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Nautilus International News

08 Dec 2020

Hundreds of Thousands of Seafarers Are Still Stranded at Sea

© Alexander / Adobe Stock

Hundreds of thousands of seafarers around the world are stranded at sea due to coronavirus travel restrictions, unable to go home or get medical care, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said on Tuesday, calling on nations to address their plight.Many shipping and transport workers have been at sea as long as 17 months or longer, as COVID-19-related restrictions make it almost impossible to rotate crews, the United Nations' labor agency said.The ILO adopted a resolution asking nations to take action by providing medical care to seafarers in need…

10 Jul 2020

Governments Pledge Crew Change Action

A dozen countries have have committed to facilitate crew changes and achieve key worker designation for seafarers, following a virtual ministerial summit hosted by the U.K. government on Thursday, marking progress to help resolve a growing crisis facing the maritime industry, and enable hundreds of thousands of stranded seafarers to go home or join ships.“The inability of ship operators worldwide to conduct ship’s crew changes is the single most pressing maritime operational challenge to the safe and efficient movement of global trade…

23 Aug 2019

Futuristic Training Ship to be Built in Britain

Ambitious plans are being launched for a $184 million training and disaster relief ship with cutting-edge British technology.Britannia Maritime Aid (BMA), a registered charity, aims to build the futuristic vessel in Britain. It is officially launching its plans at the UK Chamber of Shipping on Monday September 9 during London International Shipping Week.Maritime professionals and training experts have joined forces for project with backing from former First Sea Lords, the Lord West of Spithead and Admiral Sir Nigel Essenhigh.Others supporters include members of the Houses of Lords and Commons, shipbuilder Cammell Laird, ship designers Leadship…

14 Aug 2019

Nautilus Welcomes IBF Decision on Hormuz

The international trades union and professional association representing seafarers and allied workers Nautilus International has welcomed a decision by the International Bargaining Forum (IBF) to designate the Strait of Hormuz as a Temporary Extended Risk Zone, after 12 weeks of increased aggression towards merchant ships in the Gulf of Oman.The IBF's decision, announced on Tuesday 13 August, means that seafarers who are subject to an attack in the zone, are entitled to a bonus and doubled death and disability compensation.It follows discussions by the IBF's Warlike Operations Areas Committee over the past weeks, who have been closely monitoring the situation and the risk to shipping.Nautilus was present at the discussions…

06 Aug 2019

Owner: Detention of UK-flag Tanker Unacceptable

The continued detention of British-flagged tanker Stena Impero is "unacceptable and unjustifiable" and there are concerns for the welfare of the crew after 19 days in confinement, the vessel's owner said on Tuesday.Iran's Revolutionary Guards on July 19 seized the Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz waterway for alleged marine violations. That came two weeks after Britain seized an Iranian oil tanker near Gibraltar, accusing it of violating sanctions on Syria.Britain has repeatedly ruled out any swap of tankers.The saga has exacerbated frictions between Tehran and the West since the United States pulled out of an international agreement…

03 Jan 2018

UK Shipping Minister Confirms CEC Review

Nautilus International has welcomed confirmation from shipping minister John Hayes that the government has agreed to the Union’s calls for a review of the UK’s system for issuing Certificates of Equivalent Competency (CECs). Nautilus is a trade union and professional organisation representing more than 22,000 maritime professionals in the UK, Netherlands and Switzerland. In a letter to the Union, the minister said he had asked Sir Alan Massey, head of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA), to undertake a review of the way in which CECs are given to foreign officers seeking work on UK-flagged ships. Sir Alan has told Nautilus that the review will be treated as ‘a matter of priority’ and the MCA will work with the Union, other social partners and industry experts to progress it.

19 Nov 2017

UK Shipping Seeks to Double Seafarer Training Fund

The UK Chamber of Shipping, with backing from 40 shipping companies, has this week written to the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, asking the Government to double the amount of funding available for seafarer training as soon as possible. The letter was also sent to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond and the Minister of State, Department for Transport, John Hayes. The UK Chamber, in conjunction with Nautilus International, has submitted a proposal for the Government's existing Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme to be extended. “The Government’s review of SMarT recognised that change was necessary and recommended the level of support should increase from £15 million to around £30 million annually…

12 Jun 2017

Mental Health at Sea: A Storm is Brewing

© Sebastian / Adobe Stock

According to the latest statistics, over 25 percent of people will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives and for those working offshore, this figure is significantly and potentially dangerously higher. What’s more, the problem’s growing. So, what’s causing the rise of mental health problems within our industry and why are seafarers more likely to suffer from these issues than those working on land? Most importantly, what can be done to solve the problem and establish a happier, healthier and safer workforce on the 51,000+ merchant ships that sail our seas?

20 Jan 2017

Action Must be Taken If We are to Address UK Seafarer Shortfall

UK Chamber CEO Guy Platten has responded to the publication of the Department for Transport Seafarer Projections Review by calling on government to back its SMarT Plus proposal. The Department for Transport has this week published a study to assess the UK supply and demand for trained seafarers to fulfill roles at sea and onshore over the coming decade. The UK Seafarer Projections study identified a shortage of 3,000- 4,000 UK deck and engine officers, and 2,000 UK ratings by 2026. The report suggests that in order to avoid the shortfall the annual intake of UK officer trainees would need to more than double. Commenting on the findings, CEO Guy Platten commented, “This report highlights the need for decisive action if the future of the UK seafaring skills base is to be secured.

24 Dec 2016

UK to Create Shipping Jobs through New SMarT+

The UK shipping industry will create thousands of jobs for young people if Government increases funding for seafarer training, the UK Chamber of Shipping has said. The industry trains around 800 new cadets each year, but this could increase to 1200 under a new industry proposal that would see shipowners commit to employing cadets after their training is completed. Major employers including Shell and Carnival have already committed to the scheme. The scheme, documented in a business case presented to the Department for Transport and developed by the UK Chamber of Shipping, Merchant Navy Training Board and Nautilus International, calls for the Government to double seafarer training funding from £15m to £30m.

12 Feb 2016

Nautilus, Metro Move to New HQ in Long Beach

After more than 92 years of operating from various locations in Wilmington, Calif., Nautilus International Holding Corp., along with its subsidiaries Metro Ports, Metro Cruise Services, Metro Shore Services and Metro Risk Management, is moving its headquarters into a new Long Beach facility on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016. The new address is 3806 Worsham Ave., Long Beach, Calif., 90808. The post office box address is P.O. Box 93121, Long Beach, Calif., 90809-3121. General phone number is 310.816.6500310.816.6500 FREE. The new 40,000-square-foot headquarters is located on 2.57 acres at Pacific Pointe at Douglas Park. The company will shift approximately 65 executive and administrative personnel (with capacity to exceed 120) for the holding corporation and each of its subsidiaries.

06 Jan 2016

EU-funded R&D Produces New Ship Bridge Designs

Image: CASCADe

A three-year EU-funded project, CASCADe, has developed new methodologies in which information is shared and displayed on a ship’s bridge, helping to improve efficiency on board and contribute toward the prevention of accidents at sea. Drawing directly from the experience of seafarers, CASCADe has developed a new adaptive bridge design methodology that treats both human agents and electronic equipment as parts of a cooperative system. This allows for the sharing of information to be optimized. In addition, CASCADe has developed a set of adaptive bridge displays.

25 Oct 2013

Piracy Update: Nautilus Calls for Gulf of Guinea Action

Nautilus International has expressed concern about the seizure of a master and chief engineer officer from an offshore support vessel operating in the Gulf of Guinea. The two men — both reported to be U.S. citizens — were taken from the U.S.-owned platform supply vessel C-Retriever off the Nigerian coast in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The U.S.-flagged vessel, owned by Edison Chouest, was working off Brass, Nigeria. Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson said the incident highlighted the urgent need for action to prevent west African piracy from deteriorating further. While piracy off Somalia has declined significantly over the past year…

14 Oct 2013

Metro Cruise to Operate Brooklyn Cruise Terminal

Photo: NY Cruise

Metro Cruise Services LLC entered a four-year agreement with the New York City Economic Development Corp. (NYCEDC), where it has been designated as the sole and exclusive operator of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal (BCT). This will be the first time in Metro’s company history that marine terminal and stevedore operations will be conducted in the Port of New York. Metro’s cruise brand has grown in the Northeast region in recent years, beginning with the providing of stevedore services in the Port of Boston to Crystal, RCI, Celebrity and Carnival cruise lines.

07 Aug 2013

U.K. Ratifies Maritime Labor Convention

The Maritime Labor Convention, 2006 (MLC) has been ratified by the UK. This new International Labor Organization (ILO) convention consolidates and updates more than 68 international labor standards in the maritime sector. It sets minimum global standards for seafarers living and working conditions. The ratification of the Maritime Labor Convention has been a lengthy process that involved a number of Government departments including DWP, FCO and BIS alongside extensive contributions from the U.K. Chamber of Shipping, Nautilus International, the RMT union and other stakeholders. It presented us with the opportunity to update legislation. The U.K. has 1,383 vessels on its register totaling 16.57 million gross tonnage.

31 Jul 2013

Metro Ports Secures New Business in British Columbia

Metro Ports Canada Ltd., a Newfoundland and Labrador company that is wholly owned by Nautilus International Holding Corp., has executed an agreement with Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc., a British Columbia company, for managing the operation of Westview Terminal, a wood pellet railcar receiving, storage and vessel loading facility in the Port of Prince Rupert. Metro Ports Canada is headed by President James Dillman, with Vice President Rob Waterman handling the day-to-day oversight. James Callahan, chairman, president & CEO of Nautilus International Holding Corp., commented on the company’s expansion. Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. is a privately held company and the largest producer of wood pellets in the world and the largest exporter of pellets to Europe and Asia from Canada.

25 Jun 2013

Integrated Bridge Shaping the Future

While the Integrated Bridge increasingly plays a bigger role in various shipbuilding programs, in many cases the degree of integration can be limited and does not allows a fully functional integration of different navigation systems or further ship systems on the bridge. In tandem there has been an increasing demand for higher level integrated bridge systems, which was reasonably driven by more sophisticated and safety-sensitive vessels such as cruise ships, specialized vessels and few oil tankers.

22 May 2013

New R&D Project to Help Enhance Maritime Safety

Almost 80% of collisions and groundings occur due to a failure of bridge systems and their usage. A new three-year European research project, part funded by the EU has been launched to help increase safety onboard vessels. CASCADe, (model-based Cooperative and Adaptive ship-based Context Aware Design) aims to address the lack of symbiosis which exists between current bridge design, operational procedures and the end user. In the maritime environment there is a proliferation of increasingly complex technology. Studies have shown that the use of instruments with a range of different user interfaces or the provision of too much information can lead to errors and a reduction in performance.

13 Mar 2013

Metro Ports Celebrates 90 years

Photo: Metro Ports

Metropolitan Stevedore Co., established in 1923 in Southern California and with business roots dating back to the 1850s gold rush era through its original San Francisco parent corporation, California Stevedore and Ballast Co., is celebrating its 90th anniversary. Through the years, Metropolitan Stevedore Co. became known as Metro, so in 2008 the decision was made to use Metro Ports as the new brand for the various key operating companies of Wilmington, Calif.-based Nautilus International Holding Corp.

18 Feb 2013

UK Seafarer Numbers Down, More in Training

The union Nautilus International voices concern over new government statistics showing a fresh slump in the number of UK seafarers. The Department for Transport report reveals that the total number of UK officers and ratings dropped by 10% last year, with an estimated 24,100 British seafarers active at sea. The number of certificated UK officers has fallen by 19% since 2006, it notes, while the number of uncertificated officers dropped by 27% last year – a reduction that the DfT puts down as ‘primarily the result of a large company transferring their operations out of the UK’. On the positive side, the number of officer cadets in training last year was 2,160 – a 19% increase from 2011. A total of 903 new entrants started under the SMarT scheme last year.

11 Feb 2013

Cruise Ship Lifeboat Fall Kills Five Crew

'Thomson Majesty': Photo credit Thomson

5 are killed & 3 injured during emergency drill on 'Thomson Majesty' while moored at Santa Cruz, La Palma, Canary Islands. The lifeboat fell from the vessel during an emergency training drill on the 20-year-old ship owned by Cyprus-based Louis Cruises and leased to Thomson, according to 'The Guardian' report. Spanish reports state that those killed were believed to be three Indonesians, a Filipino and a Ghanaian. Two Greek nationals on the lifeboat were seriously injured, with another Filipino slightly hurt. It is believed the boat dropped 17 metres into the water before overturning.