Safety News

ABS has joined the Green Award certification network. As an incentive provider, ABS offers Green Award Certificate holders discounts on software and training courses to encourage high safety and environmental standards in shipping. “ABS is proud to join forces with the Green Award to improve shipping safety and environmental performance,” said Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS President, Chairman and CEO. In his welcome address, Captain Dimitrios Mattheou, Chairman of the Green Award Foundation…

The challenges and opportunities posed by alternative fuels, safety management and social media dominated Interferry’s 42nd annual conference in Split, Croatia, where a record 370 delegates shared insights on ship technologies, safety issues including cyber security and the customer experience. Attendance at last week’s conference represented 210 ferry operators and suppliers from 27 countries. Mediterranean ferry operators voiced their concerns on meeting the 0.5 percent sulphur emissions cap due in 2020. Minoan Lines managing director Antonios Maniadakis complained that using low sulphur fuel would increase costs by €2 million per year.

Maritime professionals from all sectors operating sub IMO / sub 80 feet vessels are invited to participate in three one-day NEXT GENERATION Workshops. The dynamic program is being held at the Grand Harbour conference venue, overlooking the port of Southampton U.K., on October 24, 25 and 26, 2017. The NEXT GEN Workshops each address aspects of operational safety for vessels, along with the safety and welfare of their crew and passengers. The high level group of presenters brings a wide range of experience and expertise from sectors including workboats…

Bahri Data, one of the six business units within Bahri, a leader in transportation and logistics, and DNV GL,  a classification society and recognized advisor for the maritime industry, have signed a contract to co-develop and jointly leverage their Big Data capabilities for safety, quality and compliance innovation. The contract laying the framework for the partnership, was signed in Hamburg, Germany, in the presence of Anwar Siddiqui, President of Bahri Data, Per Helge Pedersen…

Bahri Data, one of the six business units within Bahri, a global leader in transportation and logistics, and DNV GL, the world’s leading classification society and recognized advisor for the maritime industry, have signed a contract to co-develop and jointly leverage their Big Data capabilities for safety, quality and compliance innovation. The contract laying the framework for the partnership, was signed in Hamburg, Germany, in the presence of Anwar Siddiqui, President of Bahri Data…

Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL) has announced that it conducted a tabletop drill based on an incident involving a car carrier managed by an MOL Group ship management company. MOL holds these drills periodically to confirm its emergency response system in preparation for serious marine incidents. The drill was held on Tuesday, October 17, 2017, with the goal of raising company-wide safety awareness through the simulated experience of a serious marine incident. It was designed to ensure that the company can respond swiftly and appropriately in case of a serious marine incident…

On the waterfront, it all depends. It is well established that workplace safety and productivity can be compromised, not just by the use of illicit substances and alcohol, but also by the use of prescription drugs. Federal law, however, imposes limits on employer inquiries in this area both with respect to the affected job classifications and the scope of the inquiry. Generally, an employer may not ask all employees what prescription medications they are taking because such an inquiry is not job-related and consistent with business necessity, according to Enforcement Guidance from the U.S.

To demonstrate multilateral cooperation between littoral states and stakeholders to improve navigational safety in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS), Phase Two of a Joint Hydrographic Survey was formally launched via a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed today at the 10th Co-operation Forum held from 2nd to 3rd October 2017 at Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Besides the littoral states, the survey is supported by the Malacca Strait Council (MSC) of Japan. Phase Two, which is a continuation from Phase One…

U.S. Coast Guard Station Castle Hill established a safety zone in Newport Harbor, R.I., Sunday night after a tall ship lost power and hit multiple other vessels before grounding near Perrotti Park. No injuries or pollution have been reported. The SSV Oliver Hazard Perry, an educational tall ship homeported in Newport, was leaving Bowen's Wharf Seafood Festival with 12 crewmembers aboard when it lost power and began to drift. A 911 dispatcher alerted Coast Guard watchstanders to the incident at about 6:15 p.m.

The collaboration between all stakeholders to ensure the safe and environmentally sound transport of goods was a key message delivered by  International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Jack Westwood Booth at the recent International Cargo Handling Co-ordination Association (ICHCA) 65th Anniversary Conference, Las Palmas, Gran Canarias, Spain (2 October). Reflecting the World Maritime Day Theme – “Connecting, ships, ports and people” - IMO’s work in collaboration with government and industry to develop and implement regulations specific to the entire cargo supply chain…

TOTE Maritime Alaska has announced that the installation of ORBCOMM’s telematics devices across a broad equipment platform will be complete in the coming months. ORBCOMM was selected to provide a broad portfolio of telematics solutions to monitor and control its refrigerated, dry and flatbed equipment. TOTE Maritime Alaska is a leading Jones Act carrier serving the Alaska market, connecting greater Alaska to the Continental United States and beyond. This is the second deployment for TOTE Maritime…

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha ('K' Line) has decided to install “Optimum Weather Routing System” developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) to operated/managed vessels in our fleet. This system provides the minimum fuel consumption route in consideration of the safety navigation, hence we are planning to install the system in about 120 vessels by 2021, as part of the system which is the KAWASAKI Integrated Maritime Solution “K-IMS”  that we developed in collaboration with KHI group.

Falck Safety Services and Simwave are joining forces to serve the maritime and oil and gas industries with combined simulation and practical training. For more than 30 years, Falck Safety Services has offered safety training for the offshore, maritime and wind industries. On November 8th, Simwave will open its doors to the most advanced maritime simulator center in the world. This co-operation means that customers will be able to undertake simulation training at Simwave to complement the training at one of the training centers of Falck Safety Services.

About 13 percent of U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production remains offline in the aftermath of Hurricane Nate, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said on Friday.   That equals about 220,000 barrels per day in production that is offline, according to BSEE. Oil companies evacuated staff from Gulf platforms and curtailed output ahead of the storm, which hit the region last weekend.   About 7 percent of U.S. Gulf natural gas production remains offline, BSEE said. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Houston; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Noise Control Engineering awarded Navy SBIR grant for abrasive blaster with reduced noise Glosten subsidiary Noise Control Engineering, LLC said it has been awarded a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract to apply advance aeroacoustics principals to the design of an abrasive blasting nozzle, reducing noise from the nozzle while simultaneously improving the device’s productivity. According to Noise Control Engineering, the nozzle developed through this effort will provide industry with a device that represents an evolutionary step forward in safety and efficiency.

International Registries, Inc. and its affiliates (IRI), which provide administrative and technical support to the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Maritime and Corporate Registries, has appointed a new Technical Officer in its Imabari office, strengthening its support and services for the Japanese ship owning market. “We now have more than 400 employees in our 27 offices worldwide and by hiring an extremely experienced technical officer in Imabari, who understands every aspect of vessel safety and day-to-day operations, we are upgrading our service commitment to our growing number of Japanese owners and operators,” said Bill Gallagher, President, IRI.

In the realm of marine casualty investigations the allocation of blame should be secondary to marine safety. There are three important criteria for marine casualty investigations to be of value to the maritime industry. First, the report must be completed promptly. It does little good to see for the first time the report on a casualty that occurred three or more years ago. Second, the report must be publicly disseminated. The best report is of little value if it is available only to the principals. Third, the report must focus on the root cause of the casualty.

National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) president Randall Luthi weighs in after the House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on offshore development and introduced the Accessing Strategy Resources Offshore (ASTRO) Act. Today’s hearing was a slam dunk by the House Natural Resources Committee. Not only did the Committee bring in experts and stakeholders with their own unique offshore perspectives to the hearing, the Committee took a bold step in introducing the forward thinking ASTRO Act.

As one of the wonders of the natural world, many consider the Great Barrier Reef one of the Earth’s most beautiful places. The marine environment in the area is extremely sensitive and with around 4000 commercial vessels passing every year, it is important for the vessel services operators working onshore to keep track of the traffic at all times. That’s where Saab comes in. Comprising nearly 3000 individual reefs and almost 100 islands, the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system.

A series of the meetings under the Cooperative Mechanism on Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore have been held in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia this week (2-6 October 2017). Safety of navigation, including e-navigation, and marine environmental protection in one of the busiest waterways were on the agenda of the meetings, attended by representatives of the littoral States (Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore), user States and other stakeholders.

Viking Cruises is reportedly working on a project to develop a vessel fuelled by liquid hydrogen that could become the world’s first cruise ship with zero-emission technology, according to the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA). NMA said the announcement was made by Viking Cruises project manager Serge Fossati during the Safety at Sea Conference in Haugesund. “This is a world sensation. Very exciting. If they pull this off, a distribution network may be established, which will enable others as well to use hydrogen as fuel…

This Safety Alert addresses concerns related to vessel stability and watertight integrity. Recently, a marine casualty involving a fishing vessel in the Bering Sea resulted in multiple fatalities and complete loss of the vessel. A Marine Board of Investigation is currently analyzing the various circumstances surrounding the casualty. Although the investigation is not complete, testimony and fact finding indicate that vessel owners, operators, and crews should give special consideration to vessel stability concerns.

About 71 percent of U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production is offline ahead of Tropical Storm Nate, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said on Friday. Nate is forecast to enter the Gulf and strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall late Saturday in Louisiana, near several major refineries. Oil companies have evacuated staff from Gulf platforms and curtailed output ahead of the storm, with production equaling 1.24 million barrels of crude per day already offline, according to BSEE.