Personal Protective Equipment News

The Sustainable Ship and Offshore Recycling Program (SSORP) has announced the successful completion of its 500th free safety awareness session at ship recycling yards across the Indian subcontinent.The milestone underscores SSORP's firm commitment to elevating safety standards and promoting sustainable practices within the ship recycling industry.Over 20 unique topics have been addressed in these sessions, spanning crucial areas such as emergency response, environmental hazards…

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.

A joint study into ammonia safety onboard ships undertaken by the Lloyd’s Register (LR) Maritime Decarbonisation Hub and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS), has found that a range of mitigation methods, from ship design to crew training and operations, are required to keep toxicity risks to crew within published tolerable limits.‘Recommendations for Design and Operation of Ammonia-Fuelled Vessels based on Multi-disciplinary Risk Analysis' presents a study of the effectiveness of risk mitigation measures in three ammonia-fueled vessels – a container ship…

Is the “old” way of generating maritime training content about to be disrupted? Are we witnessing the beginning of a sea change in the creation of training content and potentially in how trainees interact with that content?In the previous edition of Training Tips for Ships, we introduced ChatGPT and discussed its potential uses and limitations in a maritime training capacity. In fact, as was revealed near the end, most of that article was written by ChatGPT itself - providing evidence of its ability to generate content.

U.K.-based safety and survival solutions provider Survitec said it has completed its acquisition of Blue Anchor Fire & Safety, a Scottish provider of survival solutions to the fisheries, maritime and offshore energy industries.The investment, part of Survitec’s expansion strategy, follows the acquisition in May of Norway’s Hansen Protection, a provider of personal protective equipment.Baba Devani, Chief Executive Officer, Marine, Survitec, said, “We are delighted to announce this acquisition…

At a time when the world has become more aware than ever before about the vital importance of the world’s ocean shipping fleet, which carried supplies, merchandise and much needed personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic, an increased risk from a different threat, cyberattacks, presents a set of new challenges. According to Israeli cybersecurity specialist Naval Dome, since February 2020, there has been a 400% increase in attempted hacks on the maritime realm…

When Samrat Hossain first started cutting up old ships weighing thousands of tonnes in a southeast Bangladesh shipbreaking yard a decade ago, all he would wear was a cap or a helmet.But these days, the 27-year-old spends nearly an hour each day before work putting on his protective gear, which includes special masks, gloves, boots, and a suit."A lot has changed in the last 10 years. Before, PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) was not a factor. But today we are not allowed to work without it…

A Genting Cruise Lines ship on a "cruise to nowhere" has returned to Singapore after a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a passenger, and the nearly 3,000 passengers and crew on board were confined to their cabins through most of Wednesday.The 40-year-old passenger tested positive onboard and the result was confirmed after the person was taken to hospital once the ship docked early on Wednesday, the Singapore Tourism Board said, following the detection of the suspected case."The passenger was identified as a close contact of a confirmed case on land…

China's imports grew at their fastest pace in 10 years in May, fueled by surging demand for raw materials, although export growth slowed more than expected amid disruptions caused by COVID-19 cases at the country's major southern ports.While a brisk recovery in developed markets has bolstered demand for Chinese products, a global semiconductor shortage, higher raw material and freight costs, logistics bottlenecks and a strengthening yuan have dimmed the outlook for the world's largest exporting nation.China's exports in dollar terms in May grew 27.9% from a year earlier…

As Survitec continues to grow with the recent acquisition of Hansen Protection, Baba Devani, CEO Marine, discusses the strategic important of the acquisition to the overall strategy of Survitec as well as the path ahead.Baba, to start, can you give our readers a “by the numbers” look at Survitec today.We're an organization with about 3,000 colleagues. We operate ourselves in 30 different countries with a presence across 2000 ports. We work in the Marine business with roughly 350 service partners who also serve our customers…

Maritime survival equipment specialist Survitec has completed the acquisition of Hansen Protection, a provider of personal protective equipment. Ron Krisanda, Executive Chairman at Survitec, commented: "The addition of Hansen Protection, and its leading portfolio in personal protective equipment, protective rainwear, and technical textile solutions, fits perfectly within Survitec. "Our acquisition strategy is intended to broaden and deepen our offering and enhance our ability to service customers and this transaction does just that.

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…

Seafarers' lack of access to vaccinations is placing shipping in a "legal minefield", while leaving global supply chains vulnerable, warns the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).The organization is planning to circulate a legal document to the global shipping community later this week highlighting its concerns following reports that some states may require crews to be vaccinated in order to enter their portsComplicating matters even further, it's expected developing nations will not achieve mass immunization until 2024…

This week, U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioners Daniel B. Maffei and Carl W. Bentzel sent letters to the Governors of major port states urging them to prioritize the vaccination of the maritime workforce to protect the nation’s supply chain.Letters were sent to the Governors of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, South Carolina, Texas and Washington following an earlier letter to the Biden administration encouraging the prioritization of maritime workers for access to vaccinations…

The Canadian Coast Guard’s annual icebreaking season on the Great Lakes, which provides assistance to the shipping industry, is underway. Working in partnership with U.S. Coast Guard District 9, the Canadian Coast Guard has two icebreakers assigned to the Great Lakes for the entire winter season: CCGS Griffon and CCGS Samuel Risley. These vessels are supported as required by additional Coast Guard vessels during the spring icebreaking season.Although the St. Lawrence Seaway, Welland Canal and Sault Ste.

Workers at the busiest U.S. seaport are plucking containers of toys off ships and out of massive stacks of cargo swamping docks at the Southern California trade gateway to get holiday gifts under trees in time for Christmas.“We’ve never had this much cargo,” Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said on Tuesday, when the port announced that imports spiked 25% during the month of November.With so much cargo flooding in ahead of Christmas, “we’re essentially in a triage situation…

CMA-CGM, the world's fourth-largest container shipping line, has told customers it will not take bookings for cargo due to arrive at ports in southern China over several weeks in early 2021 due to a suspension of service by feeder operators.Feeders collect containers from smaller ports and take them to terminals where they can be loaded onto large vessels.CMA-CGM's move comes amid a global shortage of containers that is likely to hamper surging exports from China as the world…

China's world-beating economic rebound from the coronavirus pandemic is being blunted by a global shortage of shipping containers, sending cargo costs to record highs and hampering manufacturers in filling fast-recovering global goods orders.Exports from China surged 21% in November from a year ago as the country's mammoth industrial engine cranked out mountains of appliances, toys, clothes, personal protective equipment, and other items currently in high demand around the world.But…

Global container shipping rates have surged to records on a spike in restocking demand in the United States and Europe, container scarcity at export hubs, and changes in freight flows because of the coronavirus pandemic, shipping sources said.The Freightos Baltic Global Container Index (FBX), a weighted average of 12 major global container routes, rose to $2,359 per forty-foot equivalent (FEU) container this week, the highest on record and up 30% since July 1."The spike is driven by very high demand for container freight since July…

Even as business, schools and scenes from everyday life seem frozen as society adjusts to the coronavirus, the U.S. marches closer toward the November presidential election. In early August, Vice President Joe Biden announced Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. As the Biden-Harris ticket works out their policy platforms, they should move beyond past comments attacking American offshore oil and gas production. In fact, a strong American offshore oil and gas industry is a platform every candidate should stand behind.Between New Orleans and Houston…

North America is historically one of the world’s safest regions for maritime transit and operations. Our data shows that of the 2,915 reported global maritime crime incidents that have occurred in the last decade, only nine of them took place in North America. This figure comes from a range of threats against both commercial, and pleasure craft vessels, primarily, attempted, or successful: attacks, suspicious approaches, illegal boardings, hijackings, kidnappings, robberies and exchanges of gunfire. This is what many of us boil down to the eye-catching buzzword “piracy”.

Florida’s seaports are one of the state’s greatest economic assets, positively affecting every region and every resident. Our seaports have a $117.6 billion economic impact across Florida and account for more than 900,000 direct and indirect jobs, while linking our communities to vital national and international markets.During the COVID-19 crisis, ports across the country have sustained mounting losses. Ports that specialize in moving hard-hit cargoes like steel and automobiles, or depend on tourism and cruise ships are also particularly vulnerable.

In response to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the Congressional Research Service released a report that stated global economic growth has declined by 3% to 6% in 2020 with a partial recovery predicted for 2021. Also, the GDP of the U.S. has fallen by 5% in the first quarter 2020. According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the maritime industry, and seafarers themselves, have not been able to escape the significant effects of this crisis.All sectors of the maritime industry have been adversely affected by the global pandemic.