Sea Shepherd Kills off Japan's Whale Hunt

News comes out this morning that the Japanese have suspended their whale hunt operations, for now:

AFTER decades of bitterly opposed Antarctic ''research whaling'', Japan has suspended its hunt and is near to formally pulling out only halfway through the season.

Following a sustained pursuit by activists from the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, the whalers have had their kills slashed at a time when financial demands are tightening in Tokyo and diplomatic pressure is rising.

The sudden shift has raised hopes that Japan may be moving to end its 23-year program, which has killed about 10,000 Antarctic whales. - The Sydney Morning Herald

I have to say that I am somewhat surprised that the Sea Shepherd activists managed to stop the Japanese from whaling. Simply put, they managed this because they were more willing to endanger their lives than the Japanese were willing to fight back, despite managing to ram and sink a Sea Shepherd vessel last year. I do not think the Japanese were beyond sinking another ship this year, if the right accident opportunity presented itself, like in the photo below.

"The Gojira abnormally coming close in front of the Yushin Maru No. 3 bow." - Link

I guess we will just have to see what the Japanese plan next. I would not be surprised if they wait for Sea Shepherd to leave the area and then turn around, or just relocate to some other area. After all, this is a huge loss of face for them, not that killing whales is any better in that respect, but now there is an added level of shame, especially for the sailors who lost to a bunch of mostly disorganized, reckless and poorly trained opponents. Really, it is amazing that none of the Sea Shepherd group has managed to kill themselves all this time. I wonder how they would stack up against pirates...

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MAREX - Sea Shepherd Partly at fault for Sinking of ADY GIL

The Maritime Executive has news regarding investigation findings on the Sinking of the Sea Shepherd's ADY GIL:

Both Captains to Blame for Collision Between Activists and Whalers

The January collision between a Japanese whaling ship and a protest boat has now been officially blamed on both sides.

Maritime New Zealand says there is no evidence that either side intentionally caused the collision. The organization has placed blame on both captains saying they both failed in acting properly to avoid the accident. - The Maritime Executive

Given what Sea Shepherd has been up to down there, I would tend to put the blame on Sea Shepherd for the accident. After all, they have been attacking the Japanese and the Japanese certainly have a right to defend themselves. And I would say that the ADY GIL posed a potential huge problem for the Japanese given it's speed. I think it made perfect sense for the Japanese to try and damage the ship if given the opportunity. This is probably why the New Zealand Authorities declined to find the Japanese vessel at fault.

For your enjoyment, here is the video of the ADY GIL's last moments.

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I look forward to seeing what the Japanese plan to do to defend themselves next season.

I also look forward to the end of this mindless whaling.

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Sea Shepherd's Pete Bethune Escapes Prison Sentence in Japan

Thinking about it, I have to say that while I was expecting Japan to give Pete Bethune jail time, I am not surprised that they are letting him go.

TOKYO — A Japanese court on Wednesday convicted an anti-whaling activist from New Zealand of assault and obstructing Japan’s whaling fleet in the Antarctic. But his sentence was suspended, meaning he will not be jailed.

Peter Bethune, a member of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, boarded a Japanese whaling ship from a Jet Ski in the southern Antarctic in February, and threw bottles of butyric acid at the whalers. One bottle cracked open and three crew members suffered minor burns, prosecutors charged.

The Tokyo District Court also found Mr. Bethune, 45, guilty of trespassing, vandalism and possession of a knife. The presiding judge, Takashi Tawada, sentenced Mr. Bethune to two years in prison, with the sentence suspended for five years.

Mr. Bethune pleaded guilty to all charges except assault at the start of his trial in May. Under a suspended sentence, those convicted do not have to serve the prison term unless they are charged with further criminal offences. - NY Times

I figured that they would have made an example to him, if for no other reason than to put a real fear into other Sea Shepherd activists of facing the same fate if they are foolish enough to also board a Japanese whaling vessel. Still, I would like to think that spending a month confined on a Japanese whaling ship and then being a 'guest' in a Japanese jail is disincentive enough.

Personally, I think the Japanese need to hit back harder. Sinking the ADY GIL was a step in the right direction. There is lots more they can do like disabling the small boats and helicopter while on the deck. Hell, where are their potato cannons? Also, if I were them, I would target the camera crews. Simply because they are a tool for the Sea Shepherds and taking out their camera equipment has a real cost. (Note, I am against all Japanese whaling.)

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Sea Shepherd's Paul Watson Wanted by INTERPOL

Personally, I am surprised that it has taken this long for the Japanese to start seriously fighting back:

TOKYO -- The leader of a U.S.-based anti-whaling organization is now on an international wanted list for allegedly masterminding the group's disruption of Japanese whale hunts in the Antarctic Ocean, Japan's coast guard said Friday.

The move - done at Japan's request - signals Tokyo's escalating anger against the Sea Shepherd group, which it accuses of putting whalers' lives at risk during the annual Antarctic hunt.

The Canadian founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Paul Watson, 59, has been on the Interpol list since Wednesday, Coast Guard spokesman Shinichiro Tanaka said. He said Watson's whereabouts is unknown. - Washington Post

I am pretty curious to see what the Japanese would do to him if they manage to get their hands on him.

As for Sea Shepherd, I am wondering if their luck is starting to run out. With them now attacking tuna fishermen in the Med, I would think that lawsuits will start to pile up and eventually some country is going to arrest their vessel the STEVE IRWIN as part of a lawsuit.

No. I do not think the Japanese should be whaling. Also, I always thought that the tuna cause was a more fitting task for Sea Shepherd, it being an area where they had more potential to make an impact. No comment yet concerning what they ended up doing 'for the tuna'.

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Video from Sea Shepherd Boat ADY GIL just prior to being Rammed by Japanese

If for no other reason, this video is great because it shows just how quickly a vessel can come out of nowhere. At least the Japanese announce themselves early on with the LRAD.

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As much as I am against Japanese whaling, I am more against the gangster tactics of Sea Shepherd. Funny, how they are totally unprepared for the Japanese to retaliate by acting in a similar fashion.

Previous:
Sea Shepherd Boat ADY GIL Rammed and Sunk by Japanese Whalers


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Sea Shepherd Boat ADY GIL Rammed and Sunk by Japanese Whalers

That did not take long:

The crew of the New Zealand trimaran harassing Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean had to be rescued after their boat was rammed and sunk by a Japanese ship, anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society says. - Stuff.co.nz

Click on the photo to go to the story where there are more photos of what was left after the collision. (Note: The story reports that the vessel was sunk.)

Sea Shepherd’s newest vessel was covered previously at gCaptain here: ‘Sea Shepherd Unveils New Weapon to Fight Whale Hunters‘

Many of us had doubts that Sea Shepherd had the competency to operate a vessel of this type. I have to say that I am not surprised at all that the end came so quickly for this vessel, although I thought they would destroy it on their own before the Japanese got the opportunity to do it for them. At least nobody appears to have gotten hurt in this incident.

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Maritime Monday 94

Welcome to this weeks edition of Maritime Monday.

You can find Maritime Monday 44 here. (Published 29 January 2007)

You can find last week's edition here.

Did I miss something? Did I ignore your part of the world? Then feel free to add stories that I missed in the comments. Feel free to comment in general as well.

This Weeks Photos:

Wavefield Inseis ASA:

Wavefield Inseis ASA is a Norwegian company providing a range of proprietary and non-exclusive Multi-client marine geophysical services using highly specified vessels and the latest seismic equipment.

From our main offices in Bergen and Oslo, Norway, and our other locations in London, Houston and Perth, Wavefield Inseis has a global reach, with activities in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Equipped for success
Wavefield Inseis ASA was founded by a number of the most experienced people in the geophysical industry in order to provide a high quality range of services aimed at increasing the exploration success of its clients and to assist them in maximising production from their existing reservoirs.

All of the founders of the company, and all key staff, have a common recent history and know the strengths that a dedicated, highly flexible and responsive team can bring to any project. Not only in conventional towed streamer surveys, but also with complex projects that involve feasibility studies, front-end engineering and bespoke equipment design and processes - projects such as permanent seismic array installation, deep water OBC surveys, and one-off shallow water and source vessel rigging.

Services
Our range of proprietary and non-exclusive Multi-client services includes long offset 2D, high capacity 3D, 4D, Multi-azimuth and Wide-azimuth data acquired with highly specified vessels and the latest seismic equipment. We are also a full service permanent 4D acquisition provider and will, through a number of strategic alliances, bring new technologies to market to further accelerate and de-risk the replenishment of our clients' reserves. - Website

M/V GEOWAVE MASTER

M/V GEOWAVE COMMANDER

M/V BERGEN SURVEYOR

M/V GEOWAVE CHAMPION

M/V GEOWAVE CHAMPION

You can view the fleet here.

You can also see photos of the inside of the GEOWAVE MASTER taken by 'Colin' and posted to Picasa here including this one of the server space:

"loads of computers, 18Tb is just for us, all the kits uses about 2.5GW of power (ish)"

You could say that the data collected is the cargo.

This Weeks Items:

I receive an Honorable Discharge from the US Navy.

Eagle Speak has "Capturing real live pirates and how they whine" covering the capture of two Sea Shepherd pirates by a Japanese whaling vessel. (Eagle Speak promises to publish his weekly series Sunday Ship History later today, so check out his homepage for updates. You should be doing that anyway, since he covers maritime issues all week long.)

The Nelson Mail (NZ) has "Maritime law may be on the whalers' side"

Seems that I am not the only one to notice that shipping has been taking a real beating so far this year. Robin Storm posts about it in "January 2008 A Interesting Start to the Maritime New Year!"

Chaotic Synaptic Activity has for his weekly series Monday Maritime Matters the WWII contributions of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company located on the Great Lakes, covering the problems they faced from building submarines with no previous experience to the long journey to get them to the open sea once completed.

gCaptain has the amazing post "Windoc Incident - Story Behind YouTube’s Most Chilling Video". You saw the video, now get the story.

gCaptain also has the news of a contest to name Royal Caribbean's first Genesis-Class cruiseship, which when launched will by far be the world's largest.

Tugster has no less than five posts full of photos covering the PEKING Drydocking. He even managed to get aboard during the return voyage to South Street Seaport. So go to his homepage and scroll through the related posts.

Sea * Fever has more on the PEKING in "The return of the (Pe)King". He also has posted the 'second part of Irving Johnson’s amazing video Round the Horn on Peking'. The first part he posted here. This is a video of extremes. Not only is there some truly classic crazy sailing footage, but it also seems to draw out the extremes in men and women. The men who really enjoy watching it and the women who see it as boring.

The Horse's Mouth has photos of the ICE PRINCE sinking in a post titled "See You Later Alligator." The crew managed to safely abandon ship well before she went down.

SAILORS, MARINERS & WARRIORS LEAGUE has this week's must read for anyone who either wants to attempt a solo Atlantic crossing or anyone who doesn't think that boat insurance is important in "Sailor Sends Mayday To His Local Bar". Actually, just go and read it. This story has a little something for everyone, especially if you think your having a bad day. It is Monday, isn't it?

Maritime Accident Casebook has "Cargo Ship Sinks Off Philippines"

The Pilot Boat covers an engine casualty on the MT NEW VISION in "Places of Refuge"

Helsingin Sanomat has "Initiative for new sea centre to support marine research" in the Baltic as well as "Herring develop a taste for feared waterflea invader"

MarEx Newsletter has "Federal Lawsuit Challenging Legality of Rebuilt Matson Ship Stirs Up Jones Act Arguments Anew"

The Jones Act is simply a huge can of worms. It spans the full spectrum of manning, building, registration and a host of other variables. Thanks, in part, to the U.S. Maritime Administration, we are on the cusp of placing U.S. maritime cadets on board foreign-flag tonnage in a planned -- and substantial -- fashion, which hopefully will eventually follow with the wholesale manning of foreign-flag tonnage with U.S. professionals. This type of promising development, opening up worldwide opportunities for U.S. mariners, also opens up another Pandora’s box. I’m not aware, as of yet, that anyone has fully looked at the implications of U.S. nationals on foreign ships, and what their "Jones Act" rights might be under these conditions, down the road.

Hawaii Vacation Connection podcasts from the Hawaii Superferry in "A Great Ride on the Hawaii Superferry"

Cargo Law has a photo collection of the reefer container stack disaster on the JEPPESON MAERSK.

Bitter end observes the 50th anniversary of AMVER and notes the 230th anniversary of Captain James Cook's arrival in the Hawaii Islands. He was the First European to do so.

Financial Times has "Shipping challenges negative image" which covers the new industry website Container Shipping Information Service which includes interesting fact and a couple photos.

It is estimated that on average a container ship emits around 40 times less CO2 than a large freight aircraft and over three times less than a heavy truck. Container shipping is also estimated to be two and a half times more energy efficient than rail and 7 times more so than road. - CSIS

Container ship in Suez canal

The BBC looks back at the MSC NAPOLI grounding with an update on the looting and looters.

Lloyds List has "European ship recycling industry 'not feasible'" while their Newsroom Blog has "Safer ship recycling"

Marine Buzz has "Sea Launch Successfully Launches Thuraya 3 Satellite" including video of the launch and "Australian Kayakers Successfully Paddled across the Tasman Sea". It took them 62 days.

Tree Hugger has "Coral Reef + Cruise Ship= Conservation?"

Tims Times spies the REPUBBLICA DI GENOVA from afar.

Auto Unleashed has "370 BMWs damaged in cargo ship incident". The story includes photos of the victims:

'Damaged'

AutoBlog names the ship as the M/V COURAGE. The damage was due to the ship 'tipping'. No mention of the cause, but surely it is stability-related. No mention of any injuries which is somewhat amazing considering that the accident most likely happened after the longshoremen removed the lashing straps and before they were discharged.

Shirlaw News Group has "Two Killed After 'Chemical Leak' On Ship"

The Monitor posts "Unwanted vessel motion causes more problems than seasickness"

The US Navy appears to not be the only ones having problems with their shipbuilding Program. EndofEmpire - The Independent Eye has problems for Russian Navy Shipbuilding.

A couple of the pleasure sailor bloggers (and the like) have been running an ongoing theme of 'Fish on Fridays'. Never Sea Land has decided to put all the other sites to shame with a gallery of over 200 photos. Seems to be safe for work. Then again, that assumes that the people in charge are rational and that your not sitting there for an hour checking out the photos. If you are confronted with charges that you were looking at NSFW content, just point out they are the ones who are very sick for even thinking that.

Nepunus Lex covers the attempt to rid the US Naval Academy of one of some tradition involving plebes climbing the 'Herndon Monument' in an attempt to make the Academy safer and more P.C.

Gizmodo has images and story of "NYC Installing Gigantic 120-Foot Waterfalls Under the Brooklyn Bridge, in the East River"

Freaque Waves has "Aloha, Huge waves roar!". Those rough seas have resulted in a number of canceled sailings for the Hawaii Superferry.

Mad Mariner covers "Boating at Night Brings Intensifies the Dangers and Challenges. Preparation is the Key."

CDR Salamander is searching for an UNCLASIFIED Powerpoint on the National Security Frigate authored and being passed around by Northrop Grumman. So go and help him out if you have a copy.

The Private Islands Blog has "The King of Mann".

In the John Goodman movie "King Ralph" an American accidentally becomes King of England.

In a real-life reprisal of the circumstances of the movie, and American discovered he was heir to the long dormant title of "King of Mann". This is the title of the former monarchs of the Isle of Man, a British possession in the Irish Sea. - Link to the rest of the story

Cool.

I included this photo found on Never Sea Land for the enjoyment of you electrical engineers out there:

The plugs look Finnish. But the beer bottles suggest some other location in Europe.

Haight's Maritime Items has:

Canada – longshore workers must apply for security clearances - The Federal Court of Appeal of Canada issued an order denying a motion by a longshore workers’ union for a stay from the regulation requiring maritime workers in Canada to apply for security clearances. The court ruled that, for a stay to be granted, applicants must show: (1) that there is a serious question to be tried; (2) that irreparable harm will be suffered by the applicants if the stay is not granted; and (3) that the balance of inconvenience favors granting of a stay. The court found that this was a serious question, but that any harm that might be suffered was not irreparable and that the important public interests involved outweighed any inconvenience to the applicants. The application for a stay from the requirement of these workers to apply for a security clearance under the Marine Transportation Security Clearance Program (MTSCP) was denied. Note: this Canadian program is similar to the US Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 517 v. The Attorney General of Canada, 2008 FCA 3 (1/7/08). - Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage (Used with Permission)

Fairplay Daily News has:

Operators turn backs on Nigeria - ONNE 15 January – AP Møller-Maersk is stopping all its ship calls to Onne, south of Port Harcourt, because of the continued violence and insecurity in the region, while French operator Bourbon has halted all activity in the Bonny River area for similar reasons. Maersk, which runs supply vessels and container ships into Onne, was quoted by Reuters yesterday as saying that no Maersk ship will visit the port until security is “demonstrably re-established”. Bourbon’s fast support and invervention vessel Bourbon Leda, under charter to Shell, was among a convoy attacked on the Bonny River by gunmen on 9 January, and two of its crew injured. The company says on its website that it has put upgraded security procedures in place and, along with other (un-named) oil operators, has “decided to suspend all activity in this area until further notice”. In Port Harcourt last night, a policeman was killed and two others seriously injured after escorting a Nigerian Ports Authority official home. Unknown persons tossed an explosive into the police car, press agencies report. Elsewhere in Rivers State, another offshore supply vessel was attacked by suspected militants yesterday, according to Afriquenligne. No further details were reported. - Fairplay Homepage (Used with Permission)

Submissions for future editions:

Please submit articles for inclusion in next week' edition using the following submit form at Blog Carnival. You are also welcome to email photos for inclusion in future editions as well as suggest area of coverage.

** Sponsorship **
Send me an email (address in the sidebar) if you would like to sponsor an edition of Maritime Monday. I accept money and gear.

Previous Editions:
Here or click on the label below 'MaritimeMonday'.

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Maritime Monday 88

Welcome to this Weeks edition of Maritime Monday.

You can find Maritime Monday 38 here. (Published 18 December 2006)

You can find last week's edition here.

This Weeks Photos:
This weeks photos comes from the website of Prosafe:

Prosafe comprises a parent company and two business divisions: Floating Production and Offshore Support Services. Floating Production is a leading owner and operator of Floating Producition, Storage and Offloading vessels (FPSOs). Offshore Support Services is the world's leading owner and operator of semi-sumbersible accommodation/service rigs.

Prosafe has more than three decades of operational experience from the world’s largest oil and gas provinces. With an excellent uptime record, a solid financial performance and the ability to offer innovative in house technology and cost-efficient solutions, the company has positioned itself as a provider of high quality services. - Prosafe

Prosafe FPSOs:

ABO FPSO


ESPOIR IVOIRIEN
Prosafe Accommodation Rigs:

Prosafe is the world’s leading owner and operator of accommodation/service rigs. The company owns eleven semi-submersibles and one jack-up. Operations comprise bareboat charters in the Gulf of Mexico and time charters in the North Sea, west Africa, the US Gulf, Australia and off Sakhalin Island, Russia.

Accommodation/service rigs have traditionally been used wherever there is a need for additional accommodation, engineering, construction or storage capacity offshore. Typically, these rigs will be employed for installing and commissioning new facilities, upgrading or maintaining existing installations, hooking-up satellite fields to existing infrastructure, and removing installations.

The rigs are positioned alongside the host installation and are connected by means of a telescopic gangway, or personnel can be transported to and from the unit by boat or helicopter. These rigs boast substantial accommodation capacity, with berths for 245-812 people, have high quality welfare and catering facilities, medical services, storage, workshops and offices, deck cranes, and the necessary equipment and systems for ensuring the safety of the personnel living on board. - Prosafe

SAFE LANCIA


SAFE REGENCY


SAFE SCANDINAVIA

This Weeks Items:

Eagle Speak has the story of the US Navy putting the squeeze on the terrorists holding ships hostage off Somalia.

Eagle Speak also remembers the anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and links to others who have also posted on the event.

Steeljaw Scribe has a dramatic illustration of how the Royal Navy has shrunk in size. Not pictured is the loss in knowledge as the number of Navy sailors has also shrunk. So even if you can get more ships, just where do you get the sailors to crew them? (As we have learned earlier, in the case of New Zealand, you grab them from your allies.)

Additional comments on the decline and neglect of the Royal Navy cen be found at Captain's Quarters.

gCaptain has a photo of the wave damage on the Matson KAUAI. Also, gCaptain, partnering with Sea * Fever, has entered the world of podcasting with their first maritime podcast.

Commenter BigFish answers my request for some details on arresting a ship:

Arrest of ships : It is a somewhat complicated matter and you need to know a little bit of maritime law to understand all the intricacies. It depends upon the applicable law in the country of arrest (or even in the State, for federal countries such as the US), whether the country is signatory of specific international conventions and the rest of it. Have a look here and scroll down to pick up your favorite country :
http://www.shiparrested.com/publications.jsp
Hope it will assist ! - MM 87

Thanks much for the comment! Now perhaps someone can comment on how Greenpeace has so far managed to avoid getting their ships arrested as part of collecting on lost income from their blockading of ships.

Life of a Sea Wife explains the difficulty in planning the holidays while your husband is looking for a ship.

BitterEnd has "Right of Innocent Passage" noting that the right is often exercised around the US-Canadian border.

Maritime Calamities has "Investigators seek captain after mid-sea collision" concerning the Australian fishing trawler REXANDRA which was hit by an as-yet unnamed foreign-flag containership.

Opinion Journal has a story about visiting where parts of the USS ARIZONA that were removed from the vessel during construction of the memorial are stored.

EU Referendum covers the results of an audit of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in which the policy is declared a failure and then recommends more of the same.

Maritime Accident Casebook has an example of the dangers of enclosed spaces in "The Case Of The Electric Assassin"

Sea * Fever has the video investigative report on the accident on the tall ship PICTON CASTLE leading to the death of Laura Gainey.

Chaotic Synaptic Activity has in his weekly series 'Monday Maritime Matters' the story of US Army Private George Watson who has been honored by the Navy by naming the USNS WATSON after him. (If you check his site late enough in the day you should also be able to catch this week's edition.)

Energy Daily covers the very ambitious suggestion to "Dam The Red Sea And Release Gigawatts"

International Marine Consultancy has "Towage is not Transportation"

The country of Denmark has been working on a plan to turn itself into a shipping Center of Competence (More so than it already is) and they want foreigners to go work in the maritime Industry there. It helps to welcome foreigners into your country when there is a labor shortage, which Denmark is currently suffering from. However, it is good to know before you move that one of the reasons for the shortage of labor is because skilled Danes are fleeing their Country's shockingly high 63% income tax rate. The International Herald Tribune covers the story in "High income taxes in Denmark worsen a labor shortage".

OCRA Marine has "EU Sends Letter To Member States Failing To Comply To Marine Laws".

Tugster covers ATBs.

Kiwi at Sea is pulling rocks up from the sea floor.

International Herald Tribune also has "Rural Britain wants to put itself off the GPS map"

Some communities have begun putting up signs warning drivers to ignore their GPS devices on rural roads. But signs seem to be less and less effective as people increasingly rely more on GPS systems and less on maps, common sense or their own eyes.

"We've heard some very hilarious stories where people just blindly follow the sat. nav. instructions," said Vince Yearley, a spokesman for the Institute of Advanced Motorists, using British shorthand for "satellite navigation." "Like if the sat. nav. says, 'drive into this muddy field,' they think, 'that's weird,' but they do it anyway." - IHT

And yet, people think it is a good idea for VTS to pilot ships from an office ashore. At least the seafarers will have someone to point a finger at when the accident happens.

Cruise Bruise has "Star Princess Cruises To Antarctica". I did mention in Maritime Monday 86:

The large cruiseship STAR PRINCESS is heading off to Antarctica in January. But be warned, the ship is not Ice-classed (Class: +100A1).

Go read Cruise Bruise's take on the subject. Seems there is no shortage of people willing to sign up, despite a lack of marketing the adventure. He makes a good point, I only found it by using Google.

Shipping Times (UK) has coverage of backing by the Scottish Government for a medal to honor hundreds of Scots who perished when the RMS LANCASTRIA was sunk during WWII.

The RMS Lancastria was a Cunard liner sunk on June 17, 1940 during World War II with the loss of an estimated 4,000 plus lives. It is the worst single loss of life in British maritime history and the bloodiest single engagement for UK forces (in terms of lives lost) in the whole of World War 2, claiming more lives than the combined losses on Titanic and Lusitania. - Wikipedia

You can find the LANCASTRIA Association here.

Marine Buzz has "Christmas at Sea program by Seamen’s Church Institute"

Marex Newsletter has "Global Trade Environment in 2008: Potential Issues Looming to Disrupt Global Supply Chains"

The Horses Mouth has a great photo of a sailboat 'crewed' by harbor seals. No mention if the condition of the boat is a result of their presence or if that is what attracted their attention.

Vat19 has video showing how to tie "8 Knots You Should Know"

Fogonazos has photos of "The Salton Sea disaster"

Ross Fotheringham has posted photos of one of the Washington State Ferries in heavy Seas. Hope the cars on the car deck had their windows rolled up. This way you'll limit getting salt water to just the outside and undercarriage as well as inside the ventilation system.

Photo Copyright Ross Fotheringham

Greenpeace (You have been warned) labels Japan as a 'Tuna Destroyer'. Don't bother trying to leave a comment unless you are going to praise their actions. They are heavy handed with their comment delete key, even if the criticism is constructive. While we are talking about Greenpeace, how is it that (according to Equasis) the RAINBOW WARRIOR has not had a port-state inspection since early 2003? (The ship is registered in the Netherlands.)

70 South covers the renaming of the Sea Shepherd's whaling protest ship from ROBERT HUNTER to STEVE IRWIN, yes that Steve Irwin. Last whaling season the ship ran into flagging problems (Their registration was revoked as no country was interested in being responsible for the damage the ship was attempting to inflict on Japanese whaling vessels). The ship is currently registered in the Netherlands with IMO number 7340370 as a 'Fishing Support Vessel'. Lloyds withdrew as classification society earlier this year with no replacement noted. I wonder why it took so long as they have had surveys outstanding since at least 2004. Their other vessel, the FARLEY MOWAT continues to be flag-less, which should make it easier for the Japanese if they ever decide to shoot holes in the hull.

While watching CBS's Amazing Race last night, it was interesting to see how many of the teams had no clue how to row a boat:

The Stupid Shall Be Punished has "It's Submarine Christmas Photoshop Time Again!"

Haight's Maritime Items has:

UK – Safety Digest 3/2007 - The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) released its Safety Digest 3/2007, [Note: PDF Document] summarizing recent marine accidents. The three overriding safety concerns for merchant shipping are found to be fatigue, complacency, and poor bridge teamwork. (12/1/07). - Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage (Used with Permission)

Fairplay Daily News has:

Mutiny at Indian Register - MUMBAI 03 December – Around 40 qualified surveyors of Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) have tendered their resignations, protesting at mismanagement. They have asked the IRS board to remove their chairman Capt JC Anand and managing director S Kumar and get professionals to manage the organisation. Sources said many officials had left IRS over the past year, complaining at mismanagement. The shipping directorate (DGS) had recently entrusted IRS with additional responsibilities including certification for Indian-flagged ships. IRS has been undertaking certain flag state control functions such as surveys and certification and some other statutory obligations on behalf of DGS. IRS, an independent technical organisation with board members from shipping ministry – including the DGS secretary, chairmen of port trusts and an SCI director, was set up in 1975. It is an associate member of the International Association of Classification Societies and has provided classification for 1,100 ships, including 10% foreign-flagged ships. - Fairplay Homepage (Used with Permission)

Submissions for future editions:

Please submit articles for inclusion in next week' edition using the following submit form at Blog Carnival. You are also welcome to email photos for inclusion in future editions as well as suggest area of coverage.

** Sponsorship **
Send me an email (address in the sidebar) if you would like to sponsor an edition of Maritime Monday. I accept money and gear.

Previous Editions:
Here or click on the label below 'MaritimeMonday'.

.

Maritime Monday 48

Welcome to this weeks edition of Maritime Monday.

This weeks photos:
The Japanese Flag whale processing vessel NISSHIN MARU:

Here is one of the vessel in better days:

Here are some photos after the fire from two weeks ago:

(The working end)

More photos and video at the Institute of Cetacean Research.

ABC News Online has the latest noting that the ship may not be returning home as assumed. (The vessel is needed if whaling is to continue.)

Sea Shepherd notes its return to Australia without difficulties, despite the FARLEY MOWAT arriving without a 'flag'. They also note that they intend to retire the vessel, asking Australia for permission to keep the ship there permenantly.


This Weeks Items:

Eagle Speak has news and photos (of the ships sporting grey and not CG White) that the US Coast Guard will hold onto three Cyclone Class Patrol Ships instead of turning them back over to the Navy in 2008 as originally planned.

Nation's Port Commons has coverage of US Customs clarification of Cargo Security Myths.

EITB24 has the smoking cargo of fertilizer on the Netherlands-Flag OSTEDIJK. La Nueva Espana has stunning photos of the vessel spewing smoke just offshore.

Reuters has the news of Spain and Mauritania refusing to accept a disabled ship with approximately 400 suspected illegal aliens. The vessel is currently being tended to by the Spanish Coast Guard, which Mauritania claims towed it out of Spanish Territory and into theirs. (Now why would they do that?)

Shipping Times covers the hijacking of the UN chartered aid vessel MV ROSEN, which is the fourth hijacking of this type for the same shipping company.

Military.com has the resupply of McMurdo Station in Antarctica by the MV American Tern and tanker USNS PAUL BUCK which were escorted by US Coast Guard Icebreaker POLAR SEA and Swedish Icebreaker ODEN.

Oil Change International has news that North Sea oil output is declining faster than projected.

Monsters and Critics has the sinking of the Norway-Flag OCEAN CAROLINE and the rescue of the crew by Polish Rescue Services.

Greenpeace UK notes (link fixed) that its vessel, the ARCTIC SUNRISE, has been boarded by military police arresting at least 18, and most likely seizing the vessel as well. It was to be expected when you sail into a restricted zone. Maybe they mis-understood their initial 'reception':

Written by Louise, Greenpeace campaigner, aboard the Arctic Sunrise - Wow. Well it’s now 2.50pm and around seven hours after we set sail. We are still here, right up against the pontoons that surround the Faslane nuclear weapons base – and just some 150 metres away a Trident submarine is sitting there… I keep staring at it… It’s a large beast but it’s still weird to think that something of that size can carry enough nuclear missiles to wipe out hundreds of thousand of people at the touch of a button…

It’s been a mad old morning. As we left Greenock and steamed towards the base - even though I have total faith in our crew onboard - I thought, “there’s no way we are going to be able to blockade that base”. We’ve been sitting around the corner in Greenock for days, on a Greenpeace ship with NO NEW NUCLEAR WEAPONS written down the side, so I was guessing the base would be more than prepared for us. But no, for ages just one police launch and one police inflatable (with one man onboard) was all we encountered. They must have been on a coffee break. - Greenpeace

In a related note, Sailors, Mariners & Warriors League has news of Iran's refusal to permit GreenPeace's RAINBOW WARRIOR to enter the Port of Bushehr to present alternatives to nuclear power to the 'People of Iran'. Since when does Government refusal stop Greenpeace? This is a group where getting arresting is one of the goals of their protests. What a better statement to make than to be arrested by the Iranians. Then again, perhaps they are not that stupid. (Watch next weeks news prove me wrong.) That is why they stick to harassing the US, UK, Japan, Australia, etc....

Helsingin Sanomat documents how while the Finns might be technologically advanced, they still have something to learn when it turns out that every Maritime Monday reader knew of the upcoming tests of the Russian Nuclear icebreaker 50 YEARS OF VICTORY, but they did not. Seems that the Russians forgot to tell them as they should have according to an existing agreement.

Marex Newsletter has the US Maritime Administration renaming Short Sea Shipping to America's Marine Highway as part of an initiative to push the program forward.

NOAA News Online has news of a Tsunami Warning Partnership with Australia's Bureau of Meteorology. (Go here for a diagram of how the offshore buoys work.)

Third Party Logistics has the 2007 Container Shipping Forecast.

Cruise Bruise has the fire that gutted the Indonesian ferry LEVINA 1 that killed at least 16.

The Pilot Boat has 'Fatigue Prevention'.

EU Referendum reminds us of the Sherman DD tank which was fitted with a skirt to permit it to swim ashore during D-Day and of the 50th anniversary of the death of Major-General Percy Hobart, who was in charge of the unit that came up with this and many other creative war-fighting machinery.

Ahoy Cargo has the protest by L-1 Identity Solutions over the awarding of the TWIC Contact to Lockheed Martin. (I would prefer to protest the awarding of a TWIC Contract to any company. TWIC is broken. Let the ports handle Port Security.)

O'Reilly Radar has a photo and a story why a town in the UK is putting up signs to prevent truckers from using unsuitable roads that are being suggested by GPS navigators.

York Press (UK) has the defense of sending rubbish to China for recycling, basically being that the initial product that resulted in the waste came from there. (Closed loop recycling.)

Heard through the bubbles repairs an underwater hole in a ship's rudder.

Haight's Maritime Items has:

UK – MSC NAPOLI - update - The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) issued an updated status report concerning the MSC NAPOLI. The list of the ship has been reduced to 8 degrees, easing the response operations. Recovery of the remaining oil in the ship is progressing well. Ten containers were lost overboard during bad weather last week, but none contained dangerous goods. 553 containers have been removed from the ship and 293 containers remain on deck. All of the beached containers have been removed. (2/19/07). - Dennis Bryant

Dan Bryan has an account at Flickr where he has a great collection of the MSC NAPOLI cleanup both at the vessel and ashore.

As you can see, most of the above-deck containers have been removed. However, the holds are still full of cargo, and water.

Fairplay Daily News has:

Korea seeks to fill seafarer shortfall - SINGAPORE - 22 February – South Korea is facing an acute shortage of seafarers, caused by a rapid rise in fleets coupled with the attractions of other maritime sectors. Foreign seafarers are to be recruited to meet the shortfall. The Korea Shipowners’ Association expects an annual increase in the number of vessels in member companies' fleets of about 60 ships. Harsh working conditions at sea - despite monthly salaries averaging $2,500 for ratings on ocean-going vessels - is another reason, a source told Fairplay. The problem is exacerbated by the attractions of employment in other sectors, including the shipbuilding sector where opportunities for young people are increasing. However, the supply of engineers is not acute as they average salaries of more than $3,000 a month. Currently, one foreign officer and seven ratings are allowed per ship based on an agreement between management and companies' unions representatives; KSA now plans to discuss the expansion of the number of foreign officers and ratings to three officers and eight ratings during the first half this year. - Fairplay Homepage

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Please submit articles for inclusion in next week' edition using the following submit form at Blog Carnival. You are also welcome to email photos for inclusion in future editions as well as suggest area of coverage.

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Maritime Monday 42

Welcome to this weeks edition of Maritime Monday.

This Week's Photo:
Here is a photo of what is left of the MS SERVER in Norway. (Link to story below.)

Photo found at the Norwegian Coastal Administration.

This Weeks Items:
The US Maritime Administration has a biography of Captain Hugh Mulzac, who was the first African-American Captain of an American ship with an integrated crew. He was given his ship in 1943, twenty years after obtaining his Masters License.

Eagle Speak has two cases of defective anchors. You can find the US Coast Guard Press Release here. (How much does it cost to air freight a ship anchor?)

Sailors, Mariners & Warriors League has coverage of the Cyprus-Flagged, Greek-Owned, MS SERVER which has split in two after running aground, in Norway. (Photo above.)

Sailors, Mariners & Warriors League also has the best coverage of the VINDO, which was adrift in the North Sea, passing between offshore oil platforms. This is the same vessel that was listed in Maritime Monday 26 when it was involved in a collision in the English Channel. (Talk about a string of bad luck.)

California conservative has Iran's Threat to block the Strait of Hormuz "if the West continues to threaten Iran’s economy over its nuclear program."

Navy Newsstand has a Boarding Officer Training Conference in the Northern Persian Gulf.

Marex Newsletter has news of a harbor pilot's laptop being tampered with by a foreign-flag vessel's captain. Also noted are two other maritime laptop incidents all involving the same unnamed foreign country.

Japan Probe has the Sea Shepherd Foundation's latest preparations to attack Japanese Whalers in the Antarctic. The story mentions that the vessels have lost their Belize Registration and are currently sailing under no flag other than their own. Sea Shepherd's website here.

The Guardian has word of what will be one of the largest class action lawsuits to be heard in the UK. It involves the PROBO KOALA Ivory Coast toxic dumping incident.

Bellona has Russia's denial of reports of a missile fuel leak from a Pacific-based submarine.

The BBC has coverage of the Nation-State of SEALAND off the UK being offered for sale. Engadget has word that a Swedish file-sharing website is dreaming of buying the island-nation in order to protect itself from copyright violation lawsuits.

Ocra Worldwide has the European Commission's lodging of two cases with the Court of Justice against Portugal for failure to respect EU legislation in the field of maritime safety.

Gateway Pundit has coverage of the Democrats drive to ban offshore oil drilling while the Chinese prepare to drill a mere 70 miles from Key West. (Dear Congress. Offshore oil means jobs. Both ashore and at sea. Many more than if drilling on dry ground.)

The Stupid Shall Be Punished has coverage of the USS NEWPORT NEWS submarine collision with the Japanese Flag tanker M/V MOGAMIGAWA.

Breitbart.com has Alaska's attorney general's office filing criminal charges against Wild Alaskan Seafood Co. LLC and Jeremy Oliver concerning conditions that resulted in 400 tons of Alaskan Salmon rotting.

The Monitor has another mishap for Canada's BC Ferries.

Little Green Footballs correctly predicts that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will enter the Miami 3 trucker drama.

Local10.com has CAIR's press conference including their consideration of filing a lawsuit. Funny how they have no problem communicating now. (Until Cair got involved, these three were anonymous to the rest of us. That apparently was not good enough for them so they had to go and have a press conference about it. So here are their names; the driver Al-Hadad, his brother, Hussain Al Hadad, and friend, Hassan El Sayed.)

(Do they look like victims to you?)

Debbie Schlussel (who has also termed them the 'Miami 3') has a great overview of their criminal backgrounds including felony convictions, asks why would they drive a container all the way to Miami from Michigan, and yes, notes that the driver does not have a commercial license. Surely, their lives appear to be full of 'misunderstandings'.

Speaking of criminals, Fairplay Daily News has:

Union to sue convicted officials - MIAMI – The new leadership of the American Maritime Officers union has agreed to sue the group’s former president and secretary-treasurer for misappropriated funds. The announcement was made late yesterday by the group’s new national president Thomas Bethel, who was appointed following the resignation of Michael McKay, who was convicted on Friday of racketeering. "The initial actions taken today by the national executive committee and national executive board will help AMO overcome the difficulties linked to the federal government’s prolonged investigation of AMO and the AMO Plans and the indictment, trial and conviction of Michael McKay and Robert McKay ... We take our fiduciary responsibilities seriously, and will do whatever is necessary under US law and regulation and the AMO National Constitution to protect AMO’s interests," Bethel said in a statement posted on the web site. Litigation will also be filed against his brother Robert, who lost in his bid for re-election as national secretary-treasurer last month and who was also convicted of racketeering. The brothers have been denied access to union offices. - Fairplay Homepage

Haight's Maritime Items has:

UK – master fined for ship grounding - The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) issued a press notice stating that the master of a small cargo vessel was fined £2,500 for not having an adequate lookout on the ship when it grounded at night in the Pentland Firth. The ship had a crew of seven. The chief mate fell asleep while on watch. The lone seaman on board was utilized for day work, rather than as a watchstander. Note: one wonders about the Safe Manning Certificate. (1/11/07). - Dennis Bryant (Electronic Letter Homepage)

Submissions for future editions:
Please submit articles for inclusion in next week' edition using the following submit form at Blog Carnival. You are also welcome to email photos for inclusion in future editions as well as suggest area of coverage.

** Sponsorship **
Send me an email (address in the sidebar) if you would like to sponsor an edition of Maritime Monday. I accept money and gear.

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-

Maritime Monday #6

Kind of light this week with submissions, but that just means that this week's Maritime Monday is more about what I found interesting. Thanks to those who did submit items.

This Weeks Photo:

In the spirit of Maritime Monday being about all things Maritime, I figured that this week's photo should be a Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit, or MODU for short. This is a picture of a MODU I visited in Scotland. See that crane on deck. That's how you get onboard.

(SOVEREIGN EXPLORER December, 2001. Photo by Fred)

This weeks items:

The International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots union has news that President Bush will be the first President to be a Graduation Speaker at the US Merchant Marine Academy. Graduation is in late June.

The Washington Post has the story of George Williams, an American found drifting on a raft of oil drums in the Skagerak Sea between Norway and Denmark. He claims to have been thrown off his ship, but will not give the name of the ship. Pretty strange. (Although strange things do happen on Merchant ships!)

DieselDuck at The Monitor has news about the BOW MARINER disaster/sinking off Virginia on 28 February 2004 with the Coast Guard placing a majority of the blame on the Captain.

The Monitor also has a photo collage of the CARNIVAL ECSTASY riding out Hurricane Rita. Be sure to click the photo to expand it!

EagleSpeak has a follow-up to the Egyptian Ferry disaster. Apparently the owner and 'corrupt' Government officials are to blame. Notice how quickly this story dropped from the headlines...

CSO Online has the Story about the Government's research into cargo tracking through the Operation Safe Commerce project. I would love to link to the report findings which were due a year ago, but as the story points out, no report has yet been released.

BBC News has coverage of the upcoming maiden voyage of Royal Caribbean's FREEDOM OF THE SEAS. This will be the world's largest passenger vessel. Cruise Reviews has the press release from Atlantis Charters announcing the first charter cruise for the vessel in January, 07. An all-gay (and lesbian) cruise.

Asian Maritime News has the story of seven Indian Seafarers currently facing murder charges in the UAE. Apparently the victim, another Indian seafarer, was beaten to death while the ship was at sea. The ship is Norwegian (International) Flag (NIS.)

Colton Company has news that the Panama Canal Authority is taking advantage of a backlog of ships looking to transit the Canal by auctioning a few transit slots each day. As their post suggests, read the Authority's terms for the auction.

Splendid Pictures Around the net has photos of the RMS QUEEN MARY 2 inside and out.

The Travel Bloggers has an update on Princess Cruise Line's attempts to avoid another balcony fire like the one that caused extensive damage to the STAR PRINCESS. I look forward to reading the accident report, especially the part that covers the ship's ability to fight a fire on the balconies. Was it that balcony fires had to be fought by dragging hoses through cabins? (I have to say, they have done a good job preventing photos of the damage getting out.)

AllAfrica.com news has the story of the USS CARR visiting (and patrolling) the Territorial waters of Liberia in West Africa. This was done with the consent of the new Liberian Government. The US Department of Defense has a press release covering the new Liberian President's trip out to the USS MOUNT WHITNEY in January to thank them for their presence in the region.

WattHead has coverage (Note: November 2005) about 'Offshore Wind Platforms' based on offshore oil platforms. Now why hasn't anyone thought about this before. (US DOE illustrated feasibility study PDF)

There is no shortage of posts about Japan's plans to legalize whaling.

My problem with the Japanese whaling issue has more to do with the fact that the Japanese Government has been illegally whaling for years, calling it 'research.' I hate liars and for their actions, the Japanese should be ashamed of their lying. If, the existing whale stocks can sustain whaling, and there seems to be evidence that this is true for Minkie whales, then one could argue that international agreements call for fishing/catching/whaling the maximum sustainable catch, even if they happen to be whales.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been maintaining an anti-whaling program. They have a video clip of their harassment of a Japanese 'research' vessel. Herald Premium Content suggests that anti-whaling nations review the aid that they are giving to the countries that Japan has bought spots onto the International Whaling Commission for, in essence buying their support. Ultima Thule says Goodbye to Moby Dick. Secular Blasphemy comments (scroll down) on the biased reporting in the UK's Independent about the matter.

Most of the whale-Blogging is the result of news coverage in the Independent Online with the stories "The great betrayal: Pro-hunting Japanese seize control of whaling commission" and "So why, exactly, is Tokyo so keen on whale hunting?". Not to pick on Japan too much, Norway and Iceland would also like to see the ban on whaling dropped. These countries should be careful for what they ask for. It might be that many others might be interested in catching whale if it becomes legalized. Don't think that you'll be able to take home the entire catch. As for me, 'Whale Sushi', yum!

The Robert Bond Papers (Canada) has "Offshore oil rigs and the terror threat".

From Haight's Maritime Items:

On April 16, 1947, one of the worst harbor disasters in the United States commenced when the French freighter GRANDCAMP, loaded with a cargo of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, caught fire and exploded. The next day, the nearby ship HIGHFLYER exploded. In the then small town of Texas City (pop. approx. 15,000) over 500 people died, about 200 were never located, and many became homeless due to the fires. Most members of the local volunteer fire department were killed while responding to the fires and explosions. The reports of the US Coast Guard Marine Board, the local chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters, and the National Board of Fire Underwriters are linked.

The Australian / FT Business has a story out of Hong Kong about the views of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings on how the US (overboard port security) hardline is killing co-operation needed for port security. As it turns out, they scan every container that is shipped out of their terminal but nobody was looking at the data that they were gathering.

Finally, The Secret Life of Gary has the story about Pirates and Rochester, NY.

Other Items:

Here are some very expensive vessel ideas that may or may never see open water:

Fastship has been planning a fast container service between the US East Coast and Europe with door-to-door service in six to seven days. Service this fast would provide a much cheaper alternative to shipping cargo via air. According to the website, service will begin in 2008. This is if they can obtain the funding to build the terminals, and the ships. Not only will the vessels be fast, but loading and unloading will be done by putting the cargo on rails and just rolling the cargo on and off. I have my doubts, as do many others. Then again, there is no shortage of investor cash out there. Apparently this project has been an ongoing victim of a lack of funding.

Then there is the FREEDOM SHIP. If ever built, it would be by far the largest floating cruise vessel in the world, unable to enter most (if any) ports. Large enough to include a landing stip on it's main deck capable of handling corporate jets. Apparently this project has been an ongoing victim of a lack of funding.

What is probably the longest-running-yet-to-be-built supership project, the America World City / American Flagship Project has been around for over a decade, with no sign of when construction will ever start. Once again, if built, would be the largest passenger vessel, a complete floating city, somewhat more appealing than the much larger Freedom Ship. The ship would be built in the US, crewed by Americans and cruising between US ports. Goals called for a total of three vessels. Apparently this project is an ongoing victim of a lack of funding.

Weekly Maritime Reference:
The subject of this week is Free Surface Effect. Whether vessels stay upright or capsize is due to whether they are stable or not. One issue that effects stability is Free surface effect.

When a vessel with partially filled spaces heels over, the contents of the spaces will shift. The centre of gravity moves over to the side, making the vessel less stable. - Transport Canada

Take a look at this page at Transport Canada for diagrams and explanations how free surface effect effects the stability of vessels.

Here is another page with animation of free surface effect in action. (Free-marine.com)

Free Surface effect is not limited to liquids in tanks. Take the sad ending of the SS NORMANDIE:

On 9 February 1942, sparks from a welding torch ignited a stack of thousands of lifevests filled with kapok, a highly flammable material, that had been stored in the first class dining room. The woodwork had not yet been removed, and the fire spread rapidly. The ship had a very efficient fire protection system, but it had been disconnected during the conversion. All on board fled the ship.

As firefighters on shore and in fireboats poured water on the blaze, the ship developed a dangerous list to port. About 2:45 a.m. on 10 February, the Normandie capsized, crushing a fireboat. - Wikipedia

It was the weight of the water being thrown onto the decks of the vessel that caused the vessel to list and settle at the bottom of the berth on it's side.

More recently is the AL-SALAM BOCCACCIO '98 ferry disaster. Two of the more famous ferry disasters involving free surface effect are the M/S HERALD OF FREE ENTERPRISE and the M/S ESTONIA. Ferries are especially vulnerable to loss of stability due to free surface because of the wide open car decks. Sadly this is still a problem.

Previous Editions:
Maritime Monday #5 - 17 April 2006
Maritime Monday #4 - 10 April 2006
Maritime Monday #3 - 02 April 2006
Maritime Monday #2 - 27 March 2006
Maritime Monday Carnival #1 - 20 March 2006

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