Crew Mirror Digest 07-2023

India: Centre invites EoI for a mega port at Galathea Bay

12 Feb 2023
Even as the construction on the Vizhinjam international seaport, which missed several deadlines in the past, gained pace after a hiatus, the Central government has invited expressions of interest (EOI) bids for the development of a mega international container transhipment port (ICTP) at Galathea Bay of Great Nicobar Island in the Bay of Bengal.

The New port will cater to the transhipment traffic from ports along east coast of Indian ports, which will also benefit from Vizhinjam port, apart from Bangladesh and Myanmar because of its proximity to Port Klang and Singapore. The new port to be set up at an estimated cost of ₹18.308 crore in the first phase.

Around 40 nautical miles away from the Malacca Strait international shipping channel, which handles about 35% of the annual global sea trade, the new location offers a huge opportunity for setting up of deep draft container transhipment terminal at the Galathea Bay.

The proposed all-weather deep seaport planned to cater to bigger vessels (~28,8400 TEUs) as well will be developed in four phases. Phase 1 of the project would be developed to handle traffic of about 4 MTEUs in 2028, which will increase to 16 MTEUs in the final phase. Reference

Changing profile of ports in the Bay of Bengal

12 Feb 2023
The year 2030 is not too far. By 2030, most of the old ports in Bay Bengal, particularly Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and West Bengal state of India will turn into inland ports due to rising siltation and navigational constraints.

To fill up the gap, India has planned to build an international transhipment terminal at the Galathea Bay in Great Nicobar Island. It offers several major benefits: First, located only 40 nautical miles from the international shipping corridor; second, availability of natural water depth of over 20m at berth; third, transhipment for international shipping lines. To replace Colombo or Singapore or Port Klang, Galathea Bay has to be developed as a sustainable smart city. Tthe Galathea container terminal has potential to replace the Colombo port as a transhipment terminal for India.

Thailand has reactivated the capacity enhancement of Ranong port in the container handling segment. Bangkok port is almost converted into an inland port. Myanmar has planned to develop Myeik and Dawei as deep sea ports. Myanmar will be able to complete the construction of the Kyaukpyu deep sea port by 2024.

By 2030. Most river-based ports in the Bay of Bengal will become inland ports to handle smaller vessels and cargoes. If there are no deep seaports in the Bay of Bengal region, growth will be severely hampered. Reference

India, Norway discuss issues of green ports, shipping, training of seafarers

11 Feb 2023
Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shri Sarbananda Sonowal had a meeting with H.E. Mr Jan Christian Vestre Minister of Trade and Industry of Norway in New Delhi on Thursday.

The Ministers discussed issues of bilateral interest including Green Ports and Shipping, training of seafarers, use of alternative fuels like green ammonia and hydrogen for futuristic shipping, and sustainable ship recycling. Implementation of Green Coastal Shipping Programme solutions in India was also deliberated upon. Both countries reiterated their commitment towards harnessing niche technologies to implement zero-emission solutions in Ports and Shipping sector.

In recent years, both countries have been increasingly tapping their bilateral economic and technical complementarities. The last Joint Working Group Maritime meeting between the two countries was held in November 2022.

During the meeting, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal expressed that the visit of the Minister of Norway to India will give a fillip to the growing maritime cooperation in shipping and Ports between the two countries. Reference

KVH Supports Seafarers with Free VoIP Calls to Turkey and Syria

11 Feb 2023
To ensure that seafarers can contact family, friends, and loved ones in earthquake-affected areas, KVH plans to provide free calls to Turkey and Syria to seafarers using KVH VSAT systems through the end of February 2023

Middletown, RI – KVH announces that it is now offering free VoIP calls to Turkey and Syria for seafarers, anticipating that this service will be available through the end of February 2023. Seafarers can use their KVH TracNet(TM) hybrid terminals and TracPhone® VSAT-only terminals to connect with family, friends, and loved ones affected by the devastating earthquakes in southeast Turkey, near the border of Syria.

For questions or airtime support with any KVH system, contact the KVH Support Team at +1.401.851.3862 or airtimeservices@kvh.com. The KVH team is available 24/7/365 to support vessels and crew worldwide. Reference

Norden reports highest earnings in its 151-year history

11 Feb 2023
The strong result came as the dry cargo market faced headwinds while the product tanker segment saw “soaring and volatile rates” in 2022.

Norden characterised the first half of 2022 as strong for the dry cargo market, before deflating at an increasing rate through the course of the year. The main factor in the dry market softening was the easing of COVID-19 related inefficiencies, according to Norden.

For the product tanker segment, average MR spot rates rose significantly to $34,200 per day, reflecting peaks approaching and exceeding $60,000 per day multiple times through the year.

The boost in rates brought prices for a five-year-old MR up 43% at the end of 2022.

A slim orderbook and low global stocks supported the market in 2022, but the real driver of high and volatile rates was the war in Ukraine.

The company expects the volatility and strength of the product tanker market to continue into 2023, with a rising crude market competing for clean tonnage and affecting supply. Reference

India: Centre to fund Rs 20 crore for RO-RO jetty in Goa

10 Feb 2023
The Central government’s project to encourage RO-RO and RO-PAX ferry service in the port town of Goa is set to be built at a whopping Rs 21 crore. The passenger jetty at Vasco Bay-Mormugao Port is among 42 places in the coastal states of India selected under the Sagarmala project for development to boost inland tourism.

Replying to an unstarred question on Tuesday, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal informed the Rajya Sabha that the government has already proposed to develop the ferry services to connect tourist potential places along the western coast from Kanyakumari to Goa to enhance tourism and ease traffic flow on coastal roads.

MPA will be the implementing agency for the project. Reference

Global shipping leaders bemoan acute seafarer shortage

10 Feb 2023
Too many vessels chasing too few seafarers is one of the biggest problems facing the industry today, the heads of four large shipping associations said at a Capital Link conference in Athens.

The long-term decline of seafaring populations is already a structural problem in traditional European maritime nations such as Greece and Italy. Things became much worse in recent years after the outbreaks of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war, however.

According to Bimco and ICS figures for 2021, Russians and Ukrainians combined accounted for about 15% of the world’s 1.89m seafaring population. With Russian and Ukrainian seafarers at risk of being declared deserters if they leave their countries to pursue their jobs, the industry has been increasingly turning to maritime labour suppliers in Asia.

There, however, even more trouble looms in one of the biggest supplier — the Philippines. A long-standing brawl with the European Union over seafarer education standards in the country threatens to restrict seafarer supply even more if it gets out of hand.

It was the first time that the heads of the ICS, Intercargo, Intertanko and Bimco president Sabrina Chao had met physically since the pandemic. Reference

Philippines: Seafarers’ rights bill passes House panel

10 Feb 2023
A BILL establishing the rights of seafarers and a certification system that meets international standards was approved by a House of Representatives committee on Thursday.   

The still unnumbered bill, one of the House’s priority measures for 2023, institutes a magna carta for the country’s maritime workers and provides for a “system of education, training, certification, and licensing” to ensure a sustainable pool of competent and world-class seafarers.  

The bill provides that sailors are entitled to a safe and secure workplace under safety standards; fair terms and conditions of employment; decent working and living conditions onboard a ship; and medical care and other forms of social protection.   

Sailors also have the right to affordable education and training.  

Female seafarers are also protected in the proposed measure in terms of equal pay, opportunities for promotion, training, and scholarships.  Reference

Maersk to recruit South African cadets for its global fleet

10 Feb 2023
Following an extensive review process, South Africa has been identified as a high potential crew sourcing destination for the A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) fleet, which comprises 280 fully-owned and operated container vessels, employing 12500 seafarers.

South African Cadets from the National Seafarer Development Program will be considered for placement with Maersk, and it is expected that the first cadets will be joining Maersk vessels from Q2 2023.

South Africa is considered a high potential crew sourcing area for several reasons: the country’s proven track record in providing quality ships Officers, its favourable geographical location, the existing maritime infrastructure, vast population, and English language capabilities. South Africa’s socio-demographic profile and living cost index also lends itself to offshore employment.

The Maersk sponsered, STS Lawhill Maritime Centre (www.lawhill.org) and South African Maritime Training Academy (SAMTRA), offer various maritime courses and simulation based courses, and also manage the Maersk South Africa Cadet Program. Reference

Alarm as Cases of Seafarers Abandonment Hit New Highs in 2022

09 Feb 2023
The commercial shipping industry is grappling with growing condemnation after the number of abandoned seafarers continued to surge, hitting a new high of 103 in 2022. RightShip is reporting that 2022 saw the highest number of seafarers’ abandonment with 103 cases reported involving 1,682 seafarers.

According to RightShip, the financial cost is mounting with the group estimating that over the past 20 years, unpaid wages to seafarers amounted to nearly $40 million.

According to the report, a total of 106 countries across the globe and 85 flag states have been involved in the abandonment cases with the United Arab Emirates being the worst offender with 89 cases. It is followed by Spain at 45, Turkey at 37, Iran at 34, and Italy at 25. Most people abandoned by nationality are from India, with 1,491 seafarers. Ukraine and Russia are also recording a hike in the number of abandonment due to the current conflict.

RightShip wants to drive meaningful change calling for a better sharing of data while also citing the new efforts from the joint International Labor Organization–IMO Tripartite Working Group. Reference

India: CSL launches job-oriented training for ITI holders

09 Feb 2023
Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) has begun training of 200 ITI holders in association with Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) Kerala with a placement option for successful candidates. This is the first time CSL is implementing such a scheme to train and provide job opportunities to skilled professionals.

The initiative comes under the National Skill India Mission launched by the Government of India. Through the Mission, the government is actively implementing various training programmes for the youth to develop skilled manpower to ensure national growth in a planned manner. To support the skill India mission activities Cochin Shipyard joined hands with ASAP Kerala to train youngsters in the state.

An MoU was signed in this regard on April 29, 2022 to provide skill training to the youths of Kerala in the area of ship building and ship repair/marine engineering. Focusing on the exclusive skills and competency required to support the mainstream activity of the yard, CSL and ASAP Kerala formulated ‘Marine Structural Fitter’, a distinct trade. Reference

Maersk books $30.9bn profit for 2022

09 Feb 2023
AP Moller – Maersk reports its best ever profit of $30.9bn for 2022, but expects to make less than a fifth of that this year as the container shipping market softens.

Maersk reported a consolidated EBIT of $30.86bn in 2022, up from $19.74bn in 2021. Revenues for 2022 were up 32% at $81.5bn compared to $61.79bn a year earlier.

However, the stellar results are not going last with a year-on-year decline in fourth quarter earnings in 2022 prefacing a much larger than drop that is expected in 2023. In Q4 2022 Maersk reported a $1.5bn drop in EBIT to $5.1bn compared to $6.5bn in the same period a year earlier. The drop in Q4 profits resulted from its container shipping business with an EBIT of $4.8bn in Q4 2022 compared to $6.3bn in Q4 2021.

Looking ahead to 2023 and Maersk’s full year guidance at the top of its range is lower than its profitability in Q4 2022 alone. The Danish company is giving a full year guidance of an EBIT of $2bn – $5bn. Reference

Why our thinking on human rights at sea should not end with seafarers

09 Feb 2023
For far too long, seafarers have not been given the recognition, support, and respect that they deserve. Fortunately, over the past couple of years this has started to change, helped in no small part by the exposure of their plight during the Covid-19 pandemic. But despite progress, the human rights of seafarers continue to be abused.

The ongoing situation with the 26 crew members of the Heroic Idun, wrongfully detained first in Equatorial Guinea and then Nigeria, which is now in its sixth month, is regrettably far too common an occurrence.

It is generally accepted that human rights apply at sea, although there is no convention recognizing or proclaiming the existence and extent of such rights. The tendency for human rights to be linked to national territory means that on the high seas, over which no country has sovereignty, the jurisdictional link can be more difficult to establish. The result is fragmented jurisdiction.

Beyond legal jurisdictional difficulties, the unfortunate reality is that there is little political will to take positive action on human rights at sea. More problematically, the political approach to migrants is often actively hostile. The failure of some countries to sufficiently recognize and enforce the human rights of all those at sea, means that commercial ships and their crews are often left to bear the burden of the situation. 

So why should our thinking on human rights at sea not end with seafarers? The simple answer is that unless there is a general acceptance that human rights apply to all of those at sea, with a corresponding preparedness of nation states to protect and enforce those rights, no person at sea can be reassured that their rights will be protected. Unless every suspected criminal detained at sea is afforded their basic human rights, whether pirate, illegal fisher, people smuggler or seafarer, it is more difficult to insist that any individual is entitled to those rights. Reference

Initiatives under Maritime India Vision identified to develop global ports in the country

08 Feb 2023
Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 has identified initiatives to develop global standard ports in India, said Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said that it includes developing world-class mega ports, transshipment hubs and infrastructure modernization of ports.

Sonowal added that the investments are estimated to the tune of Rs. 1,00,000–1,25,000 crore for capacity augmentation and development of world-class infrastructure at Indian ports.  He said that the upcoming ports at Vizhinjam (Kerala) and Vadhavan (Maharashtra) have natural drafts in excess of 18m.

The minister added that India, at present, does not have landside mega-port and terminal infrastructure to deal with Ultra-large container ships. Reference

Wärtsilä, Berge Bulk wrap up maritime industry’s first inline shaft generator retrofit

08 Feb 2023
The technology group Wärtsilä has successfully retrofitted an inline shaft generator system on the ‘Berge Toubkal’, a cape-size bulk carrier owned by Singapore-based Berge Bulk.

The company said that this was the marine industry’s ‘first-ever shaft generator retrofit.” The retrofit is expected to improve the vessel’s Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) while reducing its overall carbon footprint.

Shaft generator systems onboard ships are driven by the main engine to supply power to the mains, thus saving fuel and emissions. They are sized to eliminate the need to operate auxiliary engines while at sea. While such systems, also referred to as Power Take-Off (PTO) systems, are today’s standard installations on newbuild vessels, large inline versions with the generator sitting directly on the propeller shaft and turning at 50 to 100 rpm have never before been retrofitted.

The retrofitted shaft generator will also provide power to an air lubrication system installed at the same time. The system includes a Wärtsilä control system, as well as a converter to allow the generator to operate over a broad span of rpm. The existing intermediate shaft and bearings were replaced to accommodate the increased weight. Reference

India: Prez hails Indian Navy’s contribution in safeguarding maritime interests

07 Feb 2023
President Droupadi Murmu on Monday lauded the Indian Navy for successfully safeguarding the country’s maritime interests and trade routes and providing assistance to the people during times of crisis.

President was addressing officers of the Indian Naval Material Management Service, Assistant Executive Engineers of Central Engineering Services (Roads) and officer trainees of the Indian Posts & Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service when they called on her at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Speaking on the occasion, she told the officers of the Indian Naval Material Management Service that they would hold key responsibilities in ensuring the availability of critical supplies to naval ships, submarines and aircraft. Reference

UK launches £77M competition to decarbonise maritime sector

07 Feb 2023
The UK government has launched a multi-million-pound Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition to help decarbonise the country’s maritime sector.

A £77 million government investment in clean maritime technology was launched on 6th February. This is the first time in UK history the government is intervening to target this level of funding on green maritime tech.

Furthermore, the investment demonstrates the government’s commitment to a new green age for maritime travel, which is free from emissions, in line with the 1.5-degree temperature target set by the Paris Agreement.

The ZEVI fund and Clean Maritime Research Hub are part of the UK SHORE program, launched in March 2022 with £206 million in funding. UK SHORE aims to tackle shipping emissions and advance the UK towards a sustainable shipping future. Reference

MACN launch third-party risk management platform

07 Feb 2023
The platform is designed to foster collaboration and leverage community features to save on cost, time and effort in managing third-party risks.

The platform, 3 Sea Diligence, will provide MACN members with access to third-party due diligence and Know Your Counterparty (KYC) tools, allowing companies to implement anti-corruption and anti-financial crime compliance programmes.

Companies requesting due diligence reports will also benefit from the community focus on the 3 Sea Diligence platform, as the results of a report can be shared on the platform for use by members.

The platform is featuring port agents, but will shortly be expanded to cover other supplier groups relevant to the maritime industry.

MACN collaborated with MCaaS, a strategic unit of the Marcura Group, to create 3 Sea Diligence. Reference

India: Govt reduces customs duty on products for marine sector

06 Feb 2023
The government has reduced import duty on a number of raw materials such as fish lipid oil, krill meal and algal prime used in the marine sector, to promote domestic production and exports from the segment. The duty on fish lipid oil and algal prime (flour), used in manufacture of aquatic feed, has been reduced to 15 per cent from 30 per cent.

Similarly, the duty on fish meal and krill meal, used in making aquatic feed, was cut to 5 per cent from 15 per cent in the Budget, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1.

The levy on mineral and vitamin premixes, which are also used in the feed, has been reduced to 5 per cent from 15 per cent earlier, according to Budget documents.

The basic customs duty on fish feed too has been reduced to 5 per cent from 15 per cent with a view to promoting local production of shrimps.

The finance minister also announced launch of sub-scheme of PM Matsya Sampada Yojana with a targeted investment of Rs 6,000 crore to further enable activities of fishermen, fish vendors, and micro and small enterprises, improve value-chain efficiencies, and expand the market. Reference

CMA CGM becomes Official Partner in 2024 Olympic for logistics solutions

06 Feb 2023
The CMA CGM Group, a global player in sea, land, air and logistics solutions, has become Official Partner in logistics solutions of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the world’s greatest sporting event.

The CMA CGM Group will make its expertise available to Paris 2024, handling the transport and logistics for all the goods, equipment and materials required for the event’s success at the Olympic and Paralympic venues.

Via its CEVA Logistics and CMA CGM Air Cargo subsidiaries, the Group will organize all the international transport and customs brokerage activities and provide and operate the requisite logistics facilities for Paris 2024. CMA CGM will also operate road and river transport and logistics services at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games venues, in metropolitan France and French overseas territories.

CMA CGM is joining forces with Paris 2024 to deliver more sustainable Games, careful of all of its operations’ environmental and social impact. The CMA CGM Group, which is committed to a sustainable approach targeting Net Zero-Carbon by 2050, will provide low-carbon, energy-efficient logistics solutions. CMA CGM will leverage its transport and logistics solutions powered by LNG, biofuels, electricity or sustainable fuels, as well as barge transport for intra-city deliveries, to reduce the carbon impact of international transport services. The Group will also ensure that packaging and warehouse waste are optimized. Reference 

Note: All above news items compiled in this digest should be considered as news in brief. For detailed news, please refer to reference link, mentioned with each item.