Dominica News

The International Maritime Organization's Council (IMO) has elected Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco from Panama as its secretary-general, the UN shipping agency said on Tuesday.Dominguez beat six other contenders from China, Turkey, Kenya, Finland, Dominica and Bangladesh in a vote and will take office on January 1, 2024, for a four-year term, subject to the approval of the IMO Assembly.Dominguez will take the helm at a crucial time as the shipping industry grapples with challenges including pressures to speed up decarbonization.A trained naval architect…

Seven IMO Member States have nominated a candidate for the post of Secretary-General of the IMO in what could be a win for diversity in maritime.Three of the seven are women, and if elected, Nancy Karigithu of Kenya would also be the first African to hold the post. The other female nominees are Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry (Dominica) and Minna Kivimäki (Finland).They are joined by nominees Moin Uddin Ahmed (Bangladesh), Suat Hayri Aka (Türkiye), Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco (Panama) and Zhang Xiaojie (China).The term of the current incumbent…

A portion of the estimated 1,000 seafarers trapped in Ukraine have escaped, the International Labour Organization and industry officials told Reuters, voicing concern for those remaining trapped onboard ships or unaccounted for.Several foreign cargo ships have been struck by crossfire in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24. U.N. agencies have called for urgent action to protect some 1,000 seafarers from at least 20 countries, including in the besieged city of Mariupol…

A foreign-flagged merchant ship was hit by a Russian navy missile in the besieged southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol with one crew member needing medical care, a Ukrainian official said on Tuesday.Ukraine said it was bracing for about 60,000 Russian reservists to be called in to reinforce Moscow's offensive in the east, where Russia's main targets have included Mariupol and Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city.The Dominica-flagged cargo ship Azburg's engine room was hit by a missile late on Monday, said Viktor Vyshnov, deputy head of Ukraine's Maritime Administration."The ship was burned and all 12 crew members were evacuated to another ship.

The wreck of the Dominica-flagged supply vessel, OCEAN COOPER 2 that sank near Pedra Branca does not pose a risk to the safety of navigation in the area, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).According to MPA, capsized and sank within Singapore Territorial Waters in the Singapore Strait on 14 February 2019.No oil pollution was reported at the time of the incident and all three Indonesian crew members were rescued without injuries.MPA has since completed a hydrographic survey of the wreck site. The wreck is located at Latitude 1⁰20.030’N and Longitude 104⁰21.409’E, and is 41m below the sea surface.This is significantly deeper…

Health officials for the Caribbean island of St. Lucia furnished 100 free doses of measles vaccine to a Church of Scientology cruise ship placed under quarantine in port after the highly contagious disease was diagnosed on board, the island's chief medical officer said on Thursday.St. Lucia health officials have confirmed one case of measles aboard the ship that has been docked in a port near the island nation's capital Castries since Tuesday, Dr. Merlene Frederick-James said in a video statement."The confirmed case as well as other crew members are presently stable but remain under surveillance by the ship's doctor," Frederick-James said, noting the incubation period of measles is 10 to 12 days before symptoms appear.The St.

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…

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…

Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said that a small supply and personnel vessel with three Indonesian crew memebers had capsized and sunk in its territorial waters, near where a similar incident occurred a month ago.All three crew members aboard the Ocean Cooper 2 are safe and no injuries or oil pollution were reported, the MPA said in a statement, adding that the incident is being investigated.The MPA said it received a report at 7:15 a.m. on Thursday (2315 GMT on Wednesday) that a Dominica-flagged supply vessel had capsized and sunk in the westbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme, about 3 nautical miles from Pedra Branca.The incident happened in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes…

International Maritime Organization (IMO) is supporting a training course aimed at female officials from maritime and port authorities entitled to encourage more women to join the maritime ranks in many aspect of the industry.Twenty-seven women from 18 developing countries are taking part in the two-week "Women in Port Management" course, hosted in Le Havre, France (12 – 23 November). The countries are Antigua & Barbuda, Bangladesh, Belize, Brazil, Cambodia, Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Mauritius, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, the Sudan, Uganda and Viet Nam.The course includes lectures on subjects such as port management, port security, marine environment, facilitation of maritime traffic, marketing, port logistics and other topics.

Slipstream, a 60-m Burgess motor yacht, and her crew were presented with the annual Yachts de Coeur humanitarian prize in Cannes in June 2018. The award was presented to recognize their efforts to aid the Caribbean islands and people affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Autumn 2017. The award was presented on the 11th June by Commandant Oliver Troy of the French Royal Navy, and depicts Ceres, the Roman goddess of nature and charity.The award was presented to Captains Phil Stevens and Steve Osborne and the crew of Slipstream, who in November 2017 joined forces with Eco-Mer and YachtAid Global to help collect disaster aid, including building materials, and transport them across the Atlantic to the islands that were most severely damaged by the storms.

Japan has told the United Nations about a North Korean tanker spotted in the East China Sea that it suspects was engaged in a transfer of goods with another tanker in defiance of U.N. sanctions, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and missiles capable of hitting the United States has spurred deepening U.N. Security Council sanctions and stoked fears of a military conflict. According to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, the North Korean-flagged tanker "Rye Song Gang 1" - blacklisted by the United Nations last month for carrying banned cargo - was spotted by a Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force patrol plane with the Dominican-flagged tanker "Yuk Tung" tied up beside it in the East China Sea on Saturday.

The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) entered U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations Jan. 6 after completing nearly two months of disaster relief efforts in the Caribbean Sea. Wasp departed Norfolk Aug. 30 to replace USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) in Sasebo, Japan as the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship in region. While still in the initial phase of its transit, the ship diverted to the Caribbean on Sept. 4 to assist the U.S. Virgin Islands and Dominica in the wake of Hurricane Irma and then provided assistance to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, a Category 5 storm regarded as the worst natural disaster in the history of the American commonwealth island. In support of relief efforts, Wasp aircraft flew 108 missions on the U.S.

Several Caribbean oil storage terminals that temporarily closed ahead of Hurricane Irma earlier this month have started making preparations in case they have to shut again due to Hurricane Maria, which was a rare Category 5 storm on Tuesday. Shippers and traders in the Atlantic basin are struggling amid this year's very active storm season, which has seen seven hurricanes so far, four of them major hurricanes, defined as at least a Category 3 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale. Hurricane Harvey hit the U.S.

Hurricane Maria has intensified and regained its Category 5 hurricane strength, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Tuesday.   Maria, which made landfall in Dominica as a Category 5 storm on Monday night, is about 205 miles (325 km) southeast of St. Croix with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (260 km/h), it said.   The hurricane is expected to move towards the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Tuesday night and Wednesday, the Miami-based weather forecaster added. Reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala

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.

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…

Further to Hapag-Lloyd's information to their Customer circular issued in 4th March 2016 on the preventive actions of Zika virus for all cargoes entering China, the company has now provided an updated list of origin countries. All shipments from the following countries (indicated below) shall be subject to anti-mosquito treatment. Inbound shipments without proof of anti-mosquito treatment will be fumigated at the port of discharge in China by the authorities without prior notice. It is the Consignee’s responsibility to inform Shipper (at origin) to provide a certificate proof of treatment before loading. Please note that the Carrier is not involved in this procedure and all relevant costs as a result of required measures by the authorities shall be borne by the customer.

Turkey is strategically located, straddling both Europe and Asia with substantial number of Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea ports, thus making maritime trade and shipping of great importance to the country’s economy. Its extensive coastline running for 8,483 km, (1,067 km of which is island shores) has greatly contributed to the growth of Turkey’s maritime sector. Turkish shipyards have a tradition spanning eight centuries. At the time of the Ottoman Empire, shipyards were able to build large, powerful naval vessels, and yards continued their modernization following the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. Today, the industry boasts modern quality certified shipyards that build ships, yachts, megayachts, and sailing boats, as well as undertake extensive repairs and conversion works.

Greece is considered to be the world’s first ship-owning country in terms of tonnage. The Greeks are known to control 17.7% of world fleet and gaining share except in crude tankers. Even recession in the dry bulk market has not had much effect on the Greek-owned fleet with the fleet size touching 5,226 vessels last year with a total DWT of 334 million. For debt-laden Greece, shipping – a key element of Greek economic activity since ancient times – is considered a knight in shining armor at this crucial juncture. Most Greek shipping companies are family owned businesses which have been in shipping for many decades, even over a hundred years.

Hurricane Fred strengthened early Monday in the eastern Atlantic as it approached the Cape Verde Islands, while the remnants of Tropical Storm Erika brought flooding to parts of South Carolina, according to U.S. forecasters. The center of Fred is expected to pass near or over the northwestern Cape Verde Islands, an archipelago off the west coast of Africa with a population of 525,000. Fred had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (137 kph), but was expected to gradually dissipate after passing the Cape Verde Islands, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

Tropical Storm Erika lashed Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands with heavy rain and fierce winds on Friday, moving across the Caribbean and apparently heading for the Dominican Republic, northern Haiti and eventually South Florida, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Due to some likely weakening over the Dominican Republic, Erika was no longer forecast to make U.S. landfall as a hurricane. It could still smack the Miami area with sustained winds of 60 miles per hour (97 kph) on Monday, however, before sweeping northward up the Florida peninsula, affecting Orlando's popular theme parks.

At its 48th meeting last month, the Paris MoU Committee approved the 2014 inspection results and adopted new performance lists for flags and Recognized Organizations. These lists will take effect from July 1, 2015. The “White, Grey and Black (WGB) List” presents the full spectrum, from quality flags to flags with a poor performance that are considered high or very high risk. It is based on the total number of inspections and detentions over a three-year rolling period for flags with at least 30 inspections in the period. On the “White, Grey and Black list” for 2014, a total number of 72 flags are listed: 43 on the “White List”, 19 on the “Grey List” and 10 on the “Black list”.