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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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On Audits News

19 Feb 2024

Five Tips to Keep Workers Safe in 2024

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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.

28 Nov 2023

EU Agreement Paves Way for Non-OECD Recycling Yards

A number of non-OECD recycling yards, such as Shree Ram in Alang, India, have been vying for inclusion on the EU list after upgrading their facilities to comply with the Hong Kong Convention. Photo: Shree Ram Group

A new EU agreement on waste shipments is set to remove a legal roadblock to make it possible for a raft of non-OECD ship recycling yards to be included on an EU-approved list, which would unleash much-needed shipbreaking capacity for a massive wave of tonnage due to be scrapped over the coming years, according to green recycling consultancy Sea Sentinels.The European Parliament and Council have agreed to allow exports of hazardous waste, including that contained in EU-flagged ships…

20 Sep 2023

Remote Operations: Challenges & Opportunities

Image courtesy Harvest Technology Group

Digitalization in the maritime industry continues to grow. Technology is constantly evolving, providing organizations with new ways to transform and manage their operations with adoption of technology creating first-mover advantage and future relevancy, and positivity impacting margins. The offshore services industry has been a major driver in the trend towards utilization of remote inspection and monitoring technology for Inspection, Repair, and Maintenance (IRM) of critical assets and infrastructure.

01 Sep 2023

ClassNK Opens Survey Office in Brazil

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Japanese classification society ClassNK has opened a new exclusive survey office in Paranagua, Brazil with operations beginning September 1, 2023.The move comes amid increasing number of surveys and audits in the southern Brazil port and the neighboring region as the country continues recent expansion of its port facilities, ClassNK said.ClassNK said it aims to provide more streamlined service in Paranagua, one of Brazil's premier port cities.

21 Aug 2023

Historic Drought, Hot Seas Slow Panama Canal Shipping

Source: Panama Canal Authority

Before the Ever Max ship carrying lava lamps, sofas, Halloween costumes and artificial Christmas trees could make its inaugural Panama Canal voyage this month, a historic drought forced it to drop weight by offloading hundreds of containers.Weather-related disruptions denied the vessel, owned by Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Marine, a chance on Aug. 1 to set a record for carrying the most containers through the vital maritime shortcut that connects the Pacific and Atlantic…

04 May 2023

Venezuela's Oil Tankers at Risk of Sinking, Fires, Spills, Report finds

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More than half of the 22 oil tankers in Venezuela's fleet are so run down that they should be immediately repaired or taken out of service, according to an internal report from state-run oil company PDVSA that was shared exclusively with Reuters. The report by PDVSA's maritime branch, entitled "Critical deficiencies and risks of PDV Marina's tanker fleet," said years of deferred maintenance had left the entire fleet with "low levels of reliability," at risk of spills, sinking, fires, collisions or flooding.

20 Jan 2023

US Fines Greek Ship Owner for Environmental Crimes

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The U.S. has imposed a $2 million fine on the owner and operator of a bulk carrier that knowingly committed pollution crimes on the Mississippi River. Greek-based Empire Bulkers and related company Joanna Maritime were sentenced Thursday for committing "knowing and willful violations" of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and the Ports and Waterways Safety Act related to their role as the operator and owner of the bulk carrier Joanna.A March 2022 inspection of the…

16 Jan 2023

ABS Signs On Suez Canal's Green Program

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ABS and the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a long-term sustainability roadmap and decarbonization strategy for the canal, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.The MoU will see ABS and SCA work together on issues related to sustainability and the green environment as a part of the SCA’s business plan to transition to a green canal by 2030. Over the year-long agreement, ABS and the SCA will work together to develop a decarbonization…

21 Sep 2022

BC Ferries Trials SkillGrader for Improved Crew Skills Assessment

(Photo: Marine Learning Systems)

BC Ferries is trialing Marine Learning Systems' SkillGrader mariner skills assessment application as part of ongoing efforts to advance passenger and crew safety. Developed by Vancouver software company Marine Learning Systems, SkillGrader is an enterprise solution that helps vessel operators quickly and objectively assess the skills of officers and crew, both in teams and individually. It replaces subjective and cumbersome paper-based assessments with a digital solution that runs on both tablets and mobile devices.

01 Aug 2022

ClassNK Opens New Survey Office in Rome

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Classification society ClassNK announced it has opened a new exclusive surveyor office in Rome, Italy with operations beginning August 1, 2022.ClassNK said it has opened its newest office, located at the center Italian Peninsula, in response to the recent increase in the number of surveys and audits required in the southern part of Italy and Malta. The new site will provide more efficient service in these areas, ClassNK said.

21 Jun 2022

Germany's Scholz Hopes for Baltic Sea LNG Terminal within Months

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was confident liquefied natural gas (LNG) could start flowing into the country via the Baltic Sea port of Lubmin within a matter of months, as Germany rushes to phase out Russian energy imports."Our goal is to get as much as possible there by the turn of the year, or a little bit later, so we can get gas quickly from wherever," Scholz said on Tuesday in Berlin after a meeting with the regional government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.State premier Manuela Schwesig said the federal economy ministry and local energy ministry were conducting joint audits.

01 Jun 2022

Vane Brothers Achieves 100% Subchapter M Compliance

(Photo: Vane Brothers)

Baltimore-based Vane Brothers announced that its entire tugboat fleet has earned a valid Certificate of Inspection (COI) as part of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Subchapter M program.Subchapter M refers to federally regulated safety standards for inspected towing vessels. All applicable vessels are required to earn a valid COI by July.Vane Brothers president, C. Duff Hughes, said, “Vane Brothers appreciates the importance of safety to the company, our crews, and our customers. Our goal is zero spills and zero incidents…

10 May 2022

Fuel Tax Repeal Victory in New York State

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The New York State Petroleum Business Tax (PBT), Article 13-A levies a tax on fuel consumption of commercial vessels operating on the waters of New York State. The PBT has long been a source of contention for operators of tug boats and towing vessels transiting New York State waters because of the difficulty to accurately calculate the tax due the state. This led to many long drawn out audits of vessel operators by the state, resulting in unacceptable additional taxes, interest and fines.Over the years, multiple efforts were made by industry groups to repeal the PBT legally without success.

22 Apr 2022

Valmet Opens Miami Office

(Photo: Valmet)

Valmet has opened a new office in Miami, Florida, to strengthen its local presence and improve its services for the global marine industry.“Out of the many Valmet offices in the USA, this new one is solely dedicated to serving our marine customers. Miami is an ideal location for the office as it is home to the world’s largest cruising companies, and many of their ships are equipped with Valmet’s advanced marine automation solutions. Our marine customers now have better access to our automation experts’ know-how as well as our cybersecurity…

12 Apr 2022

ShipIn Gets Funding for Visual Fleet Management Platform

ShipIn Co-Founder and CTO Ilan Naslavsky and Co-Founder and CEO Osher Perry (Photo: ShipIn)

ShipIn Systems, developer of a Visual Fleet Management Platform, announced it has secured an investment by Munich Re Ventures, the venture capital arm of Munich Re Group, one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, primary insurance, and insurance-related risk solutions. “By partnering with Munich Re Ventures, we are helping to build a safer and more productive future for the maritime industry,” said Osher Perry, Co-Founder and CEO of ShipIn Systems. “The reality is that as ships are getting bigger, crew are getting smaller.

12 Jan 2022

Princess Cruises Pleads Guilty to Violating 'Magic Pipe' Probation

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Carnival Corp.'s Princess Cruises has again pleaded guilty to violating its probation imposed as a result of its record $40 million criminal conviction for its "magic pipe" environmental crimes.The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday that Princess failed to establish and maintain an independent internal investigative office as required after pleading guilty to felony dumping and attempted cover-up charges in April 2017. An engineer aboard the Caribbean Princess revealed…

20 Dec 2021

ClassNK to Make Electronic Certificates, Reports Standard

ClassNK will make electronic certificates and reports issued for ships as standard service from January 30, 2022.ClassNK has been providing an environment in which documents can be used in electronic data upon request since the early 2000s for survey records and since 2017 for class certificate and statutory certificates issued on behalf of flag states. ClassNK will make the electronic documents as standard service for class/statutory survey records and ISM(including DOC to a…

14 Dec 2021

KR Enhances Quality Management System Certification Services in Europe

Representatives from ESYD presenting KR Hellas with the certificate of accreditation confirming KR Hellas as an ISO 9001 certification body (Photo: KR)

KR Hellas, a subsidiary of the Korean Register (KR) has been accredited as a quality management system (ISO 9001) certification body, by the Greek National Accreditation Body (ESYD).ISO 9001 is an international standard that stipulates the requirements of a quality management system applicable to all industrial fields and activities, and the certification is awarded by an independent third party to those organizations that meet the specified requirements.KR acts as a comprehensive certification body…

28 Jul 2021

DNV Supports Safe Crew Change Program in South East Asia

Credit: DNV

Classification society and risk management expert DNV said Wednesday it would take on an "instrumental role" in helping to facilitate safe crew changes amid South East Asia’s COVID crisis as an auditor in the multi-party backed CrewSafe program.CrewSafe is the creation of the Singapore Shipping Tripartite Alliance Resilience (SG-STAR) Fund Task Force (SFTF), which was established by the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Singapore…

09 Jun 2021

Marlink Expands Its IT Solutions Offering

(Photo: Marlink)

Marlink said it has expanded its ITLink portfolio with the addition of two new service options to simplify remote IT management and support cyber compliance.The company has rebranded its remote IT solution KeepUp@Sea to ITLink and further enhanced the suite of solutions with both entry-level and advanced IT solutions.ITLink, which has already been installed on more than 1,000 vessels, allows ship operators on shore to centrally manage and update their entire fleets of thousands of PCs in one-go…

07 May 2021

Choose Wisely: A Deep Dive into Domestic Passenger Vessels SMS Proposed Rulemaking

A fire aboard the 75-foot dive boat Conception killed all 33 passengers and one of the vessel’s six crew members in September 2019. (Photo: Ventura County Fire Department)

On January 15, 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) for Safety Management System (SMS) requirements in the domestic passenger vessel industry (Docket No. USCG-2020-0123). This requirement will have the largest implications on the domestic passenger vessel industry since the revisions of 46 CFR Subchapter T & K in the mid-90s. However, the question remains, is it necessary?Over the last three decades, the effectiveness and need for…

27 Apr 2021

Latsco Inks LNG Carrier Maintenance Deal with Wärtsilä

The Hellas Diana is one of the two vessels in the Latsco LNG Marine Management fleet to be covered by the latest maintenance deal. (Photo: Latsco LNG Marine Management)

Greece-based Latsco LNG Marine Management has signed a five-year maintenance agreement with Wärtsilä covering the main engines for two large liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, the Hellas Diana and the Hellas Athina.The deal signed in March 2021 covers two new vessels built at the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) yard in South Korea. They are 297 meters in length and have a cargo capacity of 174,000 cubic meters. The Hellas Diana entered service at the end of March this year, and the Hellas Athina is scheduled to enter service in September.

06 Apr 2021

More Than 65% of Ships Contain Asbestos

(Photo: Maritec)

A significant number of existing and newbuild vessels are operating systems and machinery containing asbestos despite regulations introduced 10 years prohibiting the use of the hazardous substance on board, according to maritime testing facility Maritec.Maritec, which carried out asbestos surveys for IMO compliance between 2011 and 2020, said more than 55% of in-service vessels and 50% of all newbuilds were found to contain asbestos materials.John Rendi, General Manager, Environmental Services…