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CMA CGM container ship sailing from China reported 6 crew with fever 6 Sri Lankan seamen confirmed ill, suffering fever and high temperature, on board of container ship CMA CGM URAL, which is presently steaming in Gulf of Aden, en route from China to Suez and then Mediterranean / Black sea ports, via Singapore. Ship called Chinese ports as follows: Shenzhen Jan 15; Xiamen Jan 14; Ningbo-Zhoushan Jan 11; YANGSHAN Jan 8-9. Merchant Shipping Association of Sri Lanka was alerted on a mass crew illness in the morning Jan 27. It is not known of course, at present, if seamen are infected with coronavirus, or it’s something else. ETA Suez Jan 30, exact type of disease can be identified only in port with respective medical facilities, though of course, if situation deteriorates and condition of ill seamen will significantly worsen, they’ll have to be medevaced, there are more than enough means, ports and medical facilities in Red sea region. Container ship CMA CGM URAL, IMO 9705079,

Mysterious GPS outages are wracking the shipping industry The call came  in by radio one evening last September, at around 9 p.m. On the line was the master of a tanker, approaching the end of a monthlong journey from the Port of South Louisiana and carrying more than 5,000 metric tons of ethanol. The message was urgent: The ship’s GPS signal had suddenly disappeared—leaving the crew to navigate Cyprus’s shoreline in the dark. On the other end of the line was the pilots’ office at the Vasiliko oil terminal, whose staff oversees shipping traffic at Vasiliko’s harbor on Cyprus’s arid, palm-fringed southern coast. Stelios Christoforou, the pilot on duty, recognized the gravity of the situation right away. In daylight, an experienced ship captain can maneuver using paper maps, markers, and the coastline as guides. But at night, GPS becomes a critical tool in unfamiliar waters—especially near Cyprus, where NATO and Russian warships roam. And any accident could spill the tanker’s car

Government approves model pact with foreign countries for seafarers’ competency certificate – education The government on Wednesday said it has approved a model pact with foreign countries for recognition of seafarers’ competency certificates. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here. This will pave the way for mutual recognition of maritime education and training of seafarers by the countries involved. “The proposed bilateral MoU will enable India and another country with which such an MoU may be entered, to mutually recognise maritime education and training, certificates of competency, endorsements, documentary evidence of training and medical fitness certificates, issued to the seafarers who are citizens of respective countries,” the Shipping Ministry said in a statement. The pact will facilitate unilateral recognition certificates issued by the Directorate General of Shipping to Indian seafarers by another cou

Merchant Bulker Rescues Four from Sailboat in Mid-Atlantic On January 10, the crew of the geared bulker  Sunda  rescued a sailboat adrift in the mid-Atlantic. Captain Ivan Versic, along with his officers and crew, found and saved four people who were stranded aboard the boat due to an engine failure, according to vessel operator Seastar.  After learning of the sailboat's situation, the  Sunda  diverted to meet up and effect a rescue. "We made contact through VHF radio and found out that everything was fine with the crew, only they were tired. We agreed to delay the rescue for the next morning due to inclement weather. Shortly thereafter, we made the first visual contact with the boat, and we stayed nearby all night in case of an emergency," Capt. Versic told media.  The operation to bring the survivors aboard began the next morning. After initial difficulties due to poor weather conditions, the yacht and the bulker were fina

Kidnapped 19 crew of MT DUKE released, 1 died. V.SHIPS Statement Product tanker DUKE, IMO 9262259, dwt 19117, built 2003, flag Marshall Islands, manager V SHIPS. CREW RELEASE MV Duke. Statement issued by Union Maritime Ltd, and V.Ships Management (India) PvT, Ltd Owners and Managers respectively of MT DUKE. London January 19, 2020: Following the attack on tanker DUKE and abduction of 20 crew members on December 15, we can confirm that 19 of the crew members taken hostage were today released by the criminal gang holding them. It is with great regret that we have to report that one valued crew member, an Able Seaman, was evidently taken ill and died shortly after capture. Tanker attacked in Gulf of Guinea, all Indian crew kidnapped We are seeking further information from those crew members that have been released and a full investigation will be held into the AB demise. All our sympathies and condolences go out to next of kin, family and friends at this tragic tim

Concentration camp for tankers in southern Red sea According to Yemeni (Houthi) sources, on Jan 7 Saudi Arabia forces released tanker ADVENTUROUS after 25-day long detention in detention area in southern Red sea, designated by Saudi-led coalition. Tanker with 30,000 tons of diesel oil on board headed for port of destination Al Hudaydah port, held by Houthi forces. As of evening Jan 9, tanker was approaching Al Hudaydah. 9 more tankers remain in detention, with 157,000 tons of gasoline and 94,000 tons of diesel on board, in total. Who’s right and who’s wrong in Houthi vs Saudi conflict, or more/less right/wrong, is anyone’s guess, but Yemeni civilians unquestionably, are the main victims of this conflict, suffering most. Detained tankers crews aren’t happy, either. Some tankers remain in detention for already more than 2 months. Product tanker ADVENTUROUS, IMO 9308778, dwt 44998, built 2004, flag Marshall Islands, manager CORAL SHIPPING CORP, Greece (EQUASIS). Credit: Mariti

New Suez Canal Transit Tolls During 2020 Admiral Osama Rabie announces that the Suez Canal transit tolls will remain unchanged for all types of vessels while excluding only two categories, dry bulk vessels, and LPG carriers, as their transit tolls will increase by 5%. Year 2020 : Changes which Seafarers can expect in India The Suez Canal accommodated 18,880 ships with a net tonnage of 1.2 billion tons and revenues of 5.8 billion USD during 2019. The Authority’s implemented marketing policies succeeded in attracting new shipping lines to transit the Canal, with a total of 3,463 vessels and revenues of 731 million USD during 2019. The Suez Canal Authority issued new decisions regarding the Suez Canal transit tolls, during the calendar year 2020. Admiral Osama Rabie, Chairman and Managing Director of the Suez Canal Authority, announced, on Saturday, January 4, 2020, that the Suez Canal transit tolls for all types of vessels will remain unchanged, the same as it was

Container ship COSCO PACIFIC fire, interrupted voyage Container ship COSCO PACIFIC while en route from Port Klang Malaysia to Ngava Sheva western India reported fire in container or containers, in cargo hold.on Jan 4, being under way in Arabian sea off southwest Indian coast. The ship interrupted scheduled voyage and headed for Colombo, arriving there in the morning Jan 6. She was berthed, containers on fire are to be offloaded, ship’s to be under constant monitoring until completing inspection. The ship is deployed on SEA-India-Pakistan service, quite a number of shippers are to cope with delays and schedule interruptions. As of morning Jan 7, COSCO PACIFIC was still berthed at Colombo. Credit: Fleetmon

Mumbai: 35 escape from sinking yacht in the Arabian Sea A major tragedy was avoided on Sunday evening, when a yacht with more than 35 people on board, began sinking in the Arabian Sea. Fortunately, those on board a ferry boat nearby that was headed towards the Gateway of India from the Elephanta Caves, heard the screams of its passengers and rescued them. There were 30 people and five crew members on the yacht that had been hired for a party from the organisers who did not allegedly have permission for the same. Container ship COSCO PACIFIC fire, interrupted voyage According to sources, the yacht called Tyche, a catamaran was carrying 30 guests and 5 staff for a party in the Arabian sea. On Sunday around 5 pm, the yacht started taking in water due to leakage. Those on the last Ashtavinayak boat ferrying passengers from Elephanta to the Gateway of India heard the people screaming for help. 'Passengers disappeared' "We were almost 1.6 nautical miles

Three seafarers kidnapped, four security personnel killed, in Nigerian pirate attack Pirates have kidnapped three seafarers and killed four security personnel onboard a dredger off Forcados terminal in Nigeria. The latest in a spate of violent pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea the Nigerian dredger Ambika was reported to have been boarded by armed pirates on 2 January at the mouth the Ramos river around 9nm east of Forcados Terminal. A fire fight ensued between the pirates and security personnel onboard the vessel with the pirates kidnapping three crew members, comprising two Russians and one Indian national, and killing four Nigerian security personnel and leaving two injured. Five seafarers were left on the vessel. Year 2020 : Changes which Seafarers can expect in India   The dredger is managed by Deep Frontline Shippers of Nigeria according to the Equasis database. While there have been frequent pirate attacks and kidnappings in the Gulf of Guinea in recent mont

Life with  Nigerian pirates for  70 days in captivity An Indian seafarer, Mr. Chaudhary, who was recently released from the captivity of Nigerian pirates shared his traumatic and horrific ordeal. During the conversation, he sounded positive despite several physical aberrations e.g. loss of 20kg weight, huge deficiency of haemoglobin and ECR rise due to multiple infections in his body etc. His elaborations on his experience confirmed that he along with his other crew members went through one of the worst awful ordeal during 70 day’s period of captivity. His experience portrayed as follows: Two more ships attacked in Gulf of Guinea: Greek and Singaporean, 8 crew kidnapped Mr. Chaudhary had joined a Mumbai based shipping company named K Ship in November, 2018. The ship was assigned to him to sail through the dangerous waters of Nigeria with total 15 crew members on it, out of which 6 were Indians and 9 others were Nigerian and Ghanaians. In April, 2019, his ship w

Cyber security management system gets ClassNK approval Classification Society ClassNK has certified the cyber security management system (CSMS) of NYK Group subsidiary NYK LNG Shipmanagement Ltd and its LNG carrier  Pacific Mimosa This is the first CSMS certified by ClassNK and the society said it will continue to provide cyber security services. I n September, ClassNK set up a cross sectional team of marine and security experts to boost its cyber security capacity. The society’s move came in light of IMO’s  decision to adopt   Resolution MSC.428(98) Maritime Cyber Risk Management in Safety Management Systems . The resolution encourages the shipping industry to ensure cyber risks are addressed in ship management systems no later than 1 January 2021. Owners who fail to do so risk having their ships detained. In November, NYK concluded a joint research agreement with ClasskNK, MTI, MHI-MME and Japan Engine Corp to develop advanced technologies to realise its long-ter

Year 2020 : Changes which Seafarers can expect in India  1. Jobs are expected to rise by 20% this year and it will mainly be from cruise line. Presently estimated 3 Lakh Indian Seafarers are employed , about 1 lakh onleave and estimated 10,000 facing unemployment / delayed ship joining. Unemployment remains high for fresher GP Rating , Trainee Marine Engineer and BSc Deck Cadets. Reason for this is,  sponsorships are not compulsory for pre Sea courses except for DNS cadet course and Placement records of many pre sea training Institute as approved by DG Shipping are unknown to citizens of India. Placement records are not displayed by MTIs on their website.  2. Gas carrier ( VLGC) experienced Seafarers wages will see increase upto 10% , other main fleet will see wage scale same as last year and offshore sector Seafarers may see a drop of 10% in wages.U 4/E and 3/O will continue to have long waiting and struggle / face problems for placement. Same for 3rd engineer with Class 2 Mot

Two more ships attacked in Gulf of Guinea: Greek and Singaporean, 8 crew kidnapped Bulk carrier VINALINES MIGHTY wasn’t the only one attacked on Dec 30, two more ships were attacked, in different positions, at different time, 8 crew were kidnapped. Two attacks were thwarted by Nigerian armed security teams on board. Shipping in Gulf of Guinea needs private armed guards, provided by international security agencies. Product tanker HAPPY LADY Product tanker HAPPY LADY was attacked at around 2300 Dec 30 in position 04 00N 009 06E, some 6 nm SW of Limbe, Cameroon, where tanker is anchored since late November, so maybe she was a happy lady indeed to remain anchored in dangerous waters for such a long time, without being attacked, No other information on this attack yet, no information on crew’s fate, are they safe or kidnapped, or/and injured? UPDATE: 8 crew out of 28 on board were kidnapped, among them 5 Greeks, 2 Filipinos, and 1 Ukrainian. Bulk carrier DROGBA Bulk carrier DROG

Pirates Kidnap Eight from Greek Tanker Off Cameroon Five Greeks, two Filipinos and a Ukrainian were abducted by unidentified assailants from the Greek-flagged tanker ‘Happy Lady’ while the vessel was anchored two nautical miles from Limboh port in Cameroon. The attack on the 28 crew-member ship took place in the early hours Tuesday, the Greek Shipping Ministry said in an emailed statement. The Happy Lady is a chemical/oil tanker with a carrying capacity of 51,390 tons and is owned by Athens-based Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Ltd, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “We’re doing everything needed for them to be released and returned home,” Greek Shipping Minister Yannis Plakiotakis said in a social media post. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis asked the minister to take what ever action necessary for the incident to be happily resolved. A sixth Greek sailor was injured in the attack. Pirates abducted four crew members in November from another Greek-flagged oil

Sandy Hook pilot Dennis Sherwood has died after falling during embarking Dennis Sherwood , a pilot of Sandy Hook fell backwards off a ladder while boarding a ship today at 4:30 a.m. and died of his serious injury in Staten Island hospital, according to U.S. Coast Guard reports. A routine investigation of the accident has been initiated. Although no name of the ship has been provided, the accident appears to have occurred while boarding the Maersk Kensington (U.S. flag, IMO: 9333010), which came from Algeciras, Spain. Her gross tonnage is 74642 and deadweight is 84688. MAERSK KENSINGTON was built in 2007. MAERSK KENSINGTON length overall (LOA) is 299.47 m, beam is 40 m. Her container capacity is 6200 TEU. The ship is operated by MAERSK LINE LTD-USA. During the accident the wave height was 4-5 feet with a wind speed of 30 knots. It is important to find out what happened and how such an incident could possibly be avoided in the future. The analysis of aviation accidents should