Safety Audit News

The maritime industry accounts for more than 90% of global trade and employs over 3 million people in the United States, and like other modes of transportation, our industry encounters unique risks. Waterfront workers are exposed to various hazards such as heavy machinery, hazardous substances, extreme weather and long hours. If not properly managed, these hazards can result in serious injuries, illnesses and even fatalities. That is why ensuring the safety of waterfront workers is a top priority for all of us who work in the maritime industry.

Nakilat  announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 with a net profit of $76 million compared to $64 million during the same period in 2019, with an increase of 18%.Despite the ongoing challenges of the global pandemic, Nakilat continued to uphold operational management of its LNG and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) vessels.Additionally, Nakilat group continued to strengthen its value proposition, with the ship repair, offshore fabrication, towage and…

Drydocks World, an international service provider to the shipping, offshore, oil, gas and energy sectors, announced it has received a five star rating from the British Safety Council for the Occupational Health and Safety. The company underwent a detailed, quantified and objective audit conducted by the British Safety Council on occupational health, safety management systems and a number of key safety indicators. Drydocks World’s management continually focuses on principles that enhance operational excellence, sustainable development and creating a culture to increase the safety of employees.

When Rear Adm. James Watson IV promised Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., at a hearing Tuesday that the Coast Guard would issue proposed rules regulating tugboats in 2009, Cummings asked Watson to repeat the pledge. The frustration with the long-delayed new rules on tugs gained new urgency this summer when an oil spill in the Mississippi River shut down shipping through . The spill has been blamed on a tugboat being operated by a company that was involved in another accident on the river 10 days earlier. It's been four year since Congress ordered the Coast Guard to create rules requiring the regular inspection of towing vessels and setting limits on the number of hours that crew members work each day.

Officials of the British Safety Council are due to carry out a safety audit of Malta Drydocks in March, Reuters reported. The council had carried out an audit of the yard last year and awarded it a three star rating out of five. A Malta Drydocks management official told the press it was hoped a better result would now be achieved. The loss-making Maltese yard is currently enjoying an upswing of work. The tanker Northia, owned by Brovig RDS of Aberdeen, is currently being converted into a floating production storage and offloading facility in the first project of its kind. Drydocks officials told the press that the $8 million contract was being carried out on time and the yard had been praised for its workmanship. The ship is being renamed Ikdam. The U.S.

The Directorate General of Shipping (DG, Shipping) has asked India’s biggest oil explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to recall 27 of its 46 supply ships for undergoing safety audits immediately. The DG Shipping directive, which could lead to the disruption in oil production, has come within days after an ONGC-chartered ship, Samudrika-10, sunk off the Mumbai coast, killing five people on board. In a notice dated July 11 to ONGC, the DG Shipping ordered around 27 OSVs (offshore supply vessels) to be recalled to the base for undergoing safety management tests before resuming duty at Bombay High. ONGC operates 46 offshore supply vessels which help in production and maintenance of India’s largest oil field, Bombay High, situated 160 kilometers north west of Mumbai.

BC Ferries has commissioned former Auditor General, George Morfitt, to conduct an independent review of BC Ferries’ safety policies, procedures and practices. David L. The review will assess BC Ferries’ compliance with the Canada Shipping Act’s regulations, codes and standards. It will also review the extent of the company’s compliance with its safety management system. George Morfitt and his team will collect information through management, union and employee interviews, reviewing documents, systems and processes, performing inspections and gathering relevant material from sources outside of BC Ferries. Work on the comprehensive safety audit will begin immediately and a report is expected to be provided to the BC Ferries’ Board of Directors and made public in late 2006.

Avondale Industries, Inc. has agreed to pay $357,750 in penalties for safety and health violations at its shipyard in Avondale, La., and implement a revised safety and health program as part of a settlement agreement announced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). "We are pleased Avondale has agreed to resolve this matter," said Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman. "Avondale's new management has shown they are serious about eliminating safety hazards. OSHA originally inspected the shipyard in October 1998 following union complaints of possible imminent danger from falls, and other health issues. Based on that inspection, OSHA issued 60 citations against the shipbuilder last April and proposed fines of $537,000.

Provisions for the routing of containerships servicing the Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific trades - specifically Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), have been implemented by WNI Oceanroutes. A leading transportation company, OOCL utilizes all that WNI offers within its services and products hub: Optimum Weather Routing, ORION for onboard guidance and the POLARIS fleet management system. "Together, Optimum Weather Routing and ORION help us maintain schedule and integrity and minimize weather risks," said Alfred H.Y. Cheung, manager Nautical Advisory & Safety Audit Section for OOCL's Ship Management Department. Proven as an imperative tool for schedule and safety management, POLARIS has helped OOCL by furthering its already effective management style and high-tech image.

The Alaska USCG, in conjunction with local harbormasters and the uninspected passenger vessel industry, is promoting a new Five-Star Safety Rating Program for the industry. This initiative is voluntary and is designed to upgrade the safety of the smallest size class of passenger vessels. The safest vessels will earn a Five-Star Safety Rating. Small, uninspected passenger vessel operations have expanded dramatically in Alaska, with thousands of Alaskans and tourists embarking on them every year. There are more than 2,000 of these vessels in Alaska that can carry six or less passengers for hire and are not inspected by the USCG. In the wake of the sinking of two of these small passenger vessels in Alaska this past summer…

Launched in 1972, Marine Builders Inc. has remained a model of consistency, churning out a healthy mix of towboats and - more recently - passenger vessels, each year of its existence. Beginning with Quarto 1, launched back in 1971, towboat construction has always been the company's bread and butter, but the company has built drydocks, dredges, cruise vessels, barges; and has even formed a new sister company which builds pedestrian bridges over waterways. Company President and Owner David W. Evanczyk began his boat-building career in the 1960's with Yates Marine Construction, in Wheeling, W.V. Evanczyk moved to the Louisville area at the request of Jack Yates, with the intent to form a new shipyard company in the area.

Aberdeen’s River Dee Shiprepairers, part of the A&P Group, has won a second drydocking contract from BP Oil following the successful completion of the scheduled repair to the 2,734 dwt coastal tanker Border Jouster. River Dee initially quoted for the repair of the Border Jouster but were then asked to make it a two-ship deal; involving the 2,257 dwt Border Warrior. Work on the Border Jouster, which arrived in Aberdeen on May 13th, included overhaul of the main engine and auxiliary engine room equipment, tailshaft and underwater valves, refurbishment of the cargo pumps and the boiler unit, and washing and painting the ship’s hull. The tanker has now passed sea trials and will go back into service by May 29th.