ITF News Updates – 6th to 12th January
P&O Ferries’ brand health continues to suffer 10 months after scandal | Marketing Weekly – 6th Jan
While few scandals have a strong lasting impact, P&O Ferries remains a long way off recovering its brand health after abruptly sacking 800 staff last year.
https://www.marketingweek.com/p-and-o-brand-health-suffer-scandal/
Gov’t contemplates establishing recruitment agencies for seafarers’ employment | The Reporter – 7th Jan
The establishment of seafarers’ recruitment agencies is currently in the works, many years after the government first started seafarers’ training projects in a public-private partnership arrangement for the purpose of employment at international shipping companies.
https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/29521/
Sailors on Royal Navy warship rescue five from drowning when their tugboat sinks in choppy Caribbean seas | Daily Mail – 7th Jan
HMS Medway – the Royal Navy’s permanent vessel in the region – saved the crew members who had taken refuge on a large band of sand their tug was towing when it began to flood.
Post-Panamax container ship aground, South America UPDATE | Maritime Bulletin – 8th Jan
Container ship MONTE PASCOAL, IMO 9283203, dwt 65066, capacity 5568 TEU, built 2005, flag Singapore, manager HAPAg Lloyd or Hamburg Sud or Maersk, depending on sources. It’s easier to solve crime than to find out what major is operating the ship at given moment.
http://www.maritimebulletin.net/2023/01/07/post-panamax-container-ship-aground-south-america-2/
MSC Containership Grounds on Italian Breakwater -Video | G Captain – 9th Jan
A Mediterranean Shipping Company containership appears to be grounded on the breakwater at the Port of Gioia Tauro in Italy.
https://gcaptain.com/msc-container-grounds-on-italian-breakwater-video/
Seafarers desperately need training to handle explosive lithium-ion batteries | Splash247 – 10th Jan
Transporting potentially explosive lithium-ion batteries on vessels is a dangerous business, as incidents in recent years have shown. An investigation by the United States Coast Guard into a freight container that caught fire on a US highway in 2021 attributed the blaze to a batch of lithium-ion batteries. The cargo ignited while enroute to the Port of Virginia, where it was to be shipped to China aboard a container vessel.
https://splash247.com/seafarers-desperately-need-training-to-handle-explosive-lithium-ion-batteries/
Companies should be looking at how to cater for the next generation of seafarers, says leading catering management provider MCTC | Hellenic Shipping News – 10th Jan
Companies should be prioritising the needs of the new internet-savvy generation of seafarers to ensure the long-lasting future of shipping, says leading catering management provider MCTC.
MSC containership stranded outside Italian port | Port Technology – 10th Jan
An MSC containership has run aground at the Port of Gioia Tauro, Italy’s largest container port, halting operations.
https://www.porttechnology.org/news/msc-containership-stranded-outside-italian-port/
EU sanctions on Cameroon reflect an urgent need for fisheries reform | Environmental Justice Foundation – 10th Jan
The European Commission has issued a ‘red card’ to Cameroon for failing to control its fishing fleet, meaning that EU Member States will not import fish from Cameroon until the sanction is lifted. Cameroon’s flag is being used as a flag of convenience by those fishing illegally, unsustainably and unethically, making this the right decision, says the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF).
Shipping companies need to allow more time for crew changes as the industry sees more workers from non-traditional seafaring countries, says leading specialists BCS Group | Hellenic Shipping News – 11th Jan
Shipping companies should allow at least three months for crew changes due to the recent rise in seafarers from South Asia and the challenges in arranging visas for them, says BCS Group – Boers Crew Services.
New Covid regulations by Korea for crew coming from China ports | Seatrade Maritime News – 11th Jan
South Korea has introduced Covid testing and quarantine for crew coming from Chinese ports that want to disembark or take shore leave.
https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/crewing/new-covid-regulations-korea-crew-coming-china-ports
Flags of Convenience Dominate Maritime Freight | Statista – 11th Jan
In the shipping industry, the flag of a ship refers to the state in which the shipowners or shipping companies have registered it. Registered ships are therefore bound by the laws and regulations of the maritime authority of the country concerned, for example in terms of taxation, ship safety or labor laws to which the crew is subject.
https://www.statista.com/chart/29086/flags-of-convenience/
Italian tugs refloat grounded MSC container ship | Riviera – 11th Jan
A fleet of tugboats operated by a Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) subsidiary refloated an MSC container ship that struck the rock breakwater at the entrance of Italy’s largest container port, Gioia Tauro
Quality of food onboard is a concern for seafarers, results from the Seafarers Happiness Index (SHI) Quarter 3 2022 show | Hellenic Shipping News – 12th Jan
Keeping healthy and fit on board is the focus for many seafarers who are conscious of their fitness levels while at sea. Reflecting this, a key issue reported this quarter by seafarers is a shortcoming in meeting basic needs, such as aproppriate catering levels and the offering of nutritional food on board.
Two feared dead as Chinese tanker explodes and splits in two | Splash 247 – 12th Jan
Search and rescue teams managed to save 15 crew members from the stricken Hong Pu 6 tanker off Rizhao in the Yellow Sea. Two seafarers remain unaccounted for despite a large search operation.
https://splash247.com/two-feared-dead-as-chinese-tanker-explodes-and-splits-in-two/