Sea Views: Campaign to verify ISM implementation

The Port State Control organisations in Europe (Paris MOU) and in Asia (Tokyo MOU) have announced that, commencing July 1, 2002, a three month, concentrated, campaign will be conducted to inspect all applicable ships for the implementation of ISM and that those without certified systems will be consistently detained.

PSC officers in the MOU countries will be using a standard inspection form to verify critical areas of a ship's safety management system (SMS) and deficiencies in any of these areas will be considered as 'major non-conformities' that will lead to the detention of the ship.

Those applicable ships that have no ISM certification at all will also be detained, and after inspection to verify no other detainable deficiencies are present the detention may be lifted, but the ship will remain banned from all ports in the MOU countries until valid ISM certification has been obtained for the ships and their operators.

Statistical evidence over the past three years has indicated a 150 per cent rise in safety management defects with older ships particularly at fault. On average, vessels aged 15 years and over show 15 times more non-conformities than vessels of 5 years and younger.

Of particular significance is the statistic that in 2001 half of the total number of inspections carried out (9313) were done on general dry cargo ships and these vessels demonstrated the highest detention percentage of 12 per cent, when compared with the total number of inspections, and they make up 65 per cent of all detentions in 2001. With the ISM Code becoming mandatory for this category of vessel from 1st July, detentions are likely to show a steep rise in the coming months with a significant number of the smaller operators still not properly certificated.

During this compliance campaign PSC officers are being given the brief to act like ISM auditors but unlike ISM auditors they are more likely to have little prior knowledge of the ships they are inspecting, and certainly the operators, and no depth of audit will be possible without having been able to inspect the operating company.

They will, therefore, face a difficult task in assessing whether systems they are inspecting are 'paper exercises' or whether masters and senior officers are fully involved and conversant with ships' systems and ships' personnel are able to communicate effectively in the execution of their duties related to the ISM Code.

MOL joins WAX and starts new service: Japanese-based carrier MOL has joined APL's West Asia Express (WAX) service while deploying one ship (from June 4) that operates with a new service name 'Container Service of Middle East and India' (CMI).

The WAX service, which has been upgraded in capacity, deploys five post-panamax vessels of 4,700 TEU, replacing the 4,000-TEU ships used previously.

APL operates four of the ships - the Qingdao, Chiwan, Ningbo and the Dubai - while MOL deploys one, the MOL Maas.

The CMI service port rotation and schedule is Kaohsiung (Fri-Sat), Pusan (Mon-Tue), Qingdao (Wed-Wed), Shanghai (Thu-Fri), Ningbo (Sat-Sat), Hong Kong (Mon-Mon), Singapore (Thu-Fri), Jebel Ali (Fri-Sat), Fujairah (Sat-Sun), Nhava Sheva (Tue-Wed), Singapore (Mon-Tue) and Kaohsiung (Fri).

Transit times include 16 days westbound from Qingdao to Jebel Ali, 13 days from Ningbo, and 11 days from Hong Kong. Eastbound from Fujairah to Singapore is eight days, from Nhava Sheva to Singapore five days, and to Kaohsiung nine days.

More changes for Seabulk: Sea-bulk International, the U.S. parent company of Dubai-based Seabulk is to be sold in two separate deals valued at $142 million or more, and it is raising $180 million in fresh loans.

In the first transaction with DLJ Merchant Banking Partners III and Carlyle/Riverstone Global Energy and Power Fund I, Seabulk is issuing 12.5 million shares priced at $8 each. On completion of the deal, which is subject to shareholder approval and other factors, the new investors will control about 51 per cent of the company and have majority representation on its board.

In parallel with the sale, Seabulk has also signed a commitment letter with Fortis Capital Corp. and NIB Capital Bank as arrangers for a $180 million senior secured credit facility.

Proceeds from the new loan and equity investments, totalling $280 million, would be used to repay Seabulk's existing bank debt, repurchase or redeem its outstanding senior notes, and provide growth capital for new initiatives, Seabulk said.

As a condition to the closing of the new investment, Gerhard Kurz, the president and CEO, has agreed to a five-year extension of his employment contract with Seabulk.

APL voted line of the year: Singapore-owned APL has been voted "Shipping Line of the Year" at the International Freighting Weekly (IFW) Freighting Industry Awards 2002 held in front of 650 guests at the City of London Head-quarters of the Honourable Artillery Company. The TT Club is this year's sponsor.

The panel of independent judges said in their citation that "APL provided clear evidence of improved and expanded services to shippers, with new route launches and new offices, as well as additional IT products."

Peter Hall, APL's managing director for the UK, when accepting the award, said: "It is a recognition not just of the progress made by the UK and European teams over the last 12 months, but also of the achievements of the whole organisation during what has been a difficult year for the liner industry."

IACS announces new bulk carrier notations: The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) has announced that it will be shortly introducing new harmonised design loading conditions and notations for bulk-carriers:

BC-A: For bulk-carriers designed to carry dry bulk cargoes of cargo density 1.0 tonne per cubic metre, and above, with specified holds empty in addition to BC-B conditions;

BC-B: For bulk carriers designed to carry dry bulk cargoes of cargo density 1.0 tonne per cubic metre, and above, with all cargo holds loaded in addition to BC-C conditions;

BC-C: For bulk-carriers designed to carry dry bulk cargoes of cargo density less than 1.0 tonne per cubic metre.

Frank Kennedy is a marine consultant based in Dubai.