NAUTILUS P01 NOVEMBER 2009.qxd - Nautilus International

46 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | November 2009
SHIP TO SHORE
M-Notices
M-Notices, Marine Information
Notes and Marine Guidance Notes
issued by the Maritime &
Coastguard Agency recently
include:
MIN 352 (M) — Code of safe
working practices for merchant
seamen: issue of Amendment 09
This note alerts seafarers to the recent
publication of an amendment to the
Code of safe working practices for
merchant seamen. Amendment 9
deals particularly with safe movement
during heavy weather.
Shipowners and masters are
reminded of the regulations requiring
copies of the Code to be easily
accessible onboard. Electronic copies
may be used, but at least one print
copy should be available.
MIN 358 (M+F) — Information on
Class ‘D’ VHF radios
Class D VHF Digital Selective Calling
(DSC) radios are intended for use on
smaller vessels, particularly leisure
craft. They must comply with
equipment standards known
internationally as IEC 62238 and in
Europe as EN 301 025, which specify
that Class D VHF must have the
following features:
z distress
z all ships urgency/safety
z individual routine
z group routine
It has come to the MCA’s attention
that some of the radios on the market
do not meet the international/EU
standards because they have too
many additional features. Their
complexity may make them difficult
to operate without special training.
Functionality should be limited to the
DSC uses defined in the standards
above, and users should check this
before purchase.
Internet purchasers dealing with
suppliers outside the UK should note
that their transaction deems them
the ‘importer’, and they may risk legal
sanctions if the equipment does not
conform to the relevant standards.
MIN 359 (M) — Safety data sheets:
adoption of amendments to chapter
VI of Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)
1974, as amended
Under new SOLAS regulations, it has
become mandatory for ships carrying
MARPOL Annex 1 products (e.g.
marine fuel oil) to carry a material
safety data sheet. This must be
provided to the vessel prior to the
loading of the relevant cargoes or fuel
oils. The format of the data sheet can
be found in MARPOL Annex 1 —
MSC.286(86).
MIN 362 (M+F) — Change of MCA
distribution agent for M-Notices
As of 1 October 2009, the distributor
for M-Notice subscriptions is EC Group
of Grays, Essex. Subscriptions taken
out with the previous distribution
agent before this date will run as
normal until 31 March 2010 but will
be administered by EC Group. Details
of how to contact EC Group are given
at the end of this section.
MGN 399 (M) Prevention of
infectious disease at sea by
immunisations and anti-malaria
medication (prophylaxis)
This note explains which
immunisations are needed for travel
to particular parts of the world, and
whose responsibility it is to ensure
that seafarers have this protection. It
also deals in detail with the issue of
prophylactic (preventive) medication
for malaria, a disease for which there
is no inoculation yet available.
Seafarers are reminded that good
hygiene and bite avoidance are major
factors in the fight against infectious
diseases, but it is also crucial to make
sure immunisations are up to date. It
is the maritime employer’s
responsibility to provide and pay for
preventive measures such as
immunisations, and the seafarer’s
responsibility to comply with these
measures.
Before a crew member is
appointed to a ship, the employer —
including the agency or ship
management company which
formally employs the seafarer —
needs to know where each person will
be travelling to and the risks of
infection in these places. They should
check the immunisation status of the
seafarer and insure any missing
inoculations are given. For crews
travelling to areas affected by
malaria, the employer must supply
items such as mosquito nets and
insect repellent sprays as well as
prophylactic medication.
Employers should inform MCA
approved doctors of crew members’
likely destinations so that routine
medical checks can include
immunisations and advice on disease
prevention. It is important to take
medical advice before starting antimalaria
medication, as some drugs
are unsuitable for people with
particular health conditions.
Where manning agencies are
recruiting without adequate briefing
on destinations, immunisation and
malaria prevention is the ship
operator’s responsibility, even if the
operator is not the direct employer of
the crew.
Seafarers should retain a record of
their own immunisations and any
drug side effects they have
experienced and present this to the
approved doctor at medicals, and
when requested by employers. They
should also be aware of the
importance of reporting symptoms
such as a flu-like illness, fever or
diarrhoea. The seafarer’s record
should be checked before departure
by the ship’s operator and finally by
the master.
Annexes to MGN 399 contain
information on organisations to
contact for further advice, as well as a
list of immunisations recommended
for travel to particular parts of the
world, a schedule of immunisations,
an overview of the various antimalaria
drugs and a note of
medication which can be taken if
malaria is contracted.
z M-Notices are available in three
ways: a set of bound volumes, a
yearly subscription, and individual
documents.
z A consolidated set of all
M-Notices current on 30 July 2007
(ISBN 9780115528538) is published
by The Stationery Office for £195 —
www.tsoshop.co.uk/bookstore.asp
z Annual subscriptions and copies
of individual notices are available
from the official distributors, EC
Group. Contact: M-Notices
Subscriptions,
PO Box 362, Europa Park, Grays,
Essex RM17 9AY. Tel: +44 (0)1375
484 548; fax: +44 (0)1375 484 556;
email: mnotices@ecgroup.co.uk
z Individual copies can be collected
from MCA offices, electronically
subscribed to or downloaded from
the MCA website —
www.mcga.gov.uk — click on ‘Ships
and Cargoes’, then ‘Legislation and
Guidance’.
Nautilus has always had a
firm commitment to
dialogue with its members
and that commitment
continues to this day, with
the Union placing a high
priority on contact between
members and officials.
UK-based officials make
regular visits to ships, and
a variety of different
meetings are held by the
Union to encourage a
healthy exchange of views.
The Union also offers
the chance for members to
meet Nautilus
International’s UK officials
when they make regular
visits to ships in ports and
nautical colleges, or stage
specialist forums.
These visits aim to give
members the chance to
get advice on employment
and other problems that
cannot easily be dealt with
by letter or email.
Times and venues for
meetings in the next few
months are:
Nautilus International has produced a
stylish new tie to enable members to show
off their membership with pride and
celebrate seafaring traditions.
The high-quality navy blue silk tie
features the word Nautilus displayed in the
International Code of Signals flags. It is
available for just £7 or €8.50.
Also on offer are the Nautilus
International ‘lightning’ mouse mat
(£1/€1.30), Nautilus pens (£1/€1.30 each)
and a set of two badges with Nautilus and
Red Ensign designs (£2.50/€3).
In addition, members can help to stick up for
The face of Nautilus
Roger Garside, consultant IT manager
Roger Garside was working as
ga Gallup Poll market researcher
when he landed in IT — information
technology, that is.
‘The manager said: “Have you
done anything with computers?”
I said: “Yes, I did a course on
computing at university.” He said:
“Oh, come down and work in the IT
department.”
Within a year or so, Roger had
completely reinstalled all their IT
equipment — and he ended up
working there for 18 years. ‘I was
looking after a department with 50
people in the end.’
Now, as consultant IT manager, he
oversees Nautilus’s IT network. ‘The
COLLEGE VISITS
Nautilus International’s
recruitment team is now
holding regular meetings
with trainees and
members at all the UK’s
maritime colleges. Contact
Garry Elliott or Blossom
Bell at the Wallasey office
for visiting schedules and
further details.
SHIP VISITS
If you have an urgent
problem on your ship, you
should contact Nautilus —
enquiries@nautilusint.org
— to ask for an official to
visit the ship. Wherever
possible, such requests will
be acted upon by the Union
and last year more than
200 ships were visited by
Nautilus International
officials as a result of
contact from members. If
you need to request a visit,
please give your vessel’s ETA
and as much information as
possible about the problem
needing to be discussed.
SCOTLAND
Members employed by
companies based in the
west of Scotland should
contact Nautilus
International at Nautilus
House, Mariners’ Park,
Wallasey CH45 7PH (tel:
+44 (0)151 639 8454).
Members employed in the
offshore oil sector, or by
companies based in the
east of Scotland, should
contact +44 (0)1224
638882. This is not an
office address, so members
cannot visit in person.
Future dates and venues
for Nautilus International
meetings of the National
Professional & Technical
and National Pensions
Forums include:
g National Professional
& Technical Forum — this
body deals with technical,
safety, welfare and other
professional topics relevant
to shipmaster and chief
department has two roles: one to
maintain current systems; the other
to take things forward. Every time
you put something new into the
system, it inevitably brings with it
more things to support,’ he explains.
Integrating the UK and Dutch
systems has been a key project since
his involvement with Nautilus began
in July 2008. Other projects to date
include IT support for the 2009 BGM,
a roll-out of PCs, and the launch of
Nautilus International’s new bilingual
website and CRM database. Roger
has been assisted in all this
endeavour by Nautilus systems
administrator Phillip Ryan.
Upcoming projects include:
Nautilus meetings with members: diary dates
INDICATORS ACDB
A key measure of UK inflation
Lhas fallen to its lowest level
since September 2004, according to
the latest official statistics.
The Consumer Prices Index (CPI)
dropped to an annual rate of 1.1% in
September, from 1.6% in August.
Meanwhile, the Retail Prices
Index (RPI) inflation measure, which
includes mortgage interest
payments and housing costs, fell to
-1.4% from -1.3%.
RPIX inflation — the ‘all items’
RPI excluding mortgage interest
payments — was 1.3% in September,
down from 1.4% in August.
As an internationally comparable
measure of inflation, the CPI shows
that the UK inflation rate in August,
at 1.6%, was above the provisional
figure of 0.6% for the European
Union as a whole.
The Office of National Statistics
also reported that average pay rises
in the year to August were at the
lowest level since March 1991.
Average earnings including bonuses
rose by 1.6% in the year to August,
engineer officer members.
The next meeting is due to
be held on Tuesday 1
December at the Union’s
London head office,
starting at 1300hrs.
g National Pensions
Forum — this body was
established to provide a
two-way flow of
information and views on
all pension matters and
pension schemes (not just
the MNOPF). This forum is
open to all classes of
Nautilus International
member, including
associate and affiliate. The
next meeting will be held
on Tuesday 17 November
at Leytonstone public
library, starting at 1100hrs.
All full members of the
relevant rank or sector can
attend and financial
support may be available
to some members by prior
agreement. For further
details contact head office.
down from the July rate of 1.8%.
Average earnings excluding bonuses
rose by 1.9% over the same period,
down from the July rate of 2.2%.
A report from the independent
analysts, Incomes Data Services, said
that one in three UK firms had
imposed a pay freeze on their
workers this year.
IDS found that the employers
who did agree wage rises made
average awards of 2.9%, and the
median award across public and
private sectors was 2.3%.
Get knotted with the Nautilus International tie!
the maritime profession with the Union’s
popular ‘delivered by ship’ stickers. These
free stickers show the wide variety of
products that reach our shops thanks to
merchant ships and seafarers, and are ideal
for putting on envelopes, or handing out in
schools and at festivals.
Please send in a cheque for the ties,
mouse mats, pens and badges; or for free
stickers, simply contact our Central Services
department at head office and let them
know how many you need. Call Central
Services on +44 (0)20 8989 6677 or email
centralservices@nautilusint.org.
launching a new intranet; storing old
information — currently stashed on
microfiche in the UK and on an
antiquated IBM mainframe in the
Netherlands — onto disc and the
network; arranging high-speed
telecoms; installing new printers;
and upgrading the ‘internet café’
facilities enjoyed by care home
residents at Mariners’ Park.
Roger — a triathlon competitor
and potential ‘Iron Man’ — was part
of the Nautilus team that raised funds
for seafarer welfare causes at this
year’s London marathon, but in IT,
he’s learned, there is no finishing
line. ‘You’ve got to keep running to
stay still.’
Quiz answers
1. German shipowners have the largest
number of containerships on order —
a total of 310.
2. The US flag percentage share of the
world merchant fleet, in deadweight
tonnage terms, is just 1.09%.
3. A ‘Handysize’ bulk carrier is classed
as one between 10,000dwt and
34,999dwt.
4. The average length of a UK
seafarer’s seagoing career in the 1950s
was less than 10 years. One-third of
new recruits left the industry within a
year of joining it.
5. BP’s 103,490dwt British Admiral,
which entered into service in 1965.
6. Inman Line’s second City of Paris.
Crossword answers
Quick Answers
Across: 1. Paperweight; 7. Mod;
9. London Eye; 10. Enjoy; 11. Allergy;
12. Tamarin; 13. Enrichment;
16. Hope; 18. Cops; 19. Grassroots;
22. Martini; 23. Compete; 25. Looks;
26. Milligram; 27. Toy;
28. Long-sighted.
Down: 1. Pillage; 2. Panel;
3. Roof-rack; 4. Elegy; 5. Greetings;
6. Therms; 7. Major-domo;
8. Doyenne; 14. Repertory;
15. Morris men; 17. Trimmings;
18. Camelot; 20. Steamed; 21. Tinsel;
23. Cells; 24. Egret.
This month’s cryptic crossword is a
prize competition, and the answers
will appear in next month’s Telegraph.
Congratulations to Nautilus member
Capt D.J. Berry whose name was the
first to be drawn from those who
successfully completed the October
cryptic crossword.
Cryptic answers from October
Across: 8. Balmoral; 9. Others;
10. Coin; 11. Backhander; 12. Pebble;
14. Travesty; 15. Trickle; 17. Ululate;
20. Camisole; 22. Spread;
23. Ringleader; 24. Last; 25. Palace;
26. Articles.
Down: 1. Saboteur; 2. Omen;
3. Treble; 4. Placate; 5. Mothball;
6. Chancellor; 7. Priest;
13. Buckingham; 16. Loosener;
18. Transfer; 19. Deadpan; 21. Animal;
22. Surety; 24. Lick.
Need to contact Nautilus
International in the Netherlands?
The address is:
Schorpioenstraat 266
3067 KW Rotterdam
Tel: +31 (0)10 477 1188
Fax: +31 (0)10 477 3846
Email: infonl@nautilusint.org
Correspondentieadres:
Nautilus International
Postbus 8575
3009 AN Rotterdam