St Kitts News

The United States believes that Iran is involved in the planning and execution of drone and missile attacks by Yemen's Houthi group on Israel and ships in the Red Sea, a senior aide to U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday.The comments by deputy White House national security adviser Jon Finer are among the most explicit to date by a U.S. official alleging Iranian involvement in the Houthi attacks.Finer spoke hours after the United States imposed new sanctions aimed at throttling what U.S.

An Indian agency has stepped in to provide safety certification for most of Gatik Ship Management's fleet, a major carrier of Russian oil to India, after Lloyd's Register and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) withdrew classification for many of its vessels, records show.Mumbai-based Gatik, which has emerged this year as a significant player in Russian oil transport, also recently reflagged at least four of its vessels to Mongolia, according to data from maritime platform Lloyd's List Intelligence.This followed the de-flagging of 36 of the Gatik-managed fleet by St.

Lloyd's Register has told India's Gatik Ship Management, which has become a major carrier of Russian oil since the Ukraine war, that it will withdraw certification of 21 of its vessels by June 3, the maritime services company told Reuters.It is the latest setback for Gatik, which was also been forced to find new flags for 36 of its ships after they were deflagged by the St. Kitts & Nevis International Ship Registry."Lloyd's Register is committed to facilitating compliance with sanctions regulations on the trading of Russian oil," it said in an email to Reuters.

The European Union and the United States are now targeting maritime protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance clubs to limit Russian shipping capacity and cap the price of its oil, meaning we’re finally beginning to see some smart sanctions for a stupid war.P&I clubs are maritime insurance groups that specialize in open-ended, large-risk claims. P&I insurance is a requirement for all heavy cargo and container vessels. Under the new sanctions, European P&I clubs can no longer offer insurance to a vessel carrying Russian oil at a price higher than $60 a barrel.Since February 2022…

Oslo-listed FPSO leasing company BW Offshore said Wednesday a fatal incident had occurred in the Priya Blue shipyard in India, but that it was not related to ongoing recycling of former BW Offshore FPSOs at the yard.BW Offshore said in February it had signed an agreement with Priya Blue Industries yard in India to recycle the Cidade de São Vicente FPSO in compliance with Hong Kong Convention. The convention, adopted in 2009, is aimed at ensuring that ships when being recycled after reaching the end of their operational lives…

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform said that there were a total of 193 ships broken in the second quarter of 2019 and the 146 of these were sold to South Asian scrapping beaches. South Asian working conditions are known to be dire and breaking practices cause irreparable damage to the coastal environment, it added.Between April and June, Platform sources recorded three accidents that killed at least five workers on the beach of Chittagong, Bangladesh, bringing the total death-toll of the shipbreaking industry this year to at least eight workers.In the early morning of 15 May, a loud blast shook the Chittagong shipbreaking area. A fire broke out on board the vessel BUNGA KELANA 4 (IMO 9178343)…

142 ships were sold in the first quarter of 2019 to the beaches of South Asia where they were broken under conditions that cause irreversible damage to both human health and the environment.According to a quarterly update from the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, between January and March, three workers have lost their lives and four were severely injured when breaking ships in Bangladesh.On 28 January, according to local sources, Md Motiur Rahman lost his life while working at S. S. Green Ship Breaking yard, located on the beach of Chittagong, Bangladesh. Twenty days later, a fire broke out in the engine room on board the Greek-owned Polembros’ tanker S WARRIOR at Shagorika Ship Breaking Yard, killing workers Md Jamil and Bipul.No severe accidents were reported in India and Pakistan.

Guyana is the latest country to benefit from International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s continuing work to strengthen oil spill response capacity in the Wider Caribbean Region.According to the UN body, Guyanese officials from 28 different government agencies, environmental stakeholders, and local industry representatives took part in the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency, Information and Training Centre for the Caribbean (REMPEITC)-Caribe training workshop (18-20 March) funded by IMO.Participants assessed Guyana’s oil spill readiness programme and further developed the National Contingency Plan for the country, it said.The workshop supports continued efforts by the Government of Guyana to ratify international conventions…

International Maritime Organization (IMO) has conducted a Level 2 Training Course on OPRC (Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation) in St Kitts and Nevis  for oil spill response managers in the wider Caribbean region.Participants from 15 countries attended the IMO-funded event, which is focused on tactical aspects of spill preparedness and response, and applying incident management systems to assist effective coordination of spill response.The countries were Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Guyana, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis…

Nigel Smith, inaugural International Registrar of the London-headquartered St Kitts & Nevis International Ship Registry (SKANReg), is retiring in May after 47 years in the shipping industry. Smith, 62, is a former seagoing engineer officer, technical superintendent, shipyard agent and marine consultant. He has also served on various bodies of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology, which includes being a member of the ruling Council since 2005. In the late 1990’s…

Caribbean States and Territories have re-affirmed their commitment to implementing International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards for safe, secure and sustainable shipping.According to the UN body, this is part of wider efforts to intensify investments and harness the full potential of the oceans, rivers and lakes to accelerate economic growth, create jobs and fight poverty.Ministers responsible for maritime transport and other participants representing the Governments in the region met at a High Level Symposium (27 February) in Montego Bay, Jamaica, under the theme, “Maritime Transportation: Harnessing the Blue Economy for the Sustainable Development of the Caribbean”.The participating countries are Anguilla…

Two Bangladeshi workers were killed Monday in a fire that started in the engine room of an end-of-life tanker being dismantled at a shipbreaking yard in Chittagong, Bangladesh, the NGO Shipbreaking PlatformMd Jamil, 23 years old cutter man, and Bipul lost their lives while scrapping the ship GREEK WARRIOR (IMO 9191412) at Shagorika Ship Breaking Yard. According to local media, Jamil was burned and rushed to Chittagong Medical College Hospital. He died before reaching the hospital. The body of Bipul was discovered on board only few hours later.Shagorika yard and RA Shipbreaking yard, which has been recently under the spotlight for the purchase of Nordic America Tankers’ NORDIC SPRITE…

Of the 220 ships broken in the second quarter of 2018, 169 were sold to be scrapped on the beaches of South Asia, says NGO Shipbreaking Platform.In the second quarter of 2018, American ship owners sold the most ships to the South Asian yards with 26 vessels beached, followed by Greek and UAE owners. In the end of April, Pakistan reopened the market to the import of tankers.In two months alone, 22 tankers reached the shores of Gadani to be scrapped as devaluing freight rates have contributed to the demolition of more than 100 tankers in the first half of 2018.Only three ships had a European flag – Greece, Malta and Norway – when they were beached last quarter.

Of the 206 ships broken in the first quarter of 2018, 152 were sold to the beaches of South Asia, according to the NGO Shipbreaking Platform.Ship owners continue to sell their ships to the beaching yards despite documented hazardous and even deadly conditions as the prices offered for ships this first quarter have been high in South Asia, especially when compared to the figures of last year. While a South Asian beaching yard can pay about $450/LDT, Turkish and Chinese yards are respectively currently paying $280/LDT and $210/LDT. This has led to a significant decrease in the number of vessels recycled in China, where only seven vessels…

The United Nations Security Council has banned four ships from ports globally for carrying coal from North Korea, including one vessel that also had ammunition, but the United States postponed a bid to blacklist four others pending further investigation. The vessels are the first to be designated under stepped-up sanctions imposed on North Korea by the 15-member council in August and September over Pyongyang's sixth and largest nuclear test and two long-range ballistic missile launches. The Security Council North Korea sanctions committee, which operates by consensus, agreed at the request of the United States, to blacklist the ships on Oct. 3 for "transporting prohibited items from the DPRK" (North Korea), according to documents seen by Reuters on Tuesday. A U.N.

A second powerful storm in as many weeks was bearing down on a string of battered Caribbean islands, with forecasters saying Maria would strengthen rapidly into a major hurricane as it ripped into the Leeward Islands on Monday night. Maria's strength was building as it approached the Lesser Antilles, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, estimating its winds near 90 miles per hour (145 kph). "Maria is expected to become a major hurricane as it moves through the Leeward Islands," the forecaster said, marked by "rapid strengthening" during the next 48 hours. Maria is approaching the eastern Caribbean less than two weeks after Irma hammered the region before overrunning Florida.

16 August of last year the FPSO North Sea Producer was beached in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The ship was allowed to leave the UK based on the false promise that it would be further operationally used in the Tin Can port in Nigeria. One year on, the battle to hold the owners and cash buyers accountable for the illegal export of the FPSO is not over. The North Sea Producer (ex Dagmar Maersk) was deployed in the McCulloch field in the North Sea, transporting and extracting oil from the UK continental shelf for 17 years, and was owned by the North Sea Production Company, a single-ship joint venture between the Danish A.P. Moeller Maersk and the Brazilian Odebrecht. Once the field closed, the FPSO North Sea Producer was laid up in Teesport for a year while the owners were looking for buyers.

Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, churned across northern Caribbean islands on Wednesday with a potentially catastrophic mix of fierce winds, surf and rain, en route to a possible Florida landfall at the weekend. Irma is expected to become the second powerful storm to thrash the U.S. mainland in as many weeks but its precise trajectory remained uncertain. Hurricane Harvey killed more than 60 people and caused damaged estimated as high as $180 billion when it hit Texas late last month. The eye of Irma, a Category 5 storm packing winds of 185 miles per hour (295 km per hour), moved away from the island of Barbuda and toward the island of St. Martin, east of Puerto Rico, early on Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami reported.

The European Commission released its report on the viability of a financial incentive for sustainable ship recycling under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation this week. Whilst it acknowledges the benefits for clean and safe ship recycling such an incentive would bring, the European Commission has decided to wait with its introduction. NGOs urge the EU to take action now as it is well documented that ship owners will with ease be able to circumvent the EU Ship Recycling Regulation by simply swapping the flag of their vessel to that of a non-EU State. The report of the European Commission is based on the study which was conducted by Ecorys, DNV-GL and the University of Rotterdam/Erasmus, and published at the end of 2016.

There were a total of 210 ships broken in the second quarter of 2017. 158 of these ships ended up on South Asian beaches for dirty and dangerous breaking, said NGO Shipbreaking Platform. The Platform was able to document five accidents at the shipbreaking yards in Chittagong, Bangladesh, between April and June, which led to the death of four workers and the injury of two. Ishaq worked as a winch operator and died struck by a cable at the BBC Steel Shipbreaking/KR yard. This is the second fatal accident this year at BBC Steel. Zishan died in an accident at the Ratanpur Steel Re-Rolling mills where iron plates from the ships are transformed for the construction industry.

YANMAR America’s Commercial Marine Division has made three new additions to its distribution network, Mack Boring & Parts Co., W.W. Williams and Antilles Power. Established in the 1920s, Mack Boring & Parts Co. is one of America’s leading distributors of marine diesel engines, including YANMAR’s pleasure marine product lines. For YANMAR’s commercial marine division they will support the northeastern United States, including Maine, New Hampshire, Rhoda Island, Connecticut, eastern New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, eastern Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina. W.W. Williams has a history as long as YANMAR’s. Since 1912, the company has been providing experience and solutions…

NGO Shipbreaking Platform Annual Report 2016 listed Greece as number one in World's Worst Shipping Nation followed by China. It may be surprising for a country whose industry is proud of green technology and engineering solutions, but in 2016 Germany was responsible for the worst shipbreaking practices amongst all shipping nations when one compares the size of its fleet to the number of ships broken irresponsibly. German owners, banks and ship funds had a staggering 97 ships rammed up on the beaches of South Asia out of a total of 99 vessels sold for demolition. That not being enough, close to 40% were broken in Bangladesh, where conditions are known to be the worst. Greece wasresponsible for the highest absolute number of ships sold to South Asian shipbreaking yards: 104 ships in total.

After having been informed by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform and its member organisation Bellona that the Tide Carrier (now named HARRIER, aka EIDE CARRIER) had been sold for illegal, dirty and dangerous scrapping to a South Asian beaching facility, the Norwegian environmental authorities arrested the ship on Tuesday 5 April. The vessel is not allowed to leave Norway unless it is to sail to a ship recycling destination in line with international and European hazardous waste laws. According to the Norwegian Environment Agency, it is the first arrest of a vessel in Norway for the illegal export of hazardous waste. The Platform had been informed already during the summer of 2015 that the ship was sold for scrap.