Benefits of World Maritime Day…

The United Nations (UN), via the International Maritime Organization (IMO), created World Maritime Day (WMD) to celebrate the international maritime industry’s contribution towards the world’s economy, especially in shipping.

The event’s date varies by year and country but is generally in the last week of September. For example in 2015, it was celebrated on Thursday the 24^th of September, and next year (2016) it will be celebrated on Thursday, 22^nd September.

World Maritime Day focuses attention on the importance of shipping safety, maritime security and the marine environment and to emphasize a particular aspect of IMO's work.  The day also features a special message from the IMO’s secretary-general, which is backed up by a discussion paper on the selected subject in more detail. The theme for 2015 was "Maritime education and training", focusing attention on the importance of adequate education and training to ensure a safe, secure and sustainable shipping industry.

World Maritime Day is celebrated in many countries worldwide, including India. Special events and activities are held to celebrate the day, including a symposium/seminar on the theme of the event as conveyed by IMO.

Since 2005, in addition to the official IMO celebrations held at IMO Headquarters in London, there has been a parallel event hosted by a Member State. This year’s parallel event was held in Japan on the 20^th and 21^st July 2015.

The WMD theme for this year was “Maritime Education and Training”. The Theme was adopted to focus attention on the wider spectrum of maritime education and training, in particular its adequacy and quality, as the bedrock of a safe and secure shipping industry, which needs to preserve the quality, practical skills and competence of qualified human resources, in order to ensure its sustainability.

The 1978 STCW Convention and Code, as amended (STCW 2010), set the international benchmark for the training and education of seafarers. While compliance with its standards is essential for serving on board ships, the skills and competence of seafarers, and indeed the human element ashore can only be adequately underpinned, updated and maintained through effective maritime education and training.

The IMO symposium held on the 24^th of September on the topic: Shipping’s future needs people: Is global maritime education and training on course?” The IMO symposium provided an opportunity for a discussion on the future of maritime education and training.

All speakers at the symposium stressed the need to raise the profile and the image of shipping in general, in order to attract young people into the maritime professions. Other speakers brought in the paucity of training berths and some speakers raised the important issue of ongoing quality assessment of seafarer training courses as required by STCW 2010.

This year the parallel event was held in Japan on the 20^th and 21^st of July, 2015. Maritime education and training needs- now and in the future – were the focus of a high-level international symposium. Delegates also visited maritime heritage sites in Yokohama and witnessed seafarer training demonstrations on the sail training ships Kaiwo Maru and the training ship Taisei Maru. This was followed by a special session addressing the future needs of the industry, which aimed to discuss how educational organizations could go about educating and training high quality maritime human resources, which are necessary for quality shipping and how they could attract the interest of future generations towards the seas and the oceans.

IMO has recently decided on the theme for World Maritime Day 2016, namely, “Shipping indispensable to the world”. Next year the Parallel Event will be held in Turkey.

“Today, around 90 percent of world trade is carried by the international shipping industry. Without shipping the import and export of goods on the scale necessary to sustain the modern world would not be possible. And seaborne trade continuous to expand, bringing benefits for consumers across the world through competitive freight costs. Yet the fact remains that most of the world’s population is not aware of the vital role shipping plays in their everyday lives”, said IMO Secretary General.

There are more than 50,000 merchant ships trading internationally, transporting every kind of cargo. The world fleet is registered in over 150 nations and manned by more than a million seafarers of virtually every nationality.

In India, we benefit from the symposium/seminar, the theme and message from IMO which keeps us abreast of international developments.

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Liquefaction – A major hazard on BULK CARRIERS

Liquefaction is a chemical process that turns a previously safe commodity into a cargo with a dangerously high moisture content that can destabilize a vessel. Liquefaction means that a cargo becomes fluid (liquefies). On ships, this happens when the cargo is compacted by the ship’s motion. Cargoes which are prone to liquefaction contain a certain quantity of moisture and small particles, although they may look relatively dry and granular when loaded. Liquefaction can lead to cargo shift and even to capsize and total loss of the ship.

Certain cargoes, particularly nickel ore and iron ore fines, initially look dry and their characteristics are solid during loading on the ship. But during the voyage, concentrate cargoes as afore-mentioned are exposed to agitation under certain conditions including ship’s rolling, wave impact and engine vibration which results in compaction of the cargo.

IMO’s International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) code which is mandatory under the provisions of SOLAS has placed cargoes with a liquefaction hazard in Group ‘A’. Liquefaction can result in cargo shift. This phenomenon may be described as follows:

1)  The volume of the spaces between the particles reduces as the cargo is compacted due to the ship’s motion, etc.;

2)  The reduction in space between cargo particles causes an increase in water pressure in the space;

3)  The increase in water pressure reduces the friction between cargo particles, resulting in a reduction in the shear strength of the cargo; and

4)  Then the cargo begins to flow as a viscous liquid

Liquefaction does not occur when one of the following conditions is satisfied:

a) The cargo consists of large particles or lumps. Water passes through the spaces between the particles and there is no increase in the water pressure. Cargoes which consist entirely of large particles will not liquefy; and

b) The cargo contains a high percentage of air and low moisture content.  Any increase in water pressure is inhibited. Dry cargoes do not liquefy.

Group ‘A’ cargoes with high moisture content (above TML) are prone to sliding, particularly if the cargo is shallow and subject to large heel angles. In the resulting viscous fluid state cargo may flow to one side of the ship with a roll but not completely return with a roll the other way. Consequently, the ship may progressively reach a dangerous heel and capsize quite suddenly.

A number of major liquefaction incidents resulting in capsizing and sinking have taken place over the years. Some of them are given below:

-  On the 27th of October, 2010, ‘Jian Fu Star’ laden with nickel ore from Indonesia sank in South China Sea with loss of 12 lives.

-  On the 10th of November, 2010, ‘Nasco Diamond’ laden with nickel ore from Indonesia sank in the Pacific Ocean with a loss of 20 lives.

-   On the 3rd December, 2010, ‘Hong Wei’ laden with nickel ore sank in the south China Sea with a loss of 10 lives.

-   On the 25th of December, 2011, ‘Vinalines Queen’ laden with nickel ore from Sulawesi sank in the Philippine Sea with the loss of 22 lives.

The ‘Asian Forest’ and the ‘Black Rose’ sank in July 2009 (off Mangalore) and September 2009 (Off Paradip) respectively, while carrying a cargo of iron ore fines during the monsoon season. The Directorate General of Shipping investigated the sinking and concluded that the reason was liquefaction as a consequence of excessive moisture in the cargo. Thereafter, as a preventive measure, DG Shipping issued an MS Notice banning the loading of Iron Ore fines during monsoon months on the Indian coast.

More recently, on the 30th of December, 2014, ‘Bulk Jupiter’ laden with bauxite from Malaysia sank off Vietnam with a loss of 18 lives.

The IMSBC Code requires that concentrates or other cargoes which may liquefy shall only be accepted for loading when the actual moisture content of the cargo is less than its Transportable Moisture Limit (TML).  Considering that if Liquefaction takes place whilst the vessel is rolling in rough weather, it would be very difficult to control the vessel; hence, the major precaution that actual moisture content should be less than its TML should never be compromised.

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How to cut Paperwork? - IMO study underway…

The development of a number of IMO and other Conventions, Codes, Resolutions and Circulars and more particularly the development of the ISM code, has led to an increasing burden of paperwork for ship’s officers. Further, with the voluntary implementation of an integrated ship management system in many companies together with commercial, trade and industry requirements, the burden of paper work has increased exponentially.

Documentary evidence for most of the requirements, hard copies and originals have become pre-requisites for surveys, inspections and audits which have also increased substantially. In the earlier years a dedicated officer (Purser) was available to assist with the paper work. Later, to reduce manning cost, the Purser was withdrawn and then the Radio Officer shared this burden.

Further, with the advent of GMDSS and satellite communications, the radio officer has also been withdrawn, so now the full burden and that too an increased burden is fully on the ship’s officers.

On account of the foregoing, ship’s officers are spending far too much time on paper work. This is having a negative impact on ship operations and maintenance, increasing work load, fatigue, tension and stress. One would have imagined that with the advent of automation, computerization and technological advancements, life on board would have enhanced self- satisfaction for ship’s officers; but it seems that earlier times were better with less paper work.

The increased paper work load has already reached alarming proportions and time is not far when an incident may happen as the ship’s officer was busy with paper work!

It is heartening to know that an IMO study is underway and that some data has already been collated to consider the possibility of reducing paper work. Further, in order to take a holistic view, it would be necessary to also consider reducing paper work in commercial, trade, industry, company and non-mandatory areas.

We are looking forward to a positive outcome and hope that paperwork reduces substantially for the overall benefit of the shipping industry and in particular for the benefit of ship’s officers.

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