Navigation safety and environmental protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore could further improve following a detailed investigation into accident reports by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).

ICS (as part of a wider initiative being undertaken by the Round Table of international shipping associations) has conducted a survey of incident reports which it is anticipated will result in the development of agreed proposals to enhance the management of traffic in the Straits.

With more than 70,000 vessels each year (over 150 a day) transiting this strategically important international waterway, ICS believes it is imperative that safety continues to be prioritised. While only a very small proportion of these transits result in accidents or near misses, the ICS survey has identified heavy shipping traffic, inappropriate speed and the loss of situational awareness as significant factors that need to be addressed.

The ICS report praises the skill and professionalism of those managing, operating and navigating ships in the Malacca and Singapore Straits. However, ICS suggests that improvements could be made to the location of pilot boarding areas and the timing of pilot departures. There is also concern about the understanding and use of navigation systems such as ECDIS, AIS and radar, both at sea and ashore.

Of the incidents examined, 68% resulted in collisions and all could have potentially caused harm or pollution incidents. The incidents involved a range of vessels from tugs to tankers.

The report recommends the littoral States consider how to address:
• Speed management in the Singapore Straits
• Heavy traffic around pilot boarding areas
• Optimum pilot departure times
• Improved VTS/VTIS interaction with shipping
• Situational awareness
• Pilot, tug, berth availability integration.

ICS met with the littoral States of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, in Kuala Lumpur last week, to present the report’s findings.

ICS Director Marine, John Murray commented: “The littoral States welcomed the report and we were pleased to hear that measures are already being taken to further improve navigational services in the Straits.”

“Malaysia and Indonesia have agreed to forward additional accident reports to further enhance the ICS study’s findings, particularly in relation to the Malacca Straits. Singapore will be sending information on measures it has already taken to improve navigational services in relation to the Singapore Straits, which ICS will review by conducting a gap analysis in order to identify remaining safety proposals.”

In conjunction with ICS, it is anticipated that the littoral States will make a joint submission to IMO’s Navigation Sub Committee, in July next year, advising of the accident survey and its current status.
—ends—

Notes to Editors
• ICS is the principal international trade association for shipowners. Its members are national shipowners’ associations from 36 countries, representing all sectors and trades and over 80% of world merchant tonnage.

A balance has to be struck between the commercial advantages of shipowners’ selecting a particular flag state and the need to discourage the use of flags that do not meet their international obligations, warns the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).

Speaking at the 14th Russian Register Seminar on Quality Shipping in St Petersburg, Simon Bennett, ICS Director of External Relations, said: “Shipping is one of the safest and most environmentally friendly modes of transport, yet several high profile casualties have prompted questions from politicians and the media about the performance of flag states. There is understandable concern about shipping companies’ use of flags that may not comply fully with international regulations.”

However, he stressed that distinctions between open registers and so-called national or traditional maritime flags are unhelpful. “The industry’s Flag State Performance Table suggests that open registers such as the Bahamas, Liberia and the Marshal Islands enjoy the same very high standards of performance and responsibility as flags such as Denmark or the United Kingdom,” he said.

ICS has previously developed Shipping Industry Guidelines on Flag State Performance, to accompany its annual Flag State Performance Table. The Guidelines outline what a responsible shipowner should expect from a responsible flag state, including ratification and implementation of core maritime conventions. The Guidelines are intended to encourage shipowners to examine whether a flag state has sufficient substance before using it and to encourage ship owners and operators to put pressure on their flag administrations to effect any necessary improvements.

Mr Bennett told delegates in Russia: “The industry makes no apology for subjecting flag states to scrutiny, in the same way that ships and company procedures are rightly subjected to inspection by governments. Our over-riding interest in promoting high performing flag states is that they are less likely to tolerate sub-standard operators. This small minority of shipping companies enjoys an unfair commercial advantage over the vast majority of fully compliant operators and damages the overall reputation of the industry.

“While it is shipping companies that have primary responsibility for the safe operation of their ships and the welfare of their crews, it is the flag state that must enforce the rules,” Mr Bennett said.
—ends—
Notes To Editors:
• The Shipping Industry Guidelines on Flag State Performance and its accompanying Flag State Performance Table can be downloaded free from www.ics-shipping.org

“The world community cannot tolerate the abuse and the killing of seafarers,” ICS Chairman Spyros M Polemis told seafarers and maritime industry professionals in India today (Oct 11th), adding that “India and its seafarers have truly been in the
firing line”.

“This has to stop now. The pirates must get the message that we have reached the end of our tether and that any act of piracy will be severely dealt with,” he told delegates at the India Shipping Summit in Mumbai.

Warning that the piracy season was about to begin again with renewed vigour as the monsoon season ends, Mr Polemis acknowledged the high price India is paying, with some of its seafarers held hostage for more than 18 months. “India is a nation which is committed to maritime trade in a major way, while its geographical location means that it has been at the forefront of efforts to tackle piracy head on,” he said.

“India is a major maritime labour supply country, providing thousands of Indian nationals, both officers and ratings, to crew the world fleet. Indian seafarers are widely dispersed amongst the international fleet, as well as serving on board Indian Flag tonnage. Sadly this means that Indian nationals have been especially exposed to the risk of attack and capture for ransom by violent Somali pirates,” he added.

Praising the actions of the Indian Government and Navy, Mr Polemis said: “We have been particularly impressed by the seriousness that the Indian Government has afforded this problem and the willingness of the Indian Navy to act robustly against
the pirates.”

Urging the Indian Navy to greater efforts, he called on it to focus on inhibiting the activities of motherships, adding: “In particular, it will be most helpful if the Indian Navy can continue to ensure that within some 300 nautical miles of the Indian coast they continue to prevent the pirates from operating, since this provides a relatively safe route for ships to and from the Gulf of Aden to the Arabian Sea and beyond.”

He advised shipowners and operators to adhere to Best Management Practices (BMP4) and called on the international community to do more to eradicate piracy.
In particular:
• Navies to act robustly against the pirates
• All motherships, big and small, to be immobilised
• All suspected pirates to be delivered to a court of law and if found guilty to be subject to the full weight of the law
• Pirate bases ashore to be targeted for action
• All hostages and their ships currently in Somalia to be freed
• United Nations to arrange to provide armed military guards, either as part of a Blue Beret force or as a VPDs (Vessel Protection Detached Units)
• All vulnerable merchant ships transiting the Additional War Risk Premium (AWRP) area to receive armed military guards
• All nations in the region to agree and to assist in the embarkation and disembarkation of private armed guards.

“This is not the time to beat around the bush,” Mr Polemis concluded. “I believe the time for talking has passed – we need action not words.”

—ends—

Notes To Editors:
• The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is the principal international trade association for shipowners, with member national associations from 36 countries representing all sectors and trades and over 80% of the world merchant fleet.
• The Indian National Shipowners’ Association (INSA) is among its larger associations, representing the shipping interests of one of the world’s most important emerging economies.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), whose member national shipowners’ associations represent more than 80% of the world merchant fleet, has participated at a special UNCTAD (United Nations Committee on Trade and Development) meeting in Geneva (29/30 September) to explore how the world’s sea ports should prepare for adaptation to the threat of dangerous climate change.

Speaking at the UNCTAD meeting, ICS Director of External Relations, Simon Bennett, advised governments that monies for the adaption of ports to the effects of rising sea levels – and the increased likelihood of storms, flooding and extreme weather events – could be provided by a proposed International Maritime Organization (IMO) environmental compensation fund, with contributions from the shipping industry linked to fuel compensation. An environmental compensation fund is the Market Based Mechanism preferred by the majority of the global shipping industry, rather than the alternative of emissions trading schemes which has also been proposed by some governments in discussions at the IMO.

“The advantage of a compensation fund linked to ships’ fuel consumption is that some of the monies raised could be readily directed by IMO to environmental projects in developing countries, such as the adaptation of ports to climate change.” said Simon Bennett. However, he suggested that developing nations should play close attention to discussions at IMO, and to the parallel discussions at UNFCCC with respect to possible contributions by the shipping industry to a UN ‘Green Fund’, “to ensure that developed nations did not end up keeping the lions’ share of any money raised from shipping for themselves”.

ICS believes that any money raised from shipping through Market Based Measures for CO2 reduction should primarily be directed to projects which improve the environment in developing nations or which allow the shipping industry and developing nations to prepare for the effects of climate change, for example protecting ports. “Shipping fully accepts the need to play its part and— if governments so decide – participate in Market Based Measures” said Simon Bennett. “But measures to reduce CO2 emissions should not be used to treat the shipping industry as a ‘cash cow’, simply to boost the balance sheets of richer countries that are currently in economic difficulties.”
—ends—
Notes To Editors:
ICS has moved office. Our new contact details are:
International Chamber of Shipping, 38 St Mary Axe, London EC3A 8BH
Tel: +44 20 7090 1460 Email: info@ics-shipping.org Web: www.ics-shipping.com

Governments have ceded control of the Indian Ocean to pirates and the small deployment of naval forces to the region is like putting a band-aid on a gaping wound – so says ICS Chairman Spyros M Polemis.

And in a damning indictment of western governments, Mr Polemis will controversially suggest they would be acting differently if the many seafarers held hostage off the coast of Somalia were “Americans or Europeans”.

Speaking at next week’s Maritime Cyprus conference in Limassol on Monday (October 3rd) Mr Polemis will tell shipping professionals: “The fundamental problem is the lack of navy ships that are committed to protecting shipping – a band aid on a gaping wound, although the navies do an excellent job under the circumstances and we commend them for this.”

In a straight-talking speech Mr Polemis is set to tell delegates that “by their own admission, the military advise that no ship is completely safe”. He will say: “Sadly, one can only conclude from the current response of many governments that those thousands of seafarers that have so far been captured have simply had the wrong nationality. If they were all Americans or Europeans, the governments’ attitude might have been somewhat different. It is really unacceptable that so many governments seem to feel that the current situation can somehow be tolerated, and that a box has been ticked by making a relatively small number of navy ships available to police Somalia’s waters and the entire Indian Ocean.”

Apologising for his “depressing” remarks he is set to conclude: “We appreciate that governments have many competing priorities, but I am afraid that they still seem to be lacking a coherent strategy to tackle the pirates head on.”

While acknowledging that adherence to Best Management Practices and the use of private armed guards can both reduce the risks of capture, Mr Polemis will say that the escalating use of armed guards represents a failure by the international community to find an effective solution to the situation and will call for an increase in military force deployed to the Indian Ocean.

“I do wish to stress that, despite acknowledging their use, private armed guards do not represent a long term solution. Rather, their use actually signifies a failure on the part of the international community – and those governments with significant military forces – to ensure the security of maritime trade on which the whole world depends. Governments don’t like it when we say this, but the reality is that they have ceded control of the Indian Ocean to the pirates.

He will continue: “The use of private guards does not mean that military forces are no longer needed. Far from it – they are needed more than ever and should be greatly increased in number.”

ICS is in close contact with both EUNAVFOR and NATO discussing practical solutions to the problems in the Indian Ocean including a possible blockade of the Somali coast and tackling pirate ‘motherships’. ICS is also in discussion with Flag States to ensure they take a coherent pan-industry approach to producing a proper framework for the use of armed guards.
—ends—

Notes To Editors:
• The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Shipping Federation (ISF) are the principal international trade association and employers’ organisation for shipowners, with member national associations from 36 countries representing all sectors and trades and over 80% of the world merchant fleet.

• Spyros Polemis is speaking on the subject of “Countering Piracy” at Maritime Cyprus, organised by the Cyprus Department of Merchant Shipping, at the Evagoras Lanitis Centre, Limassol, from October 2nd to 5th 2011.

• ICS (and ISF) will move office to new premises this coming weekend (1st /2nd October).
Our new contact details will be as follows:
International Chamber of Shipping
38 St Mary Axe
London
EC3A 8BH
Tel: +44 20 7090 1460
Fax: +44 20 7090 1484
Email: info@ics-shipping.org
Web: www.ics-shipping.com