Commenting on the attack, Dave Heindel, chair of the Federation’s seafarers’ section, said: “This appears to have been a timely, considered and professional operation. We hope that it will be followed by many more disruptive actions.

“Limited though the effects of any one single operation can be, it sets a precedent for future actions. It is particularly welcome in a week that has seen increased use of weapons and violence by pirates.”

Cargotec is supplying anchor-handling/towing solutions for two 59m anchor-handling tug/supply vessels, a 56.2m anchor-handling tug, and five 50m towing/utility vessels. Positioning mooring solutions are destined for two 100m/300-person accommodation/work barges, two 85m subsea maintenance/work support vessels, a 60m diving support vessel and two 105m subsea operation vessels.

“Most of the system components are established designs, and we have combined them to meet the needs of a particular ship type,” said Francis Wong, Cargotec’s sales director for offshore winch solution. “This ensures that each solution is well integrated and helps a ship type fulfil its specific functions. It also enhances a vessel’s efficiency, safety and eco-friendly credentials throughout its entire lifecycle.

“We clearly see OSV demand coming back strongly in Asia, the Middle East, West Africa and South America at the beginning of 2012, and the market outlook is even promising,” Mr Wong says.  ”With Cargotec’s strong global sales and service networks and leading technologies, we are prepared for the growth of the offshore market.”

SOS Chairnan Alastair Evitt said: “This EUNAVFOR action is an extension of what we have been pressing governments for over tougher and more proactive rules of engagement in respect of the catch and release of suspected pirates, and in respect of pirate mother ships whose activities have allowed the Somali pirates to extend their reach right across the Indian Ocean towards the Indian coast and up to the entrance to the oil-rich Arabian Gulf.”

The positive news of these attacks on Somali pirates’ beach stores coincides with last week’s hijacking of the Greek-owned suezmax tanker Smyrni, and with talk of governments cutting back naval forces and obstructing ransom payments. This negative sentiment has once again made people think about what the consequences would be if seafarers and shipowners were to restrict trade through these dangerous waters.

The spectre looms of the recent fuel crisis that gripped the UK, providing a glimpse of what could happen at any time, anywhere in the world, if Somali piracy in the Gulf and Indian Ocean is allowed to escalate out of control leading to ship owners and crews refusing to cross these dangerous areas altogether.”

Mr Evitt again: “Much of the world’s automotive fuel arrives by sea. If oil tanker routes through the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden were disrupted by piracy, it would completely paralyse many of the world’s biggest economies in a matter of days. People don’t realise that over 90% of world trade is dependent on seafarers and  ships, with 40% passing through the affected area.”

The petrol pump pandemonium witnessed earlier this year was created by the mere mention of a fuel shortage.  It led to hoarding and panic at the pumps of petrol forecourts across Britain as thousands of motorists rushed to fill up their tanks and jerrycans amid fuel crisis fears. And it could be replicated in any country at any time.

“People realised their lives and jobs would grind to a halt within hours without fuel for their cars and commercial vehicles,” Mr Evitt said.  “Pirates prey on ships carrying finished goods or raw materials, and tankers carrying liquid fuel and chemicals. Anything that disrupts the flow of trade disrupts our carefully balanced global economy.

“Somali piracy is a real and present threat to each and every one of us. More than 225 seafarers are currently held hostage by Somali pirates. Unpalatable as it may seem, the current system of strong, decisive naval activity, and the negotiation and payment of ransoms, is the only way to secure the lives and liberty of our seafarers.”

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INTERTANKO is to open discussions with insurers and charterers about reclassifying the pirate infested waters off Somalia as a ‘war zone’ as opposed to a war-risk area to allow its owner members to legitimately avoid transiting the Gulf of Aden in favour of the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope, writes Sean Moloney.

This controversial move was agreed at last week’s INTERTANKO Council meeting in Singapore and negotiating an acceptable outcome could be one of the first tasks to be undertaken by the association’s newly voted-in Managing Director Katharina Stanzel when she takes over as head of the secretariat on July 1st.

Joe Angelo, INTERTANKO’s outgoing Managing Director, told SMI: “We will look into the issue of making the area a war zone. By making it a war zone, it gives the owner the option of whether he wants to go through the zone or not. If it is a war risk area they have to go through it and deal with the issues associated with that. There is a big difference.”

Mr Angelo, who will return to his previous position of Deputy Managing Director and Director for Regulatory Affairs and the Americas, said reclassification of the pirate attack waters would enable owners to better protect their crew. “But there will be a clear understanding between the owner and the charterer on what is happening. It was proposed at our Council meeting and we have to decide how best to approach this. We will start by talking to the insurance market.”

Other issues discussed at the Council meeting including the finalising of a five year strategic plan for the association, whose main objectives will be to look ahead and ensure that, given the realities of today’s regulatory and economic climate, “INTERTANKO is well-positioned to face the challenges expected”.

The Council agreed that the most likely scenario the tanker industry would face in the coming five years would be one of strong environmental concern within an unstable geopolitical state, and that the major issues confronting its members during this period would be sustainability of the tanker industry; the human element; tanker safety and performance; global maritime security threats; greenhouse gas and air emission reductions; as well as ballast water management.

The Council agreed that the overarching aim of the association must be to engage proactively at every level, working with all stakeholders including regulators, to ensure that the interests of its members are taken into account and that operational realities are considered, leading to regulation that is workable and practical.

INTERTANKO said in a statement: “There should also be a focus on developing industry co-operation and on achieving a cohesive and proactive approach in getting governments to understand the consequences of their decisions, thereby influencing the outcomes of the political decision-making process.”

“We are delighted that Kathi has been confirmed as INTERTANKO’s next Managing Director,” says INTERTANKO Chairman Capt Graham Westgarth. “Kathi’s vision, and dedication and commitment to INTERTANKO and its Members will be invaluable as she takes over the leadership of our first class international shipping association.”

“We are also extremely pleased to have Joe continue with INTERTANKO as part of the leadership team. Joe agreed to take on the duties and responsibilities of Managing Director as part of our long term succession plan and he has served us well in that capacity.”

Five-year strategic plan

INTERTANKO is in the process of finalising a five year strategic plan, whose main objectives are to look ahead and ensure that, given the realities of today’s regulatory and economic climate, the Association is well-positioned to face the challenges expected.

The Council agreed that the most likely scenario the tanker industry would face in the coming five years would be one of strong environmental concern within an unstable geopolitical state, and that the major issues confronting our Members during this period would be:

1. Sustainability of the tanker industry;
2. Human element
3. Tanker safety and performance
4. Global maritime security threats
5. Greenhouse gas emission reductions
6. Air emission reductions
7. Ballast water management

The Council agreed that the overarching aim of the Association must be to engage proactively at every level, working with all stakeholders including regulators, to ensure that the interests of its Members are taken into account and that operational realities are considered, leading to regulation that is workable and practical.

There should also be a focus on developing industry co-operation, and on achieving a cohesive and proactive approach in getting governments to understand the consequences of their decisions, thereby influencing the outcomes of the political decision-making process.

Sustainability

INTERTANKO’s Council remains deeply concerned about the current tanker market, and that Members have been struggling to cover their operating costs at prevalent market rates. It firmly believes that this situation cannot be maintained long term, and threatens the sustainability of oil tanker operation.

To assist INTERTANKO Members, the Council supported the development of an optimal speed model. This shows the relationship between the time charter equivalent earnings and CO2 emissions, based on a known freight rate for a specific route and different tanker speeds.

The objective is to provide Members with a tool that will allow them to achieve an optimal speed for their ships and voyages, to the benefit of the tanker operator and the environment, since reduced speed means reduced CO2 emissions.

ECA Guidelines

The Council reaffirmed that it wishes to continue to promote a global switch to cleaner fuels. Compliance with ECAs by use of cleaner fuels may be attractive when compared with the significant cost of fully equipping a ship with two or three scrubbers.

Compliance with IMO Emission Control Area (ECA) emissions limits means that for the period 2015 to 2020/2025, stricter SOx emissions limits in ECAs will result in the impact of compliance varying according to the time a ship spends in ECAs.

To help its Members, INTERTANKO has developed ECA Guidelines based on a number of specific technical, operational, safety and cost-efficiency elements which need to be considered by ship owners when choosing between alternatives for compliance with the ECA regulatory regime between 1 January 2015 and the enforcement of a global sulphur cap in 2020 or 2025.

These Guidelines are not intended to promote one means of compliance over another. They are intended to facilitate ship owners’ decisions on how to comply with the ECA regulatory regime, and to provide advice on the foreseeable impacts of each of the alternatives to meet ECA emission limits.

Fuel quality

INTERTANKO will continue its campaign to promote the need of professional standards on quality control of bunkers delivered to ships, seeking the cooperation of other ship owner associations and of the bunker suppliers. INTERTANKO will increase its bunker quality reports to Members.

The Council finds it completely unacceptable that some EU ports, having no quality control requirements on bunkers delivered, consider off-spec bunkers onboard ships as “waste” and require costly de-bunkering to follow the EU Waste Directive.

Piracy

The Council emphasised above all else that it will continue to encourage INTERTANKO Members to wholly embrace the industry’s Best Management Practices for Protection against Somali Based Piracy (BMP 4).

It also noted the increased use of private and national armed guards on vessels transiting the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, and reaffirmed that it believes it is the responsibility of the international navies to ensure the right of free passage on the high seas including the use of vessel protection detachments (VPDs) on merchant ships.

The Council expressed concerns about the issue of regulation of provision of armed guard services on merchant vessels, in particular as their use involves the use of force, including lethal force.

The Council reaffirmed that INTERTANKO does not advocate the arming of ships’ crews and that the use of private armed guards or government armed security forces onboard merchant ships has to be a matter for each individual owner or manager to assess as part of their voyage risk assessment.

In the context of UK Government setting up a Task Force to curtail ransom payments, the Council adopted a policy that stressed the need to maintain Members’ ability to make the lawful payment of ransoms, which shipowners recognise as a duty of care for their seafarers and the only certain exit strategy following a hijack.

The Council reaffirmed its support for the SOS SaveOurSeafarers campaign which in its first 12 months has developed a very strong and distinctive brand, has secured broad mainstream media coverage of Somali piracy, and has helped achieve political recognition of Somali piracy as a real economic and humanitarian threat.

The campaign will be focusing on maintaining a hard-hitting website and active social media, together with a sustained outreach to the mainstream media. It will also be encouraging meetings around the world at the very highest levels between shipping industry and politicians.

From 1st July 2012 all new cargo officers will be required to not only be familiar with the requirements of the Singapore Standard on Bunkering (SS 600), but also to have successfully completed the Enhanced Bunkering Course, prior to working independently onboard bunker tankers. Existing cargo officers will be required to attend and successfully complete the course by 30th June 2013.

The move is part of MPA’s on-going efforts to enhance cargo officers’ professionalism and competency. IBIA, along with the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), has run a cargo officers’ course since 2009, to enhance cargo officers’ technical knowledge on bunkering related shipboard operations as well as to raise general awareness of maritime security and personal safety.

Trevor Harrison, IBIA’s acting Chief Executive said: “Credit must go to the Regional Manager of IBIA Asia, Kwok Fook Sing, who has invested a great deal of time and effort in devising the course structure and producing its content, as well as liaising with the MPA to ensure that the course fulfils its objectives and meets the MPA’s high standards.”

Kwok Fook Sing commented: “We are pleased to be able to have worked with the MPA in developing this course to members of the bunkering community and we look forward to working with them to achieve their targets for quality standards through the delivery of these courses. I would also like express my personal thanks to MPA especially the officers in the Marine Services Department and Training Standards Department who have provided valuable assistance.”

As well as the enhanced course, IBIA is also providing a one-day Basic Bunkering Course on SS600, which is recognised by MPA.

Sea Marshals supplies both armed and unarmed security teams for vessels transiting in pirate infested waters. The company is run by experienced security sector professionals who are also ship owners. They work closely with various Flag States, governments, P&I clubs and ship owners to provide a comprehensive security operation.

Headquartered in Cardiff, UK, Sea Marshals is fully licensed in Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Oman and South Africa for the use of military grade weapons and embarkation and disembarkation of security teams.

Sea Marshals Chief of Operations, Thomas Jakobsson, said: “The maritime security sector is developing fast and we are keen to ensure the wider shipping industry is aware of our range of high-quality services.”

Sean Moloney, Managing Director of Elaborate Communications, said: “We are very excited to be working with such a fast-moving and specialist company as Sea Marshals.”