***Seafarers face off over union office bearers

By Patrick Beja

A group of seafarers claimed they had registered as officials of the Seafarers Union of Kenya, dismissing the election of another team led by a former Kenya Navy officer.

Mr Abubakar Kilwa Omar claimed he and his team had retained their seats during an election held in Kwale town in the south Coast on March 26.

Omar, who had served as union general secretary for more than five years, showed a letter said to be from the registrar of Trade Unions WK Langat, indicating he and his team were registered as union officials on March 31.

Last weekend, Major (retired) Jackson Ambila Odhiambo claimed to have been elected general secretary, and Mr Athman Ngoma as national chairman and vowed to take over the mantle.

Odhiambo also said with Kenya’s recent entry into the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) white list with training standards, his team would push for development of maritime labour through training.

Sailors’ salaries, he said, should be in line with the International Transport Workers Federation guidelines.

But Omar claimed the rival team was time barred as the union polls were concluded last month.

Asked why he chose to hold the polls outside Mombasa where the union was based, Omar said that was where they secured the services of the labour officer.

Top officials

"Ours is a national trade union and therefore we can hold elections anywhere in country," he said.

Other top officials in the alleged registrar’s list include national chairman Ali Athumani Bamama and national treasurer George Malogo.

Omar argued he put up a 21-day notice for interested sailors to apply for positions in the union but none showed up.

He said the conditions included being a paid up member for the last 36 months and those vying for the slot of general secretary to pay Sh30,000 and the rest Sh15,000 each.

"Nobody showed up before and even at the election venue in Kwale and therefore we were elected unopposed," Omar said.

Singapore asked to withhold death penalty for pirates

David Osler - Tuesday 12 April 2011

SINGAPORE is being asked to provide guarantees that 18 Somali nationals suspected of an attack on a Singapore-flagged tanker will not face the death penalty or torture if they are handed over for trial, a spokesman for EU Navfor has confirmed.

Ultimately, they will be released unless a country with an interest in the case offers to undertake prosecution, while at the same pledging that their human rights will be upheld in full, he said.

The men are currently being held on a Finnish warship in the Gulf of Aden while their future is decided. Finland itself is not investigating the alleged crimes, as no Finnish citizens or companies are involved.

The British private security company that claims credit for deterring the attempted boarding of the ship in question on Tuesday last week has revealed that it is in possession of video footage of the incident, and is willing in principle to assist legal action.

Protection Vessels International issued a statement saying that one of its security teams had prevented an attack on Tanker Pacific’s 1993-built, 44,999 dwt product tankerPacific Opal on April 5 and had videoed the incident as part of its standard operating procedure. The following day, Finnish warship Pohjanmaa apprehended a pirate action group.

On April 7, Pacific Opal received a direct request for assistance from EU Navfor’s Maritime Security Centre — Horn of Africa to establish whether there was sufficient evidence to link the captured pirates with the earlier events.

PVI said that it planned to submit statements, hand over the video and would allow the guards to appear in court to testify in any subsequent court case, providing that they could be guaranteed anonymity.

Director of communications Paul Gibbins said:“PVI is a responsible private security company trying hard to assist all the stakeholders in the region. If PVI can help EU Navfor in bringing suspected pirates to account, including where necessary co-operation relating to legal action, it will do so.”

EU Navfor spokesman Paddy O’Kennedy said that negotiations with Singapore had commenced, although Singapore had not yet formally demanded the extradition of the suspects.

“If Singapore agrees to take them — and they have not yet — we will need an assurance that they will not face the death penalty, and will not face any kind of punishment whereby their human rights are violated. If we don’t get it, we can’t pass them over.”

The future of the suspects is not in the hands of EU Navfor, but in the hands of the international community, and the ultimate decision would come from Brussels, he insisted.

“We have put together a package of evidence and we are offering that package to nations that have an interest in this case. Singapore is one of them, because they allegedly attacked a Singapore-flagged vessel. If that package of evidence is not good enough for any of the nations, then we will have to release them.”

He acknowledged that EU Navfor had been subjected to heavy criticism from the shipping industry for the perceived leniency of its policies, which result in around 80% of detained piracy suspects simply being let go.

“What else can we do? This isn’t a case of us not trying. We are like the police here; we catch the criminals, but if nobody wants to prosecute them, we have to let them go,” Wing Cmdr O’Kennedy said.

Meanwhile, the Jakarta Post newspaper is reporting that the Indonesian armed forces are considering the possibility of sending troops to free the Indonesians currently being held hostage by Somali pirates.

Several politicians have argued the military should send personnel to Somalia, where around 20 Indonesians are being held captive by pirates.

IOM Steam Packet gets new owners

Roger Hailey - Tuesday 12 April 2011

PORTUGAL’S Banco Espirito Santo has led a group of banks refinancing the Isle of Man Steam Packet Co ferry operator.

A new ownership structure at Britain’s longest-established ferry operator sees shares owned by Australian pension funds and Macquarie Bank transferred to Manx registered Sealion, which is owned by the ferry company’s banks. Financial details have not been disclosed.

In a statement, Sealion said: “The refinancing arrangement provides a long-term commitment from the new owners. The Steam Packet Co can now move forward on a stable footing enabling the Island-based management team to focus on delivering frequent, reliable value-for-money services to both freight customers and passengers.”

Sealion said a new corporate structure at the ferry company would “simplify the current tiered multi-level structure of the organisation”.

Steam Packet came under pressure with the launch in 2010 of a daily freight-only service between Douglas and Liverpool by Mezeron, which was axed in February. Mezeron continues to operate services from the Isle of Man to Glasson Dock and Belfast .

Steam Packet announced some small-scale redundancy and reorganisation at the start of the this year “to reflect the current commercial circumstances under which the company is operating”.

It pulled the catamaran Snaefell from its 2011 timetable, with the estimated loss of 29 jobs, with services to Ireland covered by Manannan .

In its statement, Sealion added: “A review of operations was undertaken in late 2010/early 2011 taking into account the effect upon the business of increased Mezeron competition. At that time it was announced that Snaefell would be withdrawn from the operational fleet and that fast craft services would be provided by Manannan .”

The exclusive use of Manannan instead of the smaller Snaefell also means that capacity on all routes has increased. Ben-my-Chree will continue a twice-daily service.

It is not envisaged there will be further alterations to services as a result of the change of ownership.

Sealion said the user agreement with the UK government will remain in force.

“Its benefit to passengers has been clearly demonstrated in recent months as it has safeguarded frequent value-for-money passenger and freight services,” the company said.

“The new owners are a group of banks focused on providing a long-term solution to allow the company to operate in a stable financial environment. The prices are regulated by the user agreement and the owners have a vested interest in adherence to the terms of the user agreement.”

The new owners have indicated there is “no current intention” to sell the ferry operator and that the banks involved have put in place long-term debt arrangements to support the company and its operations.

Mombasa dispute delays port

David Osler - Tuesday 12 April 2011

THE key East Africa hub port of Mombasa is experiencing severe berthing delays as a result of a go-slow by crane drivers, local shipping industry sources report, writes David Osler .

Industrial action has been called in support of both a wage demand and in protest against the Kenya Port Authority’s plans to privatise Mombasa, which serves a widespread hinterland in landlocked central Africa.

David Mackay, East Africa vice-president at Inchcape Shipping Services , said: “Berthing delays have been up to seven days and operations alongside have been painfully slow.” Last week saw an average of just 80 moves per day under the gantry over three shifts, even when berthed ships had been alongside for a week, he added.

KPA has suspended more than 80 crane drivers and support staff and are putting new drivers through intensive training.

FROM THE SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES:

Jakarta concession on cabotage law

(JAKARTA) The Indonesian government has released new regulations exempting from the Indonesian cabotage law seven activities of foreign-flagged vessels that are serving the country's oil and gas sector, local media reported yesterday.

According to the new ruling, foreign vessels that perform surveys, drilling, offshore construction, offshore activities, dredging work, salvage jobs and underwater activities for the oil and gas sector will be exempted from the cabotage law.

Indonesia enacted the cabotage law in 2005 but enforcement was delayed for years. The law forces vessels operating in the country's waters to register as Indonesian-flagged vessels by May 7 and requires oil and gas rigs to register here because it classifies them as foreign shipyards.

As the deadline approached, ministers and industry players warned Indonesia could lose billions of dollars in foreign investment and miss its production targets if the law was applied to all vessels.

The ruling was signed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on April 4 and became effective immediately, The Jakarta Globe reported.

It came just a month after lawmakers asked the government to exempt foreign vessels in the oil and gas sector from the cabotage law.

Analysts said the government's quick response showed Indonesia is keen to support the oil and gas sector's offshore activities as the nation strives to meet production targets.

'The government sees the urgency, as in the future it expects oil and gas exploration in offshore locations to play a greater role in boosting oil and gas production,' said Kurtubi, director of the Center for Petroleum and Energy Economic Studies and a lecturer at the University of Indonesia.

Oil and gas players have moved their exploration activities to offshore locations as output from onshore wells has gradually decreased\. \-- Xinhua