capable of cutting fuel bills by 5% — and that even bigger efficiency savings could be achieved by equipping vessels with multiple rotors.

MYANMAR ACTION: maritime authorities in Myanmar have revoked the seafarer recruitment and placement services licenses for five local companies, while suspending five others from sending seafarers to foreign countries, according to an official report. The action is being taken in a drive to ensure that the country complies with Maritime Labour Conventionrequirements. COLLISION PROBE: an investigation has been launched into the cause of a collision between a containership and a UK-managed LPG tanker off the coast of Indonesia last month. Crew members on the Liberian-flagged Navigator Aries managed to extinguish as blaze after the collision with the Panama-registered boxship Leo Perdana. BRITTANY ADDS: French operator Brittany Ferries is poised to place an order for a new ferry under a short-term fleet renewal plan. Chairman Jean-Marc Roué said the new ship would replace the 1989-built Bretagne following ‘already significantly good results’ this year. CHINESE FINES: China’s Transport Ministry has fined 21 container shipping lines a total of $684,000 over allegations that they ‘violated market conditions’ services between China and Japan by providing customers with rates below officially quoted levels. COOK RULES: a new French decree has updated the status of ship’s cook, ruling that the job must be full-time on ships with 20 crew or more. The decree also sets requirements for ship cook qualifications, as well as hygiene and sanitation training. ETV CHARTERS: France is to spend €22.1m to charter two emergency towing and anti-pollution vessels from the offshore support vessel operator Bourbon. The ships will be based in the ports of Brest and Toulon under a four-year contract. GRIMALDI ORDER: Italy’s Grimaldi Group has signed a $165m order for three new vehicle carriers for delivery in 2017. To be built in China, the PCTC vessels will be able to carry up to 6,700 cars on eight decks. CANAL CONCERN: French dockers’ unions have expressed concern that a project to widen links from the river Seine to other northern Europe waterways will lead to a loss of jobs and traffic in French ports. CRUISE BAN: the European Union has extended restrictions imposed on Russia, including a ban on European cruiseship calls at the Crimean peninsula and Sevastopol, until 23 June 2016.

France ordered to re-pay SNCM aid Union accuses European Court of ‘provocation’ with subsidy judgment by Jeff Apter

The European Court has rebuked France for failing to recover €220m ‘illicit’ state aid given under a public service contract for ‘lifeline’ ferry services between the French mainland and Corsica. The money was given to the Mediterranean ferry operator by the Corsican regional authority between 2007 and 2013 to support SNCM services in the high season, and the court determined that it was ‘incompatible’ with state aid rules and distorted competition with operators such as Corsica Ferries. In May 2013 the European Commission ordered the aid to be repaid within four months — a decision which France and SNCM fought to have annulled.

France argued that the subsidy was needed to avoid the collapse of the company, with the loss of some 1,500 jobs. France also claimed that the liquidation of SNCM would result in a new public service contract having to be agreed for the services — posing another threat to the continuity of ‘lifeline’ services to Corsica. But the European Court rejected these arguments, accusing France of a failure to fulﬁl its obligations. Its judgement stated that Corsica could be supplied by vessels from other companies or by air if SNCM went bust — even if there was a long-term blockade in protest at the situation. ‘The court considers that it was not absolutely impossible for France to recover the aid,’ it added.

No further appeal is possible and the European Commission, which has ordered SNCM to repay after the court’s first ruling, could impose fines on France if it does not execute the order. A separate EC demand to recuperate a further €220m of subsidy paid during SNCM’s privatisation in 2006 is still pending but has not yet been reactivated. Jean-Philippe Chateil, general secretary of the officers’ union FOMM-CGT, said that while the court’s decision was not unexpected, it was published to coincide with SNCM’s summer season — when it services are expected to do well. He said the timing appeared to be a provocation and the unions would continue to press the government to consider the demands as null and void.

SNCM went into receivership in November 2014, but attempts to ﬁnd a new owner have been delayed as a result of a decision by the commercial court in Marseilles to reject the three bids submitted and to order a new tender for the operations. Unions had opposed all three proposed takeover packages. But they called off planned strike action when the Marseilles court agreed with the SNCM works council’s view that none of the offers was acceptable and ordered the administrators to organise a further tender. Consideration of any new offers has been put back to 25 September — two months before the end of the court’s period of observation, after which SNCM will either have a new owner or face liquidation.

Officer jailed for oil dumping jailed for three months by a A US court after being found guilty of

A Russian chief officer has been

breaching pollution laws by dumping oily waste from a UK-managed ship. Valerii Georgiev had admitted failing to maintain an accurate oil record book in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) when he was serving chief

mate onboard the Norbulk Shipping managed reefer Murcia Carrier last year. Prosecutors said that Mr Georgiev had ordered crew onboard the Panama-flagged vessel to dump several barrels containing hydraulic oil overboard in international waters 280nm NE of Miami, during a voyage from Costa Rica to New Jersey. ‘While Georgiev disputes the

number of barrels dumped into the sea, the government believes that about 20 barrels of hydraulic oil were dumped overboard,’ the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said. The dumping was not recorded in the ship’s oil record book and prosecutors said that, when questioned by US Coast Guard officers, Mr Georgiev denied that dumping had occurred. He was also said to have

instructed crew members to lie to investigators and to present falsified oil and garbage record books when they boarded the Murcia Carrier. Glasgow-based Norbulk Shipping was earlier fined $750, 000 and placed on probation for three years after pleading guilty to failing to maintain an accurate logbook and for providing false statements about the logbook.

Ferry master appeals against pollution penalty to be submitted in an appeal against A €650,000 fines imposed on the master and the

A French court has called for crucial evidence

owner of a Tunisian ferry accused of pollution off the coast of France. Lawyers are challenging the €500,000 penalty

14-15_int.indd 14

on the ferry operator CTN and the €150,000 fine for the master of the 31,647gt ferry Carthage after they were found guilty of pollution off the French Mediterranean coast in October 2009. They have complained of ‘inexact and sometimes incoherent’ prosecution evidence

about the movements of the ship. A video taken by a surveillance aircraft has never been lodged with the court, despite an order from magistrates and the appeal court is now seeking more information from the pilot of the aircraft who reported the alleged pollution.

15/07/2015 18:05

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 15

INTERNATIONAL

Australian row over job losses Government policy attacked as tanker operator switches to foreign crew

Protests were held in mainland Australia and Tasmania last month after a ruling outlawing industrial action by the crew of a ship who faced being replaced by cheaper foreign seafarers. Australia’s Fair Work Commission dismissed an appeal by the Maritime Union of Australia and ordered that the 36 crew serving on the Teekay products tanker Alexander Spirit should end their week-long stoppage. The seafarers had refused to sail the 40,100dwt ship because they had been told they were going to be replaced by an ‘international’ crew when it arrived in Singapore. MUA assistant national secretary Ian Bray said the move to change crewing arrangements had been taken by ship’s charterer, Caltex, and was ‘driven purely by the desire for increased proﬁt’. He accused the company of treating the Australian seafarers — who had been contracted until 2019 — with contempt. Caltex had refused to guarantee that it will not return to domestic shipping routes with a full foreign crew, the MUA warned. The union has been campaigning against the loss of Australianﬂagged and crewed tonnage, warning that there are now only two national-crewed vessels carrying fuel around the country’s coast compared with 11 in 1996.

The mining firm Rio Tinto has

seafarers on one of its chartered ships had not been paid any wages for more than two months and were running short of food last month. Unions complained after ‘dire conditions’ were discovered onboard the Panama-flagged bulk carrier AOM Milena during checks in the Australian port of Gladstone.

Demonstrators take to the street in Tasmania to protest at the loss of Australian seafarers’ jobs

‘The MUA believes Australian refining and Australian shipping remain a vital part of ensuring our fuel security into the future and unless the government does something, we are forecast to have no refineries and no Australian shipping within a few years,’ it said. ‘We would have no insurance policy against any major supply shock — whether it be from a refinery fire in Singapore, a terrorist or piracy attack in the Straits of Malacca, or environmental trag-

The 76,606dwt Japanese-owned vessel is being used by Rio Tinto to transport bauxite between Australian ports. ‘If Rio Tinto wanted to transport this bauxite by road or rail, they would need to pay Australian minimum wages and adhere to Australian health and safety regulations, but because they transport it by sea they can avoid those requirements and slash costs,’

The anti-austerity government in Greece has bowed to European Commission pressure to increase the taxes that the country’s shipowners pay. Under a proposed bail-out agreement drawn up last month, the Greek government promised to raise the level of tonnage tax and to gradually remove the industry’s special tax status. The maritime measures are a key part of a series of economic reforms put to the European Union and the International Monetary Fund by Greece last

14-15_int.indd 15

CALAIS EXPANSION: the European Commission has approved a €260m public investment scheme to support an €880 project to expand the port of Calais so that it can handle a new generation of large ferries. European transport commissioner Margarethe Vestager said the project will strengthen cross-Channel links and trade between the UK, Ireland and western Europe.

SHORTSEA DEAL: the German shortsea operator ODPR has been taken over by the French firm CMA CGM after European competition regulators approved the acquisition without any conditions. OPDR was part of the Bernhard Schulte group and specialises in shortsea services between northern Europe, the Canary Islands, the Iberian peninsula and Morocco.

edy on the Great Barrier Reef,’ Mr Bray added. The union has accused the current government of giving the green light for shipping companies to dump Australian crews, with plans to remove the current legal protections in the Coastal Trading Act. Australia’s Labour Party warned that the government’s plans to reform shipping laws would allow foreign-ﬂagged vessels to trade between the coun-

try’s ports for up to 183 days a year, paying ‘third world’ wages to their crews and undercutting domestic operators. The International Transport Workers’ Federation has backed the MUA. Maritime coordinator Jacqueline Smith commented: ‘The ITF urges Caltex to reconsider its decision and to support Australian seafarers in the carriage of domestic cargoes. Your country’s fuel and national security is at risk, as well as local jobs.’

said Maritime Union of Australia official Dean Summers. ‘It is completely unacceptable that the workers carrying this task out should be forced to go months without pay,’ he added. ‘What we are seeing is vicious, nasty pennypinching on a vessel chartered by one of the wealthiest companies on earth.’ A spokesman for Rio Tinto said the company took such allegations

very seriously and was seeking immediate assurances from the owners that any issues would be resolved without delay. ‘The wellbeing, terms and conditions of the people serving on vessels chartered to carry Rio Tinto cargo is of the utmost importance to us,’ a spokesman said. ‘We will do everything possible under our contract to ensure the crew receive their full entitlements.’

Greek owners pressed on tax A

ACTION BACKED: the European Transport Workers’ Federation has voiced its support for the Greek seafaring union PNO in a dispute with the country’s shipowners. The union had been planning to stage a 24-hour strike last month, accusing operators of violating collective labour agreements, cutting manning scales, reducing pension rights and using uninsured crew members. It postponed the action to enable people to travel on ferries to vote in a national referendum.

RUSSIAN RULES: Russia’s transport ministry is considering new rules to restrict tanker operations in its Arctic waters to Russian-flagged ships. If adopted, the law will prohibit companies from exporting Russian Arctic oil and gas with foreign-registered ships. The rules would have a significant effect on the country’s owners, as most of them operate under foreign flags.

Union condemns ‘dire’ bulker launched an investigation after A an inspection revealed that Filipino

shortreports

month following calls from European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker for the country’s owners to shoulder more of the costs of easing the nation’s debt problems. Under the 1967 Greek constitution owners pay no tax on international earnings brought into the country. There is no tax on profits from shipping nor on ship sales. Some reports suggest the Greek shipping industry has a tax burden of about 3%, compared with an average of 20% to 25% for

shore-based companies. But the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) claims that tax revenues from shipping have increased more than eightfold since 2013. The industry voluntarily agreed to double its tonnage tax payments between 2014 and 2017, UGS says, resulting in total receipts of €420m. ‘Moreover, since 2013, vessels flying foreign flags operated/ managed by offices established in Greece became subject to Greek tonnage tax,’ it argued.

GUARDS GO-AHEAD: France has given the go-ahead to three private security companies to deploy guards on French flagged ships in high-risk pirate zones. The companies — one based in the UK, one in France and one in Greece — are the first to be approved since the law on private maritime security companies was changed in July last year. SCRAPPING AID: China has given a two-year extension to a subsidy programme to encourage shipping companies to scrap old vessels. The scheme, which began in 2013 and was due to end this year, gives shipping lines grants worth US $242 per gross ton to replace ageing ships with newer, more environmentallyfriendly tonnage. SKIPPER SENTENCED: a court in Paris court has sentenced the skipper of a river Seine cruise vessel to prison, suspended for three years, for the death of a pilot and a six-year-old child following a collision in September 2008. The court also suspended his licence for breaching security and speed limit rules on the river. FRENCH REGISTER: ten years after it was established with 80 ships on its books, the French international ship register (RIF) has hit the 300 vessel mark. The register has been recently boosted by the offshore support vessel operator Bourbon and an increasing number of superyachts.

SK Tax Service Ltd We are a team of friendly and approachable tax advisers with many years experience in Marine Taxation matters. In a seafaring world amidst rumours and speculation, why try and work out the complications of the 100% claim yourself? Let us, the experts take the worry from your shoulders. Your leave is important to you and your family, don’t waste it trying to sort out your tax aɈairs. Receive personal attention and advice on: * 100% claims and constant advice on achieving this * All aspects of your self assessment tax return * National Insurance contributions * Non residency claims We now submit tax returns electronically, speeding up the refund process by an amazing rate.

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15/07/2015 18:32

16 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

YOUR LETTERS

What’s on your mind? Tell your colleagues in Nautilus International — and the wider world of shipping. Keep your letter to a maximum 300 words if you can — though longer contributions will be considered. Use a pen name or just your membership number if you don’t want to be identified — say so in an accompanying note —

but you must let the Telegraph have your name, address and membership number. Send your letter to the Editor, Telegraph, Nautilus International, 1&2 The Shrubberies, George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1BD, or use head office fax +44 (0)20 8530 1015, or email telegraph@nautilusint.org

Rivals vie for rowing glory on the Tyne to South Shields Marine P School’s sixth annual row last

The River Tyne played host

Picture: John Allen

Permission granted… Funds now needed! been launched to give the F British maritime city of Plymouth a A fundraising campaign has

proper Merchant Navy monument. MN veterans in SW England have been dissatisfied for some time with their small memorial stone at the Plymouth Barbican, and are delighted to have won permission for a monument to be sited on Plymouth Hoe alongside those of the armed forces. The monument will be dedicated to ‘all those who serve in, or who have served in, the Merchant Navy or fishing fleet in times of peace and war, ensuring the survival of our island nation.’ Local members of the Merchant Navy Association gathered on

Plymouth Hoe (pictured above) to mark the launch of the fundraising effort last month, which was kickstarted with a donation of £1,000 from the South West Company of Mariners. It is intended that the monument will be in place for the Mayflower 400 commemoration in 2020. g To donate to the fundraising campaign, please make cheques payable to the Plymouth Merchant Navy Monument Fund and send to the treasurer Derek Fuller at 289 Fort Austin Avenue, Plymouth PL6 5ST. Plans are underway to set up a page for online giving, and the address for this will be reported in a future edition of the Telegraph.

Have your say online

month as seven teams battled it out to pull their boats ﬁrst over the line. Spectators watched as crews from across the UK raced eight nautical miles between the Newcastle Quay and the Marine Offshore Safety Training centre at South Shields. Unfortunately, for the ﬁrst time this year Fleetwood Nautical Campus didn’t take part after having to withdraw at the last minute as a result of unforeseen circumstances. South Tyneside College’s General Engineering team,

sponsored by Wood Group, led the race throughout — resulting in the reigning champions South Shields Marine School (winners 2013-2014) losing their title and cup. Bernhard Schulte Shipping came second, followed closely by South Shields Marine School, then the American Bureau of Shipping, the NE P&I Club, South Tyneside College Ladies and ﬁnally City of Glasgow College. For the ﬁrst time, the winners and runners-up medals are sponsored by South Shields Ferry, under the aegis of Tyne & Wear Passenger Transport Executive/ Nexus. The event is the brainchild

of Tommy Procter, former tugmaster and retired marine lecturer at South Shields Marine School. He said: ‘General Engineering have tried for three years to beat the Marine School and this year they have not only done it, but they did it in style. They literally blew all the opposition away and eventually

won by about one nautical mile — an amazing effort.’ The race was followed by a party with a barbecue and entertainment. The winners were presented with their medals by South Shields Marine School principal Gary Hindmarch, and Tommy presented the winners’ cup.

Proud to celebrate progress on LGBT rights Fleet Auxiliary formed part of F the Naval Service LGBT contingent Four members of the Royal

at London Pride on 27 June. London Pride is the biggest one-day event and one of the world’s biggest LGBT celebrations, with over 1 million people attending and 30,000 people taking part in the parade. Prior to the parade, the head of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service, Commodore Rob Dorey, came with his wife to show their support, and spent over an hour talking with the RFA representatives, pictured right. Officer cadet Sarah Stevens said: ‘I represented the RFA on Saturday. I joined the TA back in 1998 when being gay was not compatible with service life and had

to hide my sexuality. Times have changed so much since then and I am extremely proud to be able to march in uniform with the Naval

Service. ‘It would be great to see the wider Merchant Navy being represented in the future,’ she

added. ‘We are lucky to come under the umbrella of the wider Naval Service and are well supported by the Royal Navy LGBT Network. ‘My mother marched in the first gay pride march back in 1972 — she knows exactly how far the UK has come in terms of equality and diversity and I was thinking of her every step of the way.’ Officer cadet Christopher Lowe added: ‘Marching in uniform is important to me, as it is a symbol of how advanced the UK is on gay rights. It sends the powerful message that people are confident enough to celebrate their differences with the full support of the organisation and country they serve.’

Last month we asked: Do you think LNG is the fuel of the future for shipping?

Yes 65%

VJ Day 70 No 35%

This month’s poll asks: Is there a future for NW European ratings? Give us your views online, at nautilusint.org

16-17_lets_SRedit.indd 16

Merchant Navy veterans and their families are warmly invited to Nautilus Mariners’ Park in Merseyside for a service to mark the 70th anniversary of VJ Day. The service will be held at the Park’s memorial stone at 11am on Saturday 15 August, and lunch with will be available afterwards in the Trinity House Hub café. g For more information and directions to the site, please call the Trinity House Hub reception desk on 0151 346 8840. The address is: Mariners’ Park, Wallasey CH44 0AE.

Worried about your retirement? Join us! The Nautilus Pensions Association is a pressure group and support organisation that: z provides a new focal point for seafarer pensioners — increasing their influence within, and knowledge of, the Merchant Navy Officers’ Pension Fund and other schemes within the industry z serves as a channel for professional advice on all kinds of pensions, as well as offering specific information on legal and government developments on pensions, and supporting the Union in lobbying the government as required

z provides a ‘one-stop shop’ for advice on other organisations providing support and assistance to pensioners z offers a range of specialised services and benefits tailored to meet the needs of retired members z operates as a democratic organisation, being a Nautilus Council body — with the secretary and secretariat provided by the Union

Giving you a v oice on

your future

1 & 2 The Shrubberies, George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1BD t +44 (0)20 8989 6677 npa@nautilusint.org www.nautilusint.org

15/07/2015 18:06

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 17

YOUR LETTERS

telegraph

THE VIEW FROM MUIRHEAD

STAFF editor: Andrew Linington deputy editor: Debbie Cavaldoro production editor: June Cattini-Walker senior reporter: Sarah Robinson web editor: Deborah McPherson ADVERTISING Redactive Media Group 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP. Display adverts: Jude Rosset tel: +44 (0)20 7880 6217 Jude.rosset@redactive.co.uk

From foyboatmen to Tees Bay pilots

In memory of the Lancastria A

It is disappointing that there has been no mention in your July edition to mark the 75th Anniversary of Britain’s greatest maritime tragedy, namely the sinking of HMT Lancastria on 17 June 1940, with the loss of over 4,000 men, women and children, following bombing by the Luftwaffe, while at anchor off St Nazaire. Some sources put the loss of life much higher, with less than 2,500 surviving the bombing and subsequent strafing by German aircraft. Although the loss of life exceeded that from the Titanic and Lusitania combined, the details of the disaster are still not widely known. Following Dunkirk, news of this

evacuation and its disastrous end was suppressed by Churchill for fear of the adverse effect on public morale, so that it was many weeks later that the news leaked out. It was several weeks too, before some bodies washed ashore along the French coast, the remains to be buried in the nearest public cemeteries and the news of the losses finally filtering back to relatives. It is to the credit of the Scottish government that their Lancastria medal presented to survivors and relatives will help provide proud memories and comfort to relatives. For those wishing to learn more, Jonathan Fenby’s book The Sinking of

the Lancastria, published in 2005 is still available and will inform greatly. ANDREW JAGGERS mem no 075948

Editor’s note: We are grateful to Mr Jaggers for highlighting this anniversary, and wholeheartedly endorse his recommendation of Jonathan Fenby’s book, which was featured in the Telegraph on its 2005 release. Although no longer in print, The Sinking of the Lancastria was re-released earlier this year as an e-book, available from the publisher’s website and other online outlets, priced at £6.33 — www.simonandschuster.co.uk

FIn 2007 a friend of mine let me follow him around Teesport (where security would allow) to photograph his job as a foyboatman. That’s when I produced my first book, Foyboatmen of the Steel River, though never published to this day. I wouldn’t have known what a foyboatman was. It turns out not many do know the name, especially as local dialect seems to have warped the local use of the phrase. I loved the area immediately. The ships coming and going. The tankers, container yards, jetties and chimney stacks. I loved the flames at night. I loved the sea frets. Everything was so visually bold. Others recoil at the sight of industry on the land and river, but I see something admirable, appealing and massively photogenic. The history fascinated me too, and so I gave my best effort at photographing it and telling the story of the men whom the general public didn’t know much about. In 2009 I contacted other companies around the port to continue the project from another viewpoint. The pilots responded. They saw my work on the foyboatmen and wanted me to produce something similar for

them. I was delighted. I spent two months with the pilots, boarding ships with them from supertankers to decommissioned French aircraft carriers. That documentary became Navigators of Teisa — The TeesBay Pilots. The book followed the working lives of the river pilots and their highly skilled role. For me it was a celebration of local pride for both the area and those men. Not just the pilots, but of every person on Teesport. I photographed what they did to try and make a positive comment on an often-criticised industrial area. Over time the book was published and sold between 600700 copies, leaving around 200 or so left for sale. My intention is to use the revenue from those remaining books to try and partially fund the next project… and perhaps find a partnering funder and some willing subjects to photograph (with tongue in cheek). g Navigators of Teisa — The TeesBay Pilots can be purchased for £10 with free P+P from: www.davidjackjones.co.uk DAVID JONES Normanby Grange Middlesbrough

Sharing stories on social media the Seafarer celebrations, the P Union invited members to share As part of this year’s Day of

anecdotes on what they wish they had known before embarking on a career at sea, or moving to

a position ashore. And you can still join in! To share your story, join the Union’s LinkedIn group at www.linkedin.com (search for Nautilus International). Or you can follow the Union on Twitter:

www.twitter.com/nautilusint, or like us on Facebook ‒ www. facebook.com (search for Nautilus International). z Here are some of the responses so far:

The one thing I wish I had known is that although life at sea can be tough and some shore jobs can rival the interesting and dynamic life at sea, shore jobs never rival the leave arrangements I enjoyed as a seafarer. MARCEL VAN DEN BROEK

HERB

16-17_lets_SRedit.indd 17

The thing I wish I’d known when starting out at sea was more languages! Spanish would have been a great help. You sail with so many different nationalities of crew and travel to hundreds of different places during your career — it’s handy to be able to communicate on watch or ashore. Don’t assume everyone can speak English! EMMA LUCAS The one thing I wish I had known was the vast range of opportunities for professionally qualiﬁed seafarers ashore. I may well have planned differently. However, moving reluctantly from sea to nautical lecturer then to Union ofﬁcial via university has resulted in interesting work and a good number of lifelong friends. ALLAN GRAVESON

I didn’t leave the sea, the sea left me as I was made redundant in 1983. I came ashore and went to university after a sobering 5 month trip on a Liberian registered panamax bulk carrier (the only job I could get at the time). Of course I would not change a thing now as I have the best job in the world but I do wonder what I would have become had I not been made redundant. MARK DICKINSON The one thing I wish I had known was the importance of every drill, every dry dock, every manoeuvre, every tank inspection, every accident or near miss, every breakdown, every written report, every HSSE meeting, every training opportunity. How these experiences are so important to refer back to when you step ashore. Had I known this as a teenager entering the industry, I would have, undoubtedly, gone the extra mile to exploit every learning opportunity. However, like all teenagers, you can sometimes be blinded by inexperience and naivety of not knowing what is good for you! STEVEN GOSLING

Recruitment adverts: John Seaman tel: +44 (0)20 7880 8541 tel: +44 (0)20 7880 6200 email: info@redactive.co.uk website: www.redactive.co.uk Although the Telegraph exercises care and caution before accepting advertisements, readers are advised to take appropriate professional advice before entering into any commitments such as investments (including pension plans). Publication of an advertisement does not imply any form of recommendation and Nautilus International cannot accept any liability for the quality of goods and services offered in advertisements. Organisations offering financial services or insurance are governed by regulatory authorities and problems with such services should be taken up with the appropriate body.

Incorporating the merchant navy journal and ships telegraph

ISSN 0040 2575 Published by Nautilus International Printed by William Gibbons.

GENERAL SECRETARY Mark Dickinson MSc (Econ) HEAD OFFICE 1&2 The Shrubberies George Lane, South Woodford London E18 1BD tel: +44 (0)20 8989 6677 fax: +44 (0)20 8530 1015 www.nautilusint.org NETHERLANDS OFFICE Schorpioenstraat 266 3067 KW Rotterdam Postbus 8575, 3009 AN Rotterdam tel: +31 (0)10 4771188 fax: +31 (0)10 4773846 NORTHERN OFFICE Nautilus House, Mariners’ Park Wallasey CH45 7PH tel: +44 (0)151 639 8454 fax: +44 (0)151 346 8801 SWITZERLAND OFFICE Gewerkschaftshaus, Rebgasse 1 4005 Basel, Switzerland tel: +41 (0)61 262 24 24 fax: +41 (0)61 262 24 25 DEPARTMENT EMAILS general: enquiries@nautilusint.org membership: membership@nautilusint.org legal: legal@nautilusint.org telegraph: telegraph@nautilusint.org industrial: industrial@nautilusint.org youth: ymp@nautilusint.org welfare: welfare@nautilusint.org professional and technical: protech@nautilusint.org Nautilus International also administers the Nautilus Welfare Fund and the J W Slater Fund, which are registered charities.

15/07/2015 18:07

18 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

SEAFARERS AWARENESS WEEK

Reaching out to young people, online and offline N

Maritime careers were at the heart of this year’s Seafarers Awareness Week on 20-28 June, which saw hundreds of British maritime organisations using social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr to reach out to potential recruits. Coordinated by Seafarers UK, the week’s events kicked off with an online Q&A session on maritime careers, where industry experts and training colleges answered questions and gave advice to young participants. Additionally, many companies, organisations and individuals posted and shared stories during the week using the hashtag #seafarersweek, and supporters such as Nautilus International created news stories on their websites and social media pages.

Numerous ‘real-world’ events were also staged around the UK between 20 and 28 June, raising awareness of the industry among the general public as well as promoting sea careers. Among all the maritime conferences, nautical college open days, charity abseils and fundraising dinners, the most prestigious event was surely the Seafarers UK reception at the International Maritime Organisation in London. Attended by IMO secretarygeneral Koji Sekimizu, the reception took place on 25 June, the international Day of the Seafarer. It attracted over 150 top industry guests, who gathered to watch the premiere of a series of short films commissioned by Seafarers UK ‒ see right for the full story.

Gala premiere for recruitment films K

Nautilus member Georgia Atkins has a starring role in a new film to promote seafaring careers, which was premiered at the International Maritime Organisation headquarters in London last month. Unveiled on the international Day of the Seafarer, 25 June, the film is one of five short features commissioned by the charity Seafarers UK to spread the message about work in shipping. Nick Harvey, campaigns manager with the charity, said the films follow a variety of young people starting out on their careers at sea and were part of a programme to reach a huge audience, especially via social media. Georgia, who has studied at Warsash Maritime Academy, is a Holland America Line deck cadet and said she was delighted to have been given the opportunity to encourage others to follow her footsteps. ‘I would have loved to have seen what this film shows,’ she said. ‘It is the best career I can imagine. ‘People at my school had no idea what to do with me when I said I wanted to join the Merchant Navy rather than go through UCAS and off to university,’ she added. Georgia had originally considered becoming a lawyer or a teacher, but became interested in shipping after her father retired from the police and started work as a cruiseship security officer. ‘I visited a bridge for the first time

and met the captain and thought it was all amazing. I just knew I wanted to be part of it,’ she explained. She was due to sit her orals last month after a cadetship which included sea time on the HAL

vessels Rhinedam, Volendam and Amsterdam — serving in locations such as Alaska, the Caribbean, the South Paciﬁc, Australia and New Zealand. ‘It’s been amazing, and I have loved the travel and the people I

have been working with,’ she added. ‘Everyone has been so helpful and so positive, and they have supported me all the way. They know you are the future of the industry and they really want to help you succeed.’ The films can now be viewed on You Tube and downloaded for free for use by careers advisers in schools and colleges — go to www.seafarers-uk.org/lightscamera-action to get a direct link to each one. Introduced by Anshie Patel from the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), the five individual films are: z On the High Seas — The Merchant Navy, featuring Georgia z Seafarers Cruising to Success, featuring Royal Caribbean deck cadet Robert Mackin-Lang onboard Anthem of the Seas z A Life Without Limits — The Royal Navy, featuring engineering trainee Beatrice Ramoala training on board HMS Northumberland z Super Jobs on Superyachts, featuring UK Sailing Academytrained Jamie Guerreiro, who now works on a superyacht z The New World of Workboats, featuring Jack Owen, a trainee with Holyhead Towing Company The guests at the IMO were also treated to a preview of the forthcoming Seavision Career Navigator portal, a new website designed to host career information and guidance for those seeking the whole picture of maritime job opportunities at sea and ashore.

Reminding retirees of their time at sea comedian Tim Vine L with Duncan Glass, chairman Pictured above is

of the Royal Alfred Seafarers Society, which teamed up with the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society to mark Seafarers Awareness Week with a maritime photography exhibition. Mr Vine was one of many high-proﬁle guests at the 25 June exhibition, held in the grounds of the Royal Alfred’s care home and sheltered housing site Weston Acres in Surrey. The photographs on display were the winning entries in last year’s maritime photography competition run by the

Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society. The competition is being held again this year and will accept entries up to 7 August 2015. Royal Alfred chief executive Commander Brian Boxall-Hunt said it had been a pleasure to host the exhibition, which had helped to celebrate the society’s 150th anniversary as well as Seafarers Awareness Week. ‘Memory therapies are very important for the care of a lot of our residents, especially those in the specialist dementia annexe,’ he added, ‘so the exhibition should prove a great way of reminding them of their time at sea.’

Spreading the word in Southampton www.irishseafarerstax.ie

seized the opportunity of Seafarers Awareness I Week to, well, raise awareness!

The UK Merchant Navy Welfare Board (MNWB)

Even in the port city of Southampton, not everyone is familiar with the important work done by seafarers, so the MNWB went out into the local

18_seaf awareness_SR edit.indd Sec2:18

community to get the message out via an exhibition stand in the busy West Quay shipping centre. Manning the newly-designed Seafarer Support stand (pictured above) were MNWB volunteers Sally Oliver, Ally Whitfield, Louise Furber and Peter Tomlin.

This was the first time the Board had independently manned an exhibition stand in the public domain, and it was very well received. The volunteers reported hearing comments such as ‘We didn’t know these services even existed’ and ‘It’s the first time we’ve seen the MN represented’.

15/07/2015 17:09

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 19

MEMBERS AT WORK Like many mariners, Captain Hans Mateboer enjoys spinning a good yarn about the sea. And he has a very specific audience in mind, hears SARAH ROBINSON…

‘No, the sea’s not in my family — they own a carpet factory!’ It’s an unusual start to an interview with a Nautilus member, as we tend to find ourselves chatting about how Uncle Jim was an officer with Shell, and Grandad served in the wartime convoys. Captain Hans Mateboer, however, had a rather different source of inspiration for his career. ‘I became fascinated by the sea at three years old because of a book,’ he explains. ‘I remember there was a tug called Captain, and I was so interested that I went on to become the town’s expert on the sea.’ Little Hans lived inland in the Netherlands, an hour’s drive from the coast, so he had never seen a merchant vessel with his own eyes. But he took every opportunity to go boating on local lakes, and never wavered from his ambition to become a shipmaster. In his teen years, his transition from nautical enthusiast to qualified seafarer was greatly helped by the Dutch school system, which encouraged pupils throughout the country to consider maritime careers. ‘At my high school, the teachers knew all about nautical colleges,’ remembers Hans. ‘And shipping companies would come in and talk to us. Some of them told us about jobs in tugs and heavylifting, but the one that most interested me was Holland America Line.’ The next step was to enrol at the nautical college at Delfzijl, and to find a berth as a trainee officer. Hans got his start in 1975 with the Dutch-flagged vessels run by Blue Funnel/Elder Dempster. And after a short spell with East Asiatic in the early 1980s, he eventually achieved his goal of working for Holland America. Those were good years, he recalls, with the company encouraging him to work his way up to the level of master; he got his certificate via Delfzijl in 1988 and his first command in 1992. Then, in 1996, he was given an offer he couldn’t refuse: to be one of Disney Cruise Line’s first captains, taking command of the Disney Magic when it entered service in 1998. It turned out to be quite an experience. ‘Sometimes there could be 1,500 children onboard,’ he marvels. ‘So different from other companies. As you would expect from Disney, it was very much focused on the entertainment side. Part of my job was to discuss with the management how some entertainment idea could work at sea — or maybe to explain that it wasn’t possible.’ Working for Disney was an intense and valuable period in his career, but Capt Mateboer missed Hol-

Young Hans on a visit to Liverpool with Elder Dempster’s Freetown in 1976

19_hal_SR edit.indd Sec1:19

Holland America Line master Hans Mateboer with the three Peter the Cruise Ship books published to date

Inspiration for a new generation land America, and he re-joined that company in 2002. ‘I always remained good friends with Holland America,’ he says. ‘They said they’d have me back one day, and they kept their promise.’ So there he was, back on a traditional cruiseship at his favourite company, yet he wasn’t quite the same person as before. Something about being around hundreds of children during those Disney years seems to have triggered an idea in Hans’s head: he could write his own books for very young children, to inspire a future generation to take up

seafaring — just as he had been inspired by Captain the tug. It wasn’t his ﬁrst attempt at creative writing; he had been sending off short stories (in English) about life at sea to nautical publications for many years. ‘Writing is a good hobby to take with you onboard ship,’ he muses. ‘You can get absorbed in it — it’s like a mini-vacation from your day-to-day business. And it’s good to have an interest that’s portable; you can hardly restore classic cars there.’ Hans had also contributed to his local newspaper in his hometown Genemuiden in the Netherlands. ‘Some of us used to write for the paper in our local dialect, to help preserve the language,’ he explains. Writing felt like a natural thing to do, he adds, as there were several published writers in his extended family. All this experience gave him the conﬁdence to try his hand at the notoriously tricky genre of children’s picture books, and Peter the Cruise Ship was born. Peter is a friendly young liner who gets into various nautical scrapes with his friends Gulp the oil tanker, Slick the containership and Rusty the old cargoship. There’s also a sort-of friend called Push the tug, but the other ships are a bit wary of him because he’s grumpy and keeps bumping into them. Peter and his friends travel the world having fun and getting into scrapes, and there’s often a lesson to learn (Push isn’t so bad, because he’s always there to rescue other vessels from a tight spot). Along the way, the author gently inserts little nuggets of maritime information to spark his young readers’ interest in seafaring, like this: Peter carefully steers toward the ocean. The red and the green buoys warn him of shallow water. There are now three Peter picture books — Peter the Cruise Ship, Peter the Cruise Ship to Alaska! and Peter the Cruise Ship and the Pirates. Hans produced them in conjunction with Michael LaDuca, an illustrator who he’s never actually met face to face. ‘The way it works is I make some sketches and a plan of the book, which I send to the illustrator in New York,’ he explains, ‘then we work together to develop the drawings using a shared computer screen.’

He publishes the books himself, under his label Captain’s Publishing, and admits it was harder than he anticipated to get the first title into print, taking about three years from when he first started writing. Part of the process involves getting the text checked by American or British friends to make sure the English flows naturally. Although Hans is now based in the USA and speaks English very well, he is aware that sometimes a phrase creeps in that indicates the author’s first language is Dutch. The drafts are also tested out on friends’ children before the final version is produced, which can elicit some very encouraging feedback: ‘One mother said her child wouldn’t let her stop reading the first book, and she was so relieved when another story was ready…’ There are currently two main outlets for people to buy the Peter books: the US-based Captain’s Publishing website and the shops onboard cruiseships. ‘There’s one company that supplies most of the onboard shops,’ says Hans, ‘and once they agreed to take the books, they put them on sale with Carnival, Holland America, Cunard and Royal Caribbean — although ironically not Disney, as they only sell their own brands on their ships.’ As with any titles featured here in the Telegraph, the Peter books will also now be available via the UK-based Marine Society Shop.

What next for Peter the cruise ship? ‘I haven’t completed a new book for a while now,’ says Hans, ‘but I have a lot of ideas. I have plans for a character called Snorkel the submarine, and for a Christmas book about Peter.’ He likes to respond to his readers, he adds: ‘In the pirate book, I introduced a girl character, Creola the yacht, when I heard that girls liked the books as much as boys. And if the big ferry companies wanted to sell the books onboard one day, maybe we could have a new ferry character with their young passengers in mind — a ship who’s always in a hurry!’

g To purchase the Peter books online, go to www. captainspublishing.com (best for buyers based in the USA or Canada) or www.marinesocietyshop.org (best for buyers based in the UK and continental Europe).

15/07/2015 17:09

20 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

MARITIME TECHNOLOGY

The digital tipping point The KVH Media Group believes that electronic entertainment onboard ships should be as accessible as it is at home, and that concerns over poor-quality, high cost internet connections at sea are a thing of the past. Debbie Cavaldoro went to find out more…

KVH may not be a name that seafarers instantly recognise. However, many of the companies in the group will be familiar, including Videotel, the maritime video training company, and Crewtoo, the seafarers’ social network site. KVH Media Group was formerly Headland Media/Newslink, and provides news, entertainment and audio services to ships and oil rigs. KVH started in the US in the 1980s with an innovative digital marine compass and expanded into maritime communications in 2007, when it launched its mini VSA broadband service, which now provides broadband connectivity to more than 5,000 vessels worldwide. ‘Because of where the company has come from, we are quite unique in the maritime industry in that we provide everything from hardware through to the content seafarers can view onboard,’ explains KVH Media Group MD Mark Woodhead. ‘Most people are familiar with this concept in their homes — people have broadband, telephone, and digital TV services from Sky or BT, and those companies also provide content — this is what we do for seafarers.’ ‘In a similar way to Sky, we provide “bundles” that shipping companies can choose from to ﬁt their budget,’ he continues. ‘On land people can choose just to have telephone calls at home and this is very cheap, but most households today have at least the

basic digital TV channels as well. Then you can add wireless broadband for a bit more, or choose a TV bundle which includes sports, or movies, or even the option to buy one-off “box ofﬁce” events.’ KVH’s basic package starts with the provision of a daily news service for just $1 per ship per day. Companies can then add a number of movies per month, music or TV shows, up to their premium service which delivers TV programmes, movies and music constantly and on demand. ‘Our newest service is IP-MobileCast, which delivers movies, TV shows, news channels and sport globally; this content is multicast via the ship’s broadband connection to an onboard server where it is stored to be watched at leisure. It also allows for chart and weather data to be multicast to the ship as well as training packages provided by Videotel,’ Mr Woodhead adds. IP-MobileCast content is stored locally on an onboard server so seafarers can access entertainment when they want it, without worrying about the loss of a satellite signal. KVH designed the IPMobileCast service so that entertainment and operations content is multicast via independent data channels to ensure all content is delivered intact. Content is transmitted in unused bandwidth at times of day dictated by the mini-VSAT Broadband network’s load, so the IP-MobileCast content deliv-

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Above: The newsroom at KVH Media in Liverpool is a hive of activity for seafarers’ news Below: A tablet showing the range of channels and services on offer Picture: Debbie Cavaldoro

ery doesn’t compete with the vessel’s Internet or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.

Although KVH’s editors produce the daily NEWSlink newspapers, most of the content is produced by other sources — KVH licenses news feeds, TV shows, films and sport from other providers, specifically chosen to be of interest to seafarers. ‘We could not produce enough content to cover the demands of the world’s seafarers, but we handle huge amounts of content from other providers, and everything is fully licensed,’ Mr Woodhead says. ‘Our most popular content is still our NEWSlink news digests and we send these out to thousands of ships everyday in 18 different languages. ‘We primarily still produce text for the maritime industry in the form of our daily news digests, but as connectivity improves, companies are moving into video content,’ he adds. ‘We license news from the wires and create bite-size pieces of news for seafarers. Our editors produce content in a number of different languages to cope with the wide-ranging nationalities of seafarers.’ KVH aims to deliver the news that seafarers will be interested in. For example, Mr Woodhead points out that a Filipino seafarer will not be interested in the UK election, but would be keen to see the US basketball results as the sport is massive in the Philippines. Mr Woodhead uses the series Breaking Bad to demonstrate the reasons behind the choices for video content. ‘This was a hugely popular programme among our UK-based staff, but it is a very westernised programme,’ he explains. ‘A lot of our viewers do not have English as their first language, so watching a programme that starts at the end and uses a lot of slang will be very difficult to follow — not to mention the themes covered in the show. ‘With the wonders of modern technology we can now see exactly how many views each film or programme has, so we can check what is popular and what isn’t, to inform our future options,’ he adds. ‘We can produce the stats which show that most of our viewers would rather er watch Spartacus! And as for providoviding updates for the recent ent Manny Pacquiao fight, ht, that was a must. We also lso

“

Who wants to sit around playing cards these days?

”

Mark Woodhead Picture: KVH Media Group

managed to show the Fifa World Cup final live — a world first.’ Mr Woodhead stresses that KVH is a business to business organisation and, at present, companies have to choose to take up one of its packages. However, he believes that seafarers can play a vital role in persuading companies to improve welfare onboard and provide a full range of news and entertainment for crew. ‘We go to shipping companies and explain the welfare benefits of these systems, as well as the connectivity benefits of this type of system, where there is enough bandwidth for the ship and the crew to get the information they both want and need, rather than these demands competing with each other,’ he points out. ‘We believe the maritime industry at sea is at that point where everyone will move very quickly to adopt these systems,’ he adds. ‘We saw on land that basically everyone moved from dial-up to broadband within a year. And we are at that tipping point at sea.’ Mr Woodhead notes that a lot of new satellites are being launched at the moment, offering increasing amounts of bandwidth. He believes this will ‘fundamentally change the experience of seafarers’. To ensure that companies deliver, he says seafarers should be seeking the provision of such services in their pay and conditions claims, or by choosing to take up employment with companies who are providing broadband at sea. ‘Ultimately we would like to be able to sell directly to seafarers, but this is in the future and for now we have to rely on companies and crewing managers valuing the welfare of their crew. Seafarers can help by putting pressure on companies.’ As well as the cost to provide entertainment and internet on ships no longer being prohibitive, Mr Woodhead also believes that the arguments about ‘bringing the problems of home, to sea’ are no longer valid, as younger people live their lives in a much more instant way than those who went to sea 20 or 30 years ago. ‘Few people sit at home and play cards or dominoes, so why do we expect these games to keep today’s seafarers entertained?’ he asks. ‘Most people go home and watch TV or a film, and a lot of the time they are doing this whilst also looking at the internet on the personal devices. Young people also understand what personal information should or shouldn’t be online as they have grown up with it. ‘The availability, cost and connectivity questions have all been answered for broadband at sea — we just need shipping companies to value their crews’ welfare enough to take it up.’

15/07/2015 18:32

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 21

MARITIME CAREERS

Where experience counts O

Karl Lumbers grew up in Leicester — ‘about as far as you can get from the sea in Britain’ — but he went on to have a shipping industry career that spanned almost 50 years. Figures from across the UK maritime cluster attended a ceremony at Trinity House last month to mark the retirement of the former navigating ofﬁcer after 29 years with the UK P&I Club. During his time at the club, Mr Lumbers helped shape the development of loss prevention techniques, using claims data to analyse root causes and trends in accidents — backed up by ship inspection programmes to help crew members to improve practices and procedures. His contribution to improved safety at sea was the culmination of a career that began as a cadet with the New Zealand Shipping Company after four years at the British Merchant Navy school HMS Conway. Those were the days when an aspiring British ofﬁcer could choose from around 80 different companies, he recalls, but he opted for NZSC on the basis of its commitment to training. Mr Lumbers went on to serve with P&O’s General Cargo Division, before a switch to the company’s cross-Channel jetfoil services. ‘When the jetfoils folded, I went to work on the ferries,’ he says. ‘It was good fun, but I wanted a bit more and I went for a job with a marine consultancy in the Middle East.

“

The last thing anyone wants on a ship is an insurer, but you can learn so much from the crew and understand much more about why systems may be failing

”

Former MN officer Karl Lumbers reflects with Andrew Linington on the changing challenges in safety at sea as he retires after almost 30 years of loss prevention work with a leading P&I club…

Karl Lumbers looks forward to his retirement

were put on notice that they were facing a ticket to trade. There was a lot of pressure on us as managers as the big companies didn’t want to share their risk with the substandard operators. ‘Premiums literally doubled overnight for all the clubs and the owners were asking why,’ he adds. ‘We decided to analyse the claims to see where all the money was going — and things just mushroomed from there.’ Clever use of the data resulted in risk being

assessed in a different way, Mr Lumbers notes. ‘There’s a ﬁne line between preaching to people and raising awareness, and we started to use the information to raise awareness rather than telling people what they should and shouldn’t do.’ With improvements in port state control, ship vetting schemes and improved enforcement of regulations, Mr Lumbers says the industry now runs in a very different way. ‘I was looking at some photographs from the 1980s and it is shocking to see how

bad it was. You just don’t see the sort of structural problems we had back then.’ He says the changes are reflected in the UK P&I Club’s launch of a self-assessment scheme to allow owners to use claims data to review the performance of their ships and to identify current and emerging risks. Feedback from crew during the roll-out of the scheme has underlined to him the importance of working with seafarers in a positive way. ‘The last thing anyone wants on a ship is an insurer, but if you value the crew you can learn so much from them and understand much more about why systems may be failing,’ he notes. Mr Lumbers suggests the future lies with much more technical risk assessment — and, despite the dramatic improvements in safety over the past 25 years, he warns that there is still a pressing need for vigilance. Aggregation of risk — typified by the emergence of ultra-large containerships — means a single loss can prove extremely costly, he warns. And while he believes many seafarer supply countries have improved the quality of training, there is a ‘quite frightening’ emerging new safety concern — lack of experience. ‘Time in rank is getting less and less,’ he notes. ‘It used to be that you had nine or 10 years before you got command, but now it is often three or four years. Around 40% of tanker masters have less than five years in rank, while more than 50% of chief officers on all ships have less than three years in rank and 21% less than one year in rank. ‘What does that mean to us as insurers? Claims are not going to go away,’ Mr Lumbers stresses. ‘If you have got an experienced mate or second engineer who has seen the problems before, they have the knowledge and ability to cope and keep a lid on a situation. Without the experience, it is a different scenario — where you’re basically learning on the job.’ Despite his retirement, Mr Lumbers says he plans to continue ‘playing around with statistics’ for the UK P&I Club for a few more years. However, he adds, he is also planning to return to the sea. ‘I’ve got a small boat which has been on the bank for the last five years, and now I should have some time to get it sorted out and back into the water.’

Deputy takes the helm as loss prevention director

‘It was at the time of the Iran-Iraq war and I probably learned more in five years there than anywhere else,’ he reflects. ‘You were seeing the real world and, working for companies like Smit, getting involved in quite a lot of the salvages.’ But, wanting to bring his children up in Britain, Mr Lumbers moved to London to take up a job with the UK P&I Club. ‘I didn’t have any intention of staying in insurance, but it turned out that the work is as good a job as you can get as a seafarer — working ashore but still getting to go on ships.’ However, he was starting at a turbulent time. ‘The industry was in a real mess in the late 80s,’ he recalls. ‘There were the most appalling structural failures and mechanical and equipment problems. I don’t know how it got to that point, but flag states, class and insurers were in a terrible state and the clubs

Edmonston, pictured, has K been appointed as the UK P&I Club’s Master mariner Stuart

new director of loss prevention, following the retirement of Karl Lumbers. Mr Edmonston joined the Club in 2014 as loss prevention deputy director, having spent eight years

at Holman Fenwick and Willan as a marine manager and casualty investigator following a seagoing career which included service onboard tankers, cruise ships, offshore supply vessels and an FPSO. Hugo Wynn-Williams, chairman of the Club managers Thomas Miller, commented: ‘We are delighted to

have found someone of Stuart’s credentials and background to succeed Karl as our loss prevention director. Karl has been a stalwart of the Club since joining in 1986 and the architect of our industry-leading loss prevention department. We wish Karl a long, happy and well deserved retirement.’

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15/07/2015 17:11

22 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

MARITIME STRATEGY

Last ch to resc dying b Picture: Gary Davies/Maritime Photographic

The shipping industry is so short of UK ratings that there are reports of some still serving at sea in their 70s, the head of the owners’ organisation told a joint meeting on the future of UK rating employment and training. Chamber of Shipping chief executive Guy Platten said operators are aware of the growing problems posed by the increasingly old workforce and they want to formulate an action plan to overcome the barriers to the recruitment of UK ratings. ‘By tackling these issues, we can create a brighter future for the industry and open up career opportunities for young people,’ he told the meeting. The industry seminar, which was organised by the Merchant Navy Training Board, heard that around 3,000 new ratings will be needed by the ferry and passengership sectors and public service organisations to replenish the existing workforce in the next 10 to 15 years. And the superyacht and windfarm support sectors may require as many as 30,000 ‘deck operatives’ in the next ﬁve years. But John Thomson, personnel manager with Sealion Shipping, described some of the obstacles to the use of UK ratings. The offshore sector is highly competitive at present, he said, and charter rates are presently so low that they don’t even cover the crewing costs of some vessels. Companies are having to cut back to reduce their operational costs, he added, and training budgets — including spending on new cadets — are under severe pressure. ‘The world is run by accountants and crewing costs are one of the highest proportions of the operational budget,’ he stressed.

John Thomson, personnel manager with Sealion Shipping

22-23_spread_SR edit.indd 22

leader with to ‘value-add has a strong explained, an build their sk doing highly and many ta RN training e that had trad

Is there a future for UK ratings? How can the industry overcome obstacles — real and perceived — to the recruitment and training of British crews? All sides of the shipping industry came together last month for a special one-day summit meeting to consider possible answers… ‘Ships are full of different nationalities and we take whatever is best for us at the right time,’ Mr Thomson said. Some countries — such as Brazil and Congo — impose seafarer nationality restrictions on ships operating in their offshore sectors, he pointed out. ‘Our government should be interested in jobs for our own people in our own waters.’ But owners often also face the problem of where to put trainees, Mr Thomson said. ‘Ships are not being built with accommodation for them these days and this is a major obstacle.’ Bluewater Yachting director John Wyborn said the superyacht sector could offer ‘very significant employment opportunities’ for British seafarers. The number of superyachts has soared from 1,847 in 1995 to 5,043 today — and there are more than 380 under construction, he pointed out. Mr Wyborn said the number of British ratings in the sector is ‘strikingly low’ given the significant UK influence in crewing and regulation. But, he added, there is good money to be earned, with typical monthly salaries of €3,000 for ratings. Work in the superyacht sector is moving away from its old ‘backpacker’ nature to a more professional basis, he told the meeting, and feedback from superyacht captains showed a

John Wyborn, director for Bluewater Yachting

There are many advantages to employing British ratings, including language, safety and flexibility

“

”

strong demand for young people with the qualities of reliability and enthusiasm. Ian Robertson, from Seajacks Crewing Services, said the offshore renewables sector also offers good employment prospects for British seafarers. ‘We want the right people with the right attitude,’ he added. ‘We have recruited workers from building sites and put them through EDH courses, and they have got AB certification.’ Mr Robertson said there were many advantages in employing British ratings — including language, safety, flexibility and reduced travel costs. Gemma Griffin, from DFDS Ferries, said her

Ian Robertson, Seajacks Crewing Services

company had decided to invest in training British ratings as part of its long-term commitment to the UK flag and UK employment. With less than 10% of its ratings aged under 50, DFDS recognised the need to plan for the future. ‘There is a huge problem looming here and we don’t want to be left to compete in an ever-decreasing market for ratings,’ she added. Two of its trainees have now gained EDH qualifications, and a further nine — seven deck and two engine — are being trained, Ms Griffin said. DFDS is now advertising for apprentice chefs and is also looking to start training electrotechnical ratings. ‘This programme delivers many benefits,’ she told the meeting. ‘It improves the skills base and improves morale, with our crews having a real sense of pride in passing on their knowledge and experience and knowing that they are not the last of a dying breed.’ Engineer trainee Dan Smith said he would definitely recommend the job to friends, and deck trainee Lewis Byford — who had been working in a shore-based job for DFDS before starting his course — said he had been impressed by all the help and support he had been given by shipmates. Richard Graham, manpower programme team

Gemma Griffin, DFDS Ferries

For s facto supp well as var and require Agreements. For other rating emplo is seen as an high-quality the company future workf However, easy one. Wh their ratings how much do help cover th particular stu of training be Further c ageing ratin ments, pens updating un ments* have barriers to m g *See page 4

Richard Gr the Royal F

15/07/2015 19:25

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 23

MARITIME STRATEGY

hance cue a breed with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, pointed e-added’ aspects of UK ratings. The RFA trong personal development model, he ed, and this offers the chance for people to eir skills and competencies. RFA ratings are ighly responsible jobs, Mr Graham added, ny take up shore-based appointments in ning establishments as well as doing work d traditionally been done by junior ofﬁcers. For some companies, cost is an overriding factor in whether their business model supports UK rating employment, as various outmoded working practices quirements of Collective Bargaining ents. ther companies, their commitment to UK employment, training and development as an investment; a way of procuring the ality ratings needed, securing loyalty to mpany as well as providing its current and workforce. ever, the training environment is not an e. What training do companies want for tings, at what level, where is it available, uch does it cost, what funding is available to ver the costs, how easily accessible is it? A ar stumbling block is also the availability ng berths onboard vessels. her concerns related to the health of an rating workforce. Their medical requirepension provision and safety training ng under the STCW 2010 Manila amendhave all been identiﬁed by companies as to meeting their workforce needs. page 40 for the requirements guidance.

What should be done to deliver a new generation of British ratings? The summit meeting heard a wide range of suggestions for a proposed action plan…

z introduce ‘pragmatic and

realistic’ pay grades to reflect crew members’ skills and experience

z establish a career progression

structure based on a regulated and defined training schedule, backed up by training record books within an identified training period

z review and adjust crewing

manning structures to facilitate structured training and development — focus on the difference between the minimum safe manning level and defined operational crew complement

z develop to ensure that crew

accommodation and training berths are exempted from fees and costs based on gross tonnage attitudes, and consider removal of ‘demarcation lines’ to ensure seafarers provide ‘value-plus’

z consider development of a

course in maritime supervisory skills

z produce a simple guide to the

funding streams that are available for the industry

z designate specialised training centres for all rating training courses

z upgrade training facilities and consider ways to increase their capacity

z improve industry coordination over training opportunities

z develop initiatives to improve

22-23_spread_SR edit.indd 23

Should the shipping industry stop using the term ‘rating’ is it serious about attracting the bright and talented and young people it needs for the future? The summit heard several speakers suggest that the word ‘rating’ is outdated and should be replaced with something that better describes the work of seafarers today. ‘We need to come up with another term that doesn’t have a “them and us” connotation to it,’ said Chamber of Shipping chief executive Guy Platten. ‘Everyone works as a team now.’ Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson added: ‘What you are called is important. Young people have a lot of choice today and it is important to describe the job in a way that reflects the exciting opportunities it offers.’

Ian Robertson, from Seajacks Crewing Services, says his company uses the term ‘deck operator’. ‘We don’t call them ratings — that’s old fashioned,’ he added. ‘They carry out deck operations and are multi-skilled, carrying out a variety of different roles.’ Other speakers suggested that young people do not understand what a rating is and a term such as marine ‘technician’ or ‘operative’ would better reflect what the job is about in today’s shipping industry — helping the public, young people or their parents and teachers to overcome stereotypes or misunderstandings about seafaring. g What do you think? Tell other readers with an email to: telegraph@nautilusint.org

Action plan:

z change perceptions and

rd Graham, team leader with oyal Fleet Auxiliary

Is the name part of the problem?

seafarers’ health and fitness ahead of new STCW refresher training requirements

Mick Cash, Mark Dickinson and Guy Platten with two rating trainees from DFDS

The funding is there,so what’s holding us back? I

Shipowners need to act now to safeguard the future of British ratings, Nautilus and the RMT union warned last month. Speaking to the ratings summit, Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson warned that time is running out — with more than 75% of today’s ratings being over the age of 40. British shipowners should be serious about tackling the key issue of rejuvenating the UK maritime skills base through support for ratings training, he added. ‘The need for such support has never been clearer. Despite the range of training opportunities and the funding available, the horrendous decline in UK rating numbers has been nothing short of alarming — totalling more than 70% since the 1970s.’ Mr Dickinson said the ‘pioneering’ tonnage tax officer training requirements had arrested a catastrophic slump in cadet numbers — which, at one stage in the 1980s, saw fewer than 100 starting their training in one year. While the UK officer trainee intake has averaged more than 700 a year in recent times, the number of new entrant ratings barely registers on the radar, he pointed out. ‘But now, I believe, we have the potential to make significant progress. Almost all the elements are in place to start turning the tide.’ The development of the Maritime Labour Convention, and the transfer of AB training into STCW 2010, provided

an opportunity to look afresh at ratings training — and the process gained further momentum with the promotion of apprenticeships throughout British industry, he explained. Nautilus and the RMT union had played a significant part in the formulation of the Watchkeeping Rating Deck and Engine courses, he added. The three-month programmes are arguably now the most cost-effective way of producing a qualified rating anywhere in Europe, he added. Further work to develop similar schemes for electrotechnical ratings, ships’ cooks and hotel and catering ratings will give the UK a chance to provide courses that meet the needs of national, European and international labour markets, Mr Dickinson said. ‘With changes to tonnage tax rules now enabling rating trainees to be taken on instead of officers, the time for procrastination is over and now is the time to act,’ he argued. ‘We really need to see a tangible commitment by shipping companies, together with joined-up government support and cross-departmental cooperation to help deliver a successful outcome.’ Mr Dickinson said it is essential that British ratings have a future in the industry, with many of them progressing to officer ranks. ‘Homegrown seafarers are the only sure-fire way in which we will protect our maritime cluster and our world lead in maritime services,’ he stressed.

The large numbers applying for the few training vacancies being offered ‘scotches the myth that young people are no longer interested in seafaring careers,’ he added. RMT general secretary Mick Cash also underlined the urgent need for action, warning that UK rating numbers have slumped by more than 85% since 1972, and that almost three-quarters of deck and engine ratings are now aged over 40. Figures suggest that barely 20 UK ratings begin training every year — well below the number needed to prevent future shortages, he warned. ‘Trade unions have worked hard to remove the barriers to training, yet the numbers have not picked up. The industry needs to be honest about what is stopping them.’ Mr Cash said £100,000 of public money had been set aside to support ratings training each year, yet in the ﬁrst 12 months only £60,000 was claimed to train 15 and in 2014 only £6,500 was given out. But, he stressed, there are some signs for optimism — with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, DFDS, Caledonian MacBrayne, Bibby and Princess Cruises all demonstrating a commitment to the longterm employment of British ratings. Mr Cash urged owners to challenge the perceptions that shipping is all about ﬂags of convenience and hourly pay rates amounting to less than the cost of a cup of coffee. And he asked: ‘Tonnage tax has been worth £1.6bn to the industry since it was introduced — what are we getting back in return?’

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August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | i

NAUTILUS GM 2015 Notice and agenda for General Meeting 2015

Your meeting, your decisions The motions are in (see overleaf) but have NAUTILUS INTERNATIONAL The Council gave notice for an RGM to be held on you booked your place for GM2015? Wednesday 7 October 2015 at 1700 hours, or to K follow the close of the General Meeting. Full members

Full members from all national branches of Nautilus are invited to attend to vote on key policies for the Union’s work over the next four years. There will also be a full agenda of interesting and informative speakers including Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC, and Guy Platten, director general of the UK Chamber of Shipping. The meeting takes place at the beautiful Titanic Hotel in Liverpool — with members assembling on Monday 5 October for a welcome

dinner and departing on the morning of Thursday 8 October. Attending the meeting needn’t put you out of pocket. Nautilus can provide assistance with travel and accommodation costs, to ensure that the meeting is attended by a representative cross-section of full members from throughout the industry. Use the form on this page or on the Nautilus website to secure your place.

A GM 2015: it’s inﬂuential, it’s interesting and it’s enjoyable. Join us there.

Attendance at GM 2015

were given the opportunity, as provided under the Rules and Regulations to submit proposals to amend the Rule changes from the Council and also proposals to amend the Rules. No proposals were submitted by Full members in advance of the deadline. The wording of the Council proposals are included in Dutch and German on the respective NL and CH websites. RULE CHANGES PROPOSED BY THE COUNCIL Purpose: To provide clarification for the detailed arrangements for an RGM. Rule Changes proposed by the Council a) In Rule 27.2 after “2011” delete “, and may be called at other times either by:” and insert a full stop at the end of the sentence. b) Delete Rule 27.2 (i) and Rule 27.2 (ii)

Albert Dock, Liverpool Picture: Thinkstock

c) Insert new Rule 27.3 A Rules General Meeting may be called at other times by: (i) resolution of the Council for the purpose of considering a Rule amendment or amendments proposed by the Council or, (ii) by notice in writing to the General Secretary signed by at least 200 full members and setting forth the proposed Rule change(s), in which case a Rules General Meeting shall be called within 6 months of the receipt of such a notice by the General Secretary. The Council may also submit amendments to the Rule change(s) proposed by the members and also submit other Rule change(s). d) Renumber current Rules 27.3 and 27.4 accordingly. Council has also agreed to consequential amendments to Regulation 10 to be to take effect from the date of the Rule Change. RULE CHANGES PROPOSED BY MEMBERS None submitted on this occasion

NOTICE Notice having been given under the Rules, the General Meeting of Nautilus International will be held from 0900 hrs on Tuesday 6 October 2015 to Wednesday 7 October 2015 at the Titanic Hotel, Stanley Dock, Regent Road, Liverpool, L3 0AN.

AGENDA 1. Welcome by the Chair 2. To appoint Tellers 3. To adopt Standing Orders 4. To approve the Minutes of the 2011 General Meeting 5. To receive the Council’s Report submitted by the General Secretary 6. To adopt the Council’s Report 7. To consider motions submitted by members and Council 8. To adopt the financial reports 9. To confirm Auditors 10. To appoint a Scrutineer 11. Closing Addresses

Teilnahme an GM 2015

Voor aanwezigheid ALV 2015

This form should be completed and returned to Adele McDonald, Nautilus International Head Office, 1 & 2 The Shrubberies, George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1BD. Email: conference@nautilusint.org .

Dit formulier moet worden ingevuld en verzonden naar Adele McDonald, Nautilus International Head Office, 1 & 2 The Shrubberies, George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1BD. Email: conference@nautilusint.org .

Dieses Formular bitte ausfüllen und schicken an: Adele McDonald, Nautilus International Head Office, 1 & 2 The Shrubberies, George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1BD. Email: conference@nautilusint.org .

A limited amount of financial assistance is available for those full members wishing to attend and who otherwise would not be able to make the journey. Please indicate below if you wish to be considered for financial aid.

Er is een beperkt bedrag beschikbaar voor financiële steun voor Gewone leden ( full members ) die graag willen komen , maar die zonder deze steun niet in staat zijn om deze reis te maken. Indien u meent dat u voor financiële steun in aanmerking komt kunt u dat hieronder aangeven.

Es steht ein begrenzter finanzieller Betrag zur Verfügung für jene Vollmitglieder, die gerne die Generalversammlung besuchen möchten jedoch nicht die Reisekosten aufbringen können. Bitte mache in diesem Falle unten ein Kreuz im entsprechenden Feld.

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Ich beantrage hiermit, die Generalsversammlung 2015 zu besuchen und bestätige ein Vollmitglied von Nautilus International zu sein.

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U wordt vriendelijk verzocht hieronder aan te geven wat uw betrokkenheid bij Nautilus is. Bijvoorbeeld dat u kaderlid of erelid bent of dat u eerder een ALV heeft bijgewoond.

Mache eine Angabe darüber, ob du bereits eine Funktion bei Nautilus innehattest (z.B. Mitglied im Nationalkomitee) oder über ein entsprechendes Engagement nachdenkst

Please complete in BLOCK CAPITALS I wish to apply to attend the 2015 General Meeting and confirm that I am a full member of Nautilus International. Name Address (for all GM correspondence)

Postcode Tel No. Membership No. Company Rank Present ship Please give details of involvement with Nautilus, eg. as a liaison officer or honorary delegate, or if you have attended a Nautilus education course or a previous GM.

If you wish to apply for financial assistance please tick this box As this conference will be paperless, please let us know if you can bring your own laptop or tablet

i_gm15_august_SR edit.indd i

T YES T NO

Vink dit vakje aan indien u financiële steun wenst aan te vragen Deze conferentie is papiervrij; heeft u de mogelijkheid om u uw eigen laptop of tablet mee te nemen?

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Falls du finanzielle Unterstützung für die Reisekosten möchtest, mache hier ein Kreuz Da diese Konferenz papierlos sein wird, teile uns bitte mit, ob du deinen Laptop oder Tablet mitbringen kannst

T JA T Nein

15/07/2015 18:11

ii | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

NAUTILUS GM 2015

Motions General A. SUBMITTED BY THE COUNCIL 1.

Jobs, Skills and the Future

The theme for the 2015 Nautilus general meeting is Jobs, Skills and the Future. For the Union and its members, there must surely be no more important theme than this. Seafaring and nautical skills are of fundamental importance — to the very future of our maritime and shipping clusters and their core role in national and regional economic and strategic wellbeing. Noting with concern the long-term decline in the number of EU seafarers and qualiﬁed inland waterways personnel and the overall level of recruitment and training in EU member states, as well as the low levels of EU seafarer employment on a large proportion of the EU-controlled ﬂeet,

this conference calls for Nautilus to redouble its efforts to maximise the support available to protect maritime and shipping clusters through a continued ﬂow of skilled and experienced maritime and nautical professionals. In particular, this general meeting calls for focussed campaigns to not only maintain but to enhance the provisions of the EU state aid guidelines; to press shipowners to increase their investment in employment and training of EU seafarers and qualiﬁed inland waterways personnel; and to promote decent work and collaboration with other organisations, including in different sectors, to resist social dumping and precarious work.

Crew Communications

Noting the rapid pace of change in communications technology and the standards of IT access ashore this general meeting calls on Nautilus to work to ensure that seafarers get the best quality access to crew communications while at sea; Further noting that the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 states that seafarers should be given ‘reasonable’ access at ‘reasonable’ cost, this general meeting registers its concern at the evidence showing extreme variations in the quality of communications provision for seafarers and the frequent limitations in terms of cost, bandwidth, and access — despite the advances in technology and capacity which have eroded many of the past obstacles.

Furthermore, calls on the Union to continue to exploit modern communications to enhance information ﬂows and communications with members through the development of applications and other digital communication opportunities.

Partnership at Work

This general meeting endorses the long-standing Nautilus policy of promoting the concept of partnership working with progressive employers. Recognising the importance of good relationships with key companies, this general meeting re-states the principles of seeking to develop a joint commitment to the success of companies where members work, by developing mechanisms that help to underpin meaningful dialogue and transparency, promote job security and corporate social responsibility and a high quality working life.

This general meeting recalls that the Officers (Merchant Navy) Federation was launched in 1928 as a means by which officers’ organisations could cooperate and work together in common effort whilst retaining their individuality. The federation brought together officer unions from afar afield as Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand and Singapore. Therefore welcomes the work being done in the 21st century to develop the Nautilus Federation in a similar spirit and with similar objectives of encouraging more and deeper cooperation with like-minded unions representing maritime and shipping professionals.

5. Recognising the important role of communications for recruitment, retention and morale, this general meeting calls upon the Union to make crew communications a core element of its negotiations with employers and also to support moves to promote the provision of free wi-ﬁ services for the crews of ships visiting ports around the world.

Maritime Labour Convention

This general meeting particularly supports the way in which the Nautilus Federation is focused on the delivery of practical support and mutual beneﬁts to members, enhancing the professional support that can be provided – notably on legal, industrial and technical issues. This general meeting therefore calls for Nautilus to continue developing the membership and scope of the Federation, whilst also continuing to maintain its strong commitment and contribution to the work of the ETF, ITF and IFSMA.

z criminalisation and adherence to the IMO/ILO fair treatment guidelines

z improved levels of access to shore leave and port based welfare

This general meeting welcomes the introduction of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 and congratulates Nautilus for its invaluable contribution to the development of a set of minimum conditions for seafarers and its implementation by countries around the world. This general meeting also notes that the MLC is a ‘living’ instrument that is open to amendment and therefore calls for Nautilus to continue to seek further improvements to address such issues as:

z support for abandoned seafarers through the establishment of national funds

6. Further recognising that partnership can ensure that changes are introduced through consensus rather than resistance and enables issues to be dealt with before they become problems, this general meeting recommends that Nautilus re-launches partnership to encourage employers to embrace the concept by working with the Union on practical policies that enable members to have a voice in company strategy and the opportunity to ensure that the impact of staff is considered in any decision.

Nautilus Federation and International Activities

z measures to prevent seafarers from working excessive tours of duty

z measures to combat tiredness and fatigue and low manning levels

z improved accommodation and the provision

of adequate number of berths for trainees (by amendment to the Tonnage Measurement Convention) z harassment and bullying at sea z pensions and other provisions for retirement z onboard welfare including improved communications for the recruitment and retention of seafarers

LRD Membership Survey 2014-2015

This general meeting welcomes the ﬁndings of the independently-produced Nautilus membership survey. It notes the continued improvement in satisfaction levels for the Union’s performance and services since previous surveys in 1999 and 2004 and commends staff and its lay representatives for the work that lies behind such statistics. This general meeting also notes the shift in emphasis on the reasons for membership and the beneﬁts and services that members consider

to be most important. The data collected in the survey is complex and significant and this general meeting therefore calls for the creation of a Council working group, as in previous years, with terms of reference to be agreed by the Council. This working group should be tasked with analysing the survey results in detail, assessing the implications for the Nautilus Strategic Plan and the work of all relevant departments, as well as the benefits and services offered by the Union, and to produce a proposed plan of action in response to the key findings.

The General Meeting is our primary policy-making forum, and there have been some important issues identified in these motions for debate and discussion

“

Mark Dickinson General Secretary, Nautilus International

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”

15/07/2015 17:15

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | iii

NAUTILUS GM 2015

s to the Meeting B. SUBMITTED BY MEMBERS 7.

Alcohol awareness among Seafarers

Noting the numerous incidents involving the abuse of alcohol, damaging the reputation of the seafarers and bringing other ships and seafarers in danger, this Nautilus International General Meeting calls for the Union to work in close cooperation with other seafarer organisations and employer bodies to initiate a campaign to make seafarers around the world aware of the danger of alcohol for their own health and safety and that of others around them. Incidents involving the abuse of alcohol, such as the African Harrier case in March 2015, should be a wakeup call to the industry. This conference notes that not only the reputation of seafarers, but also the safety of seafarers, is put in danger when there is alcohol abuse.

Whilst there are rules and regulations in force regarding alcohol on ships, many seafarers are not made fully aware of the perils of alcohol abuse and this meeting recommends that a widespread campaign is undertaken to raise knowledge about the health and safety risks and consequences of alcohol abuse and misuse. This meeting calls upon Nautilus International to take the lead in this and to try to secure the cooperation from as many seafarer organisations as possible, and also from employer organisations.

Inland Waterways Transport

The General Meeting greets the efforts to promote transport in Europe by inland waterways transport (IWT) as the least environmentally damaging mode of transport. But beside working towards improvements in e.g. infrastructure and harmonisation of the various technical regimes, more attention needs to be urgently given to the human factor. The General Meeting therefore:

z supports the initiatives for a modern European

system for the training and certification of all nautical crew members thus raising the status of the profession z greets the conclusion and ratification of the social partners agreement on working time in IWT as a significant first step towards enforceable unitary social and labour legislation z supports the joint initiative of unions, employers, educational institutes and enforcement authorities to work towards such a unitary system, building on the social partners’

10. Trade Agreements

agreement and the initiatives to extend the exemption agreement to the EU’s social security directive 883/2004 signed by 6 states to the rest of the European Union z opposes efforts to reduce crewing levels in IWT under the guise of ‘modernisation’ and supports calls for a scientiﬁc study on the psychological and physiological effects of fatigue, the intensive use of new technologies and the widespread two-watch system z expresses concern at the widespread social dumping in the river cruise sector and commits to actively support the ITF/ETF river cruise campaign As an international union and key member of the Nautilus Federation as well as being the leading union in Europe’s largest IWT industry in the Netherlands our union recognises that a strong union movement is essential to safeguarding the interests of crews in IWT and is ﬁrmly committed to playing a key role in shaping the future of the industry and protecting the interests of those workers.

Health & Safety for Women Members

This conference believes that women who work in male-dominated industries should not have to face barriers associated with any aspect of health and safety. However, Nautilus International has identiﬁed a range of problems in the maritime sector, and consequently calls for:

z the introduction of a separate shipboard locker containing birth control, sanitary and hygiene products. This locker should be additional to the statutory medical locker and be readily accessible to female employees without the

ii-iii_spread_motions_SR edit.indd iii

embarrassment of having to approach a male medical ofﬁcer z employers to conduct a thorough analysis and risk assessment of all Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and emergency equipment in use onboard to ensure that all persons using such equipment are able to do so safely z increased recognition from employers of gender speciﬁc health and safety issues and the actions that can be taken to mitigate them and, as a result, the creation of a safety culture where nobody is disadvantaged in the workplace

This GM notes that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with America and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada have been described as the ‘biggest threat to employment rights in a generation’ which will result in ‘a race to the bottom in terms of regulation and workers’ rights – giving big business the power to over-rule any legislation they deem to be restrictive to their proﬁts’. This GM believes these trade agreements with the European Union pose a serious threat to the working lives of maritime professionals in Europe and around the world. For seafarers these agreements have the potential to remove any restrictions on nationality of crew, wages or working conditions — meaning European seafarers could be priced off ships as companies employ the cheapest seafarers on the worst terms and conditions. At their worst, these agreements

could undo much of the progress made in recent years to provide a global level playing ﬁeld with basic rights for seafarers provided for under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006. This GM applauds the American maritime trade unions in their defence of the Jones Act — which requires all passengers and goods transported by water between US ports to be carried on US built, ﬂagged and crewed vessels — from the threat of deregulation under TTIP. This GM calls on Nautilus International to:

z campaign alongside other organisations for the

immediate suspension of negotiations on TTIP and CETA z support calls for legislation to protect seafarers and other workers from unfair competition z work with the ETF to urge the European Union to consider legislation based on the strategic aims of the US Jones Act

11. Career Transitions ‒ all in the same boat This GM notes the work that has been undertaken by the Young Maritime Professionals Forum and the Women’s Forum since their inception to ensure that young and female members have all the specific information they need for their careers, especially when they are serving away at sea. This GM understands that much of the work has been on the issue of transition periods — supporting members when they first go to college, go to sea, embark on their first trips as qualified officers and eventually when they make the transition to a shore position in the future if this is how they wish to develop their career.

This GM calls upon the Union to further develop this initiative into a campaign under the banner of ‘All in the same boat’. This campaign should include the provision of information in a variety of formats which support members during the various transition stages of a maritime career; a mentoring scheme so that members can learn from other members who have already been through the experience; and the gathering of case studies and anecdotes from members with personal lessons to share.

12. Equality and Diversity The GM believes that maritime professionals in Europe were traditionally white and male, but that this demographic has changed dramatically in the last twenty-five years; with more women, more young people and people with more ethnically and socially diverse backgrounds choosing careers in shipping. To facilitate the needs of all its members, Nautilus must understand how this changing demographic has affected the demographic of the Union. This GM notes that membership surveys have been conducted in the past, but none have asked specific questions around the age, gender, ethnic background or sexual orientation of members with the specific aim of ensuring that the Union’s structures support the different needs of these groups.

This GM agrees that specific diversity groups have specific issues which need to be addressed in targeted ways to ensure that the future of the maritime industry is open, inclusive and welcoming to all — regardless of gender, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity, cultural or social demographics. This GM applauds the excellent work of the Women’s Forum & the Young Maritime Professionals Forum; whilst recognising that equality and diversity are far from fully represented within the existing structures of the Union and realising that a mechanism must be in place to allow Nautilus to focus on broader equality and diversity issues and specific issues affecting specific demographics.

15/07/2015 17:15

iv | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

PHOTO COMPETITION

Last chance to show us your skills ‘Life at sea’ photo competition deadline is 1 August 2015…

Boat ride, by Ryan Paez

There’s still just about time to enter the Nautilus/Inmarsat photo competition — especially if you’re one of the many readers who receive their Telegraph before the beginning of each month. The theme of the competition is ‘Life at sea’, and the judges are interested in seeing arresting and thought-provoking images of your life as a maritime professional, so show us something that the wider public don’t usually see. In the entries received to date, we’ve had some highly-accomplished images with beautiful colours and skilled use of focus and contrast. Like these, your picture should be of a decent quality, but you don’t

need to have professional-standard kit to join in. Even with a fairly basic camera or a smartphone, you can demonstrate an eye for good composition and capture a powerful story in pictures. And that story is really what counts in this competition. Get the theme of your photo right as well as the technique, and you could be in line for a great cash prize. First prize is £1,000, second prize is £750 and there is £400 for the third-placed entry. You can submit your shots of life at sea in colour or black and white, and as prints or e-mailed high-resolution JPEG electronic images (300dpi is preferred). There is no limit to the number of entries

you can submit. The closing date is Monday 1 August 2015 and the prizes will be presented at the Nautilus International General Meeting in October, where an exhibition of the best entries will be on show. To enter with hard copies, please cut out and complete the form on this page and send your pictures to: Nautilus/Inmarsat Photo Competition, Nautilus Telegraph, 1&2 The Shrubberies, George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1BD. Make sure you state on the form whether you want us to return your photographs. To enter with digital photos, please email them to telegraph@nautilusint.org with Nautilus/Inmarsat photo

competition 2015 in the subject line. In your email, you must supply your contact information in the same way as on the printed entry form, and don’t send ﬁle attachments totalling more than 10MB at a time, as this will exceed the server limit. Please note that by entering the Nautilus/Inmarsat photo competition 2015, you are giving Nautilus International permission to use your submitted images. fIf you haven’t managed to get your photos ready in time for the deadline, why not take a look at all this year’s entries to get some inspiration for the next competition? Go to www.ﬂickr.com and search for Nautilus International under ‘People’.

Photo competition 2015 Name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Home tel: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

...................................................

Address:

Email:

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Fishing fever, by Dmytro Sakhnyuk

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Mem no.: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Photos to be returned: YES / NO

Conked out on the cargo, by Stephan Heidsieck

Night off in port, by Paul Meerbach

Inmarsat: Competition Sponsors connectivity can be a K prerequisite for attracting high Today, always-available

calibre candidates to a seafaring career. Staying in touch with family, friends and world events, and enjoying leisure time, are essential for the modern seafarer. A happy crew is also a productive crew. Through its 99.9% global network coverage, Inmarsat Maritime is meeting rising expectations, via FleetBroadband, XpressLink, and now Inmarsat Gateway. Using Ku-band, L-Band and now ground-breaking Ka-band connectivity, crew can call home and access broadband internet from anywhere at any time without compromising operational communications. In addition, life at sea just got better, following the 2014 launch of Inmarsat Fleet Media — delivering blockbuster movies, sport and news direct to PCs and tablets at sea.

Safety checks before departure, by Ryan Paez

15/07/2015 17:16

24 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

MARITIME HISTORY

Commemorative paving stone in Islington

A shipmaster who became the ﬁrst civilian to be awarded a Victoria Cross in the First World War was honoured in his London birthplace last month — 100 years to the day after he died during a U-boat attack on his vessel. Captain Frederick Parslow was in command of the Lawther, Latta & Co steamship Anglo-Californian when it was attacked by the German submarine U-39 off the southern coast of Ireland on 4 July 1915 while carrying almost 1,000 horses bound for the Western Front.

Peter and Andrea Walker unveil the paving stone remembering their great grandfather, Captain Frederick Parslow VC, in Islington Picture: Centenary News

VIPs and veterans attended a ceremony in London last month to pay tribute to one of two merchant shipmasters to be awarded the Victoria Cross for their heroism in the First World War… A ceremony to unveil a commemorative paving stone at Islington Green, close to where Capt Parslow was born in 1856, was organised last month by the Honourable Company of Master Mariners, the Merchant Navy Association, the Royal Navy and the local council. The carved stone is one of 628 being laid around the country in a government scheme to honour all 628 people who were awarded VCs during the First World War. The VC is Britain’s highest military honour, and Capt Parslow was not only the ﬁrst civilian recipient in WW1, but also the oldest person to receive it. Both he, and Captain Archibald Smith, who died in an attack on his vessel Otaki in March 1917, remain the only merchant seafarers to have been given the award. While the Admiralty wanted to recognise their bravery, there had been some opposition to the idea of giving the military decoration to civilians and it was only after they were posthumously

commissioned as Royal Naval Reserve Lieutenants in May 1919 that the medals were awarded. Capt Parslow was given the VC in recognition of his ‘most conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty’ when the Anglo-Californian was attacked on its voyage from Montreal to Avonmouth, some 90 miles off Queenstown (now known as Cobh). U-39 — which had sunk three vessels on the previous day — had spotted the Anglo-Californian at around 0800hrs, and its commander, Kapitänleutnant Walter Forstmann, decided on a surface attack. The submarine fired an initial warning shot and sent the warning message: ‘Get into your boats. You cannot get away.’ But Capt Parslow would not give up so easily. He ordered the ship to turn away and put the submarine to the stern, to present a minimal target for U-39, and called for emergency full speed, 14 knots, while the wireless operator was told to try and contact any nearby Royal Navy vessels. Capable of 16½ knots on the surface, U-39 began to gain and informed by its own wireless operator that the Anglo Californian had contacted a RN ship, manned its 88mm deck gun. Capt Parslow cleared the open bridge — apart from the second mate, at the wheel. The officer was also called Frederick Parslow and was the master’s oldest son. By 0900, U-39 had closed to 1½ miles, its firing becoming more accurate. Capt Parslow ordered the crew below and his son now steered a zig-zag course. But at 1030, the submarine signalled Capt Parslow to abandon his badly damaged ship. Not wanting to risk his men any further, the master rang for the engine to stop and ordered boats to be lowered. But his wireless operator then passed a message that two RN destroyers were on their way and, encouraged by this, Capt Parslow immediately ordered the boats inboard and full speed. Taken by surprise, the U-boat commander ordered fire to be directed onto the bridge, supplemented by a machine gun and rifles. This continued for another hour until Capt Parslow, his ship badly holed and on fire, decided to heave-to in the interests of his crew, lowering boats. Even then, the 88mm gun continued firing until at around 1120 Capt Parslow was hit by a shell that carried away the peak of his son’s cap. The master suffered severe wounds to his head, and an arm and leg were severed. His son took the helm after his father died and even after another shell hit near the

Captain Frederick Parslow

bridge, he managed to keep steering while lying ﬂat on the deck. As the U-39 closed to within 50 yards, the RN ships appeared. Fired upon this time, the submarine hastily dived and escaped. Carl List, who was serving onboard the U-39, later wrote: ‘Our crew agreed that the Anglo-Californian’s captain ought to have the Iron Cross.’ Capt Parslow’s son managed to take the AngloCalifornian into the port of Queenstown, where the master and eight of the crew are buried. A total of 33 crew died, and 14 of those without a grave are named on the national Merchant Navy Memorial on London’s Tower Hill. The ship was bought by Cunard and renamed Vandalia, but was sunk by another U-boat in June 1918. The younger Frederick Parslow went on to become a shipmaster, but died in March 1938 when his vessel, Anglo Australian, disappeared off the Azores. While Capt Parslow was awarded the VC and the Lloyd’s Medal, his son received the Distinguished Service Cross, as did the ship’s chief engineer, James Crawford. Several other crew members were Mentioned in Despatches. Speaking at the ceremony last month, Captain Phillip Hanton of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary said Capt Parslow’s heroism was a reminder of the debt of gratitude the nation owes the Merchant Navy. ‘In remembering this heroic VC,’ he added, ‘we should also dedicate that to the Merchant Navy, in both world wars and those serving today, who do still face the threat from the pirates who wish to take over their ships, imprison them and hold them to ransom.’

Captain Jim Conybeare, Master of The Honourable Company of Master Mariners, reads Frederick Parslow’s VC citation which was published in the London Gazette for 23 May 1919 Picture: Les Scriver

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August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 25

MARITIME HISTORY

Sea stories from the archives British Merchant Navy crew lists from a century ago have been opened up to online access for the first time in a tribute to the ‘forgotten heroes’ of the First World War. ANDREW LININGTON met some of those behind the project…

Retired merchant seafarers were among the more than 400 ‘e-volunteers’ who helped to deliver an ambitious four-year project that aims to remind the British public of the vital wartime role of the Merchant Navy. They worked with experts from the National Maritime Museum (NMM) and the National Archives to transcribe the details of 39,000 century-old crew lists — containing the names of around 750,000 seafarers — to enable the launch last month of an online searchable database. ‘We originally discussed the idea back in 2009, when we were embarking on a number of projects to digitise the Army, Air Force, Royal Navy and Reserves records for the commemorations of the centenary of the First World War,’ explains Janet Dempsey, maritime record specialist at the National Archives. ‘The Merchant Navy is effectively the fourth force and we wanted to be able to mark its important role in helping the others to function.’ ‘When we think of the First World War, we often think of the mud and the trenches, but merchant seafarers were the people behind the scenes who made sure the public got their food and supplies, and that the troops got their equipment and got to where they needed to be,’ adds NMM archivist Martin Salmon. ‘This was a marvellous project to work on and I hope we have contributed something lasting that helps to raise public understanding.’ The volunteers were vital to the success of the project, because there was very little funding available. ‘They were from all over the world and came from as far aﬁeld as Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Canada, which is a real sign of the interest in the Merchant Navy,’ Mr Salmon says. ‘A lot of them were former merchant seafarers, and really enjoyed working on the project and supporting its aims.’ One of these was Tim Brant, national secretary of the Merchant Navy Association. ‘It is a fascinating

Volunteers and archivists at the crew list project launch at the Cutty Sark Pictures: National Maritime Museum

It became a competition to find the best job

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”

Close up of the Anglo-Californian's crew list Pictures: National Maritime Museum

project and it is great to see it come to fruition, as you wondered how long it would take at the beginning,’ he says. ‘It certainly helped to have a maritime background when you were going through the crew lists and one of the things that struck me most was all the different nationalities on British ships in those days — you wondered how they all ended up there.’ Although there are some records of individual seafarers dating back to the 16th century, it was not until 1835 that legislation was introduced requiring the systematic collection of information on ship crews, including the ﬁrst and last names, age, place of birth, ‘quality’ (shipboard role), the ship in which they last served, and the nature of their departure from the ship — such as whether discharged or drowned.

Vosges, whose master — Captain John Richard Green — was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery when the vessel was attacked by a German submarine in March 1915. Researchers said the scale of the project not only underlines the huge size of the British merchant marine 100 years ago, but also its surprising diversity. ‘You might expect British ships to be full of British crews, but the lists show a remarkable range of nationalities,’ Ms Dempsey points out. ‘A lot of the foreign names appear to have been anglicised in the records,’ she adds. ‘You even notice

German nationals on some crew lists, although there seems to have been a lot of Dutch crew onboard after 1914…' They were also struck by the diversity of job titles to be found in the crew lists. ‘It became a bit of a competition to ﬁnd the best job details,’ Mr Thompson adds. ‘We came across a guano dryer onboard a whaling ship. And we also found a lightbulb attendant and a glory hole steward.’ It was also interesting to see the wide age ranges within the crew lists, he adds, as well as the surprising number of women onboard ships at the time — especially on vessels operating coastal and home trades services. ‘Whilst it is a big relief to have completed this project, we are delighted that it has opened a portal to encourage people from around the world to do even more research,’ Ms Dempsey concludes. ‘The crew lists are a remarkable resource and there are many more discoveries to be made within them.’ g Find out more at: www.rmg.co.uk/1915crewlists

John Sail and Tim Brant from the Merchant Navy Association with a crew list from the Anglo-Californian

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The volunteers — who all worked from home — faced considerable challenges in transcribing the documents, not least the handwriting of many of the shipmasters who completed the crew lists. But the wealth of data they have amassed will serve as a treasure trove for people researching their family histories, as well as academics and maritime experts. ‘The information could be of great use to social and maritime historians, as you can study things like the locations where seafarers came from, their ages or the number of women,’ NMM archives assistant Graham Thompson points out. The crew lists also yielded some amazing stories, he adds. The most signiﬁcant came from the cargoship Anglo Californian, whose master — Captain Frederick Daniel Parslow — became the ﬁrst merchant seafarer to be awarded the Victoria Cross (see feature opposite). Others included the Thordis, a coal-carrying ship whose crew were awarded a £500 bounty for ramming a German U-boat that attacked them off the Sussex coast in February 1915, and the cargo steamer

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26 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

MARITIME STRATEGY

British ports in the dock The 18,000TEU UK-flagged containership CMA CGM Georg Forster is pictured making a maiden visit to the port of Southampton last month Picture: Gary Davies, Maritime Photographic

The UK ports industry needs to do more to recruit and train a new generation of skilled staff, a toplevel conference was warned last month. Speakers from the ports and shipping sectors, together with UK government and European Commission regulators, heard that British ports are facing increasing challenges in filling many important posts — including a significant number of safety-critical roles. Linda Willson, head of maritime commerce & infrastructure at the Department for Transport, told the 7th Annual Waterfront UK Ports Conference that training has been identified as a key priority in the strategic policy framework developed by government and industry.

‘Skills and experience is a very serious issue — the shortage is not conﬁned to seafarers, and the industry needs to spend time on its workforce,’ she warned. ‘While there is a lot of good work going on in individual ports — and particularly in engineering — there is more work required from government and industry to take the message out to school children that there are good jobs in this sector.’ She urged the industry to embrace technology and innovation as part of a strategy to deliver improved employment opportunities. But Mike Gibbons, from the Unite union, said ports need to eradicate ‘transient and precarious’ working patterns to ensure the stability of their workforces in the future.

UK ports need to invest in training and update technology to keep pace with changes in the shipping industry, conference hears... And German MEP Knut Fleckenstein, rapporteur on the European Commission’s port regulation proposals, said the European Parliament is determined to combat the problem of casualised working practices in EU ports with new provisions on training and social standards. ‘We cannot accept that in the 21st century workers should still be having to line up outside ports to get work,’ he said. Opening the conference, UK Major Ports Group chairman

The must-attend global maritime event for 2015

Propelling world trade

Simon Bird stressed the economic and employment signiﬁcance of the sector — handling more than 500 tonnes of cargo a year and directly employing around 120,000 people. ‘This is perhaps not the most glamorous industry, but by any measure it is one of the most important,’ he added. British Ports Association director David Whitehead said the UK ports sector was second only to the Netherlands in Europe, making a value-added contribution of some £7.7bn a year to UK GDP. However, he warned, the UK needs to boost its export volumes if the amount of trade handled by the country’s ports is to grow signiﬁcantly. And, he added, the volume of freight being carried by coastal shipping is continuing to decline — now standing at just 19% of total tonnage. Dimitrios Theologitis, head of the ports and inland waterways unit at the European Commission’s DG Move, said there have been important advances in EU policy — with the ‘motorways of the sea’ concept forming a key element of the trans-European

transport network — and the Commission is offering more than €26bn in funding over seven years to support projects under this framework. He said the Commission’s latest attempts to introduce regulations on port services should be ‘completely neutral’ for the UK, as they aim to deal with issues such as fair competition and the transparency of funding. The Commission wants to deal with ‘social’ issues such as dock labour through a process of dialogue with the industry, he added.

Neil Davidson, a senior analyst with Drewry Maritime Research, said many ports have been affected by a ‘triple whammy’ of bigger ships, bigger shipping alliances and what were once seen as large ships ‘cascading’ down to different services. The UK has managed to retain direct calls by the new breed of ultra-large containerships, he added, but their size means there is a reduced service frequency, and while they are cheaper for shipping companies to operate, they impose a lot of extra costs ashore, as the rest of the supply chain had to invest to keep pace with them. The rapid advances in ship size and associated technology means ports can quickly become obsolete, Mr Davidson warned, and he pointed to Thamesport as a victim of such trends.

The industry is also struggling to meet the sort of cargo handling rates that shipping companies have sought, he added. ‘Maersk had wanted to see 6,000 moves in 24 hours, but the reality is that the best performing terminal in the world averaged 3,800 moves in 2014 and it will be almost impossible to get to Maersk’s target without a revolution in ship handling technology,’ he pointed out. Iven Kramer, from the German port of Bremen, said average containership capacity has doubled over the past decade and dealing with bottlenecks and improving hinterland connections are now major challenges for European ports. Paul Barker, UK manager for the Danish-based shortsea and feeder operator Unifeeder, described some of the other effects of ‘super-sized’ containerships. ‘The port sector used to inﬂuence vessel size, but now it is the other way around,’ he explained. ‘The arrival of such ships is like an irregular heartbeat, with constant waves of cargo arriving in terminals, and this has a huge impact on things like labour, infrastructure, yards and storage. ‘There’s also a big challenge for smaller ports in handling castoff ships from bigger routes,’ he stressed. ‘But what we are seeing now is the new norm. It is only going to get faster and faster.’

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has been put up for sale by its K owners, International Port Holdings

The UK port of Great Yarmouth

(IPH), who acquired the business eight years ago. The former trust-owned port used to be run by commissioners, but was privatised in 2007 — with the Great Yarmouth Port Company leasing the outer harbour to another firm, EastPort UK. There has been considerable

controversy over the £80m work to create new deepwater facilities at the outer harbour. And last year EastPort lost a legal fight to take over the port authority powers, after the High Court upheld the Marine Management Organisation’s decision to refuse its transfer application. The company had claimed the ‘complex’ ownership structure was hindering growth and confusing customers. But opponents argued

that EastPort had not delivered on plans for ferry services and a container terminal at the site. Eliza O’Toole, the company’s deputy chair, said developments since 2007 have turned Great Yarmouth into the ‘premier port’ servicing the southern North Sea oil and gas sector, as well as expanding into grain and aggregate trades and offshore wind construction and servicing. Picture: Maurice Gray

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August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 27

MARITIME EDUCATION

Plotting a course An inner-city school in London is leading the way in developing a maritime studies curriculum for schoolchildren. DEBBIE CAVALDORO met the man at the helm of its nautical courses…

James Bullar, head of maritime studies at the London Nautical School (LNS), has recently been awarded an MBE for maritime education and voluntary services to maritime safety. The award comes just as his work to revolutionise maritime education in the UK for 11 to 18-year-olds is about to take off. LNS is one of only a handful of schools currently providing any formal maritime training for schoolchildren, and it doesn’t take long to realise why Mr Bullar is truly deserving of his accolade. He has just completed writing an outline for a new maritime studies course which could become the standard for maritime education in schools; he is involved in a project to link maritime schools across Europe; and despite having his own teaching responsibilities he is very keen to help other schools open nautical departments. Mr Bullar’s award comes as the state school begins its centenary celebrations — LNS has been providing 100 years of continuous free maritime education, and even during the war, maritime education continued when the school was evacuated to Newquay in Wales. Over 400 11 to 18-year-olds attended a maritime careers fair and open day at the LNS last month, where staff and pupils showcased the maritime courses on offer, and informed other students about the opportunities that a seafaring career provides.

The school offers maritime courses from year seven (the first year of secondary school) right through to sixth form (the last two years). In the first two years, docks lessons are a compulsory part of the school curriculum. Every child chooses either sailing or kayaking, with the aim of familiarising them with being afloat — while also building their confidence, resilience, selfachievement and teamworking. From the age of 13, students can chose to take a level one maritime skills course which teaches them about the operational considerations of different vessel types and potential career pathways, as well as health and safety, before they make their GCSE choices. Students can opt to study maritime studies alongside the traditional range of school subjects and, in years 10 and 11 (aged between 14-16) they can study the Maritime Skills Alliance level 2 Maritime Studies VRQ alongside a BTEC in sailing and water sports. In the sixth form the boys’ school also admits girls, who can study navigation, a level 3 BTEC in sailing, gain their SRC radio operator’s licence, and take STCW basic training. ‘All of this from a small inner city state school,’ says Mr Bullar. ‘During their sixth form study, half the students also become RYA sailing instructors in their own right,’ he adds. ‘This makes the school leavers highly employable, and many get snapped up for

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shipping company-sponsored courses. The school has three recent school leavers currently doing cadetships with Trinity House, a further three with Maersk, another about to join Evergreen, another with DOF Subsea, several going into the Royal Navy and of course many into apprenticeships on the river and the leisure sector.’ Mr Bullar says the maritime courses are all hugely engaging for the pupils and help them to see the relevance of having a variety of skills alongside traditional school subjects, even for those who do not wish to ultimately take up a maritime career.

James Bullar (centre) teaching pupils at the London Nautical School on the school’s bridge simulator

ment of Transport and the minister for school reform. Together with a representative from the exam board, Mr Bullar spoke extensively with industry representatives to ﬁnd out what they wanted to see in a new qualiﬁcation, and one of the main answers was an element of marine engineering. These requirements and others have been taken onboard, but Mr Bullar explains that there are still hurdles to clear before the new level 2 and 3 maritime courses become a reality. ‘The key one is that they must pass the Department for Education’s standards to be included in the new progress measures

The maritime careers fair and open day at the London Nautical School last month

He is very keen to pool ideas and resources, and says the way to help other schools teach maritime education is to save other teachers (and youth group leaders) from having to reinvent the wheel, especially when it comes to workbooks, lesson plans and ideas. A new maritime course is being developed by Mr Bullar in conjunction with a top exam board, and he has had letters of encouragement from the Depart-

for school league tables,’ he explains. ‘This will mean that if the course does pass all the hurdles it will have 40% external assessment and grading of candidates. ‘With both industry and government support, we are three quarters of the way there, but we must demonstrate that there is sufﬁcient interest in the course from schools, academies, employers and youth groups.’

Providing opportunities for people who start off in water sports, or working on fishing vessels, to learn about the wider careers opportunities that the maritime industry offers, is something which Mr Bullar has first-hand experience of. ‘After university I started out as a professional yacht skipper working out of Stockholm, and worked all round Europe for quite a few years,’ he says. ‘I went on to teach yacht racing, radar and yacht master courses, and did loads of amazing things. But yachting in those days was not a career. By the end of my 20s I wanted a career rather than a job. ‘I heard about a scheme being advertised by Portsmouth University where they were providing teacher-training for ex Royal Navy officers to become science teachers. I approached them and explained that I wasn’t RN, but could I join the course anyway. They accepted me and the rest is history.’ After training placements, Mr Bullar went on to work as a science teacher in a private school, where he taught science and sailing. ‘But when the job came up at LNS I knew it was a perfect mix,’ he says. ‘I get to teach children who aren’t from privileged backgrounds and give them opportunities that they wouldn’t normally have. I’ve been here for 18 years now and I still love it. ‘The job I applied for was as an A-level science teacher, but in my interview I literally said “by the way, I can also teach nautical studies — can I work in the maritime department please?” ‘The big problem was there were no maritime textbooks when I arrived,’ he remembers. ‘So I’ve had to find all the resources for all of the courses. ‘And then, within three years of me starting, the GCSE nautical studies courses we were teaching were axed by the government. Instead of losing maritime education completely, I decided to teach the yacht master course I had taught before. That was successful but there was a lack of awareness of the course, so when

the Maritime Skills Alliance showed me their VRQ course I jumped at it.’ Despite starting out teaching 50% A-level biology and 50% nautical studies, Mr Bullar was soon teaching nautical studies all the time — and developing new material for other courses. As well as offering pure nautical studies, the LNS ﬁnds different ways to integrate a nautical background into all aspects of the curriculum. Watersports make up part of the PE lesson, and lessons in the gym are based on the RN ﬁtness programme. Children use route planning in maths lessons and in geography learn about different countries by charting the Titanic’s ports of call. There is a fully operational simulator where the students can sail their own ships out of the world’s ports.

So how many pupils end up wanting a maritime career? The school believes that it does not exist to simply provide the seafarers of the future, but to teach young people more about the water. ‘The idea is that those who don’t want to ultimately go to sea will at least be more aware of the UK as a maritime island nation than those from other schools,’ concludes Mr Bullar. But for some the career path is set. ‘I’m going to go to Warsash, then I’ll work my way up to captain and eventually I’ll come back to shore and work in marine insurance,’ says one student. Another is slightly too aware of what a future at sea could bring. ‘I want to be an ofﬁcer of the watch,’ he says. ‘Not a captain though, if you’re a captain and your ship crashes, the entire nation will hate you and I don’t want that.’ Out of the mouth of babes… g The London Nautical School is keen for students to be able to see ﬁrst-hand what life onboard is like. If any members or shipping companies are able to offer tours, please email James Bullar at LNS via jamie.bullar@gmail.com. He is also keen to hear from other schools and youth groups who may be interested in teaching the new maritime studies courses.

Staff, pupils and guests from the maritime industry, including James Bullar, far left, at the school’s open day

15/07/2015 18:07

28 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

MARITIME INFRASTRUCTURE Plans to build a new waterway to rival the Panama Canal have divided the central American nation of Nicaragua. JEREMY DEAR reports on the controversial project and what it could mean for merchant shipping…

Proposed: the perfect passage to the Pacific

Work has begun on a project to build a 278km canal across the central American state of Nicaragua. Three times as long and almost twice as deep as its rival in Panama, Nicaragua’s $50bn canal will be the world’s largest civil engineering project. Up to 520m wide and 27.6m deep, the canal will be able to handle the world’s new generation of ultra-large containerships — including those already too large to navigate the Panama Canal. The scale and dimensions of the project — the biggest civil earth-moving operation in history — are astonishing. It will require the construction of a 395 sq km artiﬁcial lake and feature two sets of colossal locks, each with three consecutive chambers, accommodating bulk carriers of up to 400,000dwt. Rivers will be widened and deepened as part of the ﬁveyear construction project, which will also include two deep-water ports, a railway, two new cities, tourist complexes, a free trade zone, an international airport, power, cement and steel plants, and an extensive network of new roads.

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A ship passes through the Panama Canal. Nicaragua claims the existing waterway will struggle to keep pace with the growth in ship sizes and increased seaborne trade Picture: Jeremy Dear

The project’s lead investor, Hong Kong Nicaragua Development Company (HKND) — headed by Wang Jing, a Chinese billionaire — claims the canal is essential to meet the rapid growth of east-west trade and

ship sizes. He argues that up to 10% of ships in the world ﬂeet are presently unable to use the Panama Canal and, despite its US$5bn expansion, the waterway will only be capable of handling

ships up to 13,000TEU and 336m in length. Projected growth in global maritime trade will cause further congestion and delays without a second route through the isthmus, the HKND suggests. On completion, an estimated 5% of global trade will pass through the Nicaraguan Canal and 3,576 ships are expected to transit the canal annually by 2020, increasing to 4,138 by 2030, and 5,097 by 2050. ‘The Nicaragua Canal will be able to accommodate Super Post Panamax ships up to about 23,000TEU, and will offer the shortest shipping route between Asia and many US East Coast ports,’ Mr Wang says. ‘Vessel size growth has accelerated more than previously anticipated,’ he adds. ‘New shipbuilding orders for container vessels of 10,000TEU and above have grown far more than expected. This trend will end up putting additional strain on the newly expanded Panama Canal, leading to vessel congestion, queuing and delay costs, while at the same time leaving container lines operating 13,000-plus TEU vessels overdependent on the Suez Canal.’ The developers claim the Nicaragua Canal would also deliver big savings for owners, cutting between 8,000 and 12,000km from voyage lengths between Asia and ports on the eastern seaboard of the US, the

Caribbean and Latin America, because they would not have to travel around Cape Horn. Round-trip fuel savings for ULCSs on the Shanghaito-Baltimore route passing through the Nicaragua Canal are estimated to be around $1m.

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Rivers will be deepened and new cities and ports will be built, plus an airport and a network of new roads

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‘Central America is at the centre of North-South and EastWest global trade ﬂows, and Nicaragua provides the perfect location for a new international shipping and logistics hub,’ Mr Wang says. ‘Shippers and shipping lines need faster delivery routes and the continually increasing cost efﬁciencies that come from much larger ships,’ he adds. ‘By accommodating the next generation of the world’s

largest ships and by providing an alternative for AtlanticPacific trade, the Nicaragua Canal holds the potential for faster travel times, lower costs and added dependability. US and European exporters could profit handsomely as it will cut shipping costs to Asia. Petroleum and liquefied natural gas producers in particular stand to benefit.’ The company says the new canal will also improve the competitiveness of shipping iron ore between Latin America and Asia. Keith Svendsen, head of daily operations at Maersk Line, has voiced support for the project. ‘Building a Nicaragua Canal seems to make good sense,’ he says. ‘The canal is projected to have room for the biggest ships, while also saving 800km on a journey from New York to Los Angeles. When we built container ships 20 years ago they were scaled according to the Panama Canal, but the ships today are bigger. Even after the expansion of the Panama Canal, the biggest ships won’t fit there.’

But critics claim the success of the project is far from assured. Panama Canal administrator Jorge Quijano warns that construction costs may spiral upwards to $70bn or even $100bn, and many analysts doubt the work can be

15/07/2015 17:12

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 29

MARITIME INFRASTRUCTURE completed in just five years. Some logistics experts suggest that canal transit tolls would have to be considerably higher than those in the Panama Canal for investors to benefit from the project, and that it would need to generate an annual income of about $5bn — more than double that of its rival. There are also doubts about the canal’s ability to cut shipping times on the Asia-America route. Critics claim that, as the proposed waterway will be three times longer than Panama’s, it will take longer to traverse – with a likely transit time of about 30 hours. And questions have been raised about whether there would be sufficient supplies of water to operate two sets of locks in the event of deep and prolonged droughts that are anticipated in the region due to climate change — and whether building and operating the proposed canal is even feasible.

Nicaragua’s canal will certainly face fierce competition. The China Harbour Engineering Company has offered to design, construct, and finance a fourth set of locks in Panama which — if built to the width of the proposed Nicaragua Canal — would be shorter and cheaper. China may also build a coast-to-coast railway line in Honduras, which could affect demand for the new waterway. The project has already been dogged by controversy and, at times, deadly protests. HKND claims the route, from the mouth of Brito River in the Pacific Ocean,

Protestors take to the streets against the canal plans, accusing the country’s leaders of selling the nation to foreign interests Picture: Jorge Mejía peralta

Activists accuse Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega of selling the nation’s heritage and riding roughshod over the rights of indigenous communities. But the Nicaraguan government has hit back at critics, claiming the project will bring huge beneﬁts to Latin America’s second poorest country, lifting more than 400,000 Nicaraguans out of poverty, creating 250,000 jobs, reducing dependence on foreign aid and doubling economic growth to an average 11.6% per annum over the next ﬁve years.

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Local trade unions support the canal because of the jobs created, but concerns remain over deforestation and water contamination

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through the Tule and Punta Gorda rivers and crossing a 105km stretch of Lake Nicaragua — the largest lake in Central America — before reaching the Southern Caribbean, has been chosen to minimise the impact on protected areas and wildlife, the area’s water resources and indigenous territories, and to minimise the displacement of communities. But opponents claim that 400,000 acres of forest would be destroyed during the construction and that up to 80,000 largely indigenous people may be forcibly displaced. Environmentalists, engineers and academics have expressed strong concerns about the threat to eco-systems, globally important wetland and endangered species as a result of dredging and maintaining a 103km long, 27m deep and up to 500m wide channel across Lake Nicaragua. In addition, fears over the threats of seismic activity and the potential for contamination of the lake — which is a critical water source for drinking and irrigation — have sparked widespread protests. Dozens of marches and roadblocks have been staged along the proposed canal route, leading to hundreds of injuries, arrests and violent clashes. Two protestors were killed during protests in Rivas in December.

28-29_nicaragua_SR edit.indd 29

Under a 50-year concession — which can be extended to 100 years — granted to HKND, Nicaragua will receive $10m a year and will own 10% of the canal for the ﬁrst 10 years. Every decade it will receive a further 10% stake, becoming a majority shareholder after half a century. As government adviser Paul Oquist says: ‘We need a way out of poverty; the canal will provide this.’

Trade unions afﬁliated to the National Workers Front (FNT) support the canal because of the jobs that will be created directly and indirectly, and argue that without the new waterway Nicaragua will be consigned to decades of further poverty. They also claim that environmental damage to the country’s lakes and forests will be reduced by the alleviation of poverty in the area. And HKND argues the canal will be used by larger, more carbon-efﬁcient ships which would reduce emissions by around 35%. Tax revenues from the canal would be used to mitigate deforestation and the impact of climate change. A canal through Nicaragua has been a dream of many an adventurous nation since Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés wrote in the 16th century that such a waterway would ‘be

worth more than the conquest of Mexico’. Since then there have been dozens of proposals to construct a route across this stretch of central America sketched out by British, US, French, Belgian and German engineers. Napoleon III even wrote a detailed proposal for its construction while in jail. The US was all set to build the canal, but a last-minute vote in the Senate opted instead for Panama, where the French had already started work on the waterway. Despite the doubters, and in the face of the protestors, Mr Wang remains deﬁant. He insists the project will be built, it will beneﬁt global trade and local citizens and that history will be the judge. He is adamant: ‘Actions speak louder than words. We want to be seen as heroes making history, not villains.’

Environmentalists warn that Lake Nicaragua’s eco-systems are at risk Picture: Jeremy Dear

WERE YOU AWARE that following the successul outcome of a judicial review in respect of two Seatax clients, (brought before the Courts by Nautilus in collaboration with Seatax Ltd as expert advisors on the Seafarers Earnings Deduction), it was deemed that the two Seatax clients did have a legitimate expectation in applying the only published Revenue Practice with regard to the application of a day of absence in relation to a vessel sailing between UK ports. HMRC did not want to accept this practice (although referred to in their very own publications) but have now accepted that expectations of a claim based on such practice would be valid until the published practice is withdrawn. Following on from this, HMRC have now conﬁrmed that this Practice is withdrawn as of the 14 February 2014. Seatax was the only Advisory Service that challenged HMRC on this point.

WHY TAKE CHANCES WITH YOUR TAX AFFAIRS? Let Seatax use their knowledge and 35 years experience to ensure you do not fall foul of the rules Please visit our website for full details of the case. OUR FEES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Annual Return ...................................................................................................... £215.00 inclusive of VAT at 20% NAUTILUS members in the UK sailing under a foreign ﬂag agreement on gross remuneration can obtain a 10% reduction on the above enrolment fee by quoting their NAUTILUS membership number and a 5% reduction on re-enrolment.

or ite, e now r W on re ph r mo : fo tails de Elgin House, 83 Thorne Road, Doncaster DN1 2ES. Tel: (01302) 364673 - Fax No: (01302) 738526 - E-mail: info@seatax.ltd.uk www.seatax.ltd.uk

15/07/2015 17:14

30 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

OFFWATCH ships of the past by Trevor Boult Waterloo in 1815, Napoleon F surrendered to the British on Following the Battle of

HMS Bellerophon off the French Atlantic port of Rochefort in the month of July — and the British government decided to exile him on the remote island of St Helena in the South Atlantic. Because of worries that the 29-year-old Bellerophon might struggle to make it to St Helena, the decision was taken to transport Napoleon onboard the younger HMS Northumberland. St Helena lay within the jurisdiction of the Cape of Good Hope station of the British Navy. The station’s Commander-inChief, Sir George Cockburn, hoisted his ﬂag on HMS Northumberland at Spithead and in convoy with two troopships intended to rendezvous with Bellerophon in Plymouth Sound. However, Bellerophon had hurriedly put to sea to avoid the serious threat of a writ of habeas corpus being served, requiring Napoleon to appear in evidence at a trial in London. But on 9 August, the transfer was made in Tor Bay. Popular interest in Napoleon was intense and the waters about the two ships were crowded with sightseeing boats. Silence prevailed as Napoleon descended to Northumberland’s barge, along with 28 others in the accompanying French party, before the assembled squadron — which also included seven more vessels and a store ship — sailed for St Helena. Although defeated, Napoleon was still regarded as emperor by his followers. A battle of wills and wits was played out between Napoleon and Sir George Cockburn during the long voyage south: they were equally matched. Cockburn took his role of custodian seriously and was

Northumberland’s historic passage, two centuries ago evidently concerned to win the psychological duel for intellectual supremacy — the critical element in physical control. His methods brought accusations of a lack of chivalry, magnanimity and consideration for a former emperor. But he never lost control, and on no occasion was he reduced to discourtesy or emotion, despite Napoleon posing repeated minor but important problems of personal control. During the ﬁrst day, Napoleon maintained a polite, sociable facade, and seemed reconciled to his fate. At times, however, especially when reminded of his increasing distance from Europe, he became dejected. Adding to these moods was a repressed anger that followed checks on his claims to special treatment. As Cockburn was responsible for these checks, the moods added

to difficulties of management, especially in the first week when Napoleon tried to exact from English officers the deference to which he was accustomed. But relations gradually improved. On 15 August — Napoleon’s birthday — Cockburn made him ‘compliments upon it and drank his health, which civility he seemed to appreciate’. On the 27th, Cockburn caused the whole squadron to steer between Gomera and Palma in the Canary Islands simply to gratify Napoleon’s curiosity. One account states that Frederick Bedwell, Master’s Mate, ‘... needing exercise, Napoleon used to fence with this young officer. On one occasion the young Lieutenant Bedwell lifted a button off the ex-Emperor’s jacket. Napoleon graciously handed it to him to keep as a souvenir’.

Telegraph prize crossword The winner of this month’s cryptic crossword competition will win a copy of the book London’s Pleasure Steamers by Andrew Gladwell (reviewed on the facing page). To enter, simply complete the form right and send it, along with your completed crossword, to: Nautilus International, Telegraph Crossword Competition, 1&2 The Shrubberies, George Lane,

South Woodford, London E18 1BD, or fax +44 (0)20 8530 1015. You can also enter by email, by sending your list of answers and your contact details to: telegraph@nautilusint.org.

Relations were also stabilised by the invariable routine into which meetings between French and English fell. The patterns of their respective lives coincided only in the evenings. At dinner, Cockburn always sat beside Napoleon and his ﬂuency in French enabled him to communicate at will, his conversations with Napoleon commanding the attention of all diners. Cockburn was able to draw him out, so that Napoleon’s reminiscences became the main accompaniment to meals. This was followed by exercise on deck, in which Cockburn and Napoleon usually walked together, mostly out of earshot. These considerations were regarded as vital to the understanding they developed. Both gave equally: Cockburn ﬂattered by his questions; Napoleon rewarded with his politeness. Finally, evenings were completed by an hour or more of cards. By studying and humanising him, Napoleon diminished in Cockburn’s estimation. In contrast, Cockburn seems to have risen in respect among the French party, especially for his professional competence. On the day when St Helena was sighted numerous suggestions were made as to when they would see land. It is recorded that Cockburn ‘decided we should see it at six o’clock, and so correct was he in his calculations that the time we saw it did not differ a minute... at which Bonaparte and all the French party seemed much astonished’. Longwood — the former residence of the Lieutenant Governor of the East India Company, who managed St Helena — was given over as the residence of Napoleon, who died there in 1821.

z Thanks to Roger Morriss:

Napoleon & St Helena 1815-1816

Many officers in the UK shortsea trades, and particularly those engaged in the home trade, have been expressing concern at the increasing number of foreign flag vessels trading on our coast. Frequently, it is implied that these ships are more competitive, having advantages denied to our own shipowners — including lower manning scales and lower crew costs. This has led to suggestions that the MNAOA should initiate a campaign to reserve coastal trade for our own ships, or at least to press for some sort of licensing system to regulate the position. At the recent ITF Congress, the Association raised the question of alleged unfair competition among ships in the coastal and shortsea trades of NW Europe, emphasising the dangers to wages and conditions if the position was not corrected MN Journal, August 1965

25 YEARS AGO NUMAST has welcomed a shipping industry call for caution over the introduction of tough new shipboard drink and drug policies. A report produced by an inter-industry group of owners, oil companies and shipowners expresses concerns over the use of random and unannounced testing of seafarers — an increasingly common practice in the US. It calls for international consensus over the drug and alcohol policies being brought in by shipping companies and backs the posed blood-alcohol limit of 40mg/100ml set in guidelines developed by the Oil Companies International Marine Forum. NUMAST welcomed the call for a coordinated approach, but stressed the need for policies to reflect the varied operating patterns of different ship types and said owners should devote similar energy to addressing the risks caused by seafarer fatigue The Telegraph, August 1990

10 YEARS AGO NUMAST has criticised the ‘scandalous’ treatment of Polish seafarers who were replaced by cheaper Ukrainian crews on four ferries operating from UK ports. Around 120 Polish nationals employed on Cobelfret freight vessels were given instant notice and had barely an hour to pack their belongings and leave the ships in the ports of Purfleet and Killingholme. Some of the seafarers had worked in the fleet for as long as 10 years and NUMAST said it was deplorable that they had been treated so badly. The Union has brought the case to the attention of the European Transport Workers’ Federation and advice is being sought on the seafarers’ rights to claim back pay in line with a European Commission ruling preventing wage discrimination among EU seafarers The Telegraph, August 2005

THEQUIZ 1

In terms of gross tonnage, what percentage of the orderbook of western European shipyards is accounted for by cruiseships?

How many of the top 10 container ports in 2014 were in the European Union?

How many merchant ships were scrapped last year?

Approximately how many freight ro-ro ships are there in operation around the world?

Roughly how many 16,000TEUplus containerships are presently on order?

What is the global market share of the three leading container shipping lines, in percentage terms?

J Quiz answers are on page 42.

Name: Address:

Telephone:

Membership No.:

Closing date is Friday 14 August 2015.

QUICK CLUES

30_offwatch_SR edit.indd 30

50 YEARS AGO

7. 9. 10. 11. 12. 15. 16. 18. 20. 22. 24. 25.

Across Home Guard (of old) (4,4) Marks (6) Order (Greek) (5) Plaintiff (legal) (8) Writer (English) (7,7) Office (Vatican) (6) Owning acres (6) Chief (nunnery) (6,8) Medicine (against venom) (8) Hammer (court) (5) Position (socio-economic) (6) Actor (stage) (8)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 8. 13. 14.

Down Privation (8) Consumer (4) Shutter (optical) (6) Feature (coastal) (4) Chief (circus) (10) Tricks (cinematic) (6) Rare (French) (9) Send home (10) Drink (French) (9)

17. 18. 19. 21. 23.

Table (4-4) Tiny (6) Nap (Spanish) (6) River (York) (4) Guests (special) (4)

CRYPTIC CLUES Across 7. Thousands placed as bet, all relative (8) 9. Agree to trick the loathsome dog (6) 10. Omit a small measure of egg white, for the record (5) 11. Spell of batting after initial wide gets the prize money (8) 12. PCs born bad rose to reinvent themselves but still part of game (4,3,7) 15. Article little sibling developed from academic paper (6)

16. Find some lamb lot cheaper if containing unsightly mark (6) 18. Folded sails to inter something in front of ordinary MoD training ground (9,5) 20. Let off for spreading romantic engagement around school (8) 22. About the citizenry being polite (5) 24. Live off others without working — did someone mention cake? (6) 25. Ringlets fashioned from silver (8)

Down 1. Escape as conflicts start (5,3) 2. Brush off upside-down cakes (4) 3. ‘And we will --- all things faithfully’ (The Merchant of Venice) (6) 4. On first name terms with Rosberg, could turn out to be an object of veneration (4)

5. Fashionable, then Cruella’s number of teeth are not main focus of concern (10) 6. Growth in amusement with general and the United States (6) 8. Open cast mines up for meaningful analysis (9) 13. Gripped order letters to be strung together as a book (10) 14. Complain of indigestion (9) 17. After end of March plane company gets a kind of break (8) 18. One of Snow White’s number rings hollow with Washington Irving (6) 19. Troubled global group, simple (6) 21. Name change is an answer to many prayers (4) 23. A feature of the countryside that you get beer after five (4) J Crossword answers are on page 42.

15/07/2015 17:13

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 31

MARITIME BOOKS

Life, the universe and everything 21st Century Seamanship Witherby Publishing Group, £125 ISBN: 978 18560 96324 Macneil says this 1,300-page blockbuster K has taken a decade to prepare — and it shows. Witherby Publishing Group MD Iain

Encyclopaedic in its scale, it offers a remarkable range of information and guidance that will be of particular use to new entrants and trainees. Written and designed with quality and clarity, the book provides a wealth of detail about the shipping industry — and the opening three chapters, which describe all the various vessel types, would be very worthy of wide circulation to address public ignorance about maritime matters. Rather than presenting the information in the traditional form of dense blocks of text, the publishers have gone for bite-sized chunks of material supported with liberal quantities of photos, diagrams and other graphics. That’s not to say the book is a ‘dumbed-down’ work. Where necessary — and notably in sections dealing with regulatory requirements — there are lengthy passages. But rigorous editing and

a ‘bullet point’ approach enables these to be presented in a readily digestible format. The theme of good seamanship underpins every section — with the initial chapters on ship types describing particular cargo characteristics and potential safety risks. The safety message is repeatedly reinforced by a selection of significant accident reports and case studies which provide important lessons for preventing similar incidents and also firmly root the guidance in operational reality, offering genuine insight into the way in which events may easily spiral out of control. Being a ‘21st century’ manual, there are large sections dealing with the flow of regulations affecting shipboard operations — including emission controls, port state control requirements and the concept of ‘goal-based standards’. The topical subject of criminalisation gets a chapter to itself, with associated advice on what to do in the event of an accident. In total, there are 50 chapters — with others addressing topics such as pilotage, ship handling, anchorwork, mooring operations, heavy weather, stability, fire-fighting, and waterway and river transits.

to observe the crowded Thames in central London in the days when commercial shipping played a more important part in the life of the city. The services had their ups and downs as roads to the coast improved and more families started to own cars, but the book has a happy ending, reporting the recent resurgence of British seaside holidays and the public’s enthusiasm for travelling on traditional vessels. The historic steamers Balmoral and Waverley are still going strong, notes the author, and sightseeing trips on modern vessels are also popular, as run by the likes of Thames Clippers. Long may they continue.

Happy times Ferry history on the way to avoids tricky the seaside questions London’s Pleasure Steamers By Andrew Gladwell Amberley, £14.99 ISBN: 978 14456 41584 fwww.amberley-books.com

are known for their piers: K those long streets of wood and iron Many British seaside towns

stretching out to sea where tourists can enjoy amusement arcades and variety shows. But today’s visitors often don’t realise that these famous Victorian and Edwardian structures once served a practical purpose as a dock for pleasure steamers. Before motorised road travel became commonplace, the steamer was a lifeline to British holidaymakers — particularly those travelling from London down the River Thames to the coastal resorts of Kent and Essex. London’s Pleasure Steamers celebrates this era, charting the rise of the services from their origins in the 1820s. The story is told through pictures — paintings and photos — with a paragraph of information under each image. It is very enjoyable to see all these ships of the past with their smiling passengers, and interesting

31_books_SR edit.indd 31

CalMac: An Illustrated History of Caledonian MacBrayne By Alistair Deayton Amberley, £19.99 ISBN: 978 14456 39215 fwww.amberley-books.com

With concerns about the future of CalMac at the forefront

In the light of some recent accidents, sections on entry into enclosed spaces and lifeboat release mechanisms are of particular value — especially when they set out common mistakes to avoid making. There is also some excellent information on health hazards — with advice on minimising fatigue, reducing the risk of tropical diseases and making sure your water supplies are not contaminated. In line with the 21st century theme, there is a chapter of checklists for different operational duties. Reassuringly, however, traditional seamanship is not forgotten and the book offers advice on such things as rope splices, rigging a bosun’s chair, crossing the line ceremonies and courtesy procedures. At a time when many experienced seafarers have been concerned about the quality of those following in their footsteps and when the time available for passing on skills and experience is

under immense pressure, the existence of a book like this helps to ﬁll some big gaps in the system and provides a ready reference to information that may, in many cases, make a difference between life and death. It’s sure to become an essential title — but spare a thought for those tasked with keeping it up to date for the next edition!

not the place for such emotion. It is a good read, without being astonishing, and one can only hope that there will be CalMac in Scotland for long into the future so someone can write a book about the people who really make the ships and the company the icons they are. of many members’ minds at the moment, this nostalgic look back at the last 42 years could be rubbing salt in the wounds. But, for better or worse, the recent changes get no more than a passing mention at the end as references to contracts lost by the company. This is, after all, intended to be a feel-good romp through the vessels that have sailed under the CaLMac banner, and this it delivers in good measure. There is a good mix of written information on the fleet, alongside the images of ships, crews, sheep and classic Scottish skies. The images are all colour and there is a good spread of old and new. The text gives in-depth information about the routes and notable incidents in the life of each vessel but, as ever with these books, it lacks the human touch. How much better would it be to hear about the lives of those who have worked and travelled on these vessels in the last 40 years? But, alas, this is

history of Orkney and Shetland, then do as the publishers tell you and snap this up. If you’re not already, then at £20 it probably won’t break the bank and you can start your own Orkney and Shetland transport history collection.

One for your collection? Steamers and Ferries of the Northern Isles By Alistair Deayton Amberley, £19.99 ISBN: 978 18486 89213 fwww.amberley-books.com the publishers state that this K book is ‘a must for all those interested In their promotional literature,

in the transport history of Orkney and Shetland’ — which leaves one wondering how big a pool that is. And the second thought is surely that, if you are already a fan of this very specific genre, then how have you been feeding your interest if not by studying steamers and ferries, given that this has been the only way to travel to the islands for much of their history? An overview of the companies

who have operated routes to and from the Orkney and Shetland Islands could make up an entire novel of their own, as one company buys another company, and then merges with another, so that a thread can be traced as far back as the Leith, Clyde & Tay Shipping Company formed in 1790. Today the lifeline services are run by much-maligned serial governmentcontract-winner, Serco. The main content of the book runs much to type — four black and white pictures per page, a few lines of text about the ship, and usually a note about her untimely demise. So if you are a fan of the transport

book! Glossy paper — check. Crisp blackK and-white ship photographs — check. Drawings It’s our old friend the cruise nostalgia

of lavish interiors — check. Art Deco-style advertising posters — check. Portraits of rich and famous passengers — check.

If you like this sort of thing, Floating Palaces is a perfectly decent example of the genre. You’ll find a host of famous names from the 20th century here, including White Star’s Olympic, Titanic and Britannic, German vessels l such as the Bremen and Europa, Italy’s Conte di Savoia and the French flagship Normandie. The book also charts the ‘modern-day revival’ of the grand liner, in the form of the Queen Mary 2. Floating Palaces is actually a cut above many

Bristol Tugs in Colour (Volume 1) By Bernard McCall Coastal Shipping Publications, £9.95 ISBN: 978 19029 53700 introduction to this collection K that he took on a bigger than expected Bernard McCall notes in his

task when he began work on this book — a testament to the variety of tugs and ships that have used ports in the Bristol area over the past 50 years. The book follows the usual Coastal Shipping format of quality colour images, with captions telling a bit about the scene and summarising the history of the tugs. This first 64-page volume concentrates on tugs used for ship handling and the fleets of C.J. King and Cory, Wijsmuller and Svitzer. The second volume promises to cover smaller tugs and less frequent visitors to the area.

Pleasant picture book aims at the gift shop Floating Palaces: the Great Atlantic Liners By William H Miller Amberley, £19.99 ISBN: 978 14456 50470 fwww.amberley-books.com

Tremendous tugs to get your teeth into, twice...

suchh publications, in bli ti i that th t it backs b k up its it researchh with a bibliography and starts with a proper contents page to help you jump straight to your favourite ship. So although you’re not going to find anything new here, it’s worth considering as a present for a cruise enthusiast.

Savings on all books You can buy all of these books at whooping 25% discount at www.marinesocietyshop.org. Click on the ‘Books of the month’ and use the promotional code Nautilus.

15/07/2015 17:13

32 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

NL NEWS

Jaarvergadering 2015: een terugblik A

nu uitgebreid c.q. ruimer geformuleerd waardoor Nautilus meer armslag heeft gekregen om in rechte op te kunnen treden tegen uitbuiting van andere werknemers dan onze leden. Tevens zijn de mogelijkheden vergroot om voor ‘decent work’ te lobbyen en (solidariteits-)acties te voeren. Het bestuur kreeg unaniem de steun van de zaal om deze wijzigingen door te mogen voeren in de statuten van onze vereniging naar Nederlands recht.

Op dinsdag 16 juni 2015 vond de besloten algemene jaarvergadering van de Nederlandse branche van Nautilus International plaats. Net als vorig jaar, werd de bijeenkomst ook dit jaar gehouden in het Hilton Hotel te Rotterdam. We blikken terug op een geslaagde middag... Bestuursbeleid

Als eerste werd ruim aandacht besteed aan het gevoerde beleid in 2014, dat door de aanwezige leden kon worden beoordeeld aan de hand van het jaarverslag. Paginagewijs werd het verslag doorgenomen. De leden hadden geen vragen of opmerkingen over de uitgebreide rapportage. Het jaarverslag 2014 — en daarmee het gevoerde beleid — werd vervolgens door de algemene vergadering goedgekeurd. Financieel beleid

Vervolgens schetste de penningmeester, de heer Hylke Hylkema, een helder beeld van de organisatiestructuur van Nautilus International. Hierna gaf de heer Hylkema een uitgebreide toelichting op het ﬁnanciële jaarverslag 2014 via een overzichtelijke PowerPoint presentatie. Het ﬁnancieel verslag 2014 werd door de leden goedgekeurd waarmee decharge aan het bestuur werd verleend. Nieuwe bestuurder

Wegens het bereiken van de pensioengerechtigde leeftijd trad de heer Hylke Hylkema (ingaande op 17 juni 2015) terug als statutair bestuurder van Nautilus International. Woorden van dank voor

Wat verder ter tafel kwam

hetgeen Hylke Hylkema gedurende ruim 41 jaar voor de bond betekend heeft werden uitgesteld tot de receptie die aan het einde van de dag werd georganiseerd. De algemene ledenvergadering nam vervolgens de bindende voordracht van de Raad van Advies over en verkoos Charley Ramdas voor 1 jaar tot statutair bestuurder.

coöptatie in de tussentijdse vacatures. De vraag die tijdens de jaarvergadering 2015 voorlag was of de algemene ledenvergadering achteraf dit besluit van de Raad van Advies wilde bekrachtigen. Unaniem stemde de algemene ledenvergadering hiermee in waarmee de heren Renkema en Kwak met terugwerkende kracht werden benoemd als lid van de Raad van Advies.

Twee nieuwe Raad van Advies leden

In 2014 meldden zich lopende het jaar twee leden voor openstaande vacatures in de Raad van Advies. De heer Peter Renkema voor de kiesgroep werktuigkundigen en de heer Willem Kwak voor de kiesgroep gepensioneerden. Om niet onnodig lang te hoeven wachten (tot de volgende algemene ledenvergadering) voorzag de Raad van Advies al eerder middels

Statutenwijziging

Verder werd aan de aanwezige leden gevraagd in te stemmen met twee statutenwijzigingen. Een ter rechtzetting van een vertaalfout en een om een bestuursrechtelijk probleem op te lossen waar Nautilus onlangs bij een rechtszaak tegenaan was gelopen. De doelstellingen van onze vereniging zijn

Tijdens de rondvraag werd tussen zaal en bestuur over een aantal actuele kwesties met elkaar van gedachten gewisseld. Zo kwamen de volgende onderwerpen aan bod: Ontwikkelingen (en invloed) vanuit Brussel op de zeevaart, procedure rondom verlengen van vaarbevoegdheidsbewijs, het platform gepensioneerden, werknemers in de visserij, sleper Smit Lloyd I, piraterij en als laatste jongeren betrekken bij het vakbondswerk. Na de rondvraag sloot de voorzitter het besloten gedeelte van de jaarvergadering 2015 af en werd tevens de aftrap gegeven voor het openbare gedeelte dat helemaal in het teken stond van de ‘Regie op de maritieme arbeidsmarkt’. Verderop in deze uitgave vindt u een samenvatting van het symposium gewijd aan dit thema. g Wilt u het hele jaarverslag 2014 nog eens rustig nalezen? Ga dan naar onze internetsite en download de PDF via: www.nautilusint.org/nl/

Symposium Regie op de maritieme arbeidsmarkt:

Maritiem maatwerk is nodig! F

Tijdens het openbare gedeelte van de jaarvergadering 2015 konden genodigden het symposium ‘Regie op de maritieme arbeidsmarkt’

bijwonen. Hierbij waren zowel leden als veel externe relaties van Nautilus aanwezig. We blikken terug op een boeiend congres waar drie gerenommeerde sprekers de

Geef uw mening Vorige maand vroegen wij: Denkt u dat LNG de scheepvaartbrandstof van de toekomst is?

Ja 54% Nee 46%

bijeenkomst inhoudelijk opluisterden. Sascha Meijer, recent begonnen als bestuurder bij Nautilus, leidde het symposium in goede banen. Marcel van den Broek, voorzitter van Nautilus in Nederland, sprak een welkomstwoord uit en schetste met enige kerncijfers de maritieme sector in Nederland. Ruud Kuin, sinds mei 2013 vicevoorzitter van het dagelijks bestuur van de FNV, hield daarna een inleiding over de FNV arbeidsmarktagenda. Hij nam het publiek mee aan de hand van een toegankelijke presentatie over ‘Regie op de Arbeidsmarkt’. Volgens Kuin is er een trendmatige groei van flexibele arbeid en staat de cao onder druk. Niet voor niets sloten het Kabinet en Sociale Partners in april 2013 het Sociaal Akkoord, waarin onder meer afspraken zijn vastgelegd over aanpakken flexwerk (nu ruim een derde van de arbeidsmarkt), aanpakken schijnconstructies, aanpassen ontslagbescherming, afspraken over WW, en meer werk voor mensen met een arbeidsbeperking. Vraag en aanbod in goede banen

De poll van deze maand is: Is er een toekomst voor de NW-Europese gezellen? Geef ons uw mening online, op www.nautilusint.org/nl

32-34_nl_14.7.indd Sec2:32

Ruud Kuin meldde dat de FNV pilots wil inrichten die gericht zijn op een nieuwe arbeidsmarktinfrastructuur zoals mobiliteitscentra. Verder is de FNV druk bezig met het vormgeven aan vakbondshuizen en adviescentra in de 35 arbeidsmarktregio’s van het UWV. Hierbij valt onder meer te denken aan een vakbondsloket op het werkplein. Al met al komt

het erop neer dat de regierol op de arbeidsmarkt vooral gaat over het in goede banen leiden van vraag en aanbod, zodat werknemers weten in welke sectoren kansen liggen. Continue dynamiek arbeidsmarkt

Na het boeiende relaas van Ruud Kuin, was het de beurt aan Charley Ramdas, bestuurder bij Nautilus International. Hij gaf aan dat door technologische, economische en demografische ontwikkelingen, er een continue dynamiek op de arbeidsmarkt ontstaat. Deze dynamiek zorgt er voor dat werknemers vaker van baan, functie en wellicht zelfs van sector wisselen. Het is belangrijk dat Sociale Partners de bereidheid opbrengen deze toekomstige transities te faciliteren. Ook vertelde de hoofdbestuurder dat Nautilus voornemens is een sectorale pilot voor de nautische sector te gaan draaien, vanuit een sectoraal adviescentrum in de regio Rotterdam. Charley Ramdas riep dan ook vooral ook de nautische werkgevers op om samen met Nautilus voor de maritieme cluster een sectorpilot te draaien met het oog op behoud van de sterke maritieme positie die we nu wereldwijd hebben. Op- en omscholing noodzakelijk

De laatste spreker van het congres was Harry van de Kraats, algemeen directeur van de Algemene Werkgeversvereniging Nederland (AWVN). Hij gaf aan dat werkgevers behoefte hebben aan capaciteit, kwaliteit en flexibiliteit. In de

maritieme wereld gaan er volgens Van de Kraats veel veranderingen plaatsvinden. Zo zal er (nog meer) sprake zijn van een upgrading van werken denkniveau. Ook vindt een (nog grotere) verschuiving plaats van fysieke arbeid naar mechanisering en digitalisering. Wil je mensen voor de maritieme wereld behouden, dan moet je open omscholen. Daarom juicht AWVN de komst van een maritiem adviescentrum toe, zodat goed ingespeeld kan worden op alle veranderingen. Tot slot adviseerde de algemeen directeur van AWVN dat ook over de grenzen van de sector heen gekeken moet worden. Het is verstandig niet alleen binnen een sector te zoeken naar mogelijkheden (Werk Naar Werk trajecten), maar ook binnen een regio (tussen de verschillende sectoren). Zo kan een geschoolde technische onderhoudsman immers ook in een ziekenhuis zijn waarde bewijzen.

was robotisering. Is onbemand varen toekomstmuziek of moeten wij hier nu al op inspelen? Voorzitter Marcel van den Broek sloot de bijeenkomst af onder dankzegging aan een ieder voor zijn bijdrage en nodigde de aanwezigen uit voor de afscheidsreceptie van Hylke Hylkema die op de jaarvergadering eerder die dag terugtrad als vicevoorzitter van Nautilus. Onder het genot van een drankje, hapje en muziek en lovende toespraken van de heer Erwin Meijnders namens de Nederlandse zeeredergemeenschap en Marcel van den Broek en Mark Dickinson namens Nautilus werd nog lang informeel nagepraat en kon afscheid worden genomen van Hylke Hylkema.

Onbemand varen, toekomstmuziek?

Zowel tijdens als na de presentaties kwamen er diverse reacties vanuit de zaal. Er werden veel vragen gesteld en er ontstond een levendige discussie. Een onderwerp dat aandacht kreeg

15/07/2015 18:58

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 33

NL NEWS

10.000 Vaarbevoegdheidsbewijzen omzetten van STCW 95 naar STCW 2010 in 2016 bij Kiwa Register vaarC bevoegdheden aanvragen die Vanaf 3 mei 2014 kunt u

Toch een nieuwe cao bij ThyssenKrupp Veerhaven!

voldoen aan de nieuwe eisen uit de STCW-code 2010, de zgn. Manila Amendments. Dit zijn vaarbevoegdheidsbewijzen uitgegeven tussen 1 januari 2012 (het inwerkingtreden van de Manila Amendments) en 3 mei 2014 (implementatie van de Nederlandse wetgeving) welke een beperkte looptijd hebben, namelijk tot 31-12-2016. STCW 95

Doordat nog niet iedere zeevarende voldoet aan de nieuwe aanvullingseisen, bestaat nog de mogelijkheid om bevoegdheden aan te vragen onder de voorwaarden van het oude STCW-code 95. Deze mogelijkheid blijft ook in 2016 bestaan. Hierdoor zijn en worden er nog bevoegdheden afgegeven met een beperkte geldigheid tot 31 -12-2016. STCW 2010

Vanaf 1 januari 2017 is iedere zeevarende verplicht om in het bezit te zijn van een vaarbevoegdheidsbewijs conform het STCW 2010. Kiwa Register voorziet dat er in 2016 zo’n 10.000 vaarbevoegdheidsbewijzen moeten worden omgezet van STCW 95 naar STCW 2010. De verwachting is dat er vanaf de 2e helft van 2016 een enorme toename van het aantal aanvragen te zien zal zijn. Niet wachten

Ondanks zorgvuldige voorbereidingen en uitbreiding van o.a. de capaciteit bij Kiwa Register bestaat de kans dat levertijden in

het laatste kwartaal van 2016 onder druk komen te staan. Om de continuïteit te behouden is het advies, ook van Nautilus, de KVNR en de Vereniging van Waterbouwers om aanvragen voor het verlengen van de vaarbevoegdheidsbewijzen niet tot het laatste kwartaal van 2016 uit te stellen, maar indien mogelijk al eerder in te dienen. Daarmee zorgt u ervoor dat u ruim op tijd in het bezit bent van het juiste vaarbevoegdheidsbewijs. Aanvullende certificaten

Om een vaarbevoegdheidsbewijs conform STCW 2010 aan te vragen, dienen stuurlieden en kapiteins aan te tonen in het bezit te zijn van de opleiding ECDIS en radarnavigator (management level). Werktuigkundigen dienen de opleiding hoogspanning te volgen. Maritieme officieren moeten aantonen te voldoen aan EDCIS, radarnavigator (management level) en hoogspanning. Voor meer informatie hierover en het indienen van een aanvraag kunt u de website www.kiwaregister.nl raadplegen.

Wij hebben Facebook. Volg ons ook! Bezoek www.nautilusint.org

Volg ons op Twitter

Wilt u een groter publiek bereiken? Presenteer uw product of service aan meer dan 15,000 maritieme professionele lezers uit Nederland, ter land en op zee! Spreek met één van onze vertegenwoordigers om uit te vinden hoe wij u het beste kunnen helpen.

Neem contact op met Jude Rosset van Redactive Media Group T: +44 (0)20 7880 6217 E: jude.rosset@redactive.co.uk.

32-34_nl_14.7.indd Sec2:33

Na moeizame onderhandelingen is er uiteindelijke een nieuwe cao tot stand gekomen bij ThyssenKrupp met een looptijd van drie jaar. De eerste 2 onderhandelingsronden verliepen stroef. Aan het eind van de 3e ronde zijn we met ‘kwaaie koppen’ uit elkaar gegaan. We gingen van beide kanten onze standpunten herhalen en belanden daarmee in een impasse. Wij hebben toen besloten dat we met dat verhaal terug zouden gaan naar de achterban. Aan de ene kant om aan onze achterban te vertellen dat de werkgever bij lange na niet tegemoet wilde komen aan onze voorstellen, aan de andere kant kwamen we met de vraag ‘hoe nu verder?’. We hebben ledenvergaderingen uitgeschreven voor het kantoorpersoneel en de hele ploeg op de Bison (de duwboot in de Dintelhaven). De laatste groep draait volcontinue dienst maar zijn toch met een grote opkomst aanwezig geweest. Verder hebben we geprobeerd om in drie dagen alle duwboten van de vloot te bezoeken. Dit is op 1 na ook gelukt! Het was voor ons meteen een gelegenheid om het opnieuw een blik op de werkplek te krijgen. Het belang van een nieuwe cao versus de nieuwsgierigheid naar het leven aan boord, de dagelijkse praktijk van onze leden in het werk en hun beleving bij de ontwikkeling van hun arbeidsvoorwaarden. Uiteindelijk

kwamen we tijdens alle goede gesprekken maar heel even op de materiele zaken zoals loonontwikkeling of verhoging van toeslagen e.d. Veel meer ging het over hun behoefte aan respect en waardering van hun werkgever. In hun beleving was daar nogal wat mis mee. De nieuwe directeur had zich nog nauwelijks laten zien op de werkplek. Hij schoof meer en meer de managers naar voren om zaken te regelen en greep niet in als zaken niet liepen zoals het zou moeten. Sterker nog, het leek erop dat met instemming van de directeur, het management bouwde aan een angstcultuur. Zo werd aan de ene collega gevraagd wat een ander tijdens een overleg naar voren had

gebracht om vervolgens laatstgenoemde daarmee te confronteren. Hiermee wordt de veiligheid van de werkplek ook geschaad. Dit maakte zoveel emoties los dat vrijwel iedereen alleen hiervoor al wel in actie wilde komen. Wij waren het management heel dankbaar voor het ontwikkelen van zoveel draagvlak onder hun werknemers voor een steviger inzet vanuit de bonden. We hebben dit gevoelde ongenoegen goed kunnen overbrengen in een informeel gesprek alvorens wij weer aan ofﬁciële onderhandelingen zouden beginnen. Dit heeft goed uitgepakt. Ook de werkgeversdelegatie was overtuigd van ons draagvlak onder de werknemers. Zij herkende de geschetste signalen ook en zegde toe om hier na de totstandkoming van een nieuwe cao, verder aan te willen werken. Hier hebben ze ruim de tijd voor want de looptijd van de nieuwe cao is 3 jaar. Verder hebben de leden ingestemd met een loonsverbetering van 2% over heel 2015 en een eenmalige uitkering van €400,- bruto. Over de jaren erna worden de lonen verhoogd met minimaal 1,5 en maximaal 2% per jaar, afhankelijk van het inﬂatiecijfer. Ook hebben we een werkgarantie afgesproken en andere zaken die het vertrouwen in de toekomst moeten versterken. Aan ons (als onderhandelingspartijen) nu de taak om hieraan in de komende jaren ook daadwerkelijk te bouwen bij ThyssenKrupp Veerhaven.

Een vervolgactie bij Viking River Cruise van Viking River Cruise door onze F collega in Zwitserland (CH) levert onder de

Het regelmatig bezoeken van de schepen

bemanningsleden positieve naamsbekendheid op voor Nautilus International. We hebben al eerder bericht over misstanden bij- en een heuse actie tegen Viking River Cruise. Het onderwerp was toen de door deze werkgever toegepaste, eenzijdige wijziging van munteenheid bij het uitbetalen van de salarissen van haar personeel in januari 2015 en volgende maanden. Dit was destijds ook een aankondiging om dit bedrijf vaker te bezoeken met uiteindelijke doelstelling om tot georganiseerd overleg te komen met de werkgever, uitmondend in een cao-afspraak voor al het personeel. Steeds vaker ontvangen wij klachten over arbeidsomstandigheden en het uitbetalen van (over-)uren vanuit het hotel- of boordpersoneel die werkzaam zijn bij Viking River Cruise. De meest gehoorde klacht is dat van hen wordt verwacht dat ze soms meer dan 14 uren per dag werken terwijl de werkgever maar 8 uren betaald. Het gaat hierbij vaak om Oost-Europese personeelsleden die, ondanks hun enorme inzet, maandelijks niet meer dan €600,- netto per maand verdienen. Op dinsdagmiddag, 30 juni 2015, hebben we met een aantal collega’s vanuit Nautilus CH en NL weer een bezoek gebracht aan een afgemeerd schip van Viking River Cruise. Het doel

was om in gesprek te komen over de arbeidsomstandigheden en arbeidsvoorwaarden met de bemanning en gasten die aan boord van dit schip (gaan) verblijven. Hierin zijn we gedeeltelijk geslaagd omdat we deze keer vooral bemanningsleden hebben gesproken. Deze zijn onverdeeld positief over de inzet vanuit Nautilus om bij hun werkgever te komen tot georganiseerd overleg wat zou kunnen leiden tot een heuse cao. Uit onze gesprekken blijkt dat bemanningsleden ook een persoonlijke agenda hebben. We spraken een matroos die het wel goed vindt dat er nu een behoorlijke uitstroom is onder het personeel want dit biedt immers kansen voor

een versnelling van de eigen carrière. Eventuele misstanden neemt hij onderweg op de koop toe omdat hij na het bereiken van een positie als stuurman met (enige) ervaring, toch weer wil veranderen van werkgever. Ook opmerkelijk was het gesprek met de hotelmanager. Deze heeft ook jaren gevaren op Ocean Cruise schepen maar had nog nooit zo’n goede werkgever gehad dan Viking. Volgens hem is alles bespreekbaar en voelt het als 1 grote Vikingfamilie. Wij kregen zomaar het idee dat zijn werkgever ook blij met hem zal zijn. Echter, wij weten ook dat niet iedereen wel vaart bij Viking River Cruise.

15/07/2015 18:41

34 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

NL NEWS

FNV Waterbouw bouwt aan de toekomst!

Nautilus krijgt groen licht van kapiteins A Stena Line A

Van 7 tot en met 28 mei hield Nautilus een referendum onder de gezagvoerders en afloskapiteins van Stena Line. De vraag die voorlag was of de kapiteins ermee akkoord konden gaan dat Nautilus gaat onderhandelen met de directie Stena Line over de loon- en arbeidsvoorwaarden van alle kapiteins. De uitslag was klip en klaar: de gezagvoerders en afloskapiteins hebben unaniem voor gestemd. Nautilus heeft hiermee het zogenoemde ‘groene licht’ gekregen om met Stena Line te gaan onderhandelen over de loon- en arbeidsvoorwaarden van alle Nederlandse kapiteins.

Kaderleden

TextOok konden de gezagvoerders op het stemforumlier aangeven of zij beschikbaar zijn als kaderlid. Drie kapiteins hebben zich inmiddels hiervoor aangemeld. Deze kapiteins — werkzaam op de Stena Hollandica, Stena Transit en Severine — zullen intensief betrokken worden bij de komende onderhandelingen. De eerste bijeenkomst met de directie van Stena Line heeft inmiddels plaatsgevonden.

Op 24 juni jongstleden vond in het nostalgische complex van de voormalige ‘Rotterdamse Droogdok Maatschappij’ (RDM), de jaarvergadering van FNV Waterbouw plaats. Op de agenda stonden onder meer het jaarverslag en de jaarrekening 2014. Ook werd deze dag gesproken over de toekomst waarbij onderwerpen als Pensioenfonds, het Vakantiefonds en het werkplan voor 2015 de revue passeerden. Nadat het jaarverslag en de jaarrekening door de aanwezigen waren goedgekeurd, was het tijd voor de verkiezingen van zowel het bestuur als de Raad van Advies. Ruud Baars (algemeen secretaris) en Hylke Hylkema (penningmeester) traden af en beide bestuursfuncties worden ingenomen door Sascha Meijer. Eerder dit jaar trad Dick Koerselman af als voorzitter. Hij is inmiddels opgevolgd door Charley Ramdas. Dit betekent dat er nu sprake is van een tweehoofdig bestuur. Ook in de Raad van Advies hebben zich enkele wijzigingen voorgedaan. Conform de statuten trad de gehele raad van advies af. De leden Anton Verberk, Leen Overwater, Chrispijn Scheltema, Theo Siebers, Hans Gilde en Roderick Reurslag stelden zich niet herkiesbaar. Piet van den Bout, Leo Fremouw, Johan van der Pol, Gerrit van Tintelen, Willem Schmetz, Jan Lanser en Johan Melsen stelden zich wel herkiesbaar en werden tezamen met een nieuwe kandidaat, de heer Harrie Lutjeboer, unaniem door de algemene ledenvergadering voor een zittingsperiode ge(her)kozen. Openstaande zetels

Momenteel heeft de Raad nog vier openstaande zetels. Geïnteresseerden zijn van harte welkom; zij kunnen zich

de jaarvergadering met een informele borrel afgesloten. Vakbondswerk moet immers nuttig én leuk zijn! In hoofdlijnen

Ten eerste is de ontslagvergoeding verdubbeld: van factor 0,5 naar 1,0. Ten tweede worden alle werknemers gedurende één maand vrijgesteld van werkzaamheden met behoud van loon. Ten derde krijgen de werknemers de mogelijkheid om een cursus of training te volgen, ter waarde van 2000 euro, op kosten van de rederij. Tevens krijgen de werknemers twee extra verlofdagen erbij t.b.v. sollicitatieactiviteiten. Tot slot is schriftelijk vastgelegd (ter voorkoming van misverstanden) dat Bore alle niet genoten verlofdagen zal uitbetalen bij einde dienstverband. alsnog kandidaat stellen en bij coöptatie (na toewijzing) in de Raad zitting nemen. Indien u de Raad wilt versterken, kunt u zich aanmelden via emailadres: infowaterbouw@nautilusint.org. Met de bezetting van de verschillende posities zijn we er echter nog niet. Immers, met de ‘spelers’ in het bestuur en de Raad van Advies zal de komende tijd hard gewerkt moeten worden aan hetgeen wij in de waterbouw willen bereiken: een krachtige en zichtbare bond! Een belangrijk onderdeel hiervan is het werkplan, dat in hoofdlijnen tijdens de jaarvergadering is besproken. In het werkplan wordt duidelijk gemaakt wat we als FNV Waterbouw willen gaan doen en hoe we dat gaan doen. Het werkplan moet worden omgezet in daden en actie. De komende tijd zullen het bestuur en de Raad van Advies van FNV Waterbouw hier verder aandacht aan bestuur, door elkaar wederzijds te inspireren met nieuwe inzichten en vernieuwende ideeën.

Samenwwerken

De krachtige en zichtbare bond wordt bepaald door het samenspel van lidmaatschap, betrokkenheid van (kader)leden bij het vakbondswerk, collectieve arbeidsovereenkomsten en de garantie op goede individuele belangenbehartiging. De visie die hierop aansluit is dat wij als vakbond met de leden in contact willen staan. Wij hebben de overtuiging dat we met de vele moderne communicatiemogelijkheden in staat zijn om in het directe contact met leden de gezamenlijke belangen te vinden. Het credo hierbij is ‘samenwerken’. De bond werkt samen met (kader) leden aan verbetering van de positie van de werknemers en daarmee aan hun vooruitgang. Het opbouwen van een netwerk met kaderleden is hier onlosmakelijk mee verbonden; een netwerk stelt de bond namelijk in staat om gezamenlijke belangen te identiﬁceren en acties te ondernemen. Na een indrukwekkende rondleiding op het oude RDM-terrein, dat nu een campus is met diverse technische opleidingen, werd

Pittige onderhandelingen

Het onderhandelingsteam is in maart meerdere keren bijeen gekomen. De werkgever had twee stevige advocaten op de zaak gezet. Nautilus had daartegenover twee door de wol geverfde vakbondsbestuurders op de zaak gezet die werden bijgestaan door enkele kaderleden. De afgelopen maanden is er door beide partijen hard gewerkt om overeenstemming te bereiken over de deﬁnitieve eindtekst van: 1) het hoofdlijnenakkoord, 2) het Sociaal Plan, 3) de format van de vaststellingsovereenkomst en last but not least 4) de brief met daarin verwoord de rechten van de werknemers met een arbeidsovereenkomst bepaalde tijd (AO BT). Nadat het onderhandelingsteam overeenstemming had bereikt over de eindtekst, kon deze voorgelegd worden aan de leden. De uitslag was klip en klaar: alle leden stemden in. Inmiddels zijn de handtekeningen gezet, waarmee er een deﬁnitief akkoord is over het Sociaal Plan.

Uit de Dienstgang aan boord van een schip, was verantF woordelijk voor de technische staat van het

Nautilus in het gelijk gesteld

schip en de veiligheid van de bemanning. Door technische gebreken was er echter sprake van een gevaarlijke situatie, die niet door hem, maar alleen door de werkgever opgelost kon worden. Herhaaldelijk heeft ons lid zijn werkgever gevraagd om actie te ondernemen, maar zonder resultaat. Ons lid wilde en kon de verantwoordelijkheid niet langer op zich nemen. Hij nam uiteindelijk ontslag en vroeg een WW-uitkering aan. Helaas werd deze geweigerd. Dit was het begin van een moeilijke zaak, maar werd met de hulp van Nautilus toch tot een goed einde gebracht… Wanneer je zelf ontslag neemt, ben je volgens het UWV verwijtbaar werkloos. Ons lid accepteerde dit onder deze omstandigheden niet en maakte bezwaar tegen de beslissing van het UWV. Dat werd door de uitkeringsinstantie afgewezen, waarna ons lid zich tot Nautilus wendde met het verzoek om namens hem beroep aan te tekenen bij de rechtbank. Bij de rechtbank voerde het UWV aan dat de redenen waarom ons lid ontslag had genomen weliswaar serieus waren, maar dat hij langer had moeten wachten met het nemen van ontslag.

door Centrale Raad van Beroep!

Een van onze leden, een leidinggevende

WILT U EEN BREDER PUBLIEK BEREIKEN? PLAATS DAN EEN ADVERTENTIE IN DE TELEGRAPH. NEEM CONTACT OP MET: Jude Rosset at Redactive Media Sales

T: +44 (0)20 7880 6217 F: +44 (0)20 7880 7691

E: jude.rosset@ redactive.co.uk

Kapotte boegschroef

Volgens ons lid had hij helemaal niet meteen zijn ontslag ingediend, maar volgde dit ontslag op een periode waarin hij meerdere malen zijn werkgever had verzocht om een oplossing te

32-34_nl_14.7.indd Sec2:34

vragen voor de gevaarlijke situatie waarin hij en de bemanning aan blootgesteld werden. Zo was hij onder meer tijdens zijn verlof naar het kantoor van de werkgever gegaan om zijn zorg uit te spreken over de technische staat van het schip waar hij toen op voer. Ook gaf hij zijn werkgever technische adviezen, maar deze werden in de wind geslagen. Het tweede schip, waarop ons lid werd geplaatst, was zelfs in een nóg slechtere staat. Tot zijn verbazing had zijn collega hoofdwerktuigkundige op de overdrachtsrapportage echter overal ‘ok’ ingevuld. Ons lid maakte in een mail melding aan zijn werkgever van een black-out.

In een volgende mail meldde hij een ernstige olielekkage en achterstallig onderhoud en ons lid vroeg feedback van zijn werkgever. Wederom gaf deze niet thuis, waarop ons lid opnieuw een mail stuurde. Hierin uitte hij zijn zorgen over het feit dat de filters van de boegschroeven al jaren niet waren verwisseld en de brandstofpompen vele duizenden uren over hun draaiuren waren. Ook meldde hij dat de stuurinrichting problemen gaf. Maar ook nu bleef een reactie uit. Enkele weken na zijn ontslag is de boegschroef daadwerkelijk kapot gegaan, precies een van de dingen waarvoor ons lid de werkgever had gewaarschuwd. Miskend door het UWV

Het UWV heeft miskend dat het wekenlang wachten op een reactie van je werkgever bij een walbaan wellicht mogelijk is, maar niet op een schip varend in gevaarlijke omstandigheden tussen kabels en in de buurt van 300 meter lange objecten. Wanneer het schip stil zou vallen had dit tot levensgevaarlijke situaties kunnen leiden: in deze situatie kan natuurlijk niet wekenlang worden gewacht, maar is onmiddellijke actie van de reder om de onveilige situatie te verhelpen noodzakelijk.

Niet verwijtbaar werkloos

Tot onze verbazing ging de rechter van de rechtbank echter mee in de gedachte van het UWV dat ons lid langer had moeten wachten met zijn ontslag. Voor ons als vakbond was dit voldoende aanleiding om namens ons lid hoger beroep in te stellen bij de Centrale Raad van Beroep (hierna te noemen de Raad). Gelukkig stelde deze hoogste bestuursrechtelijke instantie ons lid alsnog in het gelijk! De Raad was — anders dan de rechtbank — van mening dat ons lid, na zijn diverse meldingen en mails, niets meer van de werkgever kon verwachten. Ook concludeerde de Raad dat er sprake was van een situatie met serieuze risico’s voor de veiligheid, gezondheid, materiaal en milieu waar de werkgever niets aan deed, ondanks de vele verzoeken van de leidinggevende. Het was dan ook niet redelijk de voortzetting van het dienstverband van ons lid te vergen. De Raad achtte ons lid niet verwijtbaar werkloos en vond de maatregel van het UWV om hem een WW-uitkering te weigeren, onterecht. De Raad achtte het hoger beroep van ons lid geslaagd. Met deze uitspraak heeft de Raad aangegeven dat de WW als financieel vangnet fungeert voor leidinggevende werknemers, die voor de veiligheid van hun ondergeschikten en materieel afhankelijk zijn van een werkgever die het nalaat de noodzakelijke maatregelen te treffen wanneer daar om gevraagd wordt!

15/07/2015 18:58

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 35

MARITIME SAFETY

Timely tweak for TSS guide Important work has been carried out to update navigational guidance for one of the world’s busiest shipping areas. Captain Kevin Vallance, a deepsea pilot serving with George Hammond, tells how hands-on experience helped the project…

The Dover Strait Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) was the first approved by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) — initially on a voluntary basis but made mandatory in 1971 following a number of collisions within the region. After its implementation there was a dramatic drop in the number of incidents, and refinements have continued to be made to the TSS. The area was also the first to be fully covered by radar surveillance. However, at the Anglo-French Safety of Navigation Group meeting held in May 2008, concerns were expressed about a spike in the number of high-profile collision and grounding incidents and it was suggested that ‘excessive speed’ could be a factor in these incidents. An independent company of marine consultants, BMT-ISIS, produced a report which not only attempted to collate all the relevant information for a 19-year period but also advised on risk control options which might help to improve the navigational situation. One of these risk control options was the production of a video: ‘TSS for dummies’. Although this was not given very serious consideration at subsequent meetings, the possibility of writing a book on similar lines was considered by at least one interested party. Unknown to any official bodies at that time, Witherby Seamanship International was preparing the first edition of its book English Channel and Dover Straits Passage Planning Guide, which was published in 2010. This first edition was loosely

Iain Mcneil of Witherby with Captains Kevin Valance and Rajesh Dewangen

based on the format of the Passage Planning Guide for Malacca and Singapore Straits, first published in 1998. Initially intended only for LNG carriers, subsequent editions were aimed at all vessels intending to transit the Singapore region. Witherby passage planning guides are designed to give guidance to shipmasters and navigating officers to assist with preparation of ship-specific passage plans to comply with Safety Management System requirements. The aim is to gather together all relevant routeing and communication information in one easily accessible volume. Each through route is broken down into individual legs, with each leg containing a fold-out two-page chartlet, and the facing page giving communication information and details of prominent navigation marks. Due to the importance of keeping the content of the passage planning guides up to date, they are subject to continuous monitoring for changes, with reviews taking place at intervals of approximately 24 months. Publication of the 2013 edition of the English Channel guide was delayed to enable the major changes to TSS off the Dutch coast to be fully integrated before printing.

Each revision process involves review by various industry representatives. For the 2015 review of the English Channel PPG, Witherby MD Iain Macneil accompanied me for part of the European schedule of a car carrier. With the kind agreement of MOL, Tokyo, arrangements were made through MOBSEL in London for Captain Rajesh Dewangen and his crew to host an observation trip aboard the PCC Sanderling Ace. On sea passages between Brixham and Antwerp, and from Antwerp to Sheerness, observations of traffic flow and communications were monitored. Of particular importance was the operation of the SWATH tenders at the Wandelaar pilot station. It was noted that additional information regarding the height of the side door, pilot access point above the waterline is required within the transmission for the initial sailing plan. The benefit of using SWATH tenders in adverse weather is well known, but problems of interaction during their operation are less well publicised. It was observed that if interaction at the required operation speeds of 8-10 knots is a problem, the tender may be unable to ‘break the suction’,

Working on the update for the passage planning guide

and this will necessitate a large rudder movement to initiate a bow swing towards the tender to enable the tender to break free. The visit was considered to be very valuable in helping to maintain the high standards required for

the passage planning guide. Before leaving the vessel, Mr Macneil presented Capt Dewangen with a number of recent Witherby publications which proved to be of great interest to all onboard.

Are you serving or retired

MERCHANT NAVY FISHING FLEET ROYAL NAVY ROYAL MARINE or a dependant or do you know someone who is and needs help?

Shared expertise enhances new edition members (pictured above) came together with D Witherby Publishing in June to update Witherby’s A working group of UK Chamber of Shipping

Passage Planning Guide for the English Channel and Dover Strait. The third edition of the guide was published in 2013 and is used on more than 1,000 ships. ‘Its clear and comprehensive presentation of the planning and navigational information, plus sketches for each leg, provides an invaluable reference for those negotiating the busy waters of the Channel and Dover Strait,’ says Chamber policy manager Adrian Mundin.

35_TSS_SR edit.indd 35

As part of the updating process, the UK Chamber and Witherby convened a two-day workshop with mariners from Chamber member companies, including BP Shipping, Shell, P&O Ferries, Absolute Shipping and Trinity House, to work through the material. ‘It was an intensive, but very satisfying couple of days and the knowledge and currency of those around the table was very apparent,’ Mr Mundin added. ‘It proved to be an extremely valuable exercise and has done much to enhance the new edition.’

Seafarer Support is a free confidential telephone and award winning online referral service helping you find support for serving and former UK seafarers and their families in times of need

www.seafarersupport.org Freephone 0800 121 4765

15/07/2015 18:11

36 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

APPOINTMENTS FLEETWOOD - A TOP UK NAUTICAL COLLEGE

WITH A LONG ESTABLISHED REPUTATION FOR BEING A LEADING PROVIDER OF TRAINING TO THE MARITIME INDUSTRY.

STCW UPDATING

FRB

STCW UPDATING TRAINING

STCW FAST RESCUE BOAT

Personal Survival Techniques Updating | £155 Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting Updating | £200 Advanced Fire Fighting Updating | £175 Proficiency in Survival Craft and Resue Boat | £200

3 Day MCA Approved FRB Course with Capsize Drill | £855 Company bookings available throughout the year dependant on tides

Limited number of bookings available

The above four courses can be booked as a 4 day package | £680* STCW FAST RESCUE BOAT UPDATING

*Special offer price (when booked together)

(*Special offer price when booked together)

1 Day MCA Approved FRB Updating Course with Capsize Drill | £245 Company bookings available throughout the year dependant on tides

AVAILABLE COURSE DATES 2015 Dates: 3 August | 12 Oct | 26 Oct | 23 Nov | 7 Dec 2016 Dates: 11 Jan | 1 Feb | 29 Feb| 14 Mar | 4 Apr | 25 Apr | 9 May | 6 June | 20 June | 11 July | 18 July

Limited number of bookings available

For more information E offshore@blackpool.ac.uk T 01253 779 123 W blackpool.ac.uk/offshore Facebook /FleetwoodNauticalCampusOffshoreOperations

/calmacferries

@calmacferries

@calmac_updates

@calmacferries

Exciting opportunities exist within CalMac Ferries Limited for various positions including: SHORE BASED • Marine, Technical and HSEQ Management positions • Project Management SEA GOING • All deck, engine and retail positions • Permanent, seasonal and temporary positions CalMac Ferries Limited is a multi-award winning business serving some of the most beautiful parts of Scotland with over 30 ferries providing lifeline services to the islands and peninsulas on Scotland’s west coast. Our excellent benefits package includes a competitive salary plus generous annual leave entitlement programme. You could also take advantage of free CalMac staff travel for you and your family. We provide extensive structured training programmes for both marine and shore staff, encouraging all employees to continuously update their skills and knowledge. To view all details of our current vacancies and for further information, please visit our website at www.calmac.co.uk or email to: recruitment@davidmacbrayneHR.co.uk.

www.calmac.co.uk

36-41_rec.indd 36

15/07/2015 17:22

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 37

APPOINTMENTS NOTICE TO READERS Nautilus International advises members that some crewing agencies may not be advertising specific positions, but instead may be seeking to develop their databases of job hunters.

13 August 2015 is the closing date for September 2015. You can still advertise online at any time.

CV Professionals Maritime & oσshore specialists www.cvprofessionals.co.uk

Applications are invited from experienced, motivated and knowledgeable seafarers with tanker experience to work on coastal oil tankers operated by John H. Whitaker (Tankers) Limited Masters, Chief Officers, 2nd Officers, Chief Engineers & 2nd Engineers who hold: Advanced Tanker Training/DCE (Oil) Type - Permanent/Temporary Leave/Work - Variable Salaries - will be discussed at Interview stage Please forward all applications to: Mrs Elaine Wilson, Personnel Officer, Crown Crewing (UK) Ltd, Crown Dry Dock, Tower Street, HULL HU9 1TY Email: eb@whitaker-tankers.co.uk

Pritchard-Gordon Tankers (Guernsey) Ltd

Pritchard-Gordon Tankers Ltd, a family owned and managed company, operating British and Isle of Man registered oil tankers of between 5,000 and 12,000 dwt, are seeking experienced and suitably quali½ed, high calibre:

Leading Marine Recruitment Specialists

Senior Deck and Engineering Of½cers

We lay great importance on teamwork and continuity, with a number of senior of½cers having been with the company over 20 years. Our company ethos is to offer a superior service and level of professionalism to our Major and National Oil Company customers in challenging operational conditions. Voyage lengths are of 10 to 13 weeks duration followed by an equal period of leave. Terms and conditions are competitive and commensurate with rank and experience.

Applications in the ½rst instance to Head of Personnel, Pritchard-Gordon Tankers Ltd, 6 Coronation Street, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE33 1AZ Tel 0191 427 0303 Email personnel@pgtankers.com Website www.pgtankers.com

Advertise here & reach over 110,000 readers. Contact Paul Wade on 020 7880 6212 or email paul.wade@redactive. co.uk to find out how.

36-41_rec.indd 37

We are seeking all ranks of seafarers, offshore and shore based personnel and in particular:

Your first port of call Address: First Floor Unit 7, Hythe Marine Park, Shore Road, Southampton, SO45 6HE UK Telephone: +44(0)23 8084 0374 Email: recruitment@seamariner.com

Senior Deck and Engineering Of½cers - All vessels All Of½cers and Crew - ERRV Tug/Multicat Crew - All ranks Various shore based personnel All Crew for temporary assignments If you would like further information in registering with Seamariner or you would like to discuss your crewing requirements, please contact one of our experienced consultants.

www.seamariner.com

ISO9001:2008 accredited and KvK and MLC compliant Reg Co number: 2745210

Help to build your career with the Slater Fund… If you’re working at sea and want to train as a ship’s officer, the Nautilus Slater Fund is just the ticket.

There’s even a discretionary £1,500 bonus payment when you make it through the course and gain your OOW certificate.

The bursary scheme offers financial support to Merchant Navy ratings, electrotechnical officers and yacht crew to study for the STCW officer of the watch qualification (either deck or engineer).

The support is provided through the JW Slater Fund, named in honour of a former Nautilus general secretary. Slater Fund awards have been made to over 1,400 seafarers since the scheme was launched in 1997, and these recipients are now enjoying the enhanced salaries and job satisfaction that come from rising through the ranks.

Up to £17,500 per applicant is available to help with the costs of gaining your first certificate of competency. Maybe you need a hand with tuition fees or buying books — or would welcome a boost to your income if you’re off pay during college phases.

g So if you’r e looking to become an officer of the watch, don’t leave things to chance. Fill in the form now or apply via the Nautilus website: www.nautilusint.org

Complete this form and send it to: Slater Fund, The Marine Society, 202 Lambeth Road, London SE1 7JW. I am over 20 years of age and normally resident in the UK. Please send me details of the John Slater Award. Name: _________________________________________________________________________________ Address: _______________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________

Email:

_________________________________________________________________________________

This form is also available online at: www.nautilusint.org or email your name, address and request for Slater Fund details to: slater@ms-sc.org

15/07/2015 17:23

38 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

APPOINTMENTS

&O\GH 0DULQH 5HFUXLWPHQW LV D OHDGLQJ SURYLGHU RI PDULQH UHFUXLWPHQW DQG EHVSRNH FUHZ PDQDJHPHQW VHUYLFHV :LWK RIÂźFHV ORFDWHG LQ 8. /DWYLD 3RODQG DQG 6LQJDSRUH LW DOORZV XV WR SURYLGH RXU FOLHQWV ZLWK HDV\ DFFHVV WR D PXOWL QDWLRQDO SRRO RI FDQGLGDWHV IURP D VLQJOH SRLQW RI FRQWDFW For sea-going jobs apply at www.clyderecruit.com TANKER &KLHI 2IÂźFHUV QG 2IÂźFHUV DQG UG 2IÂźFHUV required for Large Oil and Gas Tankers. Perm TSWMXMSRW QSRXL XVMTW &IRIÂ˝XW 4EGOEKI -RGPYHIH 1YWX LSPH 3MP SV +EW (') 1YWX LEZI I\TIVMIRGI MR VERO SR PEVKI 3MP SV +EW 8EROIVW &KLHI QG $VVLVWDQW UG (QJLQHHUV DQG (72V required for Oil Tankers operating worldwide. :EVMSYW 'PMIRXW VIGVYMXMRK [MXL XVMT PIRKXLW ERH salaries varied.

CONTAINER &KLHI DQG QG (QJLQHHU VIUYMVIH JSV 'SRXEMRIV vessel. Operating worldwide. 3 month trips. Permanent position.

PASSENGER QG UG (QJLQHHUV DQG 0RWRUPDQ required JSV 4EWWIRKIV *IVV] STIVEXMRK SYX SJ (SZIV [IIOW SR SJJ WEPEVMIW ZEV] HITIRHERX SR GPMIRX 'ERHMHEXIW WLSYPH LEZI TVIZMSYW 4EWWIRKIV 7LMT )\TIVMIRGI Temp/Ongoing temp positions available for QG DQG UG (QJLQHHUV for Passenger Ferries operating in the Irish Sea, North Sea and Short Sea. Rotations and day rates vary.

Cooks and Stewards required for temp EH LSG [SVO SR 4EWWIRKIV *IVVMIW STIVEXMRK SYX SJ (SZIV 6SXEXMSRW SJ ERH 'ERHMHEXIW WLSYPH LEZI TVIZMSYW TEWWIRKIV JIVV] I\TIVMIRGI

COASTAL Temp and Perm positions available for Chief DQG QG (QJLQHHUV SR (VIHKIVW 6SXEXMSRW SJ ETTVS\ [IIOW SR SJJ (VIHKIVW QEMRP] STIVEXI XLVSYKLSYX XLI 9/ ERH SGGEWMSREPP] )YVSTI Travel is paid and salary available on request.

OFFSHORE We are seeking 'HFN 2IÂźFHUV with Standby/ )66: I\TIVMIRGI JSV FSXL XIQT ERH TIVQ TSWMXMSRW 1YWX LSPH VIPIZERX 'S' 9/ ')' to rank and ITSO. Any other Standby GIVXMÂ˝GEXMSR [SYPH FI EHZERXEKISYW

For all shore-based jobs, please visit:

www.redtheconsultancy.com

An exciting opportunity has arisen at Shoreham Port for a full time pilot.

PILOT VACANCY

Working as part of a close knit team on a self-rostered, tidal basis, the successful candidate will pilot the wide variety of vessels visiting the port; liaising with shipsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; masters, agents and stakeholders and programming commercial ship movements, whilst overseeing navigational safety. Applicants should hold a Masters or Chief Mates certiďŹ cate of competency and a valid ENG 1 medical certiďŹ cate and preferably have some experience of handling coastal vessels. A comprehensive training programme is in place.

Main duties, tasks and responsibilities â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘

Carryout acts of pilotage. Plan and efďŹ ciently schedule commercial ship movements on the current and forthcoming tides. Oversee marine & navigational safety during the commercial tide. To attend Shoreham Harbour Radio to set the vessel movement board for the forthcoming tide. To deal with any Pilotage and other port matters arising. All Marine duties / tasks as directed by the Harbour Master.

Main duties, tasks and responsibilities as Stand-by Pilot: â&#x20AC;˘ To assist the Duty Pilot to meet the pilotage demands.

Key Skills â&#x20AC;˘ Class 1 or 2 Master Mariners CertiďŹ cate, or equivalent. â&#x20AC;˘ Understand and safely demonstrate manoeuvring characteristics of the wide range of visiting vessels. â&#x20AC;˘ Local knowledge of Shoreham Ports Pilotage Area and procedures. â&#x20AC;˘ Knowledge of the Port Marine Safety Code. â&#x20AC;˘ Proactively contribute to the development of departmental policy and procedures. â&#x20AC;˘ Good interpersonal, oral and written communication skills. â&#x20AC;˘ Sound judgement and effective decision making. â&#x20AC;˘ Ability to manage risk and safety in marine operations. â&#x20AC;˘ Ability to lead and act with authority when required. â&#x20AC;˘ Ensuring compliance with all statutory duties as deďŹ ned in the relevant legislation. â&#x20AC;˘ Teamwork, including bridge teamwork with a wide variety of visiting shipsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; masters.

Closing Date Friday 7th August 2015 *SV 7IE KSMRK .SFW ZMWMX 'P]HI 1EVMRI 6IGVYMXQIRX

Application Method

*ODVJRZ *G\QLD 6RXWKDPSWRQ 5LJD 6LQJDSRUH

Please download an application form from the jobs page of the Portâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website www.shoreham-port. co.uk/jobs and submit with a CV to recruitment@shoreham-port.co.uk or post to Recruitment, Shoreham Port, Nautilus House, 90 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 100 Albion Street, Southwick, BN42 4ED. Please visit Shoreham Portâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website for full details and a copy of the job description for the role. Alternatively please call 01273 598100 to speak to Corporate Services.

www.clyderecruit.com

36-41_rec.indd 38

15/07/2015 17:23

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 39

APPOINTMENTS

SHORE BASED

SUPERYACHT

FERRY/ROPAX

Technical Superintendent

Captain

Cruise - €85K

Wally Sailing Yacht - €10K/mth

Steward - ROPAX - £88/day

Yacht Tech Superintendent

Y3 Engineer

France - €60K

Tallship - £130/day

&KLHI 2IƂFHU ROPAX - £55K

DPA

Laundry Stewardess

Chief Engineer - Ferry - £56K

Ferry - £55K

70m Motor Yacht - $3.5K/mth

Technical Director

Yacht Marine Superintendent

Dry Bulk - €130K

France - $85K

Technical Superintendent

ETO

Container - £60K

90m Motor Yacht - $5K/mth

2nd Engineer - Cruise - £40K

Fleet Manager

Head Chef 70m Motor Yacht - €10K/mth

Hotel Engineer - Cruise - £38K

Dry Bulk - £75K

Fleet Operations

Motorman

Dry Bulk - £45K

100m Motor Yacht - $3.5K/mth

Hotel Manager - Cruise - €48K

Engineer Superintendent

Second Engineer

ROPAX - £60K

Private Island - $3K/mth

Staff Captain - Cruise - £49K

Marine Superintendent/DPA

Y4 Sole Engineer

Dry/ROPAX - £60K

40m Motor Yacht - €5.5K/mth

Technical Manager

Rotational Chief Engineer

South East UK - £65K + Pkg

50m+ Motor Yacht, $10K/mth

Chief Engineer - Research Vessel - £45K

Technical Superintendent

Deckhand 60m+ Motor Yacht - €3.5K/mth

Chief Mate - Work Boat - £36K

Workboats South UK - £55K

Contract Manager

Rotational Chief ETO

Scotland - £45K +Car Allowance

100m+ Motor Yacht - €6.5K/mth

Procurement Manager

2nd Engineer

Home-based/South UK Travel - £55K + Pkg

45m+ Motor Yacht - $7.5K/mth

Chef - ROPAX - £107/day

CRUISE Master - Cruise - £70K

Executive Chef - Cruise - €33K

WORKBOAT Chief Engineer - Dredger - £47K

OFFSHORE 1/O DPO - EERV - £32K Master Mariner AHTS - UAE - £DOE

Shore-based: +44 (0)23 8020 8840

Search for ‘Faststream Seafarers’

shipping-uk@faststream.com

Seagoing: +44 (0)23 8020 8820

@faststreamsea

seagoing-uk@faststream.com

www.faststream.com

D&P Maritime Recruitment

Looking for all Ranks and Ratings for all types of vessels www.dpmaritimerecruitment.com Email: info@dpmaritimerecruitment.com Tel: +44 (0)1224 600 028

Contact Paul Wade on 020 7880 6212 or email paul.wade@redactive.co.uk to find out how to advertise.

Get knotted with a Nautilus Tie Nautilus International has produced a 100% silk TIE to enable members to show off their membership with pride and celebrate seafaring traditions. Available for just £9.50 or €13.

Please send in a cheque for items to our Central Services department at head ofﬁce and let them know how many you need.

Also on offer are enamel badges of the Nautilus logo for £1 or €1.50.

Join the Viking crew Bringing together the best industry talent, since 1988.

Call Central Services on +44 (0)20 8989 6677 or email centralservices@nautilusint.org

RYAN OFFSHORE LTD RYAN SHIP MANAGEMENT LTD S SHIPPING

CONNECTIONS

MARITIME RECRUITMENT MA FOR - 4-PT MOORING DSV / AHTS/ PSV/ MRV/ ERRV REQUIRE MASTERs, CHOFF, 2ND OFF, CHENG, 2ND ENG, 3RD ENG, DP ENG, ETO

FOR - DP3 / DP2- DSV / DP2- AHTS / DP2- PSV / DP3 PIPELAYER / DP2 CLV

REQUIRE MASTER-DPOs, CHOFF-SDPOs, 1ST OFF-DPO, 2ND OFF-DPOs, CHENGs, 2ND ENGs, 3RD ENG, ETOs, CRANE OPTRs - STG 2 / 3

We have excellent career opportunities with some of the most prestigious names in the cruise and superyacht market. Positions include: • Captain

• Chief Engineers

• Chief Electrician

• Chief Ofﬁcers

• 2nd Engineers

• ETO’s

• 2nd Ofﬁcers

• Y1 -Y4 Engineers

• Hotel & Guest Services Professionals

FOR - SHORE BASED OFFSHORE FLEET

REQUIRE TECH MANAGER, TECH SUPT, DIVE SUPT (OFFICE BASED), ENGINEERING SUPT, ELECTRICAL SUPT, PORT CAPTAIN, PORT ENG, QHSE

T E L: +44 (0) 1 9 1 5 4 8 8 8 5 9 FAX: +44 (0) 1 9 1 5 4 88 425

EMAIL: office@ryan-shipmanagement.co.uk, office@ryanoffshore.net, office@shipping-connections.com WEBSITE: www.ryan-shipmanagement.co.uk , www.shipping-connections.com, www.ryanoffshore.net RYANSHIP, P.O.BOX–1282, SUNDERLAND, SR5 9HX, UNITED KINGDOM

36-41_rec.indd 39

For a full list of career opportunities, visit us at vikingrecruitment.com or give us a call.

www.vikingrecruitment.com +44 (0)300 303 8191 info@vikingrecruitment.com

15/07/2015 17:23

40 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

CERTIFICATION

Want to keep your job in 2017? Then read on! It’s time to get your papers out and start checking whether your UK certificate of competency will still be valid when STCW 2010 comes into force…

Nautilus is urging members to take note that the countdown has begun to new rules that will require additional training to be undertaken to keep UK certiﬁcates of competency valid for service after 31 December 2016. The new requirements are being introduced as part of the ‘Manila amendments’ to the Standards

of Training, Certiﬁcation & Watchkeeping (STCW) convention which were agreed at an international conference in 2010.

g Members are encouraged to refer to the

relevant M-Notices or alternatively contact the professional and technical department:

protech@nautilusint.org

17 MONTHS TO GO UNTIL 1 JANUARY 2017

DECK UPDATEE TO TO 010 10 STCW 2010

HELM course or acceptable equivalent

ECDISS certificate achieved after 1 January certifica certificat ertific ertifica rtific tifi ifi 20055 to t avoid av avo negative endorsement

ENGINE UPDATEE TO TO 010 10 STCW 2010

HELM course or acceptable equivalent

NEW ICATE CATE AT ATE CERTIFICATE

To serve as an ETO certification is required...

— otherwise designation, therwise herwise erwise r ise rwise i alternative a such Engineer h as Electrical Elec Ele EEl Elect

4 5 6 36-41_rec.indd 40

A VACANCY HAS ARISEN FOR A DOCK MASTER HULL & GOOLE ABP Humber Marine Team has the vitally important task of ensuring safety of navigation at some of the busiest ports complex in the UK. As Dock Master you will form an integral part of that Marine Team and lead the Hull & Goole Marine Staff. In addition to your statutory role as Dock Master Hull & Goole you need to be able to deliver an efwcient customer focussed service to all our stakeholders. You should have excellent leadership and motivational skills as well as budgetary experience .Your role will be pivotal in delivering the Marine element of the Green Port Hull Project. Applicants should be self-motivated and in possession of a Class 1 Certiwcate of Competency (Master Mariner) and ideally have shore based marine experience in a management role. Applicants should also possess a full UK driving licence and have a high degree of computer literacy skills. In return we will offer a diverse, challenging and incredibly rewarding career, with an excellent salary, private medical insurance and competitive pension. If you feel you have the energy and commitment required for this role your application should be sent to: Assistant HR Manager, Associated British Ports, P O Box. 1, Port House, Northern Gateway, Hull, HU9 5PQ. Tel. No. (01482) 327171. Alternatively visit Associated British Ports web site www.abports.co.uk/ vacancies.htm to download an application form. Closing date Friday 7 August 2015.

NOT A MEMBER OF NAUTILUS

INTERNATIONAL?

High certificate or qualifying sea h Voltage oltage ltage t tage c service negative endorsement ice cee to t avoid av a

ETO

Associated British Ports is the UK’s largest and leading port group with a network of 21 ports around Britain handling around 100 million tonnes of cargo every year.

In addition: sea-time requirements for revalidation — 12 months in preceding five years or three months in preceding six months plus valid ENG1.

In addition: appropriate tanker endorsements — subject to revalidation

Refresher training — required every five years for certificates held. Dependent upon rank (support/operation/management) and duty — for example, Fast Rescue Craft Certificate.

Join now on our website Fill out the online application at: www. nautilusint.org

Subscribe to the

Telegraph FREE to members: tell our membership team if you want home deliveries on +44 (0)20 8989 6677 or membership@nautilusint.org Non-member rates for 12-months:

countries including Where’s my £42.00 EU UK and Netherlands Telegraph? £84.00 Rest of the world If you have moved recently, your home copy may still be trying to catch up with you. To let us know your new address, go to www.nautilusint.org and log in as a member, or contact our membership department on +44 (0)151 639 8454 or membership@nautilusint.org The membership team can also cancel your print copy if you prefer to read the paper on the Telegraph app.

Subscribe online with your credit card at www.nautilusint.org g) (payments are taken in pounds sterling). Global challenge Nautilus member to lead UK team in yacht race 19

Or send us your name and address and a sterling cheque payable to Nautilus International: Membership Services 1&2 The Shrubberies, George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1BD.

Better by threes? NL nieuws Experts propose Drie pagina’s triage system for met nieuws uit ship emergencies Nederland 25 32-34

Volume 48 | Number 07 | July 2015 | £3.50 €3.70

IMO leader voices safety concerns the International Maritime Organisation has F questioned whether The head of

Mersey masses for the Three Queens

Nautilus members, staff and residents got a first class view of Cunard’s Three Queens as they passed the Union’s northern offi ce on the Mersey during an event to mark the company’s 175th anniversary celebrations. Crowds lined the river outside the Nautilus Welfare Fund’s Mariners’ Park Estate, to get a glimpse of the historic visit by Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria on 25 May . A retired Nautilus member, Clive Evans, also

put his 40 years of electrotechnical offi cer skills to good use, by helping prepare the historic tug Brocklebank, which was used to escort the Three Queens during their visit. Queen Mary 2 sailed from the Liverpool berth up to the mouth of the Mersey to meet her sister ships, before all three vessels sailed in close single file down the river to Liverpool’s Pier Head. The ships finally lined up three abreast across the river, just 426ft apart, in salute to the Cunard

Building — the company’s headquarters for nearly 50 years until 1967 — and the city of Liverpool, while the Red Arrows performed a fly-past overhead . Cunard Commodore Christopher Rynd said: ‘It’s been a privilege to bring the Cunard fleet together on the Mersey for the first time ever to mark Cunard’s 175th anniversary year and our historic and ongoing partnership with Liverpool, our spiritual home.’

sufficient progress is being made to improve passengership safety. Speaking at the opening of the UN agency’s maritime safety committee meeting last month, secretary-general Koji Sekimizu told delegates: ‘We have put serious efforts on the debate on risk assessment approach and goalbased regulations, but what we have achieved in the legislative field is still in my view marginal or virtually nil.’ Mr Sekimizu said the IMO had done a lot in the past 25 years to address environmental issues. But, he added, ‘our safety regulations have not seen much of innovative actions except for the response to major maritime casualties such as the Herald of Free Enterprise, the Scandinavian Star, the Estonia, numerous bulk carriers and, most recently, the Costa Concordia’. Although the organisation had acted proactively to address the safety of large cruiseships over the past 15 years, the same could not be said about domestic passengership safety, with more than 1,000 lives lost in 20 accidents over the past 18 months.

Alarm raised over ‘personnel’ plans

Union warns IMO that new onboard category

poses a dangerous threat to SOLAS and MLC

Plans to create a new category of traditional SOLAS Convention defi nitions give a third category of people onboard ships — ‘indusperson is a very danof ‘passengers’ or ‘crew’, the meeting was gerous precedent,’ he added. trial personnel’ — have sparked told. Those defined as industrial personnel top-level warnings from Nautilus Worries were also raised at last month’s Interna- — who are being transported or accommo- Nautilus Council tional. meeting. Assistant gendate onboard for the purpose of ‘offshore eral secretary Marcel The proposals to produce an offi van den Broek said cial industrial activities’ and ‘whose main work there were grounds definition of industrial personnel, together activities may not be for concern over the onboard the ship’ — potential with associated safety requirements, for the proposals to challenge the will meet appropriate medical standards, have been drafted by a working group Maritime Labour Convention and and have a ‘fair knowledge’ of underthe ship and its mine safety on were tabled at the International a large scale. Maritime safety equipment, and will have appropriOrganisation last month. ‘If this paper went through unchalate personal safety equipment, the draft lenged, it could open Delegates at the maritime safety the doors to questioncom- circular stated. mittee heard that the plans had been able flag states and others to create develall sorts But, speaking on behalf of the Internaoped in response to the ‘urgent of wild west situations at sea,’ he need’ to tional Federation of Ship added. ‘It Masters Associa- would be like develop regulations covering the opening safe car- tions, Nautilus senior Pandora’s box.’ national secretary riage of more than 12 industrial personnel Council member Jessica Tyson said Allan Graveson urged the committee the — mainly technicians and support to Union was right to oppose the staff treat the proposals with plans. ‘These extreme caution could provide — on international voyages in the a back door way for unscrugrowing and said industrial workers deserved the pulous operators offshore energy sector. to not do the right thing,’ same level of safety as passengers. The new category does not meet she pointed out. ‘There have already the ‘We do believe that amending SOLAS been to some serious accidents on windfarm boats

and the need to mitigate the problems is already very evident.’ And Iain Mackenzie questioned whether adding an additional category beyond crew or passenger would be in the interests of safety. ‘If you are not aware of all the hazards, you are a risk for everyone else onboard,’ he added. Henk Eijkenaar said he was concerned that the concept of ‘industrial personnel’ could be used on other sorts of ships working in the offshore sector — such as cablelayers and construction vessels — at the expense of safety standards. Mr van den Broek said countries including France and Argentina had also expressed concern about the proposals during the IMO meeting, and while the proposals were not withdrawn, they have been delayed for a few years .

IMO leader Koji Sekimizu speaks to the maritime safety committee

‘I firmly believe that the currently unacceptable level of casualties and incidents involving domestic ferries can be avoided if adequate laws, regulations and rules are developed and effectively implemented and enforced,’ he added. The IMO leader re-stated his ‘accident zero’ aim of halving the marine casualty rate, and said he hoped the maritime safety committee would take the shipping industry into a new age of using technological innovation to improve standards.

Inside F It’s a fair thing How to put the concept of fair transport into practice at sea — pages 22-23 F Piracy threat Fear of attack is causing mental problems for crew — page 27 F Get snapping!

Up to £1,000 to be won in photo contest — page 29 F Conference call How to take part in the 2015 Nautilus General Meeting — page 35

15/07/2015 18:10

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 41

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ISO 9001

15/07/2015 17:23

42 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

SHIP TO SHORE

M-Notices M-Notices, Marine Information Notes and Marine Guidance Notes issued by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency recently include: MGN 534 (M+F) — Cargo safety: Guidance on the implementation of the SOLAS VI Regulation 2 amendment requiring the verification of the gross mass of packed containers Following concerns raised by the shipping industry regarding the mis-declaration of the gross mass of packed containers, SOLAS Chapter VI Regulation 2 has been amended. The amendment, which comes into force on 1 July 2016, expands on how the gross mass of cargo must be verified. Shippers are given two possible options for deciding which method to use for obtaining the gross mass (which means the mass of the cargo plus the mass of the container itself). No change is required to Regulation 4 of The Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Cargoes) Regulations 1999 S.I. 1999 No.336, as it already places a requirement on the shipper to provide the owner or master with the gross mass of the cargo units sufficiently in advance of loading. The annex to MGN 534 gives detailed advice on how UK shippers, ports/terminals and carriers can meet their responsibilities under the new SOLAS amendment. It explains the approved methods for obtaining the verified gross mass of a packed container, and covers related topics such as:

z documentation z information flow within the supply

chain z discrepancies in gross mass z containers exceeding their maximum gross mass z empty containers z contingencies for containers received without a verified gross mass z mis-declarations z enforcement If clarification is needed on any matter covered in MGN 534 and its annex, the MCA has set up a special email address for queries: container.weight@mcga.gov.uk. MGN 537 (M+F) — Surveys: alternative compliance scheme This note advises on the requirements of the Alternative Compliance Scheme (ACS). It sets out the appropriate certification to be issued to participants of the scheme, the requirements for vessels, and the circumstances where ACS may be revoked from participating vessels. As MGN 537 explains, the aim of ACS is to streamline the survey and certification process while maintaining standards and minimising duplication of effort with classification societies (known formally as Recognised Organisations). The scheme delegates all survey work to the United Kingdom’s classification societies, allowing the MCA to maintain oversight through periodical inspections and audits. Only those vessels meeting certain conditions can be part of ACS: for example, they must not have been detained within the last 36 months,

Member meetings and seminars Nautilus International organises regular meetings, forums and seminars for members to discuss pensions, technical matters, maritime policies and legal issues. Coming up in the next few months are: and they must be classed with one of the UK classification societies listed in MGN 537. To join ACS, the owner or operator of a vessel must apply to the UK Ship Register using forms MSF 4753 and MSF 5100, both of which are available on the MCA website. MGN 537 includes a useful table setting out the responsibilities of each party in ACS, i.e. the owner/ operator, the classification society and the MCA. And although ACS offers a ‘lighter touch’ compliance process for participants, it is stressed that nothing in the scheme shall be interpreted as limiting or restricting the authority of the MCA to exercise control over vessels as provided in existing laws and regulations. In addition, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch may conduct marine accident investigations as authorised and required by UK legislation.

z M-Notices are available as

electronic documents or as a set of bound volumes. z A consolidated set of M-Notices is published by The Stationery Office. This contains all M-Notices current on 31 July 2009 (ISBN 9780115530555) and costs £210 — www.tsoshop.co.uk z Individual copies can be electronically subscribed to by emailing a request to mnotices@ecgroup.co.uk or downloaded from the MCA website. Go to www.gov.uk/mca and click on Find marine (M) notices.

Recruit and win! The ‘introduce a colleague’ scheme launched by Nautilus in March is now really getting into its stride. Existing members who encourage a colleague to join the Union receive a £25 Marks & Spencer gift card. And they’re also be entered into a prize draw for the chance to win an additional £100 voucher. ‘It’s easy to take part,’ explains Nautilus senior assistant organiser Lee Moon. ‘Members tell us the name and contact details for the colleague they want to introduce, and as soon as the colleague has been in membership for three months, we’ll send the member a gift card. There is no maximum amount of vouchers that one member can claim — the more members recruited the better,’ adds Mr Moon. ‘As long as the criteria for

g Professional & Technical Forum Wednesday 15 September 2015 at 1300hrs Nautilus Northern Office, Mariners’ Park, Wallasey The Forum deals with a wide range of technical, safety, welfare and other professional issues. This special meeting, which is open to all members, will include a presentation from the MCA’s chief medical advisor, Dr Sally Bell. Contact Sue Willis: +44 (0)20 8989 6677 protech@nautilusint.org

Contact Nautilus International Nautilus International welcomes contact from members at any time. Please send a message to one of our department email addresses (see page 17) or get in touch with us at one of our offices around the world. For urgent matters, we can also arrange to visit your ship in a UK port. Please give us your vessel’s ETA and as much information as possible about the issue that needs addressing.

Offshore sector contact point Members working for companies based in the east of Scotland or UK offshore oil and gas sector can call: +44 (0)1224 638882 THE NETHERLANDS Postal Address Nautilus International Postbus 8575 3009 An Rotterdam Physical Address Nautilus International Schorpioenstraat 266 3067 KW Rotterdam Tel: +31 (0)10 477 1188 Fax: +31 (0)10 477 3846 infonl@nautilusint.org

For further information, email recruitment@nautilusint.org or call Lee Moon on +44 (0)151 639 8454.

entry will be selected at random for an additional £100 prize during the Nautilus Council meeting taking place in March 2016.

FRANCE Yacht sector office in partnership with D&B Services 3 Bd. d’Aguillon 06600 Antibes, France Tel: +33 (0)962 616 140 nautilus@dandbservices.com www.dandbservices.com SPAIN Yacht sector office in partnership with dovaston C/Joan de Saridakis 2, Edificion Goya Local 1A, Marivent 07015 Palma de Mallorca, Spain Tel: +34 971 677 375 recruitment@nautilusint.org www.dovaston.com

Induction visits See www.nautilusint.org event section for dates of upcoming college visits by the Nautilus recruitment team.

Industrial support for cadets An industrial official is appointed to each of the main nautical colleges. In addition the industrial department is responsible for representing trainee officers in line with all

members that we represent; please contact the Union on +44 (0)20 8989 6677. Your enquiry will then be directed to the relevant industrial organiser for your employer/sponsoring company. The union also facilitates a Young Maritime Professionals’ Forum to provide an opportunity for young members to engage in discussions on the specific challenges facing young workers in the maritime profession. For further information members should contact Paul Schroder at ymp@nautilusint.org.

g Young Maritime Professionals Forum Monday 5 October 2015 1200hrs to 1400hrs Titanic Hotel, Stanley Dock, Regent Road, Liverpool L3 0AN, UK The Forum provides guidance to Nautilus Council on the challenges facing young people in the shipping industry and on the issues that matter to them. Open to all young members (UK, NL & CH). Contact Paul Schroder: +44 (0)20 8989 6677 ymp@nautilusint.org

Quiz and crossword answersACDB

Quiz answers 1. Cruiseships account for 81% of the gross tonnage on order at western European shipyards. 2. None of the top 10 container ports last year were in Europe. Rotterdam was in 11th place. 3. A total of 1,026 ships were dismantled globally during 2014. 4. IHS/Fairplay figures show that there were 620 freight ro-ro ships in service in May this year. 5. According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, there were 60 containerships of 16,000TEU and above on order in April this year. 6. According to Drewry Shipping Consultants, the top three container carrier lines now have a 38% share of the market (up from 26% in 2005). Crossword answers Quick Answers Across: 7. Dad’s Army; 9. Points; 10. Doric; 11. Litigant; 12. Charles Dickens; 15. Papacy; 16. Landed; 18. Mother Superior; 20. Cure; 22. Gavel; 24. Status; 25. Thespian. Down: 1. Hardship; 2. User; 3. Eyelid; 4. Spit; 5. Ringleader; 6. Stunts; 8. Recherché; 13. Repatriate; 14. Champagne; 17. Drop-leaf; 18. Minute; 19. Siesta; 21. Ouse; 23. VIPs. This month’s cryptic crossword is a prize competition, and the answers will appear in next month’s Telegraph. Congratulations to Nautilus member Derek Forward, who has won the prize draw for the July cryptic crossword. Cryptic answers from July Across: 1. Second best; 6. Amps; 9. Road relays; 10. Brer; 12. Seismologist; 15. Poppycock; 17. Meats; 18. Reach; 19. Satellite; 20. Cream cracker; 24. Adit; 25. Safety belt; 26. Eden; 27. Ethereally. Down: 1. Spry; 2. Coal; 3. Nursery rhyme; 4. Bells; 5. Skyrocket; 7. Marginalia; 8. Strathspey; 11. Formaldehyde; 13. Appreciate; 14. Sphalerite; 16. Observant; 21. Crêpe; 22. Fell; 23. Stay.

To suggest an organisation which could appear here, email telegraph@nautilusint.org

Maritime & Coastguard Agency +44 (0)23 8032 9100 www.gov.uk/mca Implements the UK government’s maritime safety policy and works to prevent the loss of life on the coast and at sea.

International Transport Workers’ Federation +44 (0)20 7403 2733 www.itfglobal.org A federation of over 700 unions representing over 4.5 million transport workers from 150 countries.

Merchant Navy Welfare Board www.mnwb.org Umbrella body for the UK maritime charity sector, promoting cooperation between organisations that provide welfare services to merchant seafarers and their dependants within the UK.

Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport + 31 88 489 00 00 www.ilent.nl Dutch maritime authority (separate from Dutch coastguard).

Merchant Navy Training Board www.mntb.org.uk UK organisation promoting maritime education and training, and providing careers guidance. Administers the Careers at Sea Ambassadors scheme, under which serving seafarers can volunteer to give careers talks in UK schools.

Seafarers UK (formerly the King George’s Fund for Sailors) +44 (0)20 7932 0000 www.seafarers.uk Supports and promotes UK charities helping seafarers from the Merchant Navy, Royal Navy and fishing fleets. Often organises places for maritime fundraisers to enter marathons and other charity challenges.

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SINGAPORE Nautilus International 10a Braddell Hill #05-03 Singapore, 579720 Tel: +65 (0)625 61933 Mobile: +65 (0)973 10154 singapore@nautilusint.org

Northern office Nautilus International Nautilus House, Mariners’ Park Wallasey CH45 7PH Tel: +44 (0)151 639 8454 Fax: +44 (0)151 346 8801 enquiries@nautilusint.org

Useful organisations

Swiss Maritime Navigation Office +41 (0)61 270 91 20 www.smno.ch Swiss maritime authority.

SWITZERLAND Gewerkschaftshaus, Rebgasse 1 4005 Basel, Switzerland Tel: +41 (0)61 262 24 24 Fax: +41 (0)61 262 24 25 infoch@nautilusint.org

UK Head office Nautilus International 1&2 The Shrubberies, George Lane South Woodford, London E18 1BD Tel: +44 (0)20 8989 6677 Fax: +44 (0)20 8530 1015 enquiries@nautilusint.org

College contacts

the met, then I’ll send he incentive are met vouchers!’ This offer runs from 2 March 2015 to 30 December 2015. One

g Women’s Forum Monday 5 October 2015 1400hrs to 1600hrs Titanic Hotel Stanley Dock, Regent Road Liverpool L3 0AN, UK The Forum provides guidance to Nautilus Council on the challenges facing women in the industry and encourages female participation in Union activity. Open to all female members. Contact Lisa Carr: +44 (0)20 8989 6677 women@nautilusint.org

International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network +44 (0)300 012 4279 www.seafarerswelfare.org Global organisation providing a 24 hour, year-round multi-lingual helpline for all seafarers’ welfare and support needs, as well as an emergency welfare fund. SAIL (Seafarers’ Information and Advice Line) 08457 413 318 +44 (0)20 8269 0921 www.sailine.org.uk UK-based citizens’ advice service helping seafarers and their families with issues such as debt, benefit

entitlements, housing, pensions and relationships. Seamen’s Hospital Society +44 (0)20 8858 3696 www.seahospital.org.uk UK charity dedicated to the health and welfare of seafarers. Includes the Dreadnought health service. Seafarers’ Link +44 (0)1752 812674 www.communitynetworkprojects.org Telephone friendship project connecting retired UK seafarers at home through a fortnightly telephone conference service.

Seatax Ltd +44 (0)1302 364673 www.seatax.ltd.uk Company providing specialist tax advice for merchant seafarers. Marine Society +44 (0)20 7654 7050 www.marine-society.org UK charity dedicated to the learning and professional development of seafarers. Offers 120,000 books to ships through its library service, plus distance-learning programmes and scholarship schemes including the Nautilus-administered Slater Fund.

15/07/2015 19:05

August 2015 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 43

JOIN NAUTILUS

The face of Nautilus Charley Ramdas, executive officer

Charley Ramdas is one of the newest members of the senior management team at Nautilus International’s Rotterdam office, having joined the Union in January this year. Born in Suriname, he grew up in Rotterdam and has lived in the Netherlands for 40 years, coming to Nautilus with an impressive track record of work in the Dutch trade union movement. After studying anthropology and sociology at Utrecht university, Charley found problems getting a job. ‘There was an economic crunch then and it was a tough time, as I found myself needing financial help from my parents,’ he recalls.

However, he found a job working in local government — on a project seeking to encourage employers to take on people who had been out of work for long periods. ‘It was good to be working, but I didn’t enjoy it very much as it felt like it was treating young people as commodities,’ Charley says. But the job did lead him into the trade union world — with the youth section the Netherlands Trade Union Confederation, FNV. ‘I learned a lot about the structure of FNV and one of the unions I was interested in was the transport union,’ he recalls. He was therefore delighted to get a job with Transportation FNV —

spending almost a decade there, with responsibilities including negotiations for dock workers. Following a union merger, he moved to the public service union ABVAKABO FNV, initially with responsibilities for postal workers and, from 2006, as vice-president. In 2009, Charley took up a post as vice-president with the construction union FNV Bouw — whose members included seafarers on dredgers — and he came to Nautilus following another round of union mergers at the end of last year. ‘It’s good to join Nautilus, as I had experience of the maritime sector through the dock workers and the dredging industry,’ he says. ‘The job is interesting,

including the coordination of collective bargaining agreements and doing the negotiations for dredging.’ When he’s not in the office, Charley enjoys vintage US cars — he is the proud owner of a Ford Mustang — and is also breeding endangered birds from South America. ‘I am also very interested in researching my heritage — especially my ancestors from India,’ he adds. This has also led him to study religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as yoga. But, he admits, switching off from work is difficult. ‘You can’t just step away from it when you get home, because it’s your life. In a trade union you are in a position to help those who come last.’

Wherev er you are , so are we

CALL NOW TO JOIN NAUTILUS ON: UK: +44 (0)151 639 8454 NL: +31 (0)10 477 11 88 CH: +41 (0)61 262 24 24

Join today so we can be there for you too! Pay and conditions Nautilus International is the first truly trans-boundary trade union for maritime professionals, reflecting the global nature of the industry. We negotiate with employers on issues including pay, working conditions, working hours and pensions to secure agreements which recognise members’ skills and experience, and the need for safety for the maritime sector. Legal services Nautilus Legal offers members a range of legal services free of charge. There are specialist lawyers to support members in work related issues and a number of non-work related issues. The Union also has a network of lawyers in 54 countries to provide support where members need it most. Workplace support Nautilus International officials provide expert advice on work-related problems such as contracts, redundancy, bullying or discrimination, non-payment of wages, and pensions. Certificate protection Members are entitled to free financial protection, worth up to £118,500, against the loss

43_infosprd.indd 43

of income if their certiﬁcate of competency is cancelled, suspended or downgraded following a formal inquiry.

training. The Union is afﬁliated to the TUC in the UK, FNV in the Netherlands and SGB/USS in Switzerland.

Extra savings Members can take advantage of many additional discounts and beneﬁts organised at a local level. These include tax advice, insurance discounts and advice on pension matters. In the Netherlands, discounts are organised through FNV, and trade union contributions are mostly tax-friendly, entitling members to receive a signiﬁcant part of their contributions back.

In touch As a Nautilus International member, help is never far away — wherever in the world you are. Ofﬁcials regularly see members onboard their ships and visit cadets at college. Further support and advice is available at regular ‘surgeries’ and conferences. The Union has ofﬁces in London, Wallasey, Rotterdam and Basel. There are also representatives based in France, Spain and Singapore.

International representation Nautilus International represents members’ views on a wide range of national and international bodies including the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the International Federation of Shipmasters’ Associations (IFSMA). We work at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on key global regulations covering working conditions, health and safety and

Join us today… Call +44 (0)151 639 8454 Visit www.nautilusint.org Email membership@nautilusint.org g For the full range of member benefits visit www.nautilusint.org

OR g Speak with our membership department on +44 (0)151 639 8454

Your union, your voice The Union represents the voice of more than 22,000 maritime professionals working in all sectors of the industry at sea and ashore — including inland navigation, large yachts, deepsea and offshore. For members, by members Nautilus International is a dynamic and democratic trade union offering members many opportunities to become actively involved and have your say — at a local, national and international level.

15/07/2015 18:52

44 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | August 2015

NEWS

MPs raise concern after new case of abandoned crew

Nautilus warns of ‘chronic’ MCA cuts resources at the Maritime & F Coastguard Agency are undermining Shortfalls in staffing and

its vital safety work and the drive to attract new tonnage to the UK Ship Register (UKSR), Nautilus has warned shipping minister Robert Goodwill. In a letter to the minister, general secretary Mark Dickinson said he was concerned by evidence that the Agency is facing increasing pressures to deliver its statutory responsibilities — with ‘chronic’ under-staffing in some of the most important Marine Offices. ‘A shortage of marine surveyors and a failure to put in an appropriate market-related remuneration package has left the MCA unable to compete for what is increasingly a scarce resource,’ he warned. ‘However, the MCA’s role in ensuring and enforcing high standards of maritime safety cannot simply be passed over.’ Mr Dickinson said these developments could have a seriously detrimental impact on the Agency’s ability to enforce many fundamental safety standards and threaten the UKSR’s continued existence as a significant international flag. There is also the risk that they could undermine the objectives of the recent Maritime Growth Study, which aims to protect and stimulate the UK’s maritime cluster, he added. ‘We consider the situation to be so grave that it requires urgent attention, and it is for this reason that we write to seek assurances that the concerns we have identified will be given the utmost priority by your department,’ he added. Mr Dickinson also raised similar concerns about the resources given to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) at a time of increased demand — with a number of extremely high-profile incidents and increasingly complex investigative processes. He urged the minister to ensure that Red Ensign Group registries apply consistent procedures to prevent unfair competition on the basis of less stringent enforcement. ‘Surely it is reasonable to expect that accidents, deaths and injuries onboard REG ships are subjected to the same level of investigative scrutiny as those on the mainland register?’ he asked. ‘I would suggest that there is a strong case for REG members to make a contribution to the costs of running the MAIB and to be obliged to use them for investigations.’

Minister questioned after ITF goes to the aid of seafarers stranded on ship in Newport docks

British politicians have raised concerns about the case of 13 crew on a general cargoship crew who were abandoned in a UK port for four months ‘in blatant contravention of the Maritime Labour Convention’. Almost 40 MPs have signed a Parliamentary motion condemning the ‘appalling’ conditions discovered by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) onboard the Italian-flagged vessel Sunflower E in Newport docks. They warned that this was the eighth case this year of a ship being detained in a UK port as a result of ‘dubious financing’, and urged the UK government to ensure that the crew’s rights under the MLC are enforced. The ITF went to the aid of the seafarers — from Indonesia, Philippines and Romania — after a port worker highlighted their plight following the seizure of the 8,604gt ship by the UK Admiralty Marshal in March. The crew had not been paid since January and were allegedly owed US$250,000. They had also complained of dwindling supplies of food and toiletries, and no access to hot water. ITF UK & Ireland coordinator Ken Fleming said conditions on the ship had been ‘indescribable’ and he praised the bravery of the crew in staying put to fight for their rights. The ITF arranged their repatriation after the Italian liquidators agreed to allow a court judgment to be sought to recover their wages from the proceeds of the ship’s sale. ‘The talking is over,’ Mr Fleming said. ‘We will be pursuing this as aggressively as we can, pushing for the quick sale of the vessel. The workers will be going home, penniless — and by the time they get

The stranded seafarers onboard the Sunflower E Picture: courtesy and copyright of the South Wales Argus

paid they may simply have to pay back the moneylenders they borrowed from to keep their homes.’ The crew were also given assistance by the Apostleship of the Sea (AoS). Cardiff-based ship visitor Barbara Thomas made regular

trips to provide them with material, spiritual and emotional support. ‘I spent time speaking to the crew about their concerns, their families, and ensuring they had the means to make contact with home,’ she said.

One Filipino crew member was seriously ill on arrival at the port and ended up having chemotherapy in hospital, she added. ‘I visited him there and used my contacts with some of the local Filipino community to see him

regularly before he was flown home.’ When the ship’s boiler broke down, Ms Thomas arranged for the crew to have hot showers at the YMCA in Newport. ‘The crew were on a rollercoaster of emotions as promises of “good news tomorrow” always seemed to be tomorrow and the longer they were stranded, the more disheartened they became,’ she added. ‘Visits became increasingly important to them and a chance for them to vent their feelings was vital in keeping them going. They were assured that they were not forgotten and that everything possible was being done and would be done to help them.’ The AoS also provided the crew with £500 donated by The Guild of Benevolence of the IMarEST. Local Labour MP Paul Flynn tabled the Parliamentary motion on the case, urging the UK government to contact the Italian authorities to ensure that the crew are ‘paid and supported in travelling home to their families, in compliance with the MLC and for the rights of abandoned seafarers to be afforded greater priority in domestic and international shipping policy’. The MP also asked shipping minister Robert Goodwill what support the UK gives to seafarers stranded as a result of their employer’s liquidation. The minister replied: ‘In the case of failure of the shipowner or the flag state of the ship to undertake their responsibility, the MCA may assist in the repatriation of seafarers to their home country, when requested by the seafarer if they have become stranded due to liquidation of the shipping company. The government cannot intervene in the financial position of shipowners and has no control of the financial situation of ships visiting UK ports.’

Training courses for the maritime and offshore industries

Merchant Navy Operations (Deck) Certificate of Competency Officer of the Watch (Unlimited) Jan, May & Sept intakes Chief Mate/Masters (Unlimited) May Jan &&Sep Septintakes intakes Master Mariner (Unlimited) Orals Prep Mar & Oct intakes Shipboard Safety Officer Master Mariner (200Gt) Orals Prep (2 weeks) Shipboard Security Officer STCW Safety 5 day STCW Basic Safety Training Personal Survival Techniques Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities Elementary First Aid Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting Advanced Fire Fighting Efficient Deck Hand Man Over Board / Rib Capsize Drills IMDG awareness

44_news.indd 44

Navigation NAEST (O) & (M) ECDIS generic and type speciﬁc Medical and First Aid Bridge Team Management Medical First Aid Onboard Ship Pre ARPA and ARPA Medical Care Onboard Ship (and Refresher) SVNR HSE Offshore First Aid (and Refresher) Tanker HSE First Aid at Work (and Refresher) Tanker Familiarisation HSE Emergency First Aid at Work Specialist Tanker Training (Oil) Radio Dynamic Positioning GMDSS GOC/ROC/LRC/CAA DP Induction VHF Short Range Certiﬁcate DP Simulator DP Introduction

Offshore Oil & Gas OIM Management of Major Emergencies CRO Controlling Emergencies Command & Control for ERRVs Masters & Mates Oil Spill Crisis Management (OPRC) COMPEX EX01 to EX04 Offshore Wind 5 day Wind Energy Safety Training Working at Height & Rescue (RUK) Advanced Rescue Climbing Awareness Marine Transfer Conﬁned Space Entry & Rescue

Facilities for Hire Environmental Pool (wave, wind, rain) Marine Transfer Ladder Full Mission Ship’s Bridge Simulator Dynamic Positioning Simulator Offshore Control Room Simulator

Lowestoft College, St Peters Street, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR32 2NB United Kingdom

Tel:

00 44 1502 525025

Email: maritime@lowestoft.ac.uk Web: www.lowestoft.ac.uk/maritime.asp

Accredited by

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