Costa Concordia VDR "Broken"
Italy’s Repubblica TV has broadcast video footage of the bridge of the Costa Concordia following the vessel’s contact with a rock off the island of Giglio. Some English translation is i the Independent newspaper.
Costa Concordia VDR "Broken"
Hopes were high that the Costa Concordia voyage data recorder, VDR, would resolve keys issues about the vessel’s grounding on 13 January, including communications between the master, Francesco Schettino, and the ship owner’s executives. However, the VDR had been faulty for at least two weeks, according to reports quoting Captain Schettino.
Understandably there have been comments about the ‘convenience’ of the faulty VDR but such circumstances are far from common and they are on the increase.
In March 2011, Gard issued an advisory on VDR problems, noting “”a number of cases where vessels have been unsuccessful in both saving and retrieving vital VDR information.
Failure to be able to produce VDR information may lead to counterparty allegations that might have been prevented and/or proceeded against in a less costly manner had it not been for the lack of VDR evidence”. Continue reading »
- Photo: Stock.XCHNG
Britain’s Health and Safety Executive, HSE, has revised its Loss of Containment Manual.
Says HSE: “The expanded document now gives advice on ten important elements of process integrity, and should help industry to further reduce the number of offshore hydrocarbon releases”.
Indian Dhow Mothership
After three days of persistent pressure, FGS Luebeck has forced Somali pirates to release an Indian dhow with 15 Indian mariners held as hostages.
On the 17 January 2012 the EU NAVFOR warship FGS Luebeck re-located an Indian registered dhow which had been used as pirate mother-ship involved in the attack on M/V Flintstone early the same day. A Dutch Vessel Protection Detachment (VPD) stationed on the Dutch-registered civilian fall-pipe vessel had repelled the attack following a gun-fight and caused the attack skiffs to retreat back to the pirate mother ship with injuries to the suspected pirates.
Having positively identified the dhow and sighted the attack skiffs and other pirate paraphernalia on deck of the dhow, FGS Luebeck approached the dhow demanding that they comply via radio messages.
The vessel did not react to radio calls or to subsequent warning gunshots. Sustained pressure was applied to the dhow through the presence of FGS Luebeck including direct shots fired into the bow of the dhow and use of the ship’s helicopter to neutralise the attack skiffs secured on the upper deck.
Suspected pirates surrender
It has been confirmed that the Spanish judicial authorities will prosecute the six Somali suspected pirates, who attacked the EU NAVFOR Flagship, the ESPS PATINO on 12 January. Following receipt of the evidence package, the Spanish Audiencia Naciona has confirmed it will undertake judicial proceedings. The suspected pirates will be transferred from the Flagship ashore for onward movement to Spain.
The suspects attacked the ESPS PATINO in the vicinity of Mogadishu following the successful escort of a World Food Programme ship carrying humanitarian-aid into Somalia and attempted to climb onboard having fired light-calibre weapons into the superstructure. The embarked detachment of Spanish Marines returned fire in self-defence and the ship’s Seaking helicopter was launched to track the skiff and the occupants surrendered.
Jan 192012
Satellite photos of Eyl show infrastructure benefits of piracy. Source: Treasure Mapped: Using Satellite Imagery to Track the Developmental Effects of Somali Piracy, Chatham House.
Puntland authorities have threatened legal against think tank Chatham House for its report examining the economic impact of piracy on Somalia as the latest figures from the International Maritime Bureau, IMB, show a slight drop in the total number of recorded incidents of piracy and armed robbery. The falling numbers come after four consecutive years of increased piracy and armed robbery worldwide.
Pirate attacks against vessels in East and West Africa accounted for the majority of world attacks in 2011, signalling a rising trend, says the IMB’s global piracy report. Of the 439 attacks reported to the IMB in 2011, 275 attacks took place off Somalia on the east coast and in the Gulf of Guinea on the west coast of Africa.
The 802 crew members taken hostage in 2011 also marks a decrease from the four-year high of 1,181 in 2010. Overall in 2011, there were 45 vessels hijacked, 176 vessels boarded, 113 vessels fired upon and 105 reported attempted attacks. A total of eight crew members were killed throughout the year, the same number as 2010.
Somali pirates continue to account for the majority of attacks – approximately 54%. But while the overall number of Somali incidents increased from 219 in 2010 to 237 in 2011, the number of successful hijackings decreased from 49 to 28.
The overall figures for Somali piracy could have been much higher if it were not for the continued efforts of international naval forces, IMB reports. In the last quarter of 2011 alone, pre-emptive strikes by international navies disrupted at least 20 Pirate Action Groups (PAGs) before they could become a threat to commercial fleets. The last quarter of 2010 saw 90 incidents and 19 vessels hijacked; in 2011, those numbers fell to 31 and four, respectively.
“These pre-emptive naval strikes, the hardening of vessels in line with the Best Management Practices and the deterrent effect of Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel, have all contributed to this decrease,” said Captain Pottengal Mukundan, Director of the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre, which has been monitoring piracy worldwide since 1991. “The role of the navies is critical to the anti-piracy efforts in this area.”
Meanwhile, the Puntland government has issued a press release which says it will “pursue disciplinary action by Brunel University against the lecturer who produced a politically motivated and biased research with a heavy influence by a Somali political group with a particular agenda against Puntland State. The researcher’s lack of neutrality, objectivity and professionalism has produced research that damages the university’s image and profile” in response to a Chatham House report which used satellite imagery to assess the impact of piracy income on the main cities of Garowe and Bosasso.
Dr Anja Shortland, Senior Lecturer at Brunel University says: “Significant amounts of ransom monies are spent within Somalia, but conspicuous consumption appears to be limited by social norms dictating resource-sharing. Around a third of pirate ransoms are converted into Somali shillings, benefiting casual labour and pastoralists in Puntland”.
“As has long been recognised, the sharing of information on incidents is essential as an aid to improved safety, with each one improving the knowledge base of other organisations undertaking similar activities, ” says the latest edition of 6Degrees from the International Dynamic Positioning Operators Association.
This edition looks at the International Marine Contractors Association annual report on dynamic positioning station keeping incidents. According to the report on 2009, 77 reports were received from vessels operated by IMCA members and others, and of these, 75 are included in ‘Dynamic Positioning Station Keeping Incidents (2009)’ (IMCA M 211). The report has seen the first drop in numbers in recent years down from 111 in 2008 to 77.
Complacency is the curse of safety so one particular comment by the master of the Costa Concordia caught MAC’s eye rather forcefully:
“I was navigating by sight because I knew the depths well and I had done this manoeuvre three or four times,” he reportedly said.
“But this time I ordered the turn too late and I ended up in water that was too shallow. I don’t know why it happened.”
There it is in a nutshell.
If you want one for your wall just right click the photo or click here.
Jan 182012
Vinalines Queen - A "Stark reminde" of risks
Last December’s loss of the supramax bulk carrier Vinalines Queen and 22 of her 23 crew off Northern Luzon in the Philippines is a “a stark reminder of the continuing dangers associated with the carriage of nickel ore” says the London P&I Club, which covered the ship.
On 10 September 2009 another of same company’s vessels, Vinalines Mighty, was forced to return to return to the port of Paradip, India, after loading iron ore fines at the port and developing a list while underway.
Prior to the casualty, last contact with the vessel was whilst on a voyage from Indonesia to China with 54,000 tonnes of ron ore fines.
At 0548 on the morning of 25 December 2011 the master of Vinalines Queen reported a 20 degree list to port with heavy winds and diverted to the Philippines. An hour later the list had reduced to 18 degrees and she was reported to be running to shore. The master had ordered the crew to the main deck with lifejackets and lifeboats lowered. Continue reading »
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