***Shippers step up box-weighing campaign
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The IMO’s maritime safety committee will consider the box-weighing proposals in May.
Asian and European bodies oppose ‘flawed’ IMO proposal
THE Asian Shippers’ Meeting and the European Shippers’ Council have vowed to step up their campaign to convince the International Maritime Organization that container-weighing proposals are inadequate.
Having met recently, the ASM and ESC said they would “advise the decisionmakers on both national and international levels on the flaws that are presently in the proposal”.
The two organisations argue that the proposals do not cover the full array of causes of unsafe situations in maritime transport of containers, which means that they fail to offer an effective set of measures to improve safety.
The ASM and ESC propose to amending the IMO proposals, adding proposals on timely declaration of container weights and on using the most recent declarations to prepare stowage plans.
“The solution should include proper stowage and lashing of containers on board, as well as maintenance of vessels,” they said.
Compromise proposals for box weighing approved by the IMO sub-committee on dangerous goods, solid cargoes and containers in September offer two options for calculating the weight of containers.
The first requires loaded boxes to be weighed and the second allows weight to be calculated by adding the weight of all packages and cargo items including pallets, dunnage and the tare of the container.
In May, the proposals will go before the IMO’s maritime safety committee.
The compromise proposals have won backing from the World Shipping Council and the Global Shippers Forum.
The International Transport Workers Federation supports the proposal to weigh all loaded containers.
As well as discussing container weighing, the two organisations also examined the proposed P3 Network that could bring together Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co and CMA CGM.
They concluded that the alliance could threaten fair competition, depending on the final details, and said they planned a joint position paper on the issue.
The organisations also agreed to work together more closely on a global scale.
FROM THE HANDY SHIPPING GUIDE:
***Typhoon Haiyan Tragedy Just One Good Cause Supported by Freight and Container Shipping Groups
29 November 2013
29 November 2013
JAPAN – FRANCE – SOUTH AFRICA – PHILIPPINES – Much assistance is still being offered by those in the freight and logistics fields following the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan but elsewhere the steady support for good causes which the industry so often provides continues undiminished with news of a leading container shipping line’s continued benevolence being rewarded this week after two years help with an education project in the Republic of South Africa.
Since 2011 Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), whilst donating to the Filipino cause, has also been supporting the volunteer activities of SAPESI (South African Primary Education Support Initiative) to improve the quality of primary education in the Republic of South Africa by providing ocean transportation of educational tools and books for children in the country free of charge. Lately another shipment was carried from Yokohama to Durban prompting the country’s Tokyo Embassy to award K Line with a Certificate of Appreciation for its continued good work.
Africa has been a focal point for aid from the shipping sector for some time with companies such as Maersk subsidiary Safmarine supplying other educational assistance and you still have a chance to help others on the continent by backing one of the many Transaid sponsored projects, such as the current Christmas Appeal, which improve people’s lives by supplying vital links in the transport supply chain.
Assistance in the Philippines continues unabated and this week the ITF Seafarers’ Trust, the charity arm of the International Transport Workers Federation, authorised two grants totalling £100,000 to aid Filipino seafarers and their families affected by Typhoon Haiyan. The grants for £50,000 each are being awarded to the Associated Marine Officers’ and Seamen’s Union of the Philippines (AMOSUP) and the Philippine Seafarers’ Union (PSU) to help them deliver emergency relief for seafarers and their families. ITF Seafarers’ Trust chair Dave Heindel commented:
“Around 300,000 of the world’s seafarers are from the Philippines, many of them from the worst hit areas. These two grants will allow us to provide targeted help to them. The Seafarers’ Trust is trying to alleviate at least some of the awful effects of the tragedy that hit the Philippines, a country which is fundamental to the maritime world. With this aid the Trust is hoping to help many seafarers to get back on their feet, and to support them at this difficult time.”
French owned freight forwarding group SDV meanwhile has been engaged in aid and relief operations by supporting two organisations: HK Logistics, a company accredited by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and the UN World Food Programme. A team comprising of six SDV experts in crisis management has been dedicated to support all logistics activities and onsite staff in Tacloban and Cebu.
HK Logistics’ first priority was to setup a field hospital with a surgery room in Tacloban, aiming at welcoming 60 doctors and nurses as well as accommodating 250 victims a day. Staff and equipment are transferred by planes doing rotations from Cebu to Tacloban, as well as by an aircraft bringing in supplies directly from Australia. To assist these operations, the SDV team provides ground handling services to unload and overhaul the planes arriving in the Philippines, besides doing the customs clearance of the cargo whilst ground transportation of air crews and staff are taken care of 24/7.
Fifteen trucks and one barge are also in rotation, from Cebu to Tacloban, to transport water, fuel, food, medicines and all type of equipment for the needs of the hospital in the shortest possible time. The first surgery was successfully conducted only five days after the typhoon swept across the archipelago and Basile Ricard, General Manager, Operations at SDV Philippines, commented:
“Organising logistics for relief efforts requests speed and innovation. Remote locations and damaged infrastructure can severely slow down our actions. We also provide logistical support onsite, in Tacloban, the most affected area, by re-filling water and fuel tanks to empower the communities and facilitate the relief.”
SDV has engaged thirty trucks to support the World Food Programme in order to pick up food from various ports and airports of the archipelago and distribute it to Tacloban and surroundings. Meanwhile systems have been set up to manage the round the clock operation and, following a further request by the World Food Programme, SDV is designing logistics solutions for other affected areas in the Philippines.
The International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) has a dedicated webpage for seafarers with links and resources to enable them to contact or trace family members.
Photo: The sea view from Tacloban now interrupted only by devastated homes and desolation where once a thriving community existed after the passing of the storm the locals call ‘Yolanda’.
FROM THE NSU, ALSO AFRICAN OIL AND GAS NEWS, NET TIMES ETC:
***ITF Seafarers’ Trust awards GBP100,000 to help Filipino seafarers
The International Transport Workers’ Federations charity branch ITF Seafarers’ Trust awarded GBP100,000 to aid Filipino seafarers and their families affected by Typhoon Haiyan
The grants are split into to equal parts. GBP50,000 will be awarded to the Associated Marine Officers’ and Seamen’s Union of the Philippines (AMOSUP) and the remaining GBP50,000 is going to Philippine Seafarers Union (PSU) to help them deliver emergency relief to Seafarers and their families.
ITF Seafarers’ Trust chair Dave Heindel commented: ” Around 300,000 of the world’s seafarers are from the Philippines, many of them from the worst hit areas. These two grants will allow us to provide targeted help to them”.
The filipino seafarers are fundamental to the maritime world and with these two grants the Seafarers’ Trust is trying to at least alleviate some of the awful effects of the tragedy that hit the Philippines. The Trust is hoping to help many Seafarers back ontheir feet, and to support them in this difficult time.