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Philippine Maritime Standards Update

- The European Commission praised the Philippines for improving its maritime standards but noted it still needs to fully comply with the STCW convention. It was given until July to address outstanding issues to avoid losing EU recognition. - An inaccurate cargo loading plan led to a container vessel losing containers overboard. Top-heavy containers in stacks were listed as empty but actually contained cargo weighing up to 30 tonnes each. - Search operations continue for MH370, with collected data expected to help narrow the search area even though no debris has yet been found. Wooden-hulled vessels in the Philippines may soon be retired and replaced with steel ships to improve safety.

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15 views7 pages

Philippine Maritime Standards Update

- The European Commission praised the Philippines for improving its maritime standards but noted it still needs to fully comply with the STCW convention. It was given until July to address outstanding issues to avoid losing EU recognition. - An inaccurate cargo loading plan led to a container vessel losing containers overboard. Top-heavy containers in stacks were listed as empty but actually contained cargo weighing up to 30 tonnes each. - Search operations continue for MH370, with collected data expected to help narrow the search area even though no debris has yet been found. Wooden-hulled vessels in the Philippines may soon be retired and replaced with steel ships to improve safety.

Uploaded by

javie_65
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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MARITIME NEWS

Monday, May 5, 2014


International maritime news for seafarers
EC hails 'improved' Philippine maritime
standards
The Philippines has earned praises from the European Commission (EC for impro!in" its
maritime standards #ut was told to e$ert e$tra effort in fulfillin" all re%uirements under the
&tandards of Trainin", Certifi'ation and (at'h)eepin" for &eafarers (&TC( 'on!ention*
+ollowin" an assessment, the EC,s -ire'torate .eneral of Mo#ility and Transport (-. M/0E
hailed Manila,s initiati!es in #oostin" the standard of maritime edu'ation, trainin" and
'ertifi'ation system* 1''ordin" to -. M/0E, the Philippines, with the held of European 2nion
mem#er3states, was a#le to 'arry out measures to meet &TC( 'on!ention re%uirements*
4The E2 has lon" re'o"nised the Philippines as an important maritime nation whose many
seafarers on European !essels are mu'h appre'iated,4 said E2 1m#assador .uy 5edou$* 6e
also 'alled on the Philippine "o!ernment to 'ontinue upholdin" seafarers, safety, as well as the
maritime se'tor,s o!erall de!elopment*
6owe!er, -. M/0E noted that the &outheast 1sian nation still needs to ensure that audit
plans are #ein" enfor'ed and that the 'ountry should ha!e all ne'essary te'hni'al %ualified
human resour'es in maritime trainin" institutions*
The Philippines was "i!en until the end of 7uly to pro!ide a report indi'atin" that it had
resol!ed outstandin" defi'ien'ies with re"ards to meetin" &TC( re%uirements* The European
Maritime &afety 1"en'y will 'ondu't a follow3up inspe'tion in /'to#er this year*
1''ordin" to the -. M/0E, failure to address all of the remainin" issues may result in the
Philippines losin" E2 re'o"nition* To #e a#le to address the issue, Manila was ad!ised to see)
further te'hni'al assistan'e from the international 'ommunity*
SAFETY STUDY
TOO MUCH ON TOP
1 'ontainer feeder !essel,s dis'har"e and loadin" operation went disastrously wron" due to
the 'ar"o plannin" department,s ina''urate loadin" plan*
FACTS
1 'ontainer feeder !essel was operatin" #etween three north European ports8 ea'h 'all always
in!ol!in" 'omplete dis'har"e and loadin" of 'ar"o* /n arri!al at the !essel,s home port, an
unlashin" "an" immediately #oarded and released the lower lashin" #ars and twist lo')s that
'onne'ted the #ottom two 'ontainers in ea'h sta') stowed on de')* It was normal for the
upper four 'ontainers of ea'h sta') to remain 'onne'ted #y twist lo')s as a sin"le unit, until
su'h time that their #ay was to #e unloaded*
Two shore 'ranes wor)ed the ship, #oth initially dis'har"in" and e!entually one loadin" as the
other 'arried on with unloadin"* The se'ond offi'er monitored operations from the de') and
o''asionally 'arried out #allastin" ad9ustments as and when the ship de!eloped a list*
1ppro$imately fi!e hours after moorin", se!eral 'ontainers in the aftermost #ay toppled to port*
Ei"hteen were lost o!er#oard and some of those that remained in the #ay suffered dama"e* It
was later found that the top 'ontainers in se!en out of nine sta')s, whi'h had #een de'lared
as empty on the loadin" plan, a'tually 'ontained 'ar"o of up to :03tonne wei"ht* (ith the top
four 'ontainers in ea'h sta') still 'onne'ted #y twist lo')s, these sin"le units were !ery top
hea!y and lia#le to topple easily when e$posed to a suita#le tri""er*
FINDINGS
The load plan was ina''urate #e'ause the 'ontainer line,s 'ar"o plannin" department
"enerated its loadin" plans usin" the wei"hts de'lared #y the shipper when initially #oo)in"
'ontainer slots on the ship*
E!en if the shipper updated the line at a later date, with a''urate wei"hts, the software system
was not 'onfi"ured to update the plannin" department,s data*
The !ery least that 'ontainer lines 'an do is to ensure that their plannin" departments ha!e the
most a''urate data held #y the 'ompany*
-espite tradin" #etween three ports that had si"nifi'antly different salinity le!els, it was found
that the de') offi'ers on #oard were usin" the same do') water density for all 'al'ulations*
&our'e; 2< M1I=
o!er ann"al reven"e #rom Panama Canal
li$el%
The Panama Canal is li)ely to post a lower3than3e$pe'ted annual re!enue despite on"oin"
ma9or up"rades for the waterway*
7or"e >ui9ano, the 'anal,s administrator, said that the waterway is e$pe'ted to earn 2&-:*1
#illion per year until 2025*
6owe!er, the fi"ure was way lower than an initial pro9e'tion of 2&-5 #illion on the #a') of
impro!ements 'urrently underway*
2p"rades for the 'entury3old 'anal, whi'h a''ounts for fi!e per'ent of the world,s total
maritime trade, should ha!e #een finished #y this year #ut their 'ompletion was pushed to
201? due to delays and 'ost o!erruns*
The low pro9e'tion, a''ordin" to >ui9ano, 'an #e attri#uted to the !olatile world e'onomi'
'limate* 4The world e'onomy is not %uite solid enou"h,4 he said*
1mon" the up"rades #ein" done for the @03)ilometre3lon" Panama Canal, whi'h first opened
in 1A14 with an aim to pro!ide a mu'h shorter and safer route #etween the 1tlanti' and the
Pa'ifi', are the widenin" of lo')s and 'hannels to allow lar"er !essels to pass throu"h the
waterway*
Nets rein#or&ed aro"nd So"th 'orean #err% to
stop (od% dri#t
&outh <orean re'o!ery wor)ers stren"thened a rin" of nettin" around a sun)en ferry Monday
to try to pre!ent 'orpses driftin" away as di!e teams re'o!ered 11 more #odies, raisin" the
death toll to 2?0, 1+P reported*
1 total of 42 people remain una''ounted for, 1A days after the ?,@253tonne &ewol 'apsiBed
and san) with 4C? people on #oard 3 most of them s'hool'hildren*
(or)ers in fishin" #oats stren"thened nettin" around the s'ene of the disaster off the
southwestern island of 7indo, amid 'on'erns that powerful 'urrents may ha!e pulled some
#odies into the open sea*
The operation followed a meetin" at a 7indo har#our &unday #etween President Par) .eun3
6ye and the relati!es of passen"ers still missin"*
They are insistin" that all the #odies should #e re'o!ered #efore efforts #e"in to raise the ferry*
The sear'h has #een hampered #y stron" 'urrents and wa!es, with di!e teams wor)in" in
'hallen"in" and sometimes haBardous 'onditions*
They must "rope their way down "uide ropes to the sun)en ship, stru""lin" throu"h narrow
passa"eways and rooms littered with floatin" de#ris in silty water*
1s days "o #y, personal #elon"in"s and other items from the ship ha!e #een spotted further
and further away, fuellin" 'on'ern that some !i'tims may ne!er #e found*
5ast wee) #odies were retrie!ed up to four )ilometres away from the site, and #eddin" material
from the ship was found as far as :0 )ilometres away*
The ferry sin)in" is one of &outh <orea,s worst pea'etime disasters, made all the more
sho')in" #y the loss of so many youn" li!es*
Data &olle&ted helps narro! sear&h area #or
MH)*+
1lthou"h the sear'h has yet to find any si"n of possi#le de#ris from missin" Malaysia 1irlines
fli"ht M6:C0 durin" operations, the data 'olle'ted durin" the :5 days at sea will assist in
narrowin" the sear'h area for the final restin" pla'e of the air'raft, a''ordin" to the latest
statement #y the 7oint 1"en'y Coordination Centre (71CC on Monday, PD1 and Einhua
reported*
The statement said /'ean &hield will return to +leet =ase (est on Monday to replenish its
supplies and 'ondu't routine maintenan'e and software modifi'ations to the su#marine !ehi'le
=luefin321*
/n'e the port !isit 'ompleted, /'ean &hield will return immediately to the sear'h area where
the undersea sear'h will 'ontinue for the plane, whi'h !anished mysteriously on Mar'h @ with
2:A a#oard, a''ordin" to the 71CC*
Meanwhile, the 2& Da!y will 'ontinue supportin" the M6:C0 sear'h effort with the =luefin321
side s'an sonar for a#out fourmore wee)s at the re%uest of the 1ustralian "o!ernment*
Gro"p see$s retirement o# !ooden,h"lled ships
in PH
(ooden3hulled !essels 'ould soon #e a thin" of the past in the Philippines with 1D.<51, an
or"anisation of seafarers and families, 'allin" for their immediate retirement*
1D.<51 representati!e 7esulito Manalo 'alled on the Philippine authorities to enfor'e the law
on the retirement of wooden3hulled ships*
6e said the a'%uisition of steel !essels to repla'e the wooden3hulled ships should also #e fast3
tra')ed to help de!elop the lo'al shippin" industry* 45aws 'allin" for the retirement of all
wooden3hulled !essels must #e enfor'ed,4 Manalo stressed* The offi'ial added that usin" steel
ones will also impro!e the safety of the lo'al fleet*
INCIDENTS
Car-o ship sin$s. // missin- near Hon- 'on-
1uthorities laun'hed an air and sea res'ue operation Monday to find 11 'rew mem#ers from a
Chinese 'ar"o ship after it 'ollided with another !essel and san) 9ust outside 6on" <on",s
teemin" waters*
+our heli'opters and more than 20 ships from China and 6on" <on" were deployin" to the
waters near Po Toi, an island lyin" at the ed"e of 6on" <on",s territory where the ship san) in
the early hours of the mornin", offi'ials said*
4Two 'ar"o ships 'ollided and one of them san),4 a poli'e spo)eswoman told 1+P* 1erial
foota"e of the s'ene shown on 6on" <on" tele!ision showed an oil sli') on the surfa'e of the
sea where the ship is #elie!ed to ha!e "one down*
1 fire department spo)esman said there were 12 people in total on #oard, with poli'e
'onfirmin" that one male was later res'ued and sent to hospital, 1+P reported*
The sur!i!or, who was plu')ed from the sea #y a passin" fishin" #oat, suffered minor in9uries
to his hands and feet, she said*
China said it was sendin" three heli'opters and more than a doBen ships to the s'ene,
a''ordin" to the offi'ial Einhua news a"en'y, while 6on" <on" sent a heli'opter and ei"ht
res'ue !essels*
0 Chinese sailors die. 0 h"rt in Pa&i#i& O&ean
Two Chinese sailors died and si$ are #elie!ed to #e missin" after their #oat san) in the Pa'ifi'
/'ean, an offi'ial at -a!is3Monthan 1ir +or'e =ase said &unday*
Ma9 &arah &'hwennesen said that a 0eneBuelan fishin" #oat reported findin" 11 sailors
floatin" in a raft +riday afternoon*
&he said the 0eneBuelan 'rew said four sailors were #adly #urned* Two later died of their
in9uries, The 1sso'iated Press reported*
1irmen from the 5?:rd Fes'ue .roup para'huted into the water &aturday afternoon and used
inflata#le #oats to rea'h the 0eneBuelan !essel, whi'h is 1,100 nauti'al miles (a#out 2,0:C)m
west of Ca#o &an 5u'as, Me$i'o, &'hwennesen said* They treated the in9ured sailors
&aturday and into &unday mornin"*
PORT OF THE WEEK
Port o# Hai#a
The Port of 6aifa is Israel,s #i""est international seaport* Its two other ma9or seaport are Port
of 1shdod and the Port of Eilat* 6aifa Port is lo'ated in a natural deep water har#our* The
'omple$ is operational at any time of the year and ser!es #oth 'ar"o and passen"ers* The #ay
allows uno#stru'ted and unhindered entry and e$it for !essels throu"hout the year*
6aifa Port is situated 'lose to the &ueB Canal, the #usiest shippin" route in the world*
The 'omple$ one of the lar"est ports in the eastern Mediterranean in terms of frei"ht !olume* It
is a#le to handle a#out 24 million tons of 'ar"o annually year*
In 2012, the port pro'essed a#out 1*:C million TE2s, as well as 2A:,0@0 passen"ers*
The terminal employs more than 1,000 personnel, with the num#er seasonally "rowin" to
5,000 durin" the summer, when 'ruise ships 'ome for #rief !isits*
The port lies to the north of 6aifa,s downtown %uarter on the Mediterranean, and stret'hes to
some three )ilometres alon" the 'entral shore* It has !arious fa'ilities for military, industrial
and 'ommer'ial se'tors ne$t to the passen"er terminal*
The Carmel Terminal is 'onsidered as the most ad!an'ed in Israel and allow hi"h !olumes of
loadin" and unloadin"*
The 'ar"o terminal 'an handle any type of frei"ht; 'ontainer, "eneral 'ar"o, #ul) 'ar"o, seed,
'hemi'als, fuel and ro3ro throu"h a lar"e num#er of %uays*
1 railroad frei"ht terminal is lo'ated inside the port and is used for transportin" "oods a'ross
the 'ountry, while a passen"er rail station 'onne'ts to the national rail networ)*
The port also features a fishin" wharf, a ya'ht 'lu#, a sports marina, and a 'hemi'al terminal*
Dew fa'ilities will e$pand the port,s annual 'ontainer handlin" 'apa'ity #y 500,000 TE2*
Constru'tion of this new terminal 'ost a#out 2&-500 million and will ta)e fi!e years to
'omplete*
The Port also maintains fa'ilities for the 2nited &tates Da!y &i$th +leet*
6aifa,s modern passen"er terminal in'ludes a !ariety of fa'ilities intended to pro!ide ma$imum
'on!enien'e for passen"ers passin" throu"h the port*
The passen"er terminal has #een e$panded to %ui')ly and effi'iently pro'ess passen"ers from
a num#er of ships at the same time*
SHIPPING DATA
1ATIC E2CHANGE
Market snapshot: (May 2)
Dry Index BDI 1017 +24
Capesize Index BCI 182 +11!
"ana#ax Index B"I 8$% &$
'(pra#ax Index B'I 1% (no )han*e)
E2CHANGE 3ATES
+e, -ork (.ri C/s)
.*n C(rren)y 0'D in .*n
in 0'D C(rren)y
Britain ("o(nd) 11$8$ 01%28
Canada (Do//ar) 01111 1107$
China (-(an) 011%8 $12%%
2(ro 11!872 01720
India (3(pee) 0101$$ $011700
Indonesia (3(piah) 01000087 11%2%100
4apan (-en) 0100781 10212400
+or,ay (5rone) 011$84 %1!
"hi/ippines ("eso) 01022% 441%200
"o/and (6/oty) 01!28 !10!00
3(ssia (3(7/e) 01027 !%18778
'in*apore (Do//ar) 0177 112%!4
0kraine (8ry9nia) 010877 11140$%

Common questions

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The loading plan error was significant because it incorrectly declared the top containers in seven out of nine stacks as empty when they actually contained cargo weighing up to 30 tonnes, contributing to the top-heavy condition that caused them to topple. The error was attributed to the container line's reliance on weights declared by shippers without proper updates, and the planning software's inability to integrate subsequent weight corrections provided after the initial booking .

Steel vessels significantly enhance the safety of the Philippine shipping industry by providing greater structural integrity compared to wooden-hulled ships, which are more vulnerable to damage and sinking. The transition to steel vessels, as advocated by ANGKLA, would help in reducing maritime accidents and boost the overall safety of the local fleet, aligning with international maritime safety standards .

The European Maritime Safety Agency conducts follow-up inspections to ensure compliance with maritime safety standards, like the STCW convention. In the Philippines' case, it will inspect whether the country has resolved outstanding deficiencies in its maritime training and education before granting continued recognition, thereby playing an essential role in enforcing international maritime compliance .

The Port of Haifa is strategically significant due to its location in a natural deep-water harbor close to the Suez Canal, which is one of the busiest shipping routes globally. Its competitive advantages include unobstructed year-round operations, advanced facilities capable of handling diverse cargo types, and efficient connections via rail to Israel's national network, further enhancing its role as a major logistical hub in the eastern Mediterranean .

Strong underwater currents greatly complicate recovery operations by moving wreckage and bodies away from the disaster site. In the South Korean ferry incident, powerful currents caused concerns that bodies may have been swept into the open sea, making it difficult for recovery teams to locate them. The challenging conditions with strong currents also pose risks to divers working underwater, which can delay recovery efforts and increase the operation's complexity .

The observable consequences were the toppling of containers into the sea due to the inaccurately lighter declared weights that were actually up to 30 tonnes heavier, leading to a top-heavy condition. This created an imbalance when exposed to suitable triggers, such as vessel movements, highlighting the critical impact of precise weight declarations on maritime safety .

Inaccurate data affected cargo planning as the planning department based their loading plans on the weights declared initially by shippers. Without updates reflecting actual weights, some stacks declared as containing empty containers were significantly heavier, affecting the vessel's stability. This inaccuracy led to the toppling of containers, illustrating the critical need for updated and reliable data in cargo planning .

The Panama Canal's lower annual revenue projections, expected at USD3.1 billion instead of USD5 billion, are primarily due to the volatile world economic climate, which affects trade volumes. Despite major upgrades like widening locks and channels, the insufficiently solid global economy continues to challenge the canal's revenue goals .

The logistical complexities include vast search areas, challenging sea conditions, and the technical limitations of equipment like the Bluefin-21 side-scan sonar. These factors require detailed strategic planning, considering factors such as resource allocation, search grid patterns, and restocking supplies like at Fleet Base West. Such complexities necessitate continuous data analysis and strategy adjustments to optimize the search for MH370's final resting place .

The Philippines has taken measures to enhance its maritime education, training, and certification system, recognized by the European Commission (EC) as meeting some Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) convention requirements. However, challenges remain, such as ensuring audit plans are enforced, and the country must have technically qualified human resources in maritime training institutions. The EC has stressed the importance of addressing these deficiencies by the end of July to maintain EU recognition .

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