The Bahamas Maritime Authority News

The Bahamas Maritime Cadet Corps (BMCC), which was first established by The Bahamas Ministry of Transport in 2004 to introduce high school students to employment opportunities in the maritime sector and build national capacity, said more graduates than ever this year have chosen to enter a career in shipping related industries.Many of this year’s 97 graduating students are opting to join the Royal Bahamas Defence Force or are considering further maritime education. A large number…

American Bureau of Shipping has further developed its approach to aging offshore assets with the publication of the Guide for Life Extension of Floating Production Installations.ABS said that the guidance supported operators looking to extend the operational life of a floating production installation (FPI) by outlining clear Class requirements with a focus on safety. It is informed by lessons learned from ABS-supported life extension projects and the findings of a series of FPI life extension joint development projects.Critical issues addressed include pre-life extension data collection…

The world’s FPSO fleet is getting older, with 55 FPSO units in the global fleet reaching the end of their design life in the next five years, with an additional five having life extension in place. With 19 more FPSOs currently being evaluated for life extension, safety issues and structural integrity concerns come to the fore? Matt Tremblay, ABS Vice President, Global Offshore, explains the challenges for FPSO operators, and discusses why a new working group comprised of major…

Martyn Thomas is the Chief of Staff at Stream Marine Training Ltd (SMT Ltd.) following many years working for both global training providers and cruise companies. SMT is a maritime skills and technology business providing fire-fighting, sea survival, survival craft and HSE training to the global maritime, oil and gas, renewables and construction industries.Thomas works out of SMT’s head office in Glasgow where SMT trains the majority of its theoretical based courses, including Alternative Fuels…

The Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA) announces the appointment of Captain Dwain E. Hutchinson as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Captain Hutchinson succeeds Commodore Davy F. Rolle, who stepped down as Director last year.Captain Hutchinson is a proud Bahamian from Nassau, New Providence island, where he completed his tertiary education before commencing his maritime studies in Scotland at Glasgow College of Nautical Studies. Qualified with a UK Master Mariner (Unlimited) STCW Certificate of Competency…

As part of its strategy to make further inroads into the Japanese shipping market the Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA) is opening its new office in the heart of Tokyo's Minato district.BMA’s new office at Nishi-Shinbashi was inaugurated by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas, the Honorable Peter Turnquest.The office will provide direct service to the Japanese maritime market, the world’s second largest in terms of vessel tonnage.Turnquest said: “Japan is a great maritime nation, and The Bahamas Ship Registry is one of the world’s top registries. The Opening of our BMA Tokyo office represents an even closer commitment to serving our valued Japanese shipowner clients.

Maritime technology and risk minimisation company Prevention at Sea has gained recognition from the Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA) for its multi-award winning ε-ORB (Oil Record Book) software developed in conjunction with the Liberian Ship Registry. “I am really pleased that the BMA is ready to provide the required approval to ship operators using our ε-ORB software as per its guidelines provided by the Electronic Record Keeping Systems Bulletin #173,” said Petros Achtypis, CEO of Prevention at Sea. “This is further proof that ship registries understand the value of this software as it is helps seafarers record accurate ORB entries ensuring transparency, credibility, and traceability,” he continued.

PDMS Maritime has announced that it has been awarded a new contract to deliver its international ship registry and seafarer management platform (MARIS) to Maritime Cook Islands (MCI) Limited, the corporate administrators of the Cook Islands international ship registry. MARIS will replace MCI’s existing legacy systems to provide the registry with a new, modern and complete enterprise system which covers all the key aspects of their business including: registry, survey, seafarers and service operations. The platform will also help the MCI to prepare for the IMO’s mandatory audit scheme (IMSAS).

Bahamas' Prime Minister Christie has met with Global Shipping Giant Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), in Geneva. Principal and founder of MSC, Gianluigi Aponte and his senior management team met with Prime Minister at MSCs headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland for two days of deliberations. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss about matters relating to the expiring concessions under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and growth of MSCs investments in The Bahamas. Meanwhile, Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization, H.E. Eldred Bethel and Executive Director of The Bahamas Maritime Authority London, Cmdr. Davy Rolle presented Bahamas’ contribution to Secretary General Kitack Limon Tuesday, February 16th at IMO Headquarters.

Maritime software engineering specialists PDMS Ltd. have announced an agreement for its U.K. subsidiary, Professional Data Management Services (U.K.) Ltd., to acquire certain parts of the business and assets of Maxima Information Group Limited, a subsidiary company within the Castleton Technology group of companies. In a deal worth close to £1 million, the acquisition relates to the ERP, payroll software and ferry ticketing business. PDMS has been developing ICT systems and solutions for the public and private sector for more than 21 years…

A recent meeting at the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, D.C. (attended by International Cruise Victims (ICV) Board representatives) discussed the new International Maritime Authority (IMO) policy of using “the ship as the lifeboat”, which drew the following response from ICV. ICV inform that the opening address to the meeting was given by the head of the IMO Safety Committee, Captain Andy Winbow. According to Kendall Carver, Chairman of International Cruise Victims (ICV)…

The U.S. Coast Guard & the National Transportation Safety Board begin investigation into the circumstances of the fire. According to information given to  Reuters by the Coast Guard the fire on board the Carnival Corp cruise ship that drifted for days in the Gulf of Mexico awash in raw sewage started from fuel from a leaking diesel engine fuel line that ignited. The Coast Guard explains that because the Carnival Triumph is a Bahamian flagged vessel, the Bahamas Maritime Authority is the primary investigative agency. In accordance with international guidelines, the U.S. will participate in this investigation as a Marine Safety Investigative State.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board launched an investigation Tuesday into the circumstances surrounding a fire aboard the Carnival Triumph, that ocurred Sunday. The Carnival Triumph experienced an engine room fire while on a four-day cruise in the Gulf of Mexico, and has been without propulsion in the Gulf of Mexico since. The ship’s automatic fire extinguishing systems activated and the fire was extinguished. No injuries to guests or crew members were reported in connection to the fire. The ship is expected to arrive in Mobile, Ala., Thursday evening.

“Any Administration that thinks it can delegate all functions to Classification Societies and does not require any technical expertise, lives in a fools’ paradise,” was the clear message given last week in Malmö, Sweden by Capt. Fazlur R. Chowdhury, Deputy Director for Maritime Affairs, Bahamas Maritime Authority. Malmö’s World Maritime University (WMU) seminar on Flag State Audit placed a special emphasis on smaller maritime states. The seminar attracted representatives of the maritime administrations of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta India, and Sweden, several academics, and representatives of BIMCO, the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), INTERTANKO, IMO, plus of course a large number of eager WMU students.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board launched an investigation into the cause of an engine room fire that occurred onboard the Carnival Triumph, Sunday. The Carnival Triumph experienced an engine room fire Sunday while on a four-day cruise from Galveston, Texas, and has been without propulsion in the Gulf of Mexico since. The ship’s automatic fire extinguishing systems activated and the fire was extinguished. It was reported that there were no injuries to guests or crew members. The ship is expected to arrive in Mobile, AL, Thursday evening. Because the Carnival Triumph is a Bahamian flagged vessel, the Bahamas Maritime Authority is the primary investigative agency. In accordance with international guidelines, the U.S.

Intertanko and BIMCO have expressed regret with the loss of the tanker Prestige and the environmental, social and economic consequences of this incident. Intertanko and BIMCO have welcomed the statements of ABS and the Bahamas Maritime Authority that they are making available all of the historical records on Prestige. It is their believe that it is essential all major marine casualties are comprehensively investigated and that the results are made public so that important lessons can be learned. We also join the Bahamas Maritime Authority in expressing our gratitude to the Spanish Rescue Services who rescued the entire crew. This incident highlights the industry's concern surrounding coastal states' continued reluctance to admit ships into ports of refuge.

Intertanko is welcoming the EU Parliament Resolution today calling for an in-depth investigation of the events and all parties concerned with the Prestige incident. The Association has expressed disappointment that the Resolution, which in its draft form also called for the role of national and local authorities to be subject to investigation, appears to exclude the conduct of these authorities from the investigation. A full and rigorous post-incident investigation must include the important ship-shore interface and the conduct of all parties concerned prior to and following this unfortunate accident. Intertanko understands that the owner of the vessel…

ABS has lodged a formal request with the IACS Council to direct the IACS Quality Secretary to undertake a Vertical Contract Audit of all ABS records relating to the tanker Prestige. the Spanish government. Energy and Transport, (DG TREN) and to Intertanko to participate in the audit. transparent action we are taking," said ABS President Robert D. Somerville. relating to this vessel. some clue to the possible initiating cause of the damage," Somerville said. quality system. initiating cause of the damage," said Somerville. and procedures. this casualty," Somerville added.

International Maritime Services (IMS) Ship Delivery department has been recognised for meeting the international standard for safe management and operation of ships and pollution prevention (ISM Code). On 14 February, a Document of Compliance (DOC) was issued by Germanischer Lloyd on behalf of Bahamas Maritime Authority, which will immediately encompass the requirements for an upcoming delivery voyage of 10,500 nautical miles. IMS Chief Operating Officer, Brendan Cooley stated, “We pride ourselves on offering our clients a flexible and quality level of service at all times. IMS is one of the world’s leading ship delivery companies and ‘total solutions provider’.

WISTA Annual Luncheon at CMA’s Shipping 2012 presents action-packed program. Bahamas signs Washington Declaration, lessons learned from Deepwater Horizon, and a Flag Ceremony farewell to USCG Vice Commandant Brice O’Hara. WISTA USA President Jeanne M. Grasso presided over an action-packed program at this year’s WISTA USA Annual Luncheon held at the beginning of CMA’s Shipping 2012 conference in Stamford, Connecticut. “I don’t think we could have made this year’s luncheon more exciting, interesting, or robust”, stated Grasso, a Blank Rome LLP Partner and President of WISTA USA.

According to reports, U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas John Rood continues to push for The Bahamas to sign onto the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), but according to the country’s foreign minister, The Bahamas – the world’s third largest ship registry – remains cautious. The PSI would give the US the right to search any of thousands of Bahamas-flagged ship anywhere in the world under the pretext of searching for nuclear material or weapons of mass destruction. After applauding the conclusion of the Megaports Initiative (MPI) and the Container Security Initiative (CSI) as major accomplishments in US-Bahamas relations, Mr. Rood pointed out that The Bahamas has yet to sign on to PSI.

Reflecting its dramatic growth and participation as an organization, the United States fielded the largest visiting national delegation attending last week’s Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) Annual Conference. The US delegation was second only to the host country, the United Kingdom. The Conference was held at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London, with a theme of “Direction:  Diversity…Route:  Corporate Social Responsibility.”  The Conference was attended by nearly 300 WISTA members from around the globe…

Joseph A. Keefe, former Editor in Chief of The Maritime Executive magazine and the MarEx e-newsletter, has joined MaritimeProfessional as its leading commentator. "Joe Keefe is a globally respected maritime journalist who brings a wealth of industry insight and knowledge to MaritimeProfessional," said Greg Trauthwein, Editor and Associate Publisher with New Wave Media, producers of MaritimeProfessional (and MarineLink.com). Keefe brings more than thirty years of experience in…