Nautilus Telegraph December 2017

Ale and hearty How a pint could help the future of maritime charities 19-21

Housing scheme Development deal will boost Union’s welfare facilities 3

NL nieuws Vier pagina’s met nieuws uit Nederland 32-35

Volume 50 | Number 12 | December 2017 | £3.50 €3.70

Southampton gets a new record visitor to Southampton last month F is the 20,568TEU Milan Maersk

Pictured making a maiden call

— taking the record as the largest containership to visit the UK port.

Built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in South Korea, the Danish-flagged Milan Maersk is one of 11 second-generation ultralarge Triple-E containerships due to be delivered by the end of 2018.

The ships feature a new propulsion and software system designed to cut carbon emissions by around 35%.

Last year, the largest containership calling in Southampton had a capacity of 16,000TEU, but the record was shattered during 2017 by MOL Triumph and MOL Trust, each with a capacity of 20,170TEU. Picture: Gary Davies/Maritime Photographic

Call for Budget aid to boost seafaring

Inside F Keeping it clean

Cuts in the catering department make food hygiene an important issue for all at sea— page 18

Nautilus and Chamber of Shipping urge ministers to introduce improved SMarT Plus scheme

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Nautilus has made toplevel calls for Budget action to improve the UK’s Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme — pointing to shipowners’ promises to boost jobs if the assistance is increased.

In letters to the Chancellor and the shipping minister ahead of the Budget, Nautilus pointed to a ‘watertight’ case for implementing the SMarT Plus package jointly proposed by the Union and the UK Chamber of Shipping.

‘For an island nation, relying on the sea for 95% of its trade, shipping is an essential industry,’ wrote general secretary Mark Dickinson. ‘Seafarers are also vital for the safe and efficient operation of ships, and their skills and experience are also crucial for the future prosperity of the world-leading maritime services provided by the UK.’

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He told the ministers that the SMarT Plus package would cost little more than a mile of new motorway, yet would ensure a sustainable supply of British seafarers — something that will be of increasing importance in the post-Brexit environment.

‘The current SMarT scheme has a £15m budget and has done much to reverse what had been a catastrophic decline in the numbers of UK trainee seafarer during the 1980s and early 90s,’ he pointed out. ‘While annual officer cadet numbers have risen from under 500 to around 800 since then, the intake is still woefully short of the numbers needed to meet future needs, to make up ground from the low training levels of previous decades, and to redress what could be a dramatic reduction in numbers in the years ahead as the average age of

the existing seafarer population increases.’

Mr Dickinson said shipowners had made it clear there is no shortage of high quality applicants for the limited number of training positions which are available each year. However, the reduction in the value of the existing SMarT scheme means that the UK has become one of the most expensive countries in the world in which to train a seafarer.

He said the government’s own review of the scheme had supported the case for doubling the current SMarT budget. ‘This should be seen as an investment by the nation — with the government’s own research showing that seafarers contribute £17,500 more to the economy than the average worker and that for every £1 spent on seafarer training there is a return of £4.80 to the national

economy,’ Mr Dickinson added.

He told the ministers that the Union’s Charter for Jobs underlines the validity of the argument for funding 100% of the cost of training UK-resident seafarers and he urged them to take note of the strong commitments by leading shipping companies to not only increase training numbers but also employment opportunities for British seafarers if the SMarT Plus proposals are introduced.

‘In 2015, the government’s Maritime Growth Study highlighted the huge economic, social and strategic contribution made by the UK maritime sector, but warned that this could be severely undermined without a strong pool of seafaring expertise,’ Mr Dickinson conclude. ‘More than two years on, it is essential that the Study’s recommendations are acted upon and we trust that

this year’s Budget will provide the desperately-needed catalyst to safeguard our country’s seafaring future.’

UK Chamber of Shipping chief executive Guy Platten said SMarT Plus would enable owners to undertake to employ newlyqualified officers while they go on to gain higher certificates. ‘This increases their value and marketability for employment both on ships and in the UK’s maritime sector shore-side,’ he pointed out.

‘There is a real opportunity now for government to ensure that the UK has a thriving maritime industry as we prepare to leave the European Union. However, without action now and the additional funding support agreed, trained personnel from elsewhere will be recruited and the opprtunity lost.’ g Tonnage tax call — page 3.

F Ocean going

Oceanographers take their science to the public with Solent cruises — pages 26-27 F Training support

New website aims to make it easier for seafarers to find the right training course — page 25

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NAUTILUS AT WORK Clockwise from top left: The MN contingent at the Festival of Remembrance; former Wren Imelda Jamieson at the Mariners’ Park memorial service; Council member Captain Michael Lloyd and his wife, Carolyn, at Westminster Abbey; Nautilus general scretary Mark Dickinson, RMT national secretary Steve Todd, and RMT general secretary Mick Cash at the Merchant Navy Memorial in Tower Hill, London; and Royal Fleet Auxiliary liaison officer Russell Downs at Westminster Abbey Tower Hill picture: Andrew Wiard

officials and staff paid their respects F during Remembrance Day services and Nautilus International members,

events in London and Wallasey at the weekend.

Commemorations for seafarers who lost their lives in conflict began at the Union’s northern office on Friday 10 November with a ceremony for residents and staff at the Atlantic Memorial Stone in Mariners’ Park

on the banks of the Mersey. Wreaths were laid during the service by former Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) seafarer Imelda Jamieson, and fellow resident Neil Robertson who helped to raise the Red Ensign.

In London, Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson attended the annual ceremony at the Merchant Navy Memorial in Tower Hill on Sunday along with RMT officials Mick Cash and Steve Todd.

Nautilus was represented at the Westminster Abbey service by Council member Michael Lloyd, Captain Michael Kinkaid, Ross MacDonald and senior national secretary Allan Graveson. Council member Russell Downs was the MN representative in the procession to the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior.

Nautilus member and Trinity House senior chief engineer officer Phil Dick was

Calls for REG clampdown Nautilus urges ministers to combat unfair competition

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Nautilus International has urged the government to respond to the ‘Paradise Papers’ revelations of tax avoidance in UK overseas territories by clamping down on the operation of so-called Red Ensign Group (REG) ship registries from the same locations.

In letters to foreign secretary Boris Johnson and shipping minister John Hayes, the Union says the evidence revealed in the leaked documents shows widespread use of UK territories and dependencies such as Bermuda, Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands to create mechanisms for companies and individuals to avoid tax liabilities.

General secretary Mark Dickinson said the media reports of the documents highlighted the Union’s long-standing concerns over the connections between these mechanisms — and the countries which host them — and the shipping industry.

‘The papers contain exten-

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sive references to members of the REG which offer shipowners considerable incentives as well as the opportunity to use low-cost labour,’ he said. ‘Essentially, we believe they also serve as another form of tax haven subsidised by the British taxpayer.’

Mr Dickinson said the UK’s relationship with the REG is inherently damaging for its domestic maritime policy objectives. ‘The 2016 Shipping Fleet Statistics showed that the UK Ship Register (UKSR) now accounts for just 26% of the total REG deadweight tonnage, and the most recent UNCTAD Maritime Report showed that more than 80% of UK deadweight tonnage is registered with foreign flags — which clearly undermines the government’s stated aim of doubling tonnage under the UKSR,’ he added.

Mr Dickinson told the ministers that there is evidence that some of the REG registers fail to discharge their IMO/ILO convention responsibilities to the same

level as the UKSR, and some are classed as flags of convenience by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).

‘FoC registries, including those in the REG, make it more difficult for unions, industry stakeholders and the public to hold shipowners to account,’ he pointed out.

‘The publication of the Paradise Papers raises further questions about their long-term political sustainability,’ Mr Dickinson added. ‘The OECD in particular has been working towards increasing transparency and exchange of information among countries, and these moves will inevitably increase the pressure on the FoC system.’

Mr Dickinson said reform of the REG is long overdue and he also called for ministers to make the findings of the Department for Transport’s study of the commercialisation of UKSR publicly available and to ensure that there is open debate on its recommendations.

among the 30-strong Merchant Navy (MN) contingent attending the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The contingent included representatives from Trinity House, P&O Australia, Princess Cruises, BP and cadets from Warsash Maritime Academy.

‘It was particularly pleasing for me to see that within a few hours of meeting on Friday morning the different groups who had

never met before gelled together to form a common bond and collectively do the best we could, to highlight the enormous sacrifice our colleagues made in the wars,’ Mr Dick said.

Princess Cruises chief engineer Simon Jewell added: ‘Everyone volunteered and all felt very proud to be representing the industry whilst remembering the sacrifices that went before.’

Pilot paddles for charities Thompson is gearing up for a F maritime charity challenge in support Nautilus member Daniel

of seafarers’ mental health — and is hoping to win the backing of many Telegraph readers.

Outside his day job as a Port of London pilot, Dan is ‘a keen kayaker looking forward to taking it to the next level for a great cause’.

He has formed a team with his father Roy Thompson and fellow seafarers Peter George and Derek Frame, and in July 2018 they aim to kayak 195nm from the North Sea to

Northern Ireland via Scotland in just eight days.

Through their Paddle 4 Mental Health challenge, the team are aiming to raise at least £6,000 for the charities MIND, Sailors’ Society and the Seafarers’ Hospital Society.

They’re also hoping to raise awareness of mental health issues, as Dan explains: ‘It’s for those who are suffering with a condition, those who are not yet seeking help and suffering in silence, and specifically for seafarers who can be affected heavily by mental health issues during their careers.’

Dan said he had organised the challenge because he himself suffered from depression and anxiety in the past as a result of working at sea and the pressures he faced there. ‘I am glad to say I came through it with the help and support of many people, treatment and therapy, and I feel it is important to speak out now — to raise awareness and break the stigma.’ g Nautilus has given £150 to help kick off the Paddle 4 Mental Health fundraising effort. To make further donations and find out more, go to: www.paddle4mentalhealth.co.uk

Tributes to former welfare manager month of former Nautilus A welfare services manager Bob

The funeral took place last

Currams, pictured right.

Mr Currams began work at the Union’s Mariners’ Park centre in Wallasey in September 1997 and served until his retirement in September 2004.

Born and raised in Liverpool, he came to the Union with more than 30 years of relevant experience in the welfare and care sectors, including time as assistant director of social services for Sefton Council.

Former deputy general secretary Peter McEwen attended the funeral and paid tribute to the way in which Mr Currams had developed the Union’s welfare work.

‘Bob worked for the Nautilus Welfare Fund for seven years and made a major contribution to the

establishment of the new care home in 2002 and to increasing the quality of welfare services at Mariners Park,’ he said.

‘Bob related well to residents and staff alike, always with a twinkle in his eye and an appropriate comment.

After his retirement, he often visited the Park to continue giving talks on the wide variety of topics on which he had considerable knowledge,’ Mr McEwen added.

‘He was a great asset to the NWF and all the residents.’

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December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 03

NAUTILUS AT WORK

‘Win-win’ redevelopment deal for Wallasey welfare facilities welcome to an agreement A to redevelop the Merseyside site Nautilus has given a big

of the Andrew Gibson House at its Mariners’ Park residential and care complex for former seafarers.

Following long-running talks with Wirral Council and local developer Prospect Capital, agreement has been reached on the principle of a scheme that will see the former home for the widows of seafarers to be converted into apartments, with a new state-of-theart accommodation block being built for the Nautilus Welfare Fund charity close to Andrew Gibson House.

Nautilus senior policy advisor Mike Jess said: ‘We are absolutely delighted that we have reached this agreement, which is a win-win for everyone.

‘We have been seeking to do something with the Gibson House site for many years, and this threeway partnership makes it possible for the proceeds to go back to the charity to enable the development of new facilities for necessitous seafarers and their dependants,’ he added.

‘As new research from the Maritime Charities Group demonstrates, the 30 new extracare accommodation places will help to meet an increasingly acute need.’

Gibson House has not been used for more than a decade because of the prohibitive costs of upgrading the 111-year-old building to modern standards of fit-for-purpose accommodation. The key to the

TRAINING SUPPORT: in response to a motion agreed at the Nautilus UK branch conference in October, Nautilus is reminding members that any newly qualified officer who has been unemployed for longer than three months is eligible to apply for funding through the Maritime Educational Foundation to carry out updating training and courses that are required for further employment.

Mick Howarth and Mike Jess, from Nautilus, with Cllr Janette Williamson and Prospect Capital representatives Rob Blackwood, Craig Blackwell and Phil Lee at Gibson House last month Picture: Stuart Bogg Imaging

solution was a decision by Wirral Council to sell a small piece of adjacent land to the developers that provided scope for a commercially viable development, as well as fulfilling the needs of Nautilus and the aspirations of local residents and heritage campaigners.

Prospect Capital managing director Craig Blackwell commented: ‘This is a great piece of local heritage and I am delighted that by working together ourselves, Nautilus and Wirral Council have come up

with a solution that preserves the building, and gives Nautilus the quality future accommodation they need. It’s an outstanding location, and a development that combines sensitive restoration with high quality modern design, will be a great enhancement of the Wirral waterfront.’

Local councillor Janette Williamson said she was pleased that Gibson House had been saved.

‘It’s something that residents have been campaigning for and

I know that Nautilus have been working hard to find a solution and a development plan that is commercially viable and gives them the modern accommodation they need. Patience and hard work have paid off, and it’s a great tribute to all those involved.’

It is hoped that a full planning application for the site will now be submitted early in the new year, with work on the restoration of Gibson House starting in the spring. g Welfare studies — pages 19-21.

New slump in UK jobs shows the need for overhaul of scheme, says Nautilus

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TELEGRAPH CHANGE: readers are advised that this will be the last issue of the Nautilus Telegraph in its current style. In line with a decision by the Union’s Council, the monthly journal will be changing to a magazine format with effect from the January 2018 edition. Further enhancements of the news service for members are set to follow in the new year when the Union’s website is relaunched with a range of new features and reports.

MURDER PROBE: two Ukrainian officers on the Portuguese-flagged containership MSC Giannina have been arrested in Italy on suspicion of killing the vessel’s master. The first and third officer were held in Genoa after prosecutors said a stain found on the bridge had prompted further investigation of the captain’s disappearance off the coast of Italy on 19 October. The men are accused of throwing his body into the sea.

Tonnage tax ‘in need of a refit’ Nautilus is urging the UK government to undertake a radical review of the tonnage tax scheme after new figures revealed a shocking decline in the number of British seafarers serving on ships in the scheme.

Latest official statistics show that the percentage of British officers working on tonnage tax vessels has fallen from 80% of the total when the scheme was launched in 2000 to just 28% now.

The percentage of British ratings has fallen from 49% to just 16% over the same period.

The Department for Transport figures show that almost onethird of the officers on UK tonnage tax ships now come from other EU/EEA countries, while the proportion coming from the rest of the world has risen from 16% in

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the first year of the scheme to 41% now.

Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson described the statistics as ‘deeply disappointing’ and said they demonstrate the strength of the Union’s Charter for Jobs case for the government to conduct a major reassessment of the tonnage tax scheme.

‘When tonnage tax was introduced at the turn of the century, it undoubtedly served to arrest the appalling decline of the British fleet during the previous two decades and helped to turn around UK seafarer training and sustained employment,’ he pointed out.

‘However, the industry has moved on significantly since then and many other countries have not only caught up with us in terms of the support they offer their fleets, but have gone way

beyond it with dynamic and innovative initiatives that set ambitious targets for fleet growth and employment levels,’ Mr Dickinson said.

The number of companies participating in the UK tonnage tax scheme has fallen from more than 90 to 70 now, Mr Dickinson said, and this also demonstrated that the scheme is now viewed by the industry as less attractive than it used to be.

The total number of seafarers employed on tonnage tax ships has fallen from a high point of 20,400 in 2012-13 to 18,061 now, he pointed out, and barely 40% of the ships entered into the scheme now fly the UK flag.

‘It’s estimated that tonnage tax has been worth more than £1.5bn to shipowners since it was launched and ministers now need

to seriously question the value for money that is being generated by the scheme,’ Mr Dickinson said. ‘It’s time to look for imaginative ways in which it can be re-launched to truly deliver the objectives of increasing UK employment and training, growing the UK fleet and safeguarding the wider maritime cluster.

‘In particular, the core training commitment should be reviewed to ensure that more British seafarers are trained and employed on qualifying vessels,’ he added.

‘Ahead of Brexit, the UK government now has a unique opportunity to reform tonnage tax with no constraints of EU state aid guidelines so that we can once again take a global lead in proactive and comprehensive support for a critically important industry.’

CONVENTION CAMPAIGN: the International Chamber of Shipping has launched a new campaign to persuade more countries to sign up to important conventions affecting the maritime sector. It is calling for more ratifications of measures covering vessel recycling, oil spill compensation, ballast water management, wreck removal and seafarer identity documents.

WATERWAY WELCOME: the European Transport Workers’ Federation has welcomed a decision to adopt a directive covering the recognition of professional qualifications for European inland waterways transport. It is hoped the regulations will safeguard professional standards and enhance labour mobility in the sector.

DREDGING DEAL: the Dutch operator Van Oord has secured a six-month contract to carry out emergency dredging works in the Port of Beira, in Mozambique.

Work will include reinstating the port access channel to its charted lines and will involve the trailing suction hopper dredger Volvox Atalanta.

RAMSGATE RELAUNCH: a new UK company, Seaborne Freight, is reported to be behind plans to relaunch the Ramsgate-Ostend ferry service early in the new year. The company is said to be planning to offer up to six return crossings a day between the two ports.

LOST BOXES: the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch is looking into an incident in which more than 40 containers were reported to have been lost overboard from the UK-flagged containership Ever Smart some 700nm miles east of Japan on 30 October.

SYDNEY FACE-OFF: seafarers serving with Sydney Ferries have threatened to refuse to work on a new vessel which has been named Ferry McFerryface.

The Maritime Union of Australia questioned why its members had to ‘suffer a second-hand joke from the UK’.

LNG CHOSEN: the French containership giant CMA CGM has selected a dual-fuel option for nine new 22,000TEY vessels being built China. The company said the vessels, which will be delivered in 2020, will be almost entirely LNG-fuelled.

BREXIT WARNING: British port operators have warned the UK government of potential disruption at key terminals if cross-border customs agreements are not put in place before the UK leaves the European Union.

FISHING COMPLAINT: migrant workers on Scottish fishing boats are working dangerously long hours in unsafe conditions, the Apostleship of the Sea has warned.

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NAUTILUS AT WORK

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Teekay newbuild boosts Shell LNG fleet

UECC PAY: Nautilus has submitted a pay claim for an above-RPI pay rise on behalf of members employed by UECC (Guernsey). The claim also requests: an increase in the food budget; 1:1 leave for third engineers and third officers; an increase in the uniform allowance and seniority increments to continue beyond the current 13-year limit. National organiser Jonathan Havard has requested a meeting with the company to discuss the claim.

HANSON SUBMISSION: a claim seeking an above-RPI inflation pay increase has been submitted on behalf of members employed by Hanson Ship Management. Nautilus is also seeking the removal of five additional days from contracts, a full day’s pay for joining and leaving days, and a realistic crew bonus scheme. A further meeting with the company is now being arranged.

MANX CLAIM: Nautilus has presented Manx Sea Transport with a claim for a pay rise over and above current RPI inflation. The Union is also seeking harmonisation of salary scales on Mannaman and BenMy-Chree, along with a review of higher ticket payments, a review of the overtime clause, and increases in the living allowance and dry dock allowance. Talks were due to begin in late November.

NERC TALKS: Nautilus and the RMT have met officials from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the arbitration service ACAS to discuss the 2016 pay award for members serving on ships operated

by NOCS-NMFSS and the British Antarctic Survey, which includes the removal of the incremental scale. Further discussions have been lined up for 6 December.

SERCO CONSULT: members employed by Serco Ferries (Guernsey) Crewing are being consulted on an improved pay and conditions offer after rejecting a proposed 2.9% increase. The Union is recommending acceptance of the revised offer, which is worth 3.9%.

Results will be known early in December.

SEATRUCK OFFER: members employed by Seaway Manning Services (Guernsey) onboard Seatruck Ferries vessels are being consulted on an offer for a 2% pay rise, together with an additional 1% to reflect an increase in notice period. Results will be known early in December.

RED REQUEST: Nautilus is to hold further talks with Red Funnel management after an initial meeting in October was unable to reach agreement on the Union’s claim for an RPI inflation linked increase, and a number of other improvements.

FISHER RISE: a 2% pay offer — backdated to 1 April 2017 — have been accepted by members employed by James Fisher.

addition to the Shell A International Trading & Shipping Pictured right is the newest

technically managed fleet — the Bahamas-flagged LNG carrier Murex.

Built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in South Korea for Teekay LNG, the 173,000 cu m vessel is the first of five Teekay newbuildings that Shell will crew and manage. The vessel was named Murex to mark Shell’s 125th anniversary and the name of its first oil tanker.

The ship is powered by electronically controlled M-type, gas-injection engines, which will consume 50 tonnes less fuel a day than a conventional steam-powered LNG carrier.

Shell now manages some 40 LNG carriers and has more than 50 on time charter, representing around a fifth of the global fleet.

UK crewing call to Channel Islands Union urges Jersey and Guernsey to use local seafarers on new ferry service

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Nautilus has welcomed proposals to launch a new ferry service in the Channel Islands — but is urging authorities in Jersey and Guernsey to ensure that it creates jobs and training opportunities for UK seafarers.

The governments of the two islands have issued a request for ‘expressions of interest’ to operate a passenger-only service ‘in 2018 and beyond’.

A formal specification for the service has not been issued yet, but there is an indication that it will receive financial assistance.

At least three companies are reported to have responded.

In a letter to political leaders on the two islands, Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson said the Union supports the objectives of enhancing interisland connectivity and boosting the local economy through additional passenger traffic.

However, he urged the authorities to ensure that the tender for the service includes a further objective to increase employment and training of local seafarers.

‘By linking support to local crewing requirements as an objective in the tender, the States of Jersey and Guernsey would gain added value from having

seafarers who can provide service cover at short notice, with minimal employee travel costs to and from vessels and good knowledge of local waters,’ Mr Dickinson wrote.

Nautilus also believes that it would be ‘entirely appropriate for seafarers serving on such inter-island services to be covered by strict controls on pay and working conditions,’ he added.

‘The UK industry has witnessed the increasingly damaging effects of unfair competition caused by “lowest common denominator” crewing policies in the ferry sector and we believe it is important to prevent

globalised labour conditions in essentially domestic services.’

The Union emphasised that the European Union’s state aid guidelines also seek to deliver such objectives and permit states to offer reduced rates of income tax and social security contributions for Community seafarers employed onboard member state-registered vessels.

Setting such safeguards in the tender would enhance the economic objectives of the support and would also deliver long-term benefits for the safe and efficient operation of the services and the wider local maritime infrastructure, Mr Dickinson said.

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Windstar pay talks under way Union’s claim for members F serving with Windstar Cruises are Pictured during talks on the

Nautilus national organiser Jonathan Havard, Windstar Cruises HR vicepresident Valentina Zackrone, and Viking Recruitment MD Matthew Jaenicke, on behalf of Abacus Crewing Services.

The Union is seeking a 4% pay rise, business class travel over eight hours for senior officers, a review of the ‘spouse’ travel policy and three-on/three-off contracts for second engineers.

A formal response from management was awaited last month.

Nautilus has urged management to come up with an improved pay and conditions offer for members employed by Fleet Maritime Services (Bermuda) and serving on Carnival UK (Cunard and P&O Cruises) vessels.

The Union made the call after consultations showed a four to one majority opposed to a proposed three-year pay deal, which included maintaining salaried pay, the introduction of a common contract length and an improved visibility of future rotations, along with a gradual reduction in contract lengths for officers over the next three years.

The company said it believed the offer would provide members with more choice, while reducing interruptions to leave periods.

Under the proposals, members on 238-day contracts would retain existing pay rates for 2018 and 2019 and have a 1% increase in year three, while contract lengths are progressively reduced to 221 days.

Those on 200- and 219-day contracts would receive a 3.03% increase in 2018, a 2.67% increase in 2019 and a 2.81% rise in the third year, to ensure daily rates of pay remain aligned regardless of contract length.

National organiser Jonathan Havard said the Union had been unable to recommend the offer for acceptance as it failed to meet the benchmark of RPI inflation. The company has been asked to reconsider the package and it is hoped that further discussions will take place shortly.

15/11/2017 17:56

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NAUTILUS AT WORK

Work begins on first of three Virgin vessels F

Virgin Voyages has revealed details of the three new 110,000gt cruiseships it is planning to introduce between 2020 and 2022, pictured right.

A keel-laying ceremony for the first ship, which is being built at the Fincantieri yard in Italy, took place last month. The adults-only vessels will carry up to 2,700 passengers and 1,150 crew, and will incorporate a range of environmental features.

Virgin Group founder Sir Richard

CALMAC DEAL: members employed by Caledonian MacBrayne (Guernsey) have accepted, by a rate of nine to one, the company’s proposed three-year pay and conditions package. The agreement will see a 3.9% pay increase in 2017, and RPI inflation linked increases in 2018 and 2019. Additionally, a bonus payment of 1.5% will be given in 2018 and 2019, based on the current terms of the agreement. The company will also review its terms and conditions of travel and subsistence.

Branson said the start of construction was ‘a big day’ for the company.

‘We’re also committed to making sure our crew are the happiest at sea and will be proud to sail with us,’ he added.

Nautilus has approached the company about the crewing arrangements for the vessels, and national organiser Jonathan Havard said the Union will be seeking to secure a collective agreement for the fleet.

Owners predict 3.4% pay rises Industry survey reveals company concerns over the impact of skill shortages

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Ship owners and managers are expecting to see crew wages rise by a total of 3.4% over the next two years, according to a new industry survey of operating costs.

Research carried out by the shipping accountants Moore Stephens shows that operators are braced for increased expenditure in key areas — with repairs, maintenance and spares being the cost categories where the biggest rises are anticipated.

The survey — which is based largely on responses from owners and managers in Europe and Asia — forecasts that vessel operating costs are likely to rise by 2.1% in 2017 and 2.4% in the following year.

Outlay on crew wages is expected to increase by 1.7% in each of the years under review, with other crew costs thought

likely to go up by 1.6% in 2017 and 1.5% in 2018.

Moore Stephens said the survey had shown significant concerns about the impact of skill shortages on seafarer pay rates — especially for tankers and gas carriers. One company stated: ‘Crew costs are 60% of our operating expenditure, and weigh heavily when there is high demand for — but a limited supply of — manpower and when employers are required to meet increasingly onerous requirements.’

Another noted: ‘Crew and insurance related expenses are the two major factors in our operating expenses but, while we expect insurance costs to fall over the next two years, we anticipate that crew costs will remain the same.’

The survey also revealed concerns about the increasing cost

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of regulatory compliance, with one operator complaining: “Retrofitting vessels with technology which has not been fully vetted for compliance with existing and new regulation can destroy cashflow.’

One respondent in the offshore sector, meanwhile, emphasised: “There is a constant trend in terms of charter hire, whereby earnings are gradually going down while expenses under different heads are following an upward trend.’

Moore Stephens said there was considerable gloom about the prospects for shipping company income over the next 12 months, with a lot of worries about the effects of continued tonnage overcapacity in some trades.

Asked to identify the three factors that would most affect

operating costs over the next 12 months, 21% of respondents identified finance costs as the most significant factor, followed by crew supply, which stood at 19%, and competition and the cost of new regulations in joint third place, cited by 15% of respondents.

Moore Stephens partner Richard Greiner said the cost of compliance with ballast water management rules is ‘potentially the most expensive item on the menu’.

He pointed to wide variations in the expectations of different sectors — with the offshore sector forecasting the biggest cost increases.

Offshore operators expect crew wages to increase by 3.5% in 2018, compared with 1.4% predicted for bulk carrier crews and only 0.7% for containership crews in the same period, he added.

Scots ferries funding call

STENA MEETING: Nautilus is continuing talks with Stena Line management over the impact of the loss of the Capucine charter for members serving on the Harwich route. National ferry organiser Micky Smyth, accompanied by the Union’s director of legal services Charles Boyle, met the company to reiterate opposition to the imposition of changes on a compulsory basis, and further talks were due to take place later in November.

PLA PROPOSALS: Nautilus is consulting members employed by the Port of London Authority after management tabled a 3% pay offer last month.

National organiser Jonathan Havard said the Union was unable to recommend the offer to members as it was based at the lowest level under the terms of the threeyear agreement and failed to meet the RPI inflation benchmark.

MAERSK OFFER: members employed by Maersk Offshore (Guernsey) in the tankers fleet are being consulted on a proposed two-year pay deal, consisting of a pay freeze for 2017 and a 2% increase with effect from 1 January 2018. National organiser Steve Doran said he was unable to recommend it to members as it did not match their stated aspirations.

FORELAND OPPOSITION: consultations with members employed by Foreland Shipping have revealed ‘conclusive’ opposition to the company’s proposals for a long-term pay and conditions agreement. National organiser Jonathan Havard said further discussions were due to be held in late November.

THAMES CLAIM: Nautilus has begun talks on a 3.9% pay claim on behalf of members employed by Thames Clippers. The Union is also seeking an increase to pension and sickness entitlements, and a review of hours of work and leave rosters.

TRINITY TALKS: Nautilus and the Unite union are due to meet Trinity House management on 5 December after members voted overwhelmingly to reject a 1% pay offer.

PG INCREASE: consultations with members employed by Pritchard-Gordon Tankers (Guernsey) have resulted in acceptance of the company’s proposed oneyear 2.5% pay offer.

urged to produce a long-term A plan for funding lifeline ferry services.

Transport Scotland has been

Union raises Peel Ports concerns discuss concerns over proposals to ‘streamline F marine operations’ in key ports.

Nautilus has meet Peel Ports management to

Pictured during talks with the company are liaison officers Richard Fearn, Paul Cozens and Paul Smith, together with national organiser Jonathan Havard and senior national secretary Allan Graveson.

The Union has expressed its opposition to the company’s plans to introduce a centralised vessel traffic

04-05_at work.indd 5

services scheme, managed from a new command centre at its Liverpool headquarters. The integrated system will work with solid state radars installed at various locations, automated vessel identification, a group-wide geographical information system and digital VHF radio.

Issues addressed during the discussions included formal safety assessment and gap analysis, as well as training and communications. Further talks are being arranged.

The call came from Audit Scotland last month, in a report which notes that spending on ferry services has more than doubled over the past decade and warns that the full extent of future funding requirements is unclear.

The report also recommends that Transport Scotland improves its procurement arrangements for ferry services, after finding weaknesses in the arrangements for the recent Clyde and Hebrides contract.

Nautilus national ferries organiser Micky Smyth commented: ‘I believe that the funding is essential to provide a lifeline service to the communities and the increase in funding is due to improvements in these services following years of under-investment which has been recognised by the current Scottish government.’

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15/11/2017 17:57

06 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

OFFSHORE NEWS

shortreports SEAHORSE APPEAL: two dates have been proposed for the Court of Appeal hearing over the employment rights of members serving on Sealion ships who were made redundant by Seahorse Maritime without due consultation. The case is set to begin on either 11 April or 12 April 2018 at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Meanwhile, the Union has requested talks with management on this year’s pay and conditions claim — and to discuss concerns over recent moves to eight-week trips.

SEACOR FREEZE: members serving with Seacor Marine (Guernsey) on BPOS vessels are to have a pay freeze after the company refused to improve its offer, despite consultations showing a big majority wishing to reject it. National organiser Steve Doran said that the Union would not be able to ballot members for industrial action because the numbers voting were nowhere near the government threshold requirements.

TRAINING CALL: the offshore training provider OPITO has launched a new online basic offshore safety induction and emergency training programme, claiming it could save the sector a million hours of training time a year. OPITO chief executive John McDonald said the industry needs to embrace new technology for training and assessments.

VGG DEAL: Nautilus has accepted a 1.5% pay offer on behalf of members employed by VGG (Singapore) on the BP offshore vessels agreement. National organiser Jonathan Havard agreed the increase after the company confirmed that it would reinstate the cost of mandatory courses as part of the offer, which will also be backdated to 1 January 2017.

HAVILA IMPOSITION: a pay freeze for members employed by Havila Marine (Guernsey) has been imposed after members failed to offer any viable alternatives. National organiser Steve Doran has written to the company to say that while Nautilus cannot formally accept the offer, it has noted it ahead of future negotiations.

OCEAN SETTLEMENT: members employed by Ocean Supply (Guernsey) have voted to accept a 1.5% pay offer, backdated to 1 July 2017. National organiser Steve Doran has thanked members for their contributions during discussions.

VROON REQUEST: members serving with Deeside Guernsey on Vroon Offshore Services vessels have been asked to give the Union their views on the contents of the forthcoming pay and conditions claim.

FISHER CONTRACT: the UK owner James Fisher Marine Services (JFMS) has won a £3m contract to provide guard vessels during construction of the East Anglia ONE windfarm for ScottishPower Renewables.

BOURBON HOPES: the French offshore shipping company Bourbon says it believes the slump in the sector has bottomed out, but warned that recovery is expected to be slow and affected by vessel overcapacity.

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06_offshore.indd 6

Fresh moves to end Malaviya pay saga ITF condemns exploitation in the North Sea as courts rule on vessel sales

P

Nautilus/ITF inspector Paul Keenan was battling last month to bring an end to the long saga of Indian seafarers stranded on two North Sea supply vessels with months of owed wages.

As crew members on the GOL Offshore vessel Malaviya Seven finally set off for home after the ship was sold last month, Mr Keenan was seeking to recover pay for seafarers on the sistership, Malaviya Twenty, which is berthed in the port of Great Yarmouth.

The seafarers had been on the ship since February and had replaced the previous crew, who were repatriated after Mr Keenan secured the payment of US$689,679 to a total of 33 crew who were owed wages dating back to October 2015.

‘Of the seven onboard the vessel, two had not been paid wages for June and July, and the other five had not been paid for July,’ Mr Keenan said. After contacting the crewing company and demanding the payment of the wages, he was informed that a bank had agreed to sell the vessel to a buyer in India, and if the buyer’s inspection of the vessel went well the ship would be sold and the crew would be paid all their wages and repatriated.

‘The bank and the buyer agreed a price for the vessel,’ Mr Keenan

Malaviya Twenty’s crew in Great Yarmouth Picture: Paul Keenan

said. ‘However, as GOL had gone into liquidation in June and a receiver appointed, the bank needed the approval of the court in India to sell the vessel. The sale

was contested by the liquidator as he was arguing the ship was an asset of GOL and the proceeds of the sale should go to him as liquidator. The bank obviously disa-

greed, and a number of dates were set for the court hearing and kept getting delayed.’

Early in November the court directed the ICICI Bank to submit details of the outstanding dues of the crew members, port authority and bunker suppliers, along with supporting documents — and it was hoped that a definitive ruling would be made by the end of the month.

Mr Keenan also contacted the ship’s P&I club and activated the claims process for unpaid wages and repatriation on behalf of the crew, in line with the Maritime Labour Convention.

‘Individual crew details have been provided to the insurance company, who have confirmed they will pay the owed wages of each crew member and repatriate them,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Malaviya Seven —which had been under detention in Aberdeen since October last year — was sold for an undisclosed sum last month and the ITF said the proceeds should cover the US$917,000 of unpaid wages.

ITF inspector Liam Wilson said: ‘I’m disgusted that it was even allowed to come to this. The exploitation of non-EU nationals is blatant, but completely disregarded. We are committed to stamping this exploitation out of the industry.’

Jobs pledge after sale of North Star Shipping over members’ jobs following F the sale of the North Star Shipping

Nautilus has sought assurances

emergency response and rescue fleet by the UK-based Craig Group.

The fleet of 31 owned and managed vessels has been sold to a private equity firm, Basalt Infrastructure Partners.

North Star managing director Callum Bruce said the transaction will not affect day-to-day operations — and the senior management team,

staff and crew will remain with the company.

Craig Group chairman Douglas Craig said the sale presented an opportunity to secure the longterm future of North Star Shipping through greater potential for further investment and growth. ‘Given our rich maritime heritage, it’s not a decision we have taken lightly, but it is one which makes sense for the Craig family and for the next era of North Star,’ he added.

Report reveals hopes for offshore pay increases evidence that job prospects in F the offshore sector could improve next A new survey has pointed to

year.

Research published by NES Global Talent and oilandgasjobsearch.com shows that almost 60% of employers in the industry expect to recruit significantly over the next 12 months.

The survey — based on feedback from 10,000 respondents — also found that almost half of the employers expect that salaries in the

sector will increase by more than 5% during 2018 and more than two-thirds of workers expect a pay rise over the next 12 months.

The report says there is evidence that companies recognise skills shortages as a hugely important issue — with ‘upward pressure on salaries’ in areas where there are shortages — and that the offshore labour market has stabilised, with 31% of employers saying they have not laid-off any staff in the last 12 months.

New Sentinel ERRV starts work in INEOS North Sea gas field Marine has deployed a new A multi-role emergency response Aberdeen-based Sentinel

and rescue vessel, Forties Sentinel, to support INEOS Breagh gas field operations in the southern North Sea. Pictured onboard the UK-flagged vessel following the naming ceremony in Great Yarmouth are chief executive Rory Deans, ship’s godmother Ylva Tuft, and Mervyn Williams, supply chain manager for INEOS Breagh. INEOS has also chartered the ERRV Sentinel Ranger for the field.

Built at the Fujian Southeast yard in Chaine, the 1,944gt Forties

Sentinel is the second ship to be christened by the company recently as part of a £110m investment programme. Mariner Sentinel — one of nine newbuild ERRVs joining the fleet — was deployed to Statoil’s Mariner field in October.

Six of the ships have now been delivered, and three are in various stages of construction in China.

The DP2-enabled Forties Sentinel can carry 500 tonnes of deck cargo, is equipped with a fast rescue craft and a daughter craft, and has a 26-bed and 75-seat recovery areas. There is accommodation for 25 crew, as well as a gym.

15/11/2017 16:14

December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 07

NEWS

Industry urges EU to cut the admin burden for crews seafarer union representatives F have made a joint call for action to European shipowners and

ease the administrative burden on ships’ crews.

They have urged EU member states to back new plans to simplify and harmonise vessel reporting requirements in ports across Europe — warning that current rules increase stress, workloads and fatigue, and reduce job satisfaction.

During the Digital Transport Days event in Estonia last month, the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) and the owners’ organisation ECSA warned that the Reporting Formalities Directive, introduced in June last year, has failed in its aim of rationalising reporting formalities.

Crews and companies face a worse situation today than before, the ETF and ECSA said. ‘Rather than having a single European window, diverging national solutions were developed and even at member state level there is very often no single solution in place.’

The ETF and ECSA said they were pleased the European Commission

had recognised the problems and they welcomed the launch of an impact assessment for a European Maritime Single Window (EMSW) — with hopes that detailed proposals can be delivered in spring 2018.

ECSA secretary general Martin Dorsman commented: ‘We have the unique chance now to not only rectify things but to improve the administrative procedures applied to maritime transport. Maritime transport lies at the backbone of EU’s free movement of goods and services.

For it to continue to function properly and competitively compared to other modes of transport, the paperwork to fill in has to be reduced.’

ETF political secretary Philippe Alfonso added: ‘A harmonised system will allow the crew to focus on core tasks — secure and safe navigation. Surely there are reporting requirements that can be dropped, information that can be re-used better and responsibilities of the various actors that can be clarified better. If this assessment is thoroughly done, this will result in a huge reduction of the administrative burden on crew and companies.’

Cash payments pose threat to security, owners warned result of shipping companies F continuing the ‘historical’ practice Seafarers are losing out as a

of paying in hard cash, a conference heard last month.

Speaking at the Crew Connect Global meeting in Manila, ShipMoney president Stuart Osrow said that there is as much as US$1.7bn being carried by the world merchant fleet at any one time. Having so much money onboard raises the risks of piracy, theft and ‘slippage’, he warned.

Seafarers who send remittances

home or withdraw money in different currencies are being hit by transaction charges, transit costs and currency fluctuations, Mr Ostrow said, and ship managers are also having to pay extra to administer pay rolls and cash transfers.

He urged the industry to consider the use of alternative payment methods and fully embrace the digital age, arguing that managers and owners could secure substantial savings by reducing deliveries of cash to their vessels.

Union criticises collision trial Master and pilot get suspended jail terms, despite evidence of design faults

P

Nautilus has criticised the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) decision to prosecute the pilot and master of a car carrier which collided with a ferry in the Humber Estuary in December 2015.

Humber pilot Gehan Sirimanne and the Bulgarian master of the Panama-flagged City of Rotterdam, Captain Ruslan Urumov, were both sentenced to four months in prison — suspended for 18 months — following a hearing at Hull Crown Court last month.

Mr Sirimanne had pleaded guilty to misconduct by a pilot endangering a ship and Capt Urumov pleaded guilty to conduct endangering ships, structures or individuals, contrary to Section 58 of the 1995 Merchant Shipping Act. Mr Sirimanne was ordered to pay costs totalling £45,000 — which will be paid by his former employer, Associated British Ports — and Capt Uromov was ordered to pay £750 in costs.

The court heard that the 21,143gt City of Rotterdam had collided with the inward-bound Danish-registered ro-ro Primula Seaways after straying into the wrong side of the shipping channel when the pilot became disorientated by the car carrier’s unconventional off-axis bridge windows, causing him to suffer from a phenom-

The damaged City of Rotterdam after the collision in 2015 Picture: MAIB

enon known as relative motion illusion.

Prosecuting, Oliver Wilmott said Capt Urumov had thought the pilot was planning to pass the oncoming ship ‘starboard to starboard’ when his actions were actually the very opposite and he had failed to challenge the pilot until it was too late.

Both men had more than 30 years of seafaring experience and were of previous good character, but have both retired since the accident.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Jeremy Richardson said: ‘This case has fallen heavily on each of the men. There are two issues I must immediately mention. I accept

first that the weather at the time was challenging but not exceptional. Secondly, the design and operation of the City of Rotterdam is wholly exceptional, in particular the location of the bridge and the view from parts of the bridge by reason of configuration and angles of the windows.

‘By far the most significant punishment for each of these two professional men is that their respective good reputations as mariners has been eradicated by these criminal acts,’ he added.

‘It is my view that this case warrants a prison sentence in the interest of the public but it does not need to be served immediately,’ the judge concluded.

Have you got a great job?

World’s biggest freight ro-ro begins operations A

Pictured making a maiden call to the port of Rotterdam last month is what is hailed as the world’s largest ro-ro freight ferry — the 74,273gt Celine.

Constructed in South Korea

by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the Maltese-flagged vessel has been deployed on a weekly Cobelfret Ferries service linking Purfleet on the Thames, Rotterdam, Zeebrugge and Dublin.

The first of eight new ships being built for Compagnie

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07_news.indd 7

Following the case, Michael Groark — surveyor in charge for the MCA’s Hull office — commented: ‘This shows that the rules are there for a reason. It was a serious collision which could have resulted in serious injury.

‘Both of these men ignored several alerts warning them they were on the wrong track and put not only themselves but others using the channel correctly, at risk,’ he added.

But Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson responded: ‘The Marine Accident Investigation Branch report on this incident, together with other acknowledged expert research, showed that the pilot had become disorientated as a consequence of this ship’s novel wheelhouse design.

‘It is therefore inexcusable for a prosecution to take place under such circumstances and it demonstrates the willingness of the regulatory authority, the MCA, to once again embark on a vexatious prosecution of those undertaking their professional duties.

‘The case once again highlights the importance of union membership and independent legal representation,’ he added.

‘Two maritime professionals now needlessly have a criminal record — something that does little to promote the industry or employment within it.’

consider that they have got a F great job overall, according to a new Only one in six British workers

Luxembourgeoise de Navigation (CLdN), Celine has some 7,800 lane meters of cargo capacity, and is of 234m loa. The vessel is powered by a nine-cylinder MAN engine, rated at about 18,600kW, driving a RollsRoyce controllable pitch propeller.

Celine has a service speed of around 20 knots, and is fitted with five Kawasaki tunnel thrusters, two in the foreship and three at the stern.

A sistership, Delphine, is due to come into service early in 2018.

TUC research report.

The study found that just under half did not get an above-inflation pay rise last year, four in 10 said management don’t consult them on major changes in the workplace, and only one in three are given regular training opportunities.

The report was published to coincide with the TUC’s launch of its Great Jobs Agenda, with proposals to improve UK workplaces. g Telegraph poll — page 16.

Picture: Kees Torn

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15/11/2017 16:14

08 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

LARGE YACHT NEWS

MCA launches new REG Code

Yachts go to aid of hurricane victims

by Michael Howorth

UK says it aims to give flexibility and uphold standards

Academy signs up P as Union partner expanded its network of F strategic partners in the superyacht Nautilus has once again

sector — this time to include The Crew Academy, the only provider of a dedicated purser course within the industry.

Strategic organiser Danny McGowan is pictured with purser, management and leadership trainer Sarah Watson and Crew Academy CEO Andrew Roch after signing the agreement at this year’s Monaco Yacht Show, where the first group of newly-qualified superyacht pursers all became Nautilus members.

The strategic partnership follows discussions earlier in the year which led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two organisations.

As part of this new partnership,

all pursers graduating from The Crew Academy’s course will have their first year’s subscriptions to the Union included as a benefit of studying with the organisation.

Commenting on the agreement, Mr McGowan said: ‘It’s great to welcome The Crew Academy into our strategic partner network, recognising the unique protections that Nautilus membership is able to provide to purser graduates as they embark on the next step of their careers.

‘We urge superyacht officers and crew of all ranks to join us, Mr McGowan added. ‘As the only international trade union and professional organisation capable of looking after our members in the ways that we do, membership can very quickly be proved invaluable.’

Tune in to Superyacht Radio station — Superyacht Radio — F has been launched to broadcast the A new internet-based radio

latest industry news, marine weather updates, jobs, interviews and reports on all things to do with the superyacht industry.

The station broadcasts 24/7 from studios in Palma de Mallorca and highlights the latest crew positions fresh from YachtNeeds at 20-past and 20-to the hour. It can be heard on any device loaded with the YachtNeeds app.

The UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) has launched its new Red Ensign Group (REG) yacht code — claiming it will offer the industry greater flexibility whilst maintaining high standards.

The new code combines the existing Large Yacht (LY) Code 3 and the Passenger Yacht (PY) Code into a single document covering the design, construction and operation of large yachts.

Unveiled at the Global Superyacht Forum in Amsterdam last month, the REG Code aims to make better use of industry best practice and international standards to reflect technological advances and enable flexibility and innovation in the design and construction of yachts.

Due to come into force on 1 January 2019, the new code also reflects updates in SOLAS Convention requirements and has been developed in close cooperation with the superyacht industry, with working groups addressing issues including helicopter landing areas and increased passenger numbers.

Nautilus has been involved in consultations on sections of the code — one part of which attracted more than 700 comments from stakeholders.

MCA chief executive Sir Alan Massey said the REG Code aims to consolidate all the expertise gained since the first version was published by the Agency in 1997.

‘In the superyacht sector, the Red Ensign is the flag of choice and its yacht code is the international standard for yacht construction and operation. This has been an excellent example of how well the Red Ensign Group works both together as a team and also with the wider industry to make sure we continue to be that,’ he added.

‘We maintain the highest maritime safety standards, but also recognise that we must take into account a changing industry.

‘This represents a lot of work over many months and includes many innovative measures to meet the specific needs of the large yacht sector. The Red Ensign Group has made a point of listening to the industry to create this code and all of us will continue to

listen to help support the industry to get ready for it as it comes into force,’ he said.

In its new format, the Code is made up in two parts with common annexes — such as those for over-side working systems, sailing vessels and helicopter landing areas.

Jo Assael, senior surveyor and yacht code specialist for the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry, pointed out: ‘We wanted to make the code more usable, and wrote in greater flexibility so that naval architects, designers and owners can get what they want out of a superyacht. It was important to make sure that we are regulating for today and not for how yachts were being built when this code first came out in 1997.

‘Although the codes remain mostly the same, we want to make sure that within this prescriptive framework, we have equivalent arrangement clauses. These support innovation and point to alternative SOLAS design routes as an alternative which would be just as safe as the prescriptive one.’

The German shipyard Lürssen has

it down the slipway at its facility in Rendsburg, pictured left.

The contract for the construction of the 95m vessel — which is destined for an owner in the United States — was signed at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show two years ago and delivery is scheduled for 2019.

Officially named Fiji by the yard, the yacht will feature a 14m swimming pool, a huge spa and a hidden crane at the aft of the sun deck, in the bulwark, to handle an aeroboat.

The yacht will be helicopter-ready, storing a helicopter on the bow, and will be capable of worldwide cruising.

Accommodation is for up to 20 guests, in 10 staterooms.

As part of our growing support for seafarers serving in the large yacht sector, all members are entitled to a free copy of the Nautilus service record book, which has been produced to assist in the recording and calculation of qualifying sea service for the purpose of certification.

INTERNATIONAL

cht Commercial Ya ok Bo rd co Re Service (Power & Sail) rty Book remains the prope This Service Record al. of Nautilus Internation to If found please return 0 Antibes, France.

3 Bd. d’Aguillon, 0660 al Nautilus Internation n E18 1BD s, George Lane, Londo 1&2 The Shrubberie United Kingdom ime Professionals since

Representing Marit

08_yachts.indd 8

1857

zContact the membership ddepartment either via email or telephone to receive your free SRB.

— but the superyacht industry has been doing its best to support stricken communities in the region.

The yacht broking firm Burgess has been working with the owners, captains and crew of a number of yachts in its fleet to assist in relief efforts — and it reports an ‘overwhelming’ response.

The motor yachts yachts Sequel P and Katharine set off for the Caribbean loaded with essential supplies to help with relief efforts, with Katherine’s crew taking 5,200 jars of donated baby food and a pile of plywood from France to the island of Anguilla. ‘We are eager to give back and to do our part to help the communities on Anguilla and other islands to recover from these devastating hurricanes, and we challenge all other yacht crews to do the same,’ the crew said.

Also working with YachtAid Global, the motor yacht Va Bene arrived from Palma de Mallorca fully loaded, went back to Antigua, loaded again, and returned once more to Dominica.

The yacht’s master, Captain Nick Line, reported: ‘We were so humbled by the welcome we received and how helpful everyone was, from the clearing agent to the officials.’

launched its Project Maui vessel A in the traditional fashion — sending

email recruitment@nautilusint.org or call +44 (0)151 639 8454

Once your yacht service is verified O iin our office in Antibes, the MCA aaccepts the Nautilus SRB as ssufficient proof of onboard and ssea service. No further supporting ddocumentation is required, and the pprocess with the MCA is quicker than uusing individual testimonials.

Recent hurricanes in the

Lürssen launches 95m Fiji in style

Yacht crew join now!

Nautilus International works closely with the MCA and regulatory authorities in Europe and around the world, and this SRB is recognised by the MCA as evidence of acceptable service.

Caribbean are set to have a big H impact on the latest charter season

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.

15/11/2017 16:15

December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 09

NEWS

Arklow vessel is first to use upgraded drydocks Seafarer learning

charity secures a first class report

(SDL) has reopened following A a major three-month refit upgrading Swansea Drydocks Limited

essential infrastructure including the caisson, lock gates, impounding pumps, electrical systems and engineering workships.

Pictured right are SDL general manager Garth Masterson and ABP South Wales port manager Callum Cooper with the Irish-flagged general cargoship Arklow Raider — which was the first vessel to use the improved facilities.

SDL, which has signed a longterm lease with ABP for its base in the Welsh port, can dry dock vessels of up to 35,000dwt and offers a complete lifecycle service — including surveys, maintenance, repairs, and the recycling of end of life vessels.

Mr Couper said SDL’s investment would ensure the continuation of a long history of ship repair in Swansea.

Ofsted, has given ‘good’ F marks to the specialist learning and

The UK’s education watchdog,

Speed limits are sought for ships Slow steaming offers best way to improve green credentials, IMO is told

P

Slowing ships down could be the most effective short-term way to clean up the maritime industry’s environmental record, a new study has concluded.

Research carried out by the Dutch ďŹ rm CE Delft says slow steaming could help shipping to slash its greenhouse gas emissions in line with the targets set by the international Paris Agreement.

The report — which was presented to the International Maritime Organisation last month — notes that emissions from shipping rose by 2.4% between 2013 and 2015, and points to forecasts that they could increase by anything between 20% to 120% by 2050.

It argues that slow steaming offers the potential to deliver

very signiďŹ cant environmental beneďŹ ts — noting that a 10% reduction in speed cuts power demand by 27%, resulting in 19% less energy consumption per unit of distance.

The study estimates that a 30% reduction in the speeds of three core vessel types — containerships, bulkers and tankers, which together account for 52% of world tonnage — could cut the industry’s total CO2 emissions by around one-third, with the highest potential savings to be gained from boxships.

Mandatory speed limits for ships are legally feasible, the report states, and could be enforced internationally or unilaterally as a condition for entry into ports. Compliance could be checked through AIS and LRIT, it adds.

‘A speed target that differentiates between ship types and sizes is more environmentally effective and has a smaller chance of distorting competitive markets than a uniform speed target,’ the study argues. ‘An issue that needs to be studied in more detail is whether it is more effective to regulate average or maximum speeds,’ it adds. ‘Probably, regulating maximum speeds is easier to implement because it doesn’t require regulation on how averages would be calculated.’ Researchers estimated that a 4% cut in CO2 emissions could be achieved by bringing current laid-up containership, tanker and bulk carrier tonnage back into service to enable speeds to be reduced by anything between 3.5% and 22%.

The report looks at the potential impact of slow steaming on the costs of operating on two long-distance shipping routes and concludes that there will be minimal economic effects.

John Maggs, president of the Clean Shipping Coalition, commented: ‘A new regulation to reduce ship speed will be key to the success of the IMO GHG strategy. ‘Only reduced speed can give the fast, deep short-term emissions reductions that are needed for shipping to meet its Paris Agreement obligations. ‘Recent suggestions by industry that no new short-term measures are needed are misguided and reckless, and threaten to undermine the IMO strategy right from the start,’ he added.

development charity for seafarers, the Marine Society College.

The ratings follow an inspection of the services provided by the Marine Society, carried out in September, and cover all categories of the work being done through the College.

The Ofsted report states: ‘Leaders and managers have a very clear and well-considered strategy to support seafarers to improve their education and to progress in their careers.

And it adds: ‘Leaders, managers and staff have taken successful and effective actions to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and the outcomes for learners.’ It represents a remarkable turnaround for the Marine Society College, which has gone from an ‘inadequate’ rating in 2014 to a ‘requires improvement’ rating in 2016 to being judged ‘good’ in the effectiveness of leadership and management, its adult learning programmes, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, personal development, behaviour and welfare,

and in the outcomes for learners.

Ofsted said the college staff provide seafarers with a good range of resources to help them overcome the barriers to learning at sea. ‘Managers carefully consider the diverse needs of learners at sea and take effective action to make learning accessible to this often isolated group,’ the report adds. ‘Staff make effective adjustments to ensure that all learners, even those in remote and challenging conditions, can take examinations.’ The report notes that seafarers are given access to ‘a variety of courses that develop the skills they need to become officers in the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy’ and the vast majority of those who achieve their qualification go on to secure promotion.

Mark Windsor, the charity’s director of lifelong learning, said: ‘This is a fantastic achievement for the Marine Society College, for our seafarers and our staff who have supported them. I am so proud of my team and I am grateful to those within the charity and beyond who have supported and encouraged us.’

Global survey looks at training policies (WMU) is part of a ‘historic’ F initiative to investigate the way in

The World Maritime University

which shipping companies train their seafarers beyond STCW qualifications.

It is inviting seafarers to take part in a survey seeking information on global training practices, resources, trends and techniques. The feedback will be used to create the Maritime Training Insights Database (MarTID).

WMU president Dr Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry said there has long been a dearth of information about the way in which the shipping industry actually manages, delivers and assesses training within and beyond the framework of the requirements of the STCW Convention. ‘WMU anticipates that the surveys, their findings and subsequent analyses will result in significant and authoritative insights for the improvement of industry practices

and international policy and legislation in this specific area, and the enhancement of global ship operations in general,’ she added.

The WMU aims to conduct the MarTID survey on an annual basis, enabling analysis and benchmarking of training policies, including staffing models, training focus areas, training tools and assessment practices.

The university is working with Marine Learning Systems and New Wave Media to develop the initiative and says it aims to ‘provide insights that will aid in enhanced policy-setting, decision-making, benchmarking and optimisation of training practices by industry and regulatory authorities at all levels, leading to the sustainable development of productivity and safety of vessel operations’. g More information: www.martid.org

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15/11/2017 16:15

10 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

NEWS

App to help crews make the most of their shore leave F

The ITF Seafarers’ Trust has launched a new version of its Shore Leave app, which aims to help crew members to make the most of their limited free time in port.

Shore Leave — which is available for free for Android and IPhone — was originally launched in 2014, and was the first app to be specifically developed for seafarers.

The app only needs to be downloaded once — giving users the ability to get contact details for seafarers’ centres all over the world while offline. It also includes all the contact details for the 24/7 ISWAN Seafarers Help service.

Shore Leave 3.0 aims to encourage more seafarers to visit port-based centres and to have more fun using the app. It features a raffle system using QR codes — with seafarers receiving an electronic raffle ticket when they visit centres listed in the app. A winner will be selected every four months — and the first winner will get an iPad. The new app also includes a map feature, which seafarers can use while online or download for use offline. They will be able to post pins on the map about places of interest in particular ports or cities so that others can see recommendations for sport facilities, good bars, and transport systems.

Study says 50,000TEU vessels could be in service within next half-century

P Shore Leave 3.0 also incorporates some customisation options — and users will be able to upload a profile photo, add the name of their ship, ranks, and where and when they sign on or off.

Seafarers’ Trust project manager Luca Tommasi said the app should help seafarers to overcome some of the barriers they face to enjoying their much deserved time ashore when their ships are in port. As well as being able to get in touch with centres in advance, it can provide information about the level of facilities and services and the transport arrangements in various ports.

IMO plan to boost port state control port state control (PSC) system F through greater collaboration and Plans to strengthen the global

information sharing have been agreed at an International Maritime Organisation (IMO) meeting.

Delegates from PSC authorities around the world held a three-day workshop at the IMO’s London headquarters and looked at ways to harmonise their work to tackle substandard shipping more effectively.

They recommended that PSC regimes should consider developing and maintaining a coordinated list of under-performing ships. The meeting also proposed the development of a common platform for exchanging information, as well as the development of joint working policies.

Boxships ‘set to get even bigger’

Delegates also agreed to consider moving away from the current ‘black, grey and white lists’ which are used to target ships for PSC inspections towards the use of an expanded individual vessel risk profile approach, along with a simplified ‘single window’ reporting system for port states.

The workshop recommended that the IMO should consider developing a harmonised training manual for use by flag state inspectors and PSC officers, along with a standard ‘PSC letter to the master’, setting out the way in which an inspection will be carried out. Delegates suggested that a dedicated complaints reporting facility could be developed, and called for future talks on the use of body cameras by PSC officers.

Autonomous container ships of up to 50,000TEU capacity could be a reality within the next 50 years, a new report has predicted.

Published by the consultancy group McKinsey, the study is a reprise of work it carried out 50 years ago for the British Transport Docks Board (BTDB) to assess the potential impact of ‘a recent development from the United States: container boxes’.

The new report charts the dramatic growth of container shipping over the past 50 years, but notes that this has slowed since the financial crisis and also cautions that innovations such as advanced robotics and 3D printing may have a further negative impact on trade volumes.

It also says the trend to ‘super-

sized’ containerships may be checked by diminishing economies of scale, physical constraints in waterways, and infrastructure issues in ports.

However, McKinsey argues, even pessimistic forecasts do not predict a decline in trade and the volume of trade in 2067 could be anything between two and five times greater than today. The report also suggests that shorthaul intra-regional traffic will increase as converging global incomes, automation and robotics cause manufacturing and production centres to shift.

‘On balance, we do not view 20,000TEUs as the natural end point for containerships — 50,000TEU ones are not unthinkable in the next halfcentury,’ the report adds.

‘However, progress will probably be much slower than it was in the past decade: over-capacity means that new ordering will be slower over the next five to ten years.

Lower slot costs materialise only when demand fills up larger ships, which hasn’t happened recently.

But if demand catches up with supply, as it may well do in the early 2020s, the logic of scale will once again drive orders for bigger and bigger ships.’

McKinsey also forecasts further consolidation of container shipping companies — potentially reducing the market to just three or four major lines by 2067.

The report says there is scope for major efficiency gains from increased use of digital technology and increased unitisation, with a proposed ‘box

of boxes’ to enable 20 or more containers to be unloaded together. Autonomous ships will also mean reduced fuel and crewing costs, it adds, while ‘smarter’ systems could dramatically reduce the number of containerships which arrive more than 12 hours behind schedule — currently some 48%.

McKinsey said the future for the industry may appear daunting, but it urged operators to be bold.

‘The shipping industry was built on the vision of strong leaders who dared to sail through the storms,’ the report notes.

‘Although it now once again faces a period of disruption — this time from digital technologies — there is a path forward for companies willing and able to seize the day.’

Mr Rodaway stripped back the 2.2m high cross and fitted LED bulbs with photocell technology so that it now lights up as darkness falls. He joined maintenance team colleagues who used a cherry picker

to safely re-attach the cross at a height of 18m.

Mr Bray said he was delighted to have the cross lit again, as it provides useful back-up to high-tech systems. ‘The illuminated cross on

the Freemantle church is especially useful at night to guide us into the 400m turning circle,’ he said. ‘Now the clocks have gone back, it will be reassuring to have a leading light to help us through the docks.’

Making light work for port pilot services to restore a cross on a church A which has been used for decades

ABP Southampton has helped

as an informal aid to navigation by pilots bringing ships into the port.

Port of Southampton pilot Mark Bray is pictured with ABP apprentice electrician Morgan Rodaway as the repaired cross was put back into place on the steeple of Christ Church, Freemantle.

Mr Bray contacted priest in charge Reverend Angi Nutt after noticing that the cross — which was first installed in the 1950s — was no longer illuminated. Revd Nutt said the cross had been unlit for a while since the final tube inside failed.

‘In the past, it has been a tricky and often eventful project to lower the cross to change the bulbs and do maintenance work on it,’ she explained.

Book highlights human factors publication of a new book which A highlights the importance of ‘human Nautilus has welcomed the

factor’ issues in safety.

Produced as a follow-up to the Maritime & Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) 2010 book about human behaviour in the shipping industry, the new title — Being Human in safetycritical organisations — is intended to offer practical guidance for addressing the important issues that can affect human safety performance, including fatigue, stress, boredom and complacency.

Commissioned by the MCA,

10-11_news.indd 10

the Standard P&I Club, BP and TK Shipping, the 274-page book analyses a wide range of accidents in shipping and other transport sectors — including the Herald of Free Enterprise and Hoegh Osaka incidents — to explore the reasons why humans make errors despite their training, and what safeguards can be put in place to minimise the risks.

Written by psychologists Dik Gregory and Paul Shanahan, the book examines issues such as the way in which risks are perceived, teamwork, cultural diversity, motivation and resilience.

The authors argue that rather than being the weak link, ‘humans literally create safety’ and contend that traditional approaches to understanding accident causation have fallen short. To deal with the complex challenges in transport, the book puts forward the case for resilience engineering — with practical guidance for individuals and organisations on ways to strengthen the human link in the safety chain.

MCA chief executive Sir Alan Massey said the book had been produced to advance understanding about ‘the pivotal role that people

play in safety’ and he said the shipping industry has much to gain from implementing the strategies it describes.

‘Whilst recognising that rules and procedures have their place to play in safety, we wanted to capitalise on the vast wealth of knowledge that has been developed in recent years about people in safety-critical environments,’ he added. ‘In short, we wanted to take knowledge of the human element to the next level.’ z Being Human (ISBN 978 01155 35352) is published by TSO and priced at £35.

15/11/2017 16:17

December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 11

NEWS

Wellbeing scheme for retired seafarers

Ten master mariners get first chartered awards

F

Honourable Company says new scheme will increase recognition for maritime professionals

Health experts have reported positive results from a pioneering project — supported by the Nautilus Welfare Fund — to improve the wellbeing of older seafarers in the Merseyside region.

A report of the two-year Better Health for Ex-Seafarers project in the latest issue of the International Maritime Health journal notes that just over half the retired seafarers who took part changed their behaviours and lifestyles in response to the scheme.

The initiative was launched in response to research which showed that former seafarers suffered higher rates of ill-health than the general population — with around 82% reporting a disability or illness that affects their everyday life.

Under the project, brief ‘interventions’ were made with older seafarers in the Merseyside area — aiming to ‘signpost’ and support their access to health services, foster greater knowledge and understanding of their health, and to increase their readiness to take responsibility for their wellbeing.

The report says the project revealed ‘the high value placed by older seafarers on personal contact’ — with many being willing after brief meetings to accept information, advice and guidance about their health, lifestyles and behaviour.

All but two of the seafarers interviewed after the project had accepted the advice given and just over half said they had changed their behaviour as a consequence.

The overwhelming majority reported that they felt better about themselves, more optimistic, more relaxed and more confident.

The report concludes that the project was successful and it notes the value of the intervention techniques, suggesting that it might be beneficial to undertake these much sooner after seafarers retire.

P

The first 10 recipients of the Chartered Master Mariner (CMMar) certificate have been presented with their awards at a launch event onboard HQS Wellington on the river Thames.

Development of the CMMar scheme has been led by the Honourable Company of Master Mariners in a bid to bring broader recognition of the professional expertise and experience of master mariners — giving them chartered status along the lines of other professions such as engineers, surveyors and accountants.

The presentations of the first awards — by Maritime Growth Study chairman Lord Mountevans and Admiral Sir Nigel Essenhigh, chairman of the CMMar Registration Authority — came just a couple of weeks after the CMMar scheme gained its final seal of approval from the Privy Council.

Lord Mountevans described the scheme as ‘a brilliant initiative’ which marked the value that the recipients have added to the industry with their expertise and professionalism, with the awards based on a range of professional, technical, educational, philanthropic and personal development standards.

He said chartered status would give master mariners wider recognition and help them to move into shore-based roles. ‘The award represents a hallmark of excellence that, undoubtedly, will have a positive impact across the UK industry and, eventually, across the global maritime domain as the scheme develops and, in time, allows awards to be attainable worldwide,’ he added.

Shipping warned on cyber dangers industry to provide seafarers F with cyber-security skills have come Fresh calls for the shipping

after a new survey revealed that 84% of crew say they have had little or no training to deal with the threats.

Research published by the satcoms provider NSSLGlobal showed that while almost two-thirds of seafarers accept responsibility for the security of onboard IT systems, the vast majority of employers are failing to help them understand or avoid the risks.

‘The lack of cyber-security training is a real concern, but largely tallies with what we’re seeing in the industry,’ said Nigel Quinn, the company’s IT security and enterprise manager.

‘With threat vectors and the nature of security threats constantly evolving, the maritime industry needs to be just as prepared as any other industry to tackle the issue head-on.’

NSSLGlobal said seafarer training is of particular importance because the

10-11_news.indd 11

majority of cyber-attacks are targeted at people rather than IT infrastructure.

The warnings were echoed during a special seminar on the cyber threat to shipping, staged by the Marshall Islands registry in London last month.

BIMCO security hear Phil Tinsley said malware is the biggest single risk for ships — and the threat of systems being infected is increased by seafarers bringing their own devices onto their vessels, and using USB memory sticks to move data around.

He said shipping companies will need to address the issues seriously —with cyber-security set to become part of ships’ safety management systems from January 2021.

Hudson Analytix CEO Cynthia Hudson said the SMS requirements will mean that crews will have to be given cyber-security training — and this needs to be relevant to what they do onboard, rather than being seen as a ‘one size fits all’ solution.

The first 10 Chartered Master Mariners, with Lord Mountevans, Admiral Sir Nigel Essenhigh and HCMM Master Captain Martin Reed

Admiral Essenhigh said chartered status was a long-overdue mark of the ‘pursuit of excellence’ within the maritime profession.

‘The Registration Authority has insisted on a most searching examination of the candidates who have presented themselves and, I should say, not all have been acceptable at this stage of their careers,’ he added.

The award ceremony marked the end of the pilot year, in which applications were sought by invitation. The Honourable Company is now accepting general applications from across the UK and hopes to eventually open the scheme up to candidates from the rest of the world.

The first certificates were presented to:

z Captain

Peter McArthur, a senior Manchester Ship Canal pilot, director of the maritime research, training and consultancy organisation Norwest Interaction z Captain Kevin Slade, chairman of the Merchant Navy Training Board and HR consultant for KPS Maritime Services z Captain Matthew Easton, a Liverpool pilot who is also the service designated person for ISPO, the body that determines safety management systems for pilots, and serves as chair of the Merchant Navy Medal Board z Mark Fortnum, a qualified Master Mariner now serving as vice-president of safety and operational risk with BP Shipping, with responsibility for

the company’s marine policy and group maritime practice z Lt Cdr Stephen Monk, managing director of the navigation management and crew training firm Da Gama Maritime z Captain Don Cockrill, a senior pilot with the Port of London Authority and secretarygeneral of the UK Marine Pilots Association z Commodore Duncan Lamb, Commander of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (COMRFA), responsible for the oversight and management of 1,950 officers and ratings and the senior civilian mariner advising Navy command z Captain David Taylor, general manager of shipping for Shell Maritime, and global head

of maritime fleet operations and director of five maritimerelated Shell companies, with responsibility for the safe and efficient operation of 47 Shell group vessels and 2,700 seafarers z Captain Richard Barnes, a serving ship master with Stolt Tankers who has had regular spells ashore, both as a drydock superintendent and in an office managerial capacity, with extracurricular competencies in mediation, arbitration and as an expert witness z Leslie Chapman, a former Royal Navy officer now director and partner at The Maritime Group (International), who was recently appointed the new Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage & Intervention.

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15/11/2017 16:17

12 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

HEALTH & SAFETY

Crews urged to take heed of alarms to ignore alarms following an A investigation into an engineroom fire Seafarers have been urged not

onboard a 41,622gt cruiseship.

The Maltese-registered Thomson Majesty suffered damage to electrical and control cables and various light fixtures as a result of the blaze during a voyage between France and Italy last October.

Crew members managed to bring the fire under control within a few minutes and investigations revealed that the incident had been caused by fuel oil leaking under pressure from a loose seal on the return pipe.

Investigators said an alarm fitted inside the ‘hot box’ had failed to activate, but both a low pressure alarm and an exhaust gas temperature alarm and gone off — and these had either gone unnoticed or failed to generate any particular concern.

The report says engineroom crew should be conscious of the risks posed by hot spots and should not ignore alarms.

Thames passenger vessel failed to meet HSC Code visibility standards of a Thames passenger vessel F involved in a collision on the river did Visibility from the wheelhouse

not meet High Speed Craft Code (HSC) standards — even though it had been certified as compliant by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA), an investigation has revealed.

Two crewmen were rescued when the workboat Alison sank after the collision with the 35m passenger catamaran Typhoon Clipper by the Tower Millennium Pier in December 2016.

A report from the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) says that the workboat’s crew had failed to effectively assess the shipping situation on the river before departing from the pier and they had not noticed the risk of collision with Typhoon Clipper until it was too late to take effective avoiding action.

Investigators found that neither the master nor the mate of the Thames Clippers vessel had seen the

Typhoon Clipper’s bow CCTV view just before the collision

workboat because it was initially obscured by the pier before moving into a visual blindspot ahead.

Typhoon Clipper’s forward-looking CCTV camera did show Alison’s movements, but the image was not

being displayed in the wheelhouse as the settings excluded its use.

The report says Alison’s crew had assumed the passenger vessel was still alongside and that it would be safe for them to pass close ahead into the

fairway. The helmsman had also been distracted by the need to focus on another vessel passing ahead.

The MAIB said the incident had occurred in a location identified as the area of greatest navigational risk on the Thames. ‘Given this environment, the ability to see all vessels in close proximity is fundamental for collision avoidance — an issue highlighted by previous accidents where the absence of an effective lookout had been repeatedly identified as the main cause,’ the report adds.

Typhoon Clipper had been built in 2007 to meet the requirements of UK Class V inshore passenger vessel regulations — but had subsequently been recoded to comply with the HSC Code. Investigations showed that its failure to meet the more stringent wheelhouse visibility requirements had not been identified at the time by either the MCA or the Port of London Authority (PLA).

The report said the PLA had set

‘ambiguous’ requirements for vessels operating on the Thames with limited visibility — failing to define what limited visibility or suitable technical arrangements to cover the area of limited visibility meant.

The MAIB praised the ‘instinctive, swift and effective’ response of Typhoon Clipper’s crew to the emergency, rescuing Alison’s two crew within three and a half minutes after the collision. The report notes that neither man was wearing a lifejacket and that their lives were therefore in immediate danger as soon as they entered the water.

The report recommends that the PLA reviews its requirements for vessels with limited visibility and its byelaw on the use of sound signals for vessels intending to enter a fairway.

Alison’s owner and operator, Crown River Cruises, was urged to update its safety management system to include procedures for operating its workboats.

Over-confidence led to grounding Investigation highlights shortfalls in pilots’ interaction with bridge team

F

The Chinese master of the Panama-flagged bulk carrier Glory Amsterdam, pictured above, faced criminal charges last month after the ship ran aground in the German Bight.

Investigators said the captain of the 77,171dwt ship had been accused of actions endangering ship safety after failing to cooperate with the

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Glory Amsterdam was stranded on a sandbank off the island of Langeoog after drifting in high winds. The ship was refloated after 16,000 tonnes of ballast water was pumped out and pulled free by two tugs after five days aground.

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New fears on ore cargoes cargo liquefaction have been A raised following the loss of a bulk

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carrier off the Philippines.

Sixteen seafarers died when the 57,367dwt Emerald Star went down while carrying a cargo of nickel ore from Indonesia to China.

The bulk carrier owners’ organisation Intercargo said it was ‘deeply concerned with the tragic loss’ and was urging ‘the exercise of extreme caution when loading nickel ore and other challenging cargoes’.

Intercargo praised the search and rescue teams who saved 10 of the ship’s crew. It also stressed the importance of a ‘timely’ investigation report — adding that ‘lessons need to be learnt promptly after maritime casualties’.

P

Complacency and overconfidence were key causes of the grounding of the largest flag on the UK ship register whilst approaching the port of Southampton last year, an investigation has determined.

The 178,228gt ultra-large containership CMA CGM Vasco de Gama grounded on the western side of the Thorn Channel despite having two ABP pilots onboard.

The vessel was undamaged and was refloated with tug assistance on the rising tide — but the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) notes that had the ship grounded on a falling tide, or the tugs had been unable to pull it into deeper water, ‘the consequences could have been much more severe’.

The MAIB report on the incident says the standards of navigation onboard had fallen short of the expectations of ABP and CMA Ships — with weaknesses and shortcomings in passage planning, bridge resource management and external oversight.

The report also raises concerns about the failure to make effective use of the ship’s ECDIS, with safety parameters and alarms not being used to monitor progress of warn of dangers, and display screens not being adjusted to provide the ideal level of detail and definition.

Investigators found that the 17,859TEU vessel had been too far

CMA CGM Vasco de Gama ran aground in the Solent last year Picture: Gary Davies/Maritime Photographic

north of the intended track when the turn into the Thorn Channel began and the execution of the turn around Bramble Bank and into the channel ‘was not in accordance with the port’s guidance for large inbound vessels’ and ‘more closely resembled that recommended for a strong ebbing tide’.

The rate of turn had been slowed by the effects of wind on the exposed hull and container stack aft of the ship’s pivot point, the report notes, and it decreased further as the vessel moved into shallower waters and eventually left the dredged channel.

Once the turn had begun, it could not be aborted as there was

insufficient sea room in the precautionary area.

The report says critical decision points, contingency plans and abort options had not been identified or discussed as part of the pilotage planning. The vessel’s bridge team had not been briefed on the plan following the masterpilot exchange, and there was no charted safe route for them, the assistant pilot and the VTS officers to effectively monitor progress.

Investigators said ‘the master, the assistant pilot and the bridge team became disengaged from the pilotage process and allowed the lead pilot to become an isolated decision-maker and a single point of failure’.

The report says many of the shortcomings in the use of ECDIS onboard CMA CGM Vasco de Gama have been ‘regularly identified’ in other investigations and demonstrated the ‘strong case for the commissioning of an industry-wide study into the reasons why masters and bridge teams are choosing not to use many of the safety features offered by modern electronic navigation aids’.

The MAIB noted that ABP and CMA Ships have both taken a series of measures in response to the accident, but the report recommends further action to improve pilotage planning, bridge resource management and communications.

15/11/2017 16:18

December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 13

HEALTH & SAFETY

ECDIS safety probe UK and Danish authorities launch joint initiative to make systems more user-friendly following spate of accidents

P

Nautilus has backed a UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch call for action to make electronic chart display and information systems (ECDIS) more user-friendly.

The call comes in a report on an incident in which a 4,950dwt general cargoship grounded off the coast of Norfolk last year after an officer plotted a track across Haisborough Sand.

The Spanish-flagged ship was sailing between Teesport and Rochefort, France, with a fertiliser cargo when the master instructed the second officer to change the passage plan to route via the Sunk traffic separation scheme instead of via the North Hinder Junction.

The officer changed the route and a visual check of the track in the ECDIS using a small-scale chart did not identify it to be unsafe.

Although the system’s ‘check route’ function highlighted some 3,000 potential hazards along the route, the officer had assumed these were concentrated in the pilotage areas.

Investigators said the OOW

Failings in the use of ECDIS were blamed for the grounding of the Spanish-flagged ship Muros Picture: MAIB

had not inspected the route at a sufficiently large scale and the master had failed to review or authorise the new passage plan.

This failure was ‘significant’, the report adds, and was probably influenced by time pressures and workloads.

The officer also failed to take any action when the ship crossed

the 10m safety contour into shallow water — and the report suggests her performance may have been affected by the time of day (shortly before 0300hrs), with suggestions that she might have fallen asleep periodically.

Investigations revealed that the ECDIS grounding alarm did not sound or display because the

defined guard zone was not active and the crew had disabled the audible alarm.

The MAIB said the Muros grounding had similarities to many other accidents it has investigated over the past five years — in which ECDIS was not being used as expected by the regulators and manufacturers

and operator knowledge and training was insufficient.

The report warns that ‘the continued and potentially widespread deselection of automated functions to fit local contexts and reduce workloads indicates that there are wider problems with the systems’ design. If this is the case, ECDIS has the potential to hinder rather than assist safe navigation’.

It points to a range of ‘usability issues’ with ECDIS — including ‘alarm fatigue’, inconsistency between different models, and insufficient density of depth contours in pilotage waters.

‘There is increasing evidence to suggest that first-generation ECDIS systems were designed primarily to comply with the performance standards required by the IMO, as these systems became a mandatory requirement on ships, with insufficient attention being given to the needs of the end user,’ the report adds.

‘As a consequence, ECDIS systems are often not intuitive

to use and lack the functionality needed to accommodate accurate passage planning in confined waters. This situation has led to seafarers using ECDIS in ways which are at variance with the instructions and guidance provided by the manufacturers and/or expected by the regulators.’

In response to these concerns, the UK has launched a joint safety study with the Danish MAIB ‘to provide comprehensive data that can be used to improve the functionality of future ECDIS systems by encouraging the greater use of operator experience and human-centred design principles’.

Senior national secretary Allan Graveson welcomed the decision to launch the study and commented: ‘Once again another incident demonstrates the need for equipment-specific training in addition to generic training.

Nautilus has been a lone voice in making such demands, against objections from industry and professional bodies.’

Call for action Bosun killed when cargo stack collapsed on harnesses F UK-based Graig Ship Management has been urged to reinforce its safety management system following a fatal accident involving one of its vessels last year.

A Chinese bosun on the UK-flagged bulk carrier Graig Rotterdam died when he fell overboard and into a barge secured alongside after an unsecured timber cargo stack collapsed while the 34,898dwt ship was unloading in the Egyptian port of Alexandria.

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) concluded that poor stevedoring practices probably contributed to the accident and that no measures were

adequacy of personal safety F equipment onboard ships have been Nautilus concerns over the

highlighted by three accidents in which two seafarers died and another suffered serious injuries after using inadequate safety harnesses while working at height.

In one case, the bosun of the Panama-flagged bulk carrier New Legend Pearl died when he fell 8m to the deck while attempting to change a hoisting wire on a cargo crane. He had either slipped or lost his balance when transferring the securing hook for his safety harness from one point to another.

A New Zealand Transport Accident Investigation Commission report describes the seafarer’s safety harness as ‘not suitable for the intended task’.

It should have had a more robust hook and lanyard arrangement, investigators said, with dual lanyards to enable safe transfers between securing points.

In another incident, a seafarer on the general cargoship Garip Baba suffered serious back injuries when he fell about 4m to the deck while greasing the freefall lifeboat launching system. He had lost his balance while unhooking the safety harness from the lifeboat railings to relocate himself on the davits.

The flag state investigation report says the harness had a ‘major design flaw’ — because it had only one hook, users had to unhook it from the securing point before any significant movements could be made. Since the accident, the shipping company

12-13_h+s.indd 13

Two hooks are better than one Picture: Transport Malta

has provided its vessels with safety harnesses fitted with two hooks — ensuring that one hook is always attached to a secure point, even when crew members are having to reposition themselves.

In a similar accident, a bosun onboard the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier Samsun died when he fell 6m from a crane grab while carrying out maintenance work. The ship’s owners have introduced safety harnesses with a double lanyard across the fleet in response to the accident.

Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson commented: ‘A two securing line harness (as used by scaffolders ashore) should be standard carriage on all vessels. A working at heights course would be a useful addition to training, as is the entry into enclosed spaces course.’

The scene after the Graig Rotterdam timber stack collapse Picture: MAIB

in place to avert the ‘significant’ risk of a crew member falling from the deck cargo stack.

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The MAIB said the ship’s crew had noticed poor stevedoring practices taking place but they had not raised

these until the accident had taken place.

Investigations showed that once the deck cargo lashings had been removed the cargo packages stored on deck had insufficient stability to counter the effects of ship movement, cargo repositioning, dunnage displacement, and cargo discharge operations over a prolonged period.

The report recommends that Graig appoint a master or chief officer with experience of the cargo being carried on their ship and take other measures to enhance safe working practices during the loading, carriage and discharge of timber cargoes.

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15/11/2017 16:18

14 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

INTERNATIONAL

shortreports FRENCH AID: French operators have hailed their government’s last-minute decision to maintain the social security concessions for seafarers introduced by the previous administration last year. Edouard Philippe, the new prime minister, said maintaining the tax break preserves France’s maritime industry, its competitiveness and almost 9,000 jobs on 300 vessels. AdF, the owners’ association, welcomed the government’s turnaround, having called the proposed withdrawal of support as incompatible with EU rules.

VENETIAN BAN: the Italian government has announced plans to ban big cruiseships from the centre of Venice in an attempt to prevent damage to the city’s historic buildings. Under the rules, which are due to take effect in 2020, vessels over 55,000gt will be required to use a new route to a terminal at the port of Marghera from where passengers will be ferried to Venice in tenders or coaches.

ITALIAN ALARM: Mario Mattioli, the newly elected chairman of the Italian owners’ association Confitarma, has expressed concern about shortfalls in the supply of Italian and other European officers. He said the human factor is more important than ever before, and called for the modernisation of training facilities to make shipping a more attractive career option.

INDIAN FIRST: India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated what is claimed to be the country’s first ro-ro ferry service. The Gujarat Maritime Board project cuts travelling time between the ports of Gogha and Dahej from seven hours to under three hours, using the fast ferry Island Jade which can carry up to 250 passengers and as many as 150 vehicles.

PIRATES THWARTED: an officer onboard a BW Group chemical and products tanker foiled an attack by pirates in the South China Sea. Five robbers, armed with long knives, were discovered by the officer while the Singapore-flagged BW Myna was at anchor.

The emergency alarm was raised and the incident was reported to the Singapore Navy.

Arctic shipping risks ‘growing’ Alarm raised as official figures reveal 20% of ships flout safety regulations

P

Environmental groups have voiced alarm at the number of ships breaching navigational rules in the increasingly busy Northern Sea Route (NSR) through the Arctic, Figures released by Russian authorities show that as many as 20% of vessels passing through the NSR this summer contravened the regulations — at a time when reducing ice cover is forecast to result in a doubling of shipping movements over the next year.

During the first 10 months of 2017, the Russian Northern Sea Route Administration recorded 88 violations of its navigational

rules, committed by 84 vessels.

The breaches included failure to notify authorities when entering and exiting the route, deviations from approved routes or entering the route without permission.

Nearly half the breaches involved ships operating in ice conditions that exceed vessel specifications. ‘I am particularly concerned about the operations beyond vessel capability, as these represent a very serious risk,’ Dr Simon Walmsley, marine manager with the environmental organisation WWF International, told High North News.

Concerns about safety in the region have been highlighted by a number of accidents, including

the collision in March between the Danish bulk carrier Nordic Barents and the nuclear icebreaker Vaygach in the Kara Sea. More than two-thirds of the vessels violating the rules were flying the Russian flag, and environmental groups have raised questions about what penalties, if any, these ships would face. There have also been suggestions that the Arctic region should be covered by a special port state control regime to ensure compliance with Polar Code standards.

Sergey Frank, chief executive of the Russian shipping company Sovcomflot, has called on the country’s government to

Second ship joins Dream Cruises fleet Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven A is the new 151,300gt cruiseship Pictured left leaving the Meyer

World Dream, built for the Asian shipping company Dream Cruises.

The Bahamas-flagged vessel is the second in the Dream Cruises fleet and has been specially designed for the growing Asian cruise market and will be based in Hong Kong, running voyages to China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Of 335m loa, World Dream can accommodate up to 3,376 passengers and will operate with up to 2,016 crew.

Equipped with three 12V and two 14V MAN diesel engines with a combined output of 76,800kW, the vessel has a service speed of 23 knots and carries a small submarine that can take four passengers down to depths of up to 200m.

TEN LOST: a major search and rescue operation was launched off Turkey last month after a general cargoship sank with 10 crew onboard. The 3,000dwt Bilal Bal went down near Istanbul while carrying a cargo of cast iron between the ports of Bursa and Zonguldak.

PIRACY SUPPORT: Japan is set to build four coast guard radar stations on islands in the Sulu and Celebes Seas to help the Philippines combat an increase in pirate attacks on merchant ships in the region.

PORT RECORD: the US port of Los Angeles has claimed a new world record for cargo handling in a single vessel port call when 24,846TEU was loaded off and on the Danish-flagged Maersk Evora last month.

FIRE VICTIM: the Dutch-flagged containership Maersk Pembroke has been sold for recycling to a yard in Turkey as a result of damage caused by an engineroom fire in August.

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14-15_int.indd 14

strengthen navigational and hydrographic support systems, boost the readiness of rescue services and improve the reliability of navigational and communications aids in the NSR. He has also called for a ban on substandard ships and crews operating in the region.

‘This is a real cause for concern and a lesson for all Arctic coastal states that capabilities need to increase if these are to become regular routes,’ Dr Walmsley added. ‘The fact that rules are not being adhered to already is a huge cause for concern and particularly on ice operations, which was the exact reason the Polar Code was developed.’

Italian unions hit out at fresh STCW delays the country’s continued failure F to bring its maritime qualifications

Italian seafarers have hit out at

into line with the international Standards of Training Certification & Watchkeeping (STCW) ‘Manila amendments’ which came into effect a year ago.

The Italian transport ministry has extended the deadline for updating certificates in accordance with the new STCW requirements until the end of January 2018 — and the unions expect that the process could be further extended until June 2018 to

enable certification to be completed.

Captain Claudio Tomei, head of the national secretariat representing deck and engine officers and deepsea masters, said the problems did not come as a surprise. STCW certificate renewal had been top of the agenda for high-level meetings at the transport ministry in November 2016 attended by all unions and operators just weeks before the certification cutoff date, he pointed out.

‘That was a year ago, but certification still has not been completed despite the government

pledge that it would give urgent attention to the need for all seafarers to obtain adjustment of the certificates of competence in accordance with international law and the European Commission’s latest findings,’ he added.

Capt Tomei expressed ‘moderate optimism’ that any further delays and bureaucracy will not result in job losses for officers. ‘Union pressure on the government has been successful, but we must continue to ensure such a situation is not repeated in the future,’ he added.

Protests over foreign ships in Canada staged protests against the use A of ‘strike-breaking’ low-cost foreign Canadian seafarers have

crews on tankers operating in the country’s waters.

They condemned the Algoma Tankers company over its use of two foreign-flagged and foreign-crewed tankers in the country’s cabotage trades.

Officers belonging to the Canadian Merchant Services Guild held six days of strike action at the end of October after contract negotiations broke down, before the company announced a ‘tentative’ agreement with the union to end the dispute.

15/11/2017 16:19

December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 15

INTERNATIONAL

shortreports UAE AGREEMENT: the International Transport Workers’ Federation has secured an agreement to work with the Federal Transport Authority in the United Arab Emirates to tackle the growing number of seafarer abandonment cases in local waters. ITF seafarers’ section chair David Heindel said he was ‘heartened’ by the agreement, which includes increased cooperation and moves to secure UAE ratification of the Maritime Labour Convention.

Oman Ship Management officers meet shore staff serving with the A expanding Oman Ship Management More than 100 seafarers and

Company (OSMC) have taken part in a major conference in India to enable crew members to share best practices and expand their knowledge of the industry.

Held in Mumbai, the twoday OSMC officers’ conference discussed issues including current

and future trends in shipping, regulatory developments, and practical problem-solving at sea.

The meeting’s agenda also covered human resources management, oil pollution, technical faults and breakdowns, and included presentations from Shell on resilience and dealing with crises at sea, and from Captain Tony Field, of Lloyd’s Register, on fuel oil testing.

OSMC is a subsidiary of the Oman Shipping Company (OSC), which currently operates a fleet of more than 50 VLCCs, LNG carriers, product tankers, multi-purpose vessels, bulk carriers and containerships OSMC chief operating officer Captain David Stockley said the annual officers’ conference provides a platform for seafarers to have in-depth discussions with

senior management. ‘We have strong experience in technical management and have formed effective working structures to enhance the link between vessels and offshore support through crew, operation and HSE departments,’ he added. ‘This event is a clear testimony of company’s commitment to continually enhancing the safety culture.’

CMA CGM warns over asbestos Union warns after deadly substance is found in parts on nine French ships

by Jeff Apter

P

French maritime unions have raised concerns after the Marseillesbased containership operator CMA CGM told its seafaring workforce that asbestos has been detected onboard at least nine of its French-flagged vessels.

The company said the substance had been found in variable quantities in various joints, gauges, winch brake linings and other equipment and fittings during a ‘proactive campaign of analysis’ in the summer.

‘These parts come from some suppliers who did not respect our specifications,’ it told announced.

‘An internal investigation is underway.’

CMA CGM said it had also

launched a comprehensive plan of action to inspect the entire fleet and to change parts containing asbestos by the end of the year.

The company said it also plans to ‘identify those responsible for the presence of asbestos on board ships during building and prosecute them’.

The findings related to nine ships — Fidelio, Fort SaintGeorges, Fort Saint-Louis, Fort Sainte-Marie, Jules Verne, Medea, Norma, Otello, Tosca — all under the French RIF international register and operated by French officers. The ships were built in South Korea, China and Taiwan between 2003 and 2006.

CMA CGM said it had strict policies to ensure the safety of its seafarers and would address the issues with transparency. ‘The use

or presence of asbestos aboard CMA CGM vessels is strictly prohibited, both for new construction and for supply contracts, in accordance with international regulations,’ it stated.

‘The group is extremely vigilant and rigorous, and has taken all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its seafarers, beyond regulatory compliance,’ it added.

However, the CFDT maritime union’s Normandy branch voiced concern over the announcement and urged the company to undertake an immediate inquiry to assess the risks of exposure faced by seafarers. It demanded an urgent assessment of the asbestos dust samples from the workshops, machine rooms and other areas throughout the fleet.

The union said it considered

that if that the steps taken by the company are inadequate to guarantee seafarer health, it would launch a judicial procedure to ensure crews have the right to withdraw their services on contaminated ships.

Nautilus deputy general secretary Marcel van den Broek commented: ‘Asbestos history never ceases to repeat itself. Nautilus has warned about this repeatedly, especially during the asbestos campaign triggered when thousands of packings containing asbestos were discovered on the newbuild Dutch tanker Caroline Essberger. We have not only warned about asbestos in newbuilds, but also about asbestos that finds its way onboard the vessel over time through stores deliveries or periods at repair yards.’

UK firm reviews Panama Canal locks safety consultancy has carried out a A ‘pivotal’ assessment review of tug A British-based maritime

operations in the Panama Canal’s new third set of NeoPanamax locks.

In response to the work carried out by The Maritime Group (TMG International), the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) is considering modifications to its procedures and changes to optimise its schedules.

The TMG project examined health, safety, environment and quality (HSEQ) procedures and included interviews and meetings with stakeholders, observations carried out onboard ships and tugs

14-15_int.indd 15

transiting both the new and the old locks, and visits to ACP’s training facilities.

Experts involved in the review included former Port of London Authority chief pilot Captain John Freestone and Captain Orlando Allard, ex chief pilot of the Panama Canal.

TMG managing director Captain Malcolm Parrott said: ‘Our findings will contribute to a quicker, more efficient and safer operation on the canal for the benefit of ACP’s shipping company, military and leisure customers as well as their employees and suppliers,’ he added. ‘

SALVAGE DELAY: salvage work on a Malteseflagged containership which ran aground on a reef in the South Pacific in July was still underway last month as a result of delays caused by bad weather and big swells.

The 2,194TEU Malta flagged Kea Trader grounded on Durand Reef off New Caledonia and the owners, Lomar Shipping, say damage assessments show that the almost new vessel ship is beyond repair.

STOWAWAYS DETAINED: the Uruguayan Navy detained four stowaways who threatened crew members onboard the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Friederike off the country’s coast last month. The men boarded the 57,400dwt vessel while it was in the Nigerian port of Lagos and were arrested after the Greekowned ship was escorted into the port of Montenegro when the master sent a distress call.

CADET CALL: Giovanni Lettich, president of the Italian College of Deepsea Captains & Engineroom Officers, has called for cadets’ fees to be paid by the state in a bid to improve retention rates. Speaking at the Genoa Nautical Institute, Mr Lettich said cadets have to pay as much as €1,200 to obtain their first certificate, and while some 1,600 cadets graduate annually, fewer than 30% go on to maritime careers.

AID APPROVED: European Union competition authorities have approved the extension of the Belgian tonnage tax scheme until 2022 after the country gave assurances that it will open it up to all ships flying a European flag. The European Commission said the measures would ensure higher social, environmental and safety standards.

BRITTANY FALL: French operator Brittany Ferries has reported a 5% fall in cross-Channel passenger numbers and has blamed Brexit and currency exchange fluctuations for the slump. However, the company recorded a 5% increase in passengers and a 4% rise in freight volumes on its services between Ireland and Spain.

BIGGEST BULKER: the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation has launched what is claimed to be the world’s biggest bulk carrier — the 400,000dwt Ore Tianjin, which is due to go into service in April 2018 carrying iron ore between China and Brazil.

UAE BAN: the United Arab Emirates transport authority has banned ships flagged by the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) from its ports and waters. It said all certificates for ships and seafarers issued by the FSM were fraudulent.

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15/11/2017 16:19

16 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

YOUR LETTERS

What’son onyour yourmind? mind?

Tell your colleagues shipping.

Keep yourTelegraph letter to ahave your name, address colleaguesin inNautilus NautilusInternational International— —and andthe thewider world of but you must let the maximum words if you canyour — though contributions will beand considered.

Use number. a pen name or wider world300 of shipping.

Keep letter tolonger a maximum membership just membership number you don’t want to be identifi in anyour accompanying — Telegraph, Nautilus 300your words if you can — thoughif longer contributions will ed — say soSend letter to thenote Editor, but you must let the Telegraph have your name, address and membership number. Send yourShrubberies, letter to the George Lane, be considered.

International, 1&2 The Editor, International, 1&2number The Shrubberies, George Lane,Woodford, South Woodford, Use aTelegraph, pen nameNautilus or just your membership if you South London E18 1BD, or use head office fax London E18to 1BD, use head ceso faxin+44 (0)20 8530 1015, or— email+44 telegraph@nautilusint.org don’t want beor identifi ed —offi say an accompanying note (0)20 8530 1015, or email telegraph@nautilusint.org

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Fantastic news for Freshspring P

Freshspring Picture: Graham Hobbs of Bideford

Brexit could be an opportunity to bring back pride in our work Chirp Maritime Feedback, issue A No.48, I feel that I must congratulate Having just read the latest

all concerned with this excellent publication. Incidentally, the professional company response on the pilot ladder design problem is to be commended.

Chirp has from inception been a major contributor to safety at sea.

It has gained acceptance (probably reluctantly) as a forceful influence to all concerned in the maritime world.

Viewing the demise of seafaring

skills and common sense contrasts the present malaise with my days at sea, which were quite different in all respects. Why, for instance are detained ships with defective safety devices, equipment, etc, all blamed on the shipowner; what are the crew there for in the first place?

Gone are the 4½ year apprenticeships and cadet training.

Where are the shipyards and large engineering establishments and static training vessels for navigating cadets?

Have your say online Last month we asked: Do you agree with the Faststream research which concludes that former seafarers do not make the best leaders ashore?

Yes 56%

No 44%

This month’s poll asks: All things considered, do you think you have a good job? Give us your views online, at nautilusint.org

16-17_lets_SR edit.indd 16

I hope that the present nautical colleges in the UK provide the basic hands-on skills for not only future engineering officers but navigating officers and crew.

Sitting down punching keyboards and peering at monitors is really not the answer, only a useful tool to be used and reacted upon.

A ship requires a complement of officers and crew who do not under normal circumstances have to be subjected to excessive hours of work resulting in fatigue. Fatigue is a subject that we are constantly reminded of but there does not appear to be a viable solution to the problem, only talk and hot air from well-paid experts.

Promotion used to be based not only upon qualifications but the ability to step into the next rank with the appropriate knowledge gained from experience.

Loyalty displayed between the shipping company and onboard staff was, in my experience, profound, honed by the fact that the majority of the office staff were ex-seafarers (Alfred Holt & Co). I know that many other companies at the time displayed equivalent loyalty.

It appears that this attribute is but a memory.

To sail into a foreign port onboard a well-run, clean and efficient ship flying either the red or blue ensign made one feel proud of being a crew member.

Finally, when run effectively a bar/ lounge area used to be a catalyst for discussions, on the job learning, fun, laughter and lastly but by certainly not the least, comradeship. Depression, loneliness and insular feelings did not, to my knowledge, exist.

A major re-think is now needed in order to attract and maintain potential seafaring candidates. After being released from the shackles of the EU, a new Golden Age of British Shipping is hopefully possible — but only if the basics of sea life are fully understood.

R.J. HARROP (ex chief engineer/marine surveyor)

to ensure the vessel can fully open in April 2018. To ensure long-term sustainability, the charity is planning to operate coastal cruising trips and to use the vessel to encourage young people to consider a career in shipping and/or engineering.

John Puddy, chair of the Freshspring Society, said the new award was ‘a huge step forward’ for the charity, with the National Lottery grant being substantially matched by Torridge District Council, Bideford Bridge Trust, the Balsdon Trust and the Headley Trust.

The project to restore the historic steamship Freshspring has taken another major step forward, thanks to a £61,000 National Lottery grant awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

Built in 1946 as a Royal Fleet Auxiliary water carrier, Freshspring is the sole survivor of the RFA’s Fresh class vessels and passed into private hands in 1977. The ship was bought by the Steamship Freshspring Society in 2013, and the charity is working on plans to restore and preserve the ship and operate it

as an educational and training facility.

The HLF award will cover a two-year programme, including work required to enable the vessel to open to the public as a heritage attraction and funding for an education and project officer.

The charity describes Freshspring as ‘remarkably complete’, with steam engines in ‘outstanding condition due to the care given to them over time’. Work will soon be starting on the restoration of the bridge, boatdeck and access

Presidential pardon for Chennai 6?

Shore staff would also benefit from HELM training

F

The letter in the November Telegraph from Chris Ryan, on the subject of the Chennai 6, referred to the ‘totally lacklustre efforts of our government’ on this matter.

I totally concur, and wrote to my own Member of Parliament on this matter [the imprisonment of the Seaman Guard Ohio crew by the Indian authorities on weapons charges]. His reply says that ‘the Prime Minister as spoken directly to the Prime Minister of India about this case’. That is good to hear, but is it too much to hope for an Indian presidential pardon to be granted?

This matter is severely harming Anglo-Indian relations, and should not be allowed to continue.

G.D.B. THOMAS mem no 311600

Element Leadership and F Management (HELM) course and have I recently attended a Human

to say I believe it to be very beneficial.

We were a mixed bunch from superyachts, tankers and offshore. With that much experience in the room it would have been difficult not to have learned something new.

The one very major point which seemed to come up was that the theory of the course was great, but the practices taught consistently lead to conflict with shore-side managers.

It seems that there should be a similar course for office personnel who more and more seem out of touch with the human element.

‘Look after your crew and they

in turn will look after the vessel making it a safer and happier working environment’ — what a brilliant philosophy, but one which shore-side can’t seem to grasp.

Our ship is our home for half of our lives, so obviously we want the best quality and rewarding time whilst there. This does not mean being pampered or spoilt, but does mean being respected by our colleagues and managers.

Especially at this time of downturn, the general attitude seems to be that we should be grateful to have a job.

So I say let’s have a course for shoreside so that human resources are also viewed as valued colleagues. mem no 199888

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

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15/11/2017 16:20

December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 17

YOUR LETTERS Shocking sexism THE VIEW FROM MUIRHEAD of yacht sector

www.thefreakywave.com

STAFF editor: Andrew Linington chief sub-editor: Sarah Robinson reporter: Steven Kennedy Dutch correspondent: Hans Walthie production editor: June Cattini-Walker

many years for the just cause of A recognition of women at sea.

The Union has campaigned for

The yacht sector is being badly let down by sexist adverts for crew posted on social media.

A recent Facebook posted advert for yacht crew was a yacht captain’s request specifying a female with blonde hair, blue eyes and a specified minimum bra size.

Perhaps he ought to have enrolled with a matchmaking website rather posting such an insulting advert.

The yacht industry must condemn such out of date behaviour which is totally unacceptable.

TONY MINNS mem no 140885

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Let’s invest in UK waterways, not EU UK to pay a large amount to leave F the EU. However, as island nations we The European Union wishes the

were never really attached to the EU but merely islands off its coast.

It would be in the EU’s interest to allow the UK to invest this amount in our sea ports, waterways and canals and all supporting services — including the training/retraining of seafarers to allow them be part of the fast-moving modern maritime transport system, essential to our and the world economy.

In doing so, the UK and the EU will be able to complete in the global maritime market at present dominated by foreign countries and companies who dictate how we live our lives with excessive costs to our taxpayers and our industries, and suffer serious damage to our health due to high levels of pollution from the present obsolete transport model.

An opportunity exists to ensure we manage our own countries, by allowing each country — especially island nations — the freedom one would expect in a democratic world.

An island nation can work best when its sea ports, waterways, canals and all supporting services work to a high standard, and our officers and crews are respected and supported in a similar way to aircraft pilots and crews.

By allowing our island nations to retain and invest the money the EU wants, it will support these necessary improvements to our sea ports, canals and waterways to ensure that we thrive with a modern, efficient and clean transport system, modern ports, ships and excellent crews.

JOHN GALLAGHER mem no 194448

Standards drop in ‘pass’ culture P

With regard to my last communication that you kindly published (CECs — MPs complacent about skills, July 2017 Telegraph), today my daughter informs me that shipping companies who have cadets training at college are not interested in the level, score and rate of their exam passes but only whether they have achieved a pass or not.

I appreciate smaller companies cannot afford to train and select the best, but that should be no reflection upon an individual who may thrive at college and seamanship and deserve just recognition and reward.

Accepting just a pass, how does that monitor teacher, tutor and college performance?

Hypothetically, a college that may have consistently had high grades — say of 80% — needn’t have to try so hard, therefore teaching a bare minimum to achieve just a pass, say of 50% What are we then to make of teaching standards and performance? Perhaps another argument for just passing everyone on the same level — therefore no discrimination.

I feel the discrimination is coming from colleges, allowing the infiltration of foreign tutors, department heads, heads and principals

influencing British Merchant Navy education to fall in line with theirs, slowly lowering, chipping away at our long-held, strong traditional maritime education and experience until British seafarers hold CECs and not the COC. Has this really come from the companies? Have the companies thought this through properly? Or was it coercion from the so-called educational ‘experts’ with influences in government?

None of this surprises me, but I do find it particularly worrying for standards in the long term.

Name withheld on request

In memory of Captain John Mudd, proud MN veteran has died at the age of 87. Captain John Mudd F had been a member for more than 70 years.

One of the Union’s longest-serving members

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Born in Penarth, South Wales, Capt Mudd came from a maritime family — his father, grandfather and great-grandfather were merchant seafarers — and he first went to sea shortly before his 16th birthday.

Capt Mudd completed an apprenticeship with Sir William Reardon Smith & Sons of Cardiff,

and also served at sea with Headam & Son, The Counties Ship Management, and Shaw Savill & Albion.

He gained his master’s certificate in 1955 and joined the Port of London Authority in 1958, starting as dock master at Tilbury Docks and going on to become a marine officer in 1972 and oil pollution control officer before his retirement in 1983.

Capt Mudd had been awarded the Atlantic Star

in 1946 and in 2004 he received the UK Merchant Seafarers Veterans Badge for recognition of his war service.

His daughter Caroline recalls: ‘It is notable that during my father’s seafaring career he couldn’t swim until he took up a post with the Port of London in 1958. Part of the condition of employment was that he could swim 50 yards, so he had to learn to swim — but he was never a strong swimmer!’

Farewell to Captain Christopher Davies, who loved the sea Captain Christopher Davies F died last month at the age of 81 and Retired Nautilus member

was buried on the Gower Peninsular, near where his father — a Mission to Seafarers padre — had been a rector.

Born in 1935, Capt Davies first went to sea at the age of 15, serving as an apprentice with Trinder Anderson. His first ship was the Australind Steamship vessel Ajana, which he joined in the port of Swansea.

Capt Davies served with companies including Booth Line, Stephenson Clarke, Pacific Steam Navigation, Lamport & Holt, the New Zealand Shipping Company and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, but spent the bulk of his

16-17_lets_SR edit.indd 17

telegraph

47-year seagoing career with Sugar Line. He joined the company in 1963 and his first command was Sugar Exporter.

In 1979, Capt Davies started work in Dublin as a nautical surveyor with the Department of Marine and he went on to become the examiner of masters and mates.

Capt Davies is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. His wife, Frances, said her husband had died peacefully at his home in Three Crosses village. Mrs Davies said she shared her husband’s love of the sea, and before their two children were born she travelled with him to the West Indies on a couple of occasions.

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Incorporating the merchant navy journal and ships telegraph

ISSN 0040 2575 Published by Nautilus International Printed by Wyndeham Peterborough.

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.

15/11/2017 16:20

18 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

SEAFARER HEALTH

The horrors on our hands This year’s Nautilus UK Branch Conference discussed a motion about the quality of food at sea. In this special article, Council member MICHAEL LLOYD considers the issues of catering, health and hygiene…

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In the past, the catering department of a ship was in the hands of a purser or a chief steward. Then, in some shipping office, someone with no knowledge of ships or the sea — anxious to please their superiors — thought of the bright idea of combining the positions of cook and chief steward, and this quickly spread throughout the industry. As a cook is compulsory, unless there are 10 or fewer crew onboard, the combined responsibility came to rest on the cooks, most of whom have little interest in anything outside their galley.

This meant that too often the captain became the de facto head of the catering department, responsible for the cleanliness of the accommodation as well as the ordering of food and the

safety and hygiene in the galley — and leaning heavily on the hope that the cook had some training in these requirements.

Against that background, it is more important than ever that hygiene is maintained onboard.

The microbes on food that can cause food poisoning are usually controlled by cooking and/or refrigerating food, but given the chance they can easily spread around the galley and messrooms — via hands, chopping boards, cloths, knives and other utensils.

If they are allowed to cross-contaminate other foods — especially cooked and ready to eat foods — they can cause illness. Good galley and personal hygiene are essential to help control the spread of harmful germs.

More companies are now

Proper gear in the galley is crucial for the hygiene of all onboard Picture: Danny Cornelissen

offering a deep clean service for kitchens and it is not hard to imagine that the shore authorities, on finding a

particularly poor state of affairs onboard, might well order the galley to be deep cleaned by shore labour.

In particular when a ship is being taken over, or handed back after a long-term charter, as part of the agreement, it could be stipulated that prior to the handover, the galley should be deep cleaned and all the uptakes and ventilators be steam cleaned.

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I cannot remember being on a ship where gastro-enteritis was not present at some time, and if you consider the lack of knowledge of hygiene and food care amongst most of us, this is not surprising.

Basic hygiene is not hard, but it is essential in the care of or health onboard. Here’s a quick look at some simple rules.

Appropriate clothing in the galley is a start and it is essential that there are sufficient sets to enable fresh ones to be worn each day.

Some germs can stay alive on hands for up to three hours, and in that time they can be spread to all the things that are touched, including food and other people.

The hands of those dealing with food should be washed regularly throughout the day and especially at before preparing food, between handling raw foods and touching any other food or kitchen utensils, and after going to the toilet and coughing or sneezing, especially if you are sick.

The main purpose of washing hands is to cleanse the hands of pathogens (including bacteria or viruses) and chemicals which can cause personal harm or disease. This is especially important for people who handle food or work in the medical field.

The number of germs on fingertips doubles after using the toilet. Yet up to half of all men and a quarter of women fail

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to wash their hands after they’ve ’ve been to the toilet! We all think we know how to wash our hands, but many of us don’t do o it properly. Here are some reminders: z always use warm water z rub hands together vigorously for about 15 seconds, making sure both sides of the hands are washed thoroughly, around the thumbs, between each finger and around and under the nails z then, rinse with clean water z germs spread more easily if hands are wet, so dry them thoroughly. Use a clean dry towel, paper towel or air dryer; it doesn’t matter which z after drying, a dry paper towel should be used to turn off the water and open any door to the heads area All galleys should be provided with a wash basin and a soap dispenser with a plentiful supply of paper towels.

If anyone is ill, especially with any gastrointestinal problems, they should not handle or prepare food for others. All cuts, burns and sores should be covered with waterproof dressings and the dressings changed regularly.

Seaman’s Grace

O Lord above, Send down a dove With wingtips as Sharp as razors, To cut the throats Of all the blokes What serves bad Food to sailors.

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Proper storage of food is an important part of reducing the risk of food poisoning. Some foods must be stored in the fridge and eaten within a short space of time; other foods, such as flour, pulses, canned foods and many others last much longer and can be stored at room temperature. But even dried foods have limits on their storage Raw foods, such as meat and poultry, may contain microbes that can cause food poisoning.

To prevent this, they must be stored in the fridge. To avoid cross-contamination, these

Anon foods must be stored away from other foods, especially cooked foods and ready-to-eat foods.

All the refrigerators and freezer rooms should be defrosted at regular intervals.

At the same time ensure that all the drains are defrosted and cleaned out. Drains in the handling areas should always be inspected weekly. as well as ensuring that any wooden grills are lifted and cleaned underneath.

Always, when food is frozen, ensure that it is labelled with the date and what it is — otherwise the cook will end up trying to guess a few weeks later what the package is, as the food can sometimes look totally different in its frozen state. Labelling is especially useful when the cook leaves the ship and his relief is left trying to figure out what is in all the mysterious packages in the freezer chambers.

We don’t often talk about catering hygiene onboard our ships, but bearing in mind that we eat at least three times a day, we should possibly be more interested in what is going on in the galley.

15/11/2017 16:21

December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 19

MARITIME WELFARE

Preparing for the future The Trinity House Hub at Nautilus Mariners’ Park is a modern facility aimed at supporting retired seafarers for decades to come Picture: David Oates / Pozzoni

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Seafaring can be a rewarding and enjoyable job. But it can also be a tough one — with seafarers suffering higher than average workrelated illness and injury rates, as well as patchy pension provisions and weak social networks ashore.

Against this background, the myriad maritime welfare services provided in the UK can prove crucial for crews and their families. There are more than 80 charities working in the maritime sector — 36 of which primarily serve the Merchant Navy and fishing fleets — and new research shows that seafarers require greater support and have more complex welfare needs than the general population.

With a growing number of elderly seafarers, and national and local welfare services feeling the pressure of the economic downturn and austerity policies, these charities are facing a daunting challenge in meeting present and predicted needs.

To help them plan for the future, the Maritime Charities Group (MCG) commissioned a series of studies to examine the needs and aspirations of seafarers and their families, and the changing nature of demand for maritime welfare services. The results — and associated recommendations — are set out in a 224-page report called Navigating Change.

The studies update similar research carried out a decade ago, which estimated that around half the UK seafaring community have needs that maritime welfare charities can meet or alleviate. The 2007 report made more than 40 recommendations

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for developing services and policies, and researchers said that many of these have been tackled in part or in full by individual charities and working groups.

However, the new report cautions, ‘while many maritime beneficiaries are adequately supported, and many innovations have been implemented, it has been difficult for the sector to deal with all the challenges thrown at it by the demographic, economic and societal upheaval of the last decade.

‘In some areas, the maritime welfare sector appears to be operating at the forefront of innovation and good practice, while in other areas it lags behind the wider third sector and other occupational benevolent sub-sectors,’ it adds.

The new work concludes that while the overall spread of seafarers’ needs has not altered significantly since 2007, there are trends which are re-shaping the scale and type of support required — most notably for those from the Merchant Navy and fishing fleet.

The research results were presented to charity representatives at a two-day MCG conference in London — which concluded with a clear warning to delegates: ‘It can no longer be business as usual.’ Charities were told that they need to face some fundamental questions — addressing them with a ‘cohesive and coordinated strategy’.

Explaining some of the research results, Dr Catherine Walker told the meeting that the charities are dealing with a much larger maritime population than previous studies have suggested — partly as a result of new occupational groups such

New research by welfare charities has revealed the type and scale of support needed to keep Britain’s maritime community happy and healthy…

Presenting the research results at a two-day conference of the Maritime Charities Group

as the crews of superyachts and windfarm vessels.

The UK seafaring community is now estimated to total 1.35m people — comprising 74,800 serving seafarers, 258,000 former seafarers of working age, 357,000 former seafarers over

65, 662,000 dependants and more than 19,000 Sea Cadets, Sea Scouts and other cadets.

These numbers are declining much more slowly than previously forecast, Dr Walker said.

With the number of former MN seafarers aged 85 and over due

Maritime charities have been warned that it can no longer be business as usual

“

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to rise by around 220% between 2015 and 2035, maritime charities may need to rethink their plans — especially with the associated extra demands caused by dementia and the fact that many in this age group will have severe limitations on their daily life, long-standing health conditions, and multiple needs.

Fellow researcher Deborah Fairclough said the core maritime welfare issues have not changed much over the past decade, with support, advice and assistance related to finances and housing being the most important services requested by older seafarers and their families.

However, she stressed, seafarers need more — and markedly different — support than other occupational groups. Particular problems include higher rates of ill health, greater levels of debt, poor pension provision, a greater need for support with family and/or relationship issues, and specific housing needs.

Feedback from older seafarers and their dependants also reveals growing levels of social isolation — with 30% feeling that they lack companionship, 22% feeling left out and 20% isolated for at least some of the time.

The studies described a lot of the existing accommodation and social care provision for seafarers as ‘outdated’. Many older seafarers and their dependants are reluctant to move to specialist residential accommodation — preferring to remain in their own homes for as long as possible. But as the age profile of former seafarers increases, there is likely to be a growing need for

services to deal with their more complex health needs — and, the report warns, ‘the existing provision of care beds looks too low to cope with this’.

For serving seafarers, Ms Fairclough said changes in the industry — such as reduced opportunities for shore leave and poor onboard connectivity — are fuelling increased stress at a time when there is a growing awareness about mental health and wellbeing.

Researchers found that onethird of seafarers had not been able to get ashore in the previous four weeks, and even those who managed to get shore leave were generally only able to leave their ship for between two to four hours. ‘Limited shore leave has contributed to a decline in the use of seafarer centres in ports and an increase in welfare visits to seafarers onboard,’ she pointed out.

The Navigating Change report urges maritime welfare charities to ‘future-proof’ themselves by acting on the results of the research. Although some may need to take individual action, the report says the sector should cooperate and collaborate more closely, and develop even more innovative and effective programmes, to cope with the growing demands.

Measures such as increasing the sharing of information and best practice, together with coordinated responses, could help make scarce resources go even further, the study suggests.

Shared facilities and activities — such as office space and functions, training, IT support, casework and fund-raising — will also maximise impact and efficiency.

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20 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

MARITIME WELFARE

The UK maritime welfare charities’ top 10 challenges

‘Collaborate a

(as voted for by the Faced with growing demand for support, maritime welfare charities need to m charities themselves) alterations to the way they work, according to the new Navigating Change r 1. Raising awareness of our charity/cause 2. Generating income/ achieving financial sustainability =3. Identifying/finding beneficiaries =3. Securing new trustees/ chairpersons 5. Measuring and demonstrating impact 6. Increasing costs 7. New technology — online/mobile solutions for giving, communicating or service delivery 8. Remaining true to our original mission/ avoiding mission drift =10. Meeting demand for services =10. Insufficient resources =10. Securing volunteer engagement

The tri-service (armed forces) charities’ top 5 challenges 1.

Increased costs

2.

Meeting demand for services

3.

Generating income/ achieving financial sustainability

4.

Raising awareness of our charity/cause

5.

Changing beneficiary profile/needs

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Research commissioned by the Maritime Charities Group is pointing to a ‘compelling’ case for much greater cooperation and collaboration to meet the growing challenges of supporting seafarers in the years ahead.

There are 81 registered maritime welfare charities — 36 which concentrate on the Merchant Navy and fishing fleets, 19 primarily supporting the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, and 26 serving all three maritime sectors. Together, they receive more than £111m a year and spend over £105m annually providing support to the seafaring community.

And with many other general charities also providing some form of assistance for seafarers, it is estimated that there is a total of more than 400 organisations delivering ‘welfare in a wider sense’ to the maritime community.

However, the Navigating Change report notes that the maritime charity sector is ‘diverse, loosely defined and unevenly spread across different seafarer groups — with the result that some beneficiary groups have more support than others’.

Researchers found that some £40m a year is spent on RN/RM beneficiaries, compared with £27m for the MN and fishing fleets and almost £38m for all three seafaring workforces and their dependants. While 57% of charities described support for the RN/RM as adequate or abundant, only 29% believe the same can be said of the levels of support and resources for the MN. ‘Some refocusing may be needed to make the needs of the groups most identified to be in need,’ said Dr Catherine Walker.

The majority of maritime welfare charities offer multiple support services to seafarers and their dependants — with more than half providing financial assistance and grants. Of the 81 charities, 43 provide ‘other’ services, such as seafarer centres or education and training, and 38 provide ‘support’ such as social events, spiritual advice or bereavement counselling. Two-fifths of the charities offer ‘advice’ such as guidance on welfare, benefits, employment and legal issues, while one-third provide accommodation, including sheltered housing and care homes, hostels and holiday accommodation.

Feedback from charities suggested that there are inadequate resources and support for health and rehabilitation services for working age seafarers, as well as for the emotional support of seafarers and their families, for addressing social isolation, and for providing suitable accommodation for retired seafarers.

The report highlights the way in which changes in the shipping industry are fuelling new welfare needs among serving seafarers and their families. Researchers found that almost two-thirds of maritime welfare charities had reported increased demand in the past five years as a result of the economic downturn and austerity policies — and almost two-thirds anticipate that demand will increase further over the next 12 months.

While demand for services has increased in both numerical terms and in the complexity of need, the report notes that income for MN and fishing charities has fallen by 4% to 5% over the past decade while RN/RM charities’ income has risen by 49% over the same period. ‘This has further skewed the imbalance in the sector in favour of charities supporting RN/RM seafarers, and while the

Some 60% of people donate to charities on the basis of personal experience, which is a problem for the maritime sector

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RN/RM do make up a majority (58%) of maritime beneficiaries, the indications are that numbers of MN and FF beneficiaries in need will become greater in future, making it even more important to address resource issues now,’ it adds.

The report warns that financial pressures are likely to continue — and 15% of the charities identified cuts in government funding as one of the most pressing challenges facing their organisation. Barely one-quarter consider that the maritime charities are in a good position to respond to all future needs.

Demand for services is rising whilst charities face growing difficulties in fund-raising and increasing operational costs. On average, they are spending 92% of their income — although the report notes that some smaller charities, with fewer funds held in reserve to fall back on, ‘are sailing closer to the wind’.

Charities will increasingly nee ‘shore up’ their reserves for the lo now to deal with immediate need it also cautions: ‘Charities which down on funds held in reserve in demand will not be able to do so i charities which do so risk becomi More than 40% of the charitie income and achieving financial s the most pressing challenges the thirds said raising awareness of th challenge.

‘There is a belief that the gene the contribution made by seafare charities believe that there is ade needs of seafarers,’ Dr Walker not With some 60% of people don basis of personal experience, the continued decline in the number a further negative impact on the legacies being given to maritime the report suggests a coordinated campaign and more dynamic use Looking ahead, the report not people seeking support from ma decline. This will mean that chari remit and consider extending the traditional seafaring roles’ or ma international in nature.‘Services also need to be altered to reflect t in which seafarers find themselve specialist advice and counselling based welfare,’ the report argues.

The study also found evidence where maritime charities are hea areas of greatest need are — argu ‘southern bias’ should lead to a be conditions and needs.

Dr Walker said maritime welfa in having to respond to the ‘seism a consequence, they will need to of ‘who, what, where, when and h maximise their impact. ‘Time is m conference, ‘and maritime welfar some of the fundamental questio before changes in the maritime w population force your hand.’

Resea A

Nautilus personnel attending the launch of the Navigating Change report, L-R: assistant general secretary Ronnie Cunningham; caseworker Iain Lindsay; caseworker Sandra Silverwood: welfare services manager Mick Howarth; general secretary Mark Dickinson Picture: Andrew Linington

The findings set out in the N Change report have huge i for Nautilus International’s charity, the Nautilus Welfare Fund, w retired merchant mariners and their by providing accommodation and ca Understanding the demographi affecting this group — and the impl of these changes — is key to plannin services.

While the number of retired mer mariners and their dependants is pr halve by 2050, this masks the additi an ageing group of retirees.

It is the older group, aged 75-plu most likely to require accommodatio services, leading the research report that ‘the need, potentially amongst to require senior housing, and care a set to continue, and even increase, o to medium term’.

The growing number of over-75s brings with it increasing numbers w health issues, increased numbers liv and an increasing number with dem This combination of increasing n complexity of care needs will increas on maritime charities. This may in tu exacerbated by the continuation of a

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December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 21

MARITIME WELFARE

and publicise’ o make radical e report…

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How can maritime welfare charities cope with the ‘double-whammy’ of rising demand and declining resources? The Navigating Change research report admits there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution, but puts forward 10 ways in which charities can make the necessary changes:

y need to decide whether to the longer term or spend more needs, the report stresses. But hich have already been drawing ve in order to keep pace with o so indefinitely, and smaller coming financially unviable.’ arities highlighted generating cial sustainability as among s they face and almost twos of their work was their biggest general public fail to appreciate eafarers and only 2% of maritime s adequate awareness of the r noted. e donating to charities on the e, there is a concern that the mber of seafarers will have n the level of donations and time charities. To address this, nated sector-wide promotional ic use of IT and social media. t notes that the numbers of m maritime welfare charities will charities will have to review their ng their focus ‘beyond those with r making their services more vices and support offered may flect the changing environment mselves, with a greater need for elling, and accessible ship/portgues. dence of a mismatch between e headquartered and where the arguing that addressing the o a better understanding of local welfare charities are not alone seismic shifts’ in society, and as ed to review the fundamentals nd how they serve’ to me is moving on,’ she told the welfare charities need to face uestions raised in this research ime world and the beneficiary ’

z diversify and increase income streams, developing proactive and innovative fund-raising approaches, increasing volunteer engagement and merging if the conditions are right z rethink eligibility criteria for new groups of seafarers, rethink charitable objectives and geographical remit, and develop new packages of support such as specialist advice and counselling, and more accessible onboard and port-based welfare z consider matched and/or pooled funding for support scheme, as well as more rigorous needs assessment z examine different ways of providing support and housing to increasingly elderly former seafarers z Develop a sector-wide promotional campaign to tackle ‘sea blindness’ and raise awareness of the work of maritime charities z ‘piggy-back’ on the trust and confidence that the public place in Armed Forces charities and the RNLI z improve strategic reviewing and planning, develop impact measurement and map the charity’s capabilities and capacities z invest in new technologies and online systems

How Seafarers Ale helps Seafarers UK K The Maritime Charities Group research highlights the growing challenge of fund-raising for the sector. However, the charity Seafarers UK has been hugely successful in raising donations through a partnership with the brewing and pub company Fuller, Smith & Turner (Fuller’s).

Fuller’s acquired the Gales-branded

Seafarers Ale in 2005 and since then a donation per pint sold has been made to Seafarers UK. The total raised so far exceeds £200,000 — and the money has gone towards the grants paid by Seafarers UK to charities, organisations and projects that support seafarers across the Merchant Navy, Royal Navy and fishing fleets.

Pictured above is ‘Chip’ Sawyer, owner of The Limeburners pub in West Sussex, being presented with tickets for a P&O cruise by Seafarers UK campaigns manager Nick Harvey, together with Jenny Knight from Fuller, Smith & Turner. Mr Sawyer was given the prize in recognition of the sales of Seafarers Ale at his pub.

earch informs Union plans n the Navigating huge implications onal’s registered UK und, which supports d their dependants and care services. raphic changes e implications anning future d merchant s is predicted to additional needs of 75-plus, who are odation and care report to conclude ongst those likely care and support is ase, over the short er-75s and over-85s ers with long-term ers living alone, h dementia. sing numbers and ncrease demand y in turn be further on of austerity

Navigating Change sets out the challenges facing maritime charities up to 2050. Nautilus welfare services manager MICK HOWARTH considers the implications for the Nautilus Welfare Fund… measures in the level of public sector support.

The research also shows how the financial position of seafarers has become more precarious over the last 10 years. There has been a fall from 64% to only 44% who have £6,000 or more in savings, whilst the number in debt remains stubbornly fixed at around one in six.

The research also highlighted a key issue in the lack of awareness of what the maritime charity sector can offer. Many retired mariners and their dependants do not know what support is available or how to access it. A particular need is information and advice about finances, accommodation options and care services — including how to help people manage better in their own home. There is little doubt that there are many ‘hidden’ mariners who are not accessing the assistance they need.

There are certainly significant challenges ahead to respond to the scale and quality of

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10 ways maritime welfare charities can rise to the comingchallenges

services and support that is needed. Greater cooperation and collaboration across the maritime sector, and beyond to the wider voluntary and commercial sectors, will be key to delivering high quality services.

The maritime charity sector cannot respond to this agenda alone; only by developing new partnerships and collaborations will more needy mariners be assisted.

The Nautilus Welfare Fund provides bungalows and apartments, an Extra Care housing scheme, and a residential and nursing home at Mariners’ Park, and the charity also has its own Home Care Team working at the complex.

Plans at the Nautilus Mariners’ Park retirement estate to meet the growing demand include: z building 12 new apartments and two new bungalows in 2018 z partnering with a private sector developer to

provide a further 28 apartments by 2020, which will increase the number of accommodation units to 150 For those mariners residing in their own home across the UK, the charity is: z planning to expand the caseworker service by appointing a fifth post in 2018, either in Cardiff or Belfast. This builds on the recent appointment of a caseworker in Glasgow. These posts seek out ‘hidden’ mariners and ensure they are receiving all the necessary advice they need — including financial advice about the benefits and grants they are entitled to z continuing to provide one-off grants to help mariners maintain their home and independence, as we know this is where most mariners want to be To raise awareness of the Nautilus Welfare Fund and its services, an enhanced website and new publicity material are being developed, and there will be wider advertising.

This, of course, is just the start. Navigating Change has provided huge momentum to examine the options that are available and the issues which impact on mariners and how best to address them. As the report concludes: ‘It can no longer be “business as usual” as the challenges are simply too great.’

z proactively lobby government with one voice z realign resources in the sector to address the increasing needs of charities dealing with the Merchant Navy and fishing fleet

Top 10 maritime welfare charities by income, 2015 TOTAL INCOME

TOTAL SPENDING (£M)

The Marine Society and Sea Cadets (MSSC)

£16.676

£14.313

The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC)

£16.098

£12.101

Greenwich Hospital

£13.032

£12.571

Trinity House Maritime Charity

£6.841

£6.323

The Royal Naval Benevolent Trust (Grand Fleet and Kindred Funds) (RNBT)

£5.993

£5.249

The Mission to Seafarers

£4.441

£4.892

Sailors’ Society

£3.768

£4.950

The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen (Fishermen’s Mission)

£3.597

£2.584

Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society

£3.506

£3.371

Nautilus Welfare Fund

£2.884

£2.939

15/11/2017 18:03

22 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

MARITIME COMMUNITY

Join in with Jane Slade A Cornish charity is seeking support for a project to build a new ship to help train the next generation of British seafarers.

STEVEN KENNEDY heard how the Jane Slade Project is planning to give young people vital experience at sea…

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Sean McLaughlin, Jane Slade Project trustee

A new charity is aiming to give those who haven’t seen the sea as a viable vocation the chance to experience working on water.

The Jane Slade Project is the brainchild of founding trustee Nikki Alford, and has been established in a bid to deliver the training needed to enable young people to set out on a maritime career.

The charity is planning to use a new 100ft schooner — Jane Slade — as its school at sea. The original Jane Slade was launched in 1870 and provided the inspiration for Daphne du Maurier’s first novel, The Loving Spirit. It was built in Polruan, Cornwall, and used for the fruit trade — at one stage holding the record for the fastest passage between Bristol and the Azores.

Like its namesake, the new vessel will be built in Polruan. One key difference, however, is that the new vessel will be made of steel rather than wood. Once operational, the vessel will carry commercial cargo and passengers, and the crew will include trainees gaining experience of operating a traditional vessel, — learning seamanship, navigation, cargo handling, passenger management and hotel skills.

Nikki Alford, Jane Slade Project trustee

But to get the vessel working, Nikki and her other two trustees — Sean McLaughlin and William Collinson — have a great deal of work to do. ‘Fundamentally, we have to look at the romantic and the pragmatic sides of what we’re doing,’ Sean explains.

‘The romantic side is the story of the original Jane Slade. The pragmatic is about helping to create an aspiration for a maritime career — predominantly for young people.

‘There are a number of people who have noticed the sea as an opportunity but thought it’s not for them,’ he adds. ‘Some see maritime training like a degree course and think it’s out of their reach. It might be out of reach because they feel that financially they can’t do it or that they’re not academic enough. So whilst this won’t formally be a BTEC, what we’d like to be doing is give them somewhere which is practically based and gives them a real certificate at the end which is then accepted by the maritime colleges as part of their entry requirements. It’s the opportunity for someone to say “I can do this and I have a real piece of paper that shows what I can do”.’

With ambitious plans to get the vessel ready by 2019, Sean and his fellow trustees recognise that they need to get things moving quickly. ‘The overall cost of this vessel will be about £1.5m,’ Sean notes.

‘Chances are that it may go over that figure. If you broadly break that down, it’s about half a million for design and about a million for fit-out including the engine and the rig and everything that goes with it.’

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Donations will be key to making the project viable, and the trustees are exploring ways in which to attract industry businesses to buy into it. They are looking at various grants and Lottery funding, whilst also opening themselves up to be used by organisations to test new technology such as low-carbon engines.

Yet, raising the money is not the only aim. Sean wants people to understand it’s not just dipping their hands in their pockets that will make the Jane Slade Project a success.

‘We want to use networks to help us,’ he adds. ‘One of our trustees — William — is retired, but he’s busyretired, and Nikki and I aren’t retired, so the biggest challenge is getting enough people involved to help.

‘We’ve got a small platoon of helpers in to help with marketing, and that’s great, but what we need is someone to carry the burden of making some of the connections we need. I’m happy to do a pitch, but if someone can set that up for me then that probably saves me a week of my time.’

Yet, as many will recognise, getting industry support can be an uphill task. Sean says the project’s business plan emphasises how Jane Slade should be seen as a business opportunity to the industry and as a way of training seafarers rather than as a charity looking for hand-outs. It’s an important difference and one that Sean believes can have the desired effect.

The project trustees also want to be seen by the

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UK maritime colleges as an innovative way for them to train their cadets. ‘We can say to maritime colleges, why don’t you use us for your sea time,’ Sean explains, ‘You look at any simulated emergency on a merchant vessel now and it’s just that; a simulated emergency. Therefore, it has a lack of unreality around it. Come onto a sailing boat and it’s real.

You don’t know what’s going to happen or when it’s going to happen, but it is real.

‘If we can get two things out of people it’s that we get their endorsement so this will be a training ship for Britain and that they can introduce us to other people so we can get the meetings we need in place,’ he adds. ‘The proposition to companies needs to be that this is an industry-endorsed initiative and it’s something that the industry needs. It’s good for the industry and that means it’s good for you too. Don’t you think you have a responsibility to help? Oh, and by the way, we’re a charity. If we do it that way, we have a chance at getting somewhere.’

It’s going to be a long, hard project, but one that could benefit the industry for years to come by showing young people that the sea is still somewhere that can provide a lucrative career.

“

We have a small platoon of helpers at the charity but what we need now are industry contacts.

Can you help?

”

Figurehead from the original Jane Slade Picture: Sean McLaughlin

‘If you go back to the time of the original Jane Slade, Polruan — like so many other ports — was totally rammed with sailing vessels,’ Sean points out. ‘Maritime commerce was very visible to everyone around the area, and if you wanted to go to sea then you ingratiated yourself with a captain or an owner and you got signed on. Now the people there see 6,000 visiting yachts and they say that’s for rich people, that’s not for me. They don’t see the commerce and we want to change that.

‘I’d ask people to think about who you know and who you can set us up with. If you’re going to present it to a company, then present it as an industry initiative that’s good for the industry rather than looking for a charitable donation.’ g For more information about the project visit www.janesladeproject.org or email Sean directly on sean@janesladeproject.org.

15/11/2017 16:22

December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 23

MARITIME SAFETY

The power of the hashtag Unsafe pilot ladders continue to pose a big threat to life and limb at sea. Nautilus member KEVIN VALLANCE explains how marine pilots have taken to social media to improve transfer safety…

L

It remains a sad fact that accidents and near-misses continue to occur during pilot transfers on a far-too frequent basis.

What should be a routine shipboard operation — regulated within the SOLAS Convention Regulation 23, updated in July 2012, and the IMO Resolution 1045 from 2011 — is still found to be deficient with alarming regularity.

Surveys into pilot ladder safety consistently reveal that around 20% of ladders are not compliant with the regulations.

It is important that all personnel involved in the transfer of marine pilots are aware of the regulations and are able to identify when the boarding arrangements are deficient and therefore unsafe.

One group of people often overlooked in the procedure are the pilot boat crew members. In August 2013, Ignacio Chofre, a member of the pilot boat crew at the port of Valencia in Spain, tweeted a photograph of a non-compliant boarding arrangement on Twitter. This thread very quickly became #dangerousladders and, four years later, frequent additions are still being made to this ‘rogue’s gallery’ of photographs illustrating non-compliant pilot transfer arrangements.

It is often speculated that declining standards of seamanship are indicative of poorly-trained and de-motivated crews resulting from inadequate investment. In the past, all deck crew members would at some time have been involved with the making of pilot ladders, and would from this experience have been fully conversant with the rules for manufacture, maintenance, rigging and stowage of the pilot ladder and its associated equipment.

But because the rules now require that all pilot ladders are tested and certified, onboard manufacture is not the common practice it once was.

The Twitter campaign continues to be popular, and in September this year a decision was taken to open a Facebook group to appeal to younger seafarers. The aim of the #dangerousladders campaign is to engage and educate all sectors of the industry

reported by Adam is an upsurge in the number of counterfeit products being discovered. Recently-purchased pilot ladders that are obviously substandard have been discovered — purporting to have been manufactured by a fully compliant company. On investigation, it was found they are actually manufactured and fraudulently certified by a different, non-compliant company.

L Some deficiencies, such as securing a pilot ladder to the ship side rails, should be obvious

which have an input into pilot transfer safety.

One organisation very much to the forefront of pilot safety is the UK Maritime Pilots Association. In addition to regular online contributions to #dangerousladders, its technical and training committee is currently working on an initiative to raise awareness amongst ships’ crews about issues with the safe rigging of pilot ladders.

Following consultation with the International Maritime Pilots Association (IMPA), the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) confirmed that the practice of using ‘deck tongues’ or ‘step-hooks’ for securing pilot ladders is not compliant with the regulations, since it imposes loadings on the ladders which they are not designed to withstand.

Australian IMPA member and Port Kembla pilot Adam Roberts is a regular contributor to #dangerousladders. He recently represented IMPA at discussions in Japan which are intended to update ISO 799, the 2004 publication which details technical specifications for pilot ladder construction.

One of the most alarming trends

Ignacio Chofre, the Valencia pilot who kicked off the #dangerousladders Twitter thread in 2013

GET YOUR

Another ‘modern media’ initiative is being explored by Fidra Films, a provider of maritime training resources. Fidra is producing a series of films giving practical advice on the rigging, maintenance and operational procedures necessary for safe pilot transfers.

Supported by IMPA, the development, production and distribution costs are being funded by sponsorship from within the industry. The Northern Marine Group, PTR Holland and the Standard Club have so far committed to the project and discussions are ongoing with further potential partners. On completion, the films will be made freely available, primarily via the internet, allowing them to be distributed across the industry wherever they are needed.

A working group of stakeholders is being organised to allow input from all parts of the industry. It is hoped to include representatives from the wider industry, including pilots, seafarers, regulatory bodies, owners and operators, classification societies, and naval architects.

It is anticipated that the working group will be able to produce a realistic overview of what actually happens, rather than what is supposed to happen.

Personally, my own contribution to improving pilot transfer arrangements uses a more traditional publication medium. Over the past four years I have been working on producing a book now titled The Pilot Ladder Manual. After much help from pilot colleagues and others, my finished work was accepted for publication

by Witherby Seamanship International — and is now available at all good bookshops.

The publisher has taken the decision to split the content into two different versions: basic and advanced.

Anyone who regularly visits the bridge of a working vessel will be aware of the vast technical libraries carried by many. Often these books remain in pristine condition, so it is hoped that although the advanced version of the book is intended to be part of the technical library, the basic version will end up as a hands-on copy kept in the ship’s office or at the pilot access point.

If you prefer to go online, it is hoped that the knowledge provided by #dangerousladders well help to empower everyone with an understanding of what constitutes a compliant pilot transfer arrangement.

If it’s non-compliant, it’s unsafe. And it’s unsafe, don’t use it!

‘Securing’ a pilot ladder as shown above is non-compliant with the regulations

Any method of securing the ladder which involves hanging the ladder from a step is not compliant with the regulations. Use of guillotines or pins as illustrated above can never be compliant

A newly supplied pilot ladder, with a ‘knot’ in the wooden step. The rules require that steps, if made of hardwood, ‘should be made in one piece, free of knots’

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15/11/2017 16:23

24 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

MARITIME SECURITY A leading firm of maritime lawyers is warning shipping companies of the need for proactive measures to reduce the impact of cyber-attacks.

STEVEN KENNEDY found out why they are worried…

Don’t wait until the inevitable happens

M

You can see why the shipping industry is starting to take cybercrime seriously. The NotPetya cyber-attack earlier this year has cost Maersk as much as US$300m, and maritime legal and insurance firms are becoming increasingly worried about the scale of the threat.

‘The most alarming concern that I have for the shipping industry when it comes to cybersecurity is the apparent lack of understanding, or acceptance, of the extent of the risk that cybercrime poses,’ says Rory Macfarlane, a partner with the maritime law firm Ince & Co. ‘In my opinion, too many owners and operators still evaluate the threat to their business in terms of a targeted attack that leads to a ship being taken over as part of a criminal masterplan. Although the industry cannot ignore the threat posed to its physical assets, the reality is rather different.’

Mr Macfarlane says attacks are growing in both frequency and severity — and this trend is set to continue. ‘When it comes to future threats, the rapid expansion of the Internet of Things is a further catalyst to increased risk,’ he warns. ‘Aligned to this is the fact that new technology — and new cyber-security challenges — evolve faster than our ability to put adequate precautions in place to protect our businesses.

‘Whilst advances in technol-

Some shipping companies have mistakenly assessed their risk of cyber-attack as low, without considering the whole supply chain, warns Rory Macfarlane Picture: Thinkstock

Rory Macfarlane, a partner with the maritime law firm Ince & Co

ogy can deliver significant benefits for shipping operations, it comes at a price. Shipping can-

not embrace the benefits without addressing the costs. The rate of growth, coupled with a lack of understanding, means that technological advances are often introduced without the cyber-security implications being fully considered. Regulations, best practice and training are struggling to keep up,’ he points out.

‘As new technologies emerge to streamline operations, cut costs and increase efficiencies, evolving and expanding cyberthreats also emerge,’ Mr Macfarlane adds. ‘It is imperative that shipping companies act to mitigate their cyber-risk now, before they become the next victim of a major breach.’

Ince & Co is an international

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

www.stc.ac.uk Call us on: 0191 427 3772 or Email: marine@stc.ac.uk

24_cyber crime_SR edit.indd Sec2:24

/SouthShieldsMarineSchool

/SouthShieldsMarineSchool

@ssmarineschool

/SouthShieldsMarineSchool

commercial law firm, with most of its work in five global sectors: shipping, aviation, energy, insurance, and international trade.

The company notes that the growth of automation is increasing the cyber-security threat not just onboard ships but in port and terminal operations, and elsewhere in the business. ‘Shipping companies must understand that in a digitalised and connected market, they are only as strong as their weakest link,’ Mr Macfarlane stresses. ‘They need to consider not just the security of their ships and shorebased operations, but every link in their supply chain.’

The law firm says the maritime sector must develop comprehensive security and response plans as soon as possible. These should set out all the steps that will be taken in the event of a cyber-breach. ‘In the world of cyber-prevention, by far the best form of defence against cyber-crime lies in a concerted, top-down effort on planning and prevention,’ Mr Macfarlane points out.

‘The first step towards protection is to recognise where your key vulnerabilities lie. This involves a cyber-security assessment covering which threats are most likely to be interested in your business, as well what is it that you have that makes you attractive to them. Then appoint a board level cyber-security officer to oversee the creation and implementation of a layered cyber-security plan to address those threats,’ he says.

Ince & Co has been working with the cyber-security team at Navigant to offer a cyber ‘healthcheck’ — to give companies a written assessment of their IT policies and procedures, employee protocols, regulatory and contractual obligations, insurance cover against losses following a cyber-attack, and evaluate cyber-response plans.

These plans should also include practising the response through drills to test the readiness and resilience of ships, crew and the shore-based business to a cyber-security incident, the company advises.

Where do seafarers fit into this? And would they face prosecution if they were the ones whose actions led to criminal software infecting a ship’s systems?

‘For negligent acts, there ought to be no criminal liability for the crew,’ Mr Macfarlane says.

‘Most, if not all, maritime nations have some form of criminal legislation that can be triggered if the conduct of the crew — usually the master — endangers the safety of human life at sea.

The conduct will usually need to be reckless or wilful, rather than just simple negligence. In some jurisdictions, criminal sanctions can apply where there is damage to property or to the environment, but the general consensus is that these sanctions should be financial unless the conduct is wilful, or intentional, and the damage is significant.’

M

New cyber-security regulations, such as the general Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the UK or the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance in Hong Kong, do not generally, as yet, criminalise acts leading to cyber breach and losses, he notes.

However, criminal offences may exist under domestic legislation. ‘For example, the draft Data Protection Bill in the UK, which will implement the GDPR, includes a number of offences such as obtaining personal data without the consent of the data controller,’ he explains. ‘Fines imposed on conviction for these offences would be criminal in nature. However, in such a scenario to be guilty the crew member would have to be the cyberattacker.’

Why has the shipping industry been slow to react, when the risks are so high? ‘There is a tendency for people and organisations, no matter which market they operate within, to believe that a cyber-attack will not happen to them,’ Mr Macfarlane says. ‘This view is often enhanced by the erroneous belief that maintaining a firewall provides adequate protection.

‘In my view, there are two additional but interlinked factors relevant to the maritime sector which have further contributed to a slow reaction to the cyber-threat,’ he adds. ‘Owners and operators mistakenly underevaluating their cyber threat by focusing on the risk to their ships, rather than the risk to their shore-based business, and the tough and enduring shipping market. It means there is a reluctance to invest in cybersecurity protocols if they have already assessed their cyber-risk as low.’

However, he believes, the ‘crippling impact’ of the NotPetya attack on Maersk Line this year has begun to change this, and companies are recognising that with good quality proactive work and a regularly updated and monitored cyber security system in place, they will give themselves a fighting chance of not being the next Maersk.

‘A cyber-attack on your business is inevitable,’ Mr Macfarlane warns. ‘But this resulting in a severe cyber-breach is not. If you wait until you are the victim of a cyber-breach before thinking about how to respond, you’re already too late. Our key message to the industry is that the best form of defence against cyber-risk is through proactive planning and preparation.

Understand where your vulnerabilities lie in your systems and processes, and put in place a robust layered cyber-security plan to address those gaps.’

15/11/2017 16:23

December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 25

SEAFARER TRAINING

Refresher revolution Seafarers face an increasingly challenging range of training requirements, and it can be a nightmare finding the right course, at the right price and at the right time.

But now a new website has been launched which aims to simplify the process of finding, choosing and booking a place…

K

‘There is nothing like this out there — and it’s a gap in the market that was screaming to be filled.’ So says Simon Robinson, director of PortLeft, a new online service to help seafarers, owners and managers deal with increasingly complex maritime training requirements.

PortLeft aims to serve as a free one-stop-shop comparison site to give users ‘what, where and when’ information about training programmes across the world, together with the ability to book not just courses but also travel to the training facilities.

The website was launched within a few months of the idea being sparked during a casual conversation. ‘We came up with the concept in February, discussed the details in March and had the first prototype built in May,’ Simon recalls.

PortLeft has been created in response to the huge expansion in training and refresher course requirements for seafarers over recent years, with the aim of raising awareness about the wide array of available courses and simplifying the process of booking onto them.

‘There are hundreds of training centres in the UK alone,’ Simon points out. ‘But there has been nowhere to compare them and it’s often been difficult to find out about the courses they provide, because many of them are not marketing themselves very well.

‘As a result, a lot of courses are run when they are only half full — which is wasted revenue for the centres and potentially missed opportunities for seafarers and their employers,’ he adds.

The site was created as a global service, to help individual seafarers, employers and training centres to match supply and demand. ‘Sometimes companies have to cancel training plans because they can’t find available courses, Simon says, ‘and PortLeft should help them overcome that.’

The site is of special benefit for seafarers looking to undertake STCW refresher training at the right place and at the right time for them, he adds. ‘Lots of seafarers now have to organise their own training, and this gives them the ability to shop around on cost, location, and price to suit them — saving them time and money.’

PortLeft also aims to assist companies employing multinational crews to make their training programmes more efficient.

25_portleft_SR edit.indd 25

We can help smaller providers market their courses so they’re not running half empty

“

”

‘If, for example, a company is doing a crew change in a certain location, it could save time, travel, wages and costs by locating a suitable course nearby instead of sending seafarers straight home to do the training in their own country,’ Simon explains.

K

Training centres using the site are given their own ‘dashboard’ to upload and control information about the courses they offer, along with dates, prices and up to date place availability.

‘It’s not just a case of put your course on the site and forget about it,’ says Simon. ‘Some of the smaller, bespoke, training centres can struggle to market their courses, and do all the administration and bookings.

We can do all of that for them, enabling them to concentrate on their core business — delivering the training. It should help them to minimise the number of courses that are cancelled and to maximise the numbers attending the training that they run.’

PortLeft can highlight ‘hot’ courses and actively market training places through social media channels, as well as providing interested candidates with alerts of when particular courses become available.

‘We are also linking up with a significant travel partner, so that if you are an individual seafarer and see a suitable course somewhere in the world you can do everything through the one site, with the best airfares available anywhere,’ he adds.

Simon has plans to develop PortLeft even further. ‘There is so much we can do with it, and we plan to develop it as an app

in future,’ he adds. ‘There are also plenty of other training programmes that could be promoted, including shore-based training and soft skills.’

He reckons there is also potential for shipping companies to market their own training facilities through PortLeft.

‘There are some companies that have invested significant amounts in providing their own resources, but they are not using the facilities to the full extent,’ he points out. ‘By making their centres more available and opening them up to others, they could really benefit.

‘Since we launched, the growth has been phenomenal and we are now getting about 2,000 hits a day,’ Simon says.

‘We have hit the floor running and one of the best compliments that we got was from someone who said how simple it all is.

That’s just what we wanted to do, and we think this is a real gamechanger for the industry.’

PortLeft director Simon Robinson

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

15/11/2017 16:23

26 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

MARINE ENVIRONMENT

Wonders of the not-so-deep Scientists at Southampton University are using their research vessel to help raise public awareness about the state of UK coastal waters. STEVEN KENNEDY joined them for a ‘discovery’ voyage in the Solent last month…

O

The health of the world’s oceans faces a constant threat. Every day, around 2m tons of sewage, industrial and agricultural waste is discharged into the seas.

But there are many organisations working to increase knowledge and awareness of the perils of marine pollution — one of them being the School of Ocean and Earth Science at Southampton University.

As well as conducting a wide range of oceanography and marine geoscience research, the oceanographers of the department are taking their knowledge and resources to show the public some of the species in the area’s coastal waters and investigate the general health of the ecosystem.

Onboard the British-flagged research vessel Callista — a 19.75m catamaran belonging to the School and designed and equipped for a range of coastal and shelf research — members of the public can join the team for a three-hour Discover Oceanogra-

phy trip in Solent Water, where they get to take part in a series of scientific experiments.

‘These sessions have been going for about 10 years now, and we do about 50 a year,’ explains research technician Moira MacLean.

Marine research technician Moira MacLean

‘We do public ones, and we try and do them in the summer and school holidays as much as possible, although they are not just for children. Throughout the year we do the same session, and they are for pre-booked groups. Anyone can book the boat and we go out for three hours to do five experiments in that time. It’s all very much hands-on and we like to get people involved as much as possible.’

It’s true. They really do like those onboard to get stuck in.

Within minutes of departing — and after the mandatory safety briefing — people are dropping instruments over the edge of the boat measuring the salinity of the water, as well as its temperature and how far the light is penetrating. The crew explain to the guests what the readings can tell them about the water quality and the depth at which they can expect to find the plants and animals that call Southampton Water home. And it’s at this stage things get very hands-on.

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26-27_oceanography_SR edit.indd 26

The Southampton University research vessel Callista All pictures: Steven Kennedy

After lowering a beam trawl into the water, the crew drag in its contents for the visitors look at. The quantity and variety of what’s recovered is quite surprising. Ranging from flat fish and spider crabs to sea squirts and sea urchins, the wealth of life just 8m below the water’s surface is remarkable for a busy industrial port.

‘We find a much better variety of animals and plant life than you’d expect,’ said the School’s technical manager Gary Fisher.

‘A lot of people come into Southampton and think it’s an industrial port and it will be devoid of anything. But we catch all sorts, like thornback ray, dragonets, goby, plaice and sole, as well as a variety of crabs.’

O

The trips give those aboard a taster of what the life of an oceanography can include. Through many hours of study and research, the work of these water-obsessed scientists is leading to a better understanding of the world’s waterways and the impact humans have on them. And the level of enthusiasm they have for their craft is infectious.

‘I love marine science and I want to get people involved as much as possible,’ says Moira. ‘I come from an island in the Scottish Hebrides, so I could see the sea from three sides of my house.

My father is a fisherman who likes sailing, so I have been near — or on — the water my entire life. I’m just a posh fisherman really.

‘Bringing people out on boats is great, and hopefully helps us protect the ocean as well as learn about it,’ she notes. ‘It’s a fact that we know more about the other side of the Moon than we do about stuff at the bottom of the sea. A new species is discovered in the marine environment once every eight days! It’s awesome.

‘It’s hugely important to get the public interested,’ Moira adds. ‘It’s monumental. We did a boat show in 2015 where our main display was a huge rockpool tank, and we only had the

Technical manager Gary Fisher

animals that you could find in Southampton water. We showcased that to around 35,000 people and they were amazed. They had no idea what was here. We can talk about the deep sea, we can talk about the Caribbean, but it’s so important that people know what they have on their doorstep so they can help protect the marine environment.’

Shipping has certainly had an impact on the life below the surface — with ballast water blamed for the spread of invasive species and the use of chemicals to stop

Oceanography PhD student Rebecca Huggett

invasive species attaching to the hulls of vessels leading to the marine life in some ports dying out.

‘Southampton Solent is a prime example of somewhere that is heavy on shipping,’ explains PhD student and Discover Oceanography assistant Rebecca Huggett. ‘We had some oyster beds here, but we no longer do that as they are not viable because you can’t sell them to be eaten. There is so much pollution going into the water that it’s not safe for us. There are so many different things like the nitrates and sulphates from the ships which the general public don’t necessarily know about, but if you get more involved in oceanography you realise there is more going on than you initially thought; and it’s going on all over the place.’

However, the experts in Southampton feel that it’s not as bad as some may have you believe.

‘There are pollution incidents every now and again in these waters, but it’s actually a pretty healthy environment,’ says Gary.

‘When we do the mud samples with the sessions we see some areas that are quite healthy with a fair amount of life in them and

15/11/2017 16:24

December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 27

MARINE ENVIRONMENT

water or on land, has ever been eradicated. It’s a waste of time, money and effort. You’re not going to win. Nature always wins.’

And whilst oceanographers and the shipping industry may occasionally appear to butt heads on some issues, the work these scientists do does go hand in hand with that of the shipping industry.

Starfish found in Southampton Water

Moira says that she tries to hammer home to any younger visitors onboard the Discover Oceanography sessions what they need to do to follow in her career footsteps.

‘I’d say to someone who is interested in becoming an oceanographer to study the proper sciences,’ Moira stresses. ‘Study hard is the best piece of advice I can give. Exams suck; nobody likes them but they are worth it in the

end as you get to have an awesome job. I love my job. I rarely go home in a bad mood. You never know what’s going to happen next.

‘I get plenty of weird stuff too,’ she added. ‘I’ve had the police phoning me and emailing me about things they find on the beach. Recently they called me wanting to know how old some barnacles were. I’m not sure what the object was but it looked like something made of neoprene.

‘To be fair, the police officer had done a lot of research and I basically just confirmed what they had already worked out for themselves. They had this object which had been in the sea and they wanted to know, roughly, how long it had been there so they could reunite it with its owner.

‘Anything can happen on our sessions,’ she concludes. ‘We had one when we had to abandon everything we were doing and lock everyone inside as we had to go and rescue some people on a burning boat. I think they’d had an engineroom fire. They were in a partly-inflated dinghy and we got them onboard. They were fine. Then the fire barge turned up and sank their boat with the sheer force of water. That was pretty awesome.’ g For more information about the Discover Oceanography sessions visit Southampton University’s website www.southampton.ac.uk.

“

Not one single non-native species, be it in the water or on land, has ever been eradicated.

It’s a waste of time, money and effort. Nature

”

always wins

Flat fish found in Southampton Water

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others that are not so healthy. We do see evidence of pollution that is historical but is still having an impact on the environment today.’

‘Invasive species causing a problem is a bit of a myth,’ adds Moira. ‘I’ve worked a lot with invasive species in Southampton over the years and we have about 55 non-native invasive species. Most of them are connected to the shipping industry. But it’s not a new thing. This has been going on since the dawn of shipping. They used to come in tiny little numbers because the ships were small and made of wood and they took longer to travel. Now we have big shiny metal ones that travel faster with ballast water tanks.

‘We’ve had the rule change on ballast water transfer in the hope that would stop introducing nonnative species. But then they live on the hull of the vessel as well and they just drop off in ports.

‘We also get rafting,’ she continues. ‘Non-native species can float here from France, no bother at all. The Isle of Wight has loads of first occurrences of non-native species because they just float across the Channel and land there.

‘It’s not a new thing and it’s not something that we can really stop. It’s just something we must monitor and embrace. Our government wastes lots of time and money trying to eradicate nonnative species. Not one single non-native species, be it in the

Spider crab found in Southampton Water

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15/11/2017 16:24

28 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

MARITIME CAREERS

Expertise and variety Catherine Cornu was the not only the youngest marine pilot in France, but is also the first woman to serve as a port pilot in the country. She tells JEFF APTER why she loves her work, but is worried about the future…

I

Born in 1966, Catherine Cornu grew up in the town of Asnières, beside the River Seine, and her hobby of rowing inspired her to choose a career at sea. ‘My mother was worried I chose the Merchant Navy, but my father was happy I had not chosen the Navy as his own father had been torpedoed in the Dardanelles,’ she recalls.

At the age of 18, Catherine passed the exam to enter the Le Havre officer training academy, and after completing the three-year course, she gained her OOW certificate. The first company she sailed with was Chargeurs Réunis — at one time the third largest French shipping firm — and she went on to serve on a wide variety of bulk carriers and containerships in the Delmas fleet, usually carrying a mixture of cargoes between Europe, Africa and the Indian Ocean.

‘As chief officer, I enjoyed working on loading plans that always were interesting — taking onboard

Rouen port pilot Catherine Cornu Pictures: Eric Houri

wood, wheat, wood, sugar, cars and general cargo,’ she says. ‘I loved the three-month voyages working with Africans between two ports and the crew who spent 40 days onboard the ship.’

ARE YOU A SERVING OR RETIRED UK SEAFARER? -i>v>ÀiÀ -Õ«« ÀÌ Ã > vÀii V w`i Ì > Ìi i« i > ` i ÀiviÀÀ> ÃiÀÛ Vi i « } Ì ÃÕ«« ÀÌ ÃiÀÛ } > ` v À iÀ 1 Ãi>v>ÀiÀà > ` Ì i À v> iÃ Ì ià v ii`

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Catherine Cornu wasn’t the first woman to work for Delmas. The operator employed eight women officers, but never a female captain. ‘The recruitment of women officers was and continues to be very slow, and some stopped work to have a family,’ she notes.

A major change in her life occurred in 1998 when, during a visit to the port of La Rochelle, the pilot asked Catherine if she might be able to pass the examination to be a pilot. ‘It struck me as a brilliant idea and I wrote to all the pilotage stations in France asking if they would be recruiting new pilots in the two next years to replace officers about to retire,’ she says.

Catherine has a first class master’s certificate but had never served in command in her 10 years at sea.

But she passed the examination at the Rouen pilot station and has worked there since 2000 — becoming the first and only woman pilot in metropolitan France (although there is now another female pilot working in the French island of Martinique).

‘I love my job,’ she says. ‘It’s a wonderful environment because whatever the weather the River Seine is very beautiful. There is a big difference between piloting and handling deepsea navigation. And this is why I chose this job — to have one foot in the sea, the river and the port. Each ship is different and each crew is different. It’s an ever-changing situation.’

through 30 port pilot stations, and belong to the French Federation of Maritime Pilots (FFPA).

The Seine station is the largest unit in France, with 56 pilots now employed. Last year, Catherine’s pilot colleagues unanimously elected her to a threeyear term as president.

Catherine says that pilotage is a good career option for seafarers — giving the chance to have a better family life and see your children grow, with similar terms and conditions and salary to deepsea work. While the Seine pilots are on call 24 hours a day all year round, their work patterns follow a rota of five days at work, one on standby and four days off at home.

The biggest issue for the pilot station is to adapt its organisation to the development of Rouen’s traffic, says Catherine. ‘Ships are becoming bigger and bigger and the river must optimise its navigational possibilities with regard to the growing size of vessels, and to obtain productivity gains for carriers,’ she points out.

I

An inland port on the River Seine, Rouen is one of the busiest in France — last year handling more than 21m tonnes of cargo. It’s the biggest grain port in western Europe, and most visiting vessels are foreign-flagged bulk carriers, general cargoships, tankers and containerships. The biggest are Capesize bulkers for the Sogema coal terminal, and the port also receives a number of passengerships.

‘I like to pilot all kind of ships, because they are all different technically, and I particularly enjoy piloting big ships with big drafts that require maximum piloting accuracy according to their position in the channel lanes,’ says Catherine. ‘It’s very important and intellectually stimulating to create synergies with the bridge team. The best part of a pilot’s job is the cooperation between the master, officers and helmsmen, and there is no problem with port communications. There are only good parts — but if there is a worst part, it’s probably working at night.’

The number of ships using Rouen has decreased because of the increasing size of modern vessels, but the number of pilotage operations has averaged 10,800 annually over the last five years. The river transit normally takes between five and eight hours.

Pilotage in France is usually organised across single ports or groups of ports, with pilots providing their professional services on a cooperative basis. There are more than 300 pilots, who operate

Vessels from France’s port pilotage services

Towards this aim, Rouen is undertaking a major project to deepen the channel to gain 1m in draft on the present maximum allowed on the river.

Completion, expected in 2019, will provide 11.7m maximum draft for inbound ships and 11.3m for outbound vessels.

Catherine’s long-term career aim is simple: ‘After this great opportunity to serve my colleagues as president for two more years, I will be happy to return to piloting. Our profession is working onboard and I’d like to get back to work!’

However, she has concerns for the future. ‘New ships are increasing in size and there will probably be recruitment problems as fewer officers are coming into the profession. What is sorely needed is an officer training policy, and recruits must be French speakers. France’s maritime sector has been cast aside, its maritime policies are not ambitious and there is no dedicated sea minister. Things do not look like getting better.’

15/11/2017 17:11

December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 29

MARITIME HISTORY

Military to Merchant Navy It’s 100 years since the Women’s Royal Naval Service was established and, to mark the centenary, JO STANLEY — author of Women and the Royal Navy — looks at the service’s links with the MN and the sea careers it inspired…

K

A lady should never be on a ship in a war — but sometimes they could ‘assist’ ashore, by making up for male staffing shortages in the Royal Navy. So went the conventional wisdom in 1917.

Huge personnel losses during the First World War increasingly threatened the RN’s operational effectiveness, and the enemy seemed to be winning. When the RN recognised that women’s labour could — indeed, had to — be made use of, the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) was finally formed on 29 November 1917.

There were in fact two precedents for the WRNS in the British armed forces: the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps and the RN's existing officer-only women’s service: Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service. Established in 1884, the QARNNS comprised fewer than 100 regulars with a further 200 reserves joining from civilian hospitals.

As part of a more substantial outfit, WRNS members gained a higher profile and a nickname: Wrens. Growing to a force of over 7,000, the Wrens — who had civilian status — were the non-seagoing counterpart of the merchant fleet’s 100 or so stewardesses, nurses and stenographers.

Stewardesses had been working on commercial vessels since at least 1820, especially as part of the emigration industry. Their uniforms made them look more like maids than seafarers. But Wrens ratings wore the traditional RN square collar and resembled other seafaring personnel, even though the motto was ‘never at sea’.

K

Wrens were initially women who lived near seaports. But as shortages increased and women’s competence was recognised, they became increasingly mobile. A handful went overseas, to places like Malta and Gibraltar.

Like male service personnel, Wrens were deemed passengers — not workers — on troop carriers run by merchant seafarers.

Their status was similar to that

of QARNNS serving on hospital ships: lady passengers treated chivalrously on former liners such as Aquitania, run by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary or merchant seafarers.

The only Wren to die on active service was shorthand-typist Josephine Carr, on the ferry RMS Leinster, which was torpedoed while crossing from Kingstown to Holyhead in October 1918. She

Wrens like Joy Bennington were nominally part of the MN, and had MN discharge books as well as WRNS membership

Women in WW1 who joined their family seafaring tradition thanks to the WRNS z Marian Atkin of Bebington: father, marine surveyor, shipowner z Catherine Hunter of Ardrossan: father, shipwright z Margaret McPhee of Oban: father, retired mariner in the Northern Lighthouse Board z May Westcott of Plymouth: father, very successful owner of coal and salt fleet, MN officer and member of the Royal Naval Reserve (since 1860 composed of MN seafarer volunteers). was lost along with 114 others.

Many Wrens came from seafaring communities, with a survey by MA Fish of 53 female officers’ backgrounds showing that nine had grown up in families with merchant shipping connections. Four of their fathers were master mariners and 19 had RN fathers.

When demob came, in 1919, some Wrens had become travelminded. Very lucky ones, such as Clair Collas, managed to get

Some Wrens used their naval training to get work on merchant vessels.

Wrens photographer Joan Roberts, pictured on HMS Lion in the 1970s, went on to become a ‘floatgrapher’ on Leonid Brezhnev cruises to the Canaries

29_wrns_SR edit#2.indd 29

work on commercial ships — she became a Canadian Pacific stewardess. Family recommendations helped women get these rare openings, so possibly her father’s connections helped, and seafaring was her career for life, on ships such as the Duchess and Empress emigrant vessels from Liverpool to Montreal.

K

The WRNS was restarted in 1938 — strengthened by the many sea-minded young women who’d been trained by ex-Wrens in the Sea Rangers and inspired by the Sea Rangers’ adventure novels. Their numbers grew to over 74,000 by the war’s end, and the Second World War Wrens were afloat much more than their Great War sisters.

At least 30 lucky Wrens at any one time served as hush-hush cypherers and coders on ‘the Monsters’ — the troop carriers such as Franconia and Mauretania, which also took bigwigs like Winston Churchill to international conferences such as Yalta.

Female company at sea was a treat, so ships’ officers offered wardroom hospitality. WRNS ratings weren’t supposed to fraternise with male officers, but (by virtue of being ‘ladies’) all Wrens were treated seen as ‘almost officers’. Some friendships may have ended in marriage. Mid-Mediterranean on the Amarapoora (a Henderson cargo vessel turned hospital ship), the captain married QARNNS nurse Sister Mary Parkin to a shipmate in 1944.

WRNS boarding officers were taken out to moored merchant vessels to give the confidential orders to captains. Delivery involved climbing the Jacob’s ladder in a skirt, which attracted much attention. An anonymous BO wrote this spoof list of the qualities they needed: ‘Be completely impervious to all insults, comments and compliments from dockers to USA sailors; not to mind having perpetually wet feet; to be more or less elastic and acrobatic … you should see the ladders and planks we have to climb and walk.’

K

War won, the WRNS was not disbanded this time. It continued, just 3,000-strong. Several sea-minded Wrens found work on passenger ships, as part of the innovative all-female catering crews on Buries Markes vessels and as liner ‘purserettes’. A newspaper picture story about former WRNS officer Elizabeth Sayers’ success triggered a flood of wannabe applications to Cunard.

In the 1980s, individual Wrens connected with the Merchant Navy mainly when they were serving briefly as relief meteorological officers on RFA vessels such as Engadine. Being part of the RN Reserves and Royal Naval Auxiliary Service brought some Wrens into contact with MN veterans.

Former Wren Elizabeth Sayers with some of Cunard’s other ‘Lady Assistant Pursers’ Picture: University of Liverpool Library

Excluding women from RN sea service seemed increasingly senseless, and after decades of controversy, two developments in 1989 marked something of a sea change.

The West Report on possible integration recommended women should go to sea on non-combatant ships from April 1990; and proposed that the WRNS should merge with the Royal Navy one year later.

In addition, a National Audit

Office study said that if the services did not make better use of their uniformed women then it would be more cost-effective to disband the women’s services entirely and replace them with civil servants. Almost half of the WRNS posts were not really military jobs.

Women began sailing on naval vessels in 1990. Now women routinely number around 10% of ships’ personnel. The organisation WRNS ended in 1993 and the RN’s

3,000 women are naval personnel in a navy that is now strongly prodiversity and inclusion.

g Jo Stanley’s new book, Women and the Royal Navy (IB Tauris/ National Museum of the Royal Navy), is available to Telegraph readers at 30% off the recommended retail price.

Order from www.ibtauris. com for just £14 using the special code NAUT17. The offer runs until 31 December 2017.

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ƉƉůLJ ŶŽǁ Žƌ ĮŶĚ ŽƵƚ ŵŽƌĞ͗ T 023 9284 6260 E learningatwork@port.ac.uk W port.ac.uk/learningatwork

15/11/2017 16:25

30 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

OFFWATCH ships of the past

by Trevor Boult islands, mostly located along its eastern, F Croatian coast, and it is the most indented The Adriatic Sea contains over 1,300

seaboard in the Mediterranean.

Brac is the largest island in central Dalmatia and is widely recognised as the place of origin of the Bracera, a traditional coastal cargo sailing vessel, first recorded in 16th century chronicles. Together with its larger sisters — trabakuls and peligs — these vessels formed the backbone of the commercial fleet on the Adriatic, the singlemast design being the most prominent and well known.

Solid, manoeuvrable, broad and bluntbowed, they were especially suited for communication and commerce between the many islands, as well as neighbouring coasts.

In the 19th century, more than 800 were listed in the Austro-Hungarian fleet register, covering vessels of the Dalmatian and Istrian coasts.

Given the vast number of small islands and many estates spread across them, it is suggested that the local Dalmatian population saw more advantages in building the smaller and cheaper braceras instead of the bigger and more costly trabakuls and peligs. The bracera was the most convenient craft for the narrow sea areas between the many islands, suitable for the wave characteristics of the East Adriatic coast and for taking shelter in the numerous bays from the sudden changes in local wind and sea conditions.

They were used for transporting wood for construction and fuel, mostly from Senj to the south and the islands, and later for moving salt and sand. They also carried wine, olive oil, livestock and everything else that was produced on the islands from Istria to Dubrovnik. In Istria they were also used for fishing and in Dalmatia for harvesting sea sponges.

Braceras evolved over time, especially in their sailing rig, to increase efficiency. The single-mast varieties carried a jib foresail in conjunction with a square mainsail, or sprit, lateen, lug, or gaff. Two- and three-mast rigs were also in use.

Roditelj is the oldest original preserved Bracera on the Adriatic and is officially protected as part of the cultural heritage of Croatia. Built in 1907 in what today is Slovenia, she was originally in service principally to carry stone. Mid-century, she

Roditelj and Barchet: living links to Croatia’s proud maritime past

The Merchant Navy & Airline Officers’ Association will play a full part in the preparation of a new code dealing with accident prevention onboard ship and in port areas. The code was proposed in the Pearson Report on British shipping, which noted that seagoing employment is hazardous and that accidents can happen to seafarers both at sea and in port, and can arise in any department.

The Pearson inquiry recommended that a steering committee consisting of representatives of the government departments, shipowners and the union should be set up immediately to prepare the ground. Without limiting the committee’s terms of reference, it was also agreed that the new code should be concerned primarily with safe practices in the use of machinery and equipment, and in the movement of the crew about the ship MN Journal, December 1967

25 YEARS AGO Seafarer training in Europe should be harmonised into a modular structure which will erode officer/rating distinctions, a radical report presented to the European Commission recommends. Produced by the Maritime Industries Forum, the report argues that common standards of qualifications and certification would enhance job prospects for European seafarers, with modular training more closely geared to high technology ships. The report — which is likely to go before the European Parliament early next year — expresses concern about forecast seafarer skill shortages and says officer training numbers should be trebled to meet future needs. It also urges the Commission to bring in income tax exemptions and social security concessions for European seafarers to make them more attractive to shipowners The Telegraph, December 1992

10 YEARS AGO

was fitted with motor propulsion whilst retaining her sailing rig. The vessel played an important role in the Second World War, transferring refugees from Dalmatian islands to Bari in Italy, from where they continued to Egypt. Roditelj was damaged in a bombardment during the last Balkan war.

Today, she is owned by a local tourist board and is based at Supetar, on Brac.

Operating in Dubrovnik waters since being launched in 2011 is a unique replica Bracera called Our Lady of the Sea. She was commissioned by the Dolphin Dream Society, a Croatian organisation founded in Zagreb in 2001 with the intent of protecting and promoting awareness of the environment and maritime heritage, as well as sustainable development of the Adriatic Sea, coasts and islands.

Trabakuls are a larger type of sailing

coaster, based on a typical Venetian hullform dating back to the 15th century.

Ranging in size, they were slow but reliable cargo carriers, uplifting from 50 to 200 tons.

The Italian maritime museum of Cesenatico has a restored and functioning example, called Barchet, which participates in summer sailing events.

In 1966 the remains of two ships were accidently found near the port of Nin — the historic seat of the Princes of Dalmatia — which were later removed and transferred to Zadar for conservation and restoration.

First mentioned and described in the 10th century as part of the medieval Croatian navy, it has since been established that these particular ships are 1,000 years old. Today, a replica of these Condura Croatica may be found at Nin, testament to Croatia’s long and proud maritime tradition.

Telegraph prize crossword The winner of this month’s cryptic crossword competition will win a copy of the book Shipwrecks of the P&O Line by Sam Warwick and Mike Roussel (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.

Shipping minister Jim Fitzpatrick has assured Nautilus that action is being taken to address shortcomings in the state of surveys of UK waters. The Union wrote to the minister after a Marine Accident Investigation Branch report on a grounding off the Orkney Islands revealed that some sea areas had not been properly surveyed for depth for more than 160 years. The Union warned of the risks posed by increasingly larger ships operating in sea areas not charted to modern standards and also raised concern that government funding for the civil hydrography programme had not been increased for 25 years. The minister told the Union that the government is acting on the MAIB recommendations, with a review of funding levels and an initiative to ensure that more hydrographic data, of a higher quality, can be gathered for the same costs The Telegraph, December 2007

THEQUIZ 1

There are presently almost 830 car carriers in the world merchant fleet. How many cars can they carry?

2

Which company has the biggest fleet of car carriers, in terms of capacity?

3

Maersk Line is Denmark’s biggest shipping company.

Which is the second largest Danish owner?

4

Which flag has chalked up the fastest growth over the past five years?

5

Panama is the world’s biggest ship register.

What percentage of world tonnage does it have on its books?

6

In which year did Cunard-White Star Line become simply Cunard Line?

J Quiz answers are on page 38.

Name: Address:

Telephone:

Membership No.:

Closing date is Friday 8 December 2017.

QUICK CLUES 1.

6.

9.

10.

12.

15.

17.

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Across Not number one (6,4) Current units (4) Highway baton races (4,6) ‘Brother’ rabbit (4) Earthquake scientist (12) Nonsense (9) Butchers’ fare (5) Stretch of water (5) Orbiter (9) Biscuit (5,7) Mine drain (4) Car restraint (6,4) Cumbrian river (4) Heavenly (10)

11.

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Down Channel Island (4) Scots lineage (4) Baby poem (7,5) Payment demands (5) Soar in price (9) Writings to right or left (10) Pretty sash fashioned for Scottish dance (10)

Odorous chemical (12) Rise in value (10) Zinc ore (10) Watchful (9) Thin pancake (5) Glade (4) Remain (4)

19.

20.

24.

CRYPTIC CLUES 1.

6.

9.

30_offwatch_SR edit.indd 30

50 YEARS AGO

10.

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Across Dandy bit of surgery then an age producing musical entertainment (5,5) Sunday with small dessert common or garden potato (4) Unremitting sappers fast to a smaller degree (10) Mountain road? Don’t know, ask me another (4) MP sharing seat with others to the fore (12) Chemical controller hidden in bin. Hi, bit ordinary (9) An ounce, single, of gas (5) About a hundred and one,

25.

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London art and design university (5) In confusion see our way to forget previous command (2,3,4) Bob’s old map is specially presented for ordnance unit (4,8) Attachment of gold to conservation group is relative (4) Out so fruit cocktail was unexpected (10) Florida ones are linked by bridges not locks (4) Having a positive view of cosmology (6-4)

Down Automobile with engine starter gets special attention (4) 2. Distance from first motorway to learner and echo (4) 3. Damaged bad stern core keels (12) 4. It carries power policy 1.

5.

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extremes over half of capital (5) Disapproving response to fruit (9) Podded projectile delivery device (10) Crumpled up, red rose did mean as much (10) Liked by many, but splitting accord spells disapproval (12) Ground — without milk, extremely dark (5-5) Chinese life force, Holy Empire and dot Cyprus brought together in palmistry (10) ‘He cannot temperately --- his honours / From where he should begin and end’ (Coriolanus) (9) Tarka, the bounder not right on top (5) Conservative study of the past, but not his (4) Accustomed to second-hand (4) Crossword answers are on page 38.

15/11/2017 16:26

December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 31

MARITIME BOOKS

Fresh perspective on naval history Women and the Royal Navy

By Jo Stanley I.B. Tauris, £20 ISBN: 978 17807 67567 to its incredibly comprehensive series of K titles telling the history of the Royal Navy with

The publishing company I.B. Tauris has added

this spirited account of the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) — showing how the RN has ‘moved light years in three decades’ towards equality and inclusion.

As the author of a previous history of women seafarers, Jo Stanley was well placed to take on the story of the WRNS and to explore some of the broader issues surrounding the experiences of the ‘Wrens’ in their evolution from port-bound cooks, clerks, telegraphists, radar plotters and mechanics to fully-fledged members of the naval service — asking some important and fundamental questions about the role of women in society.

The book goes right back to the early days of British maritime history to contextualise the development of the Navy and the pioneers of women at sea — such as Anne Chamberlayne

(1667–91) who dressed up as a boy to be able to work on naval vessels. Such women were not as rare as might be assumed, but the last recorded case of one being discovered was in 1815 — partly, Stanley suggests, because the shortage of seafarers had eased at this time.

Similar shortages prompted the formation of the WRNS 100 years ago. Three years into the Great War, the RN was suffering from the heavy losses and the demands of convoy protection work, so it was proposed that a small ancillary team of women would do a limited range of noncombatant work, focused on ports and probably staffed by the wives and daughters of naval men.

The book is full of fascinating material about the way in which decisions were made on subjects such as clothing, training, discipline, job roles and career progression.

Around 7,000 women served in the WRNS between its launch and its 1919 demobilisation, and thanks to those who ‘kept the spirit alive’ during the inter-war years, the Admiralty was quick to agree the formation of a women’s naval auxiliary service following the Munich Agreement in 1938.

The increasing pressures on the RN resulted in the

it is perhaps slightly let down by the quality of some of the 195 illustrations. Whilst the air was thick with the haze of smoke at the time, it’s a shame that the definition of a number of the pictures is somewhat fuzzy.

However, with that small gripe aside, the book is an interesting read that pays tribute to what had been an important port at an important time in the nation’s maritime history.

Return of Local nostalgia the master K of maritime for a Welsh memoir port’s 20th century heyday Swansea Docks in the 1960s

By Mark Lee Inman Amberley, £12.99 ISBN: 978 14456 65924 f www.amberley-books.com for its mining industry, and the K fortunes of Swansea Docks were

South Wales used to be famous

closely associated with the rise and fall of the coal trade.

Mark Lee Inman, who spent his early years in a home overlooking Swansea Bay, captures some of the most important years of the Swansea Docks in this 128-page book, which also marks the ‘swan song of the traditional cargo liner and tramp steamer’.

The book gives a brief breakdown of the industries that prospered and, in turn, helped Swansea move considerable volumes of general cargo — hitting a record of 5.5m tons of coal and related products in 1913 and some 8m tons of petroleum products by the 1950s.

In a nostalgic collection for both shipping and local history enthusiasts, the book also covers the wide range of ships — and their companies — which were using the docks during the 60s. But whilst the book is clearly well researched,

31_books_SR edit.indd 31

Last Voyage to Wewak

By Simon J Hall Whittles Publishing, £16.99 ISBN: 978 18499 52358 f www.whittlespublishing.com

Hard-drinking, hard-living ship’s officer Simon Hall is back for the third instalment of his acclaimed maritime memoir, and as the 1970s roll into the 1980s, he’s starting to wonder what he’s doing with his life.

‘Was I a fully functioning person, bright, educated and extremely privileged, earning a fat tax-free salary while being ferried round

gradual spread of deployment of Wrens in different roles and in different areas — although, as was the case after the First World War, many were rapidly returned to civilian life at the end of the conflict.

This time, however, the WRNS was not disbanded, and by the 1970s a review was recommending that women should serve in a wider range of jobs and their training should be more like that of the men.

By 1981, four WRNS engineering mechanics were able to serve at sea — on a two-week trial basis — onboard the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Engadine, and by the end of the 1980s another report was recommending not only that women should go to sea on noncombatant ships but also that the WRNS should merge with the Royal Navy one year later.

Built on solid research and rounded out with some excellent first-hand accounts and many wellchosen illustrations, the book is highly readable and mixes the personal and political to very good effect. There are plenty of parallels to the Merchant Navy, and in her upliftingly positive conclusion,

exotic parts of the world so that I could spend my time ordering people around? Or was I a man trapped in a strange world, undertaking arduous and sometimes dangerous work in difficult circumstances with little or no job security, away from home and without any meaningful relationship to come back to?’

It’s a dilemma that many seafarers have faced, and looking back at his younger self, today’s Simon Hall marvels at the way he used to live, combining strict shipboard discipline with wild spells in port. As with his previous books — Under a Yellow Sky and Chasing Conrad — there are salty anecdotes aplenty, but an increasing sense of loneliness and unease pervades the narrative of Last Voyage to Wewak.

We follow young Simon as he starts to realise he’s actually not quite so young now, and that others in their late 20s and 30s are building a home life of family and friends rather than carousing their way around the world. Attempts to further his career by gaining his

the author notes how the RN’s ‘exemplary equal opportunities policies and practices have also provided an inadvertent model that has helped women in commercial shipping’. g Telegraph readers can buy the book from the website www.ibtauris.com for just £14 by using the discount code NAUT17.

master’s certificate lead to a rise through the ranks to chief officer, but a command seems a distant prospect. Luckily, Simon meets his future wife Annie during this period, and this provides him with the motivation to tear himself away from seafaring and build a business career ashore — something which results in the family life and personal fulfilment he struggled to find when at sea.

To this day, though, Simon Hall still misses the maritime world that shaped him from the age of 16, and he writes movingly about the pain of loss he felt after making the decision to swallow the anchor. This is typical of Hall’s thoughtful, intelligent writing, which informs as well as entertains.

Occasional diversions into the history and culture of the places he visited as a seafarer add to the book’s value, taking it beyond a personal story almost into the realm of travel guide, and all is written in the same engaging style that characterised his previous books.

Scuba stories from the seabed Shipwrecks of the P&O Line

By Sam Warwick and Mike Roussel The History Press, £25 ISBN: 978 07509 62926 Peninsular (and Oriental) Steam K Navigation Company suffered 78 ship losses Between 1837 and 1957, the

and, as the introduction to this excellent book notes, each one of these has a special story to tell.

Well researched, nicely written and produced to high standards, the book benefits from having the fascinating perspective of the scuba diver Sam Warwick,, who has completed over 1,000 dives around the world — and whose father and grandfather were Cunard masters. There aree excellent underwater photographs of many of the wrecks, together with commentaries about diving to view them.

The authors have provided good historical context for their accounts of the losses, setting the scene with the company’s development and enriching the stories of the individual

ships with details from contemporary reports, inquiry proceedings and survivors’ testimonies. There are some remarkably powerful tales of heroism, as well as fascinating insights into the perennial causes of shipping accidents — including problems

with training, shortfalls in experience, and uncharted hazards. Particularly interesting cases are the 1904 loss of the Australia — an accident that investigations showed to be the result of the pilot’s undiagnosed diabetes affecting his vision — and the 1922 collision involving the Egypt, which resulted in a campaign for the reinstatement of the ship’s master after he was unfairly censured by a court of inquiry.

The company lost 22 ships in the First World War and a further 19 in WW2. The accounts of these casualties are starkly gripping — including the horrendous loss of more than 340 passengers and crew when Persia was torpedoed in 1915, and more than 250 lives when Rawalpindi was sunk by German battleships in 1939.

The book’s comprehensive approach to the subject extends to a series of appendices with details of shipwrecks post-P&O ownership, wreck dives and a list of all ocean-going vessels that belonged to the fleet in the period 1837 to 1961, along with a useful bibliography.

Thoroughly recommended.

Accessible advice from first-hand experience Pilot Ladder Manual: Advanced Edition

By Kevin Vallance Witherbys, £20 ISBN: 978 18560 97574 by pilots’ organisations and a K lot of work to publicise the dangers, Despite some strong lobbying

there is still extensive evidence to show a persistently significant rate of defective pilot ladders being used around the world.

Deepsea pilot Kevin Vallance has been tireless in his efforts to highlight the threats to safety, and this new book seeks to bring the message home further with detailed advice on the procedures to be followed to ensure that pilots can be transferred safely.

Using a wide array of pictures to great effect, and with punchy, concise text, this book explains the regulatory requirements and the responsibilities for all those involved in pilot transfers.

Underlined throughout are the key problems of non-compliant or defective ladders and the weak enforcement of the rules. However, Mr Vallance also points out that ‘pilots who will climb anything’ need to take their share of responsibility.

15/11/2017 16:26

32 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

NL NEWS z Heerema Marine Contractors

In this month’s Dutch pages:

Fairmount crew

z The Ondina Story remembered

z KotugSmit new CBA still in

INTERNATIONAL

z Inland waterways pension scheme

development

z Nautilus advice to members on unilateral changes in labour contracts z Social dumping of Boskalis Dutch

z Nautilus offshore seminar coming soon

reorganisation plan

z Bas Renting wins Nautilus Maritime Week

under attack

photo competition

z Sustainable employability survey

z Still no new DFS CBA

z Towards a new dredging CBA

z Nautilus present on Nova Shipowners Day

z Nautilus college visits at STC Rotterdam

Nautilus Vrouwenforum 2017: ‘Goed om met elkaar ervaringen uit te wisselen’

F

Op woensdag 6 november 2017 heeft er weer een Nautilus Vrouwenforum plaats gevonden. Een bijeenkomst voor vrouwelijke leden van Nautilus, werkzaam in de maritieme sector.

Hierbij ook aanwezig: Kitty Jong, de nieuwe vice voorzitster van de FNV. In een open en prettige sfeer werden, zoals ook de voorgaande keren, door de deelnemers diverse ervaringen van de werkvloer gedeeld. Zo kwam onder andere aan de orde dat sommigen als vrouw langer moesten wachten op een promotie dan mannelijke collega’s in dezelfde rang. Ook werd duidelijk dat vrouwelijke zeevarenden, die moeder willen worden en willen blijven varen, op veel praktische bezwaren stuiten. Naar de mening van de vrouwen zijn er, wanneer de reder daarvoor open zou staan, zeker praktische oplossingen te bedenken. Het probleem is echter dat veel reders daar niet voor

open staan en verwachten dat de vrouwelijke zeevarende stopt zodra zij moeder wordt. Hier zal dus aandacht voor moeten worden gevraagd.

Cultuur aan boord

Verder was iedereen van mening dat de cultuur aan boord vooral wordt bepaald door welk beleid de reder of kapitein uitdraagt. Wanneer een reder en kapitein goed toezien op de omgang met elkaar aan boord, leidt dit over het algemeen tot een veiligere en betere werksfeer. Ook dit punt zal Nautilus namens het Vrouwenforum onder de aandacht brengen van reders en kapiteins.

Het Vrouwenforum leidde zo ook deze keer weer tot diverse goede aanbevelingen en ideeën, waar Nautilus namens het Vrouwenforum mee aan de slag kan!

Het volgende Vrouwenforum zal worden gehouden op 8 maart 2018 op de Internationale Vrouwendag.

Geef uw mening Vorige maand vroegen wij: Bent u het eens met de Faststream research uitkomsten waarin geconcludeerd wordt dat voormalige zeevarenden vaak niet de beste leidinggevenden aan wal zijn?

Ja 71%

Bas Renting winnaar mooiste foto van de Maritime week!

A

Tweede stuurman Bas Renting mag zich de winnaar noemen van de …beste/mooiste/spannendste...

Nautilus foto! van de Maritime Week.

carrièremogelijkheden binnen de maritieme sector zijn. De activiteiten zijn bedoeld voor jongeren, maritieme bedrijven, politiek en het grote publiek.

Schip: Stadiongracht Locatie: Talleyrand Terminal Jacksonville, Florida

Maritieme sector in de spotlights

‘Van 4 tot en met 11 november 2017 vond de jaarlijkse Maritime Week plaats. Ook dit jaar weer in het teken van kennisdeling, zelf beleven én ervaren wat de opleidings- en

Tijdens deze week organiseerde de sector een breed scala aan activiteiten inzake interessante maritieme bijeenkomsten en activiteiten. Met als doel de maritieme sector zoveel mogelijk in de spotlights te krijgen en zo haar rol en de impact op economie en

Hoe solliciteer ik naar een stageplaats?

A Nee 29%

rollenspel een cao-onderhandelingstraject nagebootst. Volgens sommige leerlingen kon het salaris wel met 100 % omhoog. Anderen hielden het wat lager en begrepen dat de werkgever natuurlijk ook nog wat moet kunnen verdienen.

Hoe schrijf ik een goede sollicitatiebrief? Wie ben ik? Waar ben ik goed in? Hoe presenteer ik me in een sollicitatiegesprek?

Eind oktober was Nautilus enkele dagen te gast op de STC vestiging aan de Lloydstraat in Rotterdam om daar gastlessen te geven aan zeven MBO klassen, waarvan de leerlingen binnenkort op zoek gaan naar een stageplaats.

24/7 service vakbond

Verder werd de meerwaarde uitgelegd van het speciale studentenlidmaatschap tegen een sterk gereduceerd tarief (3,35 euro per maand, inclusief toezending van de vakbladen de Telegraph en SWZ Magazine). Dit is ook inclusief de 24/7 service die Nautilus International al zijn (studenten)leden wereldwijd biedt.

Tips en adviezen

De poll van deze maand is: Bent u van mening dat u, alles bij elkaar genomen, een goede baan heeft? Geef ons uw mening online, op nautilusint.org/nl

32-35_nl.indd 32

werkgelegenheid zichtbaar te maken.

Eén van deze activiteiten, waaraan ook Nautilus leden t/m 25 jaar mee konden doen, was: ‘Wie maakt de beste/mooiste/ spannendste…Nautilus foto…van de Maritime Week?

Iedere dag publiceerde Nederland Maritiem Land de mooiste Nautilus foto van de dag. Ook te zien op de Nautilus International sociale media. De mooiste foto van allemaal wordt nu in deze Telegraph gepubliceerd. Bas: van harte gefeliciteerd!

Dit keer waren de gastlessen speciaal afgestemd op het onderwerp ‘Hoe solliciteer ik naar een stageplaats?’ Want zoals bekend zijn er op dit moment meer studenten op zoek naar een stageplaats, dan dat er stageplaatsen zijn. ‘Dus is het zaak je goed voor te bereiden en je goed te profileren en te verkopen in zo’n sollicitatiegesprek?’, aldus Nautilus communicatie adviseur Hans Walthie tijdens de gastlessen.

Via rollenspelen en het reageren op elkaars sterke en zwakke punten kregen de studenten tal van tips en

adviezen aangereikt om straks het daadwerkelijke gesprek aan te gaan.

Rollenspel cao-onderhandeling

Tevens werd kort ingegaan op waar een vakbond voor staat en gaat. En werd eveneens via een

Nautilus Stagewijzer

Na afloop kregen de studenten de nieuwe Nautilus stagewijzer uitgereikt. Hierin een aantal tips en adviezen. g Opvraagbaar via: infonl@nautilusint.org

15/11/2017 16:28

December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 33

NL NEWS

Blijft de verplicht gestelde pensioenregeling voor de Rijn- en Binnenvaart nog bestaan? hebben wij uitgelegd wat de F situatie is met betrekking tot het In een vorige Telegraph

behoud van de verplichtstelling van de lopende pensioenregeling in de Rijn- en Binnenvaart. Geldt deze pensioenregeling na 2020 nog steeds voor alle werknemers in de Nederlandse binnenvaart of niet?

We hebben toen ook gevraagd aan werknemers in de binnenvaart dit met hun werkgever te bespreken en van het gesprek een korte samenvatting te sturen naar infoNL@nautilusint.org.

Binnenvaartbestuurder Carl Kraijenoord: ‘Hierop is niet massaal gereageerd, maar we hebben desalniettemin toch iets bereikt in het gesprek met de werkgeversorganisaties. Inmiddels hebben de vakbonden (Nautilus en CNV) met hen een overeenkomst ondertekend, waarin de sociale partners zich committeren aan een tweetal onderzoeken.’

Representativiteit werkgevers verhogen

Het eerste onderzoek is gericht op het representativiteitscijfer van het georganiseerd bedrijfsleven (werkgevers onder de werkingssfeer) in de binnenvaart. Het resultaat hiervan moet nog dit jaar worden opgeleverd.

Het tweede onderzoek strekt zich uit over de beantwoording van een aantal onderzoeksvragen. Deze onderzoeksvragen zijn gericht op mogelijkheden om de representativiteit te kunnen verhogen, waarmee een verplichtstelling weer in beeld komt.

Extern bureau

Wat Nautilus betreft, zal ook het laatste onderzoek dit jaar nog worden opgestart. De sociale partners zullen hierover binnenkort weer in overleg gaan om een extern bureau te kiezen die de verschillende activiteiten in werking gaat stellen.

Wij zullen hierover later weer informatie verstrekken.

Volg ons op Twitter Wij hebben Facebook.

Volg ons ook!

Bezoek www.nautilusint.org

Offshore Leden: denk en praat mee over onze Offshore Conferentie Nautilus/FNV Waterbouw een F grote Offshore Conferentie. Graag

van de Offshore Olie en Gas als van de Offshore Wind.

bereiden wij die voor met onze leden, werkzaam in de Offshore. Wat houdt u bezig als werknemer in de Offshore?

Wat kunnen wij als bond voor u doen? Wat is er in de sector niet goed geregeld? Welke onderwerpen vindt u interessant voor de conferentie?

Wat voor sprekers zou u graag horen?

Heeft u suggesties voor een passende locatie?

De dag staat zowel in het teken

Brainstorm mee op 16 januari

In maart 2018 organiseert

32-35_nl.indd 33

Op 16 januari 2018 willen wij graag met onze leden uit de offshore brainstormen over de conferentie.

Wilt u meepraten? Meld u dan alvast aan bij: infonl@nautilusint.org g Ook als u niet kunt komen, maar wel ideeën of suggesties heeft, dan horen wij dat graag per mail van u: infonl@nautilusint.org

Even stilstaan en weer doorgaan bij cao onderhandelingen KotugSmit A

De havensleepbedrijven van Smit (Harbour Towage Rotterdam) en Kotug (Harbour Towage Rotterdam) zijn in 2016 samengegaan in één havensleepdienst onder de naam KotugSmit (Towage Rotterdam). In december 2016 zijn de vakbonden en werkgever het eens geworden over de doelstelling om van de 3 arbeidsvoorwaardenpakketten te komen tot 1 geïntegreerd pakket in een cao die voor alle varende medewerkers gaat gelden. Dit is een lang en moeizaam proces! Hierover wordt regelmatig een update gegeven in de Telegraph.

Op 26 september en 3 oktober 2017 hebben de vakbonden FNV Havens en Nautilus International gezamenlijke ledenbijeenkomsten gehouden. Deze waren al voor de zomerperiode gepland en bedoeld om iedereen weer mondeling bij te praten over het cao-proces. In de aanloop naar deze bijeenkomsten werd het aan de onderhandelingstafel steeds duidelijker dat een besluit van de cao partijen, over hoeveel weken opkomen per jaar en over het aantal betaalde werkuren per dag, een hele belangrijke stap in de goede richting zou zijn.

Duidelijk mandaat

Tijdens de ledenbijeenkomsten hebben de bonden dit voorgelegd om te vernemen wat bespreekbaar zou zijn. Hieruit bleek dat het voorstel van de werkgever, namelijk 24 weken opkomen en 12 betaalde werkuren per dag, voor de leden onbespreekbaar was. Heel duidelijk werd aangegeven dat 23 weken opkomen en 13 betaalde werkuren per dag de basis voor 100% salaris moet worden. Een duidelijker mandaat kon niet worden afgegeven!

Aangezien op 4 oktober 2017 opnieuw een onderhandelingsronde met de werkgever zou plaatsvinden, werd door de leden meteen de opdracht aan de delegaties meegegeven om van

oktober 2017 ontvingen de vakbonden een brief van de werkgever waarin hij met woorden als ‘toekomstbestendig’, ‘op de markt afgestemd’ en ‘bedrijfscijfers die onder druk staan’ afstand nam van de eerder getoonde toenaderingen.

Het leek op terug onderhandelen. Tijdens het overleg bleek ook dat de werkgever nog niet klaar was met het rekenwerk en wilde hij voorafgaand aan het rooster van 2018 een garantie voor interne flexibiliteit bij het inplannen van de vlootmedewerkers. Dit klonk als het laten voorduren van de ‘flexweken’, die we juist hadden afgeschaft! ‘ Vloot teleurgesteld en boos

deze onderhandelingsronde liefst dezelfde dag verslag te doen. Zij wilden niet alleen betrokken zijn door informatie maar zelf ook een bijdrage kunnen leveren.

Brief aan werkgever namens alle vlootmedewerkers

Op 4 oktober hield de werkgever vast aan 24 weken per jaar en 12 uren per dag als uitgangspunt voor 100% salaris. Alle argumenten van de bonden voor een andere keuze ten spijt. De bonden hadden dan ook geen andere boodschap voor het verslag aan de leden. Toen op de vloot bekend werd hoe de vlag van de werkgever erbij hing, werd de teleurstelling hierover omgezet in boosheid. Dit resulteerde in een brief namens alle vlootmedewerkers aan de werkgever dat vanaf vrijdagmorgen tot maandagmorgen door alle ploegen werd stilgestaan bij deze stand van zaken.

Gedurende deze overdenking zou er wel worden gewerkt, maar binnen de vaar- en rusttijden (rustblokken) zoals in de lopende cao overeengekomen.

Als door een wesp gestoken

Nautilus bestuurder en cao-

onderhandelaar Carl Kraijenoord: ‘De werkgever reageerde als door een wesp gestoken! Dit betekende zeker 20% capaciteitsverlies en ontevreden klanten die mogelijk zouden afhaken. Na ampel overleg tussen werkgever en bonden werd afgesproken om op 11 oktober verder te onderhandelen… met 23 weken opkomen per jaar en 13 betaalde werkuren per dag als basis en enig uitgangspunt voor een 100% salaris! Tijdens dit overleg op 11 oktober heeft de werkgever zijn berekeningen en ideeën over verdere integratie toegelicht. De vakbonden hadden hierop nogal wat aan te merken. De vergelijking van beloning tussen aan de ene kant SmitCrew (SC) en de andere kant Kotug (KHTR) is ook een complex verhaal. De eerste heeft meer vaste- en de tweede veel variabele en prestatieafhankelijke looncomponenten.

Vakbonden hechten aan een grote zorgvuldigheid bij het kijken naar de huidige lonen van SC en KHTR en de nieuwe salaristabel voor de toekomst.

Uiteindelijk zouden we hier aan beide kanten nog verder rekenen en de resultaten in het volgende overleg met elkaar delen.

De avond voorafgaand aan het volgende cao-overleg op 25

‘De vloot was wederom teleurgesteld en boos over de getoonde houding van de werkgever. Dit werd verwoord in een mail aan de directie met de mededeling dat zij (opnieuw) zouden stilstaan bij het cao-proces en hun arbeidsvoorwaarden.

Hierop reageerde de werkgever met de uitleg dat het allemaal op een misverstand berustte en ‘23/13 zonder Flex’ ook bij de werkgever wel degelijk de basis vormde voor 100% salaris. Dit is nogmaals bevestigd door de werkgever in een gesprek met de vakbonden en OR-vertegenwoordigers van zowel SHTR als KHTR op 30 oktober 2017.’

Echte slepers

Carl Kraijenoord tenslotte: ‘Onze gezamenlijke onderhandelingsdelegatie vindt het geweldig dat onze achterban zo de betrokkenheid toont.

Daarmee werd een belangrijke bijdrage geleverd aan het vlottrekken van de onderhandelingen. Maar ja, wat kan je ook anders verwachten? Het blijven toch ‘echte slepers’! In de komende onderhandelingsronden buigen we ons over de vraag welke beloningstabel past bij een nieuwe cao voor alle vlootmedewerkers in dienst bij KotugSmit. Wordt vervolgd.’

Remembering: the Ondina Story, 11 november 1942 A Op 11 november 1942 werden de Nederlandse tanker Ondina en de Brits-Indische mijnenveger HMIS Bengal in de Indische Oceaan aangevallen door de Japanse raiders Hokoku Maru en Aikoku Maru.

In verband met het feit dat dit zeegevecht 75 jaar geleden plaatsvond, vond 11 november jongstleden in de loods van de Stichting NDSM-Herleeft in Amsterdam Noord de tentoonstelling ‘Remembering: the Ondina Story, 11 november 1942’ plaats.

Deze tentoonstelling ging over de bouw van de tanker Ondina in Amsterdam Noord (1939). Ook wordt de geschiedenis van de HMIS Bengal en de Japanse raiders Hokoku Maru en Aikoku Maru belicht. De opdracht die de Ondina in 1943 kreeg om in de Exmouth

Gulf Amerikaanse onderzeeërs van brandstof te voorzien en het aandeel van de Ondina in ‘the route to victory’ in 1944-1945 kwamen tevens aan bod.

Kleine tentoonstellingen op zeevaartscholen

Ook zijn er nog twee kleinere

tentoonstellingen te bezoeken op twee zeevaartscholen: de STC-Group in Rotterdam en het MIWB op Terschelling. g Zie ook: stc-group.nl In de vitrine in het MIWB is een mini-expositie over dit zeegevecht ingericht.

Op beide scholen kan men

na toestemming van de school de tentoonstelling bezoeken; de tentoonstellingen zijn tijdens de schooltijden geopend.

Deze tentoonstellingen duren nog tot 5 mei 2018.

(Afbeelding: MS Ondina in olieverf door Fred Boom.)

15/11/2017 17:12

34 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

NL NEWS

Volg ons op Twitter

Boskalis dumpt Nederlandse Fairmount bemanning

Akkoord over nieuwe cao’s Handelsvaart A (VWH) en Spliethoff delegaties van Nautilus, de VWH F en Spliethoff, na maanden intensief In oktober 2017 is tussen

onderhandelen, overeenstemming bereikt over een nieuwe eenjarige CAO voor werknemers op schepen in de Handelsvaart (VWH CAO) en bij Spliethoff. Looptijd: van 1 april 2017 t/m 31 maart 2018.

Loonstijging en werkgelegenheidspact

Cao-onderhandelaars Sascha Meijer en Marcel van Dam: ‘Ondanks de magere tijden in de Koopvaardij denken wij een redelijk resultaat te hebben behaald voor onze leden. Wij spraken een loonsverhoging af van 1,5% per 1 januari 2018 en een werkgelegenheidspact voor Nederlandse zeevarenden. Ook is er een stevig commitment afgesproken voor de plaatsing van alle Nederlandse stagiairs in de sector.

Duurzame inzetbaarheid

Verder gaan Nautilus en de reders bouwen aan een fonds en een pool om generatiepacten in betere tijden mogelijk te maken. Alles in het kader van ‘gezond werkend ouder worden’ in de zeevaart. Maar ook om zorg en arbeid beter te kunnen combineren.’

Extra vakbondsverlof

Het vakbondsverlof voor bestuurs- en kaderleden van Nautilus International wordt verhoogd naar 5 dagen per jaar.

Een ander onderwerp is de reductie van contant geld aan boord wegens een combinatie van veiligheidsaspecten en hoge kosten bij cash opnames.

Ledenraadpleging sectorcao VWH

Op 10 november heeft Nautilus een ledenvergadering Handelsvaart gehouden op de Inspiratieboot in Amersfoort.

Sascha Meijer: ‘Wij hebben de leden geïnformeerd over het onderhandelingsresultaat voor de sectorcao. Iedereen heeft zijn vragen kunnen stellen. Waarna de leden van Nautilus hebben het cao resultaat hebben goedgekeurd. Wat Nautilus betreft, kan hiermee deze cao definitief worden vastgesteld en kunnen wij samen met de reders overgaan tot aanmelding van de cao bij het ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid. Evenals tot aanvraag van algemeen verbindend verklaring van de sectorcao VWH.’ Ledenraadpleging cao Spliethoff

De respons van leden bij Spliethoff op het onderhandelingsresultaat is tot nu toe erg gering. Vandaar dat wij deze ledengroep thans voor alle zekerheid nog schriftelijk polsen.

Voorbereidingen nieuwe cao beginnen alweer…

Aangezien de overeengekomen cao slechts voor 1 jaar geldt, zal Nautilus begin 2018 al weer starten met de voorbereidingen voor een nieuwe cao per 1 april 2018.

g Indien u input heeft voor

dit traject kunt u nu al contact met ons opnemen via infonl@nautilusint.org

Nog altijd geen nieuwe cao voor de werknemers van DFS van de Koninklijke F Scheepsagentuur Dirkzwager

DFS is een bedrijfsonderdeel

BV dat 24/7 informatie verstrekt over in- en uitgaande schepen en daarnaast nog vele informatieve en ondersteunende diensten verleend.

Onzekerheid troef

Bijna twee jaren wordt hier inmiddels al onderhandeld over een nieuwe cao. Een cao die per 1 januari 2016 zou moeten ingaan, maar waarover nog altijd geen overeenstemming is

bereikt. Nautilus bestuurder en cao-onderhandelaar Daan Troost: ‘Als een rode draad loopt het ouderenbeleid door de gesprekken over een nieuwe cao. Een forse aanpassing van het ouderenbeleid is de voornaamste oorzaak, dat het zo lang duurt. Met als goede tweede het niet uitbetalen van de jaarlijkse anciënniteitsverhoging. Binnenkort beraden onze leden zich opnieuw over het laatste voorstel van de werkgever. De uitkomst is vooralsnog onzeker.’

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 Philip Johnston T: +44 (0)20 7324 2727 E: philip.johnston@redactive.co.uk

32-35_nl.indd 34

Medio 2016 kondigde Boskalis als onderdeel van de zogenaamde vlootrationalisatie aan dat de Nederlandse bemanningsleden bij dochteronderneming Fairmount Marine zouden worden omgeruild voor ‘lage lonen landers’. Zij zouden ‘te duur’ zijn.

Echter na een aantal acties voor de poort van het Boskalis hoofdkantoor en op de Fairmount Glacier in de haven van Aberdeen besloot de Boskalis directie de maatregel tot eind 2017 op te schorten. En tevens om in deze periode te bekijken of de Fairmount activiteiten ‘financieel gezien te verbeteren zouden zijn’.

Echter medio oktober 2017 besloot de Boskalis directie, met instemming van de OR, deze

Nut en noodzaak niet aangetoond

ingrijpende reorganisatiemaatregel toch door te gaan voeren. De magere

financiële resultaten zouden volgens Boskalis hiertoe aanleiding geven.

Nautilus bestuurder Marcel van Dam: ‘Boskalis heeft ons laten weten dat tussen nu en medio 2019 de Nederlandse bemanning zal worden vervangen door ‘lage lonen landers’, ingehuurd door het uitzendbureau Anglo Eastern. Echter nut en noodzaak wenst Boskalis ons niet aan te tonen. Ook de bemanningsleden van Fairmount weigert men informatie hierover. Onze leden bij Fairmount hebben nu de OR gesommeerd de betreffende financiële stukken, waaruit dit alles zou moeten blijken, in te zien. Mocht de OR niet over de brug komen, gaan we naar de rechter. Ook sluiten we acties niet uit. Daarover gaan we binnenkort met onze leden weer in gesprek.’

Brief Fairmount bemanning aan Boskalis OR bemanning, ondersteund door F Nautilus, wordt onder meer gesteld: In de brief van de Fairmount

‘Wij hebben begrepen dat u als OR per kwartaal bent geïnformeerd over de financiële situatie bij Fairmount. De werknemers zijn echter tussentijds nooit door u geïnformeerd, maar moesten aan het einde van het traject van de werkgever horen dat het niet gelukt

is om de Fairmount activiteiten financieel gezien voldoende te verbeteren. Bovendien vernamen wij dat u als OR inmiddels uw goedkeuring heeft gegeven aan het besluit van werkgever om gefaseerd afscheid te nemen de werknemers van Fairmount.

Nu zowel de afspraak, die u vorig jaar heeft gemaakt alswel uw besluit om akkoord te gaan met de aanpak

van werkgever grote gevolgen heeft, willen wij van u alle relevante informatie ontvangen, waarop uw besluit tot goedkeuring gebaseerd is.’

Vlak voor het ter perse gaan van dit nummer nodigde Boskalis ons uit om een afspraak te maken inzake een nadere toelichting over de Fairmount reorganisatie.

Boskalis: ‘Tijdens dit gesprek zullen wij u een toelichting geven op ons besluit om de posities van de Nederlandse crewbezetting vanaf 1 januari 2018 gefaseerd in anderhalf jaar te laten vervallen.

Daarnaast zullen wij u inzicht bieden in de gegevens (operationeel en financieel) die tot dit besluit hebben geleid.’

Reorganisatie offshore aannemingsbedrijf Heerema Marine Contractors heeft op 24 oktober jongstleden A een aankondiging gedaan dat zij

vindt inmiddels overleg plaats over de noodzaak van de inkrimping en de inhoud van het sociaal plan. Heerema hoopt dit proces voor eind van dit jaar te hebben afgewikkeld. Met de beëindiging van de dienstverbanden zal dan -volgens plan van Heeremabegin 2018 worden begonnen. Voor Nautilus staat, naast het treffen van een goede financiële regeling, de begeleiding van werk naar werk voorop om de consequenties van het ontslag zo veel mogelijk te beperken.

Het uiteindelijke sociaal plan zal ter goedkeuring aan de leden worden voorgelegd.

Heerema Marine Contractors

het voornemen heeft om te gaan reorganiseren. Gedwongen ontslagen zijn hierbij helaas onvermijdelijk.

Heerema is wereldwijd actief als maritieme aannemer in de internationale offshore olie -en gasindustrie en transporteert, installeert en verwijdert offshore installaties. Dit doet Heerema met behulp van half afzinkbare kraanschepen en diepwaterconstructieschepen.

Van 4 naar 3 werkschepen

Nautilus bestuurder Marcel van Dam: ‘De oorzaak van de reorganisatie is een gevolg van de aanhoudende lage olie- en gasprijsprijs en de daaruit uitvloeiende moeilijke marktcondities. Door de lage olie- en gasprijs blijven investeringen in de olie- na gasindustrie achter. Dit heeft zijn weerslag op de orderportefeuille van Heerema. Door gebrek aan werk voor de diepwater constructieschepen Balder en de Aegir is het voornemen om de Balder begin 2019 te slopen.

De Hermod is eerder dit jaar naar de sloop gebracht in China. In 2019 wordt het nieuwe kraanschip de Sleipnir opgeleverd. Dit houdt in dat er van 4 naar 3 werkschepen wordt gegaan,

Werken aan Werk

waardoor er per saldo arbeidsplaatsen komen te vervallen op kantoor en op de vloot.’

te vervallen, waarvan het merendeel op het hoofdkantoor in Leiden.

Op de vloot verdwijnen circa 50 arbeidsplaatsen.

Verlies van 50 arbeidsplaatsen op de vloot

Sociaal plan

Als gevolg van de voorgenomen reorganisatie zullen naar schatting ongeveer 200 arbeidsplaatsen wereldwijd op de kantoren van Heerema Marine Contractors komen

Heerema heeft inmiddels een adviesaanvraag tot reorganisatie ingediend bij de ondernemingsraad.

Met Nautilus, het Verenigd Offshore Collectief en andere betrokken bonden

Hierbij kan ook een beroep worden gedaan op persoonlijk begeleiding en training van: Werken aan Werk, een initiatief van Nautilus en FNV om mensen die ontslagen zijn of worden op te vangen, te begeleiden en te trainen om zo spoedig mogelijk weer aan de slag te komen.

g Meer info: www.fnv.nl/ werkenaanwerk

g Of neem contact op met onze

speciale Nautilus trajectadviseur Jelle de Boer. Email: jdeboer@ nautilusint.org

15/11/2017 16:34

December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 35

NL NEWS

‘Werkgevers moeten investeren in vakmensen en goede arbeidsverhoudingen’ Onderhandelingen nieuwe CAO en Buitenlandovereenkomst februari 2018 van start onderhandelingen voor de F cao Waterbouw en aansluitend die In februari 2018 starten de

voor de Buitenlandovereenkomst.

Het cao-jaar 2018 wordt daarmee een belangrijk en cruciaal jaar. Dan moet namelijk duidelijk worden of werkgevers in de Waterbouw bereid zijn werkelijk te investeren in werknemers en in goede arbeidsverhoudingen.

Goed werk en een goed inkomen

FNV Waterbouw voorzitter Charley Ramdas: ‘Dat investeren zal tot uitdrukking moeten komen in de nieuwe cao en de nieuwe buitenlandovereenkomst, die beiden gericht moeten zijn op de toekomst. Als FNV Waterbouw kiezen we voor investeren in vakmensen en in goede arbeidsverhoudingen. Maar daarnaast zullen werknemers, met name leden van de vakbond, in 2018 hun deel van de groei in de sector ook terug willen zien op hun salarisstrook. Onze inzet was en is ‘goed werk en een goed inkomen’.

Die lijn willen wij graag voortzetten. Ons uitgangspunt is dat werknemers evenredig meedelen in de economische vooruitgang van de sector. We zijn dan ook zeer benieuwd hoeveel geld werkgevers in de sector Waterbouw volgend jaar gemiddeld beschikbaar hebben voor het geheel aan verbeteringen in de cao en in de Buitenlandovereenkomst.

Gegeven de verwachtingen van de bedrijvigheid in de sector en rekening houdend met wat de prijzen in 2018 zullen doen, gaan we als de bond uit van een behoorlijke looneis.’

Vast contract

Ramdas: ‘Daarnaast vinden wij dat werkgevers moeten investeren in vakmensen met een vast contract in plaats van hen te verruilen voor werknemers uit lage lonen landen.

Ook willen wij inzetten op een eerlijke verdeling van werk via Generatiepact afspraken.

Doel van dergelijke afspraken is dat oudere werknemers minder gaan werken, waardoor meer jongeren de kans krijgen de sector in te stromen.’

Januari ledenvergaderingen

‘Maar wij horen graag van al onze leden wat zij belangrijk vinden.

Daarom wil FNV Waterbouw zoveel mogelijk (potentiële ) leden betrekken bij het denken en mee beslissen over de komende onderhandelingen. Zowel over de concrete wensen en keuzes voor de cao als over de buitenlandovereenkomst. En vooral ook over het realiseren van vakbondskracht om die wensen waar te kunnen maken. In januari 2018 zullen wij ledenvergaderingen organiseren waar onze leden hun mening kunnen geven. Binnenkort gaan we onze leden daarover informeren’, aldus Charley Ramdas.

Digitale enquête

Tevens worden alle FNV Waterbouw leden binnenkort in de gelegenheid gesteld om hun mening via een ( digitale) enquête aan de bond kenbaar te maken.

Samen staan we sterk: voor uw inkomen en werk!

Charley Ramdas tenslotte: ‘Zoals hierboven al vermeld wordt 2018 een cruciaal jaar voor de nieuwe cao/buitenlandovereenkomst. Het zal niet vanzelfsprekend gaan om tot goede afspraken met de werkgevers te komen. Daarom roepen wij al onze leden op massaal met ons de inzet voor de onderhandelingen vast te stellen.

Maar zeker zo belangrijk: om vierkant achter uw vakbondsonderhandelaar te staan.

Immers: ‘Samen staan we sterk: voor uw inkomen en werk!’

Nautilus succesvol aanwezig op Bedrijvendag Nova College A

Op woensdag 11 oktober kwamen 155 eerste- en tweedejaars MBO studenten van het Nova College in IJmuiden en Harlingen op de vestiging IJmuiden bijeen voor de 2e editie van de bedrijvendag. Dit jaarlijkse evenement is bedoeld om studenten kennis te laten maken met een aantal rederijen. En ze hiermee tevens alvast voor te bereiden op het 1e contact bij het zoeken naar een stage.

Nautilus bestuurder Maarten Keuss en stagiair Renko Renaud waren — met de Nautilus stand — ook van de partij.

Wakker worden

Het Nova College introduceerde de bedrijvendag vorig jaar voor het eerst. Na veel positieve reacties van zowel studenten als rederijen besloot de school er nu een jaarlijks evenement van te maken. Directeur Arjan Nieuwenhuizen was dit jaar wederom erg positief over de dag: ‘De bedrijvendag geeft studenten de kans tijdig kennis te laten maken met de rederijen. Hierdoor is er bijvoorbeeld een verhoogde kans voor hen op een stageplek en ontstaat er een beter beeld van wat er van onze studenten verwacht wordt.’ Nieuwenhuizen gaf aan dat ‘je als school een voorbeeldfunctie hebt en daarom initiatieven als de bedrijvendag moet toejuichen’. ‘Wij moeten er voor zorgen dat onze studenten straks functioneren als professionele jongvolwassenen. Dit soort dagen zorgen ervoor dat studenten eerder beginnen met nadenken over bijvoorbeeld het vinden van een stageplek…dat ze wakker worden dus!’

Persoonlijk kennis maken

Volgens eerstejaars studente Maritiem Officier alle schepen, Robin Dussel, was deze bedrijvendag een uitgelezen kans om persoonlijk kennis te maken met de rederijen.

Ze is dan ook erg blij dat een dergelijk evenement aangeboden wordt door de school.

‘Op deze manier is het voor mij heel makkelijk inzicht te krijgen in de verschillende rederijen. Wat weer helpt met de keuzes die ik later

moet maken. Alle studenten zouden deze mogelijkheid moeten hebben’, concludeert ze.

deze manier kunnen we alle vragen het best beantwoorden. Dat is belangrijk, want stagiairs zijn de toekomst’ vertelt Liz.

Stagiairs zijn de toekomst

Stagewijs met de Nautilus stagewijzer

Op de bedrijvendag waren vertegenwoordigers van acht rederijen aanwezig, waaronder de HAL, Spliethoff en Wagenborg. Allen hielden ook bedrijfspresentaties en waren na afloop enthousiast over de geslaagde dag.

‘Het is belangrijk dat studenten de juiste informatie krijgen’, stelt kapitein Menno van der Groen van Wagenborg . Wij hebben er daarom ook voor gekozen twee medewerkers in te zetten op deze dag. Van der Groen is aanwezig voor de technische- en praktische vragen, terwijl Jr. Crewmanager Liz van Dijk de focus legde op de algemenere vragen. ‘Op

Bij de Nautilus-stand konden studenten terecht voor informatie over de bond en kregen zij antwoord op allerlei vragen.

Studenten ontvingen ook de nieuwe Nautilus Stagewijzer. Hierin staan tips die studenten op weg helpen met het zoeken, kiezen en benaderen van een stagebedrijf. Op deze manier hoopt Nautilus de studenten een duwtje in de rug te geven en… om een beetje stagewij(zer) te worden.

Wij hebben Facebook.

Volg ons ook!

Bezoek www.nautilusint.org

g De stagewijzer is gratis op te vragen via infoNL@nautilusint.org

Contributie 2018 Flicht te verhogen.

De Council van Nautilus International heeft besloten om de contributie

Hieronder vindt u de per 1 januari 2018 geldende contributiebedragen:

Nautilus staat voor u klaar Eenzijdige wijziging van de arbeidsovereenkomst

In economische mindere tijden ontvangen wij van leden nogal eens een brief waarin de werkgever voorstelt om bepaalde arbeidsvoorwaarden, al dan niet tijdelijk, in te leveren. In de voorstellen van de werkgever wordt dan meestal gekort op het loon en worden andere vaar-/verlofschema’s voorgesteld.

Meestal wordt dan voorgesteld langer te varen en korter thuis te zijn.

Korter aan boord en langer thuis?

Maar het kan ook anders: namelijk korter aan boord en langer thuis.

De vraag die dan door onze leden wordt gesteld, is dan altijd: ‘Mag dit wel?’ Om dit te kunnen beoordelen,

32-35_nl.indd 35

moeten wij kijken naar de situatie van de betreffende leden. Is er bijvoorbeeld een cao van toepassing?

Of is bij het betreffende bedrijf een ondernemingsraad (OR).

instemt. Uiteraard kan dit alleen als er een OR bij het betreffende bedrijf is. Een OR moet bij bedrijven met 50 werknemers of meer worden opgericht.

Cao:

Geen cao of OR:

Als er een cao van toepassing is, dan kan de werkgever geen eenzijdige wijziging aanbrengen. In de meeste cao’s is een artikel opgenomen over hoe gehandeld moet worden indien er sociale of economische omstandigheden zodanig wijzigen dat de cao aangepast moet worden.

In dat geval is er uitsluitend sprake van een individuele arbeidsovereenkomst.

In principe mag er niet eenzijdig van deze overeenkomst afgeweken worden. Er zijn echter wel uitzonderingen. Zo zou dit wel mogen bij een zwaarwegend bedrijfsbelang. Het is altijd lastig om te beoordelen of er sprake is van een zwaarwegend bedrijfsbelang.

En om discussie hierover te vermijden, wordt vaak een voorstel gedaan door de werkgever.

OR:

Zoals in de aanhef staat, wordt ook vaak voorgesteld om het rooster te wijzigen. Roosterwijzigingen kunnen alleen indien de OR hiermee

Neem altijd contact op met Nautilus

Als het voorstel door de werknemer wordt aanvaard, dan is het een rechtsgeldige wijziging. Wij willen onze leden dan ook adviseren om bij een dergelijk voorstel van de werkgever een beroep te doen op Nautilus. Wij kunnen dan controleren of het voorstel aan alle vereisten, die de wet hieraan stelt, voldoet. Helaas zien wij vaak dat er al getekend is, alvorens de leden bij ons komen. De reden dat men achteraf bij ons komt, ligt dan gelegen in het feit dat vaak iets anders is toegezegd, dan op papier wordt vermeld. g Neem voor advies altijd eerst contact op met Nautilus: infonl@nautilusint.org of, tel.: +31 (0) 10 4771 188.

Categorie

Contributie per maand

23 jaar en ouder < € 3.000

€18,50

23 jaar en ouder > € 3.000

€20,70

Onder 23 jaar

€14,35

aspirant (incl. swz)

€3,45

Pensioen

€8,00

Werkeloos

€8,00

Arbeidsongeschikt

€8,00

bg lid

€9,00

leden walgroep < 30 uur

€9,70

Het maandblad SWZ kost € 2,95 per maand.

Aan onze leden die hun contributie betalen via een automatische incasso laten we hierbij weten dat de maandelijkse contributie rond de vijfde van elke maand zal worden afgeschreven van hun bankrekening.

15/11/2017 16:30

36 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

APPOINTMENTS Inspector Training and Accreditation Manager Oil Companies InternaƟonal Marine Forum

ISM Compliance Officer • •

Full time, Permanent Position based at our offices close to Rochester, Kent Salary and package based on experience with potential of an immediate start

About us GPS Marine is one of the leading Tug Operators on the River Thames with an operating fleet of 12 tugs trading in the Thames / Medway and in NW Europe.

Thorough implementation of the ISM code is a critical part of our development programme and we are currently seeking an ISM Compliance Officer to oversee this process throughout the fleet and ashore.

About the role Reporting to the Managing Director, the successful candidate will have the key responsibility of developing the Safety Management System and overseeing its implementation across the fleet. This is a challenging and exciting position which will include the verification and monitoring of operational, safety and pollution prevention activities for each vessel.

The successful applicant should hold a minimum of a Master or Chief Mate’s Certificate of Competency (STCW II/2 less than 3,000GT) or equivalent marine qualification and at least 2 years on board experience of the ISM Code and its implementation. The applicant should also hold a valid UK driving licence.

Applications to: Michele Steadman, michele@gpsmarine.co.uk DEADLINE: APPLICATIONS TO BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN TUESDAY 2ND JANUARY 2018 GPS Marine Contractors Ltd. GPS Marine House, Upnor Road, Lower Upnor, Rochester, Kent ME2 4UY

Do you have significant shore-based managerial experience with tanker operations and/or chartering, following at least 5 years at sea on board tankers as a qualified senior officer? Combined with working experience of producing and delivering technical and training presentations to culturally diverse groups….

If so, and you are seeking a new challenge, this job opportunity may be of interest to you.

OCIMF Ship Inspection Reports (SIRE) and Offshore Vessels Inspection Database (OVID) are inspection tools providing large databases of information about vessels. These web-based programmes are relied upon industry-wide to provide vessel quality data enabling the selection of safe and environmentally responsible vessels.

The high professional quality and integrity of the inspectors and inspection process is crucial to maintaining confidence in SIRE and OVID. You would have responsibility for this critical activity, including ensuring the ongoing educational improvement, effectiveness and ethical integrity of the inspectors we accredit to conduct SIRE and OVID inspections. You would develop course content, deliver training, devise exam papers, line manage two inspector application/course organiser administrators and regularly travel internationally to deliver training against a pre-planned annual course schedule.

This is a rare and exciting opportunity to join OCIMF, a world renowned safety and technical NGO. For more information about OCIMF, visit www.OCIMF.org.

Visit https://www.ocimf.org/organisation/recruitment/ for a full job description, including the essential criteria for the role, and instructions to apply. The close date is Thursday 30th November 2017 with interviews planned for the 12th–15th December. OCIMF does not have a licence to sponsor migrant workers, so applicants must be able to prove their eligibility to work in the UK. OCIMF’s mission is to be the foremost authority on the safe and environmentally responsible operation of oil tankers, terminals and offshore support vessels, promoting continuous improvement in standards of design and operation.

FLEETWOOD NAUTICAL CAMPUS - CELEBRATING 125 YEARS

with a long established reputation for being a leading provider of training to the Maritime industry.

MARITIME COURSES 2/E, C/E UNLIMITED COC PREPARATION FOR HNC/D HOLDERS: 2018 | 05 Feb | 29 May VTS OPERATOR - INDUCTION AND SIMULATOR (2 WEEKS): 2018 | 19 Mar | 2 July VTS REFRESHER: 2018 | 13 Mar | 26 Jun MASTERS ORALS: 2018 | 15 Jan | 5 Mar | 8 May | 25 June HND TO CHIEF MATE: 2018 | 15, 22 Jan | 8 May POST FD CHIEF MATE ORALS PREPARATION: 2018 | 15 Jan | 5 Mar | 8 May | 25 June CHIEF MATE UNLIMITED: 2018 | 15 Jan | 8 May FOR MORE INFORMATION E maritime@blackpool.ac.uk T 01253 504 800 W blackpool.ac.uk/nautical

WWW.BLACKPOOL.AC.UK If you are interested in working at Fleetwood Nautical Campus, call 01253 50(4760) to register your interest or for information on current vacancies.

Nautilus recruitment.indd 36

14/11/2017 14:48

December 2017 | 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.

CV Professionals

Join us in bringing knowledge, help and hope to the nations!

For details visit www.omships.org or email: recruiting@omships.org

8 December 2017 is the closing date for January 2018.

You can still advertise online at any time.

Maritime & oσshore specialists

OM Ships, a worldwide worl charity, is looking for qualified engineering engin officers, mechanics, fitters fitte and welders to volunteer to serve ser on their ship Logos Hope which is presently in the Far East.

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TANKER SEAGOING

CRUISE SHOREBASED

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Technical Superintendent

$10.8K/mth on contract 3/3 rotations

USA - $100K

Captain/Engineer Chef/ Stew Couple

ETO - Oil/Chemical/LNG

Refurbishment Superintendent

90ft+ MY - Europe - €10K

£35-40K + Bens

UK - £65K

2nd Engineer - LNG

Marine Superintendent

£32-33K + Bens

Germany - €75K

C/O - LNG

USA - $3.5K

Deckhand 100m+ MY - USA - $3.25K

SHOREBASED TECH & MARINE

$75-85K + Bonus on 4/3

Technical Super - Tanker

4/E - Oil/Chemical/LNG

50-100m+ Yacht Fleet - Europe - £DOE

Marine Super - Tanker

Chief Engineer

CRUISE SEAGOING

Glasgow - £60K

Head Waiter - $26K

Marine Superintendent - LNG Glasgow - £60K

HR Manager - $45K

Technical Superintendent - LPG

Sous Chef - $35K

50m+ MY - Europe - €2.6K

Technical Superintendent

Glasgow - £60K

£35-40.5K + Bens

Deckhand

45m+ MY - Europe - €7.5K

2nd Stewardess 75m+ MY - Europe - €4K

London - £80K

3rd Stewardess

2nd Engineer - €50K

Marine Superintendent - Tankers

85m+ MY - Worldwide - €3.5K

1st Engineer - €42K

UK Home Based - £55K

Stew/Masseuse

Vessel Manager - LNG

30m+ MY - Europe - €DOE

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Nautilus is here to help seafarers both personally and professionally. These specialised seafarer offers have been negotiated just for you, to make life on land a little easier.

TARGE TOWING LIMITED Chief Engineer and EOOW on terminal tugs working as part of an all Ofŵcer team at a UK Terminal on UK Ŷagged vessels. 2 weeks on/2 weeks leave.

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The membership team can also cancel your print copy if you prefer to read the paper on the Telegraph app.

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38 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

SHIP TO SHORE

M-Notices Merchant Shipping Notices, Marine Information Notes and Marine Guidance Notes issued by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency recently include: MSN 1848 (M) Amendment 1 — Maritime Labour Convention, 2006: survey and certification of UK ships This amended notice replaces the original MSN 1848 published in 2013.

It gives details of arrangements for the survey, inspection and certification of seafarers’ working and living conditions on UK ships, in accordance with the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC). MSN 1848 (M) Amendment 1 includes the amendments to the MLC adopted by the International Labour Organisation in June 2014.

The notice reminds readers that ships of 500gt and over operating internationally or in a foreign port require a Maritime Labour Certificate.

Shipowners for ships under 500gt which operate internationally or in a foreign port may also request a survey for issue of a certificate.

For UK ships under 500gt, a Maritime Labour Certificate can only be issued by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). For UK ships of 500gt and over, the Maritime Labour Certificate may be issued either by the MCA or by one of the six Recognised Organisations.

Before applying for survey or inspection, shipowners should familiarise themselves with the UK’s Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance Part 1, available on the MCA website, and, if they need or want a Maritime Labour Certificate, should prepare a Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance Part 2.

The MLC Survey & Certification Regulations need to be read together with MSN 1848 Amendment 1, as it sets out many of the details, standards and formalities which must be observed in order to comply with the legal obligations under those Regulations.

Failure to comply with those obligations may be a criminal offence.

MIN 542 (M+F) — Life-saving appliances: recognised distress signals, advertised alternatives to pyrotechnic flares This note provides the latest advice to mariners on products sold as distress signalling equipment to be used in an emergency. It highlights the risks of using non-SOLAS or non-pyrotechnic distress flares such as Electronic Visual Distress Signals (EVDS).

To be effective, it states, distress signals need to be internationally recognised. Not all EVDS provide a distress signal listed in COLREGS Annex IV (such as SOS), and the MCA knows of no EVDS device which is compliant with the SOLAS technical performance standards for distress flares. Consequently, the international carriage requirements do not

recognise EVDS and the UK national carriage requirements have not been amended to formally recognise them either.

A change would therefore be needed to Annex IV of the COLREGS or to the SOLAS technical performance standards, and to the applicable international/UK national carriage Requirements, in order for these devices to gain full recognition as distress signals. The MCA sees no likely potential of this in the near future because objective evidence of a compelling need for change is yet to emerge.

The US Coast Guard has worked with the International Standards Organisation (ISO) and the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM) to research the effectiveness of EVDS. The MCA supports this initiative through monitoring progress, contributing views, and supporting this work in the appropriate international forums. The ultimate aim of the work is to consider the development of an appropriate technical performance standard for EVDS devices, if they are shown to be fit for purpose.

Certain commercial vessels are required to carry flares in accordance with the applicable carriage requirements, and such flares must meet the requirements of the Marine Equipment Directive (MED) unless an alternative technical performance standard (such as MSN 1676) is specified. The MCA is not aware of any EVDS product which meets the light intensity required by the IMO or MSN 1676 for distress flares.

This means that, for commercial vessels, EVDS products cannot be used in place of the flares required in carriage requirements. Where carriage of flares is not mandatory, the MCA nevertheless advises that EVDS should not currently be carried as a substitute for conventional pyrotechnic flares. However, for pleasure vessels, seagoing commercial vessels, and most non-seagoing commercial vessels, EVDS may be carried in addition to the required distress signalling equipment and used to identify location or transmit the SOS distress signal.

MIN 553 (M) — Offshore structure decommissioning Due to the maturity of the oil and gas industry in certain areas of the UK Continental Shelf, a number of fixed offshore installations are being de-commissioned or moved. This note provides information on the requirements for installations being moved from their location.

An installation on the UKCS is by default — unless the owners have evidence to the contrary — of UK character, and therefore once disconnected from the seabed would be classed as a UK ship or floating object.

The vessel will be required to be surveyed and issued with an International Load Line Exemption Certificate to transit from the UKCS to a UK port and any subsequent move within UK waters or from the UKCS/ UK port to a foreign port. The load line survey can be carried out by a classification society on behalf of the flag state if the vessel is registered.

The MCA would need to issue an Instrument of Appointment to a classification society surveyor in the case of an unregistered/unclassed vessel. The MCA will issue the Load Line Exemption Certificate.

The duty holder will be required to submit an extract from the safety case (accepted by the Offshore Safety Directive Regulator) of their written scheme of verification and a copy of the latest Independent Competent Person report. In addition, a vessel move plan, a marine warranty survey and a Nairobi Convention (wreck convention) certificate will be required.

End of M-notice summaries in Nautilus Telegraph M-notice summaries have been a fixture of the Telegraph for decades — starting in the days when only paper copies were available and seafarers needed to be notified about new notices so they could obtain them by post for their vessels.

Because our notification and summary service proved popular with readers, we continued it even after the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency started to make M-notices available free-of-charge online. However, now that the MCA has established a reliable email notification system, we have taken the decision to bring an end to our service.

We encourage readers to sign up to the MCA email notifications by following the instructions in MIN 515 (M+F) at www.gov.uk/mca, and will continue to issue reminders about this in future editions of the Telegraph.

Thank you for your interest in and support for our M-notice summaries.

Sarah Robinson, principal M-notice summariser since 2004 zM-Notices are available as electronic documents or as a set of bound volumes. zA consolidated set of M-Notices is published by The Stationery Office.

This contains all M-Notices current on 31 July 2015 (ISBN 978 01155 34034) and costs £210 — www.tsoshop.co.uk zIndividual copies can be downloaded from the MCA website.

Go to www.gov.uk/mca and click on Find marine (M) notices. zEmail alerts can be sent automatically whenever an M-Notice is published or updated. To set this up, follow the instructions in MIN 515 (M+F) — Guidance for subscriptions to safety bulletins and MCA document notifications on GOV.UK.

Useful organisations 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.

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

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

38-39_infosprd.indd 38

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 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.

Member meetings and seminars

Pensions

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:

Nautilus Pensions Association meetings provide a focal point for members regarding pensions

g Professional & Technical Forum Tuesday 5 December 2017 at 1300hrs Jurys Inn 43 Jeffrey Street Edinburgh EH1 1DH

g Women’s Forum Thursday 8 March 2018 Venue to be confirmed Contact Lisa Carr: +44 (0)20 8989 6677 women@nautilusint.org

The Forum deals with a wide range of technical, safety, welfare and other professional topics.

g Young Maritime Professionals Forum April 2018 (TBC) Venue to be confirmed The meeting is open to members aged under 35. Contact Danny McGowan: +44 (0)20 8989 6677 ymp@nautilusint.org

Contact Sue Willis: +44 (0)20 8530 1660 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.

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

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

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

SPAIN Yacht sector office in partnership with Dovaston Crew Carrer de Versalles 9A, 07015, Palma de Mallorca, Spain Tel: +34 971 677 375 recruitment@nautilusint.org www.dovastoncrew.com

THE NETHERLANDS Postal Address Nautilus International Postbus 8575, 3009 An Rotterdam

Out of European office hours Contact the Nautilus 24/7 service

Physical Address Nautilus International, Schorpioenstraat 266, 3067 KW Rotterdam Tel: +31 (0)10 477 1188 Fax: +31 (0)10 477 3846 infonl@nautilusint.org

g Go to www.nautilusint.org and click

on the Nautilus 24/7 link to access our Live chat instant messaging service.

You’ll also find a list of freephone numbers from 45 countries that you can use to call us free of charge.

g Send an SMS text message to

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

+44 (0)7860 017 119 and we’ll reply.

g Email us at helpline@nautilus247.org. g Reach us via Skype (username nautilus-247).

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

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

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 Danny McGowan at ymp@nautilusint.org.

g MNOPF and NPA pension forums January 2018, Cardiff Coffee served at 1000hrs, and a light lunch will be served after the meeting.

Open to all members (UK, NL and CH) Further meetings have also been scheduled for 2018. Keep checking this page or future Telegraphs for venue details. Please register online via the link on the session dates supplied, or call +44 (0)1293 804644.

Go to the events section of the Nautilus website: www.nautilusint.org/ en/what-we-say/events

Quiz and crossword answersACDB

Quiz answers 1. The estimated aggregate capacity of the global fleet of car carriers is just over 4m.

2. The Japanese firm NYK has the biggest PCTC fleet in terms of capacity.

3. The tramp shipping firm Norden is Denmark’s second largest owner, which a fleet totalling 4.7m gt.

4. The Palau register has been the fastest growing flag over the past five years, boosting its books by more than 43%.

5. Panama has 17.2% of world merchant tonnage on its books.

6. Cunard bought out White Star in 1949 and the company became the Cunard Line in 1950.

Crossword answers Quick Answers 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. Sark; 2. Clan; 3. Nursery rhyme; 4. Bills; 5. Skyrocket; 7. Marginalia; 8. Strathspey; 11. Formaldehyde; 13. Appreciate; 14. Sphalerite; 16. Observant; 21. Crêpe; 22. Dell; 23. Stay.

This month’s cryptic crossword is a prize competition, and the answers will appear in next month’s Telegraph.

Congratulations to Nautilus member Norman Macdonald, who was first out of the hat in November.

Cryptic answers from November Across: 8. Pinnacle; 9. Turing; 10. Skip; 11. University; 12. Corpse; 14. Lemonade; 15. Headers; 17. Prudery; 20 Stagnate; 22. Mayhem; 23. Tongue-tied; 24. Pale; 25. Elicit; 26. Compound.

Down: 1. Sinkhole; 2. Snap; 3. Accuse; 4. Legible; 5. Streamer; 6. Present day; 7. United; 13. Pedagogics; 16. Reagents; 18. Riesling; 19. Bewitch; 21. Trolls; 22. Madame; 24. Plod.

To suggest an organisation which could appear here, email telegraph@nautilusint.org 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. Seafarers UK (formerly 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.

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.

Seafarers’ 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 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.

Sailors’ Society +44 (0)20 7654 7050 www.sailors-society.org Global charity providing practical, financial and spiritual welfare support to seafarers and their families in need.

15/11/2017 17:13

December 2017 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 39

JOIN NAUTILUS

The face of Nautilus John Norris, caseworker

g

John Norris loves helping people. In his own words, ‘It’s what I do.’

The Hull resident has worked for the Nautilus Welfare Fund as a caseworker for the past four years and says that in that time he’s loved every minute of the job.

The caseworker project — which began in the Merseyside area in 2010 and has since expanded to Southampton, Glasgow and Hull — provides one-to-one advice and assistance on financial, health and other issues to retired seafarers, retired fishermen and their dependants, in their own homes.

‘My remit is to provide a welfare service to seafarers in the Hull and Humber region — up to Scarborough in the north and down

to Lincoln in the south,’ explains 51-year-old John. ‘I’ve not got a seafaring background.

I was working at the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and local authority social services, which lends itself to doing this job.’

With a working knowledge of the types of support systems available, John finds himself to be a welcome source of information, and he can steer former seafarers towards access to the appropriate services.

‘I have to find out what their needs are,’ he explains, ‘but most of them are like everyone else. It doesn’t matter if you’re an ex-seafarer or an ex-gardener, most people’s needs can be generally improved by money.

It’s about helping identify sources of income

that they have a right to, which can then improve their lives.’

Since he’s started in his role, John has met hundreds of people and has given them advice on the different services that they may be eligible for. Before meeting him, some have been in dire straits, with money haemorrhaging out of their accounts.

‘One guy I was working with was eligible for all sorts of benefits that he didn’t know about,’ John recalls. ‘His finances were a bit of a mess and he had direct debits going out for debt each month. We sat down and spoke and after we’d finished and he’d applied for his benefits, he was saving about £200 a month that he’d otherwise been spending.

That can make a real difference.

‘To use an old cliché, what’s good about the job is that every day is different,’ John smiles. ‘You’re out and about, which is great.

I hate just sitting around in an office. I like going out and meeting people and helping them. ‘ It’s not all work for John, however. ‘I love music and travelling. I’ve been to Mexico, Vietnam and Cambodia in the last few years,’ he says. ‘I love going to gigs, watching live music and spending time with my family.

‘I also follow the local rugby team — Hull FC — who won the Challenge Cup this year, which was good. Mainly though, I just try and enjoy life.’

Wherev er you are , so are we

Join now

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 £120,700, against the loss

38-39_infosprd.indd 39

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.

15/11/2017 16:30

40 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | December 2017

NEWS

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Industry lobby obstructs IMOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Ownersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; organisations object to claims of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;coporate captureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of UN agency

P

The International Maritime Organisation has hit back at a report claiming its policies are heavily inďŹ&#x201A;uenced by â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;aggressiveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lobbying by business interests and major ďŹ&#x201A;ag states.

Research published by the London-based non-proďŹ t organisation InďŹ&#x201A;uenceMap concludes that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;corporate captureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of the United Nations agency has enabled the shipping industry to obstruct progress on international agreements to tackle climate change.

The report says business have â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;unmatched access and inďŹ&#x201A;uence at the IMO compared to other UN bodiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201D; with researchers unable to ďŹ nd any other UN agency allowing corporations to attend committee meetings as state representatives.

Industry ďŹ gures â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;are provided with seats at the heart of negotiationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in the IMOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s policy-making process, the study notes â&#x20AC;&#x201D; with

some member states being represented by national shipping trade associations, and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;many states with open registries being represented at the IMO by private companies that operate their ship registries for themâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

At one recent meeting of the IMOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marine environment protection committee (MEPC), major shipping industry organisations had more representation than the majority of countries, the report says, and 31% of nations were represented in part by direct business interests.

Industry organisations also submitted more papers on climate related issues to the MEPC than every country except Japan, Germany and Denmark, it notes.

The report says shipowners â&#x20AC;&#x201D; with the notable exception of Maersk â&#x20AC;&#x201D; are largely silent on climate change issues. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;They apparently prefer to allow their IMO-focused lobbying to be done by the powerful Interna-

tional Chamber of Shipping (ICS), BIMCO and World Shipping Council (WSC) trade associations (and associated networks of national trade groups) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; all three of whom oppose any greenhouse gas regulation in the sector,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; it adds.

The three shipownersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; organisations attacked the report â&#x20AC;&#x201D; accusing InďŹ&#x201A;uenceMap of misrepresenting their position on climate change.

ICS director of policy and external relations Simon Bennett said: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Far from seeking to derail progress, it was the shipping industry which played a large part in persuading IMO member states to develop a strategy to address the further reduction of the sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emissions following the adoption of the Paris Agreement.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Mr Bennett argued that it is normal practice for national shipping industry experts to provide advice on technical issues by joining national government delegations at IMO meetings, and that these

delegations also often include representatives from seafarersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; unions and environmental groups.

IMO secretary-general Kaitack Lim said the organisation has a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;transparent, inclusive approachâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to tackling the threat of climate change. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;As is the case in other UN agencies of a technical nature, the make-up of national delegations to IMO is entirely a matter for the countries themselves, and those countries who wish to include industry technical experts or others may do so,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; he added.

The IMO leader pointed out that the agency has consultative arrangements with 77 nongovernmental organisations, including seafarer unions, environmental groups, and bodies representing classiďŹ cation societies, shipbuilders and owners of different types of ships. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The range of NGOs represented at IMO rightfully covers the broad spectrum of shipping, maritime and social interests,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; he added.

First autonomous vessel joins UK Ship Register the first autonomous vessel to F join the UK Ship Register (UKSR).

Pictured above is C-Worker 7 â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

Owned by the UK firm ASV, the vessel can be used for a wide range of tasks, including seismic and environmental support, site surveys, and security and surveillance â&#x20AC;&#x201D; either under direct control, semimanned or completely unmanned.

UKSR director Doug Barrow said the vessel was a welcome addition to the fleet. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;By supporting emerging technologies such as autonomous systems, we are helping to keep the UK at the forefront of the global maritime industry.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; The new addition to the red ensign was announced last month as the UK published a Code of Practice to govern â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;autonomous maritime systemsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. The code has been produced to provide practical guidance for the design, construction and operation of autonomous and

semi-autonomous vessels of 24m and under while a more detailed regulatory framework is developed.

Developed by a special working group, the code covers issues including manufacturing, safety, communication, navigation, and training and skills. z The TUC has urged business leaders to work with trade unions to ensure that new technology is used as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;a force for social good, not workplace tyrannyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. General secretary Frances Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Grady said workers should be given the right to free training for reskilling in response to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the fourth industrial revolutionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. z The Lloydâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Register Foundation and the University of York have launched a ÂŁ12m research project investigating the safety of robotics and autonomous systems. The programme is due to begin in January 2018 and is funded for an initial five years.

Training is not a cost burden, owners told see training as a means of F making sure that they recruit and

Shipping companies should

retain quality seafarers, a crewing conference heard last month.

Mark Woodhead, senior vice president with KVH Videotel, told the CrewConnect Global conference in Manila that owners, managers and operators should be striving for the highest standards of training instead of simple compliance with the minimum requirements. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Training needs to be part of a shipping companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DNA,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Mr Woodhead said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;and as our seafarers embrace the shift towards continuous learning, we need to develop cultures that support and demand it.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Rather than viewing training as

a cost burden, companies should reflect on the way that it can help to improve safety and performance, reduce accidents, delays and damage, and avoid the risk of fines for noncompliance, he argued. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Talk is cheap but accidents arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; he stressed.

Mr Woodhead urged owners to encourage e-learning by giving crew members high standards of connectivity at sea, and to harness the opportunities posed by virtual reality and gamification training. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;With new training techniques and technologies, seafarers are engaged and motivated to learn,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; he added.

Shipping offers a structured career path, unlike many jobs available today, and continuous training and development are integral to

improving skills and standards, he told the meeting. Quality training programmes will improve motivation and build loyalty among seafarers, he added, and the best shipping companies are investing in in-house training centres to ensure that everyone working on their ships is trained to the same standards.

Mr Woodhead predicted that industry demand for high quality seafarers will grow because crew competence and performance are set to be placed under increasing scrutiny as charterersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; demands and improved vessel analytics make key data even more accessible.

He said the seafarer recruitment process could be improved by improving the certification process.

Princess is pictured becoming A the first post-panamax cruiseship The 112,894gt Caribbean

to transit the expanded Agua Clara locks on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal last month.

The Bermuda-flagged vessel, carrying 3,200 passengers, passed through the locks for the first of 13 scheduled crossings of the canal during the 2017-18 season.

Group president Jan Swartz

said the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;milestoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; transit by a neo-panamax cruiseship came 50 years after Princess became the first cruise company to take passengers through the original canal.

Picture: Reuters

EAST COAST COLLEGE IS HERE!

GREAT YARMOUTH AND LOWESTOFT COLLEGES HAVE COMBINED FORCES

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re really excited about the launch of East Coast College and wanted to let \RX NQRZ WKDW ZKLOVW RXU QDPH LV FKDQJLQJ \RX ZLOO VWLOO EH DEOH WR EHQHÂżW IURP our comprehensive range of STCW, GWO, Nautical Institute, OPITO and MCA approved training courses at our Lowestoft campus.

We look forward to seeing you at East Coast College in 2017 www.eastcoast.ac.uk | 01502 525025 | maritime@eastcoast.ac.uk

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15/11/2017 17:14