Gen Memo 36/11: Minutes of AGM 09/11 / Model Course 7.04 Validated / Interest in teaching post / The trouble with ECDIS / ICSW Newsletter Dear Members, PLEASE ENSURE THIS GEN MEMO IS WIDELY DISTRIBUTED WITHIN YOUR INSTITUTION Same story when ARPA came first time. I believe the most needed thing with ECDIS is not to make it law sooner than agreed and companies not administrations should lead the introduction of this fancy tool which has lot of ifs and buts. IMO will never be able to keep pace with galloping digital technology. Sky is the limit. Sudhir merchantnavy@yahoogroups.com 1 December 1 AGM 09/11 Minutes Attached, please find the unconfirmed minutes of Annual General Meeting 09/11, held in Manila on 16 November. 2 Model Course 7.04 It is a pleasure to advise that the revised Model Course 7.04 - Officer in Charge of an Engineering Watch 22/11/11, has been validated by the IMO Validation Panel. Page 2 of the course document has the following:

Acknowledgement: This 2012 Edition of the IMO Model Course on Officer in Charge of an Engineering Watchwas

developed by National Institute for Sea Training

Yokohama, Japan Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology

Tokyo, Japan IMO wishes to express its sincere appreciation to

the Global Maritime Education and Training for its valuable assistance and cooperation.

The expertise and hard work by the National Institute for Sea Training and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

3 Interest in teaching post

Experienced Chief Engineer and maritime teacher Mahendra Singh <singhmahendrain@gmail.com> has expressed interest in an appropriate appointment in a maritime academy. If wishing to explore this further, please deal directly with Mr Singh. 4 The trouble with ECDIS By Neville Smith Last week saw the second “ECDIS Revolution” conference arrive in London presenting another opportunity to chew over the issues surrounding the adoption of digital navigation, a process that begins in earnest in July next year when the first deadline rolls around. The trouble – as many articles here and elsewhere have pointed out – is that ECDIS is many things to many people. It is also some things to some people and different things to others. One of the recurring themes of the conference struck a philosophical note: when was an ECDIS not an ECDIS? When the gyro input failed? When GPS went offline? When you plugged in a flash drive? The answer it seems is “it depends”, though at least the event had a degree of levity to sustain it over the two days. Part of the problem is that adopting ECDIS is not like upgrading your satcomms. It involves officers, superintendents, flag states, port states, class societies, equipment suppliers, chart agents, hydrographic offices. It requires rewriting of operational and office procedures, establishment of set standards and interpretations and yes, perhaps even a philosophical mindset. The other problem is that it is to some extent taking away an aid to navigation that mariners have relied on for hundreds of years (the paper chart) and replacing it with a new form and function for primary navigation. ECDIS consultant Paul Hailwood put it best when he said that with paper charts what you see is what you get, no more, no less, right or wrong. With ECDIS, the role of the hydrographic office, the software supplier and the equipment manufacturer were directly involved in the mariner’s navigation experience. What you see with electronic charts is not what you get – it can be far more, and sometimes less. The system is dynamic, it gives you options, it demands engagement in a completely different way than checking a paper chart and marking off positions based on where you were rather than where you are.

Read the accident reports of ECDIS-assisted groundings and a theme immediately becomes clear: where officers are inadequately trained and the equipment is incorrectly set up then things go wrong. In fact, there are comparatively few instances of ECDIS-assisted groundings, but those there are tend to seized on by those who think that every technological step forward is actually a step back. Let’s be clear about this – ECDIS is not going to be another GMDSS. Or at least it should not have been. The decisions taken on mandation and the subsequent timeline on introduction have given the industry plenty of time to prepare and understand the implications; except of course that the shipping industry tends towards doing the minimum required until absolutely necessary and then scrambling to comply. That won’t wash with ECDIS. Dave Elliot of ship owner Arklow told the conference its implementation of ECDIS assumed a two year lead-time (on a small short-sea and European trading fleet) but in the event three years was more like it. Karen Kruse of Nordic Tankers said that equipping the company’s fleet of chemical tankers had required a far bigger commitment than expected, and the company had quickly realised that the vagaries of the regulations meant that the company would have to spend a lot of time understanding what the performance standard meant to its flag state and how it would equip its crews to deal with the day to day operational realities. In the case of Princess Cruises’ Nick Nash, the answer – speaking he stressed in a personal capacity – was to develop one’s own bridge team management, with more importance placed on role than rank and to have clear guidelines on how to work together. Of course, Captain Nash has the luxury of bodies on the bridge, but his employer also has the liabilities of 1,000-plus guests, so that’s probably no bad thing. As Mark Broster of ECDIS Ltd. pointed out, training and preparing has always been about the money that shipping companies are prepared to spend and beyond the IMO model course requirements, the differences in training, whether classroom and shipboard, distance and computer-based made a huge difference to competence and preparedness to navigate on ECDIS. Here lies one of the most worrying statistics about ECDIS – that no-one – at least none of the experts at the conference – could agree on the scale of the ECDIS training challenge. Do you, as one did, assume there are four officers per ship that need training and, having added a manning factor of say 1.5, multiply that by 40,000 for the number of SOLAS ships, or do you assume 6 officers per ship (3 on, 3 off) and multiply that by 50,000 ships? Either way, there will be a squeeze on training places at reputable colleges – and to judge by some of the horror stories there are plenty of poor ones out there – and the volume of officers in need of training simply adds to the argument that this is a process that should be started sooner than later. Even the equipment manufacturers – who get plenty of flak for the differing ways in which their systems display menu and function information from the ENC database – pointed out that this

was a task that called for top-down collaboration. There were even suggestions that some of the systems on the market had a questionable case for type approval, and that some shipyards would only outfit their ships from a preferred list, limiting customer choice. And why is the ECDIS screen so small? Well yes, it’s smaller than a nautical chart but it’s very high resolution. It also contains more data and more options for navigation than a paper chart. But why, ask the doubters, can’t we have a 40” TV screen? The answer is that you can, but try it and the resolution makes it unusable at close quarters, meaning the navigator would have to stand at the back of the bridge to read it – and presumably have someone else operate the machine. Buy a very high resolution large scale monitor and you are adding USD 10,000 per ship to your outfit costs. It’s typical of the misinformation and mystery that surrounds the subject, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Read Admiralty’s 10 Steps to the ECDIS Mandate or one of the many educational books available and if you haven’t already done so, make a start on the journey. And when you come to a fork in the road, take it. Editor’s Note: Neville Smith is a freelance journalist. 30 Nov 2011 5 ICSW Newsletter for November

Please find the latest newsletter attached.

With kind regards Rod Short Executive Secretary GlobalMET Limited

GlobalMET Limited Australian Company Number 103 233 754

UNCONFIRMED MINUTES OF

9TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 16 NOVEMBER 2011 MANILA YACHT CLUB, MANILA, PHILIPPINES

1 Adoption of Agenda, Attendance and Apologies The meeting commenced at 1910 hours and was attended by delegates from 18 financial Members and 4 non-financial Members. The following Directors and the Executive Secretary were present:

Capt Tim Wilson - New Zealand Maritime School – Chairman VAdm Eduardo Santos – Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific – Vice Chairman Capt John Lloyd – Australian Maritime College – Secretary/Treasurer Capt Vinayak Mohla – Anglo-Eastern Group – on behalf of Capt Pradeep Chawla

Mr David Fredrick – Akademi Laut Malaysia Prof Hideo Yabuki– Tokyo University of Marine Science & Technology Capt Richard Teo – Seafood and Maritime Industries Training Mr Swapan Das Sarma – Teledata Marine Solutions

Apologies were received from 12 Members and 1 Associate Member. Ten proxies were received from financial Members . It was confirmed that a quorum existed. Details of attendance and apologies were duly recorded. With the exception of Agenda Item 8, which was attended to after confirmation of the minutes of AGM 08/10, the Agenda as proposed was accepted. It was agreed, that because of time constraints and availability of venue, papers would be taken as read and items agreed that were not discussed. 2 Confirmation of Minutes of AGM 08/10 The Minutes of Annual General Meeting 08/10 were confirmed and adopted as a true and correct record of the meeting.

Moved: Capt Tim Wilson – New Zealand Maritime School Seconded: VAdm Eduardo Santos – Maritime Academy for Asia and the Pacific

3 Election of Directors, Chairman and Vice Chairman On the expiry of their three year term, the five elected directors:

Capt Tim Wilson - New Zealand Maritime School – Chairman VAdm Eduardo Santos – Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific – Vice Chairman Capt John Lloyd – Australian Maritime College – Secretary/Treasurer Capt Vinayak Mohla – Anglo-Eastern Group – on behalf of Capt Pradeep Chawla

Mr David Fredrick – Akademi Laut Malaysia stood down and were unanimously re-elected for the period to AGM 12/2014.

Moved: Capt Richard Teo – Seafood and Maritime Industries Training Seconded: Mr Swapan Das Sarma – American Digital University

Capt Tim Wilson was unanimously re-elected Chairman VAdm Eduardo Santos was unanimously re-elected Vice Chairman

Moved: Mr George Hoyt – NewsLink / Face of Shipping Seconded: Capt Richard Teo – Seafood and Maritime Industries Training

4 Matters Arising It was agreed that any matters arising would be discussed under the relevant agenda item. 5 Chairman’s Report

IMO Model Courses: GlobalMET formally thanked the following Member institutes for the work done on the model courses.

· 7.01: Master and Chief Mate. (Anglo-Eastern Ship Management)

· 7.02: Chief and 2nd Engineer Officer. (Australian Maritime College)

· 7.03: Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch. (Malaysian Maritime Academy and now being finalised by Anglo-Eastern Ship Management)

· 7.04: Officer in Charge of an Engineering Watch. (Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology and the National Institute for Sea Training);

IMO Model Course 7.01 and 7.02 are already validated by IMO which has expressed gratitude to GlobalMET. The new model course on “Leadership and Teamwork” is currently being drafted by a GlobalMET Working Group of 12, led by the Executive Secretary.

Deck and Engine Cadet Record Books: GlobalMET expressed appreciation and formally thanked Anglo-Eastern Ship Management for the work done on the cadet record books and activity work books, particularly by Capt Vinayak Mohla. Members were requested to endorse these books and seek national flag administration’s approval. Generation of a cash flow additional to subscription revenue is strategically important

GlobalMET, NI, WWF Posters: The posters being developed in collaboration with the Nautical Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature were discussed. The first, depicting the Sargasso Sea, is in draft, with others planned. Seeding funds have been provided by WWF. Overall funding was discussed and Capt Kuba Szymanski, Secretary General of InterManager and Capt Christer Lindvall, President of the International Federation of Ship Masters' Associations, expressed support for the project and a desire to be involved. GlobalMET is to provide a written proposal. It was commented that other companies will also like to put their logo alongside those of GlobalMET, NI and WWF. Alternatives to a poster could be a calendar, table mats or screensavers.

GlobalMET website: The members in general thought more could be done with the present GlobalMET website. The comments received were “not easily accessible”, “not effective”, and “cannot search for any content easily”. It was decided that GlobalMET will explore further development of the website and will solicit feedback from members and younger people such as maritime college students. It was agreed that the final payment be made for the development work already done.

It was agreed that the Chairman’s Report be received

Moved: VAdm E Santos – Maritime Academy for Asia and the Pacific Seconded: George Hoyt – NewsLink / Face of Shipping

6 Finance Report Chairman Capt T Wilson explained that, although changes in Australian regulatory requirements for small non-profit companies, with liability limited by guarantee would enable GlobalMET to do without an external audit each year, the established practice of annual audit of the GlobalMET accounts and production of the annual Financial Statements should continue. It was agreed to continue with the annual external audit of the GlobalMET accounts and production of the annual Financial Statements.

Moved: Capt John Lloyd – Australian Maritime College Seconded: Mr David Fredrick – Malaysian Maritime Academy

7 Appointment of Auditors

It was agreed that Garrott and Garrott, be re-appointed as auditors of GlobalMET Limited for the year ending 30 June 2012. Moved: Capt John Lloyd – Australian Maritime College Seconded: George Hoyt – NewsLink / Face of Shipping

8 Development A comprehensive discussion addressed the following matters:

• need to improve revenue and financial resources overall and how this might be achieved; eg improved marketing, increased membership, financial benefits to members such as discounts on publications and conference registration fees;

• to address the shortage of competent trainers, initiating training in competency based training and assessment, as well as provision of guidance notes;

• the need for a quality academy bench marking system; there should be liaison with the World Maritime University where some work is under way;

• more involvement in the revision of IMO model courses and in capacity building in reponse to the Manila amendments;

• liaison with Informa with respect to a lower cost MET conference on the Friday following the 2012 Asia Pacific Manning & Training Conference.

9 AGM 10/12 Preference for the next AGM to also be held in Manila in association with the 2012 Asia Pacific Manning & Training Conference was expressed.

11 Any Other Business The meeting was advised of the intention of the GlobalMET forum to be held on 18 November and also of the discussions being held with the Asian Development Bank.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 2100 hours, with an expression of thanks to all participants, to VAdm Eduardo Santos for kindly arranging the meeting venue and transport and to the Manila Yacht Club for providing the venue. Resolution That these minutes be signed as a true and correct record of Annual General Meeting 09/11 held on 16 November 2011 at the Manila Yacht Club, Manila, Philippines.

Chairman’s Signature __________________________ Date ____________________

standards across theindustry it is important thatwe come together tocelebrate the work that issetting the standards thatothers can aspire to. AtICSW we will be usingthese examples of bestpractice as we lobbyothers in the industry to improve their own support toseafarers.” The judging panel for the awards is Mr Spyros MPolemis, President of the International ShippingFederation, Mr David Cockcroft, General Secretary ofthe International Transport Workers' Federation, MrMichael Grey MBE, the distinguished maritimejournalist & ex-editor of Lloyds List and Mr DouglasStevenson, Chairman of the International ChristianMaritime Association. V Ships are kindly sponsoring the Awards event,InterManager sponsors the Shipping Company of theYear award, International Shipping Federationsponsors the Seafarer Centre of the Year award andTeeKay Shipping sponsors the Port of the Yearaward. The awardshave been generouslyfunded by the ITFSeafarers’ Trust. Theawards are alsosupported by theInternational MaritimeOrganisation,International LabourOrganisation, alongwith the InternationalShipping Federation,the InternationalTransport Workers’Federation and theInternational ChristianMaritime Association.

ICSW Monthly News November 2011 1

ICSW Monthly News

Issue 12 November 2011

www.seafarereswelfare.org

Inside this issue:Editorial 2

Occupational Health 2

Seafarers’ Trust 4

New Piracy Guides 5

MtS Australia honoured 6

ICSW Monthly News is published by theInternational Committee on Seafarers’Welfare. Registered Charity No1102946 The views expressed in these newsarticles do not necessarily reflect thoseof the ICSW and its members.Telephone: +44 (0)300 012 4279Fax: +44 (0) 300 012 4280Email: icsw@icsw.org.ukSkype: icsw_roger.harris;

SHORTLISTS ANNOUNCED FOR INTERNATIONAL SEAFARERS’ WELFARE AWARDSThe short list for the 2011 International Seafarers’Welfare Awards has been announced. The finalistsare:Port of the Year: Antwerp, Kandla, Marseille, Miamiand Singapore.Seafarer Centre of the Year: Chennai SeafarersClub, Duckdalben International Seamen’s Club,Flying Angel Club Fremantle, Kandla SeafarersWelfare Centre, Seafarers House Port Evergladesand SCI Bay Area International Maritime Center.Shipping Company of the Year: BP Shipping, KuwaitOil Tankers Company, Mediterranean ShippingCompany, Teekay Shipping and Wilhelmsen ShipManagement.Welfare Personality of the Year: Graham Archer(Melbourne) Reverend Peter Ellis, (Hong Kong),Father Giacomo Martino (Italy), Johann HansWinklhofer (Hong Kong) and Mrs Paddy Percival(Durban). The winners will be announced at a high profileawards ceremony at the International LabourOrganisation in Geneva on the opening night of theMaritime Labour Convention tripartite meeting onMonday 12th December 2011.This year there will also be a judges’ Special Awardfor Outstanding Services to Seafarers’ Welfare,which will be announced on the night. The Seafarer Centre of the Year, Port of The Yearand Shipping Company of the Year were allnominated directly by seafarers. The award forWelfare Personality of the Year can be self-nominated or nominated by seafarers’ organisationsor individuals involved with seafarers’ welfare; thisyear’s finalists were all nominated by other people.Roger Harris, ICSW Executive Director, said: “Theseawards are about giving seafarers the opportunity topublicly recognise the organisations that areproviding them with exceptional support. Sadly thewelfare of seafarers continues to bottom of the list ofpriorities for some companies and ports. All too oftenwe only hear the negative stories. In order to raise

The International Seafarers’ WelfareAwards are reaching their culminationwith the presentation of the awards inGeneva on 12 December. What hasstruck me is the range of high qualitywelfare work that is being carried outall over the world by shippingcompanies, ports, and welfareorganisations. Over the comingmonths we will be sharing theexamples of best practice from thewinners and shortlisted candidates.

The awards have given us theopportunity to put the issue ofseafarers’ welfare in front of not justship owners but also governments at

both the ILO and IMO.The Awards inthemselves may not getgovernments to takeseafarers’ welfareseriously but they will addto the ‘surround sound’ that willbecome even louder with theratification of the MLC.

We must all work together to ensuregovernments set up and resource thenational welfare boards and portwelfare committees.

Roger HarrisExcutive Director

ICSW Monthly News November 2011 2

Editorial

I would like to take the opportunity tolook at the changing patterns in theglobal seafaring sector and to considerits implications for the health andsafety of those at sea.More than half of the world’s 1.2million seafarers are Asians. Theboom in containerized shipping andincreased activity in Asia has created ashortage of officers and skilledseafarers. Accordingly the focus of thelabor market for seafarers hascontinued to shift from WesternEurope, Japan and North America tothe rest of East Asia and the Indiansubcontinent. This has meant thatwhile 72.1% of all ratings still comefrom South and South-East Asiancountries these regions are now alsoproviding 81.2% of the total supply ofofficers. This marked increase hasbeen possible as a result of Europeanand Japanese ship-owners who, facedwith severe shortages of seafarers,have established training centers invarious Asian countries to recruit andtrain seafarers to man their vessels. With the increase in recruitment fromAsia we have also seen a change fromthe traditional permanent contracttowards single contract. While thisdoes provide shipping companies and

seafarers with flexibility, theconsequences for the employment,security and general welfare ofseafarers needs to be considered.When seafarers become unfit tocontinue the single contract model, itmeans that crew will return to theirhome nations. In effect, there is‘social dumping’ of the long term carecosts from the global shippingoperators to the poor crewing nationsthroughout Asia. If the increasedprovision of Asian seafarers is toremain sustainable then this issueneeds to be discussed and solutionsfound. The implication of this expansion inthe provision of seafarers is the needto build on the associatedinfrastructure. Clinic services, welfareresources and systems forrepatriation all need to be providedand these need to be able to dealwith sufficient capacity, proper qualityand assurance that will translate intoethical operations.When planning the provision ofservices for seafarers the specificproblems that those working in themaritime sector encounter in terms ofthe pattern of diseases and how theycan be managed needs to be

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY IN MARITIME SECTOR BY DR SURESH IDNANI

Save our Seafarersstill needs your help

Innocent seafarers oncommercial cargo shipsare being held toransom for millions ofdollars by armed gangsof Somali pirates. Thecost of Somalian piracyis both human andeconomic.

It affects seafarers andtheir families and YOU.Piracy costs the globaleconomy $7-12bn ayear because it isbeginning to stranglekey supply routes. Youcan make a difference.

Sign a letter to yourgovernment at http://www.saveourseafarers.com/

considered. The prevention of diseases plays a veryimportant part in the practice of medicine and in noplace it is more important than on board ship. Broadly,Occupational Health Injuries and diseases can becategorized on two categories of origin; morbid(relevant to internal causes) or accident ones(external causes). These two have a different impacton indexes of morbidity and mortality amongseafarers in different fleets, being influenced bydemographic factors, standard of life and security of

work onboard,accuracy of medicalpre employmentexamination, regionof seafaring, statistic,credibility etc. Someof their reasons aremodifiable and mightbe reversed byprimary or secondarypreventive means,

some are irrelevant to medical intervention,depending more on using technical or legal tools. If we consider the problem of loss of life at searelevant to morbid causes, cardiovascular diseases(CVD) myocardial infarct – 2/3rd, stroke 1/4th,sometimes other cardiac reasons, are at the top placein ranking with diabetes and obesity as mostfrequently present concomitant disturbances. Amongpriorities: suicides; and mental illness is a challengecurrently. The main interest is, are they and by whatmeans, preventable in the maritime workenvironment, and by what means. The risk of some contagious diseases in the maritimeenvironment is still topical and challenging. The lossof life, cost and efficacy of prophylaxis and treatment,absenteeism caused by malaria, dengue, STD – HIV,tuberculosis, legionellosis, other viral GI andpulmonary infections, are urgent. It seems also that acute stress and PTSD syndromes(including that terrorism relevant) place important andrising roles as a potential factor of mortality andmorbidity in seafaring. The list might be longer, but tomention them as having most impact on life andoccupational health.From another side, we should remember that externalcauses (maritime catastrophes, collisions, sinkingetc.) are currently predominating reasons of humanlosses at sea; especially in fishing; unfortunately,medical prevention has a rather minimal influence onthe problem. Conditions at sea may not be as conducive to healthyliving as they are ashore. Opportunities for recreation,exercise and a hygienic lifestyle are necessarilyrestricted; living quarters maybe less commodious

and obtaining fresh food becomes more difficult. Forlong periods of time seafarers are separated fromtheir families; they spend months in the restrictedareas of their ship, with a small number of fellow crewmembers around them. Such conditions createboredom and stress, which may contribute to some ofthe ailments and diseases that occur amongseafarers.Welfare centers at trans-shipment ports provide anexcellent means of helping with the psychologicalproblems encountered at sea. The relatively recentestablishment of the International Drop-In Centres forSeafarers located at Keppel Terminal, Jurong Portand Pasir Panjang Terminals ought to serveinternationally as a model of what can be done toreach out to crews of container ships which stay inport for only very short calls. These centres areequipped withInternationalDirect Dialling(IDD) facilities,access to theInternet andlounge areas torelax, forseafarers whofind it difficult toleave the port area when they are off duty. While there are a number of challenges that stillremain, the recent changes in the Maritime LabourConvention ILO MLC 2006, present a goldenopportunity for the Asian maritime sector to grow andto maintain its increased importance. Compliance withstandards in International Maritime Health Programs,through a global health care association such asIMHA, and in consultation with Internationalorganizations like the ILO, IMO, ship owner andseafarer organizations can only happen if the seafareris valued and seen as an asset in the InternationalShipping Industry.

Dr Suresh IdnaniPresident, International Maritime Health Assosciation

ICSW Monthly News November 2011 3

“The prevention ofdiseases plays a veryimportant part in thepractice of medicineand in no place it ismore important thanon board ship.”

“Welfare centers at trans-shipment ports provide anexcellent means of helpingwith the psychologicalproblems encountered atsea”

The Seafarers’ Trust, the charity arm of the ITF, hasreleased details of its latest £6.5million donations –bringing the total given in grants so far in 2011 to £9million. The £6.5 million will go to five different projectsdealing with the welfare of seafarers. The largestgrant, of £5 million, goes to Seafarers’ RightsInternational (SRI) for a five year programme todevelop the progress it has already achieved inadvancing the legal rights of seafarers, including itswork on criminalisation, abandonment and piracy.The cross-industry Maritime Piracy HumanitarianResponse Programme (MPHRP), which wasofficially launched in London in September and haspublished its first guides to helping piracy victims,receives £750,000 over three years as part of its£3.3 million programme to address the problemsfacing seafarers and their families affected bypiracy. The other recipients include:

• Seafarerhelp, the 24 hour multilingual helpline for seafarers; • A project to increase the capacity of the Philippines seafarers’ health servicesto deal with blood cancers, in conjunction with a large teaching hospital inGenoa;• The German Seamens’ Mission seafarers’ hostel in Bremerhaven which getsfunding to improve its accommodation for seafarers. Tom Holmer, administrative officer of the Seafarers’ Trust, said: “In spite ofvery difficult conditions within the maritime industry, the Trust sees theimportance of supporting good projects for major expenditure when theopportunities are there to benefit seafarers.” He added: “In response to our request for vehicle and communication-relatedapplications early this year, we have a number of projects in the pipeline inthese two priority areas. We cannot give away as much next year as we havedone this year, but we will continue to do all we can to support those workingwith seafarers.” The ITF Seafarers Trust was established by the ITF in 1981 as a body withcharitable status under UK law. It is dedicated to the spiritual, moral andphysical welfare of seafarers, irrespective of nationality, race or creed.Its funding comes from the investment income of the ITF welfare fund, whichis used to provide a trade union services to seafarers. The Seafarers’ Trust, onthe other hand, is tasked with supporting projects which directly benefitindividual seafarers' spiritual, moral or physical welfare. For details of other projects funded earlier this year please seewww.itfglobal.org/press-area/index.cfm/pressdetail/5800/region/1/section/0/order/1

ICSW Monthly News November 2011 4

SEAFARERS TRUST ANNOUNCES NEWGRANTS

SeafarerHelpSeafarerHelp offersFREE andconfidential help toall seafarers andtheir families. Each year they helpthousands ofseafarers worldwideat times of needand crisis. Problems they helpresolve range fromabuse, bullying,bereavement,health issues, andthe effects of piracy,through toabandonment,contractual issuesand unpaid wages. And what’s more,their experiencedteam is ready to talkto seafarers in awide range oflanguages, whetherit is English,Filipino, Chinese,Russian, Arabic,Turkish, Polish orHindi.

+44 207 323 2737(request call back)help@seafarerhelp.orgwww.seafarerhelp.org

ICSW Monthly News November 2011 5

NEW GUIDES FOR SHIPPING COMPANIES ON SUPPORT TOSEAFARERS AFFECTED BY PIRACY

A programme launched in London in Septemberreleased its first guides to shipping companiesand manning agents on how to offer support toseafarers and families to help them cope withthe physical and mental trauma caused bytorture and abuse at the hands of pirates.Similarly dedicated guides for seafarers;chaplains and welfare workers; and tradeunions will follow in early 2012.Today’s first tranche of guides can be seen atwww.mphrp.org/publication.php. Pirates are routinely using extreme brutality andthe threat of death against seafarers and theirrelatives. The Maritime Piracy HumanitarianResponse Programme (MPHRP) is intended tohelp those seafarers and their families copewith the resulting pain and anguish.Funded by the ITF (International TransportWorkers’ Federation) Seafarers’ Trust charityand TK Foundation, and chaired by Peter Swift,formerly MD of industry body INTERTANKO,the programme speaks for an alliance of shipowners, trade unions, managers, manningagents, insurers and welfare associationsrepresenting the entire shipping industry, fromcrews to owners (seehttp://www.itfglobal.org/press-area/index.cfm/pressdetail/6451/region/1/section/0/order/1 for details of the programme’slaunch and aims).Its mission is to aid seafarers who have been ormay be subject to pirate attack. Somali-basedpirates now regularly treat hostage seafarerswith extreme violence in order to put pressureon their families to expedite their ransomdemands. This includes phoning familymembers and making the seafarer plead for his

life while he is threatened with death and gunsare fired, and filming the abuse and posting itonline for relatives to see.Peter Swift, MPHRP chair, explained: “Piracy isreaching an all-time high: in the number ofincidents, in the vast ransoms demanded and,most of all, in the extreme violence used. Thetreatment meted out to the victims nowfrequently crosses the line from savagery intotorture.“The effects are potentially horrendous. Forthose, say, who successfully resisted capturebut were nearly burnt alive in the room in whichthey barricaded themselves; for the brutalisedhostages; and for those who daily put to sea infear that it may at any time happen to them. Andthat’s not to forget the families, who are nowfirmly on the pirates’ target list.”Roy Paul, of the ITF Seafarers’ Trust, andMPHRP project manager, added: “We havebeen listening to shipping companies andmanning agents who have been through theterrible experience of having their ships andcrew held. Their main concern is to share whatthey have learnt with others. The main concernfor the seafarers is how their families areinformed and treated should this happen tothem.”He concluded: “How the seafarers are treatedwhen they are released is important to therecovery that they can make from this horrificexperience, so it’s important that shippingcompanies and manning agents get it right. Inthe guides we share the good practice thatmany companies have used when assistingtheir seafarers and families and we hope it willassist other companies to do the same.”

The Mission to Seafarfers (MtS) in Australia hadmuch to celebrate at the Lloyd’s List AustraliaShipping and Maritime Industry Awards in November.At the ceremony in Melbourne, Sydney MtS receivedthe Seafarers’ Welfare Award, while MtS volunteerJack Tomes was presented with a LifetimeAchievement Award.The annual awards are a significant event in theAustralian maritime calendar, when companies,organisations and individuals across the sector arehonoured for their achievements. The Seafarers’Welfare Award, sponsored by the Australian MaritimeSafety Authority, recognises ‘an outstandingcontribution to the welfare of seafarers.’Ninety-one-year-old Jack Tomes has beenvolunteering at the Mission in Hobart for more than65 years. On our Secretary General’s recent visit toAustralia he presented Jack and his wife Kath with acertificate signed by MtS President The Princess

Royal in recognition of their longstandingcommitment and contribution to the Mission. Hearing of this latest honour for Jack and theachievement of the Sydney MtS centre, MtSSecretary General the Revd Tom Heffer said,“I was delighted when news of these awards reachedme this morning. In my recent visit to Australia I sawfirsthand how richly blessed we are withhardworking, committed staff and volunteers whoregularly go the extra mile to ensure that visitingseafarers are welcomed and cared for. Their vitaland demanding work takes place without fuss orfanfare, but makes a huge difference to the lives ofso many. It is wonderful to see this contribution beingrecognised by the maritime industry. I hope theaward for our centre in Sydney represents aheartening boost for all those who work so hard, dayin and day out, to respond to the needs of seafarers.I was really pleased also to hear about the award forJack Tomes, who is a prime example of thededication made by so many to this importantministry. Jack is also evidence that if you want to livea long and happy life, you should volunteer for theMission to Seafarers!”The Mission to Seafarers offers emergencyassistance, practical support and a friendly welcometo seafarers in 26 ports around the Australianseaboard, supported by the MtS Australian Counciland under the auspices of the Anglican Church ofAustralia.

MTS AUSTRALIA HONOURED FOR ‘OUTSTANDINGCONTRIBUTION TO SEAFARERS’ WELFARE’

ICSW Monthly News November 2011 6

Recently seafarer centres in Australia have been receiving hoax calls purporting to be from RogerHarris, Executive Director of the ICSW or from Doug Stevenson, Chairman of ICMA. The calls askthe seafarer centre for money for travel expenses to attend funerals of close relatives. Earlier thisyear there were a series of fraudulent emails asking for emergency funds for seafarer welfareworkers who were supposedly stranded in foreign cities after their wallets and passports had beenstolen. Unfortunately, there are criminals around the world who are attempting to take advantage of thegenerosity and open heartedness of seafarer welfare organisations and workers. Please be on yourguard for hoax calls and fraudulent emails. If in any doubt please check with the ICSW or ICMAbefore releasing any funds or payments to individuals who you do not know and have ‘cold’ calledyou.

WARNING!

Tanker arrested in US overunpaid wages – 29 November2011A PRODUCT tanker owned byUS-listed NewLead Holdingsremains under arrest in Marylandwaters today following a disputeover unpaid wages. The72,934dwt NewLead Compasswas arrested by US marshals on23 November after a lawsuit wasfiled by 25 officers andcrewmembers who work aboardthe vessel. According to legaldocuments filed in the DistrictCourt of Maryland last week, theplaintiffs “have not been paid theirwages and benefits, for at leastthe month of October”. Unpaidcompensation totaled $217,760as of 23 November, according tothe suit. “The vessel is still underarrest,” NewLead public relationsmanager Elisa Gerouki toldFairplay today. However, sheemphasised that “NewLead hasremedied the total amount of thewages and benefits.” “NewLeadproceeded with the payment lastweek, but due to theThanksgiving holiday, there was ashort delay. We expect the issueto be finalised shortly,” affirmedGerouki. Mixed-fleet operatorNewLead is currently in the midstof a major restructuring processand was forced to sell two bulkersin September to meet its debtobligations.

EU piracy force left short – 23November 2011EU NAVFOR's anti-piracyoperation off Somalia will be shortof warships until March becauseof budget cuts, an EU militaryofficial has warned. The EUMilitary Committee chairman,Swedish General Hakan Syren,said yesterday that NAVFOR’sAtalanta operation requires atleast 4-6 warships, depending onthe time of the year, but this willnot be met from December untilMarch, Reuters reported. "The ...commander has a minimum levelof both maritime patrol aircraftand ships; and during quite alimited time ... the number ofships is below the red line," Syren

told reporters. Another EU militaryofficial later said the missionwould be sustained, with theshortfall coinciding with a periodwhen pirate attacks normallydeclined, Reuters reported. Syrencalled the shortage a "problem"likely caused by the globaleconomic crisis: “I can imaginethere are many different reasonsfor this, but one is of courseeconomy, the budget cuts." Meanwhile, the UN SecurityCouncil has unanimously passeda resolution calling on allcountries to do more to trackdown and prosecute pirates. Itextended for another year itsauthorisation for navies to enterSomalia’s territorial waters tosuppress piracy, in co-operationwith Somalia’s regime. But itstopped short of drawing up newinternational anti-piracy courts,saying that it would “continue itsconsideration” of the idea. Alsoyesterday, the Italian navyreportedly exchanged fire withsuspected pirates off the Somalicoast. Nobody was hurt and thepirate skiff sped off withoutdamage. The InternationalMaritime Bureau estimated on 14November there had been 397pirate attacks this year, with 11merchant ships and 194 hostagesare held by pirates.

Three pirate hijackings offNigeria confirmed - 21NovemberCHEVRON has confirmed thehijacking of a feeder oil tanker offNigeria, with the pirates holdingthree crew members hostage,IHS Global Insight reported today.Chevron said that the tankerEndeavour is owned by itscontractor, the US companyChouest, and that this 18November attack was the secondhijacking on ships hired by the USoil giant off this month off Nigeria,which has Africa's largest oilbusiness, Reuters reported. “Theshift from Benin's territorial watersback to the Niger Delta in recentmonths is especiallydisconcerting, as it comes at atime that the industry has been

experiencing several attacks onpipeline infrastructure in the NigerDelta area that resulted in severalforce majeures in recent months,”IHS Global Insight pointed outtoday. Gunmen meantimeboarded two fishing vessels thesame day off Nigeria and tookboth their captains hostage,security sources told Reuters."Three ships taken in the sameday,” a security source told thenews agency. “It could be acoincidence but elections in theNiger Delta can be volatile, andthis one particularly so." Nigeriaproduces more than 2M barrels ofcrude per day and is a keysupplier to the US, Europe andemerging markets in Asia.Meanwhile, the Myanmar Timesreported today that 13 Myanmarmariners held captive by Somalipirates in appalling conditions forabout 15 months returned home.Pirate attacks foiled – 8November 2011IRAN SAID today its navy hasthwarted a pirate attack on anIranian oil tanker in the Red Sea.Somalia Report said 15 pirates intwo speedboats attacked thetanker last night, but respondingnaval units wounded two pirates,who then broke off the action. TheFARS news agency said theIranian warship later escorted thetanker to safer waters. Neithership was identified. The deputycommander of the Iranian navy,Rear Admiral Seyed MahamoudMoussavi, today confirmed theincident off Hanish al-KubraIsland, according to FARS.Meanwhile, NATO said today apirate group in the SouthernSomali basin had been disrupted,but concerns remain aboutpossible mother ships in theArabian Sea. The German frigateFGS Köln and French aircraftoperating with EU NAVFORdisrupted a pirate skiff and awhaler acting as a supply vesselabout 50 n-miles off Tanzania. EUNAVFOR said the pirates threwequipment overboard before theywere transferred to Köln thisweekend, and the boats weresunk to prevent them being usedin future attacks.

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Fairplay Daily NewsReproduced with kind permission of Lloyds Register - Fairplay Ltd

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