Nautilus Telegraph - Feb 2014

On your bike?

EU research into shore-based jobs for seafarers 24-25

Sick humour Why seasickness is no laughing matter for crews 20

NL nieuws Twee pagina’s met nieuws uit Nederland 36-37

Volume 47 | Number 02 | February 2014 | £3.50 €3.70

Warning as Stena Line seeks cuts serving with Stena Line after F the company last month announced

Nautilus is consulting members

shock proposals to cut crewing costs on its Irish Sea services by 10%.

The company says it needs to bring its costs into line with competitors by imposing a pay freeze, reducing annual leave and passing technical management of the ships to Northern Marine Group companies. It warns that the alternative would be ‘a move to a non-UK crewing model’ with pay rates starting at below the UK national minimum wage and largescale redundancies.

Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson said he was deeply disturbed by the proposals. ‘Stena’s plans present extremely serious implications not only for members serving with the company, but for the entire ferry industry and the jobs and conditions of all members working in the sector,’ he added. fFull report — page 5.

Inside

Nautilus/ITF inspector Tommy Molloy with Filipino seafarers from the bulker Donald Duckling as they prepared to go home last month

Protests over MLC ‘failure’ for crew Union criticises flag state as ITF has to repatriate Filipino seafarers from abandoned ship in UK

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Nautilus is raising concerns over Panama’s failure to meet its Maritime Labour Convention responsibilities for the crew of a bulk carrier abandoned in a UK port.

Eleven Filipino seafarers from the 43,866dwt Donald Duckling had to be repatriated by the International Transport Workers’ Federation almost two months after the vessel was detained in the Port of Tyne when port state control checks found 12 deficiencies onboard, including defects with the main engine, the auxiliary engine, oil filtering equipment and safety management.

Nautilus/ITF inspector Tommy Molloy discovered that crew members were owed two months’ wages and the Taiwaneseowned ship had insufficient provisions onboard for its planned voyage to Korea with a cargo of scrap.

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Seven Romanian seafarers returned home when the back pay was recovered, but the ITF had to arrange the air fares for the Filipinos after Panama failed to respond to requests for assistance.

‘During the period since the ship was detained in November, we repeatedly made requests on behalf of the crew that they be repatriated to their homes,’ said Mr Molloy. ‘The shipowner has done little to rectify any of the deficiencies causing the detention, and the crew have been fed, watered and had fuel provided for heat and light by the local community and local organisations as the owner failed to do so.

‘We were told repeatedly that things will change “within days”, that a replacement crew will replace the existing crew, that the existing crew is about to be replaced, and yet still the crew remained stranded in the same condition,’ he added. ‘This situation

could not be tolerated any longer, which is why ITF sanctioned the funding of the crew repatriation.’

Mr Molloy said it was appalling that parties which should have supported the abandoned seafarers under the terms of the MLC — including the shipowner, crewing agents, flag state and the relevant embassies — had failed to meet their responsibilities. ‘Why is it that what ought to be the obligation of the authorities has been left to the local charities and the ITF?’ he said. ‘What would have happened to these men if we had not stepped in and acted?’

Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson said he is taking the case up with the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency, the Panamanian authorities and the International Labour Organisation. ‘To say I am deeply disappointed by this situation is an

immense understatement,’ he commented. ‘This was exactly the sort of situation which the MLC was agreed — by flag states, owners and unions — to help to resolve and we are extremely disturbed that there was such a marked failure in this case to meet the responsibilities set by the MLC. ‘We are particularly concerned about the behaviour of Panama, as flag state. It was one of the first to ratify the MLC and now it is one of the first to fail to live up to its responsibilities under the convention,’ he added.

‘Cases like this not only bring shame upon the Panamanian registry, but also do immense damage to the image and reputation of the shipping industry, as well as doing serious harm to the efforts of reputable owners and registers to increase recruitment and retention of skilled seafarers.’ g MLC insurance pledge — see page 7.

F Law of the land?

Legal loopholes that allow crime at sea to go unpunished — page 19 F Net loss for crew

Research reveals scale of online access problems for crew members — page 23

F Coastal lifeline

We talk to the seafarers who keep Norway’s isolated communities connected — pages 28-29

22/01/2014 17:46

02 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

NAUTILUS AT WORK

Audrey is the Co-op’s top carer worker Audrey Stocker, who has A won the ‘Carer of the Year’ award 2013 Pictured right is Nautilus care

from Co-op Funeralcare to add to the ‘Carer of the Quarter’ award she won at the beginning of that year.

The four quarter winners, and their families and co-workers, were invited to a dinner and awards ceremony where Audrey was selected as the overall winner after being nominated by residents and staff at Mariners’ Park for her exceptional commitment to the welfare of retired seafarers.

‘I didn’t get to find out who actually nominated me, or what they said, which was a pity — but I am thrilled to have won,’ Audrey said. ‘I didn’t expect to get the year award. When the Mayor said my name everyone around me was crying and cheering and I was just in shock.

‘We all give 100% at the Care Home, not just me. Everyone who works here as a carer deserves an award,’ she added.

Members can get big savings with Nautilus Plus addition to the package of F benefits for members of the Union. It Nautilus Plus is the newest

is a portfolio containing money-saving discounts, designed to save you time and money in both your personal and professional life. There is no sign-up process, nor any extra charge — you are automatically eligible to access these discounts by virtue of your membership.

Here are just a few of the benefits available: z Flowers Direct — same day flower delivery: with Valentine’s Day approaching, Nautilus members have access to a 15% discount at Flowers Direct. Flowers Direct offers beautiful flowers and gifts, delivered directly to the door of your loved one. With same day and named day delivery options available, these stunning bouquets and treats are perfect to let them know that you are thinking of them! Order by 3pm Monday-Friday for same day delivery. z Incorpore — discounted gym memberships: looking to get into shape in 2014? Let Nautilus Plus help!

Using a free Incorpore gym voucher, you can access the corporate rate at more than 2,500 gyms including Virgin Active, Fitness First, DW Sports, Nuffield Health and LA Fitness.

If you are looking to join a David Lloyd leisure centre, you will receive one month free when you join and a free seven-day family pass. Enter your postcode online to find your nearest participating gym or leisure centre. z FairFX — foreign currency cards: Nautilus members can get a free FairFX Prepaid MasterCard, normally worth £9.95. As a FairFX card holder, you will be getting business level rates of foreign exchange rather than the often less favourable rates available at airports, bureaux de changes, banks and even other internet sites. FairFX cards provide you with great value, convenience and Chip & PIN security.

Plus, get £5 extra free when you order your first card. g To access these benefits and many more, log on to Nautilus Plus via www.nautilusint.org z Terms and conditions apply to all benefits. See website for details.

Offers and prices subject to change without notice. Flowers Direct delivery excludes Sundays and Bank Holidays. FairFX subject to minimum load of £50, €60 or $75. MasterCard and the MasterCard Brand Mark are registered trademarks of MasterCard International Incorporated. Nautilus Plus is managed on behalf of Nautilus

by Parliament Hill Ltd.

Big slump in freight moved on water New guide to combat Council hears of EU ‘struggle’ and UK minister warned over coastal decline

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The European inland navigation sector is continuing to struggle as a result of the global economic downturn, Nautilus Council members have been told.

In a presentation to the December meeting, Nick Bramley, the Union’s Swiss branch senior national secretary, said the slump in industrial production had resulted in a marked decline in the volumes of freight being carried on the Rhine and other major EU waterways.

‘Although there have been signs of recovery in the past 18 months, they have not been spread evenly across all transport sectors, and water has been particularly hard hit,’ he added.

Mr Bramley said the problems

were compounded by over-capacity in the industry, which has pushed down freight rates. ‘Current dry tonnage requirements stand at 7.3m tonnes, but the available capacity is 10.2m tonnes,’ he explained. ‘In the liquid cargo sector, the over-capacity now stands at some 48%.’

The industry is also struggling to invest in new tonnage, he added, and this means that the ‘green’ advantages over road transport are narrowing. ‘Lorries are replaced every five to seven years and new engines are very efficient, while the average age of barges is 47 years, and many of their motors are 25 to 30 years old.’

Owner/operators are also failing to train sufficient numbers of new crew, Mr Bramley said, and

there is a growing labour shortage in the sector.

Against this background, Nautilus is seeking to increase union representation in the sector and to ensure that European Commission policies for the next five years provide support for the industry.

‘It will require a lot of hard work to convert the nice words and good intentions into the goals that we have been fighting for over many years,’ he added. z Nautilus has raised concerns with UK shipping minister Stephen Hammond after fresh evidence of a dramatic decline in the volume of UK freight being carried on water.

New Department for Transport statistics show that the total amount of domestic freight goods

moved during 2012 fell by 19% — and coastal shipping volumes fell by 13% from the previous year.

The figures reveal that the total amount of goods lifted for all domestic waterborne freight has fallen for seven years in a row and the amount of freight lifted by coastal shipping has slumped by more than one-third over the same period.

Questioned about the figures

by Nautilus during last month’s meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Maritime Group, shipping minister Stephen Hammond commented: ‘We all want to see more freight being moved by shortsea shipping and if there are good proposals put forward, the government will look at them.’

bullying is welcomed welcomed the production of a F new training film which aims to help

Nautilus Council members have

combat bullying and harassment at sea.

The film forms part of a package of revised guidance which was put together in a joint project by European maritime unions and shipowners, and launched in Brussels late last month.

General secretary Mark Dickinson said the initiative had been taken in response to research by Nautilus which showed the need for the previous guidelines — agreed over a decade

Tributes are paid to former trustee former Nautilus Council F member John Hughes, who has died Tributes have been paid to

Alf puts his moustache to the vote… terminal illness, facial hair F might be the least of their worries.

For most people facing a

But Nautilus Mariners’ Park resident Alf Eady has responded by launching a fund-raising challenge for the local hospice providing him palliative cancer care — an online competition to help him decide whether to shave or keep his moustache.

Mr Eady, right, an 85-year-old retired purser catering officer, is hoping give something back to the St John’s Hospice for the ‘fabulous palliative care’ he has received in the eight months since his lung, liver and abdomen cancer diagnosis.

‘All my care has been great, but the St John’s Hospice in my view

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really deserves as much support as possible. I was surprised that many of the staff are also volunteers who are older like me,’ he explained.

Mr Eady said he started growing

his moustache in November after a joke over facial hair with his grandson in the Royal Navy led to a bet. He decided over Christmas that it would be a good idea to fund-raise

and extended his growing season until February to give more people a chance to donate and vote.

Mr Eady served in the Merchant Navy for 44 years — 39 of them with the Liverpool-based company T&J Harrisons — until his retirement in 1989 and has lived at the Union’s Mariners’ Park Estate for seven years.

Voting will take place until 17 February on the Just Giving website (www.justgiving.com/Alf-Eady) and then a vote-counting coffee morning and raffle prize draw will be held the same day at the Mariners’ Park Care Home. A hairdresser will be also be there — razor in hand — in case the decision is to shave!

ago — to be updated and widely promoted.

Assistant general secretary Marcel van den Broek described the film as ‘a powerful tool’ and deputy vicechairman Micky Smyth said it was ‘a job well done’.

Mike Lloyd said he considered the film to be excellent, but he expressed concern about the ‘grey areas’ between bullying and discipline.

And Council chairman Ulrich Jurgens pointed out that the Maritime Labour Convention has introduced onboard grievance procedures.

at the age of 86.

Mr Hughes was a trustee of the MNAOA, NUMAST and Nautilus UK between 1981 and 2009, and general secretary Mark Dickinson said he had been highly respected by everyone who worked alongside him in that time — bringing immense insight to the Union’s governing body.

Described as ‘an innovative educator’, Mr Hughes spent much of his working life at Ruskin College in Oxford, where he started as a tutor in economics and industrial relations in 1957. His students there included former Nautilus general secretary Brian Orrell and ex-deputy prime minister John Prescott.

After he became vice-principal of Ruskin College in 1970, Mr Hughes established the Trade Union Research Unit, which rapidly became very

effective in supporting collective bargaining in both the public and private sectors.

During the 1970s he was also deeply involved in industrial relations, as a trade union nominee to arbitration panels, including the seamen’s wage dispute in 1975, which led to a significant advance in pay.

He was appointed principal of Ruskin College in 1979 and held that post for 10 years. In addition to his role as a Nautilus trustee, he was involved in the development of integrated transport policy as a member of the British Railways Board.

In 1999, Mr Hughes was presented with the Union’s Nevins & Griffiths award for a lifetime’s contribution to trade union education, academic research, and social change. In making the award, the Council acknowledged the invaluable benefit that his knowledge, experience and dedication had brought to Nautilus.

22/01/2014 17:56

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 03

NAUTILUS AT WORK

Praise for RFA ship of the year

shortreports CONVENTIONS CALL: the head of the International Maritime Organisation has urged countries to do more to support the conventions agreed by the UN agency. He said the 2014 World Maritime Day theme will focus on the effective implementation of IMO conventions — warning that the slow pace of ratification and implementation of such important treaties as those covering ballast water management, ship recycling and the removal of wrecks is a serious cause for concern.

ONLINE OPINIONS: as part of the development of a new set of websites for Nautilus, members are being asked to give their views on their online activities. The survey should only take 10 minutes to complete and asks members about their ability to access the internet, as well as which maritime websites they regularly look at.

To complete the survey go to the Union’s current website www.nautilusint.org.

Paul Minter, commanding officer of the A Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Cardigan Bay, Captain Pictured above, left to right, are Captain

Paul Greenough, the ship’s chief engineer, and Commodore Rob Dorey, celebrating after the vessel was voted RFA Ship of the Year for 2013.

The landing ship dock vessel sailed for the Gulf in 2012 to operate as the afloat forward support base for the UK Mine Counter Measure (MCM) force based in Bahrain and as the command platform for the UK Mine Warfare Battle Staff (UKMCMFOR).

During the course of an extremely busy year, Cardigan Bay has routinely supported UK and multinational MCM forces and participated in all national, coalition and bilateral MCM exercises,

during which she hosted embarked forces from a number of coalition nations.

‘The entire ship’s company is honoured to have been selected as the RFA Ship of the Year, and are grateful for the recognition of all the hard work that has taken place over the last 12 months,’ said Capt Minter.

‘Cardigan Bay has continued to develop her role in theatre, taking on a variety of new taskings as the ongoing tempo of operations in theatre expands.’

The ship’s dock has been used to operate US Force Protection Riverine Combat vessels, dive teams, underwater sonar detection vessels and has hosted numerous equipment trials.

The container deck provides a temporary air

shelter for aircraft operations and Cardigan Bay currently has a Lynx Mark 8 from 815 Naval Air Squadron embarked.

Commander Jim Byron, who commands the UKMCMFOR, described Cardigan Bay as a ‘key asset’ capable of keeping up to eight UK and US MCM vessels at sea for up to three weeks, as well as delivering logistics, engineering and command and control support — along with boat operations out of the dock, and a flight — with a crew of just 67 RFA personnel.

‘The men and women who make RFA Cardigan Bay what she is thoroughly deserve this recognition for the excellent work she does, day in and day out, and I am proud to have her as part of the MCM Force,’ he added.

Minister pressed on training help Unions and owners seek action to improve UK tonnage tax requirements

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Shipping minister Stephen Hammond had been urged to do more to ensure that newly qualified British officers can get jobs after completing their cadetships.

Speaking at the All-Party Parliamentary Maritime Group last month, Mr Hammond was questioned by Nautilus and the Honourable Company of Master Mariners about the government’s Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme and the standards of training for cadets on tonnage tax ships.

A representative from the Honourable Company told the minister about the case of one cadet who had been forced to work as a deck hand because of the lack of jobs for UK junior officers.

‘Surely that is not right,’ he added.

‘They should be given more support to go beyond their first certificate.’

MP Julian Brazier, who was chairing the meeting at the Houses of Parliament, added:

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‘This is a perennial problem. Producing people for the maritime sector is very important, but the issue of filling the gap between junior and senior levels has come up again and again.’

Mr Hammond said the government was committed to training and had increased the SMarT budget by 25% last year, reinstating £3m that had been cut as part of the government’s public spending reductions. ‘There is no reason why SMarT funding cannot be used more flexibly, and I would look at it if a good idea is put forward,’ he added.

The minister said he had spent the past year trying to be ‘an evangelist for one of the great industries’ and seeking to protect it from ‘a wave of regulation — particularly from the EU.’ Shipping is essential for the UK’s economic recovery, Mr Hammond told the meeting, and he has sought to establish a clear and consistent policy regime for the maritime sector across all

the various government departments associated with it. ‘This is an industry where for many years the government approach has been positive, but not as coherent and coordinated as it might have been,’ he added.

Mr Hammond was also questioned by David Balston, safety and environment director at the UK Chamber of Shipping, over the impact of emission reduction rules on the ferry sector.

The minister said the government supports the aims of the MARPOL Convention, but recognises the concerns about the industry’s ability to meet the forthcoming sulphur limits.

But, Mr Hammond cautioned, the UK could not work alone and it had not received much support from other member states for the concept of time-limited special exemptions for some sectors. He said the UK has also tabled a paper at the IMO seeking to speed up the review of the availability of lowsulphur fuel.

z Nautilus, the RMT and the

Chamber of Shipping have made a joint appeal to the shipping minister for an amendment to the tonnage tax legislation to enable ratings to be included in the training requirement for companies taking advantage of the scheme.

In a letter to Mr Hammond last month, the industry partners requested a meeting to discuss the idea of giving companies an option to recruit three rating trainees in lieu of one officer trainee under the tonnage tax training commitment.

Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson commented: ‘It’s long overdue for ratings to have a stake in the tonnage tax scheme.

Now we can all work together to ensure increased training opportunities for young people, and that the government delivers a future for British seafarers — ratings and officers — in acknowledgement that many of the ratings will go on to get officer certification.’

SEABOURN ORDER: Seabourn Cruise Line has ordered a new 40,000gt vessel from the Italian builder Fincantieri. Due to be delivered in the second half of 2016, the vessel will be able to accommodate up to 604 passengers. Meanwhile, Nautilus has had discussions with the Norwegian Maritime Unions (NMUs) over the representation of members serving with the company, who are covered by the NMUs’ collective bargaining agreement.

REFUGE ROW: the owners of a chemical tanker which was severely damaged by fire following a collision in the South China Sea last month have hit out at the failure of coastal states to provide a place of refuge for the vessel. MSI Ship Management said it was crucial that salvors were given shelter to enable the safe transfer of remaining cargo and bunkers from the 44,404dwt Maritime Maisie.

BIG BUILD: the Japanese yard Hyundai Heavy Industries has announced the start of work on five new vessels which are destined to become the world’s biggest containerships. The 19,000TEU ships have been ordered

by China Shipping Container Lines, with the first in the series due to be delivered late this year.

ROYAL OPENING: the Princess Royal has opened new and improved facilities for seafarers visiting the Tyne area. In her capacity as national patron of the Mission to Seafarers, she officially opened the newly renovated South Shields Seafarers’ Club and Holborn House flats complex at Mill Dam, South Shields, last month.

DUTCH CONNECTION: the Dutch-flagged multipurpose vessel Expansa is being used to operate a new service connecting London Thamesport with Immingham and Moerdijk in the Netherlands. Operator A2B-online Container says it plans to increase the service after three months.

PIRATES CAPTURED: Japanese and European naval forces worked together last month to capture five pirates suspected to have carried out the first attack on a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden in 2014. They intercepted a dhow which was linked to the attempted raid on the tanker Nave Antropos.

CRUISE CONTROL: leading cruise shipping companies are predicting a 1.9% increase in passenger numbers this year. Members of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) say they expect to carry 21.7m passengers during 2014, compared with 21.3m in 2013.

FATAL BLAST: one seafarer has died and another four were injured following an explosion onboard a Turkish-flagged chemical tanker last month. Ten other crew were evacuated from the 6,300dwt Tibil, which was sailing in ballast off the Marmara coast.

MAERSK SALE: the Belgian operator Euronav has announced a US$980m deal to acquire 15 VLCCs from Maersk Tankers Singapore. Maersk management has assured Nautilus that the sale will have no implications for members’ jobs.

22/01/2014 17:56

04 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

NAUTILUS AT WORK

shortreports

Meeting with MSP on Orkney dispute

YOUTH MEETING: the next meeting of the Nautilus Young Maritime Professionals’ Forum is due to take place on Saturday 22 March at the Jury’s Inn hotel in Southampton between 1000hrs and 1200hrs. A limited amount of financial assistance is available for UK full members under 35 wishing to attend and who otherwise would not be able to make the journey. To book a place contact Paul Schroder at youth@nautilusint.org.

are set to meet the Member of F the Scottish Parliament for the Orkney Nautilus International officials

Islands to discuss the continuing stalemate in the 2012 pay and conditions dispute.

Senior national organiser Ronnie Cunningham and industrial organiser Derek Byrne will meet Liam McArthur to explain the background of the dispute and the ongoing industrial action by members.

Members have been working to contract since March 2013 and no developments have been made since September last year, when Orkney Council refused to remove a line from its offer which stipulated that the financial impact of the proposed package would be taken into account in the 2014/15 pay negotiations.

The offer, which included a one-off

HANSON MEETING: a pay and conditions claim has been submitted on behalf of members employed

by Hanson Ship Management. The claim includes a pay rise above RPI, an increase in pilotage payments, and improvements to the pension provision. A meeting has been held with the company to discuss the offer, and industrial organiser Paul Schroder was awaiting a formal response late last month.

CARNIVAL CONTINUES: pay and conditions negotiations continue for members employed by Fleet Management services and working onboard P&O Cruises and Cunard vessels. Industrial organiser Paul Schroder and the Partnership At Work committee have met management and were hoping to receive a formal offer as the Telegraph went to press.

More talks at P&O

LCT CALL: members employed by LCT Support Services are being asked to give the Union comments on items to be included in this year’s pay and conditions claim. Industrial organiser Lisa Carr is seeking feedback on pay aspirations and any increases in officers’ workloads and responsibilities before Friday 7 February.

a number of negotiations with F P&O Ferries on issues including the

Nautilus is currently engaged in

harmonisation of contracts and the new pension scheme.

Members employed by P&O Ferries Jersey, P&O North Sea and P&O Irish Sea who wish to opt of the employer’s chosen pension scheme are being advised to visit the MNOPP website to apply for this scheme.

The harmonisation of contracts is ongoing for members employed

by P&O Jersey. Recent talks between the company and the Union covered issues including emergency dry dock

BRIGGS ASK: members employed by Briggs Marine and serving onboard Environmental Agency vessels are being asked to give the Union their views on the contents of the forthcoming pay and conditions claim.

ABSOLUTE REVIEW: members employed

by Absolute Shipping Services and Absolute Shipping Management are being asked to consider issues for inclusion in the next pay and conditions claim.

NUCLEAR ASPIRATIONS: members serving in the Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited fleet are being asked for their pay and conditions aspirations ahead of the 1 April review date.

UECC INCREASE: members employed by UECC have voted to accept the company’s pay offer of a 2% increase in salaries, effective from 1 January 2014.

CEMEX CALL: Nautilus is seeking the views of members employed by Cemex UK Marine on the contents of the forthcoming pay and conditions claim.

INTRADA VIEWS: members employed by Intrada Ships Management are being asked for their pay and conditions aspirations ahead of the 1 April review.

MARINE TAX SERVICES (CARDIFF) LTD complete service for mariners run by certificated ex-officer qualified accountants always available computerised 100% claims and forecast projection will writing service available 26 High Street, Barry CF62 7EB, South Glamorgan, UK Tel. Barry (01446) 739953 MARINETAX@YAHOO.COM Established 1974

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Forum launch for parental rights guide

payment to conclude the 2012/13 pay negotiations and a 2% increase for the 2013/14 pay review, was ultimately accepted by the other unions with members working for Orkney Ferries — RMT and Unite.

Nautilus has consistently called on Orkney Council to review its refusal to remove the contentious line from the offer, and it is hoped that Mr McArthur will be able to add pressure on the council following the meeting.

‘Nautilus members at Orkney Ferries are standing strong against the ongoing refusal to offer them a fair pay deal,’ said Mr Byrne. ‘With council and Scottish Parliament elections due to take place this year, we hope that there will be added pressure on all those involved on the management side to return to the negotiating table and resolve this dispute.’

provisions, normal refits and working hours.

P&O and Nautilus have fully reviewed the annual hours situation and confirmed arrangements outlined in December 2013. The annual hours balance closed as at 30 September and both parties are now working together to resolve any issues members may have.

Vacancies have arisen for two liaison officers to act on behalf of members serving onboard the P&O Irish Sea vessels European Endeavour and European Highlander, to replace Brian Gardner and Micky Smyth.

Princess visits discuss rotations RFA pay increase is agreed

Jonathan Havard is F pictured with Princess Cruises

Nautilus national secretary

fleet personnel manager David Colclough and members during a series of ship visits in December.

Pictured from top are the visits onboard Emerald Princess, Crown Princess, Island Princess and Royal Princess, in Port Everglades, Florida.

A visit was also made to members on Coral Princess.

‘The programme was organised to enable discussions on the company’s proposals for rotation planning, and we also used the opportunity to talk about a range of other issues with members on an individual and collective level,’ said Mr Havard.

‘We are now awaiting detailed formal proposals from the company as a consequence of the feedback received from members,’ he added.

Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) have voted F to accept a pay and conditions offer

Members employed by the Royal

which could see salaries for some members rise by over 8%. The pay offer included a 1% across-the-board uplift in salaries and varying increases in the performance award.

National secretary Jonathan Havard confirmed that whilst the basic increase was in line with the

government pay restraint policy, the overall increases could see members’ pay rise by between 3% and 8.4% once performance awards and incremental pay are taken in to account.

The RFA also has a new full-time Nautilus liaison officer following the resignation of Rob Cranstone. Russell Downs has been elected unopposed and will serve in the role until 30 September 2016.

Concern over ruling on tribunal rights

rights booklet will be launched F at the next Nautilus Women’s Forum Nautilus considers challenge to judgement denying unfair dismissal claim meeting, due to take place on A new maternity and paternity

Saturday 29 March in London.

The meeting will also discuss attendance at the Women’s TUC conference taking place in March and possible motions for the next UK branch meeting.

Child care is available on request and members are also invited to join by Skype if they cannot make the meeting at the Union’s head office, in South Woodford, London.

The meeting will run from 1100 until 1600hrs. To book a place, or for more details of the childcare or Skype arrangements, contact women@ nautilusint.org.

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Nautilus is considering a challenge to an Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruling that a member was not able to bring claims of discrimination, unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal against his company because he did not meet UK jurisdiction conditions.

In a 12-page ruling issued after a two-day hearing, the EAT judge upheld a tribunal judgement that it was not able to hear the member’s claims on the grounds that the relevant sections of the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and

Hovercraft) Regulations 2011 and the Employment Tribunal (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2004 had not been met.

The judged ruled that the member — a second officer serving on a Singapore-flagged Shell tanker — was not entitled to have his case heard by an employment tribunal because he was not employed on a UK-registered vessel or employed by a company residing in or carrying on business in England or Wales.

Nautilus had argued that the

company had a collective agreement including a jurisdiction clause stating that the contract should be enforceable under English law. But the EAT ruled that the member had worked wholly outside Great Britain and adjacent waters and the claims could not be brought against his Singaporebased employer, the Isle of Manbased management company or the London-based company providing crew for the ship’s owner and chartered by the Manx-registered firm.

Nautilus general secretary

Mark Dickinson commented: ‘The case is complex and the EAT decision comes as a shock, as we believed we had good prospects for overturning the employment tribunal.

‘We are currently examining the judge’s reasoning in detail to see whether there are grounds for an appeal,’ he added.

‘However, whilst it is of no comfort to the member concerned, at least the new tribunal regulations have since been amended and the door to the ET is a good bit wider under these new provisions.’

22/01/2014 17:47

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 05

NAUTILUS AT WORK

Stena Line bids to slash costs Members consulted over ‘disturbing’ plans for swingeing cuts in conditions

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When Nautilus officials and members went to meet Stena Line management last month they were expecting to receive an update on the company’s performance before kicking off talks on this year’s pay claim.

But, instead, they left the meeting deeply shocked after the company tabled far-reaching proposals for radical cuts in members’ working conditions — warning that the alternative would be a move to low-cost foreign crewing.

Stena said the plans had been put together as part of a strategic plan to return the company to profit after a decade of losses. It pointed to intense competitive pressures on the Irish Sea, as well as the high costs of pensions provision for its seagoing staff.

‘Without taking action, future manning costs will escalate,’ it argued, ‘and there is increased competition from ferry operators with lower employment costs.

Unless we are able to achieve a lower cost model for the manning and management of our vessels, similar to our competitors, we cannot be a successful or sustainable company.’

Management wants to slash costs by £10m this year, and says it could do this by moving to ‘a non-UK crewing model’ with rates of pay starting below the UK national minimum wage, and large-scale redundancies.

But, it told members, the company wants to retain the principle of UK and Irish labour and to maintain as many of the existing core jobs as possible. To do so, however, it says the employment costs have to be cut by at least 10%.

Stena said that rather than making detailed proposals for the cuts, it wants to ‘engage with staff and unions to discuss options further, with an objective to achieve the required savings and to secure jobs’.

The company is seeking a pay freeze for all staff and to postpone the second stage of pay harmonisation for onboard services staff.

Unions in discussions on campaign cooperation organiser Micky Smyth F is pictured with RMT national

Nautilus national ferries

secretary Steve Todd following talks between the two unions on closer cooperation.

Talks involving Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson and RMT leader Bob Crow resulted in an agreement to work together more closely in companies where both have members.

The initiative follows the announcement of the Nautilus It is also planning to shift the technical management of the Irish Sea fleet to Northern Marine Group companies.

Management have requested talks on increasing work time from 24 weeks to 26 per year, to introduce new lower-graded positions in some departments and to bring in a new pay scale for new entrants.

‘Not making change is not an option,’ it warned. ‘The current structure of terms and conditions is not sustainable.’

campaign to defend employment, training and conditions in the European ferry sector and RMT’s offshore campaign.

‘Steve and I have worked with each other on various occasions over the past 20 years,’ said Mr Smyth, ‘and we are keen to link up again to tackle the problems we have in the ferry industry. It’s clear that both unions face similar, if not the same problems, and working together can only be of benefit to all our members.’

Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson commented: ‘We are shocked but not surprised by these proposals, which present serious implications for the ferry industry and the jobs and conditions of seafarers working in the entire sector.

‘What is clear, however, is that Stena’s plan is yet another sad sign of the need for the UK government, the UK Chamber of Shipping and the European Commission to urgently act to safeguard standards in the ferry trades. This

sector is one of the last bastions of decent pay and conditions for our seafarers, and politicians cannot afford to allow the sector to be dragged into a race to the bottom on employment standards. Companies should not be allowed to import international pay rates into domestic and intraEuropean ferry trades. France has recently announced plans to make sure that French pay and conditions are applied to all ferries operating in its waters, and other EU member states must follow suit.

‘Whilst we have been aware of the difficult trading position and the slow pace of recovery — particularly in the Irish Sea — the scale and severity of what Stena Line has tabled is very disturbing, and especially worrying in terms of reduced leave and the impact on levels of fatigue,’ Mr Dickinson added.

‘We believe management need to do much more to substantiate the case for such drastic proposals,’ he stressed. ‘In recent months there has been increasing evidence to indicate that labour costs are much less of a significant factor in shipping companies’ overall operating costs and that fuel prices are the dominant factor.

There is certainly the question of whether Stena is seeking to make its seafarers pay for the cost of the environmental measures that it will have to adopt to comply with emissions reduction regulations.

‘Stena will be aware that any move to low-cost labour for operating its ships will not only compromise the safe and efficient running of its fleet, but also create profound social and political problems.

‘Nautilus will engage with Stena to protect members’ interests, but we will not be agreeing any changes to terms and conditions without members’ agreement, and we are conducting urgent and extensive consultations with our members before making a formal response to the company’s proposals.’

Global offer improved Carr is pictured left with Global A Marine Systems partnership at work

Nautilus industrial organiser Lisa

reps Geoff Hemmings, Alan Hellier and Rob Brenton during a meeting with management last month.

Talks were held with company representatives Paul Rose and Simon Hibberd following the rejection of a pay and condition offer by members employed by GMSG. Nearly 90% of members rejected the company’s 2.75% pay offer, with changes to the early recall window.

04-05 at work.indd 5

As a result of the discussions, a revised offer has been received by the Union. The improved package includes a 2.75% increase in basic pay, with an additional 0.25% additional one-off payment (based on December 2013 salaries), and the triggering of the discretionary bonus scheme payment.

The company confirmed that this would give all employees a minimum 3% increase backdated to 1 January 2014.

Members are now being consulted on the offer.

shortreports MAERSK SILENCE: despite the best efforts of Nautilus officials and Partnership at Work committees, there has been no response on the pay and conditions claims for members working on various Maersk Offshore contracts. National secretary Steve Doran has chased the company, but was last month still awaiting responses to claims on behalf of members employed on Maersk containerships, tankers, Safmarine containerships and the NKossa II. SHELL WAIT: Nautilus industrial organiser Derek Byrne has met Shell International Shipping and QGTC management to discuss the 2014 pay review. Mr Byrne said that the meeting was constructive and he was now awaiting a formal response to the claim. He has been advised that this may not be available until midFebruary.

RED RESULTS: members employed by Red Funnel have voted to accept an across-the-board pay increase of 3%. This option was preferred over a reduction in contracted hours and a 0.6% increase in pay, or a reduction in hours and a change to the overtime rate without any increase in pay. The increase will be effective from 1 January 2014.

MANX DEAL: a majority of members employed by Manx Sea Transport Guernsey and serving onboard the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company vessels have voted to accept the company’s pay and conditions offer. The offer included a pay increase of 2.68% and was payable from 1 January 2014.

WIGHTLINK REVIEW: the consultation period for members employed by Wightlink was due to conclude as the Telegraph went to press. The offer includes a five year pay deal with increases ranging from 0.3% to 0.1% above RPI each year.

PG SETTLEMENT: members employed by PG Tankers have voted to accept the company’s offer of a 3.3% increase in pay. The next pay review date is 1 January 2015.

WESTERN AIMS: members employed by Western Ferries are being asked for their pay and conditions aspirations ahead of the 1 April review date.

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06 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

OFFSHORE NEWS

shortreports CRASH PROBE: an inquiry into the Super Puma helicopter crash in April last year, in which 16 people were killed, has heard that a gearbox inspection was closed when no abnormalities were discovered. The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) report into the accident blamed a ‘catastrophic gearbox failure’ for the crash. However, a routine inspection had been made the night before it crashed into the North Sea off the coast of Peterhead, and no abnormalities were found.

GULF START: an early start is being made on this year’s pay and conditions review at Gulf Offshore.

Members serving with the company are being asked for their views on the contents of the claim, although the review date is not until 1 July. The company has requested that the Union begin the process early to avoid any delays. Members should submit their views to the Union’s northern office before Friday 14 February.

BOURBON TRANSFERS: French offshore operator Bourbon has announced the transfer of ownership of 12 vessels to the Chinese company ICBC Financial Leasing for a total of approximately US$378m.

The move forms part of a sale and bareboat charter agreement for up to 51 vessels agreed last year and the remaining vessels are expected to transfer during the first half of 2014.

TECHNIP UPDATE: Nautilus officials and liaison reps have met management at Technip Singapore to discuss members’ rejection of a two-year pay deal.

Industrial organiser Derek Byrne said the meeting was very productive, with good progress made, and he was awaiting a formal response from the company as the Telegraph went to press.

DIVE DEAL: members employed by Bibby Ship Management as dive techs on the DSV agreement have voted to accept the company’s pay offer. The two-year deal included changing pay rates to day rates with increases ranging from 8.46% and 12.92% for 2013 and 4.17% for 2014.

DEEP OFFER: members employed by DeepOcean are being consulted on the company’s full and final pay and conditions offer. The offer includes an increase in basic pay of 3.5% and an increase in the subsea allowance of 20%. Results are expected early this month.

SEALION MEETING: Nautilus officials and liaison officers were due to meet with Seahorse Maritime as the Telegraph went to press to discuss the Union’s pay and conditions claim for members serving onboard Sealion vessels.

FARSTAD REVIEW: members employed by Farstad Singapore are being asked to give their views on the contents of the forthcoming pay and conditions claim ahead of the 1 April review date.

DUTCH ORDER: Dutch shipyard De Hoop of the Netherlands has secured an order to design and deliver 10 platform supply vessels (PSVs) for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

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06 offshore.indd 6

Minister shrugs off windfarm worries Response to Nautilus safety concerns describes sector as a ‘success story’

P

Nautilus has expressed disappointment at the UK shipping minister’s response to its concerns over marine safety in the growing offshore renewables sector.

General secretary Mark Dickinson wrote to the minister, Stephen Hammond, calling for urgent action following a Marine Accident Investigation Branch report on two serious incidents, which warned of the ‘clear potential for a rise in the number and severity of accidents’.

Nautilus warned Mr Hammond that the MAIB report was echoed by members’ experiences in the sector, with reports of excessive working hours, bullying and harassment, being forced to operate in extreme sea states, and shortfalls in training and experience.

But in a response to the Union last month, the minister described the expansion in the number of UK-registered workboats as ‘something of a success story’ and said the Maritime & Coastguard Agency had assured him that ‘in the busy summer

The windfarm vessel EEC Topaz sinking Picture: Sophy McCully/RNLI

months, thousands of personnel transfers at sea are safely carried out’.

Mr Hammond acknowledged, however, that ‘effort is required from industry to establish a “shared safety culture” that will prevent future accidents’, and he said the MCA is supporting the MAIB recommendations – including the production of a ‘best practice’ guide.

Mr Dickinson said he was ‘underwhelmed’ by the minister’s response, which failed to demonstrate that the worrying evidence raised by members and in the MAIB report are being treated with sufficient seriousness.

Emergency services responded to three further windfarm vessel incidents last month. In one case, the crew of the standby vessel VOS Discovery were praised for

their support after a fire onboard a windfarm support vessel some 4nm off Great Yarmouth. A crewman onboard the vessel Norfolk Tern had to be airlifted to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation following a fire in the starboard engine.

In another case, three crewmen were rescued when the windfarm transfer vessel EEC Topaz caught fire and sank 10nm off Lowestoft. Humber Coastguard coordinated the rescue operation after the crew abandoned the vessel and were airlifted to hospital by an RAF helicopter.

Graham Dawson, watch manager at Humber Coastguard, said: ‘The fire was quite severe and the crew had no option but to abandon the vessel. The crew had the correct lifesaving equipment and rescue resources were quickly on scene.’

In the third incident, an RNLI lifeboat went to the aid of the windfarm maintenance vessel Attender after it suffered total loss of power in the approaches to Barrow Channel, with 12 passengers and two crew onboard.

Positive messages for the North Sea queueing up to give out positive F messages about the short-term North Sea companies are

prospects for the oil and gas industry.

Energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said that 2014 will be ‘pivotal’ because of the Scottish independence referendum in September and the publication of the final recommendations of the Wood Review on the recovery and regulation of the offshore oil and gas industry.

It reported that investment in the North Sea has reached its highest levels since the 1970s and that 2014 looked to continue the upward trend.

‘In terms of UK production, the outlook is positive, as we forecast 14 new fields will be brought onstream,’ said researcher Lindsay Wexelstein.

‘Despite poor exploration success over the last few years, the second tranche of awards associated with the 27th UK offshore licensing round in November 2013 demonstrates that companies are still interested in exploring in the UK.’ But she noted that estimates were not guarantees, as 21 new fields had been forecast for 2013 but stretched resources led to only 13 coming onstream.

‘We anticipate £21.3bn will be spent on capital investment across 2013 and 2014,’ she added. ‘We expect to see activity increase in 2014, albeit on the back of low levels in 2013 as some of the larger players continue to look to optimise their portfolios.’

Trade association Oil & Gas UK said that the industry was currently in a ‘paradox’ — with record levels of investment and declining exploration.

‘We now have a two-speed North Sea,’ said CEO Malcolm Webb.

‘On the one hand we have seen tremendously strong development activity from a small number of large,

highly robust projects plus a greater number of smaller ones, only made commercial by targeted reductions in unsustainably high tax rates, ranging from 62% to 81%.

‘Meanwhile, production from existing fields has fallen significantly and the total number of exploration wells has dropped to just 15, according to data published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change,’ he added. ‘Unless we do something about exploration now, we face a risk of a collapse in capital spend in a few years’ time and hence lower future production.’

Maersk tables ‘full and final’ offer to members final’ pay and conditions offer F for members employed by Maersk

Nautilus has received a ‘full and

Offshore serving onboard supply vessels.

The two-year deal includes a 2.5% increase in pay from 1 June 2013 and 3% from 1 June 2014.

National secretary Steve Doran said that he was pleased that the company had taken into account the Union’s previous proposals when making the revised offer. He has also contacted the company requesting further improvements, but has been informed that the latest offer

constitutes the full and final position.

In making the offer, Maersk confirmed that its strategy is to operate in the deepwater anchor handling segment, and that it requires officers to hold suitable CoCs. Those officers holding restricted CoCs will be responsible for upgrading them

to unlimited, in agreement with the company.

Mr Doran has asked all affected members — especially those who currently hold a limited CoC — to contact him with their opinions on the offer. Results of the consultation are expected early this month.

A new Dawn for Island platform supply vessel Island A Dawn, which was delivered to the Pictured left is the new

Norwegian operator Island Offshore last month.

The 2,500gt vessel was built at the Vard Brevik yard and is the third in a series of four Rolls-Royce UT717 CD designs. It joins Island Offshore’s expanding fleet of 25 vessels, including PSVs and anchor-handlers.

Island Dawn is going into service in the North Sea, transporting pipes and general deck cargo, liquids, cement and barite to drilling rigs.

Of 84.45m loa, the Norwegianflagged vessel is part-equipped for subsequent duties as a standby/ rescue vessel and, when fully upgraded to Norwegian maritime directorate standards, will have a rescue capacity for 220 survivors.

22/01/2014 17:48

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 07

NEWS

Fisher goes Dutch flag Fisher Everard tanker Kestrel A Fisher, which has just entered into

Pictured left is the new James

service following delivery by the Dutch builders Damen Shipyards, The 7,076dwt Dutch-flagged vessel is a sistership to King Fisher, delivered in June 2013. Both of the double-hull tankers were outfitted at the DSB yard in Harlingen after the hulls were built by Damen Shipyards Galati, in Romania.

The two tankers have been deployed by James Fisher, on an open management basis, to carry gasoline, diesel oil, lubrication oil and jet fuels along the British Isles, around

MLC talks on wages cover for seafarers Hopes that amendments will clear up liability for paying abandoned crews

P

Nautilus is backing moves to ensure that the Maritime Labour Convention will be amended to ensure that abandoned seafarers do not lose their unpaid wages in future.

Top-level talks between unions, owners and governments on the first amendments to the MLC are due to begin in April — and the issue of liability for unpaid wages will be high on the agenda.

The discussions — which will be held at the International Labour Organisation headquarters in Geneva — will consider the specific inclusion of unpaid crew wages in the shipowner’s MLC obligation to repatriate crew in cases of abandonment.

Thomas Brown, managing director of the specialist insurance firm Seacurus, says that by making the requirements com-

pulsory the MLC could help to drive out substandard operators.

‘If you cannot pay your crew, you should not put your ship to sea, it’s that simple,’ he said.

‘Any arguments to the contrary would serve to do our industry a disservice,’ he added. ‘Unfortunately, without the proposed amendments, there is currently no meaningful deterrent to this premise.’

Mr Brown described the reported doubts about the insurance industry’s ability to cover the liability for unpaid wages of abandoned seafarers under the MLC as ‘inaccurate and ill-founded’.

He also rejected claims that insurance to cover unpaid wages would be unfeasibly expensive for owners — pointing out that his company’s CrewSECURE policy can offer this for annual premiums as low as US$50 per seafarer.

Mr Brown said it was time for ‘clarity and certainty’ on the issues. ‘The fact is that any cover which does not provide for the indemnification of unpaid wages fails to adequately protect seafarers against the real risk of abandonment,’ he added.

‘Effective employment protection must include crew wages, without which seafarers risk becoming the cashflow casualties of their employers’ insolvencies.’

Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson said he was hopeful the meeting will adopt the proposals. ‘Most decent seafarers will see this as a moral imperative, as well as something which will help to eradicate unfair competition,’ he added. z Nautilus International’s guide to the MLC is now available on the Union’s website, as well as in hard copy format.

The 60-page booklet was pro-

duced in conjunction with the International Transport Workers’ Federation, and aims to provide members with clear guidance on the rights they have under the convention, as well as practical tips to ensure compliance or to report non-compliance.

Head of legal services Charles Boyle said he hoped the guide would help deliver the improvements in working conditions that the MLC was intended to provide.

‘It is generic advice and it is just part of the important work that Nautilus is doing to ensure that the MLC proves effective,’ he added. g To view an online copy of the guide, visit www.nautilusint.org.

Members can also request a PDF version by emailing webmaster@ nautilusint.org or a hard copy by emailing centralservices@ nautilusint.org or calling +44 (0) 20 8989 6677.

Unions to lobby over EU state aid rules

IMO leader urges new approach to safety Maritime Organisation has F re-stated his aim of halving the

The head of the International

number of deaths at sea — and has urged countries to come up with ideas for a 21st century system of shipping safety.

Speaking at the first session of the IMO’s new ship design and construction sub-committee last month, secretary-general Koji Sekimizu said he remains determined to secure the elimination of piracy and to reduce maritime casualties by 50%.

He said his priorities include action to address piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, agreement on the entry into force of the ballast water management

F

rules, which were adopted in 2004.

Unions accused the Commission of missing ‘a golden opportunity’ to ensure that state aid for shipping delivers increased training and employment of EU seafarers after concluding its four-year review of the guidelines with a ‘do nothing’ decision.

They say that measures such as tonnage tax and social security

concessions have not delivered the hoped-for increases in recruitment and have urged Brussels to close loopholes in the rules by more tightly linking state aid to requirements for increased job opportunities for EU seafarers, and additional training and cadet berths.

The unions also want to see a stricter definition of the term ‘bona fide’ Community seafarer —

restricting it to nationals residing on a permanent basis in a particular member state.

‘It is not an unreasonable requirement to insist that tax incentives should generate jobs growth for European citizens, otherwise the skills base in Europe upon which the European maritime cluster depends will suffer,’ warned ETF secretary Philippe Alfonso.

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convention, and the introduction of a mandatory code for ships operating in polar waters, along with the implementation of goal-based standards for the rules of construction for tankers and bulkers.

Mr Sekimizu said that more work is needed to learn the lessons of the Costa Concordia disaster and he warned that ‘the stakes are high’ when passengership safety is discussed at the IMO maritime safety committee in May. The IMO leader said he wanted governments to help formulate a new approach to regulation, 100 years after the adoption of the first SOLAS Convention.

Watch Ashore branches out

Picture: Danny Kenny

chairwoman Chris Rankin, H planting a commemorative oak tree

Pictured above is Watch Ashore

Nautilus is set to be part of a maritime union delegation meeting a top European Commission official this month to discuss concerns about the EU state aid guidelines for shipping.

The European Transport Workers’ Federation called for the talks late last year after voicing ‘utmost disappointment’ at the Commission’s decision not to modify the existing

mainland Europe and in Scandinavian and Baltic waters, operating at a service speed of around 12.5 knots.

Powered by a MAK type 8M25C main engine, the ships feature a power take-in facility, under which the diesel generator sets will immediately power the shaft generator — mounted on the gearbox — should the main engine fail.

The vessels also feature high-spec accommodation for 10 seafarers and one supernumerary, including noisereduction measures, to improve the living and working environment for crew members.

last month at the Nautilus Mariners’ Park estate. She was accompanied by Nautilus welfare services manager Mick Howarth (centre) and local Watch Ashore supporters Ian and Barbara Samples, Sue Williams and Jennie McCaig.

The oak is the traditional emblem to mark an 80th anniversary — a

milestone recently celebrated by the MN wives’ and partners’ group — and Mariners’ Park was chosen as the location for the tree in honour of the Watch Ashore’s long-standing links with the Nautilus Welfare Fund.

While at the Park on 21 January, Mrs Rankin also gave a presentation on the Seafarers Link telephone friendship scheme for retired mariners, encouraging new members to join.

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22/01/2014 17:48

08 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

LARGE YACHT NEWS

Degree course first for UKSA

London Boat Show visitors down as sales increase had nearly 90,000 visitors F across nine days of the event — down This year’s London Boat Show

Foundation accreditation for Cowes-based programme

P

The Isle of Wight-based youth charity and training centre UKSA has become the first British yacht school to receive university accreditation to run a degreelevel course.

UKSA’s Superyacht Cadetship Programme now includes a foundation degree in Operational Yacht Science alongside the training that leads to professional maritime certification — a similar system to the foundation degree/officer of the watch courses offered by Britain’s main nautical colleges.

Run in conjunction with The University of Plymouth and Falmouth Marine School, the UKSA foundation degree has gained accreditation from UCAS (the

British universities and colleges admissions service).

In a statement last month, UKSA said that the decision to offer a foundation degree was part of the general move towards professionalisation in the large yacht sector.

‘Gone are the days of enthusiastic backpackers and amateur yachties walking the jetties looking for seasonal work,’ it noted.

‘Recent changes to maritime legislation and much higher standards of maritime safety now require entry level yacht crew to have successfully completed a raft of qualifications including full medicals, sea survival training, fire fighting and first aid as bare minimum.’

A particular advantage of

UCAS accreditation is that foundation degree students at UKSA will now be able to apply for student loans. In addition, those interested in gaining a place on the cadetship programme can access bursaries and sponsorship to help support them during their studies.

UKSA cadetship manager Emma Baggett commented: ‘This is the first time a yacht training establishment has been able to provide crew with a UCAS-accredited degree qualification to back up traditional maritime tickets. Our aim is not only to equip yacht crew with the skills and knowledge required to work on a superyacht, but also to provide them with the academic foundations for a life outside of yachting.’

Warsash enters into new training firm partnership

Report reveals signs of upturn

(WSA) and Da Gama Maritime F (DGM) have announced a new

industry is on the road to F recovery have been revealed with

Warsash Superyacht Academy

partnership agreement to enhance the training services they offer in support of the superyacht sector.

Based in Chichester, Da Gama Maritime is run by experienced mariners and aims to help seafarers meet regulatory requirements through the provision of fully managed chart outfit services, professional training and expert advice.

MD Steve Monk commented: ‘This company was established to enhance

the safety of those who work at sea through the highest professional standards in navigation and firefighting. We are therefore delighted to have been recognised for these skills

by WSA and to now collaborate with the Academy as its business partner.’

WSA business development manager Lars Lippuner added: ‘Mandatory safety training is only a small element of developing the necessary skills for crew to run a safe and efficient yacht at the highest levels. In our opinion onboard training that involves exercises with the entire crew is invaluable.’

Lairdside Maritime Centre

Signs that the superyacht

the publication of the annual Boat International Global Order Book.

The 2014 edition reveals that 735 new yachts are under construction or on order, a 6.2% increase over the 2013 figures. Orders for yachts over 100m have grown from 14 projects last year to 19 this year and there has been a 15.5% increase in new orders in the 24 to 30m sector of the market.

The report also reveals that sailing yachts and expedition-type vessels are slowly increasing their market share, with sailing yacht orders up by 11.8%.

Ranking nations by the aggregate length of their current projects, Italy is still by far the number one yachtbuilding nation, but the Netherlands and Turkey have consolidated their places. The US is losing its lead over UK builders, whose tally is up 51% in the last two years.

A Sunseeker 40M at the London Boat Show. The British company also revealed its new 115 model at the event Picture: onEdition

from almost 100,000 last year, despite signs that the industry has grown to pre-recession levels.

Sales from the 60th anniversary show indicate that confidence is growing in the industry, with some exhibitors reporting record-breaking figures.

Research from the British Marine Federation found that the industry had grown by 1.7% in the last year and is now worth more than £2.9bn. Sales of boats made in the UK destined for international clients rose 7.9% in the 12 months to April 2013, compared with an 8.3% fall a year earlier.

‘The research revealed by the British Marine Federation at the Show, which highlights the marine industry’s significant contribution to the UK economy, emphasises the fundamental purpose of our event to showcase the best brands in this sector,’ said Peter Gordon, chairman of National Boat Shows.

‘The value of this event is emphasised by 76 debuts being held at the show and a number of new brands showcasing their products.’

MCA chief pledges career ‘mobility’ Coastguard Agency has spoken F of his hope that transferable crew The head of the UK Maritime &

qualifications can be developed to enable more ‘ambitious and mobile’ seafaring careers.

Speaking to an audience at the Superyacht UK seminar during the London Boat Show, MCA chief executive Sir Alan Massey said the Agency was not composed of ‘faceless bureaucrats’ and is working with the superyacht industry to do what is best for the sector without creating excessive ‘red tape’.

He described the MCA’s Large yacht Code as the ‘de facto international standard’ — claiming it had a substantial status of its own. ‘Years ago, the code was described as a white light against the background of a black economy, where yachts built for private use were operating commercially, but outside the bounds

of international regulations for vessels of their size,’ he added.

Sir Alan said the code had enabled yachts to run commercial operations normally, but without the great expense and complication of using international rules that had been designed for completely different types of vessel. ‘Common sense prevailed,’ he stressed.

The MCA chief congratulated the Superyacht Builders’ Association (SYBAss) for securing full consultative status at the International Maritime Organisation, which he described as ‘good news for the entire superyacht industry’. fFind out about what the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) means to you by attending the Union’s special two-day MLC training course in Palma, just before the start of the Dovaston Crew Show in April. For more details, email: recruitment@nautilusint.org.

Plan for carrier conversion

MCA chief executive Sir Alan Massey Picture: onEdition

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08 yachts.indd 6

into a massive superyacht when it is withdrawn from service this year have been revealed by a Southampton-based company.

The Ministry of Defence wants the ship to be preserved after leaving service and has asked for innovative proposals from a range of organisations, including private sector companies, charities and trusts.

Rather than rehash the idea of building a royal yacht to replace Britannia, James Roy, yacht design director at BMT Nigel Gee (BMT), thinks the ship could become a

Commonwealth yacht, promoting trade, attending international events and undertaking humanitarian and disaster relief work around the globe.

In partnership with the Austrian firm Sigmund Yacht Design, BMT has drawn up a concept for the future of the 1982-built vessel, with triple

forms placed on the deck echoing the sails of clipper ships.

Peter Symonds, the owner of Sigmund Yacht Design, commented: ‘The design concept provides an opportunity to extend the life of the vessel well into the foreseeable future with innovation, creativity and an eye for detail.’

22/01/2014 17:49

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 09

NEWS

Call for ‘grace’ on security training Owners urge IMO to delay enforcement of new STCW certification rules

P

Shipowners have urged the International Maritime Organisation to grant a ‘grace period’ for the enforcement of new securityrelated training requirements for seafarers.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) said it is concerned that some ships could face inspection problems as a result of the certification rules which came into effect on 1 January 2014 in line with the 2010 amendments to the STCW Convention.

Regulation VI/6 of the updated convention stipulates mandatory minimum requirements for security-related instruction for all seafarers, which, where relevant — such as for ship security officers as defined by the ISPS Code — requires certificates of proficiency to be issued by administrations to seafarers from 1 January 2014.

ICS pointed out that the transitional measures for the security rules are different from those applied to other changes introduced by STCW 2010 and which are being phased in between now and 2017.

Secretary general Peter Hinchliffe explained: ‘We understand that the training and familiarisation required by STCW 2010 has only just recently been approved by some maritime administrations, whilst others may not yet even have these arrangements in place. This could present serious difficulties for companies that need to ensure that the seafarers they employ are trained and certificated as required by STCW 2010.’

He added: ‘For the most part this is really just a technicality, since most existing seafarers have already undergone necessary

levels of training and instruction as required by the ISPS Code.

Given that certification is entirely a government responsibility, we think that a short delay in PSC enforcement can be justified.’

The proposal will be considered by the IMO this month. Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson commented: ‘It is entirely sensible to use the five-year transitional period to 1 January 2017, given that training should already be in place as provided within the ISPS Code and implemented through the ISM Code.’ z The UK-based company IMSA Ltd is now delivering the new mandatory Proficiency in Designated Security Duties (PDSD) course in just one day following an agreement with the Maritime & Coastguard Agency.

‘We have been informed by

the MCA that this model course can now be conducted over one day instead of 1.5 days due to the recent introduction of the security courses criteria issued by the Merchant Navy Training Board,’ said IMSA general manager Angela Farrell. The MNTB criteria state that the training shall be not less than eight contact hours and may be delivered as a full-time block course spread over one day.

IMSA is delivering one-day PDSD training courses every month in 2014 in the UK, and will also provide the training for clients at any overseas location or onboard. The company’s MCA-approved trainers all have maritime military backgrounds, meaning that seafarers receive ‘real life’ operational experience to complement their theorybased training. g See M-notices, page 46.

Costs row threatens fresh delays for canal upgrade F

A dispute over the escalating costs of constructing the expansion to the Panama Canal, pictured left, threatened to halt work on the US$3.2bn project last month.

A European consortium involved in the scheme, which began more than four years ago, said it would suspend work unless it received compensation for $1.6m in cost over-runs.

The project to widen and deepen the canal to accommodate the new generation of bigger ships was due to

finish this year, but is now nine months behind schedule — with final costs estimated to total some $5.25bn.

The Panama Canal Authority, ACP, said it believed the contract for the project would ensure the completion of the new locks, even if it has to step in to assume control of the project.

‘We will seek to resolve this conflict in the best possible manner within the legal framework of the contract,’ said canal administrator Jorge Quijano.

Picture: Eric Houri

Report points to shortfalls in rules for seafarers’ rest time reasons why a ship ran aground F after the officer of the watch fell Investigators looking into the

asleep, have pointed to shortcomings in the current rules governing hours of work and rest.

The Danish-registered tanker Dart went aground on a rock in a fjord in Norway some 10 minutes after the mate fell asleep and failed to alter course at a planned waypoint during a voyage carrying drilling mud from Dusavik to Floroe.

Investigators said the mate was working a six-on/six-off watch rota and had adjusted his sleep pattern so he slept for around five hours between 0600 and 1200 and about 2.5 hours between 1800 and 0000.

Although he said he was comfortable with the arrangements and did not feel tired, the Danish Marine Accident Investigation Board (DMAIB) report notes that the

09 news.indd 9

The Danish tanker Dart aground off Norway last year Picture: DMAIB

schedules meant a lack of sleep would accumulate while he was onboard the ship.

During the periods offwatch, he would have had to eat, wash and socialise, the report points out, and it would not be possible to get six hours of uninterrupted sleep.

His work and sleep patterns also conflicted with his biological circadian rhythms, degrading the quality of sleep and meaning that he was on duty at a time when his body was producing sleep hormones, it adds.

The report points to the findings of the EU Project Horizon research,

in which microsleep incidents were recorded among 45% of participants on the 0000-0600 watch in a six-on/ six-off rota.

The DMAIB said the regulations set a quantity for the hours of rest, but do not address the quality of the sleep. ‘Therefore, compliance with the provisions on hours of rest onboard Dart is not the same as saying that the mate was rested,’ the report stresses.

Following the accident, the ship’s operator has decided to evaluate the watch shifts on the basis of the report analysis and has introduced a mandatory lookout on the bridge during the 0000-0600 period.

Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson said he was pleased to see the report’s acknowledgement of the Project Horizon study. But he added: ‘What will it take to bring about change and stop the issuance of such “safe” manning certificates?’

Atlantic rower pays tribute to QM2 crew received vital assistance from A the Cunard vessel Queen Mary 2 A transatlantic rower who

after running into problems midocean has been reunited with the vessel in Southampton.

Mylène Paquette, who was aiming to row solo from Halifax, Canada, to Lorient in France, was helped by the ship in September last year after she lost an anchor, a satellite phone, other equipment and supplies during a storm.

After receiving a request for assistance, Queen Mary 2 provided her with a new satellite phone and two drogue anchors, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, bottled water, tea, coffee and hot chocolate sachets. But it was not possible to squeeze in a blanket that she had also requested for her boat.

She then went on to achieve her dream of becoming the first

North American woman to row solo from Canada to France — after 10 capsizes, four broken oars (out of eight) and a total of 130 days at sea.

Reunited with the ship in Southampton, she met Captain Kevin Oprey, above, who presented her with the missing blanket. ‘We were happy to have given assistance to Mylène and helped her recover from the damage inflicted by the storm, but at Cunard we like to finish the job, which is why I was so keen to meet Mylène to congratulate her on her extraordinary feat — and to present her with the blanket,’ said Capt Oprey.

‘I’d like to thank Captain Oprey and Cunard for their wonderful assistance while I was rowing the Atlantic,’ said Mylène. ‘This blanket represents the goodwill and spirit of kinship which helped me achieve my dream.’

Online ECDIS aims to cut officer workloads promising to cut seafarers’ F workloads with a new electronic

A marine equipment firm is

chart and display information system offering automatic download and installation of charts, updates and notices to mariners.

Martek Marine says its iECDIS system is its first model to integrate a GSM modem, using a mobile network signal to bring the system up to date anywhere with mobile reception — even downloading the most recent piracy warnings and weather forecasts which can be instantly overlaid on the chart display.

Designed and built to military specification, iECDIS is available on

lease as well as outright purchase.

Product specialist Bentley StraffordStephenson commented: ‘We’ve created a market-leading solution which combines cutting-edge technology with a very lucrative commercial proposition and a system which mariners will want to use and ship managers will find easy to adopt.’

He said iECDIS has features such as weather, radar, piracy and icechart overlays and route planning, along with freely updatable charts and software updates which can be uploaded within minutes.

The company is also developing comprehensive user training packages, he added.

Cruise crime warning when the Costa Concordia F capsized off Italy two years ago

The cruise industry is safer than

— but it still needs to do more to protect passengers and crew, a US government report warned last month.

The Government Accountability Office said cruise companies and US federal agencies had implemented 11 out of 15 recommended measures to improve safety and security onboard

passengerships. But it noted that more needs to be done to equip ships with ‘man overboard’ alarm technology and video surveillance to document crimes onboard.

Further work is required on the certification of those training crew in crime scene preservation techniques and improvements are needed in arrangements for reporting and recording crime onboard. fCrime concerns — see page 19.

22/01/2014 17:50

10 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

NEWS

Charity fined for ‘floating classroom’ safety breach

Union warns over Coastguard cuts the UK have highlighted the F need to retain expert Coastguard Recent storms and floods in

resources and knowledge in coastal communities, the PCS union has warned.

As well as coordinating rescue operations at sea, Coastguard staff assisted other emergency services and the Environment Agency in cities and towns affected by the extreme weather.

PCS has warned that the current programme of rationalisation — which has seen the closure of three Coastguard stations and Brixham, Liverpool, Portland, Solent, Swansea and Walton on the Naze all earmarked for closure — could put lives at risk.

Last summer the union revealed all stations were understaffed, and published official figures showing

almost a quarter of shifts were staffed below the risk-assessed levels between January 2012 and May 2013, and latest figures show the problems continue.

Retired staff have recently had to be brought in to provide a skeleton emergency service and in Liverpool untrained volunteers have been used to provide cover, PCS claims.

Clyde and Forth in Scotland, and Yarmouth in the east of England have already shut ahead of a new national operations centre on the south coast being up and running, contrary to a previous assurance from the government that this would not happen, it added.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: ‘Ministers must put an immediate halt to their station closure plans that we continue to believe will put lives at risk.’

runs ‘floating classroom’ trips D for school children has been ordered A London-based charity that

Scottish Deck Hand students follow in their family footsteps is Ishabel MacIntyre — one of A two female students who recently

Pictured above with classmates

Tanker spills increase there was an increase in the F number of large spills from tankers

A new report has revealed that

last year.

Data from The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) showed there were three spills over 700 tonnes in 2013, with a total of 7,000 tonnes of oil lost to the environment. The previous year had seen the lowest amount of oil spilled

since records began in 1970, and no large spills were recorded.

Despite the increase over 2012 and 2011’s results, the ITOPF said the total volume of spills so far this decade is a sixth of that recorded in the same period 10 years ago. ‘These incidents illustrate the unpredictability of spills and the importance of preparing to respond to the range of oils that can be spilt,’ it added.

completed the trainee Merchant Navy Deck Hand course at the Scottish Maritime Academy, in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.

Together with Cordelia Munro, Ishabel has joined a select group of just four females who have undertaken the course to date.

Ishabel comes from the Isle of Barra, in the Outer Hebrides, which has a population of only 1,500. Most

of the population earn a living from or on the sea, working as fishers or in the offshore oil and gas industry.

Both Ishabel and Cordelia come from families with a long and extensive seafaring tradition, and centre manager Linda Hope said she was delighted to see them following in the footsteps of their relatives.

‘The trainee Merchant Navy Deck Hand course is suitable for anyone who wishes to start a career in either the Merchant Navy or in the offshore supply and standby vessel fleet,’ she

explained. ‘It’s really encouraging that we are starting to attract more female students in what is, historically, a predominantly male industry.’

The Scottish Maritime Academy at North East Scotland College is housed in a refurbished £1.2m bespoke facility overlooking Peterhead Marina, and usually runs the 12-week course at least three times a year. g Further information at www. smaritime.co.uk.

to pay £3,300 in fines and costs after it admitted operating its vessel without a valid safety certificate for six months.

The Beauchamp Lodge Settlement was prosecuted after a Maritime & Coastguard Agency inspection discovered that its barge had been used 67 times carrying children between January and July last year without a certificate.

The charity’s chief executive, Simon Ryder, pleaded guilty at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court to using the vessel without a certificate, which was put down to ‘a management oversight’.

The vessel was also found to have a number of defects and posed ‘a real risk to passengers’, the court heard.

Charitable status did not exempt The Beauchamp Lodge Settlement from its obligations, the District Judge said.

Following the hearing, MCA surveyor Robert Shaw commented: ‘It is essential that passenger vessels are in a fit state and carry the correct emergency equipment. Passenger vessel certification is the means by which such vessels are checked for safety. Operators have a duty to make sure they run safe vessels.’

‘League table’ lists the best flag states Warsash masters Owners are urged to take note of performance-based registry rankings get their awards P Warsash Maritime Academy’s A MSc Shipping Operations course The first graduates from

are pictured outside Southampton Guildhall after being presented with their awards at Southampton Solent University’s graduation ceremony.

Launched in the summer of 2011 and accredited by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), the MSc Shipping Operations is aimed at professionals working in the maritime industry and focuses specifically on the safety and human resource management aspects of maritime operations.

The course is offered fully online using Southampton Solent University’s virtual learning environment, SOL, making it accessible for those who are serving at sea or who are in shore-side positions where taking time off to study on a residential course is not possible. Each student has a dedicated academic tutor, who can give advice via Skype, phone or email.

Course leader Claire Pekcan commented: ‘We are very

10-11 news.indd 10

proud of the students and their achievements, and wish them every success for the future.

‘We are also extremely happy with the success of the MSc Shipping Operations’ she added. ‘It was designed to enable maritime professionals to earn while they learn and to develop both personally and professionally. Our students’ success is evidence that it is achieving this and more. In fact, it has surpassed our expectations and given us the confidence to develop the concept of online master’s programmes for the maritime industry still further.’

Graduate Captain Martin Hislop said of his experiences studying online: ‘I was travelling a lot, so the fact that it was online was very useful. When I asked, the help was there. The course was excellent; the units were well developed, very varied, extremely interesting, and it was valid to the job I was doing.

I found it an extremely interesting experience.’ g The next enrolment for the MSc Shipping Operations is September 2014. For more information visit www.warsashacademy.co.uk.

The UK and the Netherlands are among just 12 flag states getting a clean bill of health in a new ‘performance’ league table published by international shipowners.

Produced by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the flag state performance table covers 111 different ship registries and aims to promote high standards of compliance with rules and regulations.

‘The ICS table is intended to encourage shipowners to maintain a dialogue with their flag administrations to help bring

about any improvements that might be necessary in the interests of safety, the environment and decent working conditions,’ said external relations director Simon Bennett.

The rankings are determined by analysis of a range of factors including the port state control records of different flags, their level of ratification of international conventions, the scale of survey work undertaken by classification societies, fleet age, and presence on the STCW ‘white list’.

The new ICS table also requires flag states to have ratified the Mar-

itime Labour Convention (MLC) in order to receive a positive indicator. ‘The level of ratification of this important new ILO Convention as of the end of December is impressive,’ said Mr Bennett. ‘However, those flag states that have not yet ratified the MLC, but had previously ratified ILO Convention 147, have now received a negative indicator on our table with respect to ILO standards for the first time.

But we hope and expect this situation to change this year as more and more flags finalise ratification of this core convention before PSC enforcement of the MLC begins

in earnest this August.’

Flag states scoring 100% positive indictors include Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, the Isle of Man, Japan, Liberia, the Marshall Islands, the Netherlands, Norway, the Russian Federation and the UK. The ICS advises that the absence of a couple of positive indicators next to a flag in the table should not be seen as a serious concern. ‘But if a flag is lacking a large number of positive indicators in the ICS table then shipowners may want to ask serious questions,’ Mr Bennett stressed.

Mission reveals reorganisation Mission to Seafarers has A announced a major reorganisation The maritime welfare charity

aimed at saving money and making better use of local knowledge.

Taking effect from April this year, the move will see more decision-making power and budget management devolved to the Mission’s ‘global regions’ in Africa, the Middle East and East Asia. Changes will also follow in the UK and Europe.

MtoS secretary general Andrew Wright commented: ‘This process of regionalisation has many benefits; ensuring closer support for local teams, tapping into regional energies, engaging regions more actively in policy-making and encouraging a greater sense of local responsibility in relation both to funding and to service delivery.’

Executive director Martin Sandford confirmed that the Mission was

looking to ‘set ourselves on a realistic path to a balanced budget’, but Rev Wright insisted that the changes were not simply about cutting costs. The organisation is trying to make sure that its services are available in the ports where they are most needed, he explained — which may not be traditional MtoS locations.

‘There have been significant changes in shipping patterns,’ he pointed out, ‘and it is vital that we

ensure that Mission activity in ports is in proportion to shipping operations.

We are committed to carrying out the necessary analysis and to following through on the implications. The Mission has a commitment to developing chaplaincy teams in new or growing ports, especially where there is evidence that there is no alternative welfare provision. A number of ports are currently under active exploration.’

22/01/2014 17:52

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 11

NEWS

Anger at ship held

by India Bail is refused for piracy vessel’s crew

P

Concerns over the slow progress towards international rules to govern the use of armed guards on merchant ships have intensified following the continued detention of 35 seafarers and security personnel onboard a ship in India.

The Sierra Leone-flagged vessel Seaman Guard Ohio has been held in the port of Tuticorin since October last year and the men — who include six British nationals and 14 Estonians — were charged on 30 December with carrying weapons illegally and trespassing in Indian waters.

The 394gt Seaman Guard Ohio is used by US-based maritime security firm AdvanFort International as an accommodation platform for security teams between transits onboard merchant ships transiting the high-risk area in the Indian Ocean.

Indian authorities have charged the men with illegal possession of around 30 firearms, which AdvanFort insists were intended for use in connection with piracy-protection duties.

The men were granted provisional bail just after Christmas on the grounds that charges had not been filed within 60 days of their formal arrest. But this was later overturned by another court, which ruled last month that the earlier bail decision was flawed as the incident posed a challenge to national security.

AdvanFort claimed that India’s detention of the ship and its crew is ‘groundless and unlawful and yet another case of criminalisation of seafarers’. The company described the treatment of its personnel as ‘outrageous’ and ‘an affront to the basic standards of justice’.

It has called for the crew and the guards to be released immediately — pointing out that the ship’s master had been held captive for 11 months by Somali pirates two years ago.

UK prime minister David Cameron told MPs last month that he has discussed the case with the Indian authorities. ‘I know how important this issue is and I raised it personally with Indian government ministers when I was in India recently,’ he added.

Estonian MEPs have also urged the European Parliament to put pressure on the Indian authorities. ‘I think it is weird to hear the explanations of Indian authorities how 35 anti-pirate guards who, risking their own lives, had offered help to guarantee security in international waters, are a threat to India, a big country with over 1.2 billion in population,’ said one.

More than 50,000 people have signed a petition calling on foreign secretary William Hague to help free the six British former soldiers who were onboard the ship.

Ministerial praise for RFA ship’s latest drugs bust has been praised for its role in F a £1m drugs bust in the Caribbean.

A Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel

Defence secretary Philip Hammond said he was proud of the work done by the crew of the tanker Wave Knight in working with the Royal Navy and the US Coast Guard to seize marijuana, pictured above, from a suspect vessel.

Wave Knight — working in support of Operation Martillo, a 15-nation collaborative effort to combat crime in Central and South

10-11 news.indd 11

America — was involved in several other drug bust operations during 2013.

Commanding officer Captain Duncan Lamb commented: ‘The entire ship’s company — Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Royal Navy and US Law Enforcement Team — as well as HQ and prosecuting staff ashore in mainland USA are delighted with this result. It has been a truly international team effort and a notable disruption to the regional drug trade.’

Twelve yards have submitted bids to dismantle the Costa Concordia, which has been stabilised off the Italian island of Giglio Picture: Reuters

Concordia’s captain says he won’t be made a scapegoat Concordia ran aground off the F coast of Italy with the loss of 32 lives, Two years after the Costa

the cruiseship’s master has spoken of his confidence that he will not be made a scapegoat for the accident.

In an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro, Captain Francesco Schettino — who is presently on trial for multiple manslaughter and dereliction of duty — said he was convinced the truth about the causes of the disaster would prevail.

‘Because I have seen judges willing to understand what happened and not condemn me a priori, I am convinced that the truth will emerge,’ he said.

‘How can we condemn a person who has suffered a shipwreck? And why not also investigate a shipowner who built a vessel with watertight doors that did not work?’

Capt Schettino said the trial had already shown that he had not prematurely abandoned the ship but had put his life in danger to help rescue passengers. He said there was

widespread misunderstanding about the role of a ship’s master, with the perception that a captain is driving the vessel at all times.

‘I only regret having had under my command officers who were not up to par,’ he told the newspaper. ‘Whether through fear or excessive respect, not one of them warned me what was really happening.’

At a press conference in Rome last month, Costa Cruises and Italian government officials said a decision on tenders for dismantling the Costa

Concordia will be made in March.

Twelve yards in Italy, the UK, the Netherlands, France, Norway, Turkey, and China have submitted bids for recycling the vessel.

Italy’s environment minister Andrea Orlando said he hoped the project would be undertaken in Italy, to limit the risks of towing the wreck to a foreign yard.

The cost of the recovery operation has already broken through the $800m barrier and is expected to eventually run to more than $1bn.

Inspections send ships to breakers year declined by some 16% from the previous A year, according to a new report.

The number of ships sent for scrapping last

During 2013, a total of 1,119 ships were sent to the world’s breakers’ yards — and more than 90% of them were sent to India, China, Bangladesh, Turkey or Pakistan, according to the French environmental organisation Robin des Bois (Robin Hood).

Its analysis showed that some 60% of the scrapped ships had been sent for demolition after

being found to be in breach of safety rules. ‘Port inspections are playing a solid role in cleaning up the world’s merchant fleet,’ the report noted.

It pointed out that the average age of ships being taken out of service is getting younger — 28 years old in 2013 compared to 31 years old back in 2006. The report also highlighted an increase in the number of containerships being scrapped and said this trend is set to continue as a result of the ‘race for productivity and economies of scale’.

Despite the reduction in scrapping numbers, Robin des Bois said the industry remains in good health, with 2013 being the second best year for the breaking industry since 2006. Around one-third of the ships sent for demolition were owned or flagged in Europe, but only 8% were dismantled in Europe — highlighting what the organisation described as ‘wishful thinking’ by the European Commission in its attempts to encourage more environmentally and socially responsible breaking standards.

It’s all about you....

In our Seafarer Book of the Year

Tell us your favourite read of 2013 and be in for a chance to win one of 5 Kobo e-readers!

Voting is simple, just go to: marine-society.org/seafarerbook And leave your mark!

Terms and conditions apply. visit: marine-society.org/seafarerbook

A charity registered in England and Wales 313013 and in Scotland SC037808

22/01/2014 17:52

12 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

HEALTH & SAFETY

Members invited to support study of colregs problems invited to take part in a new F European Union-funded project which Nautilus members are being

New buoys for Falmouth some of which are of pre-war A riveted construction — are being Steel navigation buoys —

replaced in Falmouth Harbour.

Under a programme agreed by Falmouth Harbour Commissioners (FHC), the first of seven buoys was replaced late last year with a new Mobilis Jet 2500 polyethylene navigation buoy, above. FHC plans to replace one buoy a year.

Assistant harbour master Lloyd Pond said the investment in the easier to maintain buoys should

generate significant savings that will make the programme selffinancing.

Hydrosphere UK technical sales area manager Stuart Brotherton added: ‘The Jet 2500 weighs 1,000kg, which is substantially lighter than its predecessors.

They can be raised by any single lifting eye and can be maintained using small vessels, making them a cost-effective and lightweight alternative to the traditional GLA Class 3, 4 and 5 steel buoys.’

Call for lookout care officials have stressed the need F for a proper lookout to be kept by all Australian maritime safety

vessels at sea.

The call comes after an investigation into a collision between a 58,729dwt bulk carrier and a 13.6m yacht off the Queensland coast in May 2012. The Australian Transport Safety Board said it had received reports of 60 similar collisions in the past 25 years and investigations ‘invariably’ showed failure to maintain a proper lookout or to take early and appropriate avoiding action.

The ATSB said the OOW onboard the Panama-flagged Furness Melbourne had failed to make adequate checks after the lookout

spotted the lights of the yacht Riga II and had instead wrongly assumed they were light buoys marking rocks and an island.

Investigators suggested the officer may have been distracted by conversations with the lookout and ‘constant humming and singing’ along with music being played on the bridge.

The report also notes that the yacht’s watchkeeper did not identify the bulker’s navigation lights in time to make an effective appraisal of the situation and had failed to set his AIS unit on a range scale that would provide adequate warning of approaching vessels. The master was unable to assist and oversee the pilot effectively,’ the report notes.

Heavy weather warning crew death and injury claims F between 2010 and 2012, a leading Following a review of 180

P&I club is urging seafarers to take more care when working on deck in heavy weather.

Steamship Mutual said its analysis showed the majority of the 21 fatalities had involved crew members being lost overboard — either washed away in heavy weather or in ‘unexplained circumstances, suggestive of suicide’.

It warned of ‘inadequate’ risk assessments in the cases where personnel had been on deck in

12-13 h+s_proofed.indd 12

adverse conditions and pointed out that the Code of Safe Working Practices advises that no seafarer should be on deck in heavy weather unless it is absolutely necessary for the safety of the ship or crew.

In a risk alert issued last month, the club highlights two cases in which seafarers died after being struck by large waves while working on deck and it sets out recommended measures to reduce the risks. It also warns of the threat posed by ‘rogue’ waves which can vary in size and direction from the regular pattern being experienced.

aims to improve understanding of the collision prevention regulations.

The two-year ACTS (Avoiding Collisions aT Sea) study aims to address the problems which cause some seafarers to struggle with the interpretation and application of the colregs and to produce a special online training course.

The UK-based Centre for Factories

of the Future (C4FF) is coordinating the consortium of EU maritime education and training organisations involved in the project, which seeks to cut the number of collisions at sea.

The initiative was launched in response to concerns raised by accident investigation reports showing that many of the basic principles laid down by the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 are improperly understood and applied.

A recent study by C4FF showed that almost 50% of seafarers disregard or ignore the colregs when taking navigational decisions, and it also highlighted the common use of VHF radio in collision avoidance.

A key element of the research will focus on the knowledge gaps and deficiencies in the application of these rules, and an online questionnaire has been produced to get feedback on the issues.

Seafarers, maritime lecturers,

and non-professionals are invited to participate in the survey, which can be found at www.ecolregs.com.

Maritime professionals, including survey participants, will be invited to take part in follow-up workshops across the EU, including in the UK, to validate the findings of the questionnaire with EU experts in the field. gIf you would like to participate in these workshops, contact the project coordinator at: info@ecolregs.com.

Using radio to negotiate passing ‘may add to risk of accidents’ F

Safety experts investigating a near-miss between a bulk carrier and a tug/barge unit in Canadian waters in 2012 have warned seafarers against over-use of radiotelephones to negotiate passing or overtaking manoeuvres.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) said its investigation into a close-quarters situation involving the 82,951dwt Bulk Japan and the 442gt tug Wilf Seymour, which was pushing a 130m barge, highlighted the hazards posed by the practice.

The two vessels were set to come within 0.25nm of each other in the Gulf of St Lawrence

before the tug’s master reversed engines to let the Panamanian-flagged bulker — which was the giveway vessel under the colregs — cross ahead to avoid a risk of collision.

Investigators said there had been a series of radio calls between the two vessels and the local marine traffic services centre, spanning a 15-minute period.

However, the tug’s watchkeeper had been unable to determine how the bulker intended to proceed, and with only 2.1nm separating the two vessels, it became apparent that the bulker was not going to take any action.

The TSB noted that radiotelephony is routinely used by vessels in the Great Lakes to discuss passing, meeting and overtaking situations but is not commonly used internationally for collision avoidance.

‘The investigation found that prolonged use of radiotelephones may prevent the bridge crew from adequately monitoring developing situations and place vessels at increased risk of collision,’ it added.

‘This is especially true when bridge crews have different perceptions and are unable to agree on a course of action.’

MCA slated over trawler safety Shortfalls identified seven years ago have not been resolved, MAIB warns

P

Nautilus has raised concern over a new UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch report highlighting renewed worries about the Maritime & Coastguard Agency’s ability to enforce appropriate safety standards on fishing vessels.

In a report on two flooding incidents which led to the loss of two UK-registered trawlers within the space of 22 days last year, the MAIB warns of the need for ‘significant’ improvements in the vessel safety oversight and scrutiny provided by the MCA. And in the introduction to the report, MAIB chief inspector Steve Clinch expresses disappointment that the MCA appears to have been unable to resolve shortcomings identified following another fishing vessel loss in 2005.

Investigators said the two vessels — which were both abandoned by their crews without loss of life — sank as a result of ‘remarkably similar’ safety issues.

The report concludes that the enginerooms of the Brixhambased Chloe T and the Buckiebased Audacious had flooded rapidly, and bilge pumps were

The trawler Chloe T starts to sink off Devon last year Picture: MAIB

unable to cope following the failure of seawater cooling systems.

The MAIB notes that regular inspections of seawater pipework are vital to guard against corrosion — but ‘shortcomings in the maintenance, survey and inspection of Audacious and Chloe T allowed deterioration in their seawater systems to go undetected’.

Neither vessel had any evidence of the required maintenance plans or a systematic programme of pipework inspection and replacement, the report points out.

‘Missing intermediate inspections and delays in the renewal survey process were noted in both cases,’ it adds. ‘It is unlikely that either vessel received the level of oversight that was intended in the MCA’s instructions to its surveyors. The survey and inspection records were incomplete and made it impossible for anyone to routinely know which pipes had been checked, when or by what method.’

In the introduction to the report, MAIB chief inspector Steve Clinch points out that the

MCA’s inspection and survey regime is intended to provide an appropriate level of oversight and scrutiny to ensure that vessel owners are discharging their safety responsibilities.

He voiced particular concern that the investigations had identified that the record-keeping and management systems used by MCA surveyors require significant improvement.

‘It is disappointing to note that similar observations were made by the MAIB following the loss of the fishing vessel Harvest Hope in August 2005,’ he added. ‘At that time the MCA undertook to conduct an internal inquiry into the identified shortfalls but, nonetheless these weaknesses appear to remain more than seven years later.

‘Accordingly, recommendations have been made to the MCA which seek to improve the scope, scheduling, application and record-keeping for surveys and inspections of fishing vessels.’

Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson said he was disturbed by the findings and added: ‘This confirms that the MCA is inadequately resourced and not fit for purpose.’

22/01/2014 17:52

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 13

HEALTH & SAFETY

Alarm overload distracted crew Maersk seafarers praised for ‘resilient’ response to engineroom flooding

P

Crew members trying to cope with an emergency caused by engineroom flooding on a Maersk containership were adversely affected by multiple alarms going off, a report on the incident has warned.

The Danish Maritime Accident Investigation Board (DMAIB) report on the incident involving the 170,794gt Emma Maersk praises the crew for their ‘resilient’ response to the rapid ingress of water into the ship as it was entering the Suez Canal in February last year.

The seafarers managed to deal with a situation presenting ‘a huge potential for a disastrous outcome’, despite being ‘constantly disturbed and highly stressed by the sound of countless alarms, which made it extremely difficult to concentrate on the many challenges that appeared one after the other’.

Investigations revealed that the flooding had been caused by the structural failure of a stern thruster which fractured the flange neck of the thruster tunnel, resulting in the flooding of the shaft tunnel. The bulkhead between the shaft tunnel and the main engineroom failed as result of the build-up of hydrostatic water pressure, and the DMAIB discovered that cable penetration sealings in the bulkhead had been incorrectly installed and were ineffective.

The Danish-flagged vessel — which, at the time, was the world’s largest containership — was approaching the northern entrance of the canal in convoy with other ships when the ‘uncontrollable’ flooding began.

‘The opening of the suction valve for the emergency bilge suction by the large seawater pump

Emma Maersk’s flooded engineroom last year Picture: DMAIB

was delayed because of a broken steel pin in a cardanic connection between the handwheel and the suction valve,’ the report notes.

Although engineers managed to open the valve by other means, the DMAIB noted ‘the fact that an emergency bilge system could be put out of function by a broken steel pin illustrates that a simple solution can create fragility in a complicated technical system’.

As the situation deteriorated, crew members became increasingly distracted by the ‘very high pace of incoming alarms’ on the bridge and in the engine control room, the report states. The alarm system provided little or no overview of the emergency situation,

it adds, and proved to be more of a burden than an aid to the seafarers.

Bridge crew were also distracted by the high volume of VHF traffic in Arabic between the pilot tugs and shore authorities, and investigators found that the ship’s loading computer was unable to make stability calculations following the flooding.

The DMAIB said it had investigated other incidents involving alarm overload. ‘Overall, it is evident from this accident that it is inherently difficult to design safety measures to meet the complexity of accidental events and that the creation of safety and recovery from accidental events

rests with the ships’ crew,’ the report adds.

The rapid and adaptive actions of the Emma Maersk’s crew helped to maintain the shipboard organisation and prevented a severe situation becoming worse, the DMAIB pointed out. They managed to contain the emergency situation and bring the ship alongside at the Suez Canal Container Terminal without any personal injury or pollution to the environment, even though the engineroom flooding had increased the potential of a complete blackout, which would have reduced the ability to use mooring winches and ship’s anchors and raised the risk that the stricken vessel may have blocked the canal.

Investigators said three propeller blades of a stern thruster had broken off and the resulting excessive vibration had caused fatigue failure. Research continues at Rolls-Royce into the design and construction of the thrusters.

However, it is believed that some level of fatigue in the blades and supports led the forward of the vessel’s two stern thrusters to fail.

The report also reveals that the other stern thruster had a blade replaced last year and that a similarity in fatigue was noticed.

Emma Maersk suffered extensive damage to all machinery in the main engineroom and shaft tunnel, as well as minor damage to the hull, and the vessel was out of service for six months while repairs took place.

Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson said he believed the case demonstrated the consequences of insufficient independent oversight during the design and construction phase.

Rescued MOL Comfort crew members disembarking Picture: Reuters

Investigators fail to find cause of boxship fracture of a containership which broke C apart in the Indian Ocean last year An investigation into the loss

has so far failed to determine what caused the vessel to develop a fatal hull fracture while operating well within its load limits.

An interim report published by the Japanese transport ministry revealed that hogging movement loads on the hull of the 8,110TEU MOL Comfort amounted to only two-thirds of total hull strength.

Investigators said the ship had experienced hogging, causing a crack that began below the waterline in the bottom shell plates of the No 6 cargo hold, which spread upwards along the side of the ship.

Checks on sisterships found buckling deformations measuring around 20mm in height on the bottom shell plates, and the ship’s maintenance and inspection records showed there had been buckling deformations on the bottom shell plates of the No 5 cargo hold, forward of the presumed fracture point.

But calculations showed the estimated load acting on MOL Comfort’s hull equated to only around 67% of the vessel’s actual structural strength.

The accident investigators also calculated that the actual strength

of the hull was 26% higher than the requirement of its classification society, ClassNK. Structural simulations were unable to replicate the buckling deformations even when applying loads close to the ultimate hull girder strength. ‘The conditions for the fracture were not able to be simulated,’ the report notes.

Investigators said MOL Comfort had, more than three years previously, withstood loads in excess of those estimated to be acting on it just before the loss.

The report suggests the hull may have weakened before the incident or that the forces acting on it were higher than estimated.

Investigations are now focussing on further strength and wave load simulations, as well as factors such as hull girder strength, whipping effects and cargo weight distribution.

Investigators also recommended a number of temporary safety measures for existing 8,000TEU-plus containerships, including checks on the bottom shell plates.

The investigation report also stresses the need for container weights to be verified before loading ‘to reduce uncertainty related to the still water bending moments of large containerships’.

Phone calls at ‘critical phase’ A

Damage to the Overseas Reymar after the allision with the San Francisco Bay bridge last year Picture: NTSB

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The master of a ship which struck the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge last year had been distracted by phone calls during ‘a critical navigation phase’, an investigation has revealed.

The 69,636dwt Overseas Reymar caused damage estimated at US$1.4m when it allided with the fendering system of the bridge’s Echo tower while departing from an anchorage in thick fog in January 2013.

A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation found that the tanker’s pilot had ordered a change of course because a racon transponder on another span of the bridge was not displaying on the ship’s radar.

Investigators said the pilot decided to go through a different span when

the tanker was just 1.25 miles south of the bridge. The NTSB concluded that this decision was made too late — especially as a 3-knot ebbing tide was pushing the ship towards the bridge.

The report says the safety of the transit had also been degraded because the master had answered two calls to his cell phone from his company ina five-minute period before the allision, both of which involved operations-related information.

‘By removing himself from the team because of his phone conversations — which should have been postponed until the vessel entered a less demanding phase — the master was unable to assist and oversee the pilot effectively,’ the report notes.

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22/01/2014 17:52

14 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

INTERNATIONAL

shortreports MASTERS MERGE: two French organisations, the association of merchant navy masters and officers (Acomm) and the association of former cadets of the national maritime academy (AENSM), have agreed to merge following months of discussion to establish a body that includes all former cadets of France’s maritime academy, irrespective of rank or speciality.

AUSTRALIAN EXTENSION: Australia has given the go-ahead for an extension to the Abbot Point coal port situated in the NE of the country, close to the Great Barrier Reef. The government says authorisation to extend the facility is based on 95 conditions, but environmental organisations are concerned about the potential for damage to the reef.

RIVAL CANAL: Nicaragua has announced that it is planning to start construction of a new canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by the end of this year.

Costing some US$40bn, the 170-mile waterway is expected to take around five years to construct and aims to accommodate larger ships than the Panama Canal.

NISSAN DEAL: Zeebrugge-based International Car Operators has signed a contract with the Japanese firm Nissan to transport 95,000 new cars from Newcastle to France and the Benelux countries with Euro Marine Logistics, a joint venture of Mitsui OSK Lines and Hoegh Autoliners.

KOREA RATIFIES: South Korea — which has the world’s eighth largest merchant fleet, in ship numbers — last month became the 56th country to ratify the Maritime Labour Convention. Late last year Italy became the 20th European Union member to sign up to the treaty.

STENA SWITCH: following a reorganisation, Stena Bulk has regained responsibility for the commercial operation and technical management of three LNG tankers — Stena Blue Sky, Stena Crystal Sky and Stena Clear Sky — from Stena LNG. CATTLE DUMPED: Danish police launched an investigation last month after dead cows — believed to have been thrown overboard by the crew of the Lebaneseflagged livestock carrier Abou Karim IV — washed up on beaches in the Baltic.

CHANNEL RISE: preliminary results indicate increases in cross-Channel ferry traffic between France and UK in 2013 following five years in the doldrums.

Passenger traffic through the port of Dover rose 7%, with cargo volumes up 13%.

AFRICAN SERVICE: several African operators have met to create an inter-regional maritime operator called Sealink. The capital is held 30% held by private companies and 70% by individual shareholders.

SHANGHAI TOPS: Shanghai has held on to its title of world’s busiest container port for the third year after reporting handling 33.6m TEU during 2013, a yearon-year increase of 3.4%.

Danes warned on pilotage changes Report cautions against plans to open up pilot services to new providers

by Andrew Draper

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Pilotage in Denmark is set for a shake-up after the Danish Maritime Authority announced a bill to liberalise the market and increase competition by opening up the market to new players. The government is expected to table the proposals in parliament in late February.

The DMA says the main purpose of the bill is to make pilotage in Danish waters more efficient.

Owners have been pushing for liberalisation for years in a bid to drive down costs, while the unions are more cautious.

But pilots with experience in other countries have warned that liberalisation leads to worse

that, on a free market, there will be market-based monopolies or more or less illegal agreements on shared markets after a period of time in order to be able to generate sustainable profits that may cover high depreciation of equipment, relatively high salaries and other expenses.’

While there are ideas for streamlining the pilotage service, it warned that there is no ‘quick fix’. The report pointed to international experiences including: z Hawaii, where the existence of two pilot organisations results in a very inefficient pilotage system, with no sharing of information or resources and a duplication of staffing z the UK, where responsibility for piloting services was

deregulated and transferred to the individual port authorities.

The Sea Empress disaster in 1996 revealed some of the weaknesses of this organisation, the report stated, including legal liability of pilots and ports z Argentina which liberalised pilotage in 1997. In the first three years, there were 18 serious accidents, but none in the preceding 20 years. Legislators noted competition leads pilots to do things they would refuse to do for safety reasons in a noncompetitive environment The bill will also increase the level of penalties that can be imposed in the event that a maritime accident is found to be caused by ‘navigation contrary to sound seamanship’.

First female leader for Singapore union Officers’ Union (SMOU) has A appointed its first female general The Singapore Maritime

secretary — Mary Liew, who started working for the organisation as an accounts assistant more than 30 years ago.

‘I feel extremely humbled by this privilege to be elected into this position,’ Ms Liew said. ‘If someone asked if I could be the first female GS in such a male-dominated industry years ago, I would have probably said no way — but the fact that the SMOU executive committee and the general council have their faith and their vote of confidence in me gives me the motivation to take on this position.’

After joining SMOU as an accounts assistant in 1982, Ms Liew rose to become head of the accounts department, before being appointed to the post of executive secretary in 1999. In 2010, she became the first woman from SE Asia to be elected into the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) executive board, representing the Asia Pacific

New SMOU general secretary Mary Liew, centre, signs a collective bargaining agreement with APL

region. She is presently involved in the ITF women transport workers’ committee and was last year sworn in as a nominated member of the Singapore Parliament.

As general secretary, she says her priorities are to ‘develop and

maintain a vibrant, relevant and caring union that impacts the lives of members and their families; build a Singapore core in the maritime workforce; and strengthen the staff team so that they can continue to provide quality service’.

Outgoing general secretary Thomas Tay commented: ‘Mary is totally committed to the cause and work of the labour movement. She is resourceful and compassionate. She sees the needs within the union and does her best to get the job done.’

Copenhagen, above, has A become the largest ship to call at the

to the facility, which has a current capacity of 212,000 TEU, and handled 210,000 TEU last year.

The company is also developing a new deepwater mega-port at the Badagry Free Trade Zone, 55 km west of Apapa, which would be the largest port in Africa.

A recent report from the UN Conference on Trade & Development warned that spending on transport infrastructure in developing countries needs to more than double to close the gap with developed nations.

German training fund gives a €30m boost seafarer training in Germany A has accumulated some €30m in its A special fund to promote

first year of operation, according to a report from the country’s shipowners’ association (VDR).

Under the scheme, all German shipping companies operating vessels under foreign flags without training berths have to provide compensation to a foundation set up by VDR in December 2012. In its first year, the foundation collected around €20m from operators and has approved more than 2,300 funding applications since the summer.

‘Given that we are in the midst of a crisis, this is an impressive commitment to Germany as a location,’ said VDR president

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service and poorer working conditions.

In 2006, the Danish parliament adopted a new law introducing some competition in pilotage to and from ports, while transit pilotage of large vessels through Danish waters remained with the state-owned DanPilot.

In an analysis carried out for the Danish Maritime Pilots Association ahead of the government’s new move, consulting company COWI concluded that the Danish market is not big enough for healthy and sustainable competition with many players, because of the high costs of providing equipment and training.

The report — Scenario Analysis of the Danish Piloting Service — stated: ‘It is our assessment

Michael Behrendt. ‘Added to the approximately €10m from increased re-flagging fees earmarked for federal support for the maritime sector, this means that German shipping companies are providing around €30m in total annually in order to secure onboard training — in the process, also preserving maritime skills and expertise.’

However, VDR reported a fall in the size of the German fleet and the number of seafarers it employed over the past year. Overall employment on German-owned ships, including foreign-flagged tonnage, dropped from 72,600 to 71,000 during the first nine months and the number of German ships fell from 3,671 to 3,523 in the same period.

The 4,500TEU capacity Maersk

West Africa Container Terminal in Onne, Nigeria, following a trial visit in December.

The 50,869gt Singaporeflagged vessel made the visit as part of a test for Maersk Line’s weekly Far East-West Africa (FEW2) service following work by the Nigerian Port Authority to widen the channel and removing some wrecks in the area.

APM Terminals has invested some US$30m in improvements

22/01/2014 17:56

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 15

INTERNATIONAL

shortreports STORM ORDEAL: the Dutch cargoship Victoriaborg managed to enter the French port of St Malo last month two weeks after losing power in a storm 120nm off the coast of Brittany. The Wagenborg vessel was towed into the port by the tugs Multratug 20 and Isa. Crew members were offered counselling following the loss of the Russian chief officer, Alexander Merkoulov, who was feared dead after being swept overboard when the 9,850dwt ship was struck by a 10m wave during the storm. The Dutch Safety Board is expected to conduct an inquiry into the incident.

Brittany orders LNG-powered vessel a new 52,500gt gas-powered cruiseA ferry, pictured above, which it claims will be the

French operator Brittany Ferries has ordered

greenest ship to operate in UK waters.

To be built by the STX France shipyard at a cost of some €270m, the LNG-powered vessel will come into service in spring 2017 and will operate on the company’s routes between the UK and

Spain, carrying up to 2,474 passengers, 800 cars and 40 trailers, along with 189 crew.

Brittany Ferries said the ship had been ordered following a two-year feasibility study, and it will be the first ferry in the world to use technology allowing its LNG fuel to be stored at close to atmospheric rather than high pressure. The vessel will have a dual fuel propulsion capability, with

marine gas oil as back-up.

‘This represents a huge investment which will benefit not simply our customers but the environment as well,’ said group commercial director Mike Bevens. ‘No other ferry in the UK will come close to offering this new ship’s range of facilities and its launch will mark the beginning of a new era in ferry travel.’

Pledge of support ends SNCM strike Unions welcome French minister’s promise of measures to help ferry firm

by Jeff Apter

S

Seafarers serving with the Mediterranean ferry companies SNCM and CMN voted unanimously to end an eight-day strike last month after securing top-level assurances from the French government.

The unions staged the protest after a letter from the prime minister stoked up concerns about the long-term future of SNCM following European Commission rulings that it must repay €440m of ‘unlawful subsidies’ received during the past 10 years.

The letter, to a Marseilles MP, failed to mention SNCM’s union-backed survival plan, which includes the 10-year public service lifeline contract to Corsica, orders for four ferries and a long-term reduction of the 2,800-strong workforce by about 500 people.

But, two days after the strike, shipping minister Frédéric Cuvillier convened the unions to a meeting in Paris to ‘unblock’ the situation. The minister reiterated his pledge to seek finance to update the SNCM fleet, stressing

CGT union official Philippe Sarian holds the agreement that ended a strike

by SNCM ferry crews last month Picture: Philippe Laurenson / Reuters

it was the first part of the plan — which also includes seeking a stable majority shareholder in the company, which was privatised in 2005.

Mr Cuvillier told the unions that the government is set to begin discussions with France’s Public Investment Bank and other financial institutions, and he promised to report back to SNCM before 15 April so the operator can order the first two ropax

ferries by 30 June.

Meanwhile, the CGT union welcomed the minister’s promise to put into effect a May 2013 decree which requires French labour law to be applied for seafarers on ships sailing between the country’s ports.

Marseilles CGT maritime union head Frédéric Alpozzo said this would particularly apply to Corsica Ferries, which is ‘distorting competition by employing

international crews on its Italianflagged ships, on which employment conditions are lower than on French-flagged ferries.

Corsica Ferries is at the centre of the European Commission’s contentious demand that SNCM repay the €440m state aid granted after the Marseillesbased operator was privatised.

SNCM claims that its rival operator itself has received €180m in illegal subsidies since 2002. These issues were not on the agenda of the meeting at the ministry, but Mr Cuvillier again said he would ‘not give up trying and find a solution that saves jobs’ and would be seeking a meeting with the Commission.

An emergency loan worth €13m was granted to the company just before Christmas by majority shareholder Veolia Transdev, with the aim of allowing the company to remain in business during the ‘current transitional period’. Transdev —which has a 66% stake in SNCM — has indicated that it wants to withdraw its financing from the company.

The French state has a 25% stake and the workforce holds 9% of the capital.

IRAQ DEAL: Dutch shipbuilder Kuipers has won a $256m Iraq government tender to supply it with eight cargoships, as the nation seeks to rebuild its merchant shipping industry. The order covers three 55,000dwt bulkers, three 1,200TEU container carriers and two 18,000dwt multi-purpose vessels. Kuipers plans to have the vessels built by Vietnam’s Dung Quat Shipbuilding, according to market channels.

BOX BOOM: new containership deliveries are set to reach record levels over the next year, the Paris-based analyst Alphaliner has predicted. Its figures show total worldwide containership capacity increased by 5.8% last year to reach a total of 17.28m TEU, and the orderbook for new vessels increased by 12.4% to 3.86m TEU — equivalent to more than 22% of the existing world fleet.

DANISH CALL: Danish shipowners have urged their government to extend the country’s tonnage tax scheme to cover specialist ships, including offshore wind installation vessels and offshore drilling ships.

Business and growth minister Henrik Sass Larsen said the government was prepared to consider the proposals and to discuss them with the European Commission.

HOSTAGES RELEASED: the Ukrainian master and Greek chief engineer of the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Althea were freed last month after three weeks being held hostage by a Nigerian pirate gang who attacked the vessel some 35nm south of Guinea. It was not clear whether a ransom was paid to secure their release.

KOREAN COLLISION: 91 seafarers were rescued following a collision between a cargoship and a chemical tanker off the South Korean coast. The 55,000dwt cargo carrier Gravity Highway was on a test voyage when it collided with Maritime Maisie, a tanker carrying 29,337 tonnes of flammable chemicals some 9.2nm off Busan.

SCRAP SURGE: the volume of tonnage sent for scrap hit the second highest level on record last year, according to a new report. Ships totalling more than 43.3m dwt were demolished during 2013, compared with the all-time record of 56.5m dwt in 2012 and 42.6m dwt in the previous record year of 1985.

GROUNDING PROBE:: an investigation has been launched after the Viking Line ferry Amorella ran aground around in the Gulf of Bothnia in the northern Baltic with 1,945 passengers onboard, following a major electrical blackout problem.

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Greek owners threaten more flagging out A

Greek shipowners have warned their government that there could be an exodus of shipping from the country as a result of ‘devastating’ changes in maritime policy.

In a speech coinciding with the start of the Greek presidency of the European Commission, Hellenic Chamber of Shipping president George Gratsos hit out at an unexpected move to introduce

14-15 int.indd 15

a three-year double tonnage tax scheme in Greece.

Mr Gratsos said the ‘unpleasant surprise’ had undermined the owners’ trust in the government and overturned an agreement on the fiscal regime for shipping. The changes would erode stability and reduce competitiveness, he stressed, threatening an industry that earns up to €19bn a year for the national economy.

The owners’ leader warned that while the majority of Greek-owned tonnage had flown the national flag in the 1970s, the proportion had fallen to less than 50% by 1987 and to just 23% now.

‘This is indicative of what may happen very soon with reckless and ineffective legislative interventions,’ Mr Gratsos stressed.

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22/01/2014 17:56

16 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

YOUR LETTERS

What’s on 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

Don’t sail until IMO legislates study, Intercargo (the P owners’ organisation) noted

In its recent benchmarking

that 14 crew members died in nine serious bulk carrier accidents last year, compared with 38 in 2011 and 44 in 2010.

It is especially pleasing to note that the reduction in fatalities is due mainly to the scrapping of rustbuckets, leaving the average age of the global bulker fleet at around nine years.

I have no doubt as to the powerful influence of the Derbyshire in helping to reduce these figures, and it is the intention of we who campaigned for a proper hearing into the loss to continue using the high profile of this famous and groundbreaking case to campaign for safer conditions at sea.

John Paulson, principal surveyor (Atlantic Marine Associates), writing in last month’s Seaways, recounted an observation made during the Derbyshire formal investigation: ‘When your ship sinks during a

typhoon it’s something to do with the typhoon… Now it can be said that when your ship sinks while it is carrying nickel ore, it’s something to do with nickel ore.’

Eighty-one seafarers have died in five ships carrying nickel ore since October 2010. Nickel ore carriage represented 0.06% of world trade in that time — but resulted in 80% of deaths at sea.

Whilst Intercargo’s exercise is in the right direction, I am disappointed at the failure to sufficiently promulgate these losses of bulkers carrying a specific cargo. Almost certainly liquefaction is involved.

Bulk carriers carrying nickel ore quite simply should not be allowed to sail until it can be known for certain what exactly caused the loss of these five ships and that knowledge is used to implement the appropriate safety measures. IMO please legislate.

PAUL LAMBERT MBE Chairman MV Derbyshire Trust Fund

Have your say online Last month we asked: Do you think a review should be undertaken of the effectiveness of the ISPS Code?

Yes 92%

This month’s poll asks: Would you move to a different shipping company if it offered better internet access for its crews at sea? Give us your views online, at nautilusint.org.

16-18 lets (2)_proofed.indd 16

Telegraph book review led me to a superb read

Endurance rescue was the real thing RFA Diligence (‘RFA goes to the C rescue’, January Telegraph) reminds Seeing the article about the

me of when I was serving on the DSV Stena Seaspread in March 1989. She is a sister ship to the Diligence and we went to the rescue of the Royal Navy ship HMS Endurance, which was working in the South Atlantic when she hit an iceberg.

The Stena Seaspread was the forward repair ship for the Navy at the time, based in East Cove, Falkland

Islands, and we were mobilised to go and aid the Endurance. The Navy party onboard the Seaspread effected temporary repairs at Potters Cove, Antarctica, and we escorted the Endurance back to East Cove where permanent repairs were carried out.

The Endurance had a hole in her side where she had struck the iceberg. The Navy party onboard Seaspread made a cofferdam on the outside of the hull, the water was

pumped out, and commercial welder divers were contracted to carry out the replacement of the shell plating.

The attached photo (above) was taken at Potters Cove, with the Endurance alongside the Seaspread.

The main difference between this and the Diligence is that this was not an exercise but the real thing, as the Endurance was at risk of sinking.

WALTER GIBSON Master Mariner (rtd) mem no 101915

When will shipping tackle this old enemy?

I always eagerly look forward to receiving my copy of the Telegraph each month, but was most dismayed to read in the ‘health and safety’ pages of the January edition of three major accidents caused by our old enemy of fatigue.

Before I was elected to Council (circa 1964) I was campaigning about this fatigue factor. I spent 22 years on

Where’s my Telegraph?

No 8%

Follow us on Twitter

Council ‘shouting’ about it. Still nothing is being done about it.

In all other modes of transport (road, rail and aviation) there are strict rules on hours worked without adequate rest periods — all in the name of safety. Why, oh why does it not apply to shipping? In an earlier letter I pointed out that recent research has shown that

a tired driver is more dangerous than a drunken one, but this does not seem to apply to seafarers — or does it?

In the name of sanity and safety, for goodness sake make every effort to get some regulation in force before we have any major loss of lives.

HENRY TOPPING mem no 46178

Having read the review in the Telegraph of Rose George’s book ‘Deep Sea & Foreign Going’, I decided it was worth ordering. What a read! I can certainly recommend this superb book, especially for those seafarers such as myself whose careers started in the early sixties and finished nearly 40 years later.

This book is so obviously well researched and written and is a real eye-opener to present-day conditions at sea. What is there to attract our youngsters to sea if they are put on ships where virtually no English is spoken and their personal safety is not guaranteed? Our life at sea in the early days was enjoyable, but from Rose’s account you could not use that description today.

DAVID KIRKMAN mem no 95476

Even Captain Phillips can’t work magic!

I agree with Simon Conran (‘Must-see film’, January letters) — ‘Captain Phillips’ was a gripping movie, despite the obvious, Hollywoodinspired, errors.

Referring to the pirates, ISPS and the Ship Security Plan, after the Somalis got onboard and Captain Phillips ordered the bridge to be secured my wife turned to me and whispered: ‘How are they going to do that then?’

And, of course, they couldn’t…

MARK CARTER mem no 120750

PRACTICAL MARINE I NE L LEDGE ELECTRICAL KNOWLEDGE Third Edition

If you have moved recently, your home copy may still be trying to catch up with you — particularly if you gave us a temporary address such as a hall of residence.

To let us know your new address, go to www. nautilusint.org and log in as a member, or contact our membership department on +44 (0)151 639 8454 or membership@ nautilusint.org.

22/01/2014 17:57

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 17

YOUR LETTERS

THE VIEW FROM MUIRHEAD

Windfarm bullies are putting lives at risk I have read with interest and alarm the article on the wind cat transfer vessels (January Telegraph centre pages).

I am a captain on a tug vessel and have been involved in several windfarm projects. The last project I was involved in was in the North Sea, 40 miles north of Borkum, Germany.

These wind cats were working quite a way offshore and in some cases were asked to stay out in waves exceeding 3 metres.

I was witness to an incident which I felt could have resulted in a dangerous situation. The weather through the day was deteriorating with a NW gale warning in force. I was told to head for the port of Eemshaven, Holland. By the time I reached the entrance to the Eems river there was a full NW gale blowing, with waves of 4m.

Normally, I take a shortcut through a channel called the Riffgat, but because of the weather decided it was safer to sail to the Westereems and

stay in deeper water.

I was sailing in the main channel and coming to the inner area of the Riffgat channel I had avoided. The light was fading and it was nearing low water. Something caught my eye on my port side so I took a more vigilant look. What I saw I could not believe at first.

The weather conditions in the Riffgat channel were very poor — 4m waves, breaking heavily and confused in the shallow channel. Right in these breakers were two 26m catamaran crew tenders from the windfarm project. At times they were completely obscured from view by the breakers.

I actually stopped my vessel and stood by until they were safely over this bank. Their draught is 2.6m and at low water in places this channel has only 5 or 6m of water over it at low water springs. I know for a fact they had passengers onboard who must have been terrified. Had one of these

two touched bottom and broached, they would surely have been lost in these conditions. I also know that the two skippers on these vessels were not European.

My son works in the windfarm industry on the construction side. He has to use these vessels every day. To think that he could have been on one of the two vessels I have described fills me with dread. He has also confirmed what was in the article about bullying. The skipper on his boat was told to go to the ladder on one of the turbines with the wave height one meter above the limit.

Both the skipper and the tower crew, including my son, were told if you don’t go to the tower we will get someone who will. My son phoned me on his mobile and asked my advice. I told him pack your bag and come home. The skipper aborted but did not lose his job.

But pressure like this is putting lives and limbs at risk. mem no 197702

telegraph STAFF editor: Andrew Linington deputy editor: Debbie Cavaldoro production editor: June Cattini-Walker senior reporter: Sarah Robinson web editor: Deborah McPherson ADVERTISING Redactive Media Group 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP. Display adverts: Tom Poole tel: +44 (0)20 7880 6217 Recruitment adverts: John Seaman tel: +44 (0)20 7880 8541 tel: +44 (0)20 7880 6200 email: info@redactive.co.uk website: www.redactive.co.uk Although the Telegraph exercises care and caution before accepting advertisements, readers are advised to take appropriate professional advice before entering into any commitments such as investments (including pension plans). Publication of an advertisement does not imply any form of recommendation and Nautilus International cannot accept any liability for the quality of goods and services offered in advertisements. Organisations offering financial services or insurance are governed by regulatory authorities and problems with such services should be taken up with the appropriate body.

Incorporating the merchant navy journal and ships telegraph

Greenpeace crew were pirates

We’re on Facebook.

Become a fan!

Visit www.nautilusint.org

The letter written by Graeme Hicks in the January Telegraph in relation to the Union’s backing to the Greenpeace activists was spot on.

I myself was extremely upset at the actions of the these pirates — they cannot be called activists in my mind — and I thought the response from Mark Dickinson that Russia was misinterpreting the term piracy was shameful.

If some of these members of Greenpeace are Nautilus members, then they have no right to be if you ask me. You cannot, as a Union, condemn piracy and commit to the safety of personnel on vessels and then support persons who undertake

such unacceptable acts towards vessels.

The ISPS Code was introduced for a reason, and anyone trying to board a vessel without permission is breaching the security and safety of that vessel; therefore it is no different to armed skiffs in the Gulf of Aden.

I am an OIM on a semisubmersible in the North Sea, with 120 persons onboard. We have a 12 anchor spread and no DP, so have very limited manoeuvrability.

If these members of Greenpeace decided to try and board us, we would be terrified as we would have no idea what their intentions would be — I think this defines the word

‘terrorist’ and therefore justifies calling them pirates.

At the end of the day they were protesting at the wrong people as the rig’s crew have no say in the negotiating/signing of contracts for where we drill, so putting the lives at risk of people trying to do a job and feed their families is unacceptable.

Why don’t they wave their banners in the car parks of these major oil companies, or something?

To see them being freed on the news and coming home to a heroes’ welcome literally turned my stomach.

GARETH MATHIAS mem no 181902

Name and shame these stingy firms P

Through the services of a well-known London Livery Hall, who mentor cadets seeking to study for their OOW certificate and then on to Master Mariner, I was asked if I would mentor such a cadet who wanted to follow a career at sea and was about to start his training in January 2014 at an academy for his Phase 1 college training.

He told me that, from the latter part of October until the middle of November 2013, he attended several interviews with companies and agencies, travelling to cities such as Rochester, Southampton, Liverpool, Fleetwood and Great Yarmouth.

Besides clocking up a lot of travel miles, this prospective cadet also spent quite a lot of money paying for travel and accommodation. In fact, it came to over £700 of his own savings. Having just completed a total of four years at university studying for and obtaining his BSc degree (one year of which was for a foundation degree), he told me that spare savings was not something he had an abundance of.

With the exception of one agency and sponsor who did reimburse him his travelling and accommodation costs — the company he will be going to sea and college for. All the rest have refused to reimburse him his costs.

He told me that having just completed his degree, and with very little spare cash

16-18 lets (2)_proofed.indd 17

to use for travelling the country for work, he found it staggering that large ‘well respected’ companies were not prepared to reimburse a prospective student’s expenses to attend an interview that he was asked to attend by these companies.

If he had been told beforehand that he would not be reimbursed for travel and accommodation expenses, he may not have made such a logistically long and expensive trek to some of these places. So far he has had less than 45% of his travel costs reimbursed.

I appreciate that there is significant ‘belt-tightening’ these days, with austerity measures being exercised by everyone, but I did not know this was extended to not reimbursing travel expenses when the point of the exercise was to select candidates for careers at sea!

A warning should be sent to other parents of children wishing to make a career in the UK’s dwindling Merchant Navy that their children will not get reimbursed by the following companies: z Chiltern Maritime z Anglo-Eastern z Bibby Ship Management z Viking Recruitment Below are the responses received when these four sponsoring companies were approached on this matter by the cadet I am mentoring and then by myself on his behalf:

z Chiltern Maritime: ‘When you make this public could you include the facts that the cadetship costs in the region of £55,000 over the years, including sponsorship, full tuition fees, uniform, travel to and from the vessels worldwide — FULLY paid for by the sponsor and if anyone wishing to apply then goes to Careers-at-Sea.com, this also gives the cadets an excellent training and qualification to go on to become an officer in the MN. ‘Unfortunately, with the recent increases in tuition fees and 25% reduction in SMarT funding, the costs of a cadetship has increased by £10,000 and whilst we are trying to steer away from an individual funding by the cadet, we need to be realistic in what sponsors can afford to pay and at the same time keep the intake numbers high to achieve the UK officers the industry needs in the future.’ z Anglo-Eastern: ‘We, along with many of the other UK training providers do not reimburse travel expenses to interviewees.’ z Bibby Ship Management: ‘It is the industry’s normal practice that training providers simply cannot afford to remain competitive on behalf of their sponsoring companies, if they pay interview expenses for attending interviewees.’ z Viking Recruitment: ‘I think you’ll find most companies won’t pay for interview travel expenses. We interview large

numbers of candidates each year and it’s the candidate’s decision to attend, which may involve travel.’

Obviously, prospective cadets are free to make their own choice, but I wonder how many are actually told up front before they take off on their journey to the interview that they will not be reimbursed travel costs — mine wasn’t!

There are a lot of cases involving poor treatment of cadets, in all sorts of ways (see the letter in the December 2013 issue under the heading of ‘Tonnage tax cadets get a raw deal’ by member 199678) — so I intend to help the cadet’s cause by ‘naming and shaming’ companies that refuse to reimburse travel costs for prospective cadets attending their first interview. In fact, the cadet that I am mentoring was also so concerned that he wished me to remain anonymous. As I was a cadet once, I am honouring his wish, and although many know who I am anyway, I am honouring his wish to withdraw names for his sake.

Therefore, I hope Nautilus will do everything in its power to build up a dossier of similar companies to be raised in Parliament and also with the Merchant Navy Training Board, and I invite others who have similar experiences to pass them on to our representative organisation. mem no 136752

ISSN 0040 2575 Published by Nautilus International Printed by Redactive Media Group 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP.

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: youth@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.

22/01/2014 17:57

18 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

YOUR LETTERS

Book of the Year survey teamed up with the Marine C Society to answer the first big Nautilus International has

question of 2014: Which book is the number one read among seafarers?

Everyone working at sea can have a say, simply by taking part in a fun online survey about seafarers, their reading habits, and their favourite books.

During the 10-minute quiz, avid readers have the chance to share their knowledge and views on all kinds of literary matters, from good authors to e-readers and shipboard libraries. And if people don’t like reading onboard ship, they can say why not.

The Seafarer Book of the Year survey will run for a few months, and then the seafarers’ favourite books and authors will be revealed to the world — drawing public attention to shipboard life and maritime culture.

In addition, the information collected about seafarers’ reading habits will be put to good use by Nautilus and the Marine Society, who will work with maritime employers to ensure crew members have access to the right books, in the right format. g To take part in the survey, please go to the Nautilus website www. nautilusint.org and follow the link from the homepage.

Concrete hull mystery P

I was particularly interested to read the Ships of the Past article on the Molliette in the December Telegraph since her remains are on our patch, so to speak.

Readers may be interested to know that her sister ship was still more or less intact in Kent where, free flooding on every tide, she formed part of a marina breakwater when we last visited the area.

Seafarers who transit the Thames will be familiar with the dozens of concrete lighters which are visible at various locations on the tideline, again all free flooding where they were dumped.

These were again the descendants of the concrete coasters mentioned in the article, although the majority are sharpended vessels (rather than the

more traditional Thames ‘swimheaded’ steel lighter until recently numerous on the river).

Many were built as tank barges, as evidenced by the small circular tank lids on their decks. A few still remain afloat as pontoons and houseboats, in for instance Queenborough and the Walton

Backwaters.

On the subject of concrete ships as opposed to lighters, do any of your readers know anything of the history of the concrete hull still to be seen on the south bank of the Thames at Greenhithe? She has a shapely counter and three hatches, unlike

the two Faversham-built ships that had lines more like the ‘Chant’ coasters/tankers that were mass produced prior to D-Day to carry fuel and stores to the beaches in the event of the failure of the Mulberry Harbours.

They were no beauties, being long boxes with sharp bows and a

short chine. Working along the south coast in the seventies, one of these wartime relics, painted entirely black, occasionally put in an appearance.

I enclose a couple of photos, which may be of interest.

JOHN M DINES Ret mem no 145182

Marine Radio Museum faces closure It is with great sadness that I have to report that the Marine Radio Museum at Fort Perch Rock is under threat.

The owners have requested that the Marine Radio Museum Society at Fort Perch Rock pay a rent of £200 per month as from 1 March 2014. The society has not got the funds to pay

this rent. Therefore it is probable that the Wireless Room and the Memory Room will no longer be manned or maintained by the society and, possibly, the website will close.

The Wireless Room had on display: a Marconi Marine radio console; a Kelvin Hughes radio console; radio

equipment belonging to the Lady of Mann; two teleprinters ex Portishead Radio; several examples of Navtex; Decca Navigtors; and multiple handbooks and manuals.

The Memory Room contains historic photographs, displays of various valves, transistors, a portable radar set, several lifeboat radio sets, and a historic chart from the film The Cruel Sea, upon which are marked the sites of many merchant ships sunk by U-boats in the North Atlantic.

In the café is a memorial plaque of all the IMR radio officers killed during WW2, and a memorial plaque of the crew lost when mv Derbyshire sunk in the Pacific.

A host of former radio officers have contributed to the building/ maintaining of the rooms, including Stan McNally, Bill Cross, Bob Bunker, Graham Mitchell, David Wiggins, Willlie Williams, Andy Forbes, Mike Gouldbourne, Mike Ridehaulgh, John Hudson, myself and many, many more whose names I have forgotten — apologies for that.

The society built a replica Titanic wireless room as close as we could to the original on the ship. Many favourable comments were made by members of the public and ex radio officers, and it was reported to be the best exhibit In Liverpool during the Titanic centenary events.

To all those who have supported, visited and helped us, we thank you all.

We hope other museums flourish in our demise.

Meanwhile, there have been 35 email enquiries asking for various items from the Collingwood Radio Equipment stored in a warehouse in Hampshire. Once the latest order is collected, I will update what is left. There is a possibility that more equipment from the Fort Perch Rock Museum may be available, to be confirmed.

CLIVE EVANS mem no 426107 Dit dit dit dah dit dah (V A = end of work)

Should grades trump experience?

The Royal Alfred Seafarers’Society

www.royalalfredseafarers.com

Providing quality residential nursing, dementia and short term respite care primarily for seafarers and their dependants. The nation owes a great deal to its seafarers and our home provides them with a safe haven in old age and adversity. If you know of someone that needs our help please contact us.

I am contacting you regarding an article I saw in the January issue of the Nautilus Telegraph. I was reading the story about the alarm over the cadet numbers dip and thought I would write to mention something from my side of this.

I have, since 2010, been trying to gain training of any type (engineering or deck) in the Merchant Navy — whether it is rating or cadet training. I have

contacted the MNTB and various other training companies about this.

I have been told my grades are just below the required limit for the cadet officer courses but fine for the rating courses. I have been brought up in a marine background and have a good knowledge in every aspect of this type of career. I also have family in the Merchant Navy.

My issue is that there are

no ratings’ courses around, yet somehow people seem to be getting taken on by companies such as Princess (whom I have contacted before), etc. I also think that the grades side of things is also a major flaw, as apparently this means more than actual first-hand experience.

Also I work in an engineering factory, which again is surely useful in marine engineering work as well?

Name withheld on request

We offer modern en suite rooms and sheltered flats set in 14 acres of lovely Surrey countryside on the edge of Banstead. Donations and legacies are vital to us and help ensure that our residents continue to receive the best possible care.

For further information about the services we provide, or for advice on tax efficient giving, please contact the Chief Executive, Commander Brian Boxall-Hunt OBE, at Head Office, Weston Acres, Woodmansterne Lane, Banstead, Surrey SM7 3HA.

Reg Charity No 209776. Est 1865

16-18 lets (2)_proofed.indd 18

01737 353763 Fax: 01737 362678

Phone:

Cyear when bunkering in Singapore roads. I’m just Please have a look at attached picture taken last

curious when we are meant to have the same standards in the industry… TOMASZ MALACHOWSKI

22/01/2014 17:57

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 19

MARITIME LAW

A matter of justice India’s attempt to prosecute armed guards from the Italian tanker Enrica Lexie, above, accused of killing two Indian fishermen is being challenged under the Law of the Sea Picture: Reuters

A

For too long, the rapid increase in crimes and incidents on the high seas has been ignored.

These crimes and incidents have no pattern — they have affected all ships, whether cruise or cargo vessels, and those on them, both passengers and crews.

The problem is not the crimes and incidents themselves, which also exist on shore, but the lack of proper investigation and — where required — the prosecution of those responsible and the investigation of the procedures in the companies concerned.

There are no police forces on the high seas, just the authority of the master supported by the flag state the ship is registered in — all resting on the resolutions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

UNCLOS forms the basis for the general laws that the shipping industry and the marine administrations — both national and international — should comply with in their dealings with the ships and those on them.

UNCLOS sets the zones of coastal state jurisdiction — including the normal base line for measuring the breadth of territorial waters, as well as territorial seas, internal waters, contiguous zones, exclusive economic zones and high seas (water beyond the jurisdiction of any state).

It also defines the right of criminal jurisdiction by states over ships, the persons on those ships and the areas such jurisdiction can extend to. The Law of the Sea makes frequent references to the responsibilities of the flag state, noting that there must exist a genuine link between the state and the ship.

Flag states are required to effectively exercise their jurisdiction and control in administrative, technical and social matters over ships flying their flag. In effect, it means that in any incident on the high seas, only the flag state can hold an inquiry into the incident regardless of what other states are involved.

Of course, it states that the flag state shall cooperate with another state’s inquiries — but the onus of the investigation remains with the flag state.

Article 94 of UNCLOS is clear that unless the master, while passing through coastal territorial waters, requests assistance from that country’s authorities, only the flag state has jurisdiction to investigate and progress any criminal proceedings and by this article is duty bound to do so.

From both Article 94 of UNCLOS and IMO resolution A912 there can be no doubt that on the high seas, it is the responsibility of the flag state to enforce its laws, to report and to investigate any casualty or incident on its flag ships.

Equally, while a ship is within the internal waters of a state, then that state has jurisdiction over that ship and its national laws apply. This then places the obligation on a state to investigate any crime or incident that is against its national laws, even after that ship has sailed while it is in the territorial waters of that state. It does not have such powers over that ship for any incident that occurs on the high seas prior to that ship’s arrival unless the ship is of that country’s flag.

In recent times there have been many cases of investigative failures, refusal to follow UNCLOS resolutions, and shipping company hindrance in correct judicial proceedings. These include: z the failure of the captain and the shipping com-

19 crime.indd Sec1:19

Nautilus Council member MIKE LLOYD reports on the growing campaign to tackle the problem of poor investigation and law enforcement at sea… pany to properly deal with alleged rape and the resultant fatality onboard the Safmarine Kariba in 2010 z the failure of the flag state to properly investigate the death of crew member Rebecca Coriam, who disappeared from the cruiseship Disney Wonder off the Pacific coast of Mexico in March 2011 z the failure of the flag state to release a report on the investigation into the loss of the livestock carrier Danny FII in December 2009 z the failure of the flag state to investigate the death of five seafarers in an enclosed space onboard the LPG carrier Maharshi Krishnatreya in November 2012 z the contravention on UNCLOS in the case of the Cypriot Flag vessel Virgo, which was arrested in Newfoundland and held in a Canadian port at the request of the US government following an alleged collision in international waters off the US coast in August 2001. The crew were ordered off the vessel at gunpoint and detained in Canada for 18 months until a $100,000 bond was posted These are but a few of the cases. Too often, masters of the ships do not know UNCLOS, do not have in their possession the common laws of the flag state of their ship to which they could refer, and do not have any training in dealing with criminal investigations or the preservation of evidence and, in particular, training in dealing with sexual offences, which, with the increasing number of females now coming to sea, are becoming more prevalent.

The high seas must not be an obstruction to justice or a refuge for the guilty

“

”

Victim Support Europe has produced an excellent publication called the EU handbook for implementation of Legislation and Best Practice for Victims of Crime. This should be carried on every ship, as it gives a superb guide for how to deal with incidents and crimes whether ashore or at sea.

Around the world, officers and even crews are detained and even imprisoned illegally by states ignoring any international resolutions or regulations, and with their arrest and detention ignored by the ship’s flag state.

The situation on cruise and hotel ships is even more appalling, with over 170 persons claimed to have fallen over the side in the last 10 years, most of them female, many without any proper investigation, reports or correct procedures being followed by

the master and staff onboard.

One law firm dealing with crime at sea states that ‘the likelihood of a rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, or other sexual misconduct is actually higher on a cruise ship than on dry land. In fact, cruise ship rape or sexual assault is the most common crime that takes place on a cruise ship, according to one study of data compiled from crimes reported on cruise ships 2003-2006. A staggering 86% of crimes reported on cruise ships from 2003-2006 were cruise ship rapes or sexual assaults. People are 50% more likely to be sexually assaulted on board a cruise ship than if they are at home on dry land. It can, and has, happened to both passengers and crew.’

Worse, is that these are the reported cases, with even more thought to be unreported or dealt with by negotiation between the cruise company and the victim.

Following the Coriam case, the British shipping minister responded by announcing that the Marine Accident Investigation Branch would investigate all deaths or disappearances of British citizens from vessels anywhere in the world, parallelling similar legislation signed by US President Barack Obama which gives the Federal Bureau of Investigation that authority in the event of the death or disappearance of any US citizen. The US government would also work through the International Maritime Organisation to increase international cooperation on such investigations, the minister promised.

But what the minister and the US authorities seem to have missed is that, under UNCLOS, such investigation can only take place with the complete agreement of the flag state, which, in many cases, will not be forthcoming — and that their investigative officials have no powers to call on foreign nationals to give evidence, be detained or even to be questioned.

A

Often UNCLOS resolutions regarding flag state responsibilities cannot be followed because of the limited resources of many of these states who, while signing their agreement to UNCLOS, have registered ships knowing of their inability to comply with their required commitment. Some 60% of cruise ships are now registered in Panama, Liberia and the Bahamas.

It would seem that we are now seeing recognition that UNCLOS is no longer a functioning basis for marine legal jurisdiction — with the US, which has not ratified the convention, declaring its own resolutions to the problem and signatories like the UK also declaring their intention of breaking the resolutions.

While this is understandable, it is not the correct way forward.

It is not UNCLOS that is at fault but the inability of those countries that have been allowed to register ships regardless of their incompetence or, indeed, intentions of providing the support required to comply with the resolutions. Breaking or ignoring UNCLOS will not correct a situation caused by the

registration of ships in states that have no resources to carry out their liabilities.

The marine industry is international and a situation that requires international agreement cannot be dealt with piecemeal. It is the registration of ships in states unable or unwilling to fulfil their obligations that is causing the problem, and it is a problem which — with the increase in cruiseships carrying thousands of passengers — is becoming out of control.

The most obvious solution is to stop the registration of non-national ships by states with no proper resources to comply with UNCLOS — and especially the registration of cruiseships, which effectively places thousands of innocent passengers in a situation of legal disenfranchisement and allows the cruise companies to operate their own private police forces that too often place corporate image before proper and effective judicial process.

If flag states are to be allowed to retain their right to register ships even though they cannot or will not honour their obligations, some form of international marine investigative body that is empowered to investigate both serious accident and criminal matters is required that all ships and nations can call on.

Member states that do not have the resources to comply with their obligations can then call on or be required to engage such a force to act on their behalf.

If the ship is to abide by the laws of the flag state, it is obvious that the ships must carry the legal regulations of the flag state of registry. In addition, there must be some form of training for masters and senior officers in their responsibilities under these flag state laws, as well as UNCLOS. The collection and preservation of evidence and the correct treatment of victims are all essential elements in attempting to deal with the increasing problem.

All ships carry the IAMSAR (International Aeronautical Maritime Search and Rescue) manuals.

These procedures must be followed regardless of the vessel’s schedule. In many cases, human beings can survive in temperate waters for many hours after immersion, and this must be a major factor in the time and search sequence. The search and rescue procedure followed by a master after a man overboard incident must be an important part of any investigation.

The situation where accidents and crime are not being reported or investigated properly is untenable and becoming a disgrace to the shipping industry.

Passengers and even crews on ships registered in such states must be advised of the current judicial situation and that their legal wellbeing while they are on the high seas is completely in the hands of states that cannot meet their obligations.

While the present inability of UNCLOS enforcement is affecting all seafarers worldwide, it is especially affecting passengers. These are people who place their trust in the ships, the shipping companies and the flag state marine administrations for their safety and wellbeing, and we are failing them.

The high seas must not be an obstruction to justice or a refuge for the guilty. g This is an edited version of a presentation on the investigation of incidents and crime at sea which Capt Lloyd is making onboard HQS Wellington in London on 3 February. The meeting is organised by The Honourable Company of Master Mariners — www. hcmm.org.uk.

22/01/2014 17:58

20 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

SEAFARER HEALTH

Sick humour no laugh for crews J

What’s the elephant in the room when it comes to working at sea? It’s seasickness.

If your workplace makes you want to die, or even makes you incapable of working to your full capacity, like the ‘Vomit Comet’ catamarans, then it’s a problem.

If the liferaft you’re in — wet, traumatised and injured — is pitching and yawing on heavy seas, then being seasick is certainly yet another problem you don’t need.

If the people you work with are throwing up in inconvenient places (hotel-side staff tell numerous stories of passengers donating a steam of undigested dinner over the counter in Reception) then it’s an additional problem. It’s especially hard if you yourself are already somewhat queasy.

Mal de mer is a subject on which there’s an odd silence. Even the last 60 years of the Nautilus

20 sick_proofed.indd Sec2:20

On the eve of an important Hull University conference on the health and welfare of seafarers, historian Dr Jo Stanley looks at a pivotal but overlooked subject and how it’s been handled in historic picture postcards…

Telegraph and its predecessors barely mention it in their pages, not even in cartoons.

Yet a seafarer’s propensity — or not — to be seasick is pivotal to their career and to a ship’s functioning. In looking at seafarers’ personal stories of their working lives — mainly through their oral testimony — I’ve found it can determine what they do for the rest of their lives.

‘Do you get seasick?’ a recruiter

asks. Your reply means the door opens or closes, before anything else, such as technical qualifications, are discussed.

Seasickness means some people resign before they’ve barely started, which is financially costly to employers sponsoring cadetships and emotionally costly to the aspirant who’s invested so many hopes.

Others have to give up their careers when they find they really

can’t overcome their stomach’s tendency to heave up.

And some just work while feeling dreadful. They don’t necessarily get any support from their hard-pressed managers on short-handed vessels. If you lie down, even for half an hour, who is there to do your job? Sorry, but we simply can’t afford someone being out of action so often.

Times have changed. Today ships are far more stable than famous upsetters like the old Queen Mary (which allegedly ‘could roll the milk out of a cup of tea’). Effective remedies like hyoscine hydrobromide-based pills and injections, and acupressure bands, help in many situations. But rough seas are rough seas. Vulnerable bodies are vulnerable bodies. Finding a cure is still essential.

J

In popular culture the main attention given to seasickness was in picture postcards. Via eBay I’ve been collecting historic representations of seasickness. Almost all of them are on jolly cards from the 1920s, printed mainly in Britain, Germany and the US (and interestingly, usually not written on or sent).

Trains, air and coach travel have no similar genre. But sea + sick are indissolubly connected.

This transport mode is the only one where its users are so beset by the vehicle’s impact on their bodies.

Seemingly passengers’ main focus in transit, at least in terms of visual messages, was the seasickness to which many fell helpless victim. Puke was to voyages what breezes lifting girls’ skirts were to seasides and stupid sheep blocking the road were to rural landscapes. It’s what happened if you were there, according to these cartoons. Ho ho.

Characters on cards are usually portrayed on deck, witnessed by others who are less smitten. Our tragic victims turn green, recoil at the mention of a good nosh, fall limply in the arms of sympathetic strangers, and above all, ask stewards about the etiquette of expelling: where should one do this pressing thing?

Passengers’ memoirs similarly take the affliction lightly and wryly. Nursing volunteer Elsie Bowerman, sailing from Liverpool to Archangel in August 1916 on HMT Huntspill with the Scottish Women’s Ambulance Unit, relished this limerick that was circulating and sent it home to her parents: I’m hanging o’er the rail.

Am I looking for a sail?

No, I’m not.

I am Papa’s only daughter Casting bread upon the water In a way I didn’t oughter That’s what!

J

Suez-bound WW2 forces on the Empire Trooper in 1943, wrote Wren Pam Boyle, were merely green and defied the onset of sickness collectively: ‘a group [of] us … assembled every day, determined to sit it out … christened … the Puke and Vomit Society.’

What of the seafarers rather than passengers? In these postcards they mainly appear as deck stewards who are either sympathetic, innocent as to how much the victim is suffering, or alarmed at the imminent disgorging in the wrong location.

Seafarers are the correctly uniformed, helpful, upright witnesses of the dishevelled fall guy or admirers of the perky lady who strolls past the row of sufferers in their deck chair. Beef tea, ma’am? Yes, please, and I’ll have theirs too. I’m not lily-livered like them.

Seafarers themselves are never seasick, in this merry

visual story of travel problems.

So far I’ve only found one postcard showing a seasick seafarer.

He was an officer and the steward was mopping up after him: the Officer’s Mess. No one, it seems, has ever dared to show the mighty captain barfing on the bridge or the chief engineer pole-axed by prolonged puking.

Of course, the postcards would say that, wouldn’t they? The lower orders must not have inconvenient human needs. And masters must always be superhuman.

But what these postcards do is highlight that voyages in the early 20th century were routinely accompanied by real distress.

Passengers wanted to die when seas were rough. So too, surely, did their co-voyagers, the officers and crew.

The question remains: why is this occupational hazard not dealt with in a serious way by the industry?

22/01/2014 17:59

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 21

NAUTILUS AFFILIATES

Tackling issues at the top level K

Good day everyone. This is an introduction to the International Federation of Shipmasters’ Associations (IFSMA), and depending on the response of the readership of the Telegraph this will become a monthly column in which current topics of concern in the maritime industry will be discussed and viewpoints put forward.

IFSMA, while principally concerned with shipmasters, believes in fighting for the rights of seafarers of all ranks. After all, a master cannot operate a ship by him/herself; it takes a crew for that to happen.

An introduction to IFSMA is best found on the website www. ifsma.org — however, to reduce it to basics, IFSMA will be 40 years young next year and has NGO status at the IMO. As secretary general of IFSMA, I have accredited status and attend many committees and subcommittees each year.

Some of the main topics which IFSMA fights on are: the criminalisation of the seafarer; piracy; protection of seafarers; and raising standards above and beyond the MLC 2006.

It is hoped that if you are reading this, you are a member of Nautilus and covered by the Union’s protection

“

”

Nautilus International is a major member of the association, which is made up of associations, unions, guilds and individual members.

It is hoped that every month there will be a Telegraph article for members to read which is not targeted solely at masters, but aimed at all seafarers, discussing why and how an issue affects them directly and indirectly. The subject matter may come from the current work at the IMO or be generated by a maritime incident or a hot topic in the maritime industry. What is

21 ifsma.indd 21

JOHN DICKIE, secretary general of the International Federation of Ship Masters’ Associations, explains how the organisation is working to address some of the biggest problems facing seafarers today… necessary is that it is topical and needs to be discussed.

The face of shipping is changing, and the parties involved and causes followed diversify as the picture becomes more complex. This can be characterised by the arrest in polar waters of the Greenpeace activists who became known as the ‘Arctic 30’. One question that should be thought about is what progress would have been made if the 2014 Winter Olympics were not being held in Russia — and if the protests continue, will future protesters be released or held for years?

The lines between piracy and criminalisation are becoming blurred. The recent case of the Ocean Centurion comes to mind: the ship was attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea and when the master (Captain Sunil James) took the ship to Togo waters to report the incident, he was arrested for apparently being in collusion with the pirates. No one has seen the actual evidence to support this supposition.

There are masters and officers jailed in various parts of the world who have been in prison for years and have no access to legal representation. Why is this?

The answer is simple: legal expenses are large — very large — and unless the mariner is in the position to have support from the company and, by association, the company’s P&I Club, the ramifications are as bad as it can get. It is becoming more apparent as the cases mount that many seafarers are without any professional indemnity insurance.

K

Some individuals who have been prosecuted have no insurance or are not a member of any organisation which can support them in times of trouble.

Suddenly they are alone and without the necessary support or access to help them. They are also unaware of the organisations that exist which can offer limited

assistance at these times. One such organisation is Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI) and another is the International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN).

It is hoped that if you are reading this article you are a member of Nautilus and covered by the protection that the Union gives. If you are not a member, I would suggest that you review your position and circumstances and think about the future — not

just your own, but that of your family —and what would happen if you were detained.

This article is not designed to scare-monger or to try to pressure you to join Nautilus; however, in the last two years and in the 23 cases that I have been involved with, only one person was a member of an organisation and that just happened to be Nautilus. I have seen families lose everything and become destitute while the husband and

Captain Sunil James (front left) eventually returns home after facing a poorly-evidenced charge of colluding with pirates

father languished in jail. While the number of cases is small, they are increasing, and care needs to be taken to protect yourself.

Other matters covered by IFSMA, working with other organisations, are accident investigations and analysis. It is hoped that by learning from the past, the accidents of tomorrow can be averted.

There have been a number of changes at the IMO, and this year

sees the commencement of the new sub-committees, totalling seven in number and reduced from the previous nine, the workload being redistributed to give more cohesion between sub-committees and the committees that they report to.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I look forward to receiving feedback on the articles written in order to open a debate or suggestions for topics which articles might cover.

Many seafarers we note are under the illusion that to qualify for the 100% foreign earnings deduction, all they have to do is spend 183 days out of the country on foreign going voyages.

Many have found to their cost, when investigated by the Revenue that it is not that straightforward and of course it is then too late to rectify.

Make sure you are not one of them by letting Seatax Ltd plan your future claim step by step.

Can you afford not to join Seatax?

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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.

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22/01/2014 18:00

22 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

CAREERS AT SEA

Steam up for training K

Steamship Freshspring Society is an innovative project which aims to assist young people to understand and embark on careers at sea. The project was prompted by my son Tom’s experience, who — when at school — could not find a career that suited him. Career advice services and the school itself provided very limited information and certainly none about seafaring opportunities.

A neighbour who had spent his life at sea highlighted the maritime opportunities that exist, after which there was no turning back. My son volunteered on a small passenger ferry for the summer, and shortly after, gained sponsorship from Trinity House to become an engineer.

After three and a half years as a cadet at South Shields Marine School, he is very happily employed by Princess Cruises as an ETO. In addition, he has no student debt, excellent qualifications and found a very rewarding and enjoyable job easily.

But there will be others in his position who are not so lucky.

With no seafaring neighbour on hand to give timely advice, these young people will have little or no understanding of the exciting careers available at sea.

A new charity is aiming to use a historic British steamship to help young people learn about seafaring and gain work experience. Founder JOHN PUDDY explains why the project was launched and how you can help...

The former Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Freshspring under way

This is where the Steamship Freshspring Society comes in. The society is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation which aims to preserve a historic vessel — the SS Freshspring — for the benefit of future generations, forming the focal point of a project inspiring young people to engage in seafaring careers. The Trust aims to

make use of the ship to support schools, providing maritime career information, lesson plans, lectures and practical experience of life at sea.

The simplicity of steam machinery is inspiring for young people and easily understood, forming a baseline and enthusiasm for further education. The

www.seafarersupport.org '3&&1)0/& 0800 121 4765

Maritime Charities Welfare Guide The award winning online guide helping you find support for UK seafarers and their families.

ship’s bridge will be equipped with modern navigational equipment, providing valuable experiences for those who choose the deck route. Ship’s launches will provide practical boat handling courses along with many other practical projects.

The Trust is supported by National Historic Ships with pump-priming grant aid and recognition that Freshspring is the last small coasting steamship in the world with the potential to go to sea. She demonstrates how crews lived and worked on small coastal steamships of the early 20th century.

Her prime role is to provide an educational resource, both academic and practical, for young people — inspiring in them the desire to become engineers and/ or seafarers of the future. There will be a lecture area, exhibitions and educational activities covering all aspects of a career at sea.

The ship will steam around the coast of Britain providing practical seafaring experience and educational facilities for schools in the vicinity of the ports she visits.

She will be a living museum for the educational benefit of all people in UK and European waters.

The project will engage those who wish to better understand our maritime heritage and particularly young people who are receptive to positive influence regarding future career choices.

To achieve sustainability, SS Freshspring will be converted to carry 12 cruise passengers in comfort. She will provide a unique service around Britain and beyond, calling at small ports and estuaries not accessible by larger ships, and will carry cadets, providing practical seafaring experiences from deck to catering.

elegance to her workaday hullform.

The deck-mounted galley, crew cabins, toilets and wash facilities installed for prolonged operations are simple and basic, as was the norm on early steamships.

Accommodation is deck crew forward and engineers aft, with the more lavishly appointed captain’s cabin below the bridge. Lavatories and shower are in the forepeak for crew and aft for officers, who also have the luxury of a bath. Her boiler and main engine, manufactured by the builders, are original and of similar configuration to those on vessels from the turn of the century. All the steampowered auxiliary machinery is in place.

Overall, Freshspring is substantially intact from the time she was built, whilst being highly evocative of early 20th century seagoing steamships in style and features.

She has become the sole survivor of her class and is a unique example of the small seagoing Admiralty ships built to serve warships of the fleet. Freshspring, on acceptance by RFA in 1947, was directed to her first naval station at Malta. In 1960 Freshspring steamed back to the UK to operate on the Clyde, the west coast of Scotland and other locations in the UK. She was converted from coal to oil fuel in 1961.

After being surveyed and refitted at Ardrossan in 1969, she was sent to the Clyde, where she spent her final service years as a standby vessel. Freshspring was sold out of service on 4 July 1979.

Freshspring’s principal dimensions are: 121ft long, 25ft 6inch beam and 10ft draft. She was crewed by 12 men.

On the raised foc’sle is mounted the windlass made by Gemmell and Frow of Hull. The boiler is a single scotch cylindrical return tube, with a working pressure of 180psi. It is 13ft diameter and 10ft 6 inches long, with three corrugated oil-burning furnaces and pressure jet burners supplied by a Wallsend Howden system of dual pressure pumps and heaters.

This system is very famous, and eventually, when oil burning became the norm, probably kept the entire Merchant Navy steaming.

Forced draught is supplied by a centrifugal fan driven by a single

cylinder Sissons of Gloucester engine.

The main engine no 558 is triple expansion, with cylinder bores of 8, 18, 30 inches and the stroke 21 inches. IHP is 450 at 75 rpm. The engine drives by rocking levers, an air pump, two boiler feed rams and two bilge rams.

Reversing is by a single cylinder engine and the gear is known as the all-round type. The engine exhausts to a surface condenser to which sea water cooling is supplied by a centrifugal pump driven by a single cylinder vertical engine. The complete package was built by Drysdales of Glasgow.

The engine-driven air pump takes its supply of condensate from the condenser, then via a dual oil filter made by Cairo and Rayner to the feed tank.

The electrical system is 110 volts DC supplied by a 10kw electric generator made by Clarke Chapman of Gateshead and driven by a single cylinder engine

by Roby of Lincoln A large capacity centrifugal pump is used for fire-fighting or salvage duties, driven by a vertical single cylinder engine. The complete plant was built by E.N. Mackley.

The general service pump is a vertical single cylinder unit made

by Dawson and Downy. It is also a boiler feed pump. The very large vertical cargo pump, also by Dawson and Downy, has a capacity of 300 tons per hour. Steering is rod and chain powered by a Donkin steering engine on the bridge.

Recent surveys show that the hull has deteriorated but is still in repairable condition. The machinery and boiler, however, are in superb condition, having only had few hours’ use since refit. It is estimated that £1.5m will be required to bring her back to steaming condition and a useful further life. gThis project aims to inspire young people to become muchneeded seafarers and engineers of the future, ensuring Britain retains its maritime heritage. It requires volunteers and support in many ways. Please consider becoming a member of the Steamship Freshspring Society and support this valuable project. You can contact the Trust chairman John Puddy at john.puddy@talk21.com or visit www.ssfreshspring.co.uk for more information.

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22 freshspring_proofed.indd Sec2:22

SS Freshspring was built as a RN auxiliary coasting water tanker — the last of the 14 Fresh class ships to be built for the Admiralty by Lytham Shipbuilding & Engineering, Lytham, Lancashire, between 1940 and 1946. The hull and superstructure are of riveted construction with a traditional timber bridge amidships, a straight stem, and counter stern, which brings an element of

Freshspring’s main engine, built by Drysdale & Co of Glasgow Picture: Brian Gooding

22/01/2014 18:00

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 23

MARITIME WELFARE

Keep crews in touch to keep them at sea EU-funded research confirms what Nautilus members have been telling us for years: most seafarers are no longer prepared to be out of contact with their families for months at a time. And they say they’ll leave if shipboard communications aren’t good enough…

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Poor onboard internet access has emerged as one of the most important factors for seafarers determining whether to remain working at sea, a new study has found.

Conducted as part of a major European Union project researching the shortage of maritime skills, the report warns that inadequate communications with family and friends is cited by seafarers as the most likely reason for moving to a shore-based job.

And it concludes that, combined with a ‘more coherent and visionary approach’ to human resources in shipping, the provision of improved communications facilities onboard would deliver a substantial increase in the seafarer retention rate.

The report was produced by researchers taking part in the KnowMe project – a three-year, €1.5m EU-funded initiative to investigate ways of improving the image of the shipping industry and to enhance the attractiveness of maritime careers.

The findings are based on a survey of more than 500 seafarers of 24 different nationalities. Almost three-quarters of those taking part were officers and just under 17% were ratings, while 53.8% had served at sea for between one and five years and 13.2% had more than 20 years’ seagoing experience.

More than two-thirds of the survey participants had made seafaring their first choice of profession and 70% said they were very satisfied or satisfied with their choice — compared with just 9.2% who were disappointed or very disappointed.

Good pay, independence, love for the sea, travel and local/family tradition were cited as the most important factors in choosing the maritime profession, while poor communication with friends and family, social isolation, separation from family, poor living conditions and insufficient rest hours were named by seafarers as the most likely reasons why they

If you were driven to abandon the maritime profession, what would be the drivers that would lead you to that decision?

23 net_SR edit.indd 23

Non existent

Significant

Negligible

Very significant

Not so significant

Paramount

(%) (N=511)

Improper communication with family and friends / social isolation Insufficient resting hours

2.9 5.8

Living conditions on board

9.4

17.7

5.6 10.3 8.1

Excessive workload

19.5

21.7 10

Over-extended duration of contract

PLACING PEOPLE AROUND THE GLOBE FOR 25 YEARS

1988-2013

10

20

40

munications, more than 97% said the provision of adequate facilities was crucial for the wellbeing of crew members, with almost half stating that they communicate with their families at least once a day.

At present, two-thirds use personal cell phones to keep in touch with home, 60.3% use onboard sat phones, 43.8% use cell phone SMS and 42.9% use onboard email.

Almost one-third said they spend between 10% and 20% of their monthly salary on communicating with home

22.9

18.8

18

17.8

19.5 27.6

22.2

12.6 7.2 19.7

25.7 50

60

9.5

19 7.5 6.9

22.8 22

30

21.3

19.9

16.2

4.4 4.3 10.3 0

would switch to work ashore.

Almost half the respondents considered that they were discriminated against in various ways because of their career choice — with limited access to proper communications to shore being the most common reason for feeling that way.

Almost two-thirds said they hoped to continue working at sea to progress to the highest ranks, 40% said they would consider seeking other work in the maritime sector and 30% would like to work in shipping company offices ashore.

Asked in detail about onboard com-

26.4 18

11.3

22.6

21.9 31.3

28.7

Short stay at ports

21.8

24.4

13.4

7.4 10.9

37.5

22.6

14.8

Diverse / multicultural crew composition

Separation from family

26.7

17.1

5.8 7.8

Excessive work requirements / insufficient compensation

Steer your career with Viking Training Thank you to the Maritime industry for making the last 25 years so exciting

The best part of the day…? Picture: Danny Cornelissen

9.4 33.1

70

80

90

100

while at sea — and 10% spend more than 20% of their salaries.

The survey also showed the current patchy level of onboard communications provision for seafarers. Just 36.6% had access to the internet, 50.7% had access to emails and 67.9% had access to sat phones for crew calling — and more than onequarter (27.7%) had no email access at all.

The majority of those with access said they faced various limitations related to privacy or data usage and only three out of 10 could access their private email accounts while at sea.

We are currently able to offer the following MCA STCW accredited courses: • Crisis Management & • ISPS Ship Security Officer Human Behaviour • Personal Safety & • Crowd Management Social Responsibility We also offer an array of Professional Development, Educational and Corporate training courses. Courses are run on a regular basis throughout the year and we are able to offer course packages including accommodation, flight and airport transfers tailor made to suit your requirements.

The survey also showed links between ship type and the standards of onboard communications. ‘The more specialised the ship, the less the percentage of those with no access to free communication,’ the report notes.

‘Onboard general cargoships and bulk carriers, almost half the crew have no access.’

While almost three-quarters access email every day at home, barely 27% do so while at sea. Almost half said access to communication facilities at sea was the biggest barrier to keeping in touch with home, followed by cost (43%) and finding free time (32.9%).

Almost 84% said they would be prepared to extend their tour lengths if they were serving on ships equipped with access to the internet and social media. Around 80% of seafarers said they were active users of social media — mainly Facebook — and almost 65% said internet and social media access was a critical factor in deciding on which company to serve with.

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The report says the survey findings are in line with other research into communications at sea, and argues that communications should be considered as a key element in encouraging the retention of seafarers.

Technological progress and services such as Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband system have made it much easier and cheaper to provide good communications facilities onboard ships, it points out, and has also allowed crew communications to be separated from operational communications.

‘If the existence of that kind of facilities is combined with a more coherent and visionary approach on the development and implementation of human resources management systems, retention of seafarers to the maritime industry could be increased substantially,’ it concludes.

Contact us today for a quote vikingrecruitment.com +44 (0) 300 303 8191 shortcourses@vikingrecruitment.com

Training

22/01/2014 18:01

24 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

CAREER MAPPING

It’s a shore thing reveals life after P

Nautilus has welcomed the results of a major new research project which examines ways in which barriers for career mobility for European seafarers can be broken down.

Drawing on input from almost 2,000 seafarers, as well as owners, unions, colleges and recruitment companies, the study is described as the most extensive of its kind ever undertaken.

The EU-funded initiative updates and expands the earlier ‘career mapping’ report from 2004-5, which sought to identify in a systematic way for the first time the wide range of different jobs that seafarers can move into after working at sea.

Researchers examined both the real and the perceived barriers to career progression at sea, and between sea and shore-based jobs, as well as looking at the career expectations of trainee and serving seafarers.

The report concludes that, in terms of career paths for seafarers seeking to move ashore, little has changed since the original report and the options ‘are much the same as they were eight years ago’.

Researchers found that seafarers had chosen their careers for ‘rather remarkably’ positive reasons and that the advantages of future careers ashore in the maritime cluster do not feature highly in their list of reasons — indeed, the idea of seafaring as a ‘passport to future opportunities ashore’ is one of the lowest-ranked factors in career choice.

However, the majority expect to leave the sea before normal retirement age — with most anticipating that their period of seagoing work will last from 10 to 15 years.

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Most seafarers in the survey did not perceive promotion prospects to be too slow and did not see a lack of flexibility in current shipboard ranks, as specified by STCW requirements, as a problem.

And most active seafarers have clear ideas about the work they would like to do when switching to shore-based jobs — posts which make use of their maritime qualifications and experience, such as superintendents, operations managers, pilotage, surveying, or maritime education and training.

Feedback from maritime recruitment companies indicated that there are more jobs available in shore positions and offshore than there are suitable candidates to fill them, the report notes.

Findings former seafarers — who came from 60 different F countries — delivered fascinating data on the reasons

The survey of almost 2,000 trainees, serving and

why they went to sea, and why they have gone ashore or would consider the move.

Consistently, across all groups of seafarers, the three most common reasons for going to sea were: it is seen as an interesting and challenging job; liking ships; and liking travel and meeting people.

‘By contrast, relatively passive reasons for applying for maritime training — such as a family member recommended it or a lack of other job opportunities ashore — were ranked near the bottom of the priority list,’ the report notes.

Less than one-quarter of trainees expected to remain

24-25_spread_careers 2.indd 24

Many seafarers struggle to adapt to land-based roles when moving ashore Picture: Danny Cornelissen

This means that some companies are changing their recruitment policies — for example, by relaxing the level of maritime qualifications and experience they require.

Some employers complained that seafarers were seeking ‘completely unrealistic pay levels’ for work ashore and others displayed a lack of knowledge about the various job positions available in the maritime sector, about their responsibilities in these jobs and the reporting structure within the companies where such jobs were available, in particular about the degree of independence — or lack of it — that they would experience.

And it’s clear that the grass is not always greener on the other side. ‘A decline in net income and very different, and in many ways less attractive, employment conditions (in the sense of less leave time plus increased commuting time and cost) is almost inevitable for seafarers when they decide to work ashore,’ the report warns.

Although the jobs ex-seafarers are recruited for ashore generally pay above the average for shore salaries, the loss of income tax concessions means their take-home pay was much less.

Many seafarers also pointed to the significant cost and time commitments required to obtain further qualifications and re-training to work ashore.

But, despite these complaints, researchers found that the vast majority of former seafarers had experienced little or no difficulty in finding appropriate

at sea until retirement and more than one-third said they reckon on leaving the sea within 15 years of service.

Just 22% of serving seafarers anticipate staying at sea until they retire, against 62% who expect to move ashore before retirement and 16% who are uncertain about their future plans.

This pattern is reflected among former seafarers — the majority of which had served at sea for between 10 to 15 years. Many reported that they had begun thinking about shifting ashore some five years before they actually made the move.

‘Many employers who, for the most part, invest a considerable amount of time and money into recruiting, training and motivating the seafarers they employ might be reluctant to face up to this situation,’ the report stresses. ‘But the statistics suggest that they should realistically be planning for a maximum sea-service for most of their seafarers of 10-15 years, and they should not automatically assume that the 10-15 years sea-service will

New phase of EU-funded study shows how seafarers are positive about their choice of career — but are in need of much better information about the opportunities available for them when they decide to swallow the anchor ... jobs ashore.

Seagoing experience is valued in many nauticalrelated businesses ashore, the report states. One recruitment firm found that 92% of shore-based firms in certain sectors of the maritime cluster consider having seafarers in the office as useful and 35% consider it essential.

‘Seafarers’ work skills, technical knowledge, problem-solving ability and work ethic make them highly desirable, and in some cases essential, in shore jobs within the maritime cluster,’ the report adds.

Many, however, struggle to adapt to land-based jobs — especially those who have held senior ranks for some years. The report notes the difficulties faced in adjusting to ‘different work norms, skill sets and management structures’ in office environments.

‘It is not just that seafarers transfer into positions lower down the hierarchy than they have been used to, the office environment can be much more complicated than the one they were familiar with at sea,’ it explains. ‘There are more departments involved in the enterprise ashore than there are at sea, such as the IT department, accounts, external communications and HR. And office politics are more complicated, with different departments and different individuals within departments sometimes having different, and sometimes competing, priorities.’

Some employers complained that former seafar-

be spent exclusively with their company.’

Serving seafarers said poor social life at sea was the most important factor in driving their decision to seek work ashore. The survey showed the issues lying behind this include increased bureaucracy and red tape, no bar onboard, work followed by retreat into cabins as the normal daily schedule, reduced shore leave, poor seamanship among fellow crew members, and criminalisation.

However, former seafarers listed their most common reasons for leaving the sea as the need for a new challenge, followed by a change in domestic circumstances, and better long-term career prospects.

‘It cannot be overlooked how highly ranked in the reasons for wishing to work ashore were “the need for a new challenge” and “better long-term career prospects ashore”,’ the report stresses. ‘It is possible for seafarers to reach the apex of their careers at sea, in terms of qualifications if not in actual rank or position, in their late

ers are weak in such areas as report writing, budget preparation and control, and general officer administration. And others have difficulties in modifying the ‘directional’ leadership at sea to the office environment, where more participatory and consultative management styles are present.

The report suggests more could be done to help the move ashore. ‘Anyone in a shore position contemplating a substantial career move after many years in a familiar routine will face a degree of anxiety and uncertainty,’ it points out. ‘But for seafarers contemplating transferring ashore the future must appear fraught with potential problems, at least initially, not just with the changed work role and responsibilities, the new skill sets needed and the wholly new daily work schedule, but usually also the physical re-location of their home and family and the prospect of a possible decline in living standards.’

P

The survey suggested that induction programmes and mentoring for seafarers seeking to move ashore are often inadequate and frequently non-existent, and the report identifies a number of ways in which the situation could be improved — including financial help with gaining the necessary qualifications and more distance learning facilities to study for them while at sea.

Researchers highlighted the particular problems facing seafarers in gaining adequate and costeffective access to sufficient broadband width at sea to enable complex training material to be downloaded. Such access ‘remains at best some five to 10 years away,’ the report concludes.

‘So while seafarers may well hope for more distance learning facilities to help career mobility, much onboard training for the individual will need to continue to focus, in the short term, on learning using more readily available, and cost-effective, onboard training techniques unless or until more radical solutions are found,’ it argues.

‘No training comes cheaply, particularly when the courses are not statutory STCW career-orientated courses, which many employers pay for, but are intended for professional, and personal, career development,’ the report states.

‘This is even more the case when distance learning is involved, internet access with adequate broadband capacity is not available at sea and the costs involved are formidable.’

20s or early 30s — and for ratings significantly less. This is not an exciting career prospect for many European young people.’

The most forward-looking companies recognise this as an issue, it points out, and have adopted progressive HR policies promoting career progression and targeting seafarers with management potential, enabling rotation between sea and shore postings.

However, the report cautions, efforts to promote the ship to shore transition should not devalue or undermine the choice of the minority of seafarers to remain working at sea. The survey showed that many officers and ratings thoroughly enjoy their jobs, it adds, reporting that it gives them independence, interest and satisfaction.

‘Their experience is vital to safe ship operations, to an assurance of reliable and consistent performance by the crew as a whole and to the transfer of years of accumulated knowledge to the younger people learning their trade onboard,’ it points out.

22/01/2014 18:02

W

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 25

CAREER MAPPING

g: research r the sea What seafarers had to say...

Union calls for action on the report ‘s results Dickinson said he welcomed the A report and hoped that its findings will

INTERNATIONAL

be acted on.

‘This new study has built on the findings of the original Career Mapping research to demonstrate the inter-dependency of the marine industries and the consequential need for qualified European seafarers to ensure the long-term sustainability of the maritime cluster in the EU,’ he pointed out.

‘The report has set out many interesting findings and it underlines the need for more practical measures to safeguard the EU maritime skills base, including increased recruitment and retention within the sector,’ he added.

‘Of particular interest is the way in which the research highlights the case for a more coherent approach to recruitment and retention of seafarers, better provision of internet access at sea, and measures to

make life at sea more attractive,’ Mr Dickinson said.

‘We are pleased the report identifies the new UK training programme for ratings, which is starting to have some take-up, as well as the need for information and assistance to facilitate movement within the sector and to encourage the employment of women. It is also very clear about the need for better communication systems to ensure improved social communications, which is especially important for youth recruitment and retention at sea.’

Nautilus will be working for the adoption of such measures and to press European owners and policy-makers to make the necessary investments and financial support to address the problems and blockages the report identifies, he stressed.

Nautilus general secretary Mark

Recommendations is ‘no magic wand’ that can F transform the existing regulatory

The report concludes that there

regime and manning structures to transform career progression for seafarers, but it does set out ‘practical and achievable’ measures to improve the situation within a reasonable timescale and without substantial costs. These include:

z Increased emphasis in seafaring

ratings with potential career paths to officer level

z Research and develop an online resource to show seafarers the sources of funding for retraining and gaining qualifications for work ashore

z Improved distance learning and

careers promotional material on future job opportunities ashore

short course provision for seafarers seeking qualifications to work ashore

z Greater coordination and

z Establish an online maritime

integration of maritime promotion, careers progression, training and qualifications across the EU maritime cluster

z Integration of ratings training

and certification into national shore vocational training structures

z Start debate on alternative

manning structures and alternative certification to maximise career path mobility between ratings and officers, and different departments onboard

24-25_spread_careers 2.indd 25

z More schemes to recruit and train

career assistance database to provide seafarers with a single, easily-accessed and free information source about the different jobs ashore, actual shore vacancies, and training courses

z Companies to produce advice on

career development programmes for sea staff and guidelines on how employers should manage the ship to shore transition, such as mentoring, induction training and support with financial and domestic issues

22/01/2014 18:02

26 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

INLAND WATERWAYS

Tackling safety globally K

On 8 February 2013 a ferry suspected to be carrying more than 100 people sank on Bangladesh’s Meghna River in Munshiganj. At the time the incident was condemned by Nautilus International senior national secretary Nick Bramley, who is also chair of the International Transport Workers’ Federation inland navigation section.

‘This is another totally avoidable accident,’ he said. ‘Like so many in Asia and Africa, and it will doubtless be linked to failing regulation, lack of enforcement, dangerous working conditions and overcrowding.

‘This latest incident shows the desperate need for decent standards for vessels, for proper enforcement, and for training and certification for crew members.’

In the aftermath of the incident, the ITF felt that it should stand by those words and do something to try and improve the safety of those working on the waterways of Bangladesh, and support the affiliated unions in the country.

‘The ITF had put out a press statement following the accident which received a lot of coverage,’ explained Mr Bramley.

‘From that, the ITF in Delhi said that it would like to organise a seminar on safety on the ferries in Bangladesh. This finally took place at the end of last year in Dhaka for inland boatmen working in Bangladesh and India.’

Mr Bramley was invited to attend the seminar as chair of the ITF inland waterways section, to explain what happens in Western Europe and find out more about the situation in Bangladesh.

K

The seminar was for members of the two inland waterways unions in Bangladesh. One union covers the public sector and the other covers the private sector. The seminar was led by the president of the private sector union, who is also vicechair of the ITF inland waterways section and a very active and courageous trade union leader. ‘[Ashiqul Chowdury Alam] went to prison when the country was under military rule because he stood up for what he believed in, he led a strike last year which won a 20% pay raise for his members and achieved a minimum wage for inland waterways workers of $60 a month,’ said Mr Bramley.

He explained there are 20,000 inland navigation vessels in Bangladesh and, for a country with a large amount of water, it is a vital industry. However, despite this the workers are very low paid and many serve onboard antiquated ships, often built in Bangladesh out of parts salvaged from the beaches where seagoing vessels are scrapped.

‘I travelled on a ship which sailed at

When a passenger ferry sank on the river Meghna last year with the loss of over 40 lives, the ITF condemned yet another ‘avoidable’ accident in Bangladesh and decided the time had come for them to provide more than words…

Nick Bramley meets some of the boatmen who work on sub-standard ships in busy waters, often at night with no lights and no radar

night with no lights and no radar,’ he said.

‘They simply had a search light on the front. We went past a lot of other vessels in the same condition — no one knew how many vessels were around them.’

One of the problems that he found, when he spoke to union members in Bangladesh, was when their work took them across the border into India.

‘They often travel up the subsidiary rivers of the Ganges to the inland waterways port in Budge Budge. They have problems with getting visas despite it being only the next country along — they don’t have the same agreements that we have in Europe.

‘There are no welfare facilities there for Bangladesh boatmen, so the ITF is going to help to set up a centre for them in Budge Budge. It will provide support, somewhere to rest and a place to find out information if they need it,’ he added.

The Bangladesh unions spoke about some of the specific problems in their country, including a lack of funding, unregulated vessels, and lots of passengers. On average, they carry around 30,000 people a day — but during Eid everyone returns home and

There could be anything up to 20,000 unregistered vessels in Bangladesh

“

”

they could be carrying 500,000.

‘The ships are always overloaded at this time and if there is an accident then there could be a huge loss of life. It is estimated that whilst there are around 10,000 vessels registered in Bangladesh, there could be anything up to 20,000 unregistered ones — and they are the ones that are likely to be death-traps,’ Mr Bramley said.

‘There are social norms which are

associated with overcrowding. If boatmen tell passengers they are full, they simply board anyway. It also encourages corruption as people offer money to be allowed onboard a full vessel — something which is hard to turn down when you earn $2 a day.’

Bangladesh also suffers from the lack of an inspection regime for any vessels.

The roads are heavily regulated, but there are hardly any regulations on the waterways, which mean that they are very unsafe and it encourages companies who are less rigid in their safety procedures. As well as these problems, there are also basic infrastructure issues including very few salvage vessels and a lack of dredging.

‘There is a lot of silting in the rivers,’ continued Mr Bramley. Some of the big rivers come down from the Himalayas though India and bring a lot of muck with them. If you don’t keep dredging then it causes a lot of the routes to block up. They simply don’t have enough dredgers for the amount of waterways they have.

There are currently 12 dredgers in Bangladesh and they probably need around 50.’

Another problem is the low levels of education among most boatmen.

‘A lot of people haven’t received any formal training as they have followed in their families’ footsteps and grown up on the boats and learnt from them.

‘Bangladesh is a labour supply country for seafarers, so those that do have the potential are likely to leave to earn much better money at sea — it could be as much 30-times their salary. This has a knock-on effect for any attempts to set up training. If you train the waterways workers to be better boatmen, they are likely to take those skills elsewhere. Good for them, and who could blame them, but it won’t do anything to increase safety on the waterways.’

Mr Bramley noted that although the seminar attracted high level officials and employers from Bangladesh, there was a tendency for them to blame each other for the problems, making resolutions harder to come by.

‘The employers say “it’s all the government’s fault — if the government did their job properly there would be a lot less accidents”, and the government says “no it’s the employers’ fault; if they were doing their jobs properly there wouldn’t be as many accidents”. It seems very much like there isn’t enough regulation or enough enforcement of what legislation there is by the government and therefore the companies are not inclined to do any more than they absolutely had to, if they are even doing that. What legislation does exist often dates back to British Indiarule, so it can be over 50 years old.

‘The boatmen themselves said that their social status in the country was not high enough and the public don’t recognise how important the job that they did is for the economy. This is sadly a complaint that I am very familiar with.’

Mr Bramley believes that the only answer is for proper safety standards to be set and properly enforced to improve the overall safety and reduce the high levels of accidents and loss of life. ‘These problems are not insurmountable; it is just a matter of political will.’

K

As a result of the trip, the ITF is planning to work in a number of ways to support the Bangladesh unions to improve safety standards in their country. As well as providing funding for the welfare centre in India, it will be lobbying governments to provide financial support for the urgent infrastructure improvements needed.

‘It should be easy enough to embarrass some European governments,’ Mr Bramley concluded.

‘We are all benefiting from the cheap goods which come out of Bangladesh so we should be able to offer aid to improve the terrible working conditions of the people living and working there.’

The safety seminars were attended by high level organisations including the Bangladesh government, the ITF inland waterways section, the Bangladesh inland waterways private and public sector unions and employer groups

26 bangladesh_edit.indd Sec2:26

22/01/2014 18:07

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 27

SEAFARER TRAINING

Dr Michael Baldauf

Set a new course for e-Navigation

e-Navigation aims to harmonise navigation systems and ultimately make the mariner’s job easier — but its implementation will require extensive changes to maritime training.

Dr Michael Baldauf of the World Maritime University discusses the reasons for change, the progress made so far, and further changes that will need to be made to reap the benefits of e-Navigation…

L

In recent years, bridges have become increasingly ‘smart’ — with a plethora of new equipment, systems and interfaces. New pieces of navigation equipment and sophisticated systems have been introduced both onboard and ashore, primarily to improve safety.

New equipment such as Automatic Identification Systems (AIS), Voyage Data Recorders (VDR), Simplified Voyage Data Recorders (S-VDR), Integrated Navigation Systems (INS), Integrated Bridge Systems (IBS), and numerous others, are found on state-of-the-art navigational bridges, providing the mariner with vast amounts of useful information. Indeed, some of these tools are mandatory for vessels from regions covered by the international Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).

The advent of Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) was a major cornerstone but, in order to ensure that all electronic equipment works and performs optimally, it must be integrated under an overarching framework — just as all of the instruments in a large orchestra need to be tuned and harmonised to produce a good overall effect.

This is what e-Navigation — a concept developed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) together with the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) — plans to achieve by standardising navigational tools in an allembracing, over-arching system. e-Navigation will bring together disparate systems, making the mariner’s job easier and, subsequently, enhancing navigational safety and efficiency. It will connect ship and shore by powerful communication systems and help all the operators onboard — captains, pilots, navigating officers, engineers — as well as the vessel traffic service (VTS) and search and rescue operators, to effectively fulfil the tasks they are responsible for.

27 accseas_proofed.indd 27

The ACCSEAS project has identified the need for new training requirements for e-Navigation Picture: Eric Houri

Before e-Navigation, the introduction of new systems into shipping was accompanied by related training measures. The IMO laid down all of the minimum requirements for seafaring personnel in the international convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for seafarers (STCW). Whilst this established the basic minimum requirements, model courses with specific training requirements were defined for special purposes and particular equipment.

For example, the ARPA/Radar model course, or the ECDIS model course, has become mandatory for navigators.

Manufacturers and suppliers of navigational and technical equipment offer specific training courses for users to

Almost all mariners had received no training in the concept of e-Navigation

“

”

support the effective operation and handling of their systems in practice, but these systems are not standardised and therefore neither is the training on them.

Mariners may be able to use equipment from one manufacturer, but not from another. This could have an impact on their career progression, as their experience and training may be not be interchangeable with those needed to operate other vessels. There are also significant safety implications of not being trained properly on the equipment they are operating.

L

So what impact, if any, has the introduction of the e-Navigation concept had?

ACCSEAS — a European project to develop and implement an e-Navigation test-bed to harmonise the exchange of electronic maritime information — has been assessing the impact of e-Navigation so far by conducting interviews and simulation runs with experienced mariners.

Over the last year, ACCSEAS has conducted several simulation sessions, putting mariners into a potential e-Navigation environment with aspects such as the integration of route recommendation from a shore-based coordination centre.

Mariners were also interviewed about their knowledge and training experience of e-Navigation.

The interviews showed that, whilst e-Navigation has a worldwide community, knowledge of the concept is still at a rather low level. Almost all of the interviewees had received no training in the concept of e-Navigation, and the closest e-Navigation came to be mentioned was briefly as a part of BRM (Bridge Resource Management).

Most interviewees had learned about the concept from articles in industry magazines and journals; therefore, most were self-informed rather than having undergone any specific training.

More surprisingly, teachers and lecturers at recognised maritime education and training (MET) institutions were not fully aware of e-Navigation. While interviewed mariners expressed their wish to be informed and educated before the introduction of the e-Navigation-based new systems and concepts, most of the maritime universities, academies and other training institutions consulted said it is largely not a subject of training modules, lectures or other types of courses at all.

In this research, ACCSEAS found that ship operators would like to have harmonisation of alarms and warnings when navigating in shore-based monitored areas. For example, warnings triggered by a collision and grounding avoidance system ashore must be harmonised with the system onboard in order to avoid confusion and delay.

As a minimum, the training and education of users both onboard and ashore should be complementary.

Interviewees also supported the idea of standardised human-machine interfaces, which they think would help to make training more effective and efficient than it is today. Greater standardisation would mean that mariners are able to safely use systems, even if unfamiliar with them — much as the standardisation of cars has meant that anyone who has learned to drive can safely operate any model of car.

There has been little change in training since the concept of e-Navigation was introduced. It is clear that new training requirements need to be implemented for e-Navigation, which introduces new applications such as enhanced anti-collision displays, dynamic tidal and current information integrated into ECDIS, as well as completely new services like route broadcast and route suggestion services for enhanced traffic management and coordination.

Equally as important, navigators will need to be trained on the constraints of these systems, how to spot errors, and how to interpret warnings and alarms.

Captains, pilots and navigators must be much more aware of the limits of any system used for navigation. VTS operators must take care when broadcasting information gathered from shore-based sensor systems and inform the users of the reliability of the given information accordingly. This will hopefully combat an existing over-reliance on systems, which can cause mariners to miss important changes or warning signs.

It’s likely to get harder before it gets easier as, before harmonised systems can be universally implemented, the e-Navigation community will need to decide on the standards, enforce them, and ensure all mariners are trained on them.

The long-term training implications of e-Navigation, however, are positive. A higher level of standardisation on navigation systems will lead to more standardised training, and this will be easier for the navigation community to provide and enforce in the future, and simpler for the mariner to complete.

The role of the ACCSEAS project primarily is to assess where there are training gaps and understand how training can be improved and made accessible to the mariner. It aims to develop and offer supporting training materials for all of the services designed within the e-Navigation test-bed and actively make these available to the shipping community.

g References IALA (2010) e-Navigation Committee — e-Navigation Frequently Asked Questions (Version 1.5).

IMO (2010) STW 42/6 Development of an E-Navigation Strategy Development Plan — Report of the Correspondence Group on e-navigation submitted by Norway. London: IMO. Murray, J (2010) Are we there yet? Maritime IT & Electronics, pp. 20-25.

Patraiko, D; Wake, P; & Weintrit, A (2010) e-Navigation and the Human Element.

TransNav. The International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation, Vol.4, Issue 1, 11-16.

22/01/2014 18:08

28 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

LIFELINE FERRIES The Hurtigruten is a true lifeline ferry service, having helped to shape modern Norway by linking remote coastal communities for more than 120 years…

Long lifeline for Norway I

There can’t be many shipping companies figuring so strongly in a nation’s consciousness that they would merit a recordbreaking TV documentary.

But Norway’s Hurtigruten (‘fast route’) service is something special — a lifeline ferry operation which links the country’s remote coastal communities with a passenger and freight service which has run with clockwork regularity for 120 years, interrupted only by war.

The company has 11 ships running on a 2,545nm route between the city of Bergen and Kirkenes, just 14km from the Russian border, and back again. During the 12-day round-trip, the ships call at 34 ports — with some turnrounds taking no more than 15 minutes.

Known as the coastal express, it’s an intense and demanding operation — one that was deemed impossible when the idea of the service was first floated in the 1870s. Although there had been a long history of coastal shipping operations in Norway (known as the Kombinerte routes), the first two companies approached to run an express link between Trondheim and Hammerfest — two of the key ports on the current network — turned the offer down because of the poor standard of charts and naviga-

28-29 hurtigruten_proofed.indd 28

tional aids north of Trondheim.

But Captain Richard With — a seafarer of Dutch descent working with a local shipping company, VDS — reckoned differently and believed the service could prove viable. Together with marine pilot Anders Holte, he put together detailed navigational data and passage information to help navigators to operate ships along the treacherous routes at night or in reduced visibility using just a watch and a compass.

In 1891, Capt With had established a service between Lofoten, Vesterålen and Senja in the north and Bergen in the south. Two years later, the Norwegian government approved a four-year

Captain Richard With, the pioneer of the Hurtigruten service

contract providing 70,000 krone in financial support for a yearround passenger service between Trondheim and Hammerfest in the summer and Trondheim and Tromsø in the winter.

Spurred by the success of the Capt With’s Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab operation, two other companies joined the bidding for the next contract, resulting in more ships being deployed on the routes and, for a short period, weekly sailings from Stavanger.

In 1914 the route was extended to the current Bergen-Kirkenes end-points, but over the years there have been many changes to the ports visited in between, and the Hurtigruten has helped to shape many of the coastal communities along the Norwegian coast, boosting trade and tourism and revolutionising communications between the remote locations. Letters which previously took up to three weeks to reach Hammerfest from Trondheim during the summer, and up to five months during the winter, could now be delivered by the Hurtigruten in just a few days and the ships still carry mail for the Norwegian postal service.

With long hours of darkness in the winter months, often hostile weather conditions and lots of reefs and rocks, the route has always presented a challenge to navigators. Eight Hurtigruten

The first Hurtigruten vessel, DS Vesteraalen, pictured arriving in the port of Svolvaer

ships have been lost in peace time, with the loss of 97 lives.

During the 1920s, seafaring unions campaigned strongly for the ships to be fitted with wireless telegraphy equipment, and following a government commission inquiry in 1930, ships began to be fitted with radio-telephones.

By 1936 the fleet was equipped with sonar, electronic logbooks and radio-tracking transmitters.

The worst accident occurred in October 1962, when the Sanct Svithun ran aground at Folla after taking the wrong route from Buholmråsa to Rørvik, with 89 passengers and crew onboard.

Because the vessel had been on an incorrect heading, search and rescue operations were severely hampered and it was not until some survivors reached the shore later that night that the grounding site was known. A total of 41 people — including the pilot, mate and helmsman on the bridge at the time — lost their lives, and the reason why the ship had strayed from its route was never determined.

But it was the Second World War which hit the Hurtigruten fleet even harder. Nine of the 15 ships were lost, with more than 700 lives. Following the war, a major reconstruction effort was mounted to relaunch the service with a wide range of ships from different sources.

However, the problems in finding suitable tonnage meant that the run between Trondheim and Hammerfest was taking almost 16 hours longer than it did in 1893. A push for greater standardisation and modernisation of the fleet resulted in a major investment programme which saw the introduction of diesel engines and seven new ships delivered in the space of just three years. By 1952 the service was carrying around half a million passengers a year.

During the 1960s and 70s, the Hurtigruten came under pressure as a result of major improvements in the Norwegian road system and the construction of bridges linking many islands with

the mainland. This prompted a lot of debate about the future of the service — but in 1982 the government gave the green light to a programme of rationalisation and integration of the services as well as investment in new tonnage. Between 1993 and the end of 2003, nine new ships came into service.

In 2006, the OVDS and TFDS Hurtigruten shipping companies merged to form a single company — Hurtigruten ASA. In the following year, a new expedition ship, Fram, entered into service and a new route to Greenland was launched.

I

Today, Hurtigruten runs a fleet of 12 ships — 11 along the Norwegian coast, and the Fram operating polar cruises in Antarctica, Greenland, Spitsbergen and Iceland.

Norway’s government continues to support the services in the face of increased competition from low-cost airlines and the ever-improving road network.

The fleet operates under a NOK640m (€76.5m) public pro-

curement contract with the Norwegian Ministry of Transportation, running for eight years from 2012.

Hurtigruten is a major employer — being one of the biggest apprentice trainers in northern Norway. With seasonal staff taken into account, it employs around 1,450 seagoing personnel — including 362 officers and 471 ratings.

Last year, the ships carried more than 390,000 passengers, 34,000 cars and some 130,000 metric tons of freight. Although the Hurtigruten was initially intended largely as a postal and freight service, it has increasingly concentrated on passengers and tourism — with the ‘cruises’ marketed around the world.

And the record-breaking TV programme? In 2011 the northbound voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes by the Hurtigruten ferry Nordnorge was broadcast from 16 to 22 June — a total of 134 hours, 42 minutes and 45 seconds: the longest non-stop live television documentary and a Guinness World Record.

The 1964-built Lofoten is still running in the Hurtigruten fleet today

22/01/2014 18:09

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 29

LIFELINE FERRIES

Community service...

It’s a demanding job to keep the Hurtigruten service running, crew members tell ANDREW LININGTON

K

Captain Asbjørn Dalan loves his job. Asked what the best thing is about being master of the 11,386gt Hurtigruten ferry Nordnorge, he replies simply: ‘Everything.’

‘It’s good — you are meeting people, the ship is like a real community, and you know you are doing a service for society and serving the people along the coast,’ says Capt Dalan, who has worked for the company since 2005.

He joined as a first mate after serving first on fishing vessels and later on cargoships, and he says there’s no problem in recruiting staff for the service. ‘It is a very popular place to work,’ he adds. ‘If you live along the coast, it means you are never far away from home and you are passing your home four times on every trip.’

All the deck and engineering crews and the majority of passenger services staff are Norwegian, and they work 22 days on followed by 22 days off (two complete round-trips) — joining and leaving vessels in or near their home towns.

Usually appointed to a specific ship for around five years, the officers work an eight-on/ four-off, four-on/eight-off watch-keeping pattern, having switched from six-on/six-off several years ago.

The relentless schedules — with 34 dockings every 11 days — and often tough sailing conditions mean it is a demanding job. ‘We sail close to the land and you need a lot of experience to learn this coast,’ Capt Dalan points out.

Nordnorge runs with a master, chief officer, navigating officer and safety officer. Newlyappointed navigating officers do a few trips under supervision, and — depending on previous experience and qualifications — usually have to serve for at least three years before progressing to chief officer positions.

Capt Dalan says bad weather is not the biggest challenge — currents are. The Norwegian coast has some extreme tidal currents and Hurtigruten passes close to the Saltstraumen, the strongest tidal current in the world, where water speeds can reach 22 knots and maelstroms up to 10m in diameter and 5m in depth can form. ‘In many places the current can be very strong and they can change a lot, especially as a result of air pressure and tidewaters,’ he explains. ‘But we can sail in force 12 conditions, depending on the wind direction, although it is a problem in ports at force 7 and above because we have 2,400sq m of windage.’

28-29 hurtigruten_proofed.indd 29

Captai Asbjørn Dalan on the bridge of the Hurtigruten ferry Nordnorge Picture: Andrew Linington

Although almost half the route is above the Arctic Circle and air temperatures can fall to as low as -25C in the winter months, ice is not much of a hazard because of the warming effects of the Gulf Stream.

But some of the ports present significant tests for navigators.

‘There is very shallow water in a number of them and some are very small, so you have to think very carefully about how you get in and out,’ Capt Dalan points out.

Every effort is made to maintain the port calls in all but the most extreme conditions. ‘If you have to cancel, you know it can cause problems — but people know that we only do it if we have to and they are used to it; they know that there will be another ship on the way.’

Nordnorge can carry up to 45 cars, and its 960 sq m of cargo space is used to carrying a huge

Chief engineer Stig Johannessen

variety of different cargoes — such as alcohol (controlled under the Norwegian state monopoly), frozen fish, vegetables and building materials.

The vessel can accommodate up to 623 passengers, and Capt Dalan says the tourist trade is increasingly significant — with voyages marketed around the Northern Lights in winter or the midnight sun in summer.

K

The busy operating pattern also poses challenges for the engineering staff. Most port calls last less than two hours and some as little as 15 minutes, leaving little down time for maintenance.

Chief engineer Stig Johannessen, who has served with the company for 27 years, is proud of his team’s work to keep Nordnorge operating efficiently.

Running with a chief engineer,

When we get into harbour we have to have all the tools ready and it’s go, go, go!

“

first engineer, second engineer and electrical officer, and three ratings and two trainees, Nordnorge undergoes a full engine overhaul during drydocking once every five years, but much of the routine maintenance has to be done during the port calls and the ship also carries a spare cylinder set in case of serious problems.

‘We’re not like a cruiseship where you have one person for safety, one person for security and so on — we have to do

”

everything and be everywhere at the same time,’ Mr Johannesson points out. ‘When we get into harbour we have to have all the tools and spare parts ready — and then it’s go, go, go!’

Carrying as many as 740 passengers and crew in coastal service also means plenty of work producing fresh water, dealing with waste water and maintaining heating and air conditioning.

‘There is a big focus on fuel at the moment and we are doing

everything possible to reduce consumption,’ Mr Johannessen says. ‘Our most economical speed is 15 knots, where we burn around 960 litres per hour compared with about 1,900 litres an hour at 18 knots.’

Nordnorge is powered by two MaK 6M552C main engines, delivering 4,500kW at 480rpm and the power management system offers five operating modes — including harbour, manoeuvring and transit, as well as the option to use the shaft generators as feed-in motors.

There are twin 1,265kW Ulstein Bergen auxiliary engines, two 1,070kW Bronvoll bow thrusters and two 545kW stern thrusters.

Nordnorge runs on a marine diesel with a high wax content and if the ship is in port for longer than two hours, sulphur emission rules mean that it has to switch to diesel oil. Nordnorge is not fitted with scrubbers, so the company pays an emissions tax to the government — but can claim money back for the costs of investing in ‘green’ equipment, such as new energy-efficient lub oil separators and low-energy lighting.

Mr Johannessen — who worked on fishing vessels and deepsea merchant ships before switching to the Hurtigruten — says he enjoys his job. ‘It’s a good workplace,’ he reflects. ‘We have no problem getting spares and support, there’s something happening all the time and we meet lots of different people.

‘However, engineers and electricians can sometimes be a problem to find, as a lot of them want to work offshore, where you do 14 days of work followed by four weeks off,’ he says.

‘We have the saying that the grass is greener on the other side, but most people who come here stay for a long time,’ Capt Dalan adds.

‘There’s more money offshore, and some will go off to try other things, but they usually come back after a while…’

Nordnorge is one of 11 ships in the Hurtigruten fleet, maintaining a busy schedule between Bergen and Kirkenes Picture: Andrew Linington

22/01/2014 18:09

30 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

WOMEN AT SEA

Don’t cry for us, Argentina… …Just give us a job in the merchant marine! A new book investigates the role of women in the Argentine shipping industry and celebrates 10 women who changed the maritime world. DEBBIE CAVALDORO meets the author…

O

Horacio-Guillermo Vázquez, a former radioelectronics officer with the Argentine merchant marine, came up with the idea of documenting the female maritime professionals his country had produced when completing a doctorate in communications and the corporate identity of the merchant marine.

As well as undertaking his own study, Mr Vázquez is head of the Nautical National Academy and Naval

University in Argentina, and said that this put him in a unique position to document, for the first time, the stories of women in the Argentine industry.

‘Many of the first graduates, pursers and radio operators, are well-known professionals,’ said Mr Vázquez at the UK launch of his book at the Argentinian Embassy in London. ‘Moreover, the first pilots, captains, deck officers and engineers have been under my direct responsibility during their

time at the National Nautical School.

‘Until now, no been reliable documentation was available to account for the reasons and circumstances surrounding the integration of women into the merchant marine,’ he added.

‘Oral tradition was limited to the memoirs of a pioneer in 1978 in Argentina, along with anecdotal evidence, mainly from the United States and Europe.

‘I found the reality much more complex and striking: one solitary young woman [Ana Luisa Ortiz], armed with the power of her vocation to the sea, fought valiantly against a huge and suffocating bureaucracy to make herself a part of the merchant marine. Once I knew about her it was impossible not to throw myself completely into the work of telling this history.’

Mr Vázquez enlisted the help of Rosa Mary de la Campa Portela, Argentina’s first female pilot, to research the book, which is split into two sections; one looking at the history of women in the Argentine merchant fleet and navies across the world, and the second containing case studies and interviews with 10 women maritime professionals who were the ‘first’ in their fields.

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30 argentine women_proofed.indd Sec2:30

The publication of Women in the Argentine Merchant Marine marks the 35th anniversary of the admission of women into the maritime profession in Argentina, and Mr Vázquez hopes it will pave the way for more women to join the merchant marine in the future.

‘The most interesting part of this book is what it can [accomplish] in the future,’ he said. ‘On the one hand, it could raise awareness of the place women ought to have in our merchant marine and the key role they can have. On the other, it could encourage young women to embark on a maritime career — in an industry that needs them and offers a worthy professional possibility.’

The first section of the book does read like the outcome of a university research project, and gives the cold facts and statistics of the global maritime industry. It is a struggle to follow in places, as it has been translated from Mr Vázquez’s native Spanish, but that is not to say it isn’t interesting. The charts and information are well presented and make interesting comparisons to other forms of transportation.

However, once the narrative moves on to the role of women in the merchant marine the book becomes much more compelling: ‘Since the dawn of time, when humans have put to sea, maritime activity has been … an entirely and exclusively masculine enterprise. The presence of women aboard ship was altogether unfeasible, and sharply forbidden. And the embarkation of a woman constituted a terrible precedent, which entailed a hex, from which no end of traditions were derived…’

The author explains that there have been recorded cases of women at sea (apart from in small fishing islands where it has always been the case) as far back as the 1500s, where some worked as pirates, and he tells of Jeanne Baret, who became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe as part of a scientific expedition in 1766.

There is much debate among authors of maritime history as to whom the first ‘official’ women officer is, and Mr Vázquez gives the honour to the brief (fivemonth) stint as a radiotelegraph officer made by American Graynella Packer. However, he does point out that the honour of leading the struggle for equality at sea must go to Russian Anna Ivanovna Shchetinina, who became the first female merchant vessel master in 1935.

As with many other male-dominated profes-

Author Horacio-Guillermo Vasquez presents a copy of his book to IMO secretary-general Koji Sekimizu on the day of the UK launch Picture: IMO

sions, the Second World War bought about a change in the number of women found onboard, especially in communications. A number of women officers began to appear over the next 30 years, but such was their rarity that most made at least national news.

In Argentina, in 1971 — for the first time in Latin America — 18-year old Ana Luisa Ortiz began the paperwork to enrol in the Argentine National Nautical School for studies to become a deck officer. The refusal she received would result in an official inquiry which culminated in 1978 with the enrolment of 23 women who would become the first women merchant marine officers in Latin America.

Mr Vázquez’s passion for his subject is highlighted by the depth of his research into the struggle of Ms Ortiz. He reveals letters, media coverage and various inquiries into her application (which had mysteriously disappeared from the school’s filing systems). One response to Ms Ortiz’s application from the Centre of Marine Engineering Chiefs and Officers included comment that menstruation would lead any woman at sea being ‘incapacitated for up to seven days per month’. It notes the lack of medical care available at sea (implying that this is never an issue for male seafarers), and remarks that ‘pregnancy is a particular condition of women’. It also covers the ‘endless list of functional and hormonal disorders brought about by menopause’.

Despite some of the objections, the industry was generally in favour of accepting Ms Ortiz’s application, and women in general, into maritime training and initial steps were taken to allow their induction.

However, a further complication was added when General Juan Domingo Perón and his wife returned to Argentina following 18 years of exile. Whilst the Perón administration was in favour of equality for women, there followed a period of civil unrest. A second report into the admittance of women into the Argentine merchant marine was launched under the new government.

O

Following the death of Juan Perón in office in 1976, his wife and vice president Isabel Martínez de Perón became the first non-royal female head of state and government in western history. A complaint had already been filed with the then vice-president about the lack of progress but, due in part to the volatile political and social state of Argentina at the time, the nautical school (now almost alone in its objections) was able to delay for a further two years. However, in 1978 23 female navigation officer cadets were admitted, Ms Ortiz among them.

This is just one of the nine case studies that the book focuses on and, where possible, Mr Vázquez and his team have interviewed the ‘pioneers’ for their personal views on women in the merchant marine.

What may be surprising to readers is how humble some of these women are about what they have achieved. Many do not see their positions as being particularly special; they just have a love of the sea and a desire to work on it. Whatever obstacles were put in their way had to be faced and overcome, not pondered over or allowed to divert them from their course. There is no doubt that all of them have faced discrimination in one form or another — onboard and in ports around the world — but there is an overwhelming sense that it was worth it for a life at sea.

g Women in the Argentine Merchant Marine: The

history and the history-makers, by HoracioGuillermo Vazquez, is available directly from Mr Vazquez at hvazquez@escueladenautica.edu.ar

22/01/2014 18:11

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 31

MEMBERS AT WORK

Captain Ieuan Lampshire-Jones is one of Nautilus International’s longest-serving members. After receiving the Union’s celebratory gold lapel pin from the general secretary, he spoke to SARAH ROBINSON about wartime, peacetime, sea and shore...

Captain Ieuan Lampshire-Jones in command of the Eastern Ume, in March 1964

M

How many people can say that they’ve been in a relationship for 70 years? Amazingly, that’s how long Captain Ieuan LampshireJones has maintained his connection with Nautilus; he joined the Union in 1944, and has faithfully paid his annual subscription ever since.

Of course, he wasn’t sending his shillings to a body called Nautilus International 70 years ago.

Ieuan Lampshire-Jones originally signed up to the NEOU (Navigators and Engineer Officers’ Union), and over the years he saw his Union morph into the MNAOA, NUMAST and Nautilus UK, before taking on the identity we know today. Meanwhile, there were substantial changes in his own life and work — making it all the more unusual that he remained with the same professional organisation.

Capt Lampshire-Jones’s reasons for joining the Union in 1944 would still sound familiar to the seafarer of 2014: legal representation in times of trouble, and pension support (the NEOU had been instrumental in setting up the cross-industry pension scheme MNOPF in 1938). ‘I was a third officer then,’ he recalls, ‘and those things impressed me and the others on my ship. We joined when a Union rep came onboard during a port visit in the UK.’ At that point, young Ieuan had already been at sea for five years, having joined his first vessel, the coaster Lottie R, as an ordinary seaman in 1939. It was quite a moment to be embarking on a nautical career, as Britain’s merchant vessels soon found themselves embroiled in the highly risky supply missions of the Second World War. But Ieuan was not deterred; his father and grandfather had both been

A familiar name in the Telegraph... Page 16, April 2009

Captain Lampshire-Jones’s first vessel, the coaster Lottie R

to sea, and his uncle was serving as 2nd mate on the Lottie R. Besides, he says: ‘In our village on the Welsh coast, you only had three choices — farmer, ministry or seafarer.’ It was common, he adds, for certain shipowners to rely on their Welsh shipmasters to recruit new crewmembers from their home towns, so vacancies were often filled through word of mouth.

Ieuan’s wartime service with the British Merchant Navy took him all around the world; he crossed the Atlantic several times, took supplies to North Africa and Burma, and was involved in the D-Day operation.

Even the small Lottie R had a vital role to play in the war effort. Capt Lampshire-Jones vividly remembers a mission to Iceland carrying petrol cans for the Royal Marines, in which the coaster had to hide among the fjords during a heated battle which sank HMS Hood off Greenland.

But what the Lottie R couldn’t supply was the range of experience needed by an aspiring ship’s officer. Buoyed by the support of his shipmates, Ieuan knuckled down to his nautical studies at South Shields Marine & Technical College as the war went on, and transferred to larger cargoships including the Dalmore to get his required deepsea experience.

M the gold lapel pin which honours long-standing R Nautilus members. If you have been a member

Capt Lampshire-Jones is pictured above wearing

of Nautilus and its predecessor unions for over 40 years, you too could be in line for a gold lapel pin. Or perhaps you have a relative who is a long-standing Union member and would appreciate this token of recognition. To ensure a name is on the list for consideration, please email 40yearpins@nautilusint. org or phone the Wallasey office on +44 (0)151 639 8454 and ask for Karen Jones.

31 capt lj (2)_proofed.indd 31

By 1944, Ieuan had his certificate of competency as a Second Mate (Foreign Going), he had become an NEOU member, and as hostilities drew to a close in 1945 he looked forward eagerly to a peacetime career at sea. ‘It was all much easier after the war,’ he recalls. ‘Nobody was trying to bomb you any more, and you could even bring your wife onboard for some trips.’

As he rose through the ranks, Ieuan and his wife Philomena had three daughters and a son, Ian, who eventually followed his father to sea. For his higher tickets, Ieuan studied for a time at the University of Wales Department of Marine Studies in Cardiff, and gained his master’s certificate through the City of London Polytechnical School of Navigation. ‘That was a proud day for my mother,’ he smiles. ‘I let her know by sending her a telegram saying “TOPSAIL”.’

Captain Lampshire-Jones’s first command was the World Wide Shipping cargoship Eastern Sakura, in ‘around 1960’. Over the next decade, he continued serving as a shipmaster, but he and Philomena found themselves increasingly drawn to the beautiful port of Vancouver in western Canada. So when Ieuan found out through acquaintances that a large surveying company, SGS Supervision Services, was look-

ing to set up a branch in the city, he decided to come ashore. In 1969, he helped to establish the firm’s new west coast operation, and his work as a surveyor in the 1970s and 1980s was to cover a territory including Alaska, Yukon, the Canadian High Arctic, British Columbia, Washington state, Oregon, northern California and even Greenland. ‘I enjoyed the travel, and also the sociability of the job,’ he says. ‘I liked going onboard and chatting to the masters.’

Although he officially retired in 1988, the captain continued with consultancy work in the industry, and has given presentations to inspire schoolchildren to take up maritime and mining careers. He still lives in Vancouver, and of course he is still a Nautilus member.

What made him maintain his membership for all this time? The Telegraph was a big part of it, he explains. He finds it an invaluable way of keeping up to date with the industry, and not least with developments in the MNOPF pension scheme. He enjoys the lighter side of the paper too, and has twice contributed to the letters pages — ‘I’m famous for telling funny stories,’ he jokes.

Capt Lampshire-Jones is also a man who cares about being part of social and professional communities. As well as Nautilus International, he is a member of a range of organisations including the Company of Master Mariners of Canada, the Association of Marine Surveyors of British Columbia, the Canadian Maritime Law Association, the Welsh Society of Vancouver and his local Welsh church.

Whatever his reasons for staying with Nautilus for so long, the Union is very glad to have him onboard, says general secretary Mark Dickinson, who recently sent the captain the Nautilus gold pin which honours long-standing members. ‘We couldn’t wish for a finer and more loyal member than Captain LampshireJones,’ he remarks, ‘and we hope he stays with Nautilus for many more years to come.’

Giving you a voice on your future 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 1 & 2 The Shrubberies, George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1BD t +44 (0)20 8989 6677 f +44 (0)20 8530 1015 npa@nautilusint.org www.nautilusint.org

22/01/2014 18:11

32 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

MARITIME WELFARE

Time for male bonding ‘Go to the Union’s welfare complex in Wallasey and find out about their new men’s health project — and while you’re there, watch the England vs Brazil 1970 world cup game.’ Not an assignment footiemad Debbie Cavaldoro was likely to turn down…

I

It is well known that people are living longer these days, and men in particular enjoy much longer retirements than they used to.

This is especially important for places like Mariners’ Park, the Nautilus Welfare Fund’s centre in Wallasey, UK, where there over 60 male retired seafarers, over half of whom live alone.

Whilst the Fund has always organised a lot of events for residents, thanks to the work of award-winning activities organiser Audrey Stocker, it was felt that there was a need for something aimed specifically at men to ensure that the Park’s male residents, and the local male retired seafaring community, kept active and healthy.

Thanks to funding from the Maritime Charities Funding Group, and in partnership with Age UK, the Nautilus Welfare Fund launched a 12-month initial men’s health project based on the ‘men

Roger Cliffe-Thompson

in sheds’ concept developed by Age UK, employing a men’s activities organiser — Roger Cliffe-Thompson.

‘Men tend to stay in isolation and don’t socialise quite as easily as women,’ explains Roger. ‘And I

found this to be especially true of seafarers. They are self-reliant — their homes are always immaculate and if I say I’ll be round at 10.30, they are ready at 10.20 and have a cup of tea waiting for me!

‘My job is based on the “men in sheds” idea, but we have taken the original idea from Australia, where they literally work in sheds, and have developed it into a programme of activities designed with men in mind.

‘At Mariners’ Park it is more of a psychological concept — it’s more about men coming together and socialising, getting out of the house and keeping active,’ he adds.

At the start of the project Age UK Wirral organised for Roger to visit a similar project in Macclesfield, where men got together in a workshop environment, and what he found reinforced his theories that the scheme shouldn’t simply be

about ‘making things’.

‘It was a workshop with a few settees in it,’ he explains. ‘But not a lot of work was going on — they were all sitting around on the sofas chatting. It showed that they felt comfortable in their surroundings. If you had said to them “come round for a coffee morning and we’ll all have a chat” I bet none of them would have been there!

‘Age UK Wirral are very supportive of what we are trying to do . They help with advice and practical support like transport or specialists in computer skills or photography.’

Roger has worked in the community in Liverpool for a number of years — he was the resident poet for the Lord Mayor — and uses his contacts to build a diary of events which are different from those which have previously been provided for Mariners’ Park residents. Being similar in age to many of the residents (or in fact

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The makeshift indoor bowling arena Pictures: Debbie Cavaldoro

older than some of them!), Roger says that he bases a lot of his ideas for activities on things he would enjoy doing himself.

‘My uppermost thought is always, would the mariners find it interesting? I set activities that I would do, and that helps me to build their trust. In the long term I hope that they will say “Roger’s orgaising that so it must be OK”.

‘For me it’s like being back at school! I have a great time and it’s like getting together with my mates. We all talk the same language; we all grew up with the same things around us. I just have to mention one thing and everybody is off talking.’

I

It was evident from the football screening Roger had organised — the fourth historic football match DVD night he has put on — that this is very true. One mention of recently deceased Portuguese footballer Eusebio, a star of the 1966 and 1970 world cups, and all the men in the room clamour to share their memories of him and those competitions.

Watching the football match itself was a remarkable experience; the recall of some of the residents was such that they were giving a running commentary on the game, five minutes ahead of the action on the screen.

And everyone knows that seafarers love to tell their tales — so everyone talks about where they were when this game was played and then share their experiences about being in England when they were the host for the previous world cup.

‘This is all part of what I am trying to do,’ explains Roger. ‘They might not have spent the evening doing exercises in a chair, but they have all left their homes on a grey, wet, cold night and come together.

They have talked and shared social time together — and healthy minds are as important as healthy

bodies.’

Roger has certainly built a great rapport with the male residents, and the England vs Brazil game was suggested by resident Peter Sumner, following the successful screenings of classic Liverpool, Everton and Tranmere games.

‘Roger has been great, no doubt about it,’ Peter said. ‘We just all really hope that when his contract finishes they renew it, because he is a big help. There have been all sorts of things that he has done for us. Someone only has to mention something like the opening of the White Star building in Liverpool and off he goes and organises it.

You only have to give him a little bit of a steer and he will go away and research it and organise it.’

The day after the football, Roger organised a carpet bowls event — with equipment he had sourced himself for something different to do in the winter — and some of the men turned up with arms folded, saying they were just going to watch, but they all joined in after only 10 minutes of Roger’s infectious enthusiasm.

Gary Dickinson, who has been living on Mariners’ Park with his wife for five years, joined in the carpet bowls match — and took part in the lengthy discussions on how to actually play the game.

‘Roger has been a great help since he has been here,’ he said. ‘He understands where we are coming from and he always asks us for ideas for events and trips.

‘For me it has been especially useful as I don’t come from Liverpool, so I am not as aware of what there is to do in the city.

Roger is a real Liverpudlian and he knows what there is to see so we get out more because of that.’

It is clear Roger’s first six months at Mariners’ Park have been a great success. Sadly, however, even he can’t accomplish miracles, and Brazil still beat England 1-0, despite that wonder save from Gordon Banks. And don’t ask who won the indoor bowls…

22/01/2014 18:12

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 33

MEMBERS AT WORK

Harmony in the workplace team and we get in there and do the job.

That’s what our industry’s about.’

‘They were very keen,’ agrees singing coach Hilary Campbell, who worked with P&O in the classical round. ‘Their success was a testament to their attitude and determination to improve. They committed to every aspect of the piece, including the words. The Lacrimosa was a fine performance because they really meant it. I also liked the way they got on with each other, and how they were so responsive — a small direction from me would instantly have an effect on their sound.’

The P&O choir clicked so well with Hilary that they invited her back to be their permanent musical director after the competition was over. Yes, the choir is still going, and the singers are very pleased that the company has committed to hiring Hilary and an accompanist for the foreseeable future. And just as Gareth Malone hoped, the P&O singers did enjoy meeting colleagues from other parts of the business, and lasting friendships have been made. ‘The whole thing has been a blast,’ smiles Phil.

Can choral singing really make for better industrial relations?

P&O Cross-Channel Ferries thought it was worth a try, hears SARAH ROBINSON

c

Towards the end of last year, some rather strong words could be heard echoing around P&O Channel House in Dover: ‘Sinnerman, where you gonna run to?’ And they were coming from Nautilus liaison officer Phil Lees. Steady on, Phil, don’t get too personal with the management!

Oh, I see — he was singing at the time.

So people sing now in pay review meetings, do they? Well, they’re not quite at that point yet, but at P&O Cross-Channel Ferries, many staff do sing together on a regular basis, and it looks like it’s been quite a morale-booster for the firm.

It started early last year when TV production company TwentyTwenty approached P&O on behalf of the BBC to take part in the second annual workplace choir competition Sing While You Work.

The show is fronted by popular choirmaster Gareth Malone, whose mission is to raise spirits and bring communities together through choral singing, and who founded the well-known Military Wives choirs found on British army bases.

‘Once P&O had agreed to be in the Sing While You Work competition,’ says Phil, ‘the production team came onboard all the ships and round the P&O offices looking for people to audition. We’d always enjoyed a bit of a singsong in the engineroom, and some of my colleagues on the Spirit of France were keen to try out, but I said at first that I had too much on, what with work, Union business and home stuff. My colleagues coerced me into it, though…’

In the end, Phil was the only engineer officer to make it through the televised auditions, in which some 300 P&O staff members were whittled down to a choir of 23. One of the aims of the process was to ensure many different types of employee were represented in the choir, and the final line-up included a shipmaster, a deck officer, a quartermaster, an onboard chef, stewards, warehouse staff and office workers.

Some of the singers had prior experience — Phil, for example, had sung in his

The all-conquering P&O Ferries choir, with Nautilus liaison officer Phil Lees (front centre) next to choirmaster Gareth Malone (bow tie). While taking part in the Sing While You Work competition, choir members often sang wearing their uniforms or usual work clothes Picture: Shed Media

school and church choirs as a child, and in folk and rock groups as a teenager — but most could not read music, and for some, this was the first time their singing voices had been heard outside the walls of their bathroom.

Nina Simone’s Sinnerman was the song the P&O choir went on to perform in the gospel round of the competition.

Other rounds featured a song appropriate to the singers’ field of work (Beyond the Sea for P&O), a well-known classical piece (Lacrimosa for P&O, from Mozart’s Requiem), and a new choral work by composer and competition judge Paul Mealor. The other organisations taking part were Sainsbury’s supermarkets, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, Citi bank and Birmingham City Council, but two of the choirs were sent home as the rounds progressed, so only the firefighters, the bankers and — hooray — the seafarers made it through to the final in Ely Cathedral.

The competition lasted about six months in all, and it was quite a commitment for the singers. ‘The lads on the ship were pleased that I’d got into the choir, and very supportive,’ says Phil. ‘My chief engineer helped get cover for when I needed to be off the ship, and the com-

pany were supportive too — they made sure we all had time and a place to rehearse.’

And rehearse they did. ‘It’s in your head all the time,’ stresses Phil. ‘You get

Phil Lees shows off the ‘Best Workplace Choir’ trophy

off the ship, go to rehearsal, back to the ship, back to rehearsal. Sometimes it was possible to do it in working time, but often it was in your free time.’

The classical round was the toughest, he reckons. The choirs were taken up to the Royal Academy of Music in London, and each had to learn a piece of music, in four-part harmony and in a foreign language, in two days. P&O threw themselves into the Latin Lacrimosa, working with language, music and performance coaches at the Royal Academy to come up with a highly musical and touching rendition of Mozart’s beautiful work. But their finest hour was arguably the gospel round, in which Sinnerman electrified an audience of gospel church members, and the P&O singers amazed the judges with the progress they had made since their tentative early performances.

Following this, there was no stopping the P&O choir, and in the final round, televised on 22 December, they emerged as winners of the whole competition — the Best Workplace Choir of 2013.

How did they reach such a high standard in just a few months? Phil thinks the culture of the maritime workplace might have had something to do with it: ‘We work hard, we play hard, we work as a

c

As the Telegraph went to press, the singers and P&O management were starting to tackle the question of where the choir would go next. They have put on one performance outside the TV show — a Christmas concert at Channel House — and appeared on the local news singing a carol, but if they are to remain a going concern, they will need to find a regular performance venue and promote their own concerts in Kent or perhaps London, notes Hilary.

They have also had numerous invitations to perform for local organisations, and will need to decide which to take up.

Meanwhile, rehearsals continue in Dover, on a two-weeks-on, two-weeksoff shift pattern, and there’s one thing the choir members are sure of: they want to continue with the wide range of musical styles they encountered in the BBC competition, even the more ambitious classical pieces. ‘They’re still applying themselves now the cameras are off,’ confirms Hilary, ‘and they’ve told me they want to perform music with emotional content.’

Could anything really be more emotional than winning a big pay rise for colleagues…? Even dedicated trade unionist Phil has to admit that singing on stage brings something to the working experience that industrial relations can’t touch: ‘When you’re performing, you’re concentrating so hard that when it all erupts at the end, it’s all “Woah!”’

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33 p+o choir_proofed.indd 33

22/01/2014 18:13

34 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

OFFWATCH ships of the past

by Trevor Boult

50 YEARS AGO

culture. This thick salty meat extract F has a wide range of culinary uses. It has

The Merchant Navy & Airline Officers’ Association is taking part in a Ministry of Transport working group considering the revision of Part II of the 1894 Merchant Shipping Act. Major changes suggested by the MNAOA include certificates to be required at some future date on all home trade cargo ships, the introduction of a third class certificate for engineer officers and certificates for electrical engineer officers. We would be opposed to the repeal of the Aliens Restriction Act, or substantial amendment removing the protection it gives to UK seafarers, and we want a requirement that a UK ship should be obliged to carry a specified number of certificated officers wherever the vessel may be trading and not restricted, as at present, to vessels leaving UK ports MN Journal, February 1964

Bovril has become an icon of British

provided generations of British football fans with ‘beef tea’ to keep them warm on the terraces in winter. Para Handy, the philosophical skipper of the puffer Vital Spark, appreciated its similar use by cross-Channel swimmers, and it sustained members of Ernest Shackleton’s expedition during their lengthy sojourn on Elephant Island.

The trademark name has also been unofficially adopted by merchant seafearers to describe another extract, somewhat less savoury. Nevertheless, the ‘Bovril boats’ of the recent past also performed a vital and unsung service by improving and maintaining the water quality of the nation’s major rivers until legislation and technology superseded their use in the early 1990s.

Towards the end of the 19th century many local authorities needed to address the problem of the safe and hygienic disposal of sewage effluent — referred to as treated sludge. Some city authorities, such as London, Glasgow and Manchester, decided that the best answer was disposal at sea using specially-designed ships.

In 1894, with the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal, the two inland cities of Manchester and Salford quickly took advantage of this major new waterway.

A large treatment works was established

by Salford Corporation on the bank of the canal at Weaste. An order was placed for a sludge vessel — Salford — which was delivered in 1895. Manchester Corporation was independently pursuing its own plans, similar to that of its neighbour.

Regular passages began via the Ship Canal to an allocated dumping ground in Liverpool Bay. Depending on the tides and density of traffic in the canal, a round voyage could take up to 16 hours. Salford operated until 1928, after which she was replaced by a new vessel, Salford City. A twin-screw steamer of 1,170 gross tons, she was built at Beardmore’s on the Clyde.

In 1941, Manchester Corporation’s sludge vessel Mancunium struck a mine and sank in the vicinity of the Bar Lightvessel. The loss caused considerable strain on the work of the Rivers Department, as wartime restrictions precluded an immediate replacement to be ordered. For the next few years Salford

25 YEARS AGO

Manchester’s ‘Bovril boat’ ran for almost 50 years City, together with another veteran vessel brought in from Glasgow, helped maintain the operation.

In 1963, despite being 35 years old, it was considered feasible to extend the life of Salford City by replacing her propulsion with twin-screw diesels, and providing new superstructure, funnel and masts — work which was carried out by Manchester Drydocks. The ship continued in service for a further 13 years before being sold for breaking up at Fleetwood.

The separate authorities merged in 1974, becoming the Middle Mersey Effluent Treatment Unit, a department of the newlyformed North West Water Authority.

A 1984 technical report by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food stated of the operation in Liverpool Bay that: ‘7,0008,000t of sewage sludge are dumped each weekday at the dumping ground at any state of the tide... Discharge takes place at 4-6 knots over at least 15 minutes through valves in the ship’s bottom... Up to four vessels dump during any one tide... The dilution is sufficient to be in the order of 200:1 within a minute of discharge. The dilution is sufficient to prevent widespread flocculation of the dispersed sludge particles... although it

should be noted that the finest particles may never settle out.’

At that time, the dumping ground was a broad sector centred some 8 miles west of the Bar Lightvessel.

In 1987, with the completion of a pipeline to a new treatment works at Sandon Dock, Liverpool, a significant change in the operation occurred. The sludge vessels made their last transits of the Manchester Ship Canal. Thereafter loading at Liverpool, the round-trip passage to the deposit ground was considerably shortened.

In the mid-1990s new legislation meant that the dumping of sewage sludge at sea would no longer be an option. Enhanced facilities at the Sandon Dock plant took over the work and the remaining sludge vessels were offered for sale.

The work of the sludge disposal vessels was widely regarded as a distasteful task but, for the communities they served, the Ship Canal and Mersey ships ably carried out a century of what was then an essential service. In particular, of the more recent vessels throughout the country, it has been recorded that they were kept spotlessly clean and boasted crew accommodation superior to many an ocean-going ship.

Telegraph prize crossword The winner of this month’s cryptic crossword competition will win a copy of the book Tramp Ships: An Illustrated History (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.

10 YEARS AGO Some 60 ships have run aground around the UK coast over the past decade as a result of a watchkeeping officer falling asleep, becoming incapacitated or being absent from the bridge, according to a Marine Accident Investigation Branch report. A preliminary study undertaken by the MAIB in response to the grounding of the Cyprus-flagged general cargoship Jambo off the west coast of Scotland in June 2003 said the ship’s chief officer — who fell asleep and failed to make a planned course change — had been working for around 12 hours a day in the 10 days before the accident and had been unable to sleep before going on watch. The report urged the Maritime & Coastguard Agency to press the IMO to make the fitting of bridge watch alarms compulsory on all ships intending to operate with a lone bridge watchkeeper The Telegraph, February 2004

THEQUIZ

4

Which country’s shipowners own the largest number of ships?

1

What percentage of global seaborne trade (in value terms) is carried by containerships?

5

What percentage of the global orderbook for new cruiseships is being built in Europe?

2

What is Maersk’s percentage share of the world containership fleet (in TEU terms)?

6

3

What was the percentage drop in global shipbuilding production between 2012 and 2013?

Roughly how many ro-pax vessels of 30,000gt and above are there in service in the world fleet?

J Quiz answers are on page 46.

Name: Address:

Telephone:

Membership No.:

Closing date is Wednesday 12 February 2014.

QUICK CLUES 1.

6.

9.

10.

12.

15.

17.

18.

19.

20.

24.

25.

26.

27.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

7.

8.

34 offwatch_proofed.indd 34

NUMAST fears that safety at sea will be undermined by fresh UK Department of Transport plans to give more of its survey work to classification societies.

Junior transport minister Michael Portillo revealed last month that the DTp is carrying out a review of its ‘working relationship’ with classification societies, which is likely to lead to further delegation. Assistant general secretary Derek Bond said NUMAST was concerned that the move could threaten a reduction in the professional knowledge and expertise available within the DTp. He said the Union believes that vital marine safety work such as the DTp’s inspectorate duties should not be handed over to commercial organisations and pointed out that this position has been endorsed by the House of Commons transport committee The Telegraph, February 1989

Across Type of ring (10) Cards (4) Large cat (10) Impartial (4) Scouser (12) Ticket office (3,6) Security (5) Speak (5) In bits (9) After the flood (12) Sacred bird (4) Journey (10) Number of pins (4) Grammatical form (10)

Down Jellied fish (4) Get bigger (4) Rochdale singer (6,6) Insect (5) Helmet protector (9) Roman racer (10) Bastion (10)

11.

13.

14.

16.

21.

22.

23.

Mixing (12) Immersion (10) Fatigue (10) Rash (9) Watch (5) Dress (4) Thin (4)

CRYPTIC CLUES 1.

6.

9.

10.

12.

15.

17.

Across Boundary advertisement for sleeping accommodation (4-6) An offshoot from knight’s livery (4) Charge Nell anew for tank (10) Small group dispersed in riot (4) Wonderful at high altitude (6-6) Snake with double bend after Samuel Clemens’s opening for ship’s officer (9) Trout served up for teacher (5)

18. Short month and in France a 21 for five more than 10 (5) 19. Fool single time about article, sounds poetic (9) 20. It’s the media pro who snaps (12) 24. The one hidden in crib isn’t necessarily sacred (4) 25. Fit into bed, i.e., a bold move (4-6) 26. A brief message from the bank promising payment (4) 27. ‘There’s no more to say; / --- is none but Milford Way’ (Cymbeline, Act III) (10)

Down Cliff, eyes, nose and lips included (4) 2. Top removed from wall painting of these Mountains (4) 3. Direct wavelengths likely to meet with icy reception (12) 4. Clause, read out, names present deliveryman (5) 1.

5. Large suppliers in the ivory trade (9) 7. Likely to keep pressing for each sibling without right to be on conservation group (10) 8. Eden perhaps, above mere earthly habitation (4,6) 11. Tetchy — is it possible vessel is on distance learning institution’s letterhead? (12) 13. Great interest in poor bats being disturbed (10) 14. One draws on political issues, amongst other things (10) 16. Ocean bar I converted as a type of exercise (9) 21. Bit of weaponry (5) 22. A hundred missing from ascent, but made the branch (4) 23. Slight advantage on top of cliff (4) J Crossword answers are on page 46.

22/01/2014 18:13

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 35

books

OFFWATCH

Maersk’s shipboard writer leaves vivid impressions Down to the Sea in Ships

By Horatio Clare Chatto & Windus, £20 ISBN: 978 07011 83103 modern-day shipping and seafaring, and then K two come along in the space of just a few months…

You wait years for a book that tells the story of

Hot on the heels of Deep Sea & Foreign Going, Rose George’s award-winning account of a voyage on a Maersk containership, comes this tale of two trips on Maersk vessels from the company’s ‘writer-in-residence’, Horatio Clare.

It’s fascinating to see how the two writers have produced quite different books as a result of their time at sea. Whilst Rose George takes a forensic and investigative approach to the subject, Horatio Clare’s book is much more impressionistic, interlacing lengthy chunks of onboard dialogue with historic and literary references and personal reflections on what he sees and hears.

It’s clear that he felt a mission to tell the story of the seafarers he joined. ‘With no audience, little praise, little status and almost no public

understanding of what they do, these men achieve something that land life frequently fails to supply,’ he notes.

The book burns with resentment over the ‘apartheid’ system that gives different wages to crew from different countries, and Mr Clare writes of the ‘collection of entirely different classes, experiences, grades, cultures and sets of expectations’ which make up the crew of contemporary merchant ships.

Older seafarers tell him how social life at sea has declined as a result of alcohol bans, limited opportunities for shore leave and the retreat of crew members to watch DVDs in their cabins offduty, and there is a vividly depressing description of a barbecue on deck in which the crew struggle to socialise amongst themselves.

Noting the diversity of the contents of the containers onboard his two ships — Maersk Gerd and Maersk Pembroke — he reflects on the pivotal work of such vessels in the global economy, as well as some of the absurdities of modern trade (sawn timber from Germany to Canada, or taking chickens from Denmark to be butchered in China

period and look how events outside Trinity House affected the Corporation. This includes an analysis of how pilotage changed between its ‘heyday’ of 1514 to 1854 and the new Act of Parliament in 1987.

Changes to the pilotage regime are of course very much in the news at the moment — both in the UK and within the EU — and this ongoing debate is absent. However, this is understandable, as it could arguably detract from the historical standing of this book. Perhaps it will be a major feature of the millennium edition…

Academic Celebrating analysis is a five centuries surprisingly K of lights and good read pilotage Light upon the water: The history of Trinity House 1514-2014

By Andrew Adams and Richard Woodman The Corporation of Trinity House, £29.95 ISBN: 978 09575 99109 fwww.trinityhouse.co.uk

K

This beautifully presented book (featured in the January Telegraph) celebrates the quincentenary of Trinity House.

Introductions by two members of the Royal household set a high standard, which is maintained throughout and helps to justify the price tag.

Colour paintings, photographs and the layout of the text break up the detailed information within, making this a book which can be flicked through from the coffee table or picked up and read cover to cover.

Some chapters cover short time periods and note important events and the people who shaped Trinity House — including John Stevynson, who left 20 shillings to the ‘Almes house at Deptford’, an act which is thought to have been one of the founding events of the Corporation, and James Walker, who established the major lighthouse construction programme of the 1800s.

Other chapters take a longer

35 books_proofed.indd 35

The Victorian Empire and Britain’s Maritime World Edited by Miles Taylor Palgrave Macmillan, £50 ISBN: 978 02303 03881

Drawn from a series of lectures by prominent maritime historians, this book looks at the way in which Britain’s dominance of the shipping lanes between 1837 and 1901 helped not only to sustain the country’s empire but also to stamp its cultural mark around the world.

Over eight distinct sections, it shows how Britain moved from the naval conflicts of previous centuries into a period in which trade dominated the nation’s maritime

and sent back to the shops in Europe…).

While he makes references to the ITF and the maritime unions, along with the problems posed by the flag of convenience system, Mr Clare is frustratingly limited in his analysis of the wider factors affecting seafarers. Sharp-eyed readers may also frown at a few factual errors which should never have made it into print — ‘SOLAS, the society for saving lives at sea…’ being one of them.

But whilst his prose can sometimes stray into overly lyrical paragraphs about the sea, Mr Clare makes a good job of conveying the usually hidden world of seafaring, and the characters he sails alongside — including Danish, Dutch, ngs — British and Indian officers, and Filipino ratings are vividly and memorably portrayed. The book also oozes with admiration for the ‘inner strength’ displayed by the seafarers, their pride in their work, and ‘the professional calm of men who maintain the world, out of its sight’.

In his concluding comments, Mr Clare writes:

activities. Coupled with the moves from sail to steam and wooden ships to iron, this shift had many effects upon society — such as the reduction in naval MPs and a redistribution of dockyards and ports.

The diverse contributions explore aspects of these changes, including the way in which the explosion of seaborne trade helped to spread intellectual, scientific and religious ideas in a sort of cultural globalisation. One chapter tells the story of the rise and fall of the Pacific Steamship Navigation Company as something of a parable for the broader developments of the time, while another goes into how the public’s rather ambivalent notion of Britain as an island nation developed during the same period.

The final chapter assesses the way in which the many changes of the 19th century forced a re-shaping of naval strategy, and not least the need to create a global network to support British interests in far-flung parts of the world.

Whilst the price and the academic origins of the book may deter some, it all adds up to a fascinating read and one which casts some light on many unexpected aspects of Britain’s

‘I thought I went to sea to find out about ships and oceans, but though I saw something of these I saw much more of men.’

Shipping and seafaring can teach us a lot, he says, and his book offers the lay reader a genuine insight into a world that has been increasingly hidden from the public eye.

maritime past, helping us to better understand the present.

Pleasing P&O publication allows crew to shine for once A Year in the Life of the P&O Cruises Fleet

By Sharon Poole and Andrew Sassoli-Walker Amberley, £19.99 ISBN 978 14456 13604 f www.amberley-books.com travel that focuses on the crew.

K Smiling Nautilus members grace At last, a book about cruise

many of the pages, and the authors make an effort to follow everything that P&O employees do to make a voyage successful, from stocking up with food to engaging a marine pilot to guide a vessel through a harbour.

Sure, it’s basically an advertisement for P&O Cruises, and for the

The rise and fall of a maritime underdog Tr Tramp Ships: An Illustrated History

By Roy Fenton Seaforth Publishing, £30 Se ISBN 978 18483 21588 IS are regarded either as the lowest form K of shipping life or over-romanticised. The truth Tramp ships, notes author Roy Fenton,

may lie somewhere in between, but his book m does a grand job in demonstrating the diversity do and significance of tramp shipping and its rise an and fall throughout the 20th century. an A trustee of the World Ship Society, Mr Fenton is a good authority on the subject, Fe and he has produced a book of admirable an clarity and depth which leaves few stones cla unturned in its explanations and analysis — un fully addressing the fundamentals such as the fu operating and ownership models, as well as op the vessel designs and power plants. th It also looks at the crewing aspects of the tramp trades — noting the ‘snobbery’ th that placed such ships low on the maritime th hierarchy. But, Mr Fenton points out, hi

tramp ships offered great opportunities for developing skills and experience — especially for younger seafarers.

Liberally illustrated with more than 300 photographs, the book traces the evolution of the tramp ship from the British east coast coal trades to the role defined by Mr Fenton of ‘roaming the oceans in search of paying cargoes’. It also shows how foreign competition began to challenge the UK’s dominance — although Mr Fenton challenges the received wisdom that British owners were slow to invest in motor ship technology in the inter-war period.

This excellent book benefits from fine indexing and an extensive bibliography for those interested in further reading, and concludes with a look at the way in which traditional tramp ships were edged out by more specialised vessels — despite a few valiant vessel designs ‘whose ancestry can be traced back to the basic, ocean-going cargo ship developed by British builders and owners a century before’.

cruise industry in general — this is not the kind of publication to linger on Norovirus misery or passengers overboard. But thankfully the tone isn’t too relentlessly upbeat. For example, several crew members are interviewed about how they overcome challenges at work, such as the bureaucracy of port visits in the USA, or what happens when passengers don’t make it back to the ship on time.

Overall, A Year in the Life of the P&O Cruises Fleet is a pleasant read, with attractive colour pictures throughout. It succeeds in leaving the reader with a good impression of P&O Cruises, especially the professionalism of the crew, and it might make a few more potential passengers interested in taking a cruise holiday. So thumbs up for helping to keep seafarers in work!

BOOK

SAVINGS Telegraph readers can buy the books reviewed on these pages at a whopping 25% discount on publisher’s price through the Marine Society’s online shop.

g

To qualify for this offer, readers need to make their purchase at www. marinesocietyshop.org. Click on the ‘Books of the month’ button with the Nautilus logo to see the books featured in the Telegraph, and use the promotional code Nautilus when buying your book.

If a book reviewed in the Telegraph isn’t listed yet in the Marine Society shop, just use the website’s ‘contact us’ button to request the title.

The Society aspires to respond the same day with the best price and availability. Most titles can be secured within 24 hours.

22/01/2014 18:13

36 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

NL NEWS

Voorstellen Eunice Bronswijk-Pais

Uit de dienstgang

Pais. Ik ben getrouwd en C woon in Nootdorp. Sinds 2006

In de river cruise sector rommelt men vaak maar wat aan. Dat blijkt ook uit onderstaand artikel waarbij een van onze leden dankzij een lange adem én een goed bijgehouden urenregistratie uiteindelijk toch haar gelijk kreeg...

Mijn naam is Eunice Bronswijk-

ben ik werkzaam binnen de FNV. Mijn eerste werkdag bij de vakbond voelde voor mij als thuiskomen.

Eindelijk kon ik een verschil maken.

Het belang van de leden staat voor mij voorop. In verschillende functies en bij verschillende vakbonden heb ik mij ingezet voor de leden. Of het nu als belangenbehartiger/jurist bij de Nederlandse Politiebond was, hoofd Beleid, Communicatie en Werving bij FNV Veiligheid of accountmanager Pensioenen voor de voorzitter van Abvakabo FNV. Over pensioenen gesproken.

Mensen verbazen zich soms over het feit dat ik pensioendeskundige ben. Dat is toch een saai onderwerp?

Dat vind ik niet. Mijn belangstelling kwam voort uit de wil om vragen van leden over pensioenen te kunnen beantwoorden. Niemand wist er echt iets van en toch moesten de vragen beantwoord worden. Inmiddels ben ik die ‘pensioentechneut’ en moet ik afgeremd worden als ik over

pensioenen begin.

In mijn jeugd genoot ik van de verhalen van mijn vader over het varen. Hij kon eindeloos vertellen over zijn tijd bij de Portugese koopvaardij. Nu luister ik naar de verhalen van mijn echtgenoot over zijn jaren als stuurman bij de Nederlandse koopvaardij of, meer recent, zijn ervaringen als gezagvoerder/brigadier bij de waterpolitie. Ik verheug mij enorm om mij als één van de bestuurders in te mogen gaan zetten voor werknemers (en gepensioneerden) in de maritieme sector!

Wij hebben Facebook.

Volg ons ook!

Bezoek www.nautilusint.org

Follow us on Twitter

Geef uw mening Vorige maand vroegen wij: Vindt u dat de doelmatigheid van de ISPS Code opnieuw moet worden getoetst?

Wat was er aan de hand? Ons lid werkte op een riviercruiseschip en had een arbeidsovereenkomst voor een 38-urige werkweek. Zij zou conform een mondelinge afspraak met de werkgever, 3 weken op, 1 week af varen. Om ook voor de week af betaald te krijgen, maakte zij ter compensatie ,gedurende de 3 werkweken, veel overuren. Tot haar grote verbazing bleek uit haar eerste salarisstrook dat zij slechts drie van de vier weken betaald kreeg en dat bovendien geen overuren werden uitbetaald. Toen zij haar werkgever hiermee confronteerde, bleek deze alleen bereid tot het gedeeltelijk vergoeden van de overuren. Zij ging hiermee akkoord en sprak tevens met de werkgever af dat zij in plaats van 3 weken op, 1 week af te varen, zij af en toe een weekend vrij zou krijgen

Ja 80%

De poll van deze maand is: Zou het aanbieden van een betere toegang tot internet aan boord door een rederij voor u een reden zijn om naar deze rederij over te stappen? Geef ons uw mening online, op www.nautilusnl.org

36-37 nl.indd 36

Urenregistratie Omdat ons lid alle uren netjes had bijgehouden en ook de kopieën van het vaartijdenboek kon overleggen, hadden wij een goede basis om de salarisbetalingen te verifiëren. Al snel kwamen we tot de conclusie dat er nog een flinke hoeveelheid overuren diende te worden uitbetaald. Wij stuurden begin januari 2013 de werkgever daarom een brief met het verzoek om het openstaande overwerk alsnog uit te keren. Pas na geruime tijd ontvingen wij een schriftelijke reactie van diens rechtsbijstandsverzekeraar waarin stond dat de werkgever het vaartijdenboek niet als

wettig registratiemiddel accepteerde.

Hierop hebben wij direct een overzicht van de urenregistratie bij de werkgever opgevraagd. Het duurde twee maanden voordat er weer respons kwam. De werkgever bleek niet in het bezit van een urenregistratie, maar kon alleen een overzicht geven uit het boordboek van de tijden dat ons lid niet aan boord was geweest. De gegevens uit het boordboek klopte volgens de werkgever niet met de opgegeven urenregistratie van de werkneemster. Nautilus liet het daar niet bij zitten Wij legden het vaartijdenboek naast het boordboek en de urenregistratie van ons lid en wat bleek: deze sloten wel degelijk op elkaar aan.

Schikken Met dit bewijs in handen berekenden we dat ons lid nog ongeveer twee maandsalarissen te goed had. Dit legden wij voor aan de rechtsbijstandsverzekeraar van de werkgever, waarna het wederom lange tijd stil bleef. Na nog wat aandringen kwam het nieuws dat de werkgever bereid was te schikken. Ons lid

besloot hiermee akkoord te gaan waarna deze zaak, die ruim een jaar in beslag had genomen, eindelijk kon worden afgerond.

Lering Voorgaande is geen op zich staand geval maar slechts een voorbeeld uit een lange reeks van misstanden die wordt aangetroffen aan boord van rivercruise schepen. Misstanden waar werkgevers vaak mee wegkomen omdat de werknemers aan boord van deze schepen bang zijn om het te melden. Vaak afkomstig zijn uit landen met een lage levensstandaard zijn deze werknemers erg blij met de naar west Europese standaard karige salarissen die worden geboden. Ook bijvoorbeeld het niet uitbetalen van overwerk wordt door deze groep van werknemers, uit angst de baan te verliezen, vaak geaccepteerd. En hiermee raakt de sector meer en meer verziekt. Let derhalve goed op als u in deze sector aan het werk gaat en schroom niet Nautilus te bellen als u meent dat zaken niet correct worden afgehandeld.

Storm is eindelijk gaan liggen: Dirkzwager Financial Services en Nautilus International bereiken akkoord de onderhandelingen over C een nieuwe CAO met Dirkzwager

aan te passen tot aan de AOW gerechtigde leeftijd.

nogal heftig. De werkgever deed in eerste instantie een voorstel voor een 1-jarige CAO waarbij de lonen verhoogd zouden worden met 1%. Hier gingen de leden in dienst van DFS niet mee akkoord; zij wilden 2% loonsverhoging. Diverse ledenvergaderingen en overleggen met werkgever volgden; deze bleef echter vasthouden aan 1% en acties van ledenzijde leken onafwendbaar. Bijna.... want er was nog één onderwerp onbesproken, namelijk het ouderenbeleid. Volgens de oude regeling werden de leden op 60- en 61-jarige leeftijd respectievelijk een halve en een hele dag per werkweek vrijgesteld van werkzaamheden.

Ledenvoorstel

Al sinds september verliepen

Op 62-jarige leeftijd ging men met pensioen.

Nu de AOW-gerechtigde leeftijd verhoogd is , moest ook de huidige regeling Ouderenbeleid worden aangepast. De leden hebben het initiatief genomen en zijn met een voorstel gekomen om de regeling

In november heeft Nautilus het voorstel van de leden aan de werkgever voorgelegd. In het voorstel worden medewerkers van 60 en 61 jaar een halve dag per week vrijgesteld van werkzaamheden en medewerkers vanaf 62 jaar een dag per week vrijgesteld tot aan de AOWgerechtigde leeftijd. De werkgever is hiermee akkoord gegaan, maar stelde wel als voorwaarde dat de werknemers bij het bereiken van de 62-jarige leeftijd in ieder geval 20 jaar in dienst moeten zijn. De leden konden zich hierin vinden; een impasse leek afgewend en de onderhandelingen konden worden hervat.

Akkoord

Desondanks bleef de 1% loonsverhoging nog wel een doorn in het oog, maar gelukkig bleek de werkgever alsnog bereid wat water bij de wijn te doen.

Zo kwam hij met een voorstel voor een tweejarige CAO, lopend van 1 januari 2013 tot en met 31 december 2014. Per 1 januari 2013 worden de lonen verhoogd met 1% en per 1 januari 2014 met 2%. Daarnaast ontvangen de leden een eenmalige uitkering gebaseerd op het bedrijfsresultaat 2014. En ook het aangepaste ouderenbeleid wordt ingevoerd. Dit voorstel is als eindbod aan de leden toegezonden en de reacties zijn inmiddels binnen: van de ingekomen reacties is ruim 80% akkoord waarmee de nieuwe CAO een feit is.

Veranderingen in de belastingen 2014 Leden stemmen in

F

Ook in 2014 zijn er fiscale wijzigingen doorgevoerd. De meer algemene wijzigingen hebben wij hieronder voor u weergegeven.

Nee 20%

en verder aan boord zou blijven. Ons lid ging conform de nieuwe afspraak aan het werk en hield ondertussen haar gemaakte uren zorgvuldig bij. Uit deze overzichten bleek na enige tijd dat ons lid veel overuren had gemaakt. Toen vervolgens bleek dat de werkgever deze wederom niet wilde uitbetalen was voor ons lid de maat vol en wendde zij zich tot Nautilus.

Belastingschijven 2014 Belastbaar inkomen en belastingheffing (indien in 2014 de AOW-leeftijd nog niet wordt bereikt). schijf 1 t/m €19.645: 36,25% schijf 2 vanaf €19.646 t/m €33.363: 42% schijf 3 vanaf €33.363 t/m €56.531: 42% schijf 4 vanaf €56.532 en hoger: 52 % Belastbaar inkomen en belastingheffing als de AOW-leeftijd vóór 2014 is bereikt schijf 1 t/m €19.645: 18,35 % schijf 2 vanaf €19.646 t/m €33.363: 24,1 % schijf 3 vanaf €33.363 t/m €56.531: 42% schijf 4 vanaf €56.532 en hoger: 52 % Bereikt u de AOW-leeftijd in 2014 dan wordt per maand, in de schijven 1 en 2, een afwijkend percentage gehanteerd.

Heffingskortingen De algemene heffingskorting is

verhoogd tot €2.103.

Vanaf een belastbaar inkomen van €19.646 tot €56.531 vindt een afbouw van deze heffingskorting plaats tot aan het minimum van €1.366.

De arbeidskorting is in 2014 maximaal €2.097. Vanaf een inkomen van €40.248 vindt afbouw plaats tot aan het minimum van €367.

Specifieke zorgkosten (in het aangiftebiljet 2014) De aanschaf van een scootmobiel en/of rolstoel in 2014 zijn niet meer aftrekbaar.

Aanpassingen in woningen in verband met gezondheid zoals bijvoorbeeld een traplift zijn niet meer aftrekbaar.

Uitkering bij ontslag (beëindigingsvergoeding) De mogelijkheid de ontslagvergoeding rechtstreeks in een stamrecht-BV of in een bank- of beleggingsspaarproduct (bijv. lijfrenteverzekering, bank sparen) weg te zetten, is voorbij!

Elke ontslagvergoeding wordt nu met de ex-werknemer afgerekend onder inhouding van het bijzonder tarief loonheffing.

groten getale voor: CAO met Stena Line én Irish Sea Manning is een feit Line BV en Stena Line Irish Sea F Manning BV hadden tot en met 11

Manning) respectievelijk tot 1 mei 2014 (Stena Line BV).

resp. 20 december jl. de tijd om hun stem uit te brengen op het bereikte principeakkoord. De stemmen zijn inmiddels geteld en de uitslag is helder: de leden hebben met ruime meerderheid voor gestemd waarmee de nieuwe CAO een feit is.

De helft van de leden bij Stena Line BV heeft zijn stem uitgebracht. Hiervan stemde 94% voor. Bij Stena Line Irish Sea Manning lag de respons nog hoger: 85% heeft gebruik gemaakt van zijn stemrecht. Ook hier stemde 94% voor. De CAO van Stena Line BV en Stena Line Irish Sea Manning BV zijn hiermee een feit geworden. Dat 94% voor heeft gestemd zegt iets: het behaalde resultaat mag er dan ook wezen. Beide CAO’s hebben een looptijd van 1 jaar en lopen tot 1 april 2014 (Irish Sea

Mail het door…

De leden in dienst van Stena

Dat de respons bij Irish Sea Manning BV hoger lag, ligt wellicht mede aan het feit dat alle leden de stemformulieren per e-mail hadden ontvangen. Bij Stena Line BV hebben nog niet alle leden hun e-mailadres aan Nautilus doorgegeven, waardoor de bond hen niet per mail maar alleen per post kan bereiken. Hierdoor kan vertraging optreden, zeker als de leden in het buitenland wonen of verhuisd zijn.

Beschikt u over een e-mailadres?

Geef dit dan aan ons door zodat we u in de toekomst nóg eenvoudiger kunnen bereiken. Bovendien blijft u op de hoogte van de meest actuele ontwikkelingen. U kunt uw mailadres doorgeven aan de ledenadministratie via: infonl@nautilusint.org

22/01/2014 18:15

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 37

NL NEWS

Jaarvergadering 2014 dering van de Nederlandse branch van F Nautilus International plaats in het Hilton Hotel

Op dinsdag 17 juni 2014 vindt de jaarverga-

te Rotterdam. Nadere informatie over deze dag volgt nog, maar houdt u deze datum vast vrij in de agenda.

Dit jaar vinden er bestuursverkiezingen plaats.

Voor vice voorzitter en penningmeester Hylke Hylkema eindigt de 4-jaarlijkse termijn per einde jaarvergadering. Hij stelt zich herkiesbaar, maar is, wegens pensionering, voornemens in de jaarvergadering 2015 vervroegd af te treden. De Raad van Advies zal worden gevraagd om, conform de statutaire bevoegdheid van de Raad, een bindende voordracht te maken.

Verkiezing Raad van Advies

Kantoor in Dordrecht blijft open!

OR-plannen zijn omarmd door directie John T. Essberger editie kon lezen, moet John T. C Essberger reorganiseren vanwege Zoals u in onze december-

de aanhoudende verliezen in de chemicaliënsector. De rederij had hiertoe vergaande plannen en wilde het kantoor in Dordrecht sluiten en de schepen verkopen aan een Duitse KG. Dankzij nader onderzoek van de OR en haar adviseurs is dat idee nu van de baan. Sterker, de directie van John T. Essberger neemt het OR-advies ter harte om de vloot onder Nederlandse vlag én in eigendom van de Nederlandse BV te laten.

Eerder had de OR de werkgever laten weten zich te beramen over diens adviesaanvraag omdat zij meer duidelijkheid wilde. De OR heeft vervolgens een onderzoek ingesteld. Hiervoor werd ook een bedrijfsanalist aangetrokken die de rederij heeft doorgelicht. Uit het onderzoek kwam naar voren dat het voor de toekomst beter

is het kantoor in Dordrecht open te laten, zij het in afgeslankte vorm. Vanwege de efficiency is het belangrijk dat ook de werkplaats en het magazijn op Nederlandse bodem blijven. Op basis van de onderzoeksresultaten heeft de OR een plan gemaakt en deze gepresenteerd aan de directie, die het op haar beurt omarmd heeft!

Goed OR-werk

Inmiddels zijn de lopende adviesaanvragen ingetrokken en heeft de werkgever een nieuwe adviesaanvraag bij de OR neergelegd.

Er zal echter nog altijd bezuinigd moeten worden en dat gaat helaas ten koste van enkele arbeidsplaatsen. Maar het is dankzij goed OR-werk dat dit resultaat bereikt is. De vloot en het kantoor blijven in eigendom van de Nederlandse BV en een grote reorganisatie lijkt afgewend. En dat is toch iets waar de OR trots op mag zijn!

Gevarenregeling Somalië wederom verlengd F

De ‘gevarenregeling piraterij in de Golf van Aden en de noord Indische oceaan’ is op 20 december 2013 wederom verlengd voor een periode van 3 maanden. De vergoedingen voor het varen in de risicovolle gebieden zijn aangepast.

Tijdens de onderhandelingen over de verlenging van de regeling is met de reders lange tijd stilgestaan bij de ontwikkelingen in het betreffende gebied over de afgelopen twaalf maanden. Met voldoening werd geconstateerd dat het aantal aanvallen dramatisch is afgenomen en dat bovendien het werkgebied van de piraten steeds verder is ingeperkt. In lijn hiermee is overeengekomen dat de doorvaartvergoedingen voor de nieuwe periode worden teruggezet op het oude niveau. Immers, de verhoging van destijds was gebaseerd op

36-37 nl.indd 37

het feit dat het werkterrein van de piraten zich enorm had uitgebreid en de zeevarenden daardoor bij een doorvaart zich gedurende veel langere tijd bedreigd wisten. De aangepaste regeling is terug te vinden op de Nautilus website (http://www. nautilusnl.org/pages/search. aspx?k=gevarenregeling).

Alhoewel de strijd tegen de Somalische piraten steeds succesvoller lijkt, is het gevaar voor een aanval nog altijd niet geweken en dienen alle partijen derhalve alert te blijven.

Ook mag de druk op de Nederlandse overheid niet verslappen betreffende het moeizame traject voor de legalisering van gewapende private beveiligers. Nautilus volgt dit dossier voor u op de voet en draagt waar mogelijk bij aan een zo spoedig mogelijke inwerkingtreding.

De helft van de Raad van Advies (tevens NL National Committee) treedt dit jaar af, te weten: Uit kiesgroep kapiteins en stuurlieden: Joris van

Vuuren en Caro Cordes.

Uit de kiesgroep marof: Roel Ballieux, Lars van Breugel en Chris Kuiken.

Uit de kiesgroep pensioen- of uitkeringsgerechtigden binnenvaart: Ab Poldervaart en Frits Vons.

In de kiesgroep scheepsgezellen, werktuigkundigen, wal en binnenvaart zijn geen aftredende leden. In de kiesgroep werktuigkundigen staat daarentegen nog een onvervulde vacature open. In beginsel zijn alle aftredende leden herkiesbaar. Ook andere leden kunnen zich verkiesbaar stellen, mits voldaan wordt aan de volgende voorwaarden: 1. U moet lid zijn van Nautilus International 2. Ieder lid kan alleen verkozen worden in zijn of haar kiesgroep.

3. De kandidatuur moet aantoonbaar worden ondersteund door vijf leden.

4. U dient zich voor 1 april te melden bij de

voorzitter van Nautilus International de heer Marcel van den Broek (mvandenbroek@nautilusint.org).

Dus, bent u geïnteresseerd in het werk van onze maritieme vakbond en bent u lid van Nautilus International, neem dan eens contact op met voorzitter Marcel van den Broek om uw mogelijke kandidatuur te bespreken.

Voorstellen

Verder is het goed om alle leden nog eens te wijzen op de mogelijkheid om voorstellen in te dienen. Deze voorstellen dienen het algemene Nederlandse belang van de vereniging te betreffen. Voorstellen over een specifieke CAO of een specifieke rederij worden verwezen naar desbetreffende ledenvergaderingen. Eventuele voorstellen dienen uiterlijk 1 april schriftelijk of per email door het bestuur te zijn ontvangen en zullen voorzien van een bestuursadvies aan de vergadering worden voorgelegd.

Moet het pauze-artikel uit het Arbeidstijdenbesluit vervoer?

A

Moet het pauze-artikel uit het Arbeidstijdenbesluit vervoer? Dat is de vraag die wij onze zeevarende leden op 20 februari a.s. willen voorleggen tijdens een ledenvergadering in het NH Hotel te Utrecht. Aangezien het een zeer principiële zaak betreft, acht het Nautilus bestuur het van het allergrootste belang dat alvorens deze vraag te beantwoorden, hierover eerst met een zo groot mogelijk aantal zeevarende leden wordt gediscussieerd.

De zaak kwam enige tijd geleden aan het rollen toen Nautilus door de Nederlandse redersgemeenschap werd gevraagd of er te praten valt over het schrappen van het pauze-artikel uit het Arbeidstijdenbesluit vervoer.

Het betreffende artikel (6.5:4) houdt in dat de arbeid telkens na ten hoogste 6 uur wordt onderbroken door een pauze. Sommige reders met schepen in een 2-mans wachtstelsel ondervinden hierdoor problemen. Diverse malen is bij Port State Control in het buitenland, naar onze mening terecht, geconcludeerd dat bij het 6-op/ 6-af varen onmogelijk kan worden voldaan aan deze eis uit het Arbeidstijdenbesluit. Immers, deze pauze valt niet correct in te voeren daar anders de wacht zowel theoretisch als praktisch niet kan worden overgegeven. Volgens ons staat dit niet alleen de pauze in de weg. Ook kan niet worden voldaan aan de eis dat men per etmaal minimaal één onafgebroken periode van rust van 6 uur dient te krijgen. Merkwaardig genoeg valt de PSC daar (nog) niet over.

De reden voor de reders om de vraag over het laten wegvallen van de pauze aan Nautilus voor te leggen is gelegen in het feit dat de overheid heeft aangegeven bereid te zijn het betreffende pauze-artikel te schrappen mits daar bij de sociale partners consensus over bestaat.

De aanpak

Omdat het hier duidelijk een zeer principiële zaak betreft met

mogelijk grote gevolgen voor de leden, heeft Nautilus een traject ingezet gericht op maximale inbreng van haar leden. In nauw overleg met de Nautilus Raad van Advies is besloten om eerst de mogelijke gevolgen van het schrappen van het pauze-artikel zoveel mogelijk in kaart te brengen alvorens de brede discussie met de zeevarende leden aan te gaan. Bij de beoordeling hiervan is gebruik gemaakt van de kennis en kunde binnen Nautilus en de Nautilus Raad van Advies in combinatie met de bevindingen uit de fatigue studie “Project Horizon Research Report 2012” (https://www. nautilusint.org/Resources/pages/ Reports.aspx) en de daarbij behorende rekentool Martha, waarmee diverse wachtsystemen kunnen worden doorgerekend op de opbouw van fatigue en de daaraan verbonden risico’s.

De bevindingen

Deze zaak kent vele facetten die wij graag met u willen bespreken.

Los van het pauze-vraagstuk kunt u zich natuurlijk ook afvragen of een 2-mans wachtstelsel über haupt wel overeind gehouden moet worden. Het is een systeem dat Europa, met uitzondering van Denemarken en Nederland, nauwelijks kent en dat per definitie verre van optimaal is voor lichaam en geest en tot mogelijke gezondheidsschade leidt op de lange termijn.

Tegenstanders van dit wachtstelsel zullen een discussie over het schrappen van het pauzeartikel kunnen zien als het afleiden van de aandacht van het verzet tegen dit stelsel in zijn algemeenheid. Dit is zeker niet het geval; de focus ligt op het vraagstuk van de pauze, dat een snel en duidelijk antwoord behoeft. De discussie over het 2-mans wachtstelsel in het algemeen is zo mogelijk nog ingewikkelder, omdat velen het uitbannen ervan zullen ervaren als een aanslag op hun werkgelegenheid. Immers, een belangrijk deel van de Nederlandse vloot hanteert nog steeds dit stelsel in de praktijk.

De hondenwacht

Van groot belang is de vraag of het schrappen van het pauzeartikel gevolgen heeft voor het algemene veiligheidsniveau aan boord en het welzijn van de bemanning in het bijzonder.

Derhalve heeft Nautilus zich de afgelopen tijd ook beziggehouden met de vraag of er ook positieve kanten zitten aan het schrappen van de pauze. Na een diepgaand onderzoek zijn wij van mening dat dit het geval kan zijn, maar dan wel onder bepaalde voorwaarden. Met behulp van de Martha rekentool kan onder meer worden aangetoond hoe de mens reageert op het 2-mans wachtstelsel en op de variaties binnen dit stelsel die mogelijk worden als de verplichte pauze wordt geschrapt. We zijn hierbij verder gegaan dan alleen het beschouwen van mogelijke alternatieve wachtstelsels zoals bijvoorbeeld 5op/7af-7op/5af.

Waarom niet eens geheel out of the box denken. Men kan zich dan vragen stellen als: waarom begint de eerste wacht altijd om middernacht? Je hoeft er niet voor te hebben doorgeleerd om te begrijpen dat de meest ideale tijd om de rust te genieten grofweg ergens ligt tussen 22.00 uur en 07.00 uur. De wacht die het genieten van de ideale rustperiode ruw verstoort heet niet voor niets de hondenwacht. De informatie die verstopt zit in Martha geeft hierover verrassende inzichten.

Het effect

Uit de Martha-berekeningen is ons duidelijk geworden dat qua fatigue met name het schuiven met de aanvang van de hondenwacht een heel positief effect heeft. Ook zijn er additionele voordelen te behalen wanneer een verschuiving van de wachten wordt gecombineerd met een alternatief stelsel zoals 5op/7af7op/5af. Het ligt tevens voor de hand dat een dergelijk schema ervoor zorgt dat wel kan worden voldaan aan de internationale eis die luidt: ‘De rusttijd kan worden verdeeld in niet meer dan 2 periodes, waarvan 1 periode een

onafgebroken rusttijd van tenminste 6 uren omvat’.

Tijdens de bijeenkomst op 20 februari zullen wij onze berekeningen via enige lichtbeelden verder toelichten.

De ledenbijeenkomst

Hierbij nodigen wij al onze zeevarende leden uit deel te nemen aan deze belangrijke bijeenkomst. Wij hopen op een grote opkomst en roepen die leden die onverhoopt niet kunnen deelnemen nadrukkeli jk op om middels schriftelijke inbreng hun ideeën naar voren te brengen.

Deze schriftelijke inbreng zal onder de aandacht worden gebracht van de leden ter bijeenkomst.

De bijeenkomst vindt plaats in het NH Hotel, Jaarbeursplein 24 te Utrecht op 20 februari, aanvangstijd 13.30 uur. Het is eenvoudig te bereiken met het openbaar vervoer, het Centraal Station is namelijk op loopafstand en de dichtbij zijnde parkeergelegenheid zijn P1 en P3 van de Jaarbeurs Utrecht.

g Graag uw deelname beves-

tigen per email aan mschmidt@ nautilusint.org of telefonisch via 010-2862987/89.

WILT U EEN ADVERTENTIE PLAATSEN IN DE TELEGRAPH NEEMT U DAN CONTACT OP MET: Tom Poole at Redactive Media Sales

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

E: tom.poole@ redactive.co.uk

22/01/2014 18:15

38 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

UNION DEMOCRACY

Meeting to rule on the rules Notice is hereby given that the Council has called a Rules General Meeting, in accordance with Rule 27.2(i) — Rule Changes and the associated Regulation 10, to be held at 12.30hrs on Thursday 19 June 2014 in Rotterdam, provisionally at The Hilton Hotel, Weena 10, Rotterdam 3012 CM.

Convocatie — De Council heeft conform Regel 27.2(i) — Wijziging van de regels en Bepaling 10 hieronder een Rules General Meeting uitgeschreven. Deze zal plaatsvinden op donderdag 19 juni 2014 om 12.30 uur in Rotterdam, met als voorlopige locatie het Hilton hotel, Weena 10, 3012 CM, Rotterdam.

NOTES 1. The proposals for changes from the Council are shown below in four groups, A to D. In addition, all Rule numbers and cross-references, the Contents Page etc. will be checked and amended as appropriate.

2. Under Regulation 10.3 Full members may submit proposals for changes in the Rules in addition to those proposed.

Such proposals must be: (a) submitted in writing (b) signed by at least four Full members whose contributions have been paid up (c) despatched to reach the General Secretary not later than two months and two weeks before the date fixed for the meeting. This deadline is 1700hrs on Friday 4 April 2014.

3. Any proposals from Full members and those from the Council shall be given to Full members at least two months prior to the Rules General Meeting in accordance with the requirements of Rule 28.

They will be published on the website by the deadline of 17 April 2014 and also in the April Telegraph.

OPMERKINGEN 1. De wijzigingsvoorstellen van de Council zijn gegroepeerd in de onderstaande groepen A t/m D. De Regelnummering, verwijzingen, inhoudsopgave enz. worden waar nodig aangepast.

2. Krachtens Regel 10.3 kunnen Volledig betalende leden aanvullende voorstellen indienen voor wijzigingen van de Regels.

Dergelijke voorstellen moeten: (a) schriftelijk worden ingediend (b) zijn ondertekend door ten minste vier Volledig betalende leden die aan hun financiële lidmaatschapsverplichtingen hebben voldaan (c) tijdig zijn verzonden aan de General Secretary, met een ontvangstdatum van uiterlijk twee weken voor aanvang van de gestelde vergaderdatum. Deze deadline is op vrijdag 4 april 2014 om 17.00 uur.

3. De Volledig betalende leden moeten conform Regel 28 ten minste twee maanden voorafgaand aan de Algemene Vergadering worden geïnformeerd over dergelijke door Volledig betalende leden en de Council ingediende wijzigingsvoorstellen. De voorstellen worden op datum van de deadline, te weten 17 april 2014, op de website gepubliceerd en worden ook in de april-uitgave van de Telegraph gepubliceerd. g De onderstaande teksten van de wijzigingsvoorstellen van de Council, worden in het Nederlands op de website gepubliceerd en zijn te vinden op www.nautilusnl.org.

Hiermit wird bekannt gegeben, dass der Council eine RegelHauptversammlung gemäss der Regel 27.2(i) — Regeländerungen und die damit verbundene Verordnung 10 — um 12.30 Uhr am Donnerstag, 19. Juni 2014 in Rotterdam, voraussichtlich im Hilton Hotel, Weena 10, Rotterdam 3012 RM, abhalten wird.

ANMERKUNGEN 1. Die Änderungsvorschläge vom Council sind unten in den vier Gruppen A bis D aufgeführt. Darüber hinaus werden alle Regelnummern, die Verweise, das Inhaltsverzeichnis usw. überprüft und, falls nötig, angepasst.

2. Gemäss Verordnung 10.3 können Vollmitglieder Änderungsvorschläge für die Regeln zusätzlich zu den bereits vorgeschlagenen einreichen.

Solche Vorschläge müssen: (a) schriftlich eingereicht werden (b) von mindestens vier Vollmitgliedern, deren Beiträge bereits bezahlt sind, unterschrieben sein (c) bis spätestens zwei Monate und zwei Wochen vor dem festgelegten Datum für die Versammlung beim General Secretary eingehen.

Diese Einreichfrist ist Freitag, 4. April 2014 um 17.00 Uhr. 3. Vorschläge von Vollmitgliedern und vom Council werden den Vollmitgliedern mindestens zwei Monate vor der RegelHauptversammlung gemäss den Anforderungen der Regel 28 mitgeteilt.

Sie werden spätestensab dem 17. April 2014 auf der Webseite und in der Aprilausgabe des Telegraph veröffentlicht werden. g Der genaue Wortlaut der Regeländerungen, die vom Council vorgeschlagen und unten aufgeführt werden, wurde auch auf Deutsch auf der Webseite veröffentlicht. Die Regeländerungen können unter www.nautilusch.org abgerufen werden.

38-39 rule changes.indd 38

22/01/2014 18:15

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 39

UNION DEMOCRACY

Rule changes proposed by the Council P

Group A. Purpose: To provide clarification for membership eligibility and changes to election procedures.

A1.

Delete existing Rule 3.1 Membership and replace by: 3.1 Those eligible for membership shall be those persons regularly engaged or employed as: (i) maritime professionals by employers operating exclusively or mainly in the maritime industry, including shipmasters, officers, ratings, other seafarers and other staffs engaged in or supporting the maritime transportation of goods and passengers or other forms of maritime activity, including inland navigation, (ii) Officials (other than the General Secretary) and other senior staff, as defined by the Council, employed by the Union, (iii) The General Secretary, and (iv) such other descriptions of persons, including persons engaged in non-maritime activity, as the Council may from time to time decide to be eligible.

any subscriptions and/or entrance fee. The Council may, or if directed by the appeals committee shall, reinstate such rights.

25.4 A member under investigation under Rule 25 may be suspended by the General Secretary for a period not exceeding three months or until a decision is made under Rule 25.1 (whichever is the earlier).

25.5 A member on suspension under Rule 25.4 shall not be entitled for the period of suspension to undertake the duties of any office in the Union or participate in any meeting of the Union.

25.6 The Council shall, under Rule 2(q) determine detailed regulations for the operation of this Rule, to include provisions governing the procedure to be followed and the right of appeal against any decision to expel , bar from holding office or reprimand.

P

Group C. Purpose: To update the Rules re Discrimination issues and to facilitate the provision of detailed, flexible Regulations.

C1.

A2. Rule 22 General Secretary. Add in new Rules 22.1, 22.2 and 22.3 and renumber accordingly.

22.1 The General Secretary shall be elected by Full members in accordance with regulations determined by the Council under Rule 2 (q).

22.2 Candidates for election as General Secretary must be Full members provided that Full members under Rule 3.1 (ii) may only stand for election as General Secretary if nominated by the Council under Regulations determined under Rule 2(q).

22.3 The Full member elected General Secretary shall for their period of office as General Secretary be a Full member under Rule 3.1 (iii).

P B1.

Group B. Purpose: To update and shorten the procedure of the Disciplinary Procedures regarding members.

Delete existing Rule 25 Expulsion and Suspension of Members and replace with:

RULE 25 Discipline of Members 25.1 If any member in the opinion of the Council or of the Executive Committee has:(a) acted in breach of these Rules or prejudicially to the interests and objects of the Union; or (b) behaved in such a manner as to render his or her further membership detrimental to the interests of the Union or its members; or (c) participated in the activities of a political party determined by the Council, to the extent permitted by law, under regulation to have objects contrary to the objects of the Union; then the Council (or the Executive Committee if so authorised by the Council) may either; (i) expel the member from the Union; (ii) bar the member from holding any office in the Union for a period of up to 5 years; or (iii) issue the member with a reprimand.

25.2 If the Council or Executive Committee decides to expel a member, or bar the member from holding office, such expulsion or bar shall be operative from the time notice of the expulsion or bar is posted in a manner providing objective record of the date of dispatch to the member concerned.

25.3 Any member expelled from the Union shall forthwith forfeit all rights, benefits and offices, paid or otherwise, and, notwithstanding Rule 8.3, shall have no right to the return of

38-39 rule changes.indd 39

Members can take part in the democracy of the Union by attending General Meetings Picture: Mark Pinder

Rule 2 (f) Objects.

Delete all words after ‘..discrimination’

C2. Rule 16.4c Meetings of the Council. After the word ‘his’ in the two places it occurs add ‘or her’ C3. Rule 21.1 Procedure at Meetings. After the word ‘him’ in the two places it occurs add ‘or her’ and also delete ‘his’ and replace by ‘their’ C4. Rule 23 Officers and Officials. Amend Heading to read ‘Officers, Officials and other Staff’ and replace 23.2 with the following wording: 23.2 Employees of the Union who are not Officers shall be designated as Officials, where appropriate, by the Council. Their powers shall be determined by the Council and their duties shall be determined by the General Secretary.

C5. Add a new Rule 33 Code of Conduct 33.1 There shall be a Code of Conduct (including a Policy on Mutual Respect) which shall apply to all members and Staff.

33.2 The Council shall, under Rule 2(q) determine detailed regulations for the operation of this Rule.

P

Group D. Purpose: Miscellaneous changes to update the Rules to reflect current needs.

D1. Rule 4.3 Admission of Members.

Add at the end ‘…and Regulations made under those Rules’

D2. Rule 28 Notices.

Delete 28(a) and replace by (a) every ballot paper required by the Rules or Regulations thereunder to be sent to any member shall be sent to the member by prepaid letter in the ordinary course of post addressed to the member at the address appearing in the records of the Union; D3. Rule 30 Definitions.

Delete (a) (ii) and replace by: (ii) any employee or member of the Union who has been designated as an official, by the Council by a Resolution individually naming the employee or member.

An employee who has been designated other than by way of such a Resolution of the Council shall not be an official of the Union.

22/01/2014 18:15

40 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

APPOINTMENTS BOSTON & SPALDING PILOTS

Go to:

jobs.nautilusint.org

Pilot/Marine Oĸcer

to check out all the latest job vacancies

Due to a forthcoming reƟrement a vacancy exists within this self employed Partnership which provides Pilotage and Marine Services to the Port of Boston.

Applicants should forward their CV to; The Secretary, Boston & Spalding Pilots AssociaƟon, Lockside, The Dock, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE21 6BJ United Kingdom

V.Ships is currently enjoying worldwide expansion and success. As the leading, global supplier of shipping services, our strength and dynamic commercial strategy have enabled us to significantly increase our business activity.

Email: Jobs.bostonspaldingpilots@gmail.com Tel: +44 7966 244341

Our growth brings exciting opportunities for the following people:

Advertise here & reach over 110,000 readers.

Contact John Seaman on 020 7880 8541 to find out how.

Location: GLASGOW, UK

Marine Superintendent for a fleet of coastal and harbour tugs Candidates with operational experience of the towage and offshore industries would be preferred.

The post involves ensuring vessels’ compliance with all applicable flag states and IMO requirements, implementing the company SMS system and routine vessel inspections at ports of call within the Extended European trading area.

A competitive salary package commensurate with suitability and experience.

Apply in writing/email, enclosing a CV. All applications by post to be addressed to the Human Resources Manager and by email to: recruitment@ gpsmarine.co.uk GPS Marine Contractors Ltd, Forest House, Northside Three, Chatham Docks, Chatham, Kent ME4 4SR, UK GPS Marine Contractors Ltd is an Equal Opportunities Employer

t Fleet Superintendents t MSQ Superintendents t Safety & Quality Manager t Vetting/Quality Superintendents t Technical Controllers

Technical Marine Superintendent for a fleet of coastal and harbour tugs The successful applicant will have a good understanding and working knowledge of medium and high speed marine engines up to 3000 KW and have seagoing or ship repair/vessel operating experience.

The post involves implementing and controlling a planned maintenance scheme, arranging and overseeing repairs and maintenance, arranging spare parts and making regular visits to vessels at ports of call in the Extended European trading area.

For more information about these roles and to apply, visit www.vships.com or send your CV direct to shorerecruitment@vships.com

A competitive salary package, commensurate with suitability and experience.

Apply in writing/email, enclosing a CV. All applications by post to be addressed to the Human Resources Manager and by email to: recruitment@ gpsmarine.co.uk GPS Marine Contractors Ltd, Forest House, Northside Three, Chatham Docks, Chatham, Kent ME4 4SR, UK

Integrity

Respect

Transparency

Teamwork

GPS Marine Contractors Ltd is an Equal Opportunities Employer

MERCHANT NAVY OFFICER TRAINING COURSES DECK COURSES

START DATES

ENGINEERING COURSES

START DATES

Class 1 Orals Preparation Course

3rd February 2014

Class 1 Naval Architecture & Electrotechnology

22 April 2014

Email contact for above courses: Senior.Marine@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk

Department of Marine Operations - SHORT COURSES We offer a full range of STCW, MCA & Specialised Marine Short Courses.

Class 1 & 2 Engineering Knowledge (General And Motor/Steam) - Unlimited

12 May 2014

Class 4 EOOW & IAMI Preparation

25 Aug & 27 Oct 2014

Email contact for above: Engineering@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk

BTMT: 07/04/14, 23/06/14 CPSCRB (Certification of Proficiency in Survival Craft & Rescue Boats): 17/02/14, 03/03/14, 10/03/14, 21/04/13, 28/04/14, 05/05/13, 02/06/14, 09/06/14, 16/06/14, 23/06/14 ECDIS: 03/02/14, 17/02/14, 03/03/14, 17/03/14, 28/04/14, 12/05/14, 09/06/14, 30/06/14 HELM Management: 17/02/14, 03/03/14, 17/03/14, 24/03/14, 31/03/14, 21/04/14, 28/04/14, 19/05/14, 26/05/14, 02/06/14, 16/06/14, 30/06/14 HELM Operational: Please contact for availability PSSR: 14/02/14, 02/05/14, 20/06/14

For other Engineering enquiries please contact Caroline Alderdice - 0141 565 2713 Caroline.Alderdice@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk

Lecturer in Marine Engineering Permanent Full Time, 35hrs per week £27,167-£35,254 (Starting Salary will depend on industrial experience)

Lecturer in Nautical Studies

Safety Officer: 24/02/14, 16/06/14 Shipboard Security Officer: 10/02/14, 22/04/14, 09/06/14

Permanent Full Time, 35hrs per week £27,167-£35,254 (Starting Salary will depend on industrial experience)

Specialised Chemical Tanker: 07/04/14, 21/07/14 Specialised Gas Tanker: 14/04/14, 23/06/14, 04/08/14 Specialised Oil Tanker: 07/04/14, 16/06/14, 28/07/14 Tanker Familiarisation: 17/02/14, 24/03/14, 16&30/06/14 For info on our other courses: LICOS, GMDSS, NAEAST, Freefall Lifeboat, Advanced Ship Handling, BRM.

For further Marine enquiries please contact Alison Bryce - 0141 565 2700 Marine.Short.Courses@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk

p40-45_TELFeb14.indd 40

We are currently recruiting for specialist Lecturing staff.

For detailed post descriptions and to apply for either of the vacancies above please visit the ‘work for us’ section on the College website at www.cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk Successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory PVG Disclosure Check and must be eligible to work in the UK. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from applicants who add diversity to the College.

City of Glasgow College SC036198

21/01/2014 11:34

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 41

APPOINTMENTS Join us in bringing knowledge, help and hope to the nations!

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.

12 February 2014

NOTICE TO READERS

closing date for March 2014.

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.

You can still advertise online anytime.

For details visit www.omships.org or email: recruiting@omships.org

ANGLIAN MARINE RECRUITMENT LTD

Sealion Shipping manages a fleet of platform supply, anchorhandling tug supply, DP offshore construction/ ROV support/saturation diving and well testing vessels.

Marine Placement Agency

Ongoing vacancies for all officers and ratings deep sea, coastal, st.by, supply, ahts, etc.

Due to further expansion and delivery of new vessels Farnham Marine Agency invites applications from suitably qualified:

Experienced Masters & Deck Officers with U/L CoC, and Engineer Officers, for our new build anchor handlers

To register send cv and copies of all certificates to: 6 Birch Court, Sprowston, Norwich NR7 8LJ Tel/Fax: 01603 478938 Email: malcolm@anglianmarine.co.uk

Applicants must hold valid STCW 95 Certification, and have recent seagoing experience.

www.anglianmarine.co.uk

CV Professionals

Applications should be made online at:

Maritime & oσshore specialists

www.farnhammarineagency.co.uk

www.cvprofessionals.co.uk

To advertise your vacancy contact John Seaman on +44 20 7880 8541 or john.seaman@redactive.co.uk

FLEETWOOD - A TOP UK NAUTICAL COLLEGE WITH A LONG ESTABLISHED REPUTATION FOR BEING A LEADING PROVIDER OF TRAINING TO THE MARITIME INDUSTRY.

COURSE CALENDAR SPRING 2014 OFFSHORE BOSIET (3 days) - Every Mon and Wed MIST (2 days) - Every Mon and Thurs FOET (1 day) - Every Tues EURO (3 days) - Every 2nd Week EURO REFRESHER (1 day) - Every 2nd Week TEMPSC COXSWAIN (3.5 days) - Every 2nd Mon TEMPSC COXSWAIN REFRESHER (1.5 days) Every 2nd Thurs GWO BASIC SAFETY (7 days) - Monthly MST (Renewable UK) (2 days) - Monthly

STCW STCW Basic Safety Training (5 days) to include; Security Awareness, Personal Survival Training , Personal Safety & Social Responsibility, Elementary First Aid Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting - W/C 3 March, 10 March, 17 March, 24 March, 31 March, 7 April Other courses include Advanced Fire Fighting (4 days) W/C 17 Feb, 24 Feb, 26 May, 2 June, Medicare (5 days) - W/C - 3 Mar, 28 April, 23 Jun Proficiency in Survival Craft & Rescue Boat (5 days) - W/C 3 March, 10 March, 17 March, 24 March, 31 March, 7 April Fast Rescue Boats on request

RUK/GWO Working at Height (2 days) - Monthly NEBOSH Oil and Gas 11 May, 11 Aug NEBOSH General 31 Mar, 7 Jul IOSH Managing Safely on request IOSH Working Safely on request For more information see ‘offshore’

p40-45_TELFeb14.indd 41

STCW Updating Training - dates available in 2014, contact us For more information E offshore@blackpool.ac.uk T 01253 779 123 W blackpool.ac.uk/offshore Facebook /FleetwoodNauticalCampusOffshoreOperations

MARITIME

ONLINE LEARNING

Ship Bridge Simulator Courses NAEST OPERATIONAL - W/C 28 April, 1 Sep

Higher National Certificate in Nautical Science via blended learning starting now

NAEST MANAGEMENT - W/C 17 March, 24 March, 31 March

Higher National Diploma in Nautical Science

ECDIS - W/C 17 March and on request

Some of our courses are available via blended learning, these courses are planned so that you can learn from anywhere in the World.

HELM MANAGEMENT - W/C 10 February, 24 February, 17 March, 24 March, 31 March EDH (Efficient Deck Hand) dates available on request Deck Ratings Apprenticeships -W/C 5 May, Nov TBC For more information E maritime@blackpool.ac.uk T 01253 779 123 W blackpool.ac.uk/nautical

NEW FOR 2014

Learners will combine online study with College-based assessment and time spent at sea to qualify. Ideal candidates are those who are based overseas or who work full-time and/or prefer to study flexibly.

We have a 100% pass rate Officer of the Watch (unlimited) conversion All courses are STCW 2010 compliant All ancillary courses provided For more information E blearning@blackpool.ac.uk T 01253 504 746 W blackpool.ac.uk/blearning Facebook /Blearning.Fleetwood

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42 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

APPOINTMENTS

Chief Engineers 2nd Engineers Unlimited 3rd Engineers Lafarge Tarmac is a new leader in the UK construction materials and services sector composed of two well known and respected brands. Managed by a small team of marine specialists based in Chichester West Sussex, Lafarge Tarmac Marine operates 4 UK Àagged marine aggregate dredging vessels delivering regularly to some 20 locations around the coast of the UK and near continent.

A number of vacancies have arisen as a requirement to provide greater depth of resilience with our ofÀcers to cover planned retirement, training and development.

We are seeking motivated, disciplined and competent senior ofÀcers who wish to use their marine skills in a challenging but rewarding environment that provides predictable and frequent home contact.

The company has a long track record of promoting internally where possible and also continues to support cadet training. We will provide the study leave and sponsorship if you have the drive and ability to further your career and achieve promotion.

In return we offer a salary reÁecting your qualiÀcations and experience, a consolidated 2 week on / 2 week off rota with paid travel, and a competitive contributory company pension scheme, and the support of a company fully committed to the safety, health and well being of its employees.

Lafarge Tarmac Marine maintains a high standard of operations, driven by the calibre and professionalism of its staff.

If you would like to Ànd out what we have to offer you please contact us as below.

We welcome online applications.

Please email: julie.bray@lafargetarmac.com Alternatively, please apply in writing, including full CV.

p40-45_TELFeb14.indd 42

Mrs J M Bray LTM Crewing Services Ltd. Lafarge Tarmac Marine Ltd. UMA House, Shopwhyke Road Chichester, West Sussex PO20 2AD

22/01/2014 15:32

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 43

APPOINTMENTS

SHORE BASED LNG Technical Superintendent London - £65K + Bens Asst. LNG Technical Superintendent London - £55K Marine Superintendent (Gas Carriers) London - Comp Remuneration Pkg Crewing Manager The Netherlands - Competitive Pkg

CRUISE/FERRY

OFFSHORE

2nd Engineer - Cruise $55K

Chief Mate DPO - MPSV - $550/day

ETO - Cruise $65K

Master - PSV - £335/day

2nd ETO - Cruise - $55K

Chief Mate DP - PSV - £46K

Chief Officer - Cruise - $72K

Master DP - AHTS - £85K

2nd Engineer - Cruise - €40K

Master DP - Jack-up WIV - £95K

3rd Engineer - Cruise - €31K

Chief Engineer - Jack-up WIV - £80K

Chief Engineer - Ferry - £280/day

Chief Engineer DP - AHTS - £70K

2nd Engineer - Ferry - £45K

Stg 3 Crane Op DP - Jack-up WIV - £60K SDPO - ROV - £350/day

WORKBOAT

2/O DPO - PSV - £280/day

Master - Tug - £250/day Yacht Manager Monaco - €80K Technical Manager South West England - £55K

2nd Engineer - Tug £190/day

LNG/TANKER

Chief Engineer - MultiCat - £230/day

Chief Officer - LNG - $97K

Master - MultiCat - £250/day

2nd Officer - LNG - $65K 3rd Officer - LNG - $52K

Offshore Technical Superintendent Aberdeen - £55K + Car + Bens Offshore Technical Superintendent Surrey - £55K + Car Offshore Marine Superintendent Cyprus - €80K

YACHTS

Chief Engineer - LNG - $116K

Chief Mate - 55m M/Y - $96K

2nd Engineer - LNG - $97K

Chief Engineer - 55m M/Y - $72K rot

3rd Engineer - LNG - $65K

4th Engineer - 65m M/Y- $36K

3rd Officer - Oil Tanker - $52K

2nd Officer - 55m M/Y - €48K

4th Engineer - Oil Tanker - $52K

ETO - 60m M/Y - €48K

Chief Engineer - Oil Tanker - $115K

Chief Engineer - 45m M/Y - €54K rot

2nd Engineer - Oil Tanker - $96K

3rd Engineer - 75m S/Y - $70K rot

Chief Officer - Oil Tanker - $96K

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

Search for ‘Faststream Seafarers’

shipping-uk@faststream.com

@faststreamsea

Seagoing: +44 (0)23 8020 8820 seagoing-uk@faststream.com

www.faststream.com

MASTER MARINERS

www.mainport.ie

- CORK, IRELAND. Seahorse, part of The Mainport Group, invites applications from Master Mariners to work on the south coast of Ireland, servicing the Kinsale Head Gas Field aboard one of the Group’s multi-role vessels (MRVs).

The suitably-qualified, experienced and self-disciplined Master will command and operate the vessel on a day to day basis, carrying out duties as required by both our client and Mainport Group as necessary. PSV/ERRV experience is desirable and the successful candidates will implement company ISM policies and procedures on board, working closely with shore management. Salary will be commensurate with experience at circa €70k, 28 day rotation.

Seahorse is part of The Mainport Group, which is headquartered at Monahan Road, Cork and is one of Europe’s premier marine services companies. It is involved in vessel ownership, ship agency, stevedoring and off-shore services at several locations in Ireland, Africa, the Americas and the Far East, working with some of the world’s largest corporations involved in seismic acquisition and hydrocarbon exploration and development.

Please register your interest, which will be handled in strict confidence, and file your application through the following link: https://mic.crewinspector.com/public

p40-45_TELFeb14.indd 43

For further information please call: Sharon O’Mahony, 00 353 21 5004266; email: crewing@mainport.ie

21/01/2014 11:35

44 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

APPOINTMENTS Leading Marine Recruitment Specialists

Where’s my Telegraph?

If you have moved recently, your home copy may still be trying to catch up with you — particularly if you gave us a temporary address such as a hall of residence.

To let us know your new address, go to www.nautilusint.org and log in as a member, or contact our membership department on +44 (0)151 639 8454 or membership@ nautilusint.org.

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

Your First Port of Call Address: 114-118 Hampton Lane Southampton SO45 1WE UK Telephone: +44(0)2380 890432 Email: recruitment@seamariner.com www.seamariner.com

Senior Of½cers - AHTS All Of½cers & Crew - ERRV Deck & Engineering Of½cers - Tankers All DPO’s/SDPO’s (Unlimited DP cert.)

Various temporary assignments (Of½cers, Ratings & Catering) If you would like further information in registering with Seamariner or you would like to discuss your crewing requirements, please contact one of our experienced consultants

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

We are currently looking for the following OPITO trained personnel to serve onboard Atlantic Offshore Rescue Ltd Vessels.

Applications are invited from all Ranks quali¿ed for ERRV We have immediate requirements for Daughtercraft Coxswains Advanced Medical Aid Applications should be sent to: Ocean Supply (Guernsey) Ltd., c/o Atlantic Offshore Crewing Services Ltd, Merchants House, 87 Waterloo Quay Aberdeen AB11 5DE Attn: Keith Kendall, Crewing Manager

NOT A MEMBER OF NAUTILUS INTERNATIONAL? Join now on our website

Fill out the online application at: www.nautilusint.org

Each year the Apostleship of the Sea Visits over 10,000 ships Helps over 200,000 seafarers Deals with over 2,100 welfare issues

a million for your very warm heart “andThanks for the help you have given us. I am not going to forget the good deeds you have shown us and we will never forget you.

”

A message from a seafarer to an Apostleship of the Sea Chaplain

I wish to support AoS with a donation of: £ _______ Please return it to: AoS, Freepost LON21409, London, EC1B 1NB (Please make cheques payable to AoS)

Title:_________ First Name:________________ Surname:__________________

WILL YOU HELP US? To donate or read more about the Apostleship of the Sea visit our website

www.apostleshipofthesea.org.uk

Address:_____________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________Postcode: ________________

Telephone: ________________________________________ Email: ____________________________________________

(Please only give us your email if you are happy to be contacted in this way)

833 069 18 o: 1 3203 ty N n: 3 hari tio d C gistra re e te y R gis Re mpan Co

To advertise your vacancy contact John Seaman on +44 20 7880 8541 or john.seaman@redactive.co.uk

p40-45_TELFeb14.indd 44

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February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 45

APPOINTMENTS

p40-45_TELFeb14.indd 45

21/01/2014 11:35

46 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

SHIP TO SHORE Member meetings and seminars

M-Notices M-Notices, Marine Information Notes and Marine Guidance Notes issued by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency recently include: MIN 472 (M) — New requirements for security training for shipboard personnel Under the terms of the 2010 Manila Amendments to the STCW Convention, all personnel on ISPS code-applicable vessels must be trained in the following: z security-related familiarisation z proficiency in security awareness z proficiency in designated security duties This requirement came into force on 1 January 2012, but the IMO asked Port State Control officers to delay enforcing the regulation until 1 January 2014, provided that a vessel under inspection was otherwise compliant with the ISPS code. As this second date has now passed, seafarers are strongly advised to read MIN 472 to find out how the new security training should be delivered and how any necessary certification should be obtained.

Note: those holding a current STCW Ship’s Security Officer (SSO) certificate will not be required to undertake further security training.

The MCA recognises SSO certificates of proficiency issued by other administrations as long as the UK already recognises their certificates of competency.

Security-related familiarisation training: This must be delivered to all crew members by the SSO, or other equally qualified person, before individuals are assigned shipboard duties. The training should emphasise ship-specific security issues and provide guidance for the seafarer to: z report a security incident, including a piracy or armed robbery threat or attack z know the procedures to follow when they recognise a security threat z take part in security-related emergency and contingency procedures Documentary evidence must be retained by the ship to show that this training has been completed. The training can be incorporated into the ship’s safety familiarisation programme and use the existing method of recording the delivery of training.

Proficiency in security awareness: All crew members must receive this training through an MCA-approved training centre (which may be a shipping company). The training must meet the requirements of Section A-VI/6 paragraph 4 of the amended STCW code, and it leads to a STCW Certificate of Proficiency. Further

information on how to become an MCA-approved training provider is given in MIN 472, and course requirements can be purchased from the Merchant Navy Training Board website www.mntb.org.uk. This training need only be completed once in a seafarer’s career; there is no requirement for refreshment or revalidation. The MCA will recognise, for service on UK-registered ships, certificates of proficiency from other administrations on the STCW ‘white list’.

Proficiency in designated security duties: This tr aining applies to those seafarers who have designated duties under the ship’s security plan.

As with the previous proficiency training, it must be provided by an MCA-approved training centre, and is only required once in a seafarer’s career. The training must meet the requirements of Section A-VI paragraphs 6-8 of the amended STCW code, and leads to a STCW Certificate of Proficiency. Further information is available in MIN 472 and at www.mntb.org.uk. In this case, the MCA will recognise certificates of proficiency issued by other administrations as long as the UK already recognises their certificates of competency.

Note: for the latter two proficiency requirements, there is a ‘grandfather clause’ which allows seafarers with relevant sea service and experience prior to 1 January 2012 to be issued with a certificate of proficiency without undertaking further training.

Up until 1 January 2014, shipping companies holding the UK ISM Document of Compliance were able to apply to the MCA for permission to issue these alternative certificates themselves. MIN 472 does not state what the position is now that this date has passed, but does give an email address for companies wanting to gain approval for issuing their own grandfather clause certificates: stc. courses@mcga.gov.uk.

Personal close protection and ship protection duties: Those carrying out personal close protection and/ or ship protection duties on ISPS code-compliant ships do not need to hold SSO qualifications unless they are the designated SSO on the vessel in which they are serving.

However, they do now have to hold a recognised Certificate of Proficiency in Designated Security Duties, as described above. In future, there may be an acceptable equivalent certificate applicable to ships’ security guards only. Further information is available in the publication Interim Guidance to UK Flagged Shipping on the Use of Armed Guards to Defend Against the Threat of Piracy in Exceptional Circumstances.

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: MGN 499 (M+F) — Life saving appliances: inflatable liferafts, marine evacuation systems, inflatable lifejackets and hydrostatic release units — servicing requirements This note replaces MGN 362 (M+F).

It reminds owners, operators and masters that life-saving appliances carried on UK ships should be regularly serviced at an MCAapproved service station. The appliances in question are inflatable liferafts, marine evacuation systems, inflatable lifejackets and hydrostatic release units. All life-saving appliances must be serviced according to the legal requirements set out in MGN 499; this is not limited to SOLAS or Marine Equipment Directive (MED) standard equipment.

It is an offence to carry a lifesaving appliance which is known to be defective, or which has not been serviced at the intervals prescribed by the regulations. Each piece of equipment shall have a full service history, which shall be available onboard the vessel for inspection by the relevant authorities.

MGN 499 provides detailed guidance on the legal requirements relating to the following: z approved service stations z service intervals z service interval exemptions z hydrostatic release units (HRUs) In its annexes and appendices, MGN 499 also sets out the required procedures for the necessary additional pressure test and the CO2 cylinder leak test, as well as the guidelines for floor seam test supports. In addition, there is the full text of two official documents: z the certificate for General Exemption to the Merchant Shipping (Life-saving Appliances for Passenger Ships of Classes III to VI(A) Regulations 1999 z the Standard for the Conditions for the Approval of Service Stations for Small Craft Inflatable Liferafts

z M-Notices are available as

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

g Professional & Technical Forum Tuesday 4 March 2014 at 1300hrs for 1330hrs at the Angel Hotel, Castle Street, Cardiff CF10 1SZ. The forum deals with a wide range of technical, safety, welfare and other professional topics of relevance to all members, including training and certification.

The meeting is open to all members (UK, NL & CH).

Contact Sue Willis: +44 (0)20 8989 6677 protech@nautilusint.org

Contact Nautilus International Nautilus International welcomes contact from members at any time. Please send a message to one of our department email addresses (see page 17) or get in touch with us at one of our offices around the world.

For urgent matters, we can also arrange to visit your ship in a UK port.

Please give us your vessel’s ETA and as much information as possible about the issue that needs addressing.

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

Induction visits See www.nautilusint.org/newsand-events for dates of upcoming college visits by the Nautilus recruitment team (scroll down to ‘latest events’).

For further information, email recruitment@nautilusint.org or call Garry Elliott 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

SWITZERLAND Gewerkschaftshaus, Rebgasse 1 4005 Basel, Switzerland Tel: +41 (0)61 262 24 24 Fax: +41 (0)61 262 24 25 infoch@nautilusint.org SINGAPORE Nautilus International 10a Braddell Hill #05-03 Singapore, 579720 Tel: +65 (0)625 61933 Mobile: +65 (0)973 10154 singapore@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 SPAIN Yacht sector office in partnership with dovaston C/Joan de Saridakis 2, Edificion Goya Local 1A, Marivent 07015 Palma de Mallorca, Spain Tel: +34 971 677 375 recruitment@nautilusint.org www.dovaston.com

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 relevantindustrial 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/ trainee officers should contact Paul Schroder at youth@nautilusint.org.

g Youth Forum Saturday 22 March, 2014 1000 to 1200hrs at Jurys Inn, Charlotte Place, Southampton, SO14 0TB. The forum provides guidance to Nautilus Council on the challenges facing young people in the shipping industry and on the issues that matter to them.

Open to all young members (UK & NL).

Contact Paul Schroder: +44 (0)20 8989 6677 youth@nautilusint.org

Quiz and crossword answersACDB Quiz answers 1. The World Shipping Council estimates that 52% of global seaborne trade in terms of value is carried by containerships.

2. In 2013, Maersk’s share of the world containership fleet amounted to 15%.

3. Global shipbuilding production reduced by 23% between 2012 and 2013.

4. According to Lloyd’s List, Japan’s owners own the largest number of ships — a total of 6,630, compared with 6,051 in the US and 5,475 in Greece.

5. European shipyards are building 89% of the total new cruiseship gross tonnage on order around the world.

6. According to IHS Maritime, there are 127 ro-pax vessels of 30,000gt and above in the world fleet.

Crossword answers Quick Answers Across: 1. Engagement; 6. Aces; 9. Leopard; 10. Fair; 12. Liverpudlian; 15. Box office; 17. Latch; 18. Orate; 19. Piecemeal; 20. Postdiluvian; 24. Ibis; 25. Pilgrimage; 26. Nine; 27. Declension.

Down: 1. Eels; 2. Grow; 3. Gracie Fields; 4. Midge; 5. Nosepiece; 7. Charioteer; 8. Stronghold; 11. Adulteration; 13. Absorption; 14. Exhaustion; 16. Impulsive; 21 Vigil; 22. Sari; 23. Lean.

This month’s cryptic crossword is a prize competition, and the answers will appear in next month’s Telegraph.

Congratulations to Nautilus member Gareth Wyn Ellis, who has won the prize draw for the January cryptic crossword.

Cryptic answers from January Across: 8. Forehand; 9. Brazil; 10. Isle; 11. Greenpeace; 12. Fodder; 14. Bearable; 15. Tympani; 17. Strings; 20. Minstrel; 22. Wigwam; 23. Left-handed; 24. Rope; 25. Patrol; 26. Enlarged.

Down: 1. Sob story; 2. Cede; 3. Badger; 4. Adverbs; 5. Abundant; 6. Face-saving; 7. Fiscal; 13. Depositary; 16. Normally; 18. Grappled; 19. Sledged; 21. Icecap; 22. Waddle; 24. Rare.

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

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

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

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

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

Merchant Navy Training Board www.mntb.org.uk UK organisation promoting maritime education and training, and providing careers guidance.

Administers the Careers at Sea Ambassadors scheme, under which serving seafarers can volunteer to give careers talks in UK schools.

Seafarers UK (formerly the King George’s Fund for Sailors) +44 (0)20 7932 0000 www.seafarers-uk.org 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.

46 info.indd 46

Contact Adele McDonald: +44 (0)20 8989 6677 npa@nautilusint.org

College contacts

Useful organisations

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

g National Pensions Association A programme of meetings to discuss the MNOPF Old Section continues as follows — all start at 1030hrs.

Monday 17 February, Newcastle Tuesday 18 February, Hull Wednesday 19 February, Cardiff Thursday 20 February, Belfast Friday 21 February, Southampton Wednesday 26 February, Wallasey Open to all UK members.

International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network +44 (0)300 012 4279 www.seafarerswelfare.org Global organisation providing a 24 hour, year-round multi-lingual helpline for all seafarers’ welfare and support needs, as well as an emergency welfare fund.

SAIL (Seafarers’ Information and Advice Line) 08457 413 318 +44 (0)20 8269 0921 www.sailine.org.uk UK-based citizens’ advice service helping seafarers and their families with issues such as debt, benefit

entitlements, housing, pensions and relationships.

Seamen’s Hospital Society +44 (0)20 8858 3696 www.seahospital.uk UK charity dedicated to the health and welfare of seafarers.

Includes the Dreadnought health service.

Seafarers’ Link +44 (0)20 7643 13856 www.csv-rsvp.org Telephone friendship project connecting retired UK seafarers at home through a fortnightly telephone conference service.

Seatax Ltd +44 (0)1302 364673 www.seatax.ltd.uk Company providing specialist tax advice for merchant seafarers.

Marine Society +44 (0)20 7654 7050 www.marine-society.org UK charity dedicated to the learning and professional development of seafarers.

Offers 120,000 books to ships through its library service, plus distance-learning programmes and scholarship schemes including the Nautilus-administered Slater Fund.

22/01/2014 18:17

February 2014 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 47

JOIN NAUTILUS

The face of Nautilus Dirk Broek, senior national secretary

g

Dirk Broek decided to make something of a major lifestyle change last year. ‘After having sat for so long on the other side of the table as an employer, I felt the urge to become more socially involved, and the Nautilus advertisement caught my eye,’ he recalls.

The result of this was Dirk’s appointment as a senior national secretary, based in Nautilus International’s Rotterdam office.

‘I hope I can bring in some new ideas, new ways of thinking and new ways to approach issues,’ he adds.

Studying at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Dirk trained as a lawyer, and after qualifying he joined the Royal Nedlloyd Group

— at the time, the biggest Dutch container shipping company — on its management trainee programme.

Although he didn’t serve at sea, Dirk is very familiar with maritime matters. ‘My brother was a ship’s officer and I come from a long line of seafarers, so according to my grandmother I was the black sheep of the family when I decided to go to university. But when I joined Nedlloyd she was happy again!’

For his first seven years with the Royal Nedlloyd Group, Dirk was mainly involved with the company’s land-based transport operations such as Mammoet Heavy Lift, Nedlloyd Road Cargo and Van Gend & Loos (DHL).

Dirk also served on the board of directors of Swiss Railways (SBB) and lived in Switzerland for four years. And he is familiar with the UK, having lived in Gerrards Cross for three years while serving on the executive management board of APL/NOL. He followed a two-year spell on the executive directors’ board at Eurotunnel with three years being self-employed, before becoming a director of a small private railway company in the Netherlands, specialising in freight transportation.

Dirk lives close to Rotterdam, in a small village on the Dutch coast. In his spare time, he is a keen golfer — and he plays with a single handicap.

But last year Dirk — who is married and has three sons — decided on a major change of career course.

‘As you approach the age of 50 you realise that you still have another 17 or 18 years of work ahead and you have to decide if you are going to stay in the same business or do something that is more challenging and more satisfying,’ he explains.

‘I was 32 when I joined the board at SBB and first got involved in restructuring and firing people,’ he adds. ‘Firing people is not very nice and I have had enough of it now.

Working at Nautilus and helping people will be much more enjoyable and much more rewarding.’

Wherev er you are , so are we

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

Join today so we can be there for you too!

Pay and conditions Nautilus International is the first truly trans-boundary trade union for maritime professionals, reflecting the global nature of the industry. We negotiate with employers on issues including pay, working conditions, working hours and pensions to secure agreements which recognise members’ skills and experience, and the need for safety for the maritime sector.

Legal services Nautilus Legal offers members a range of legal services free of charge. There are specialist lawyers to support members in work related issues and a number of non-work related issues. The Union also has a network of lawyers in 54 countries to provide support where members need it most.

Workplace support Nautilus International officials provide expert advice on work-related problems such as contracts, redundancy, bullying or discrimination, non-payment of wages, and pensions.

Certificate protection Members are entitled to free financial protection, worth up to £116,900, against the loss of income if their certificate

47 join_proofed.indd 47

of competency is cancelled, suspended or downgraded following a formal inquiry.

Extra savings Nautilus Plus provides members with a fantastic portfolio of money-saving discounts. All designed with the seafarers’ lifestyle in mind, these cover a wide range of services such as health club membership, car hire, hotel accommodation, gas and electricity, and package holidays, as well as special services at airports such as parking and lounges. Members can also earn up to 15% cashback at major retailers, and Nautilus Plus also provides specialist expert advice on mortgages, financial planning and insurance.

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

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.

Your union, your voice The Union represents the voice of more than 23,000 maritime professionals working in all sectors of the industry at sea and ashore — including inland navigation, large yachts, deepsea and offshore.

It’s never been more important to be a Nautilus member and it’s never been easier to apply for membership. You can now join over the phone, or online at www.nautilusint.org. If you can’t get online or to a telephone, post us this form to start the joining process. A member of the recruitment team will contact you as soon as possible. Please note that membership does not begin until subscriptions are paid.

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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.

Please post this form to: Membership services department Nautilus International Nautilus House, Mariners’ Park Wallasey CH45 7PH, United Kingdom

22/01/2014 18:18

48 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | February 2014

NEWS

Piracy drops to a six-year low Union welcomes decline but presses for action to curb west African dangers

P

Nautilus has welcomed a new report revealing that global piracy dropped to its lowest level in six years during 2013.

But the Union has cautioned against complacency and it is seeking action to combat the increasing number of attacks on shipping off the coast of west Africa.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) annual report shows a total of 264 attacks worldwide were recorded at its piracy reporting centre, down 40% from the high seen in 2011. Twelve vessels were hijacked, 202 boarded and 22 came under fire.

The IMB said the marked decrease in attacks off east Africa was the most important factor in the overall figures — with just 15 reported off Somalia in 2013,

down from 75 in 2012 and 237 in 2011.

In contrast, there were significant increases in the number of attacks in some other parts of the world — notably in west Africa and Indonesia, which together accounted for almost 40% of all incidents. The IMB described most of the incidents in Indonesian waters as ‘low-level opportunistic thefts’ and it has been working with the country’s marine police to step up patrols and to designate safe anchorage points for ships in some high-risk ports.

On the positive side, there was a major fall in the number of seafarers being killed, injured or taken hostage — a total of 373 last year, against 662 in 2012. However, the number being kidnapped or held for ransom rose from 26 to 36.

The IMB said the reduction in Somali piracy was a result of the combined efforts of navies in the region, ‘hardening’ of security onboard merchant ships, and increased political stability in Somalia.

IMB director Captain Pottengal Mukundan said it is essential that the fight against Somali piracy is maintained. ‘It is imperative to continue combined international efforts to tackle Somali piracy,’ he pointed out. ‘Any complacency at this stage could re-kindle pirate activity.’

Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson said he was pleased to see the fall in Somali piracy, but shared the IMB’s alarm at the situation in the Gulf of Guinea. The Union has raised the issue with the International Transport Workers’ Federation,

which is calling for governments in the region to work with other countries’ naval forces to combat piracy and to enable private security guards to be carried on ships sailing in and out of waters under their jurisdiction.

The ITF says all shipowner organisations should accept that this is a high-risk area, and should provide their crews with valid kidnap and ransom insurance while in the affected region.

Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson spoke at a top-level conference in London last month, expressing concern about the lack of effective measures to deal with the increasing number of attacks in the Gulf of Guinea. ‘Once again, seafarers are at the front end and it is taking too long to bring about a solution,’ he told the Chatham House meeting.

A Turkish frigate shadows the hijacked ship Leopard Picture: NATO

Danish police drop duty of care probe a criminal investigation into F a shipping company accused of not Danish police have dropped

doing enough to secure the release of crew members held hostage in horrific conditions for 883 days.

The officers’ union Søfartens Ledere said it was disappointed that police had decided there were insufficient legal grounds to prosecute Shipcraft and its director Claus Bech for alleged lack of action to secure the release of six seafarers taken from the vessel Leopard in January 2011.

The men — two Danes and four Filipinos — were freed in April last year after a US$6.9m ransom was paid.

General secretary Fritz Ganzhorn

Lessons of Somalia must be learned, shipowners warn F

RFA returns after ‘stunning’ mission officer of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Fort A Victoria, and the ship’s aviation safety officer are Captain Shaun Jones, the commanding

pictured on the bridge wing with a tally showing the ship’s success in tackling piracy over the last three years.

The vessel has returned to the UK following a marathon 40-month deployment in which it helped to stop 20 armed pirate groups and to capture than 50 pirates.

For many of the 1,197 days the auxiliary oiler replenishment ship spent away from the UK, it

was acting as the flagship of a specially-formed task force combatting ‘pirate action groups’ operating off the coast of Somalia.

Each one of the successful blows against the pirates — be it a disrupted attack or arresting suspects — was marked with a skull and crossbones on the bridge wing.

Capt Jones described the mission as ‘a stunning success’ and he paid tribute to his crew.

‘During our time away we have led a number of counter-piracy task groups, captured over 50 pirates, recaptured a large Italian bulk carrier —

the Montecristo — rescued a significant number of merchant seamen from pirates and, most importantly, made the waters around Somalia much safer,’ he added.

‘The ship will now have a well-deserved refit prior to returning to operations in early 2015.’

Fort Victoria’s east-of-Suez mission is being continued by RFA Fort Austin, which is currently the flagship of the international Combined Task Force 151, overseeing the counter-piracy effort across 2.5m square miles of Indian Ocean.

Picture: 2/O Will Jackson RFA

commented: ‘It’s of great concern that Danish legislation and criminal law do not oblige an employer to do everything in its power to take care of its employees held hostage abroad.’

But Mr Bech defended the company’s actions. He said media coverage led the hostage-takers to inflate their ransom demands from $10m to $ to $15m. ‘Common to all third parties was that they had interests that went beyond concern for the seafarers, and despite all good intentions their interference ended up making the negotiating situation more difficult and increasing the ransom demand and period of being held hostage as a result,’ he added.

Shipowners have urged governments to draw from the lessons learned in tackling Somali piracy to combat ‘a parallel crisis involving disturbing levels of violence against ships’ crews’ off west Africa.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has presented a United Nations working group with a special report about the industry’s experience of Somali-based piracy between 2007 and 2013.

‘The intention is to identify lessons learned in order to shape future policy responses, wherever in the world they might be needed,’ explained ICS secretary general Peter Hinchliffe.

The document — which has been submitted to the International Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, which was established in response to a UN Security Council resolution — notes the dramatic reduction in attacks by Somali pirates.

But, it warns, it remains the case that the pirates are active and retain the capacity to attack far into the Indian Ocean. Seafarers are still being held hostage in Somalia, it adds, and some of them have now been in captivity for three years.

The ICS argues that it is important to maintain public and political awareness about piracy, and it says

action is still required to clarify such issues as the rights and obligations of sovereign nations to address piracy.

The paper urges the industry to continue its close dialogue with military authorities and to persuade them that the prevention of piracy/ hostage taking has a most important strategic and humanitarian function that should not be dismissed as mere ‘low level’ law enforcement.

It suggests that the Best Management Practice (BMP4) recommendations on preventative measures to be taken by shipping companies, ships and crews should be maintained and also adapted to deal with piracy problems in other parts of the world.

The ICS also stresses the need for ‘enduring solutions’ to deal with the legal and practical challenges arising from the use of private armed guards and the capture and prosecution of piracy suspects.

The paper also warns that governments must continue to recognise the necessity for ransom payments, and it points to the ‘humanitarian challenge of thousands of seafarers left traumatised by the experience of being held hostage for several months (years in some cases) prior to release’.

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22/01/2014 18:19