Shipowners

Hiring Armed Guards Should be Left to Government

 In the wake of an independent report recommending the Netherlands government to provide Dutch shipowners with better levels of protection against piracy, including the hiring of armed guards, Netherlands law firm AKD says that shipowners who directly hire armed personnel themselves could face criminal prosecution.   The so-called De Wijckerslooth Committee report was designed to assess the desirability and possibility of deploying private sector armed security to help protect Dutch ships from the threat of attack by (mainly Somali) pirates. It recommends that the Dutch government moves towards a higher level of protection of its merchant fleet including, “if necessary”, the use of armed private security guards. The report, however, cautions that such security guards should only be hired by the government, and should only perform their security duties as soldiers under the full authority of the Ministry of Defence. The authors of the report add that, under the current circumstances, it is not desirable that shipowners privately hire armed private security guards, an option which should only be considered “in case of special conditions”.   The committee argues that, if the government uses its own resources, or engages reservists or hires armed private security guards who will temporarily be given military status, this will not constitute privatisation of security duties

Maritime Safety Committee Releases New Interim Guidance

Gray Page, a maritime intelligence, investigation and crisis management company, advised that the IMO's Maritime Safety Committee’s (MSC) recently-approved interim guidance on the employment of privately-contracted armed security personnel (PCASP) to combat piracy underlines the requirement for independent vetting of private armed maritime security providers (AMSP). The MSC guidance, issued in May, incorporates recommendations for flag States confirming that it is the responsibility of

Being LNG Ready could be the Best Option for Many Ships

DNV now offers shipowners the support they need to make newbuilds and existing vessels LNG ready with class approved designs, ready for later, simple retrofit of LNG technology. The service enables shipowners to make smart choices and minimal investments now in readiness for when LNG bunkering becomes widely available. Shipowners are supported through all stages of the decision-making process as they prepare to meet the IMO air emission regulations entering into force from 2015

Martek Offers ECDIS Leasing Package

Martek Marine’s leasing package offers an option to adopt ECDIS early, which they said can help shipowners benefit from increased safety and lower costs. ECDIS product specialist Bentley Strafford-Stephenson said, “DNV research has shown that deploying ECDIS may reduce grounding frequency by at least 30%. Grounding is the third most frequent accident involving ships larger than 100GT and the fourth highest contributor to marine fatalities at 12%

E.R. Schiffahrt Goes Global with Viking

Viking Life-Saving Equipment and E.R. Schiffahrt have teamed up to design a fully customized, global servicing arrangement based on Viking’s Shipowner Agreements. The contract covers liferafts, lifeboats, immersion suits, lifejackets and marine fire systems and equipment such as fire extinguishers on more than 30 vessels of the shipowner’s fleet. The plan is for Viking to manage not just service notifications, but also the coordination of all servicing. 

CENSA Merges With ICS

The Council of European and Japanese Shipowners’ Associations (CENSA) has been merged into a newly formed Shipping Policy Committee of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) effective January 1, 2002. CENSA has provided a platform for national shipowners’ associations in Europe and Japan to promote open and fair international shipping markets, and multilateral rather than unilateral regulation with regard to commercial shipping policy.

Shipowner Aponte Honored

At a ceremony held in the Villa Doria D’Angri at Posillipo in Naples presided over by Professor Gennaro Ferrara rector of the University Studi of Naples “ Parthenope” shipowner Gianluigi Aponte was awarded an honoury degree in Maritime Economics and Transport.

Port-State Control Guide Published

The North of England P&I club and Intercargo have published a second edition of their unique and popular guide on how shipowners should prepare for port-state control inspections. Port State Control - A Guide for Cargo Ships has been updated throughout and includes a comprehensive new chapter on the commercial implications of delays, detentions and banning orders. According to Tony Baker of the North of England's risk-management

ICS Publishes New Flag State Table

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has published its latest annual Shipping Industry Flag State Performance Table - see www.ics-shipping.org/flag-performance.htm  The Table collates various data available in the public domain. Under the supervision of ICS's member national shipowners' associations, the presentation of the Table for 2011 has been modified slightly in order to address feedback from governments. 

MOL, Hafnia Agree To Jointly Operate New LR1 Pool

On the May 1, “Straits Tankers Pte Ltd”, a MOL and Hafnia Management strategic J/V set up in Singapore, will be ready to market 25 coated LR1’s, entered into the “Straits Tankers LR1 Pool”. The goal is to further utilize the fleet to flexibly meet diversifying needs of customers who will be serviced from the Straits Tankers offices in Singapore and Copenhagen, Denmark. The Pool consist of LR1 product tankers from Japanese shipowner MOL