A NewsLink service for Dole Chile

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

SAFETY
SCIENTISTS CALL FOR SMART
UNDERWATER CABLES TO BOOST
SAFETY
A United Nations task force and scientists
from the University of Hawaii have called for
the installation of smart underwater cables
that could boost safety and communication. At
present, submarine telecommunication cables
do not have the capability to pick up
large-scale climate changes and tsunami
warnings. But according to the UN task force,
installation of a relatively basic set of
instruments such as thermometers and
pressure gauges could prove to be helpful in
improving safety, monitoring the of state the
cable system and also benefit science.
UH scientists said that new instruments
carried on the cables could be effective in
monitoring climate change. The improved
version of fibre optic cables could support a
wide range of uses, including advanced notice
of earthquakes and evaluating the
tsunami-generating potential of an
earthquake.
"The undersea communication cable is an
untapped platform for oceanographic sensors,
one that could outstrip all other systems
attempting to observe the deep oceans," said
Doug Luther, UH professor of oceanography.
The addition of new instruments to more
than half a million miles of submarine
telecommunication cables which run across
the deep ocean could improve our
understanding of ocean circulation and the
rising sea water level.
"For an additional 5-10% of the total cost of
any new cable system deployment, we could
be saving lives from tsunamis and effectively
monitoring global change," said, Rhett Butler,
the chairperson of an international committee
tasked to evaluate the cable opportunity.

Govt considers scrapping ship

component taxes
Indonesia's Industry Minister Saleh Husin said
the government is mulling over the scrapping of
import duties on ship components and the
value-added tax (PPN) to spur growth in the
local shipbuilding industry, which would be in
line with the maritime-axis vision introduced by
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.
"Our shipbuilding industry outside Batam is
still underdeveloped. We want to provide
incentives for shipyards operating outside Batam
so that they can expand," he said. A meeting to
discuss this issue with related ministries is
scheduled for this week, according to Saleh, The
Jakarta Post reported.

South Korea ferry captain sentenced

to 36 years in jail
The captain of the South Korean ferry that sank
in April with the loss of more than 300 lives was
jailed for 36 years Tuesday, but acquitted of
murdering those who died in the disaster, AFP
reported.
In a ruling that followed five months of
dramatic, often painful trial testimony, a
three-judge court said prosecutors, who had
demanded the death penalty, failed to prove that
the Sewol's captain Lee Jun-Seok, 69, had acted
with an intention to kill.
However, he was convicted of gross
negligence and dereliction of duty, including
abandoning his vessel while hundreds of
passengers - most of them schoolchildren remained trapped on board.
Victims' relatives who were present in the
courtroom in the southern city of Gwangju,
reacted furiously to the murder acquittal.
"Where is the justice?" one woman shouted at

the judges, while others wept openly.

"It's not fair. What about the lives of our
children? They (the defendants) deserve worse
than death," screamed another.
Three other senior crew members, who had
also faced homicide charges, were sentenced to
jail terms of between 15 and 30 years.
"We find it hard to conclude that the
defendants ... were aware that all of the victims
would die because of their actions," Judge Lim
Joung-youb said in announcing the verdict.
"Therefore the murder charges are not
accepted."
However, Lim stressed that had Lee and his
crew acted properly as soon as the Sewol ran
into trouble, then many lives might have been
saved.
"They did not honour their responsibility to
protect passengers and abandoned them. As a
result, countless lives were lost," he said.

Nominations for intl seafarers'

welfare award kick off

Ship fuel prices up as OW

Bunker collapses

Nominations for the 2015 International

Seafarers' Welfare Awards have officially begun
as part of efforts to honour companies and
individuals who champion seafarers' well-being.
Such awards are meant to recognise the
professionalism and commitment of maritime
companies and industry representatives who
have made significant contributions in making
seafarers' daily activities easier.
"Seafarers make a massive contribution to all
of our lives. Without them, global trade would
grind to a halt," said Roger Harris, executive
director of the International Seafarers' Welfare
and Assistance Network.
"They deserve to have excellent welfare
services and facilities wherever they are in the
world. These awards recognise the considerable
efforts that organisations and individuals make
to improve the lives of seafarers," he added.
The categories for this year's awards are
Seafarers' Centre of the Year, Shipping
Company of the Year, Port of the Year and the
Dr Dierk Lindemann Welfare Personality of the
Year.
The awards night will be held at the
International
Maritime
Organisation
headquarters in London on June 9, 2015.

The shipping industry has been dealt a severe

blow following the collapse of the world's
biggest supplier of ship fuel, triggering
spiralling costs this week.
Denmark's OW Bunker recently filed for
bankruptcy amid allegations of fraud at its Asian
subsidiary, Dynamic Oil Trading, that reportedly
pushed the company's debt to up to USD750
million. This had also prevented OW Bunker
from securing credit extensions from banks.
According to sources, OW Bunker's
Singapore-based subsidiary incurred financial
losses of more than USD125 million due to
suspected fraudulent activities by its senior
employees, although no other details of the
dubious activities were released.
"At this moment, I don't have any comment.
Yes, I'm still employed but considering the
parent company's bankrupt, I don't know how
this will affect me," said Ulrich Hyldedahl
Rasmussen, Dynamic Oil's credit manager.
Reports said OW Bunker's bankruptcy
prompted a 1.5% increase in benchmark ship
fuel prices, which had registered a constant slide
over the past two months, during which fuel
costs plummeted by almost 25%.

PAGE 2 - Tuesday, November 11, 2014

SHIPPING DATA

BALTIC EXCHANGE
Market snapshot: November 10
Dry Index
BDI
1418
Capesize Index
BCI
3613
Panamax Index
BPI
1168
Supramax Index
BSI
879
Handysize Index
BHSI
451

-19
-48
-15
-2
-3

EXCHANGE RATES
New York (Mon Cls)
Fgn Currency
in USD
Britain (Pound)
1.5852
Canada (Dollar)
0.8789
China (Yuan)
0.1634
Euro
1.2423
India (Rupee)
0.0163
Indonesia (Rupiah) 0.000082
Japan (Yen)
0.008704
Norway (Krone)
0.1468
Philippines (Peso)
0.0223
Poland (Zloty)
0.2944
Russia (Ruble)
0.0219
Singapore (Dollar)
0.7743
Ukraine (Hryvnia)
0.0675

USD in Fgn
Currency
0.6308
1.1379
6.1195
0.8049
61.5000
12155.00
114.8900
6.8135
44.9100
3.4000
45.6951
1.2915
14.8090

Industry analysts said the ongoing turmoil in

the ship fuel market stemmed from a steep
decline in energy costs over the past five months
that caused benchmark Brent crude to fall by at
least 33%.
OW Bunker's collapse, according to oil
traders, will likely result in more problems at a
time when buyers are looking for alternative
sources to offset delivery failures. Other oil
companies with unpaid debts might also be on
the hot seat soon and this could trigger ship fuel
costs to rise further, according to experts.

USG MR demand rebounds

with record production
The USG MR market has rallied significantly
with 49 fixtures recorded over the week.
According to shipbroker Charles R Weber,
four of the units have travelled to European
ports, 21 others went to areas in LatinAmerica
and the Caribbean, while the rest were either
bound for other ports or have not reported their
locations.
The improvements in export demand occurred
after the strong ULSD price increase amid
predictions in oil prices that it may have gone
down to its lowest price while distillates are
reported to be going up, CR Weber said.
CR Weber noted several factors to cause oil
prospects to increase, including the correlation
between the area of snowfall cover in Siberia at
the end of October and colder North American
temperatures, which says a total of 14.1 million
square kilometres of snow cover were recorded
in October 31, compared to the 12.85 million sq
km last year. Another factor is the start of 0.1%
ECA provisions in January 1, 2015.

LEGAL

Court spurns BP call to replace

claims chief
BP's call for the ouster of the administrator of
damage settlement claims arising from the 2010
Gulf of Mexico oil spill was rejected Monday by
a federal judge.

BP lawyers had said Patrick Juneau should be

removed for a variety of reasons, among them
that he had a conflict of interest because he once
represented Louisiana in talks setting up the
claims process and had pushed for favourable
terms for those with claims. They also said he
had made misleading statements about that work
before being named claims administrator. And
they said Juneau improperly expedited claims
for some people represented by the plaintiffs'
steering committee, The Associated Press
reported.
But US District Judge Carl Barbier said in
Monday's ruling that BP clearly knew of
Juneau's previous consulting work for the state.
"Mr. Juneau himself disclosed this information
to BP and at least six of its attorneys or
representatives before he was selected by the
parties," the judge wrote.

EU extends ban on deep-sea

shark fishing
EU nations on Monday extended their ban on
deep-sea shark fishing for the European fleet for
at least another two years, with only Spain and
Portugal voting against. European Fisheries
Commissioner Karmenu Vella said the decision
had been taken at a meeting of EU fisheries
ministers in Brussels, AFP reported.
Beyond the shark-fishing ban in EU and
international waters of the northeastern Atlantic,
catch reductions were approved for species
including
roundnose
grenadier,
black
scabbardfish and red sea bream. The reductions
were, however, less than what was
recommended by the European Commission,
which has been aiming to address overfishing
and protect vulnerable species.

ASSISTANCE

NGO appeals for funds to help

save lives in Mediterranean Sea
A call for funds was launched Monday by the
Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), an NGO
providing assistance to migrants in distress
while crossing the Mediterranean Sea in unsafe
vessels. In order to continue functioning next
year, MOAS is launching an appeal for funds,
new ideas and professional volunteers, Xinhua
reported.
The humanitarian project is the brainchild of
wealthy entrepreneurs Christopher and Regina
Catrambone who funded a 60-day mission of a
highly-experienced team of rescuers and
paramedics on a 40-meter boat, including two
drones and two lifeboats.
"We are aware that by preventing migrants
from drowning, we are not solving the migration
issue. However, we are people in action, not
activists. We want to inspire, not to impose. Our
main concern is only to assist those individuals
who will keep on crossing the Mediterranean
Sea because they have been constrained to do
so," said Brigadier Martin Xuereb, a former
chief of defence of the Armed Forces of Malta,
and now director of MOAS.

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MARITIME INSTITUTION
SINGAPORE POLICE COAST GUARD
The Police Coast Guard (PCG) is the
Marine Police division of the Singapore
Police Force which also takes on roles of
the coast guard typically handled by the
military or as separate organisations in
other countries.
These include the enforcement of law
and order in Singapore's territorial waters,
and Search and Rescue operations in
collaboration with the Maritime and Port
Authority of Singapore, and the Immigration
and Checkpoints Authority. Currently
headquartered in Brani Regional Base at
11 Brani Way on Pulau Brani, Singapore.
The PCG has an established history that
stretches back about 170 years.
The PCG is currently headed by Senior
Assistant Commissioner HSU Sin Yun. It
operates from four regional bases around
the island, namely the Brani Regional Base
in the South, Gul Regional Base in the
West, Lim Chu Kang Regional Base in the
North, and Loyang Regional Base in the
East. It also maintains a police post on
Pulau Ubin. Each of these regional bases
are organised similarly to the
Neighbourhood Police Centres of the land
divisions, and conduct patrols within their
respective maritime sectors.
The fleet is organised into three main
squadrons. The Interceptor Squadron
consists of PC-class high-speed patrol craft
able to control the movement of illegal
immigrants along the Straits of Johor. The
Port Squadron is made up of the newer
generation PT-class boats (and previously
the PX-class) with the primary task of
ensuring the security of the Port of
Singapore by responding to incidents and
to project police presence. The third
squadron, the Coastal Patrol Squadron,
operates the PH-class Coastal Patrol Craft
to secure the sea passages in Singapore
waters and ensure safe passage for
legitimate users.
The PCG also has an elite unit known as
the Special Task Squadron, activated to
conduct high-risk operations where speed
and firepower are deemed necessary. They
were instrumental in the capture of one of
the three armed robbers who infiltrated into
Singapore on Pulau Tekong in March
2004.