NEWS - Nautilus International

A Cornish lifeline 

We visit the ship 

that keeps the Isles 

of Scilly supplied 

20-21 

Get the wind up 

Boost to offshore 

jobs in UK drive 

for green energy 

22-23 

NL nieuws 

Twee pagina’s 

met nieuws uit 

Nederland 

30-31 

Volume 43 | Number 07 | July 2010 | £3.35 €3.50 

Naval commanders 

claim success in the 

war against piracy 

Naval commanders of the 

Fmultinational anti-piracy task 

force have revealed that they are 

taking a tougher line in their work to 

prevent attacks on merchant ships 

off Somalia. 

Speaking to the Telegraph during 

a briefing at the MoD headquarters, 

in Northwood, on the outskirts of 

London, last month, operation 

commander Rear Admiral Peter 

Hudson said the naval forces in the 

area have moved from being 

reactive to proactive in their efforts 

to disrupt and deter the pirates. 

Almost 60 suspected piracy 

operations were disrupted in the first 

five months of this year, compared 

with 15 for the whole of 2009. 

‘I would say we are being more 

effective, but against an increased 

level of threat,’ Admiral Hudson said. 

But — with 17 ships and 357 

seafarers being held hostage last 

month — the naval forces 

acknowledge that their mission is 

facing a massive challenge. Admiral 

Hudson said pirate activity levels in 

the last few months had been 

around treble those of the same 

time last year, and there are 

concerns that the problem has 

developed into what he describes as 

‘industrial piracy’. 

The good news is that the task 

force is witnessing increasing 

numbers of merchant ships using the 

reporting systems and taking ‘best 

practice’ precautionary measures — 

in the region of 80% now, compared 

with between 20% to 30% a year ago. 

With the summer monsoon due 

to kick in now, the naval teams 

expect a relatively quiet period until 

September. 

A 

gFull report — page 25 

boarding team from the Portuguese naval frigate Alvares Cabral apprehends a group of suspected Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean Picture: NATO 

Report backs equal 

pay in the UK fleet 

Government-commissioned study calls for an end to nationality-based wages discrimination 

PNautilus has met the new UK 

shipping minister to discuss the 

results of a new governmentcommissioned 

report which calls for 

nationality-based pay differentials for seafarers 

on UK ships to be outlawed. 

An independent review established by 

the previous government rejects owners’ 

claims that shipping is a ‘special case’ 

deserving special treatment and that ending 

the practice would have a significant 

economic impact. 

It argues that closing the legislative 

loopholes which enable operators to pay 

different rates to foreign seafarers will help 

to protect the pay and conditions and the 

security of employment of British maritime 

professionals. 

Announcing the report in Parliament 

last month, shipping minister Mike Penning 

commented: ‘The issues raised by 

those who submitted evidence are important 

and the government wishes to provide 

interested parties the opportunity to 

comment on this review of evidence before 

reaching conclusions on how to proceed.’ 

He said interested parties are being 

given just a fortnight to submit views on 

the report and he will report back to Parliament 

on proposed changes to the Equality 

Act once these are considered. 

Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson 

welcomed the government’s 

announcement. ‘This issue has dragged on 

for far too long and we hope that it can 

now be quickly resolved,’ he added. 

The report had been commissioned in 

an attempt to examine the potential 

impact of proposals to abolish the UK shipping 

industry’s exemption from provisions 

in the Race Relations Act that ban pay discrimination 

on the basis of a worker’s 

home country. 

Owners had warned the review that 

changing the law so that they had to pay 

UK rates to all 12,700 foreign seafarers 

could increase average wage costs by up to 

130% per ship — or as much as £193m in 

total. 

But the consultant found that evidence 

submitted to the review was not always 

supported by ‘hard’ facts. She concluded 

that any impacts of the move on the country’s 

maritime cluster and the national 

economy are unlikely to be significant in 

the short term and too uncertain in the 

long term to be of concern. 

The report dismisses the ‘special case’ 

arguments, countering that most of shipping’s 

globalised characteristics are now 

shared with other industries. 

The report was backed by the TUC, 

which urged the government to implement 

the recommendations as soon as possible. 

General secretary Brendan Barber 

commented:‘It’s high time that the disgraceful 

practice of allowing the shipping 

industry to pay poverty rates to workers 

who don’t live in the UK was stopped. 

Exploitative rates of pay for seafarers working 

on British ships have no place in a modern 

society.’ 

But the study was condemned by the 

Chamber of Shipping, which said it displayed 

‘a breathtaking ignorance of the 

nature of the shipping industry’. The owners 

said the report — which was drawn up 

by a former civil servant — was ‘disturbingly 

self-contradictory’ and ‘stoutly 

rejects all evidence based on facts or 

research’. 

Director-general Mark Brownrigg said 

the consultant had ‘missed the point’ about 

the impact of flagging out. 

‘Ships and business will leave the UK to 

the detriment of the UK’s national interest,’ 

he warned. ‘This would – ultimately – hit 

business, employment both at sea and in 

the maritime cluster ashore, our strategic 

capability and our status in international 

organisations such as the IMO.’ 

In talks with the minister last month, 

Mr Dickinson urged the government to 

consider the ‘third way’ tabled by Nautilus 

as a pragmatic alternative. The Union 

points out that doing nothing is not an 

option, because the UK would be in breach 

of European Union law. However, it has 

suggested that non-EU seafarers could be 

paid in line with internationally-agreed 

minimum wage benchmarks. 

gNautilus meets the minister — see 

page 3. 

Inside 

F A taste of the sea 

A pioneering work 

experience project 

for a prospective 

cruiseship master 

— page 26 

F The write stuff 

How a former RFA 

officer has built up 

a successful new 

career as an author 

— page 28 

F Old ships reborn 

Charities aim to 

give a new lease of 

life to two historic 

ships — page 29

02 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | July 2010 

NAUTILUS AT WORK 

Concern over Israel’s 

ID checks on crews 

Nautilus has expressed 

concern at reports that an 

Israeli port is imposing charges on 

shipping companies if the crews of 

visiting ships refuse to undergo 

biometric security tests. 

The shipowners’ organisation 

BIMCO said the port of Haifa has 

introduced a requirement for all 

crew members onboard visiting 

vessels to be subject to the checks, 

which cover such things as 

fingerprints and facial features. 

Seafarers who refuse to be tested 

will not be allowed to leave their 

ship and a security guard will be 

placed on their ship, at a cost of $14 

per hour for the operator. 

The digital security technology is 

being introduced at all major Israeli 

airports and ports. 

But Nautilus general secretary 

Mark Dickinson criticised the move. 

‘This type of treatment of seafarers is 

outrageous and it is precisely the 

sort of thing that the international 

convention on seafarer identity 

documents, ILO 185, was designed to 

negate the need for. 

‘Israel’s actions underline the 

urgent need for governments to 

bring the convention into force so 

that there are globally uniform 

maritime security rules that ensure 

the fair treatment of seafarers and 

protect their rights to shore leave 

and transit to and from their ships,’ 

he stressed. 

Surrounded by friends and work colleagues Helen Roth’s husband, Rod, receives the MNWB Award from Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson at 

Trinity House in London Picture: Andrew Wiard 

Welfare honours to 

care home worker 

Tributes paid to the ‘exceptional service’ given by Nautilus staff member 

POne of the UK maritime 

sector’s highest accolades 

has been awarded 

posthumously to a Nautilus staff 

member. Helen Roth won the 

Merchant Navy Welfare Board 

Award for Services to Seafarers’ 

Welfare for her exceptional work 

at Mariners’ Park Care Home until 

her untimely death in March this 

year. 

The award of an engraved glass 

bowl was presented by the MNWB 

chairwoman Liz Richardson and 

Nautilus general secretary Mark 

Dickinson in a ceremony at Trinity 

House in London, and 

accepted by Helen’s husband Rod. 

Helen’s name has also been added 

to an honours board. 

‘As the umbrella body for all 

Merchant Navy charities, we want 

to recognise at least some of the 

good work that goes on,’ said 

MNWB chief executive Capt David 

Parsons. ‘This is the first time we 

have given the award posthumously, 

but in Helen Roth’s case, it 

wasn’t a difficult choice. What she 

did was way above what a staff 

member would usually do.’ 

After 16 years in her post, 

Helen was the longest-serving 

member of the night staff at 

Mariners’ Park Care Home in Wallasey, 

Merseyside, which cares for 

frail, older seafarers and their 

spouses. 

Her professionalism and sensitivity 

were greatly valued by residents 

and colleagues alike, and 

she was known for her ability to 

empathise with those older and 

more vulnerable than herself. 

Helen understood the need for 

the delivery of care with dignity, 

showing kindness and generosity 

to those she cared for. Always 

ready to go the extra mile, she 

would often visit the home’s elderly 

residents when they had 

stays in local hospitals — especially 

those who would have had 

few other visitors. 

A leader among her colleagues, 

she represented the night staff 

within the wider organisation, 

attending strategic planning days 

on their behalf. She was one of the 

first to take up the opportunity 

to complete an NVQ level 3 qualification 

in Health and Social Care, 

achieving this in a record eight 

months. Her conduct and attendance 

were exceptional, and she 

was liked and respected by all. 

‘Mariners’ Park Care Home was 

very fortunate to have Helen as a 

member of its care staff team,’ 

said Nautilus general secretary 

Mark Dickinson. ‘Helen was a 

model member of staff, but, most 

importantly, she ensured that the 

residents had professional, competent 

and compassionate care in 

the final phase of their lives.’ 

This year, in view of the large 

number of outstanding nominations 

received, the MNWB decided 

to make a second Award for 

Services to Seafarers’ Welfare. The 

20 May ceremony therefore 

included a presentation to Trevor 

Goacher, chief executive of the 

Merchant Seamen’s War Memorial 

Society, in recognition of the 

improvements to the Springbok 

Estate sheltered housing made 

under his leadership. 

New drive to push water freight 

AA new drive to encourage more UK freight 

to be moved on water was launched at a 

seminar in London last month. 

Moving cargoes around the coast could slash 

fuel and other costs for client companies, while 

making a major impact on the environmental and 

logistical challenges the country is facing, the 

modal shift forum was told. 

‘These things connect together,’ Freight by Water 

(FbW) executive director Peter Ward told delegates 

at the forum, which focussed on the potential of the 

river Thames to support increased use of shortsea, 

Helen Roth 

coastal and inland waterways freight transport. 

Held at the Chamber of Shipping HQ, the forum 

was the first of four regional meetings that FbW is 

staging around the country. Others will focus on the 

Manchester Ship Canal, the Humber Estuary and 

the Bristol Channel and river Severn. 

Mr Ward said the lobby group was ‘really 

moving this debate forward’ and making a big noise 

to ensure that people ‘stop talking about things and 

actually push for action’. 

FbW is taking its message to the market, 

targeting exporters, importers, port and terminal 

F 

operators, carriers, barge operators, local 

authorities and government agencies, he added — 

pointing out that the issues are not confined to 

congested motorways but also increasingly scarce 

resources and rising oil prices. 

A small 2,000-tonne coaster was equivalent to 

around 80 lorry loads, Mr Ward pointed out. ‘That 

coaster is three times more efficient in moving that 

equivalent load in terms of litres per tonne per 

kilometre,’ he stressed. ‘So the business case is 

compelling.’ 

zFull report in the August Telegraph. 

Royal recognition for 

long campaign to 

make bulkers safer 

Shipping safety campaigner 

APaul Lambert is pictured with 

retired Nautilus member Captain 

Dave Ramwell while at 

Buckingham Palace to receive his 

MBE honour last month. 

Mr Lambert, chairman of the 

Derbyshire Family Association 

(DFA), was given the award in the 

Queen’s New Year’s honour list in 

recognition of his services to 

maritime safety. 

Mr Lambert’s brother, Peter, 

was among the 44 seafarers and 

wives who lost their lives when the 

UK-flagged bulk carrier Derbyshire 

disappeared in a typhoon in the 

South China Sea in September 

1980. 

As chairman of the DFA, Mr 

Lambert helped to support the 

relatives of those who died and to 

lead the campaign for a full inquiry 

into the reasons behind the loss of 

the ship. His work helped lead to 

significant changes in the rules 

governing the design and 

operation of bulk carriers. 

Mr Lambert described the 

investiture ceremony as ‘most 

impressive’ and said remarks made 

by HRH The Prince of Wales 

indicated that the prince ‘had more 

than a passing interest in the case 

of the Derbyshire and the bearing 

she had on the safety of bulk 

carriers in general’. 

Of his award, Mr Lambert told 

the Telegraph: ‘I’ve made the point 

often, but it bears repeating — 

I see myself as a custodian of a 

medal awarded to the whole 

campaigning team. On behalf of all 

those who I represent in the DFA, 

I would like to acknowledge the 

part played by NUMAST, now 

Nautilus, in bringing the campaign 

to a successful conclusion.’

July 2010 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 03 


It’s McEwen, MBE... 

Former Nautilus International 

Adeputy general secretary Peter 

McEwen, right, has been officially 

recognised for his work for seafarer 

welfare — with the award of an MBE 

in last month’s Queen’s birthday 

honours list. 

Mr McEwen — who has worked 

for the Union since 1978 — has an 

extensive history of involvement in 

charitable work for maritime 

professionals, including service as a 

trustee of Seafarers UK, the Mission 

to Seafarers, and the Maritime 

Educational Foundation, and 

chairmanship of the Merchant Navy 

Welfare Board. 

He is chairman-designate of the 

Seamen’s Hospital Society, as well as 

playing a pivotal role within the 

Maritime Charities Funding Group. 

Mr McEwen has spent more than 

a quarter of a century serving the 

Union’s welfare fund committee — 

including 15 as secretary — and has 

also worked as secretary of its JW 

Slater Memorial Fund, which has 

helped hundreds of ratings to 

progress their careers at sea. 

The official announcement of the 

award said Mr McEwen had been 

made an MBE for his services to the 

maritime industry, as secretary of 

the Nautilus Welfare Fund. 

In that role, he has led the 

transformation of the Union’s 

Mariners’ Park welfare and 

residential facilities for retired 

seafarers and their dependants. The 

16-acre site has a nursing and care 

home accommodating more than 30 

people, as well as more than 100 

places in independent living 

facilities, and is undergoing a major 

modernisation and expansion 

programme. 

Mr McEwen said he was 

delighted to receive the award. 

‘However, it is a recognition not of 

what I do, but what we do as a 

union,’ he pointed out. ‘Nautilus has 

a long and deep commitment to 

charitable work in the maritime 

sector, running our own large charity 

and making a substantial 

contribution to the work of other 

organisations supporting seafarers 

and their families. 

‘The last few years in particular 

have been a period of considerable 

change for the Nautilus Welfare Fund 

and the committee, which has 

required proactive and strategic 

change,’ he added. ‘I therefore see 

this award as a real recognition for 

the team we have at Nautilus 

International — the Council, the 

NWF committee, and the staff and 

their commitment to the seafarers 

and their dependants we all care for.’ 

Nautilus general secretary Mark 

Dickinson said the honour was well 

deserved. ‘Peter has worked 

tirelessly throughout his career to 

drive forward the welfare services 

for the maritime sector, both 

nationally and internationally. 

‘He has made an immense 

contribution to initiatives that are 

overhauling the way in which the 

maritime charity sector operates, 

ensuring that it is at the cutting edge 

of service delivery and is developing 

new ways of meeting the needs of 

seafarers and their families now and 

into the future,’ Mr Dickinson added. 

Union meets new 

shipping minister 

Don’t let training support fall victim of spending cuts, says Nautilus 

UConcerns over Merchant 

Navy training, employment 

and safety were on 

the agenda last month as Nautilus 

International became one of the 

first organisations to hold talks 

with the new UK shipping minister, 

Mike Penning. 

During the 45-minute meeting 

at the Department for Transport’s 

headquarters, officials from the 

Union raised a wide range of 

issues — including the newlypublished 

report on the pay and 

conditions of foreign seafarers 

serving on UK-flagged ships. 

Mr Penning, the Conservative 

MP for Hemel Hempstead, is a 

former solider and firefighter, and 

was appointed Parliamentary 

under-secretary of state at the 

Department for Transport (DfT) 

following the election. 

He told the Nautilus officials 

that he was delighted to have 

been given the job. ‘Coming from 

outside the industry, I have been 

astounded to discover how 

important it is for the country,’ 

he added. 

The minister said he had set a 

tight two-week deadline for all 

sides of the industry to respond 

to the report on pay differentiation 

because a rapid decision is 

required on this long-running 

Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson gave new shipping minister 

Mike Penning a copy of the Union’s shipboard conditions report 

and high profile issue. 

Nautilus general secretary 

Mark Dickinson said the government 

should examine the 

Union’s ‘third way’ proposals on 

the issue, which would offer ‘a 

pragmatic solution that protects 

everybody’s interests’. 

Mr Dickinson also expressed 

concern about the potential 

impact of government spending 

cuts on the support for shipping 

— and seafarer training in particular. 

The government has already 

put projects worth some £1.6bn 

on hold pending the outcome of a 

detailed expenditure review and 

Mr Dickinson said he hoped that 

the cuts would not jeopardise 

what little aid is available for the 

shipping industry – including the 

Support for Maritime Training 

(SMarT) scheme. 

Mr Penning told the Union 

that no ministers could guarantee 

that any current funding is 

safe, but added that talks are 

underway between the DfT and 

the Department for Business, 

Innovation & Skills and others 

which he hoped would lead to a 

more joined-up government 

approach to seafarer training. 

Mr Dickinson also urged the 

minister to ensure that the UK is 

among the first wave of countries 

to ratify the Maritime Labour 

Convention. Mr Penning said the 

UK would not sign up until all the 

necessary regulatory changes are 

made — but assured the Union 

that officials are working hard to 

ensure the deadline of the end of 

the year is met. 

Pressed by Nautilus about the 

staffing and resources of the Maritime 

& Coastguard Agency, the 

minister said the Agency was not 

immune to the civil service-wide 

freeze on recruitment. But, he 

added, he will be looking at the 

way it spends its budget and will 

also be seeking to resolve the 

long-running dispute on pay and 

conditions. 

shortreports 

CUTS WARNING: tough government spending 

cuts will weaken the economy, lead to hundreds of 

thousands of job losses, hit the poorest in society hard 

through a loss of services, and leave an even deeper 

deficit, the TUC has warned in a new report published 

last month. All Pain, No Gain: The Case Against Cuts looks at 

other countries that have made severe spending cuts in 

the past and concludes that they will damage the 

economy, causing government income to fall as 

companies pay less tax on their profits and newly 

unemployed public servants no longer pay income tax. 

HIRE RULING: ships remain on hire when they are 

hijacked by pirates, the London Commercial Court ruled 

last month. The court upheld an arbitration tribunal’s 

finding that — under the terms of the industry-standard 

New York Produce Exchange charterparty contract — 

charterer Cardiff Marine should have continued to pay 

hire fees after the 75,707dwt bulk carrier Saldanha was 

seized by pirates in February 2009. The ship and crew 

were finally freed on 2 May 2009. 

IMO AWARD: the International Maritime 

Organisation has announced that its 2010 bravery 

award will be given to the fourth engineer of a 

Singapore-flagged general cargoship who rescued two 

people from a yacht sinking in the Tasman Sea. The IMO 

said James Fanifua, from Fiji, had displayed 

‘extraordinary bravery’ in going over the side of his ship 

to carry out the rescue in very rough seas. 

BIBBY BUYS: the UK shipping firm Bibby Line has 

signalled the possibility of fleet expansion after 

announced an order for a second bulk carrier. The 

company has ordered a 57,000dwt supramax from 

Jinling shipyard in China — which is likely to fly the Isle 

of Man or Maltese flag — and said further acquisitions 

of newbuildings or secondhand ships are likely as it 

looks to significantly expand capacity. 

UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE: the International 

Maritime Organisation has approved an emergency 

£500,000 rescue package for the World Maritime 

University. The Swedish-based institution — which 

opened in 1983 — had been facing the threat of closure 

next year as a result of funding problems. A report on its 

long-term future is to be considered by the IMO later 

this year. 

CREW RESCUED: Falmouth Coastguard has 

praised the crew of the chemical tanker MTM Princess 

for rescuing four crew from a yacht in force 7 winds and 

darkness some 300 miles NW of Spain last month. 

Falmouth Coastguard coordinated the rescue of the 

crew of yacht Octagon after it lost its steering and 

began to take on water. 

PIRATES KILLED: at least five pirates died last 

month when the Syrian and Romanian crew of the 

general cargoship Rim regained control of the North 

Korean-flagged vessel in as gun battle onboard. The 

ship — which had been hijacked since February — was 

later abandoned by the crew, who were picked up by a 

EU Naval Force team. 

HIJACKER JAILED: a Latvian man has been 

jailed for seven years after being found guilty last month 

of leading a team of eight men who hijacked the 

Maltese-flagged general cragoshop Arctic Sea for a 

month last summer. A court in Moscow heard that the 

motive for the hijacking of the Russian-owned vessel 

was purely financial. 

STOWAWAYS HELD: two stowaways from the 

Dominican Republic were detained last month after 

jumping from the Liberian-flagged refrigerated 

cargoship Timor Stream when it arrived in Portsmouth. 

The pair had tried to escape after being found by UK 

Border Agency officers onboard the ship. 

FERRY FIRE: Solent Coastguard coordinated an 

emergency response last month after the passenger 

ferry Commodore Clipper developed a steering problem 

following a fire on the lower vehicle deck.



shortreports 

PLA PROTEST: Nautilus has protested to the Port 

of London Authority over proposed changes to its 

overtime policy. Industrial officer Jonathan Havard said 

the Union is seeking talks with management to discuss 

the ‘grave concerns’ raised by members. Nautilus has 

asked for assurances on four key points and has 

challenged the way working hours would be calculated 

under the new policy. ‘The five-watch system the VTS 

department is contracted to work has worked well over 

the past 30 years and has not been questioned before,’ 

said Mr Havard. 

ORKNEY TALKS: Nautilus took part in further 

talks last month on proposals for transferring Orkney 

Ferries services to Council control. Industrial officer 

Derek Byrne said the discussions are concentrating on 

the employees’ move to single status with harmonised 

terms and conditions. Other issues include job 

descriptions, holiday cover, health surveillance and the 

change of pay date. 

IRISH VISITS: Nautilus has conducted a series of 

ship visits in the P&O Irish Sea ferries fleet. Industrial 

officer Jonathan Havard said the main issues raised 

were national insurance, manning and the need for 

more permanent P&O contract staff. Points raised are 

being taken up with management. 

BRIGGS TRANSFER: Nautilus is set to have 

more talks with management of the Environment 

Agency vessels over the transfer of members’ contracts 

from VT Marine to Briggs Marine. Industrial officer Gavin 

Williams said the Union is also seeking a response from 

Briggs to the 2010 annual review. 

MANX MEETING: following the recent pay 

settlement, Nautilus officials and liaison officers are due 

to meet Manx Sea Transport management on 13 July for 

further talks on the review of the terms and conditions 

agreement for Isle of Man Steam Packet ships. 

MMS PRESSED: Nautilus is pressing the official 

receivers in Hong Kong for the payment of outstanding 

amounts that the Union claims are owed to members 

who served on Stephenson Clarke ships following the 

liquidation of Marine Manning Services. 

Meeting members on Madog 

Nautilus International industrial officer Gavin Williams is pictured 

Cabove with members onboard the VT Ocean Sciences research vessel 

Prince Madog during a recent ship visit. ‘The main purpose of the visit was 

to have discussions on the possible TUPE transfer from VT Marine to P&O 

Maritime,’ Mr Williams said. ‘We are attending meetings with members 

and the company on the vessel and will continue to represent their 

interests as the transfer develops.’ 

R. H. BRADSHAW 

COWBRIDGE 

TAX SERVICES 

Mill Brow 

Brookfield Park Road 

Cowbridge 

South Glamorgan CF71 7HJ 

Tel/Fax 01446 771536 

E.Mail 

marine@onetel.com 

100% FED CLAIMS AND 

FORECASTS 

ELECTRONIC LODGEMENT 

– NO MORE WAITING 

FOR THE REVENUE 

FMS deal 

opens up 

new set 

of talks 

Following talks with senior 

Amanagement at Fleet 

Maritime Services, Nautilus has 

agreed to accept a 1.75% pay rise for 

members serving on P&O and 

Princess Cruises vessels. 

Senior national secretary Paul 

Moloney said the settlement was 

reached ‘reluctantly’ after the 

company made it clear that no new 

offer could be made in the current 

negotiations. 

However, he added, the Union 

had persuaded management to 

consider a number of other issues 

that have been raised in this, and 

other, pay and conditions reviews 

and it is hoped that a working party 

to examine these points will report 

before the next annual pay talks. 

Points to be examined include 

share option schemes, the possible 

harmonisation of some contracts, 

including security officers in 

collective bargaining arrangements, 

and the possibility of a partnership 

at work agreement to give members 

a much greater role in the 

negotiating process. 

‘Clearly, it was disappointing that 

we were not able to secure a bigger 

pay increase for members,’ said Mr 

Moloney. ‘However, both myself and 

the general secretary met with the 

CEO of Carnival UK and we believe 

that there are a number of grounds 

for optimism in addressing some of 

the issues that we have raised. 

‘The Union recognises that 

members will want to see results 

and Nautilus is committed to 

devoting the necessary resources to 

ensure that the discussions take 

place expeditiously,’ he added. 

Wightlink 

pensions 

agreed 

Consultations with members 

Femployed by Wightlink 

(Guernsey) have shown a massive 

majority in favour of accepting 

proposed changes to the company 

pension arrangements. 

Industrial officer Jonathan Havard 

welcomed the result, pointing out 

that the final package is significantly 

improved from what was initially 

proposed by the company. 

Wightlink had originally tabled a 

series of changes — including an 

increase in the pension scheme 

retirement age from 62 to 65 — in 

response to the December 2008 

valuation of its pension scheme. 

Following extensive negotiations 

with the unions, management 

revised the package so that there 

will be no erosion of current benefits 

and only a small increase in member 

contribution levels. 

Mr Havard said the company had 

also agreed that should the scheme 

actuary recommend a reduction in 

contribution rates, the increase in 

member contributions will be 

reviewed and reversed ahead of any 

reduction in employer contributions. 

Nautilus embarks on series of Stena ship visits 

Nautilus industrial officer Steve Doran is pictured 

Cwith members onboard Stena Caledonia during a 

series of Stena ship visits in Belfast last month. 

Mr Doran also met members on the Stena Voyager 

and Stena Navigator and had talks with local managers 

‘Ground-breaking’ 

settlement at HAL 

PNautilus International 

members serving on 

Holland America Line 

vessels have accepted by an overwhelming 

majority a ‘groundbreaking’ 

pay and conditions 

offer. 

Some 75% of the Dutch and 

British officers who took part in 

the consultation backed the proposals, 

which will cover a threeyear 

period from January 2010 

until 31 December 2012. 

Senior national secretary Paul 

Keenan welcomed the result. ‘The 

overall effect will see terms and 

Union protests over plans to 

shake-up Marine Scotland 

Nautilus has made high level 

Aprotests over a failure to consult 

on plans to rationalise the 

management of the Marine Scotland 

Compliance offshore patrol vessel 

fleet and to reduce the number of 

patrol vessels by one. 

The Union met management in 

Edinburgh last month to express 

concern at the ‘unacceptable’ lack of 

dialogue before the announcement 

was made. Further talks have been 

scheduled for 21 July. 

Marine Scotland said it has 

decided to bring the manning and 

management of the research vessels 

RFA flights change 

In response to the concerns of 

ARoyal Fleet Auxiliary members 

about delays arising from the use of 

trooping flights to the Middle East, 

Nautilus has secured an agreement 

on the use of commercial airlines. 

Industrial officer Gavin Williams 

stressed that there has been no 

change to contractual entitlements. 

conditions improved by varying 

degrees, and the achievement of a 

long-held ambition for many 

members of shorter sailing periods 

and longer leave,’ he said. 

Mr Keenan described the 

agreement as ‘ground-breaking’ 

for the cruise sector and said it 

reflected HAL’s aim of re-positioning 

itself as the ‘employer of 

choice’ in the industry. 

Secured after lengthy negotiations 

that opened last summer, 

the agreement will provide a 

series of pay increases and step 

increases and will introduce an 

Scotia and Alba na Mara, ‘in house’ 

and would dispose of the 23-year-old 

protection vessel Norna. 

The contract with Marr Vessel 

Management will terminate at the 

end of September and all crew on 

Marine Scotland vessels will become 

Scottish Government employees. 

Industrial officer Steve Doran said 

managers had apologised for the lack 

of consultation and had given 

assurances of continued ‘full and 

frank’ dialogue ahead of the 

proposed changes. 

‘We intend to scrutinise the 

proposal and have requested detailed 

CV Professionals 

(formerly CV Plus) 

Merchant Navy CV 

& resume specialists 

www.cvprofessionals.co.uk 

on some of the issues raised during his meetings with 

members. 

‘It is my intention to make further ship visits on 

other routes in the future, and hopefully some with 

Joost Kaper from the Rotterdam office,’ he added. 

8% sailing assignment return 

bonus, backdated to 1 January 

2010, for those eligible officers. 

The package gives officers a 

choice of different work-leave 

arrangements and also introduces 

an annual sailing period 

concept, setting maximum days. 

‘This wasn’t easy to negotiate, 

and we know it will not please 

everybody, but it does compare 

very well with settlements elsewhere 

and addresses many concerns 

and aspirations that members 

have brought to us over 

many years,’ Mr Keenan added. 

information for members,’ he said. 

‘There may be some positives in the 

situation, but it has not been handled 

well.’ 

Mr Doran said every effort will be 

made to maintain the ‘no compulsory 

redundancies’ position and the Union 

is seeking to maintain or enhance 

terms and conditions. 

Detailed discussions on the way in 

which the changes may affect 

individual seafarers are now under 

way and Mr Doran said he will be 

visiting ships to discuss the impact on 

members currently employed by 

MVM.



Scottish ferries: 

have your say 

Radical review considers future shape, size and crewing of lifeline services 

PNautilus is urging members 

to contribute to a 

vitally important new 

review on the future of Scottish 

ferry services. 

The Union says it is essential 

that as many members as possible 

make an input into the threemonth 

public consultation that 

was launched by the Scottish government 

last month. 

The government says the exercise 

will seek to set a blueprint for 

Scottish ferries over the next 12 

years, and the review will examine 

the current lifeline ferry network 

and will consider where 

‘changes and improvements’ can 

be made. Key issues to be assessed 

include: 

zhow ferries should be funded 

and procured 

zthe setting of fares 

zwhat kind of services should 

be supported with public money 

zwho should be responsible for 

providing these services 

The government says the 

review will reflect the outcome of 

the latest European Commission 

investigation into the state 

aid subsidies for Caledonian 

MacBrayne and Northlink. 

It will also consider the cost of 

new ferries and different funding 

mechanisms for new tonnage 

within the context of tough public 

spending constraints. Ideas in 

the mix include faster vessels, 

such as catamarans, replacing one 

large ferry with two or more 

smaller vessels, and leasing ships 

rather than building them. 

Also under examination will 

be the way in which the public 

service routes are bundled 

together, possible future tendering 

arrangements and ‘flexibility 

Nautilus industrial officer Gary Leech is pictured with Captain David 

Malcolm, second officer James MacKendrick and third officer Donald 

MacLeod during a recent ship visit to the CalMac ferry Isle of Mull 

Caledonian MacBrayne liaison officers Roddy MacLeod, Iain Macneil and 

David Stevenson are pictured with industrial officer Gary Leech at the 

recent liaison officer/management meeting in Oban 

in contracts’. The review will consider 

the future configuration of 

lifeline ferry routes — including 

the possibility of new services — 

and draw up proposals for better 

targeting investment to support 

efficient links to islands and 

remote rural communities. 

The impact of ‘alternative 

arrangements for crewing ferries’ 

will be assessed by the review 

team as it considers potential new 

routes or changes to existing 

services. 

Transport minister Stewart 

Stevenson said the government 

recognised the social and economic 

importance of the lifeline 

ferry services. ‘We are determined 

to improve transport links across 

Scotland so that communities 

and individuals can make the 

fullest possible contribution to 

economic recovery and help 

secure future sustainable economic 

growth,’ he added. 

Nautilus assistant general secretary 

Paul Moloney described 

the review as being of critical 

importance for members in the 

sector. ‘Not only will it inform the 

Scottish Executive’s plans for ferries 

over the next 12 years, but it is 

also likely to determine the precise 

nature of future tendering 

exercises,’ he pointed out. 

The Union has already made a 

submission to the review team, 

and will make a further response 

to specific points raised in the 

consultation document. 

‘It is vitally important that 

members are fully involved in 

this process,’ Mr Moloney 

stressed. 

‘Our initial document stressed 

the need to preserve and enhance 

the excellent safety record of 

Scotland’s ferry services and we 

will be working with the STUC to 

ensure that a detailed response is 

made.’ 

Members can take part in the 

review by accessing the consultation 

documents on the Union’s 

website. 

Dispute over vessel’s switch to FPSO status 

ANautilus members serving with Maersk 

Offshore Guernsey (MOG) on the vessel 

N’Kossa II are being consulted over the 

possibility of industrial action in a long-running 

dispute over the vessel’s proposed change of 

status to a FPSO unit. 

Industrial officer Ian Cloke said Nautilus and 

RMT members on the vessel believed their pay 

should be increased and tour lengths reduced to 

reflect the change to FPSO status. 

However, the company has told the unions that 

because of the present economic downturn it is 

not in a position to be able to meet any of the 

officers’ and CPOs’ expectations. 

Nautilus industrial officer Ian Cloake said the 

Union was extremely disappointed at the 

company’s stance and had urged management to 

rethink the ‘seriousness of the situation’. 

As the negotiating process had been 

exhausted, he said members were being asked 

whether they wanted to accept the terms and 

conditions stated in the current agreement, or 

request the company for a transfer to other 

seagoing duties. If neither of these options is 

acceptable, members are being asked if they want 

to be balloted on some form of industrial action. 

Mr Cloke stressed that the current agreement 

clearly states that members are contracted to 

work 70 hours per week, which is consistent with 

the advice Nautilus has been giving members. 

shortreports 

P&O JOBS: further talks over the impact of the 

planned closure of the P&O Ferries’ Portsmouth-Bilbao 

service were due to take place at the end of June. 

Industrial officer Jonathan Havard said the company 

had confirmed that the move will add 47 additional 

staff throughout the group, but these can be absorbed 

through natural wastage and other means. The Union 

contends that a redundancy situation exists, because 

the Portsmouth contract states that service is based in 

Portsmouth and is also seeking to ensure that members 

who transfer to Dover-Calais work week-on/week-off 

and not two weeks-on/two weeks-off. 

MAERSK CONSULT: members serving on 

Maersk containerships are being consulted on a twoyear 

pay deal giving 2% increases this year and next 

year. The company had originally sought to impose a 

pay freeze, but was urged by Nautilus to reconsider this 

in the light of the sacrifices made as part of the costcutting 

programme. The offer on the table will increase 

pay rates by 2% with effect from 1 September this year 

and by a further 2% in January 2011, as well as 

increasing company pension contributions. The 

consultation closes on 9 July. 

LOTHIAN CALL: Nautilus has met Lothian 

Shipping management to call for improvements in 

severance terms for members who face redundancy as a 

result of plans to retire the coal-carrying vessel Sir 

Charles Parsons. Industrial officer Steve Doran thanked 

members for providing him with a robust case to 

present to the company. 

ABP TALKS: Nautilus and the T&G/Unite union 

have had further talks about a collective bargaining 

agreement for members serving as pilots with 

Associated British Ports (Hull). Industrial officer 

Jonathan Havard said it is hoped that a postal ballot will 

be held as part of the Central Arbitration Committee 

application process. 

THAMES MEETINGS: Nautilus is staging 

information sessions for Thames Clippers staff to hear 

about the benefits of joining the Union. Industrial 

officer Jonathan Havard said there has been a marked 

increase in membership among captains, mates, 

deckhands and customer services personnel serving 

with the company. 

KNIGHT VISIT: Nautilus industrial officer 

Jonathan Havard visited the JP Knight vessel Anglian 

Monarch in Folkestone last month, for talks with 

members on issues including the current pay and 

conditions claim. Mr Havard said he hopes to have a 

response from the company by the end of June. 

BW BOOST: members serving with BW Fleet 

Management have been consulted over the company’s 

proposal to increase pay by 1.95% with effect from 

1 January. Industrial officer Ian Cloke said the offer was 

the best that could be achieved in the current climate. 

TRINITY DEAL: members serving with Trinity 

House have agreed an offer that will give a total 

increase of 2.5% on basic pay for SVS staff on top of an 

additional performance-related bonus worth 2.7%. 

SMIT SETTLEMENT: Nautilus has agreed a 2% 

pay rise and increased overnight allowances for 

members employed by Smit International (Bristol). 

For further information on the above courses, please contact Vikas Patra, Head of Maritime Enterprise on: +44(0) 151 231 2572 or +44 (0) 7733 202 762 

email: v.patra@ljmu.ac.uk or into.eng@ljmu.ac.uk web: www.ljmu.ac.uk/eng • Liverpool John Moores University, James Parsons Building, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK


OFFSHORE NEWS 

shortreports 

TECHNIP CONSULT: members serving with 

Meridian Shipping Services on Technip Offshore vessels 

are being consulted on a ‘full and final’ pay offer. The 

package includes a 1% rise for all officers, effective from 

1 October. It would also give a 10% increase in basic 

salary for second engineers assigned to Orelia, and for 

instrumentation technicians on Apache 2 who 

undertake junior DPO duties, effective from 1 January. 

VECTOR INCREASE: following consultations 

with members employed by International Crew Services 

on Vector Offshore vessels, Nautilus has confirmed the 

implementation of a 1.75% pay increase with effect from 

1 January. Industrial officer Derek Byrne said the Union 

is continuing discussions with management over the 

interpretation of leave entitlements when joining and 

leaving vessels. 

BPOS DEAL: a 3.2% pay offer for members serving 

with Seacor on Boston Putford Offshore Safety vessels 

has been accepted by a majority of more than 10 to 

one. The increases are effective from 1 June and 

industrial officer Jonathan Havard said the Union is now 

seeking further talks on non-pay issues raised in the 

claim, as well as on pilotage and PEC payments. 

EMERGENCY SUPPORT: the UK-flagged 

emergency response and rescue vessel Putford Ajax and 

the Norwegian-registered support vessel Olympic 

Princess went to the aid of the Grimsby-based fishing 

vessel Eventide after it was damaged in a collision with 

the Dutch trawler Miranda in poor conditions some 

94nm NE of Spurn Head last month. 

CONTACT PROBED: the UK Marine Accident 

Investigation Branch last month launched a preliminary 

examination of an incident in which the Norwegianflagged 

platform support vessel Skandi Foula made 

contact with the Panamanian-registered offshore 

tug/supply vessel OMS Resolution while berthing at 

Victoria Dock, Aberdeen. 

SUBSEA CLAIM: Nautilus has submitted a claim 

seeking an above-inflation pay rise, double-time 

payments for bank holidays and a review of differentials 

and pension arrangements for members serving with 

Subsea 7. Industrial officer Steve Doran said a formal 

response is awaited after talks with the company last 

month. 

MAERSK OFFER: members employed on Maersk 

Offshore supply vessels are being consulted on an 

improved pay offer that would give a 3% pay rise. Voting 

closes on 12 July, and industrial officer Ian Cloke has 

urged all members to take part. 

GULF CONSULT: Nautilus is consulting members 

serving on Gulf Offshore vessels after the company 

made a 2% offer in negotiations on the Union’s pay and 

conditions claim last month. 

DSV DEAL: following consultations with members 

employed on Bibby DSVs, Nautilus has accepted a 1.5% 

pay offer, backdated to 1 January. 

Nautilus industrial officer Gary Leech is pictured above left with Stuart 

Hunter, operations and HR manager with Swire Pacific Offshore, during 

a recent meeting in Aberdeen 

PThe UK is increasing its 

safety inspection activities 

in the North Sea in 

the wake of the BP Gulf of Mexico 

disaster. 

Energy minister Chris Huhne 

has announced that the number 

of annual environmental checks 

on drilling rigs will double and 

additional inspectors will be 

recruited for the government’s 

Aberdeen-based team. 

The minister has also asked for 

a report from an oil industry advisory 

group that has been set up to 

investigate the UK’s ability to prevent 

and respond to oil spills. 

Mr Huhne told the House of 

Commons that the UK safety 

regime had, since the Piper Alpha 

disaster, been ‘among the most 

robust in the world’ and the North 

Sea’s record was good. 

‘Step Change’ for 

ships, says Union 

The UK oil and gas industry has 

Aannounced that it is extending 

the scope of its Step Change safety 

initiative to tackle the human and 

organisational factors that can 

adversely affect health and safety. 

Nautilus has welcomed the move, 

but says the programme should be 

rolled out further to include the 

support vessels that serve the sector. 

‘It would have more credibility if it 

was to go beyond the installations to 

the vessels at sea, where year on year 

there continues to be a slaughter 

taking place,’ said senior national 

secretary Allan Graveson. 

The Step Change for Safety 

‘But with the beginning of 

exploration in deeper waters west 

of Shetland, we must maintain 

vigilance,’ he stressed. 

A review carried out by 

Department of Energy and Climate 

Change officials had concluded 

that the UK’s existing system 

is fit for purpose, the 

minister added. ‘But in light of the 

spill in the Gulf we are strengthening 

the regime further.’ 

Mr Huhne said the Gulf of 

Mexico disaster was ‘devastating’ 

and warned that it will transform 

the regulation of deepwater 

drilling worldwide. 

The UK says it will review new 

and existing procedures as soon 

as the detailed analysis of the factors 

which caused the incident in 

the Gulf of Mexico are available. 

It is also reviewing the indemnity 

and insurance requirements response 

for operating in the UK Continental 

Shelf and the European Commission 

has asked companies 

operating in EU waters to provide 

assurances that they are able to 

take on full responsibilities for 

environmental and other damage 

if an incident were to occur. 

The industry working group 

established by the trade association 

Oil and Gas UK is reviewing 

the UK’s ability to respond to an 

incident such as the Deepwater 

Horizon explosion. The Oil Spill 

Prevention and Response Advisory 

Group (OSPRAG) is paying 

particular attention to the 

arrangements for pollution prevention 

and response. 

Other issues being examined 

include: 

ztechnical issues including first 

initiative sets ambitious targets for 

cutting the number of fatal and major 

injuries and significant hydrocarbon 

releases. The latest phase of the 

programme aims to address ‘human 

factor’ issues, which are said to lie 

behind more than 80% of incidents. 

To support the programme, 

organisers have published a guide 

examining 12 ‘human factor’ case 

histories and the lessons that can be 

learned from them. They are also 

planning a series of networking 

sessions, and will encourage the 

appointment of ‘human factors 

champions’ across the industry to 

reinforce the message. 

UK to double safety 

checks on drill rigs 

Minister warns that Gulf of Mexico disaster will transform regulations 

Flying visits spread 

cancer care advice 

Kate Synott, of the cancer 

Acharity UCAN, is pictured right 

helping to launch a three-month 

health programme for workers in the 

North Sea. 

She was flying out to Talisman’s 

Bleo Holm FSPO to make the first in a 

series of presentations providing 

advice and information on the four 

main urological cancers — prostate, 

kidney, bladder and testicular. 

During the visits to Talisman 

Energy’s offshore installations, which 

run until the end of August, Kate is 

explaining how to spot warning signs 

and symptoms and the importance of 

early diagnosis. 

‘Offshore is an ideal environment 

to highlight the risks associated with 

these cancers as it is largely a maledominated 

workforce and it is hoped 

that those who attend the 

presentations will then go home and 

tell friends and families what they 

have learned,’ she said. 

UCAN was established in 2005 to 

heighten awareness of urological 

cancers and raise £2.6m to improve 

the experience for patients and their 

families. 

In January 2008, it opened a care 

centre at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to 

improve the care and treatment 

experience for patients and their 

families. 

Kate visited Talisman’s Flotta Oil 

Terminal in Orkney last year to 

deliver similar presentations, which 

inspired staff to raise £10,000 for 

UCAN. The company has also 

supported the charity to the tune of 

£15,000 over the past three years. 

for the protection of 

personnel and competence 

zoil spill response capability 

and remediation, including 

national emergency response 

measures 

zindemnity and insurance 

requirements 

zpan-North Sea issues and 

response mechanisms 

Chairman Mark McAllister 

commented: ‘While the measures 

companies take under the current 

regulatory regime in the UKCS 

have been effective in preventing 

blowouts over the last 20 years of 

operations, what is happening in 

the Gulf of Mexico dictates that 

we must re-assess the provisions 

and procedures we employ here 

and the extent of our preparedness 

for oil spill prevention and 

response.’


NEWS 

The Italian-flagged cruiseship Vistamar was detained in Belfast Picture: Gary Davies/Maritime Photographic 

Cruiseship detained 

with safety defects 

An Italian-flagged cruiseship 

Awas detained for three days in 

Belfast last month after port state 

control inspectors found a series of 

safety problems onboard. 

Maritime & Coastguard Agency 

surveyors said defects on the 7,478gt 

Vistamar included fire doors that 

were found to be missing, broken, or 

with latches missing and broken 

emergency lights on the liferafts. 

They judged that the 21-year-old 

ship was not meeting international 

Safety Management Code 

maintenance requirements. 

Bill Bennett, surveyor in charge 

from the MCA’s Belfast marine office, 

commented: ‘The MCA takes 

passenger safety extremely seriously, 

and we will not allow vessels to 

traverse our waters where clearly 

international standards of safety are 

being breached. 

‘We apologise to any passengers 

who may have been inconvenienced 

by this action, but we hope they 

understand this detention has been 

undertaken in their best interest.’ 

The MCA had previously detained 

the Vistamar in Tilbury in June 2006, 

with deficiencies including lifeboats, 

fire prevention, cleanliness of the 

engineroom and maintenance of the 

vessel and equipment. 

Dredger owner 

fined for safety 

certificate lapse 

The owners of a UK-flagged 

Fdredger have been fined 

£2,000 and ordered to pay £4,217 

costs for allowing the vessel’s safety 

equipment certificate to lapse. 

In a hearing at Southampton 

magistrates court last month, 

Northwood (Fareham) admitted a 

charge of breaching the merchant 

shipping certification regulations on 

the 1,143gt dredger Norstone. 


operations manager Richard Pellew 

said he hoped the case would send a 

clear message to the industry. ‘This 

was a significant error by the owners 

and could not be ignored by the 

Agency,’ he added. 

UK ferries caught 

in Greek protests 

Unions prevent ships from sailing in dispute over crewing and conditions 

PNautilus has urged the 

UK shipping minister to 

step in to help resolve a 

row over the crewing of two 

British-flagged ferries running 

between Italy and Greece. 

European seafaring unions 

have condemned attempts by the 

owners of the two ships — Ropax 

I and II — to take court action to 

prevent action by Greek crews 

protesting about jobs. 

Adriatic Lines — which 

launched its freight service 

between Greece and Italy last 

November — last month applied 

to a Piraeus court for an injunction 

to stop Greek unions from 

blockading its ships in the port of 

Corinth. 

The company is using two 

33,163gt UK-registered ferries on 

The European Parliament has 

Abeen urged to rethink plans to 

make English the ‘language of the 

sea’ within European Union maritime 

operations. 

Tabled earlier this year, the 

proposals seek to make English the 

common language for all 

communications between ships and 

shore in EU waters. 

Some MEPs argue that the 

planned directive on ship-shore 

the route between Ravenna, 

Corinth and Igoumenitsa. 

The Panhellenic Seamen’s Federation 

(PNO) has launched a 

series of protests against the service, 

and last month blocked the 

linkspan to prevent the ships 

from loading and unloading. 

PNO said it had taken the 

action because it considered the 

Romanian crews of the two ferries 

were underpaid, and it 

wanted to enforce the International 

Transport Workers’ Federation 

‘Athens policy’ which seeks to 

ensure that seafarers serving on 

ferries trading between EU member 

states are employed on conditions 

on a par with, or superior 

to, those applying in the relevant 

countries. 

PNO also claims that there are 

reporting would benefit maritime 

transport — and shortsea shipping in 

particular — by simplifying 

requirements, cutting confusion and 

reducing administrative delays. 

But Spain — which currently holds 

the presidency of the EU — last 

month tabled an alternative package 

to the European Parliament, which 

simply states that member states 

should ‘make all possible efforts to 

facilitate written and oral 

communication in maritime traffic 

between member states, in 

accordance with international 

practice’. 

Associated proposals to require 

the use of English for communications 

on EU inland waterways were rejected 

as ‘totally unacceptable’. 

Spain also opposed proposals for 

relaxing language requirements for 

pilotage exemption certificates. 

Belgian MEP Dirk Stercx said the 

too few seafarers working on the 

two ferries and it is demanding 

that 55 Greek seafarers should be 

appointed to the vessels. 

Adriatic Lines said its crewing 

policy is in line with Italian law 

and applied to the courts for an 

injunction and subsequent action 

against the union. 

The company called for the 

Greek government to remove the 

protesters after the prosecutor in 

Corinth told the supreme court 

that the port authority was 

unable intervene to impose the 

law and allow the two vessels to 

leave the port. 

The Greek shipping minister 

tried to arrange talks with the 

company last month, but Adriatic 

Lines refused to take part after its 

request for the Italian ambassador 

to attend the negotiations 

was denied. 

The company’s actions were 

criticised by the European Transport 

Workers’ Federation. Delegates 

attending a meeting of the 

maritime transport section in 

Brussels agreed a motion condemning 

the ‘denial of fundamental 

rights and prosecution of 

trade union representatives’ and 

expressing support for the PNO. 

Adriatic Lines is based in Milan 

and was set up by Greek and Italian 

interests last year. 

The service has secured some 

€4.4m support from the European 

Commission’s Marco Polo 

fund to support new shortsea 

operations and the two ferries 

have been chartered in from a 

Norwegian owner. 

MEPs reject English language plan 

special disc unts 

“on airfares for marine personnel” 

move had been made because many 

countries used protectionist 

arguments to determine whether 

PECs should be issued. 

But Spain argued that whilst there 

is a need to consider a clear 

framework for issuing PECs within the 

EU, it was not appropriate to do this 

through the proposed directive. 

The negotiations between 

European Parliament and the 

member states will continue to run. 

We are able to offer 

discounted air travel for 

all staff employed in the 

marine industry from 

crew, shorebased staff 

to spouse’s travelling to 

and from vessels. 

Using our extensive marine 

fare programme we are 

able to provide changeable 

and refundable tickets. 

We are totally dedicated 

to providing an efficient 

and personal service. 

Masters’ award to 

help with studies 

The Southampton Master 

FMariners’ Club has awarded 

its second annual £1,000 study 

bursary to Nautilus member 

Michael Craig Smith — pictured 

receiving his bursary certificate at 

a presentation ceremony last 

month. 

The bursary is dedicated to 

helping a Warsash Maritime 

Academy student attain a higher 

certificate of competence, and is 

made as a payment towards the 

cost of the course fees. 

Michael Smith is currently 

studying for his chief mate’s 

certificate at Warsash, following 

several years serving as third officer 

with Princess Cruises (Carnival UK). 

Although a relatively new 

officer, Michael has over 20 years’ 

experience in the industry, having 

first gone to sea in 1989 as a deck 

boy on tankers. 

He worked his way up to 

assistant bosun in the same sector, 

then made the change to passenger 

vessels in 1997 by joining 

P&O/Princess Cruises, where he 

was promoted to chief petty officer 

(coxwain) in 1998. 

Michael later decided to take his 

career a step further, studying 

independently for his OOW 

certificate. He qualified as an officer 

in 2007. 

Six students were called to 

interview by the bursary selection 

panel this year, and the standard of 

applications was very high. 

Michael was chosen from this 

strong field because he was felt to 

be the most likely to contribute to 

the Southampton Master Mariners’ 

Club’s aim ‘to maintain and foster 

social and professional 

comradeship amongst Master 

Mariners and other persons having 

an interest in ships and the sea’. 

Originally from Peterhead in 

Scotland, the 38-year-old officer 

now lives with his fiancée Allison in 

Chichester, Sussex, and they plan to 

marry next year. He hopes to 

qualify as chief mate later this year. 

Picture: Terry Clark 

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LARGE YACHT NEWS 

Hoylake training centre 

rises from the ashes 

Naval architects’ award for 

young American designer 

American Adam Voorhees 

Fhas been presented with the 

2010 World Superyacht Young 

Designer Award, for his design Ra, 

pictured above. 

The award was presented at the 

World Superyacht Awards Dinner in 

London by Royal Institution of 

Naval Architects (RINA) CEO Trevor 

Blakeley and Toby Walker, of 

Camper & Nicholson International. 

’Ra is an imaginative design 

which fully met all aspects of the 

specification, and showed good 

consistency and proportion 

between internal and external 

aspects of the design,’ said Mr 

Blakeley, who chaired the judges’ 

panel. 

He said the judges considered 

the design to be ‘user friendly’ and 

one that would appeal to both 

The best-selling novelist Wilbur 

FSmith is finishing his latest 

book, which will feature a superyacht 

and be titled Those in Peril. 

Due to be published next year, the 

story combines the topical themes of 

piracy and ransom demands with 

complicated political and diplomatic 

issues. 

The story centres on Hazel 

Bannock, the heir to the Bannock Oil 

Corporation — one of the world’s 

major oil producers with global reach. 

While cruising in the Indian Ocean, 

owners and charterers. 

This 66m yacht features fewer 

decks than similar size vessels, and 

its main deck is designed as a 

‘multifunction area that transforms 

for informal living or formal 

entertaining’. 

RINA is now inviting entries for 

the 2011 young designer award, 

which offers a prize of €5,000. 

Students and young graduates are 

set the challenge of designing a 

superyacht to meet an owner’s 

specification which sets no cost 

limit, but requires it to be different 

from any other yacht, capable of 

operating in the Mediterranean 

and the Caribbean, carrying 12 

passengers and appropriate crew, 

complying with all safety 

regulations and with a low carbon 

footprint. 

Superyacht piracy the 

theme for new novel 

her private superyacht is hijacked by 

African pirates. 

Hazel is not onboard at the time, 

but her 19-year-old daughter, Cayla, is 

kidnapped and held to ransom. The 

pirates demand a massive $20bn 

payment for her release. 

But with governments unwilling to 

intervene, Hazel decides to call on 

security expert Hector Cross to help 

her rescue her daughter. Between 

them Hazel and Hector are 

determined to take the law into their 

own hands… 

Sailing school keeps its crew courses 

going despite a devastating fire 

PIt’s business as usual for 

a Merseyside sailing 

school that trains Merchant 

Navy and superyacht professionals, 

despite a massive blaze 

that gutted the centre. 

Nobody was injured in the 

incident at Hoylake Sailing 

School, but the Victorian threestory 

building was extensively 

damaged. It is thought an electrical 

fault may have been the cause. 

Courses have been continuing 

in a nearby community centre 

and training and tuition has been 

little disrupted. ‘We didn’t break 

stride and it’s business as usual,’ Qualifications 

said Anna Williams, Hoylake Sailing 

School/John Percival Marine 

Associates MD. 

‘Our schedule has not 

changed,’ she added. ‘For now, we 

can run all classes in a local community 

centre which used to be a 

school, so it has all the facilities.’ 

Fire crews from West Kirby, 

Upton and Wallasey took three 

hours to subdue the blaze after 

the alarm was raised around 

03.00 on Tuesday 11 May. The 

damage was found by Captain 

John Percival when he arrived 

shortly before lessons were due 

to start that morning. 

by Michael Howorth 

Pictured right is Transcendence 

A— a 49m design that is 

claimed to be the world’s first ‘zero 

carbon’ superyacht. 

Unveiled by Sauter Carbon Offset 

Design, the vessel would be capable 

of achieving 25 knots whilst achieving 

savings of between 50% and 100% in 

greenhouse gas emissions over 

conventional engines. 

The Solar Hybrid design utilises a 

Mercedes Benz/MTU Bluetec unit to 

produce a very clean diesel electric 

power plant, and also features 

azimuth counter-rotating CLT high 

torque propeller systems. 

Capable of accommodating 10 

guests and 12 crew, the yacht also 

has an advanced hydro and 

aerodynamic high-speed 

displacement hull design and 

computerised energy management 

and maintenance systems. 

‘There were five training 

courses with 15 students due to 

start work at 09.00,’ he explained. 

‘It was the ultimate test of our disaster 

recovery procedures, but 

our crew pitched right in — setting 

up office in my house with 

no interruption in telephone or 

internet/email connections. Bearing 

in mind that seven students 

were booked to take their professional 

oral examinations on 

Wednesday, continuity of training 

was vital.’ 

The Maritime & Coastguard 

Agency, RYA and the Scottish 

Authority 

promptly approved Hoylake 

Community centre as a temporary 

training centre while building 

works are being carried out to 

rehabilitate the school premises. 

Classes were running again by 

09.30. 

‘The support from the industry 

has been fantastic,’ Capt Percival 

added. ‘Calls of encouragement 

and offers of help started 

coming in by 10.00 from colleagues 

and friends from as far 

away as Dubai.’ He was confident 

all files were saved intact. The 

MCA has promised help should 

replacements be needed. 

‘Zero carbon’ cruiser 

The Aquos Yachts team have celebrated the 

Fcompletion of 45m expedition yacht Big Fish 

— the first motor superyacht to be built in New 

Zealand. 

Constructed at the McMullen and Wing yard in 

Auckland, the yacht last month set out on the first 

stage of what is claimed to be the world’s first polar 

circumnavigation, entering both Arctic and Antarctic 

Transcendence also incorporates 

solar cell, kinetic energy 

regeneration and a plug-in lithium 

uninterrupted power system that 

runs all the onboard hotel services, 

including air conditioning. The same 

lithium UPS allows the yacht to 

achieve maximum speed under peak 

loads or to navigate in and out of 

ports with zero emissions. 

Head of design Richard Sauter 

commented: ‘Transcendence is the 

Circles, crossing all lines of meridian and passing or 

rounding all five major capes. 

The voyage is set to start in Tahiti and continue 

to the Antarctic, then to the Amazon, the 

Caribbean, northern Europe, and conclude with the 

first luxury yacht transit of the Northeast Passage 

over the top of Russia. 

Big Fish will be available for charter throughout 

The fire damage at the Hoylake Sailing School Picture: Liverpool Echo 

carbon offset alternative to 

comparable high performance 

mega-yachts. Her overall size and 

maximum speed are the same, but 

her carbon footprint is far smaller — 

often reaching zero.’ 

Polar circumnavigation first for Big Fish 

the voyage and is set to make a detour to the Fort 

Lauderdale boat show in October and November. 

Powered by twin Caterpillar engines delivering a 

cruising speed of 10 knots, Big Fish — which is 

designed to sail with 10 crew and 10 guests — is the 

first in a series planned by Aquos Yachts. Work has 

recently started on a second vessel, the 50m Star 

Fish, due to be launched in April 2012.



Owners 

produce 

revised 

advice 

on ISM 

AShipowners and employers 

have launched a new 

edition of their influential 

guidelines to promote the effective 

implementation of the International 

Safety Management Code. 

The new, fourth, edition of the 

International Chamber of 

Shipping/International Shipping 

Federation guidelines on the 

application of the IMO Code is the first 

revision in nearly 15 years and reflects 

changes that will come into force on 1 

July. 

It includes new sections on 

environmental management and ship 

energy efficiency management, as 

well as additional guidance on the 

maintenance of safety management 

systems and the role of the 

designated person ashore. 

New analysis is included on the 

causes of accidents and expanded 

advice provided on risk management 

and safety culture. 

Some 50,000 copies of the 

previous edition of the guidelines 

were sold, and ICS senior marine 

adviser John Murray said it had 

played an important role in 

promoting ISM compliance. 

Most people now accept that the 

Code is a key component in improving 

safety at sea, he added. ‘We hear all 

sorts of issues, but ISM is working — 

statistics show that.’ 

Former seafarer Dr Phil Anderson, 

who was closely involved in 

developing the new guidelines 

through his firm ConsultISM, said 

more should be done to encourage 

seafarers to report near-misses. 

Even after 12 years in force, many 

companies are still finding it difficult 

to get their crews to comply with the 

Code’s near-miss reporting 

requirements. ‘There’s no doubt in my 

mind that near-miss reporting is 

much more important than accident 

reporting,’ he added. ‘You can get in 

there and prevent the accident.’ 

Nautilus senior national secretary 

Allan Graveson said the guide was 

very comprehensive and well written. 

However, he pointed out: ‘It gives the 

impression of a shift of responsibility 

to masters by statements such as “It 

should be recognised that there are 

practical limitations to the extent to 

which the company or designated 

person can physically monitor the 

SMS”.’ 

And he added: ‘It also accepts safe 

manning if in compliance with 

internationally-determined working 

hours of IMO and ILO (note IMO 

comes first), rather than what is 

humanly safe.’ 

Welding blamed 

for wreck blaze 

Fblamed for a dramatic 

A welding accident has been 

explosion and fire onboard a Turkishflagged 

bulk carrier that ran aground 

off South Africa last year. 

Five of the 22 salvage workers 

who were helping to demolish the 

wreck of the 30,500dwt Seli 1 were 

treated in hospital for minor injuries 

and smoke inhalation after the blaze 

ripped through the accommodation 

and engineroom areas. 

The Turkish-owned ship was en 

route to Gibraltar in September when 

it ran aground on a sandbar at 

Dolphin Beach, near Cape Town, in 

the middle of the night. Attempts to 

refloat the vessel failed, and the SA 

Maritime Authority decided to 

dismantle it. Picture: Reuters 

History made as Dutch 

courts hear piracy cases 

Suspect Somali pirates face up to 12 years in prison if found guilty in Rotterdam trial 

PA high security court in 

Rotterdam last month 

began hearing what is 

claimed to be the first piracy trial 

in Europe in the modern era. 

The case against five suspected 

Somali pirates, aged between 22 

and 44, also marks the rebirth of a 

17th century Dutch statute that 

addresses the crime of ‘sea robbery’. 

The men — who were arrested 

by a Danish frigate in January 

2009 after they were allegedly 

caught preparing to board the 

Dutch Antilles-flagged general 

cargoship Samanyolu — face up 

to nine years in jail if found guilty, 

and their leader up to 12 years. 

But the Dutch state-funded 

defence team representing the 

five accused has raised the argument 

of lack of jurisdiction — 

suggesting that the men should 

be tried in the Dutch Antilles. 

IMO to highlight ‘plight’ of crews 

The International Maritime Organisation has 

Fannounced a new initiative to focus worldwide 

public and political attention on the problem of piracy. 

Secretary-general Efthimios Mitropoulos said the 

organisation’s Council has unanimously agreed that 

next year’s World Maritime Day theme should be 

‘Piracy: orchestrating the response’. 

He said the event would be used to highlight ‘the 

unacceptable plight of all those being held by pirates’ 

As the trial got under way, four 

of the five accused pleaded not 

guilty. The fifth, Sayid Ali Garaar, 

39, appeared to suggest his 

actions were legitimate, because 

poverty left him no other choice. 

‘If our children are hungry, 

who is responsible? You sleep in 

your house, I am in prison. I have 

no country, no family, nothing. I 

got into this situation because I 

am prepared to do anything,’ he 

shouted. 

Other defendants retracted 

previous confessions and claimed 

that they were simply fishing in 

the area and had approached the 

ship after their boat broke down. 

In another case last month, a 

court in Amsterdam ruled that 10 

The 93,750gt German-flagged containership Budapest Express is pictured above making an inaugural call to the 

port of Southampton last month Picture: Gary Davies/Maritime Photographic 

and seek further action to combat the threat and to 

bring piracy suspects to justice. 

Mr Mitropoulos said the IMO also wanted to secure 

improved protection for seafarers and to ensure that 

ships implement recommended measures to reduce the 

risk of attacks. The UN agency also wants to tackle the 

root causes of piracy, he added, and would help 

countries to develop their maritime capacities and to 

protect their maritime resources. 

other alleged pirates captured in 

April should be extradited to face 

trial in Germany. 

The suspects — who include a 

15-year-old — had been caught by 

the Dutch warship Tromp after 

an operation to free the Germanowned 

containership Taipan, 

after it was hijacked some 560 

miles off the coast of Somalia. 

Defence lawyers had opposed 

the extradition request, arguing 

that the Taipan had been registered 

in the Bahamas and not in 

Germany as claimed. 

zPirates last month released a 

UK-flagged car carrier, six months 

after it was captured near the Gulf 

of Aden. 

The European Union Naval 

Force said the Zodiac Maritime 

vessel Asian Glory had been freed 

after a ransom drop. The pirates 

were reported to have made an 

initial ransom demand of 

US$15m, but no details of the 

eventual payment were released. 

Asian Glory — which had a 

crew of 10 Ukrainians, eight Bulgarians, 

five Indians and two 

Romanians — was hijacked on 1 

January sailing towards the International 

Recommended Transiting 

Corridor while en route from 

Singapore to Saudi Arabia. 

TUC warns on D&A tests 

The TUC has called on the UK 

Agovernment to produce clear 

guidance on drug-testing to clear up 

the confusion around the legality of 

random or routine testing in jobs that 

are not safety-critical. 

In a new guide for union safety 

reps — Drug Testing in the 

Workplace — the TUC stresses that 

drugs and alcohol have no place in 

the workplace. Any person working 

under the influence of any kind of 

performance-influencing drug, 

PSC warning 

for Ireland 

Following checks by the 

AEuropean Maritime Safety 

Agency, Brussels has warned Ireland 

that it is failing to meet its full 

obligations under its directive on port 

control. 

The European Commission has 

given the Irish authorities two months 

to comply with the directive 

requirements to monitor all visiting 

ships and identify those to be 

targeted for inspections. EMSA had 

also found that Ireland was not 

operating an effective deterrent 

penalty system for substandard ships. 

If it fails to respond satisfactorily 

within the time limit, Ireland will run 

the risk of being brought before the 

European Court of Justice. 

whether illegal or prescription, may 

pose a real danger to themselves, 

their colleagues or the public. 

But the guide warns that some 

employers may be using random 

drug-testing to try to get rid of 

employees and then avoid paying 

redundancy pay. 

The TUC says the government 

needs to produce clear and definitive 

guidance on procedures and policies 

— especially on the legal issues 

arising from random tests. 

jobs-at-sea.com 

your next job is only a ‘click’ away



Severn ferry 

service start 

is delayed 

Plans to launch a new ferry 

Dservice between Swansea and 

Ilfracombe have been postponed. 

The Severn Link company 

announced last month that problems 

in establishing landing facilities and 

an overnight lay-over berth in Wales 

meant the two-vessel service could 

not start this spring, as planned. 

MD Geoff Metcalf described the 

decision as ‘bitterly disappointing’ 

as both ferries had successfully 

undertaken sea trials. 

Severn Link says it still hopes to 

run some limited trial services, but 

the full launch will have to be 

delayed until next year when 

permanent facilities are set up. 

USCG calls 

for more 

care on AIS 

The US Coast Guard has issued 

Aa safety bulletin urging 

seafarers to take more care in the 

use of the Automatic Identification 

System (AIS). 

In response to a number of 

incidents, the Coast Guard ‘strongly 

reminds’ operators that the AIS text 

messaging facility should not be 

used instead of other requirements, 

such as bridge-to-bridge 

communications, sounding whistle 

signals, or displaying lights and 

shapes. 

It also stresses that shore-based 

services or other vessels may not 

respond to AIS safety-related text 

messages in an emergency in the 

same way as GMDSS messages. 

‘AIS must not be relied upon as 

the primary means for broadcasting 

distress or urgent communications, 

nor used in lieu of GMDSS such as 

Digital Selective Calling radios which 

are designed to process distress 

messaging,’ the bulletin stresses. 

The USCG said it has also noticed 

a high percentage of inaccurate and 

improper AIS messaging data. ‘AIS 

requires operators to routinely 

update their data as it relates to 

navigation status, draft, origination 

and destination ports, and eta,’ it 

added. ‘Dynamic data, such as that 

from positioning sources like GPS via 

external sensors must always be 

operational, accurate and 

continuously updated. AIS is only as 

good as the information provided 

and exchanged, therefore users 

must ensure their unit is always in 

effective operating condition and 

broadcasting accurate information.’ 

E-learning for 

MARPOL rules 

A 

The American P&I Club has 

launched its latest loss 

prevention tool — the first in a 

series of web-based e-learning 

modules designed to familiarise 

seafarers with the practical 

application of the MARPOL 

Convention onboard ship. 

Claimed to be user-friendly, the 

modules offer a secure online testing 

facility so club members can track 

their seafarers’ knowledge and keep 

up-to-date records of familiarisation 

training in compliance with the STCW 

Convention and the ISM Code. 

PA court is set to make a key ruling in 

a long-running claim by a Filipino 

seafarer that he had airfares and 

travelling expenses illegally deducted from 

his wages whilst serving on a Dutch cruiseship. 

The direction taken in the case is expected 

to clarify how the corporate veil affects 

employee contracts on Dutch-flagged vessels, 

as well as the effectiveness of clauses that 

oblige the owner to pay for crew travel to and 

from their native countries. 

The case has been brought by Romeo Balen, 

who served as a barman on the vessel Westerdam 

and claims he was sacked in March 2006 

because he refused to refund US$2,119 to Holland 

America Line for what the company said 

it spent on transport from his country. 

A London-based DP training 

Fcentre will celebrate 10 years of 

operation next month, having risen to 

become the leader in its field. 

The Dynamic Positioning Centre, 

part of the C-MAR group, claims to 

train more students to Nautical 

Institute standards than any other 

international DP training provider. 

‘We founded the first centre in 

London in August 2000, and there 

has been steady growth throughout 

the decade,’ says chief operating 

officer Peter Aylott. 

‘Traditionally, the offshore sector 

was seen as less prestigious than 

deepsea shipping because the 

tonnage of the ships was smaller, but 

support vessels can be more complex 

than warships these days, and 

shipowners are realising that they 

need high-calibre people.’ 

In addition to the original London 

premises, the DP Centre now has 

branches in Singapore, Rio de Janeiro 

(Brazil), Split (Croatia) and Mumbai 

(India). The five centres offer 

Mr Balen originally sued HAL in 2007 

under a US law designed to protect seafarers. 

His lawsuit sought class status, claiming to 

represent all Filipinos similarly affected, and 

demanded damages in excess of $20m to 

cover more than 7,500 employees said to 

belong to the class. 

He lost this lawsuit, on grounds that his 

contract required him to file suit in the Philippines. 

But he was told that if his attempt to 

enforce US statutory rights failed there, he 

could return to the US on behalf of himself 

and the alleged class. The Philippines case is 

due to soon come up before an arbitrator, as 

mandated by his Philippines Overseas 

Employment Agency contract. 

Meanwhile, Mr Balen sued HAL in the US 

again in January this year. This time, he named 

consultancy and audit services as well 

as DP training. 

‘We find that, in London, around 

60% of the students on our DP 

operator courses are self-funded 

freelancers who do voyage contract 

work, while the other 40% are sent by 

the oil companies,’ notes Mr Aylott. 

‘Elsewhere in the world, a higher 

percentage come from the big 

employers.’ 

There is an across-the-board 

shortage of DP operators in the global 

offshore industry, he adds, with a 

Northern Lights prize for 

Shetland School cadets 

Two future Merchant Navy 

Cofficers training at the Shetland 

School of Nautical Studies (SSNS) 

have been presented with prizes to 

recognise their hard work and 

consistent professional performance. 

Captain George Sutherland, 

former chairman of the 

Commissioners of Northern 

Lighthouses, is pictured with prize 

winners Derek Spence and Liam 

Cumming, together with SSNS head 

Jan Rigden. 

It is the second time the Northern 

Lighthouse Board prize has been 

awarded and Capt Sutherland 

described Liam and Derek as ‘worthy 

winners’. 

Travel costs claim is 

set to test Dutch law 

Filipino crewman says company was wrong to charge repatriation fees 

as defendants the 14 HAL ships and their 

Dutch owning entities, alongside Holland 

America Line NV. HAL Inc, which purported to 

be his contractual employer, was not the true 

employer but merely an agent for HAL NV, he 

alleged. 

The new lawsuit invoked Dutch law to 

establish crews’ rights to ‘free transport to the 

place either where service started or to a port 

of the state where he or she is a citizen’. 

HAL has contended that the reimbursement 

payments were proper and in accordance 

with US law. 

Several other lawsuits were brought this 

year in various US states on similar grounds — 

including some by seafarer groups from the 

Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia, seeking 

class status for their respective nationalities. 

Centre marks a decade of DP 

training as shortage grows 

Tutor Surendra Upadhyay training students at the DP Centre in London 

particularly high number of vacancies 

in Brazil and the Far East, so job 

prospects are good for those who 

complete the training. 

To obtain the Nautical Institute DP 

Operator Certificate, students first 

take the centre’s Basic (Induction) 

Course, which is classroom-based with 

some use of simulators. Then they 

need to get onboard familiarisation 

training (typically during one voyage), 

after which they can join the 

Advanced (Simulator) Course to bring 

them up to NI standards. 

And although simulators are 

obviously an important part of the 

training, the centre places more 

emphasis on what the industry would 

call the ‘human element’. Instructors 

must have at least five years’ 

experience in the operation of DP 

vessels, covering dive support, 

anchor-handling, platform supply and 

drilling operations vessels. 

‘Our success is down to the fact 

that we have good people as trainers,’ 

stresses Mr Aylott. 

Liam, from Hamnavoe in Burra, 

and Derek, from Haroldswick in Unst, 

each received a £1,000 cheque to 

reward their academic achievement 

and excellence in assessment and 

project work. 

Liam commenced training as a 

deck cadet after obtaining a BA in risk 

management at university in 

Glasgow. 

However, when Derek started his 

training as an engineer cadet, he was 

too young to stay in the onsite 

accommodation on campus and had 

to live with relatives for the first four 

months of his training until he was 16 

years old. 

Picture: NAFC Marine Centre 

Master is 

facing 12 

years in 

prison 

Prosecutors are calling for the 

Dmaster of the tanker Prestige 

— which broke up off the coast of 

Spain nearly eight years ago — to be 

jailed for up to 12 years. 

What is billed as a ‘mega trial’ of 

the master, two other officers and 

the ship’s owner and insurer is 

expected to start later this year 

following a lengthy investigation 

into what was Spain’s worst ever 

environmental disaster. 

Some 1,900km of coastline was 

polluted in November 2008 when 

the 26-year-old Bahamas-flagged 

tanker broke up and sank off the 

coast of Galicia with 77,000 tonnes 

of fuel oil onboard. 

A 266, 650-page report on the 

investigation into the disaster was 

published last month, and as a result 

Spanish public prosecutors are 

seeking a seven-year jail sentence 

for the Prestige master, Captain 

Apostolos Mangouras, for a ‘crime 

against the environment’ and five 

years for damaging a protected 

natural space. 

The ship’s owner and insurer are 

being charged with ‘civil 

responsibility’ and will face fines 

rather than prison sentences. 

Damages totalling more than €2.2m 

are also being sought. 

The prosecution claims that the 

master had been warned by the 

chief engineer two days before the 

accident of problems with the vessel. 

It is also alleged that the 81,564dwt 

tanker had been suffering from 

‘remarkable structural deficiencies’. 

Public prosecutor Álvaro García 

Ortiz said Capt Mangouras had been 

aware of the poor condition of his 

ship and had also ignored weather 

warnings. He had failed to cooperate 

with the authorities ashore as the 

situation worsened, and refused to 

allow the ship to be towed to safety. 

However, the prosecution’s 

announcement has been called into 

question by a former Spanish search 

and rescue expert. Antón Salgado 

said Capt Mangouras had followed 

all the international procedures for 

responding to an emergency at sea 

and had promptly issued a distress 

call. Mr Salgado also pointed out 

that the ship carried all the 

necessary safety certification.



Class call for LNG switch 

Union welcomes mounting pressure for the industry to clean up its act by embracing the ‘fuel of the future’ 

PNautilus has welcomed 

a new drive by classification 

societies to encourage 

shipowners to adopt LNG as 

the fuel for the future. 

Switching from heavy fuel oil 

(HFO) will not only be good for 

the environment, they say, but 

also good for business — with a 

study published by DNV last 

month forecasting savings of up 

to 45% over a 20-year period. 

DNV says owners must accept 

that HFO is not a sustainable 

option for vessels operating in 

emission control areas (ECAs). 

President Tor Svensen said the EU 

has already introduced a 0.1% sulphur 

fuel limit for ports and on 

inland waterways. From 1 July, the 

maximum level of sulphur in fuel 

is set at 1.0% in ECAs, and the 

requirements will be further 

tightened to 0.1% by 2015. 

‘There are at least three ways of 

solving these challenges,’ Mr 

Svensen added. ‘Low sulphur fuel 

can be used. Scrubbers can be 

installed to remove the sulphur. 

Or the operator can switch to 

LNG. Based on our report, LNG is 

the obvious answer.’ 

Mr Svensen said there are no 

technical obstacles, and there are 

economic opportunities for the 

owners that dare to be among the 

frontrunners. ‘DNV is struggling 

The Dutch-flagged Coral Methane, above, is the world’s first ‘dual-fuel’ combined LNG/ethylene/LPG carrier. Delivered to the Dutch owner Anthony 

Veder last year, the 7,500 cu m capacity vessel runs off LNG cargo boil-off gas when carrying LNG. In this mode, the ship emits 100% less sulphur oxide 

and particulate matter, and 92% less NOx and 25% less CO 2 than when burning fuel oil Picture: Bureau Veritas 

to understand why the shipping 

industry is not moving faster and 

why shipowners are not seeing 

the opportunities,’ he added. ‘LNG 

as a fuel for ships is commercially 

viable and will address important 

environmental concerns.’ 

The French classification society 

Bureau Veritas also urged the 

industry to adopt LNG as a means 

of reducing harmful emissions. 

‘Shipowners and shipyards will 

need to be more imaginative and 

to find new ways to reduce air pollution,’ 

said MD Bernard Anne. 

‘NG power for ships reduces NOx 

emissions by 80-90%, eliminates 

SOx emissions, reduces particulate 

matters close to zero and cuts 

CO2 by 20-25%.’ 

BV said it is already working 

on a number of projects involving 

gas or dual gas/fuel oil for a 

range of containerships, cruise 

vessels, ferries, ro-pax and ro-ros, 

as well as inland and coastal navigation 

ships. The society is also 

assessing the viability of refitting 

existing ships. 

‘Technical solutions to install 

gas fuel engines in various types 

of vessels are already in place, 

demonstrating the feasibility of 

this alternative to liquid fuels,’ Mr 

Anne added. ‘The hurdles we now 

have to overcome involve the 

bunkering, storage and supply of 

NG to non-LNG carriers. Finding 

space for LNG tanks, for heating 

and cooling equipment, and for 

protection against spillage are all 

tasks we have in hand. 

‘The result will be a stepchange 

in the cleanliness of shipping,’ 

he claimed. ‘Today’s ships 

burn the dirtiest fuel that is available. 

Gas-powered ships will burn 

the cleanest. That is worth working 

for.’ 

Denmark is also spearheading 

moves to promote LNG — particularly 

for vessels operating shortsea 

services in the Baltic, English 

Channel and North Sea regions. 

The Danish Maritime Authority 

is leading a project to examine 

the feasibility of establishing a 

chain of LNG ‘filling stations’ for 

ships in the area. 

The study is also looking at 

safety and technical issues, 

including seafarer training. 


Allan Graveson commented: 

‘Shipping is, and will remain, the 

dirtiest form of transport as long 

as it continues to use HFO — the 

waste product of the refining 

process. The dangers to people 

living in port areas are well-documented 

and the health of seafarers 

continues to be put at risk. 

‘For sound environmental and 

economic reasons, it makes sense 

to discontinue using HFO,’ he 

added. ‘We have the technology 

in Europe to address this issue.’


HEALTH&SAFETY 

3D package offers 

‘virtual’ training 

Pictured above is a scene 

Afrom what the classification 

society DNV claims to be the world’s 

first 3D survey simulator program to 

provide virtual training for 

surveyors and port state control 

inspectors. 

Installed in a special new 

building in Gdynia, Poland, the 3D 

simulator — launched last month 

— uses software that is based on 

the principles of computer games. 

The program uses images taken 

from real ships to allow trainees to 

conduct ‘virtual vessel inspections’ 

and identify safety shortfalls. 

Trainees can use the system to 

‘navigate’ around all parts of a 

vessel. Inspections can be carried 

out from the upper part of the 

superstructure to the lower part of a 

cargo hold or the ship’s double 

bottom. 

The program can be adjusted so 

that trainees can experience a wide 

range of different situations — 

including the degree of corrosion, 

or weather and light conditions, to 

fit different purposes. Safety 

conflicts are also built into the 

program to encourage trainees to 

be more aware of potential hazards 

while inspecting. 

DNV says the equipment will be 

made portable so that training can 

be carried out almost everywhere, 

and it will also be available for 

ship’s officers and surveyors. 

Chief operating officer Olav 

Nortun said the system would offer 

improved and accelerated training. 

‘I’m proud of what we have 

achieved and the fact that, after 

years of intensive in-house software 

development, we are today 

presenting a unique tool,’ he added. 

Mr Nortun said young surveyors 

are part of what is known as the 

‘PlayStation generation’ and the 

package meets their expectations. 

‘Over the past few years, the 

number of ships in operation has 

increased a lot and recruiting skilled 

professionals to all parts of the 

industry has become a challenge,’ 

he pointed out. 

‘Nothing can replace onboard 

training when it comes to achieving 

experience and improving 

knowledge, but the 3D simulator is 

the closest we can come on shore,’ 

he added. 

Crew praised for fire response 

Accident investigators have 

Apraised the crew of a UKflagged 

workboat for their rapid 

response to an onboard fire. 

The Windcat 3 was collecting 

technicians from the Robin Rigg 

offshore windfarm in April when 

crew reported a noise ‘like a 

firecracker’. 

Subsequent checks in the 

engineroom revealed that there was 

some sort of electrical fire — but 

there was too much smoke to 

attempt to enter safely. 

After shutting off the fuel supply 

to the engine and closing the vent 

flaps, the fixed CO 2 system was used 

to successfully extinguish the fire. 

The MAIB has written to the 

vessel’s owners commending the 

crew’s actions and offering 

suggestions for improving aspects of 

the CO 2 system, fire drills, and 

operations manuals. 

Nautilus has welcomed moves 

Hto review the medical stores 

requirements for UK ships and revise 

the Ship Captain’s Medical Guide. 

The Union is taking part in a 


consultation on the proposals, setting 

out its views on what the overhaul 

should achieve. 

Announcing the plans, the MCA 

said there is no evidence that the 

current Guide or medical stores 

requirements are failling to safeguard 

the treatment of seafarers suffering 

ill-health or injury at sea. 

However, the Agency says that 

changes in the way that medical 

conditions are diagnosed and treated 

EMSA caution at 

EU accident rate 

Agency warns of signs that safety stats are getting worse as traffic picks up 

need to be reflected. And, it points 

out, significant improvements in 

communications between ship and 

shore ‘may have implications for both 

the depth of guidance given and the 

items that need to be carried’. 


Allan Graveson said the Union will 

make a detailed and constructive 

input to the review. ‘It is 11 years since 

it was last done, and so it is very much 

overdue,’ he told the Telegraph. 

Both the medical guide and the 

medical stores requirements need to 

be reconsidered in the light of 

technological advances and in 

parallel with the work being done at 

international level to overhaul 

Union welcomes review of 

medical rules for UK ships 

Danger zones: the shipping accident density rate in EU waters during 2009 Graphic: EMSA 

medical standards and the onboard 

medicine chest, Mr Graveson pointed 

out. 

The review will consider whether 

the current format of the Guide is still 

appropriate or whether emergency 

treatment, medical advice for use at 

sea and training requirements should 

be met by distinct publications with 

different formats. 

The MCA is also seeking views on 

whether the Guide and associated 

training for managing medical 

emergencies at sea should be more 

closely aligned with practice in other 

countries, or whether the current 

scope of training and provision in the 

UK remains appropriate. 

PThe number of accidents 

involving ships in European 

waters dropped by 

almost one-fifth last year, according 

to a new report from the European 

Maritime Safety Agency 

(EMSA). 

But the Lisbon-based organisation 

suggests that the reduction 

was largely the result of the 

slump in seaborne trade as a 

result of the global economic 

downturn and warns there are 

already signs of a rise in the accident 

rate following the recent 

recovery in shipping activity. 

EMSA said its 2009 maritime 

accident review had shown a total 

of 626 vessels involved in 540 

accidents in EU waters last year, 

compared with 754 vessels in 670 

accidents in 2008 and 535 ships in 

505 accidents during 2006. 

The Agency also reported that 

the numbers of lives lost on commercial 

vessels in EU waters 

dropped by more than one-third 

during 2009. A total of 52 seafarers 

died during the year, compared 

with 82 in both 2008 and 

2007 and 76 in 2006. 

However, EMSA cautioned 

against assumptions that the 

downward trend will continue — 

warning that figures from the 

early part of 2010 suggest that 

accident figures are already 

beginning to increase again as 

shipping traffic begins to recover. 

Executive director Willem de 

Ruiter said the review helped to 

measure the success of measures 

intended to improve safety at sea. 

‘The positive news is that, while 

the global economic crisis can be 

seen as a commercial cloud for 

shipping, it has a silver lining in 

terms of maritime safety.’ 

The report pointed to ‘supply 

overcapacity, high levels of ship 

scrapping, lower operating speeds 

and generally less pressure to 

meet tight deadlines in the economic 

downturn’ as key factors 

in the improved casualty statistics. 

‘However,’ it warned, ‘slow 

steaming is predicted to result in 

increasing numbers of engine 

failures, and deferred maintenance 

and repairs due to 

decreases in the income of 

shipowners and operators may 

also cause problems. 

‘With ship traffic and the associated 

commercial pressures on 

the increase once more, we cannot 

afford to let our guard down 

at any time. It is clear is that any 

relaxation of standards that 

results from an improved accident 

situation in 2009 could lead 

to greater problems when traffic 

volumes return to, or exceed, the 

levels of the recent past.’ 

The report reveals that 20,644 

merchant ships called at EU ports 

last year — down almost 10% 

from 2008. 

Collisions and contact were 

the most common type of accident 

in 2009, accounting from 

almost 47% of the total, followed 

by groundings (28%) and fires and 

explosions (11%). 

The Agency reported that the 

number of pollution incidents in 

EU waters during 2009 was 194 

— significantly down from 232 in 

Signs that seafarers are 

Fbecoming healthier have been 

revealed by the UK’s leading ship 

stores supplier — which reports a 

massive slump in sales of alcohol 

and tobacco. 

Alex Taylor, MD of the Hull-based 

firm Hutton’s, said his company’s 

chandlery division is dealing with 

many more requests from owners 

and managers for healthy food to be 

supplied to their ships. 

‘A number of ship managers and 

caterers are really taking welfare 

seriously and increasing the 

quantities of fruits and vegetables 

they order, in addition to reducing 

the amount of fatty foods onboard,’ 

he added. 

Sales of alcoholic beverages and 

the previous year. It estimates 

between 1,500 and 2,000 tonnes 

of oil were spilled in Europe last 

year compared with nearly double 

that amount in 2008. ‘Overall, 

these figures suggest that 

measures aimed at improving the 

pollution record of shipping are 

having an effect,’ EMSA added. 

Almost 70% of the accidents 

recorded in EU waters last year 

occurred in the Atlantic and 

North Sea areas. Within this area, 

EMSA said, 79% of the incidents 

(and more than half of the entire 

European total) took place in the 

waters around the Netherlands, 

the UK, Germany and Norway. 

Shipboard dining ‘is 

getting healthier’ 

tobacco have fallen by 50% over the 

past three years, the company 

revealed, whilst orders for fresh 

salad, fruit and vegetables have 

risen by 10% over the past two years. 

Some shipping companies are 

now specifying free-range or low-fat 

foods, and Hutton’s said it had also 

noticed an increase in orders for the 

provision of fitness equipment 

onboard vessels. 

John MacDonald, general 

manager of Hutton’s medical 

division, said seafarers also need to 

take a responsibility for healthier 

lifestyles. ‘Seafarers can easily 

become overweight if they load up 

on calories to get through long 

working shift patterns,’ he pointed 

out.


HEALTH&SAFETY 

Tanker holed in Strait collision 

Investigations have been 

Alaunched into the causes of a 

collision between a tanker and a bulk 

carrier off Singapore last month that 

led to a major week-long counterpollution 

operation. 

Local authorities deployed a fleet 

of 21 clean-up vessels after an 

estimated 2,500 tonnes of crude was 

spilled when the 105,784dwt Bunga 

Kelana 3 — pictured right — was 

holed in the collision with the 

25,488dwt bulker Waily. 

The collision between the 

Malaysian-flagged tanker and the St 

Vincent-registered bulker occurred in 

the Singapore Strait’s traffic 

separation scheme, some 13 km SE of 

Changi East. 

No one was injured in the 

incident, but the Bunga Kelana 3 

suffered a 10m hole in its hull, 

damaging one of the cargo tanks. 

Picture: Reuters 

MAIB hits out 

at MCA policy 

The Crete Cement aground in Oslofjord in November 2008 

Picture: Norwegian Coastal Administration 

Report urges rethink 

of pilots’ hours rules 

CInvestigators have called 

for a review of the rules 

governing marine pilots’ 

working hours after an investigation 

blamed pilot fatigue as one of the 

factors behind the grounding of a 

Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier off 

Norway in 2008. 

The 4,075gt Crete Cement had to 

be deliberately beached after 

grounding off Aspond Island in the 

Oslofjord and taking on water. 

Investigators said the incident 

occurred because a planned change 

of course had not been made. 

A joint probe by the Bahamas 

and Norwegian authorities ruled 

that it was ‘highly probable’ that 

sleepiness was a critical factor in the 

accident. The pilot had been on duty 

for a week and, during this period, 

his workload had been heavy and 

involved much night work and few 

opportunities to get enough rest and 

sleep. 

‘Barriers that should have been 

in place to handle the problem of the 

pilot’s sleepiness were weak or 

absent,’ the report added. 

Investigators said the officer of 

the watch had been required to deal 

with other tasks which distracted 

him from his navigational duties, 

and his ability to keep track of the 

ship’s exact position had been 

reduced because navaids in the area 

had changed but corrections to the 

charts were not readily available to 

the crew. 

The report notes that the pilot’s 

working hours were in line with the 

relevant regulations — but warns 

that these ‘are not sufficiently based 

on research relating to people’s 

needs for sleep and rest and how 

reduced sleep and rest can 

contribute to reducing the ability to 

perform’. 

Recommendations include a call 

for the Norwegian Coastal 

Administration to implement 

measures to ensure that pilots have 

sufficient sleep and rest and for the 

ship’s owners to ensure that the 

bridge is adequately manned in 

demanding situations. 

Ship grounded when tired 

chief officer fell asleep 

A Norwegian-flagged fish 

Fcarrier ran around off Scotland 

in February after the fatigued chief 

officer fell asleep, the UK Marine 

Accident Investigation Branch has 

found. 

A preliminary examination of the 

incident in which the 497gt Ronja 

Skye grounded on the western 

shores of Morvern in February said 

the officer — who was alone on the 

bridge at the time — had failed to 

make a course alteration after falling 

asleep. 

Investigators also discovered 

evidence suggesting that the watch 

alarm fitted on the ship’s bridge was 

not working at the time of the 

accident. 

The MAIB said it has ‘strongly 

advised’ the ship’s owners, Solvtrans 

Marine, to review manning levels 

and to ensure that the risks of crew 

fatigue are reduced. A dedicated 

lookout should be maintained 

during the hours of darkness, it 

stressed. 

The accident probe also found 

that the master of the Ronja Skye 

had not informed the coastguard of 

the accident, and had sought 

refloating assistance from a 

sistership before continuing into port 

under its own power. 

Union says criticism of fishing safety regime shows need for resources 

PNautilus has expressed 

concern over a new 

Marine Accident Investigation 

Branch report that highlights 

the Maritime & Coastguard 

Agency’s failure to implement key 

proposals for improving fishing 

vessel safety. 

In a hard-hitting report on 

three fatal accidents that 

occurred within the space of just 

two weeks, the MAIB described 

the MCA’s policy on fishing vessel 

safety as ‘reactive rather than 

proactive’. 

It calls for the Department for 

Transport to take urgent action to 

develop a comprehensive and 

properly-resourced plan to bring 

the accident rate in the fishing 

industry into line with shorebased 

work. 

Chief inspector Stephen Meyer 

said the accidents ‘provide a powerful 

illustration of the dangers 

faced by UK fishermen’ and cast ‘a 

spotlight on sub-optimal working 

practices and attitudes to occupational 

safety that seem to be the 

norm for some in the industry’. 

All three deaths occurred 

when the victims either slipped 

or were dragged overboard by 

fishing gear, and Mr Meyer said 

that issues such as working practices, 

the use of personal protective 

equipment and the logistics 

and planning required to recover 

men from the sea were common 

to the investigations. 

The report notes that many of 

these factors had been identified 

in previous MAIB investigations 

and, over time, a series of recommendations 

had been made to 

improve safety. ‘Nearly all have 

been accepted but, in the case of 

those directed to the MCA, a significant 

number have yet to be 

implemented,’ it stresses. 

Pointing to a similar report on 

three accidents published five 

years ago, Mr Meyer added: ‘One 

could conclude from the results 

of the MAIB investigations contained 

in this report that nothing 

much has changed since 2004, 

despite a number of accident 

reports and recommendations 

being produced by the MAIB.’ 

He said the MCA had failed to 

act on an earlier pledge to extend 

Warning over use 

of sleeping tablets 

Canadian accident investigators 

Fhave sounded the alarm about 

seafarers using medication to help 

them sleep onboard. 

Concern is raised in a report on an 

incident in August 2007 when the 

1,748gt passenger ferry Nordik 

Express suffered severe damage after 

grounding in the approaches to 

Harrington Harbour, in Quebec. 

Investigations revealed that the 

watchkeeping officer — who was in 

the second week of a 21-day 

familiarisation and training 

programme — had been taking 

sleeping tablets after experiencing 

feelings of ‘extreme fatigue’ during 

his first week on the vessel. 

The officer had been taking the 

drug Lorazepam, which had been 

prescribed for someone else, and the 

Transportation Safety Board of 

Canada report on the accident notes 

that the use of such medication can 

impair performance, judgement, 

vigilance and reaction time. 

The board said it had investigated 

other incidents in which personnel 

had been taking sleep medication, 

and in response to the Nordik Express 

case it issued a safety bulletin earlier 

this year warning seafarers against 

working under the influence of drugs 

that could affect their performance. 

The report also noted that the 

investigations had identified 

indications of fatigue among other 

crew members and said the company 

had failed to develop a fatigue 

management plan. 

a pilot scheme on fishing vessel 

risk assessments, and both it and 

the Department for Transport 

had failed to develop a holistic 

plan for reducing the death rate 

in the fishing industry, as recommended 

following a major MAIB 

study of accidents between 1992 

and 2006. 

‘The belief that “fishing is a 

dangerous occupation” is not an 

acceptable excuse for failing to 

implement safe practices that 

would save lives,’ the new report 

adds. 

‘There are already well defined 

industry rules and guidance that 

should prevent such accidents 

from occurring, yet the current 

regulatory regime does not 

ensure that existing rules are 

understood and implemented,’ it 

states. 

The MAIB said death rates in 

fishing were many times higher 

than in industries ashore, and 

warned that it was not appropriate 

simply to place responsibilities 

on individual crew when 

appropriate standards have not 

been identified, safe operating 

procedures are not enforced, and 

many fishermen have had little 

or no safety training. 

An effective change in safety 

culture will occur only through a 

more holistic approach to the 

mix of training, regulation and 

individual responsibility, the 

report argues. ‘A plan of action, 

properly funded and with the 

overarching objective of improving 

future safety within the fishing 

industry, is urgently needed,’ 

it adds. 

Nautilus general secretary 

Mark Dickinson said he was concerned 

by the report. ‘The MCA 

has critically important responsibilities 

for the safety and welfare 

of seafarers on merchant ships 

and fishing vessels, and it is disturbing 

to see new evidence that 

suggests it is not achieving its targets. 

‘With a new government in 

place, and in the current tough 

public spending environment, we 

will be seeking assurances that 

the Agency is given the staffing 

and resources it requires to discharge 

these essential functions.’


INTERNATIONAL 

shortreports 

DREDGER DOUBLE: the Dutch dredger builder 

IHC Merwede has simultaneously launched two 

custom-designed dredgers constructed at different yards 

for Chinese owners. The IHC Beaver 9029C cutter 

suction dredgers were designed and built for the 

Chinese firm Sinohydro at the Sliedrecht and 

Hardinxveld-Giessendam shipyards. With 4,000 cu m 

capacity holds, the vessels can work to a depth of up to 

29m. 

BREST BREAK-UP: the former Finnish car ferry 

Onyx, which was held for more than two months in the 

French port of Brest, has reached Pakistan’s Gadani 

beach where it is to be broken up. The old Silja Line 

vessel had been detained while repairs were carried out 

after environmental groups raised concerns that it 

might be put back into service in the Middle East. 

FERRY HELD: the Tunisian ferry Habib was 

prevented from sailing from the French port of 

Marseilles following a court order alleging debts owed 

to a Libyan company. The ferry, which is operated by 

Tunisian national carrier Cotunav, had 200 passengers 

onboard and was allowed to leave after 10 hours 

following an agreement between lawyers. 

POLLUTION BOND: the Italian-flagged 

cargoship SDS Rain, held in Marseilles for non-payment 

of a French court-imposed penalty for suspected 

pollution, was allowed to leave port last month after its 

insurance company settled the €800,000 bond. An 

inquiry is under way, after which pollution charges are 

expected to be brought. 

MSC ORDER: the Italian operator MSC Cruises has 

signed an order with the builder STX for a new 

140,000gt vessel to be built in Saint-Nazaire, France. 

Due to be delivered in September 2012, the €500m 

vessel will be the eleventh new ship to join the MSC fleet 

in the past seven years. 

FRENCH TERMINAL: the French port of Le 

Havre has inaugurated a new cruise terminal, capable 

of accommodating three ships at a time. Le Havre is the 

country’s fourth-ranking cruise port, and this year 

expects to handle a total of 66 ship visits and some 

120,000 passengers. 

SWEDISH MERGER: the SBF and SFBF officers’ 

unions in Sweden have announced plans to merge in 

July 2011 under the name Sjöbefälskartellen. SFBF says 

central pay negotiations this autumn will be carried out 

by a joint team from both unions. 

TRAINING TRIBUTE: almost 13,000 people 

visited the French naval training vessel Jeanne d’Arc over 

a weekend in Brest last month during a special event to 

mark the retirement of the vessel after 46 years sailing 

in all parts of the world. 

TURKISH LINK: the Turkish operator UN-Roro 

will this month launch a new weekly service between 

Marseilles and its terminal at Pendik, near Istanbul, 

with the German-built vessel Camil Bayulgen. 

Owners oppose 

rise in canal tolls 

Panama authorities urged to reconsider ‘disproportionate’ increases 

PShipowners have urged 

the Panama Canal 

Authority (ACP) to drop 

plans to increase transit tolls by 

more than 12% next year. 

They have appealed to the 

authority to follow the Suez Canal 

in freezing charges until there is 

sustained recovery in the global 

economy, international seaborne 

trade and freight rates. 

ACP unveiled plans for the 

increases in 2009 — proposing a 

new tolls structure that would 

increase average transit costs by 

at least 6% in the first year and a 

further 6% in the following year. 

The authority is presently 

overseeing a US$5.25bn expansion 

project that will double the 

canal’s capacity by 2014 and allow 

bigger and deeper-draught vessels 

to use the waterway. ACP says 

this work has already cut average 

transit times from 31.6 hours in 

2008 to 23.1 hours in 2009, and 

20 hours this year. 

The authority decided to delay 

the introduction of the new tolls 

until January 2011 because of the 

worldwide economic downturn, 

and it is now proposing to introduce 

the increases in one go — 

which owners claim will amount 

to additional charges of between 

12% and 16%. 

Last month ACP held public 

consultations on the new pricing 

structure, in which shipowner 

groups voiced concern at the proposals. 

Representatives of Japanese 

shipowners and other South 

American countries told the hearing 

that the increases are ‘disproportionate’ 

and ‘inopportune’. 

‘Shippers have suffered from 

the decrease in traffic, and even 

now we face an uncertain future 

after the economic crisis of 2008,’ 

said Julio de La Lastra, of the Shipbuilders’ 

Association of Japan. 

And in a letter to the ACP, 

International Chamber of Shipping 

president Tony Mason complained 

that the cost of transiting 

the waterway has increased by as 

much as 150% for some ships over 

the last five years. 

The ICS said the double-digit 

increases would pose a ‘major 

economic challenge’ and threaten 

the viability of many operators 

Ferry service sparks protests 

by Jeff Apter 

A French seafarers’ union has 

Acalled for a new ferry service 

between the mainland and the island 

of Corsica to be suspended after a 

report questioned its legality. 

The Toulon-Bastia route opened 

up by the Italian operator Moby Lines 

has been criticised by the French CGT 

seafarers’ union, which has published 

a document by a public law specialist 

Brittany crews in grading dispute 

Seafarers working for the 

AFrench western Channel 

operator Brittany Ferries suspended a 

programme of industrial action last 

month to enable the company’s 

works council to consider proposed 

questioning whether the service is 

posing unfair competition. 

The study argues that Moby Lines 

should not be able to operate a ferry 

service between the mainland and 

the island without a public service 

obligation while the other operators 

on the routes are obliged to do so. 

The union has already staged a 

series of strikes to protest at the way 

in which lifeline subsidies are being 

used to support new services 

changes to staffing levels and grading 

systems. 

Services had been delayed for up 

to six hours on the Cherbourg, Caen, 

Saint Malo and Roscoff routes after 

more than 90% of crew members 

challenging the traditional operators 

SNCM and CMN, and the French 

government is reviewing the position. 

Corsica Ferries has overtaken 

SNCM as the main operator on the 

routes. In 2009 it carried 2.67m 

passengers from Nice and Toulon — 

up from 1m passengers in 2000. 

Meanwhile, Moby Lines has 

lodged a bid to take over the Italian 

national ferry company Tirrenia, 

which is undergoing privatisation. 

voted for action. The CGT and CFDT 

seafarers’ unions said the action had 

been taken because management 

had not been listening to requests for 

negotiations about their members’ 

concerns over the grading system. 

‘who are currently struggling on 

extremely small margins’. 

It urged the authority to 

reduce overall toll levels or at least 

extend the freeze. ‘Increases 

should only be considered when 

the economic environment is 

such that they can be absorbed 

without disruption to the commercial 

activities of your customers,’ 

it told the ACP. 

But ACP administrator Alberto 

Aleman Zubieta told the hearings 

that users had to help fund the 

costs of the improvements to the 

waterway. 

‘Panama delivers a very important 

service to the world, and we 

should be allowed to be paid for 

the value of that service,’ he 

added. 

Final block put 

in place on new 

Disney vessel 

Pictured left is the final building 

Dblock for the newest Disney 

Cruise Line ship, the Disney Dream, 

being placed at the Meyer Werft 

shipyard in Germany last month. 

The 260-ton portion of the ship’s 

bow was the last of 80 blocks put in 

place during the construction of the 

128,000gt vessel, which is set to 

come into service in January next 

year. Capable of carrying up to 4,000 

passengers, the vessel will have a 22- 

knot cruising speed and will fly the 

Bahamas flag. 

Disney Dream will be followed by 

a second new ship, Disney Fantasy, in 

2012. The fleet expansion will more 

than double Disney Cruise Line 

passenger capacity. 

Picture: Disney Cruise Line 

SeaFrance plan 

threatens jobs 

More than 700 jobs are at risk 

Cunder a new ‘rescue plan’ 

drawn up by the Channel ferry 

operator SeaFrance, according to a 

member of the company’s works 

council. 

The tough new proposals have 

been drawn up by judicial 

administrators after the original plan 

— which involved a total of 482 

redundancies — was frozen in March 

when management applied to a 

Paris court for protection. 

‘This new plan will slash 725 jobs 

from the present workforce — that is 

50% more than in the original 

compromise plan,’ said Marc Sagot, 

a CGT maritime union works council 

representative. 

Union sources said that the new 

plans could mean part-privatisation 

of the company and selling off 

another vessel.


INTERNATIONAL 

The former Caledonian 

HMacBrayne ferry Pentalina B, 

right, has finally left the French port of 

Brest to begin a new life in Cape 

Verde. The 40-year-old ship was held 

for three months in Brest after being 

towed to safety when it suffered water 

ingress problems 100km west of 

Ushant on the delivery voyage to 

Mindelo earlier this year. 

Port state control inspectors 

cleared the ship to sail after extensive 

repairs were made and all 

outstanding bills paid at the end of 

May. Picture: Eric Houri 

Tanker’s US port 

ban is challenged 

Operator hits out at ‘unfounded’ allegations of oily waste dumping 

PA Norwegian shipowner 

is challenging a US Coast 

Guard decision to ban 

one of its tankers from US ports 

for three years for alleged ‘magic 

pipe’ offences. 

Oslo-based Awilco said it 

would appeal against the ban 

which was based on ‘totally 

unfounded’ claims made by 

‘whistle-blowing’ crew members 

onboard the 149,775dwt Wilmina. 

The USCG had announced the 

ban after a seafarer on the Norwegian 

international registered 

ship told port state control 

inspectors that crew had been 

illicitly discharging oily water 

overboard. 

Follow-up checks in the port of 

Corpus Christi revealed what the 

Coast Guard described as inconsistencies 

in the vessel’s oil record 

Greek seafaring unions have launched a 

Aseries of 24-hour strikes in protest at their 

government’s plans to relax crew nationality rules 

on ships running passenger services in the country’s 

waters. 

Unions claim the move to allow non-EU flagged 

passenger vessels to operate in Greek cabotage 

trades will threaten the national maritime skills 

base. 

Last month they threatened to prevent the 

book, inoperable oily water separator 

equipment, oily sludge in 

the overboard discharge piping 

and a hose used to bypass the oily 

water separator with flanges containing 

oil inside. 

‘These findings all indicated 

deliberate acts to violate pollution 

prevention conventions and 

laws,’ the USCG stated. ‘The examination 

also revealed that the 

master and chief engineer were 

unfamiliar with and failed to 

comply with the safety management 

system for the vessel with 

regard to reporting critical equipment 

casualties and maintaining 

records and engineroom alarms, 

including the oily water separator 

alarm printouts.’ 

Announcing the revocation of 

the Wilmina’s certificate of compliance 

and a three-year ban on 

entering US ports, the Coast 

Guard said it considered these to 

be ‘extremely serious deliberate 

offences that require equally serious 

action to ensure protection 

of the marine environment and 

compliance with US laws, treaties 

and regulations’. 

The Wilmina’s owners had 

tried to counter-claim against the 

Coast Guard’s demand for a 

US$1.5m bond to secure the vessel’s 

release. But this was rejected 

by a judge, who said the company 

had failed to exhaust the ‘administrative 

remedies’ against the 

order. 

The USCG said that if the owners 

develop and implement an 

environmental compliance programme 

to its satisfaction, the 

Wilmina may attempt to enter a 

US port after one year — ‘but the 

Maltese-flagged cruiseship Zenith from docking in 

Piraeus, with the Hellenic Seamen’s Federation 

warning that the Pullmanture Cruises vessel had 

been targeted ‘to protect the fundamental rights of 

Greek seamen, starting with securing their jobs’. 

The union — which had twice stopped the Spanishoperated 

ship from docking in May — says there 

should be at least 100 Greek seafarers onboard. 

Announcing the plans earlier this year, prime 

minister George Papandreou said that whilst he 

conditions will stay in place for 

the full three years’. 

zA Greek ship management 

firm has been fined US$850,000 

in the latest ‘magic pipe’ oily 

waste dumping case. 

Athens-based Cooperative Success 

Maritime was ordered to pay 

the penalty and sentenced to five 

years probation last month after 

an investigation found that engineers 

onboard its 32,490dwt 

tanker Chem Faros had pumped 

more than 13,000 gallons of oilcontaminated 

waste into the sea 

over some 10 illicit discharge 

operations. 

The case was brought after a 

crew member passed a note giving 

details of the oily waste separator 

bypass equipment to a US 

Coast Guard officer during an 

inspection earlier this year. 

Greek strikes in cabotage row 

understood the seafarers’ concerns, opening up 

Greek waters would boost travel and tourism in the 

country. 

In an attempt to defuse the situation, the 

government amended the proposals to ensure that 

an unspecified number of Greek seafarers would be 

required on foreign ships operating in the country’s 

cabotage trades, and that they should be forced to 

pay a levy related to the number of passengers that 

they carry. 

‘Breakthrough’ design for Baltic icebreaker 

Pictured left is what is claimed to be a 

A‘major breakthrough’ in icebreaker 

design — a new multipurpose vessel that will 

be built in Finland for Russia’s largest 

shipping company, Sovcomflot. 

The 67m vessel features an asymmetrical 

hull that will use an innovative sideways 

movement to cut through ice and collect the 

oil in demanding freezing conditions. 

Equipped with three rudder propellers, the 

vessel will also be used for rescue duties and 

for escorting and towing large tankers in the 

Baltic. 

The ship is to be built by STX Finland Oy 

under an agreement Aker Arctic Technology, 

the SET Group, Sovcomflot and FSUE 

Rosmorport. 

shortreports 

TORM STORM: Shell is reported to have put the 

Danish company Torm on hold as a transporter of its oil 

products after deciding that its crews were not 

adequately trained. In recent years Torm has replaced 

Danish crews with cheaper foreign alternatives, 

especially from the Philippines, and Henrik Berlau, of 

the Danish union 3F, said the news was ‘entirely 

predictable’. Torm, however, denied the Danish press 

reports that it had been blacklisted and defended its 

quality standards. 

GREEK PROFITS: Greek shipowners have 

reported a 30% decline in profits as a result of the 

global economic slump. Figures released by the Greek 

shipowners’ association (EEE) last month showed 

earnings down to €13.5bn last year from €19.2bn in 

2008. EEE chairman Theodore Veniamis said he was 

optimistic that Greece would maintain its position as 

the European Union’s leading flag. 

WATERWAY RAP: the European Commission 

has rapped Italy, Poland and Germany for failing to 

implement a directive that seeks to harmonise technical 

standards and safety on inland waterways, including the 

Rhine. Brussels has given the three countries two 

months to comply with a request to provide details of 

the measures they have taken to put the directive into 

practice. 

FEWER IDLE: 60 containerships with a total 

capacity of more than 100,000TEU have been 

withdrawn from the world fleet since the beginning of 

the year, the Alphaliner agency reports. Its latest market 

analysis shows that number of idle boxships fell to 3.5% 

of the world fleet last month, compared with 11.7% in 

December 2009. 

AUSTRALIAN ALARM: a ‘drastic depletion’ of 

maritime skills is threatening safety and productivity in 

Australian ports, a new report warns. The study says 

that ports are having to hire staff ‘at the lower end of 

the competence spectrum’ as a result of an ageing 

workforce and low levels of training in the sector. 

LARGEST LOAD: Maersk Line’s E-class container 

vessel Ebba Mærsk has set an unofficial world record by 

carrying the largest load of containers ever. According to 

the Danish engineering magazine, Ingeniøren, the 

vessel recently carried 15,011 containers during a voyage 

from Europe to the Far East. 

IBERO ADDITION: Carnival Corporation’s 

Spanish subsidiary Ibero Cruises has christened its 

newest ship, the Grand Holiday, in Barcelona. The 

former Carnival Holiday, the 46,052gt vessel carries up 

to 1,848 passengers and is the fourth cruise liner in 

Ibero’s fleet. 

ODFJELL SWITCH: the Norwegian tanker 

operator Odfjell has brought two ships under 

Norway’s international register (NIS) as part of a wider 

move to transfer tonnage to the domestic flag. The 

company says more ships may follow if conditions 

stabilise. 

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YOUR LETTERS 

What’s on your mind? 

Tell your colleagues in Nautilus International – and the wider world of shipping. Keep your letter to a 

maximum 300 words if you can – though longer contributions will be considered. Use a pen name or just 

your membership number if you don’t want to be identified – say so in an accompanying note – but you 

must let the Telegraph have your name, address and membership number. 

Send your letter to the Editor, Telegraph, Nautilus International, 750-760 High Road, Leytonstone, 

London E11 3BB, or use head office fax +44 (0)20 8530 1015, or email telegraph@nautilusint.org 

Art for seafarers 

A piece of 3D pavement art was created in the streets of London last month 

as the charity Seafarers UK staged a week-long event to highlight the 

importance of maritime professionals. 

Seafarers Awareness Week — which ran from 7 to 13 June — included 

a wide range of events to underline the crucial role played by seafarers and 

shipping in the modern world and to help raise funds for the charity’s work 

to help seafarers and their families. 

As an umbrella organisation in the sector, Seafarers UK seeks to 

maximise the effectiveness of fundraising activities and, over the past 

10 years, it has distributed around £28m to help support charities caring 

for MN, Royal Navy, Royal Marines and fishing fleets personnel and their 

dependants. 

Have your say online 

Last month we asked: Do you think the IMO’s 

new ‘goal-based standards’ for shipbuilding 

will improve safety? 

Yes 

40% 

No 

60% 

This month’s poll asks: Do you think the 

world’s navies are winning the battle against 

piracy off Somalia? Give us your views online, at 

nautilusint.org 

I read with interest the front page article 

in the April 2010 Telegraph about the 

MCA crackdown on seafarer fatigue. It is 

about time something was actually 

done about it instead of just talking. 

Unfortunately they will only be 

scrutinising records — and records may 

not be accurate and in some cases 

deliberately falsified. 

I recently attended a safety meeting 

on the British flag vessel upon which I 

was serving. At the end of the meeting 

the master, an EU national, raised the 

subject of ‘hours of rest’. 

He said that if the information on 

the forms which we all fill in indicated 

that the hours of rest regulations have 

been breached, then it would involve 

I write to tell you of the intention of 

the Seamen’s Huis (Heijplaats) to 

be closed in July 2010 as the Dutch 

government wish to stop funding it. 

The largest European port, 

Rotterdam — with a history and 

reputation built up over years — is 

closing a seamen’s house on economic 

grounds. 

Has this been a mistake, I thought, 

as I read this in the local paper in 

Rotterdam? I phoned a social worker 

who works at Heijplaats and they 

confirmed this. 

Meetings will no doubt be held 

behind closed doors. Every decision 

has consequences and this has to be 

changed. Various foreign companies 


FLASH 

extra work for him to write a report 

about it to the office. Then, of course, 

there would be extra work in the office 

and they would need to report to the 

MCA. 

Therefore, he said, it would be best 

to ‘modify’ the entries on the forms so 

that they would not contravene the 

rules. He went on to say that on another 

of the company vessels, which was 

involved in the shortsea trade, this was 

the normal regime; otherwise the 

vessel would not be able to sail on 

schedule. This was later corroborated to 

me by another master who had sailed 

on that vessel. 

The chief officer looked concerned 

at this revelation, but did not argue. It 

trade with the port and their officers 

and ratings have enough on their 

plates — long voyages, shorter 

turn-rounds, less shore leave — and 

therefore Heijplaats has amenities 

for seafarers foreign and Dutch. To 

name just a few: library; videos; bar; 

shop; phone/internet/free wi-fi; 

games/sports field; free transport; 

mail service; pastoral care; and much 

more. 

Heijplaat is in the industrial part 

of the harbour, on the doorstep of 

vessels, and it should not be closed. 

Seafarers have no say in this matter — 

shoreside take and take, and seafarers 

get a raw deal. 

mem no 2192022 

We’re on Facebook. 

Become a fan! 

Dodgy records 

was left to the chief engineer to point 

out that this reporting was not just 

make-work, it was in fact an important 

exercise for our benefit and safety. 

It is a fact that an overwhelming 

majority of incidents and failures at sea 

are due to human error and fatigue 

exacerbates this. Response time and 

judgement are compromised; 

therefore it is inevitable that more 

mistakes will be made when the 

seafarer is fatigued due to working 

excessive hours. 

One possible solution is for the MCA 

inspectors to ask to see the crew 

overtime records and then compare 

them to the hours of rest recorded. 

NAME & NO SUPPLIED 

Raw deal in Rotterdam 

Nautilus assistant general secretary 

Marcel van den Broek replies: 

Nautilus shares your concerns. 

Actually, not only Heijplaat but 

several other seamen’s centres in the 

greater Rotterdam area are facing 

serious problems as well. To change 

this situation for the better, Nautilus 

has requested former Nautilus NL 

president Ed Sarton to investigate 

possible solutions to this problem. 

After initial investigations, Ed recently 

organised a well attended meeting 

with reps from the majority of the 

Rotterdam centres to discuss further 

action. A working group is presently 

working on plans to improve the 

situation. 

Endsleigh has 

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Lesson for 

the priests 

of safety 

I was recently sent to join a survey vessel 

in a Norwegian port. I arrived — but my 

baggage did not and I was not reunited 

with it before the vessel sailed. 

My safety glasses were in 

my luggage and it is a company 

requirement that all engineers wear 

these in their workplace. I managed to 

visit an optician whilst waiting for the 

vessel and the opticians did their best in 

the available time. However, the safety 

glasses made up were not certified or 

variable focals as I require. 

I reported the incident to my 

personnel manager and the fact I had 

done the best I could to fit into company 

policy and also ensure the vessel sailed 

on time. I requested assurances from 

him that if in the unlikely event I was to 

have an accident involving the wearing 

of these spectacles I would have 

insurance cover. 

There was no reply, neither was 

there a reply after two more requests to 

answer my original email. 

So how important is safety and 

insurance cover to the company I work 

for? Is it a box-ticking exercise? It only 

works so long as the responsibility 

lies firmly on the crew? Or is it more 

‘Nintendo management’ to quote 

another union member? 

I am all for health and safety if 

implemented properly and sensibly, 

but perhaps this tongue in cheek 

explanation may go some way to 

explaining modern methods. 

I think we now have a new religion 

in the workplace. The high priests are 

the shareholders and the lower priests 

the health and safety executives. As in 

other religions, the flock (us) cannot 

question the dictates from the high 

priests but under the blanket of H&S 

must carry on blindly. 

Not very good really in an industry 

where the flock is directly responsible 

for millions of pounds worth of 

equipment and the lower priests have 

their desks! My advice to the high 

priests is to have a read of a social 

history book or two… 

NAME & NO SUPPLIED 

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YOUR LETTERS 

THE VIEW FROM MUIRHEAD 

MCA appreciates 

its volunteer staff 

I’m sorry members 106490 and 

153778 remain unimpressed by the 

Maritime & Coastguard Agency’s 

handling of a resignation of one of its 

volunteer coastguards (letters, June 

Telegraph). 

To sum up, Mr Macleod resigned 

after a meeting was held with him to 

discuss operational matters between 

himself and staff at the Maritime 

Rescue Coordination Centre in 

Aberdeen. This was not one event in 

isolation. In short, his professional 

behaviour was unacceptable. 

Various members of his Wick team 

then resigned in sympathy. 

After a short period of time 

advertising those vacancies locally, 

the Wick team is now back to full 

complement, and has been declared 

fully operational for search tasking, 

and team members are currently 

in training to take over cliff rescues 

which have, up to now, been covered 

by flank teams. It is most certainly not 

‘unmanned’ as your correspondents 

allege. 

Your members also draw attention 

to a small number of other events 

where the Agency has regretfully 

parted company with some of its 

THE ROYAL ALFRED 

SEAFARERS’ SOCIETY 

BELVEDERE HOUSE provides 

quality nursing care, residential 

and sheltered accommodation 

primarily for Seafarers and their 

dependants offering modern en 

suite rooms and sheltered flats 

set in 14 acres of lovely Surrey 

countryside. For further 

information, please contact the 

volunteers, or where we are in 

discussion about local issues. 

Without going into individual 

detail, which is strictly a matter 

between the Agency and those ex 

volunteers, it is worth reminding the 

writer(s) and the wider world that 

although the Agency does have a duty 

of care to its volunteers, it also expects 

a standard of professionalism from its 

3,200 volunteers which the seafaring 

community will understand. 

The tasks they undertake in search 

and rescue are vital to the wider 

team effort and can really mean the 

difference between life and death. 

Many of your readers will know of 

the valiant efforts those volunteers 

have made over the years to life 

saving at sea or on the coast, and 

it is a measure of the quality and 

commitment to the Service of those 

volunteers that we continue to award 

and celebrate 20, 30 and 40 years of 

service around the coast almost on a 

routine basis. It is those standards we 

seek to uphold and maintain. 

HM Coastguard will continue to 

make the best use of all available 

resources, both its own and those 

of other Search and Rescue (SAR) 

Chief Executive, Commander 

Brian Boxall-Hunt OBE, 

Head Office, Weston Acres, 

Woodmansterne Lane, Banstead, 

Surrey SM7 3HA. 

Tel: 01737 353763 

www.royalalfredseafarers.com 

Reg Charity No 209776 Est 1865 

providers, to ensure that the safe 

recovery of any person or persons in 

distress in all UK regions is achieved. 

This objective is pursued regardless 

of political and administrative 

boundaries, and the response to any 

given incident can often require a 

‘joined-up’ approach from different 

agencies, sometimes from more than 

one area, working in partnership. 

MARK CLARK 

MCA Media Manager 

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[ STAR LETTER 

Fatigue is 

the issue 

I read with interest Dr Bryan Barrass’s 

comments regarding the role of 

squat in the recent grounding of the 

Shen Neng 1 (June Telegraph). 

In this particular case I think 

there are too many variables to be 

able to say with any certainty why 

the Shen Neng 1 grounded in the 

way that she did. In particular, the 

swell and probable uneven nature of 

the coral seabed could also explain 

why the vessel grounded in the 

manner that she did. 

It is quite possible that the vessel 

started to heel after the chief mate 

applied starboard helm. However, 

in my experience a vessel of this 

size takes quite some time to start 

to turn and needs to obtain a rate 

of turn in excess of 10 degrees per 

minute before any significant heel is 

experienced. 

The long and short of it is that the 

Shen Neng 1 grounded not because 

of a lack of appreciation of the 

effects of ship squat but because she 

was not where she was supposed 

to be. 

Most masters are well aware 

of the effects of ship squat and the 

actions required in order to minimise 

its effects. In my experience most 

large vessels have ready access to 

the squat data for their vessel either 

in tabular or graphical form. 

Dr Barrass’s assumption that 

access to squat data will help prevent 

grounding of this type is only true 

where this information is used as 

part of a comprehensive passage 

plan. In this case the vessel was not 

following the plan (assuming there 

was one) and having access to the 

squat data would have had no effect 

on the outcome. 

I feel that it is important not to 

allow discussions concerning the 

finer points of squat to overshadow 

the root cause of this incident — 

namely that a vessel failed to follow 

the recommended route and missed 

a critical turn (probably due to the 

effects of fatigue). 

I strongly believe that the 

Australian authorities must act 

sooner rather than later to ensure 

that all vessels transiting the 

Barrier Reef are properly manned in 

accordance with STCW requirements 

and take Reef pilots with the 

knowledge and experience to help 

prevent another incident of this 

nature. 

Captain NEIL DOYLE 

Trinity House Deep Sea Pilot 

mem no 171914 

No need for yet 

another study 

So we see yet another headline 

‘pioneering research into seafarer 

fatigue’ (June Telegraph) — may I 

yawn cynically, again! 

We do not need yet another 

research project — the answer is 

really quite simple. 

Fatigue is caused by working 

longer hours than is realistically 

possible without adequate rest. 

Therefore, a reduction in the 

number of hours worked by each 

individual would reduce fatigue. 

Simple mathematics concludes 

that more individuals are therefore 

required to reduce the average of 

hours worked. 

In other words, instead of wasting 

more and more money on ‘research’, 

let’s accept the reality which is crew 

numbers are too small. 

Flogging our hours of rest sheets 

merely plays into the hands of 

shipowners and management, who 

then conclude there isn’t a problem. 

It is that simple. 

NORMAN SMITH 

Chief officer 

mem no 131184 

telegraph 

STAFF 

editor: Andrew Linington 

production editor: June Cattini 

reporters: Mike Gerber 

Sarah Robinson 

web editor: Matthew Louw 

ADVERTISING 

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Sales: Oliver Kirkman 

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fax: +44 (0)1727 893 895 

email: ollie@ 

centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk 

website: 

www.centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk 

Although the Telegraph exercises 

care and caution before accepting 

advertisements, readers are advised 

to take appropriate professional 

advice before entering into any 

commitments such as investments 

(including pension plans). Publication 

of an advertisement does not imply any 

form of recommendation and Nautilus 

International cannot accept any liability 

for the quality of goods and services 

offered in advertisements. Organisations 

offering financial services or insurance 

are governed by regulatory authorities 

and problems with such services should 

be taken up with the appropriate body. 

Incorporating the merchant 

navy journal and ships 

telegraph 

ISSN 0040 2575 

Published by Nautilus 

International 

Printed by College Hill Press Limited 

37 Webber Street, London SE1 8QW. 

GENERAL SECRETARY 

Mark Dickinson MSc (Econ) 

HEAD OFFICE 

Oceanair House 

750–760 High Road 

Leytonstone, London E11 3BB 

tel: +44 (0)20 8989 6677 

fax: +44 (0)20 8530 1015 

www.nautilusint.org 

NETHERLANDS OFFICE 

Schorpioenstraat 266 

3067 KW Rotterdam 

Postbus 8575, 3009 AN Rotterdam 

tel: +31 (0)10 4771188 

fax: +31 (0)10 4773846 

NORTHERN OFFICE 

Nautilus House, Mariners’ Park 

Wallasey CH45 7PH 

tel: +44 (0)151 639 8454 

fax: +44 (0)151 346 8801 

DEPARTMENT EMAILS 

general: 

enquiries@nautilusint.org 

membership: 

membership@nautilusint.org 

legal: 

legal@nautilusint.org 

Telegraph: 

telegraph@nautilusint.org 

industrial south: 

industrialsouth@nautilusint.org 

industrial north: 

industrialnorth@nautilusint.org 

central services: 

centralservices@nautilusint.org 

welfare: 

welfare@nautilusint.org 

professional and technical: 

protech@nautilusint.org 

Nautilus International also 

administers the Nautilus Welfare 

Fund and the J W Slater Fund, which 

are registered charities. 

yal Alfred 6 x 2.indd 1 20/2/09 14:17:46


NEWS EXTRA 

Return to 

Dunkirk 

Two Maritime Volunteer Service 

(MVS) vessels, and nearly 30 of 

the charity’s members, played 

a significant support role in the 

‘Return of the Little Ships’ to 

Dunkirk over the late May bank 

holiday weekend. 

They served as guard ships for 

a flotilla of more than 50 vessels 

making the return Channel 

Watching the poppy drop over the Little Ships fleet 

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crossing to mark the 70th 

anniversary of the evacuation, 

under fire, from Dunkirk’s 

beaches of 338,226 British, French 

and Allied troops. 

Both fresh out of refits that 

had kept members of several MVS 

Units busy for many months, 

the 24m-long Appleby and the 

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support for the small craft that 

took part in the re-enactment of 

the rescue. 

Once in Dunkirk there were 

numerous commemorations of 

the second world war battle that 

allowed the British Army to come 

home and fight again. Events over 

the weekend included a solemn 

‘poppy drop’ off the beaches 

when wreaths were cast into 

the sea and also the ashes of a 

number of veterans committed 

to the deep. 

The members also had the 

honour of being inspected, and 

commended for their work, by 

the MVS’s patron, Prince Michael 

of Kent, who is also Admiral of 

the Association of Dunkirk Little 

Ships. 

On the outward crossing 

the MVS vessels were part of 

a substantial support vessel 

flotilla. The Eastbourne-based 

East Sussex 1 left its home port 

on the Tuesday before the event 

and sailed overnight to Ramsgate 

where the fleet had assembled. 

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The crews of the Maritime Volunteer Service vessels East Sussex 1 and Appleby in the port of Dunkirk 

To everybody’s relief, fair weather 

made for a good Channel crossing 

on Thursday, and as the Little 

Ships passed the Goodwin Sands 

the Gosport-based Appleby 

joined the fleet. 

The Royal Navy frigate HMS 

Monmouth was the principal 

escort for the 40-mile crossing, 

while the much smaller patrol 

and training ship HMS Raider 

acted as pathfinder for the fleet. 

The Margate lifeboat and the 

commercial tug Svitzer Anglia 

were also in attendance. 

On Saturday both ships 

took part in the poppy drop, 

anchoring and acting as markers 

for the fleet which slowly circled 

around them. Before returning, 

the East Sussex 1’s crew held their 

own brief commemoration and 

cast a wreath on the waters. 

On Sunday afternoon Prince 

Michael inspected both MVS 

crews. He was met by the senior 

officer for the deployment, Hugh 

Gallagher, who introduced both 

skippers and their respective 

crews. HRH spent some 

considerable time speaking to 

each of the 29 members present. 

He commented on the fact that 

the crews included not only 

members from the vessels’ home 

units — Portsmouth, Gosport 

and East Sussex — but also from 

Devon, London, Shoreham and 

Thanet. He commended all the 

members for the ‘remarkable’ 

work they had done to get the 

two vessels ready for the Dunkirk 

event. HRH also said that he was 

particularly pleased to hear of the 

work the MVS is doing with youth 

groups. 

HRH then went aboard 

Appleby and signed the visitors’ 

book before proceeding to 

East Sussex 1, which he had 

commissioned in Sovereign 

Harbour back in 1999. In the 

training vessel’s heelhouse Hugh 

Gallagher presented Prince 

Michael with an MVS plaque, 

inscribed ‘East Sussex 1’ and 

hand-made by one of the East 

Sussex SH members, Geoff Frost. 

The return to Ramsgate was 

planned for Monday but due to 

bad weather was delayed until 

Tuesday. The two RN warships, 

however, had to leave Dunkirk 

as planned. This meant the two 

MVS vessels had a key role on 

the passage to Ramsgate, with 

Appleby acting as pathfinder and 

East Sussex 1 ready to deal with 

emergencies. One did occur when 

a Little Ship got tangled up with 

The Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society 

marked the 70th anniversary of The 

Dunkirk evacuation by highlighting 

the problems many seafarers and 

ex-seafarers face and encouraging 

those in need of help to make 

contact. 

Chief executive Commodore 

Malcolm Williams said: ‘With 

2010 being both the International 

Year of the Seafarer and the 70th 

anniversary of Dunkirk, it is fitting 

to consider this vulnerable group 

— and the debt we continue to owe 

them as an island nation — and to 

ensure they have the standard of 

living they deserve.’ 

The charity — which was 

founded in 1839 — points out 

that one-quarter of retired 

seafarers suffer financial hardship, 

significantly higher than the 

national average of 17%. Research 

shows that 11% of elderly seafarers 

suffer from social isolation, 

compared with 7% of all older 

people in the UK. An estimated 40% 

of all working and former seafarers 

also suffer limiting long-term illness 

or disability. 

a lobster pot line and a crewman 

was injured trying to free it. 

East Sussex 1 stood by until the 

lifeboat was able to take off the 

casualty. 

Once back in Ramsgate, the 

Association of Dunkirk Little 

Ships’ Commodore, John Tough, 

expressed his thanks to the MVS 

for their help. 

Hugh Gallagher commented: 

‘This was an excellent 

deployment for us. It was an 

opportunity for intensive 

training for our members and 

gave them all a chance to work 

together with another MVS vessel 

and her crew as well, as working 

in company with other vessels. 

Training opportunities on this 

scale are rare. Our volunteer 

crews showed that they can 

provide a professional standard 

of safety support for major 

events. 

‘Our volunteers worked hard 

over the eight days the vessels 

were away on the deployment 

but they also enjoyed the 

experience. It was a challenging 

deployment but fun. And it must 

be remembered that it was only 

possible due to the immense 

amount of hard work put in 

during the refits of both vessels 

by members, many of whom 

were not able to actually take part 

in the Dunkirk trip but without 

Cmdre Williams said the society 

last year recorded a 10% increase 

in the number of applications for 

assistance, but it wants to raise 

awareness of the services it offers. 

‘Social isolation and proud selfreliance 

means mariners may often 

be unaware of the services offered 

by the Society, or reluctant to seek 

support,’ Cmdre Williams added. 

‘We offer financial help to 

retired or incapacitated mariners 

and their dependants and 

specialise in providing specific 

items needed urgently or in a 

crisis. These might include roofing 

or window repairs, or perhaps 

equipment to help a medical 

condition, such as a mobility 

scooter, stair lift or adjustable bed 

— or necessities such as a cooker 

or clothes. We aim to help older 

people remain in their own homes 

where we can. 

‘Often, emotional support and 

human contact is as important as 

economic aid and with so many 

seafarers out there in desperate 

need of support, we are actively 

urging them to make contact.’ 

whom the MVS participation 

would not have happened.’ 

The operational head of the 

MVS, chief staff officer Elfyn 

Hughes, added: ‘An immense 

amount of hard work went 

into making this deployment 

a success. I would like to pay 

tribute to all the members who 

worked so hard to get both vessels 

ready in time. I would also like to 

congratulate VO Hugh Gallagher, 

senior officer in charge, for his 

handling of the whole event and 

pay tribute to the skippers of 

the two vessels, Haydn Chappell 

and David Hughes, for their 

efforts. Congratulations all round 

for an excellent job by all who 

contributed.’ 

zThe Maritime Volunteer 

Service is a civilian charity 

with units around the UK that 

maintains maritime skills 

by training its own members 

and members of the public in 

navigation, seamanship and 

marine engineering. It can also 

provide a back-up emergency 

response capability for the 

authorities. The MVS welcomes 

new recruits and is open to adults 

of any age. Some of its members 

have extensive experience in 

the Royal or Merchant Navies 

but many had not been afloat 

before joining and no previous 

experience is necessary.



A 

Time to 

move 

ahead 

on MLC 

The introduction of the 

international Maritime 

Labour Convention 

2006 — hopefully, next year — 

could mean the ‘beginning of the 

end of the exploitation of seafarers,’ 

Nautilus told a top-level conference 

last month. 

Speaking at the Informa European 

Manning and Training conference 

in Dubrovnik, general 

secretary Mark Dickinson said he 

was confident the so-called ‘bill 

of rights’ for seafarers would also 

help to put an end to substandard 

and unfair employment agreements. 

‘As such, it will make a significant 

contribution to resolving 

some of the fundamental problems 

facing the industry — 

including its poor image amongst 

young people looking for career 

opportunities — and provide the 

basis for decent work for all seafarers,’ 

he added. 

Mr Dickinson described the 

convention as ‘ground-breaking’ 

and said that by consolidating 

some 70 existing International 

Maritime Labour Convention will 

help the industry to take a ‘quantum 

leap forward’, Nautilus general 

secretary tells crewing conference… 

Labour Organisation instruments, 

it would make seafarers’ 

working conditions the ‘fourth 

pillar’ of maritime regulation, 

alongside the SOLAS, MARPOL 

and STCW Conventions. 

Only nine countries have ratified 

the MLC to date, but Mr Dickinson 

pointed out that they represent 

45% of the world fleet. He is 

confident that, with the 27 European 

Union members due to sign 

up by the end of this year, the 

required 30 ratifications will be 

secured so that the convention 

can come into effect by the end of 

2011. 

‘The convention offers the 

opportunity for governments to 

take a quantum leap in providing 

employment and social rights for 

all seafarers, regardless of nationality 

or residence,’ he pointed 

out. 

It will lay down a set a fundamental 

rights and principles governing 

seafarers’ employment 

and social rights, and help to 

establish a level playing field for 

working conditions, Mr Dickinson 

explained. 

‘Nautilus would like to see all 

governments implement the provisions 

in respect of a minimum 

wage for all seafarers regardless of 

where they reside or where their 

vessel trades,’ he added. 

Mr Dickinson said the MLC had 

been developed by governments, 

shipowners and seafarer unions 

in a constructive spirit of cooperation. 

‘However, Nautilus believes 

The ‘bill of rights’ will do 

much to improve the image 

of shipping, says Nautilus 

Picture: Danny Cornilessen 

there is a need for all governments 

to ensure that tripartism and 

social dialogue are maintained 

once the MLC has been implemented 

nationally,’ he stressed. 

‘Nautilus expects governments 

to continue to ensure that 

they exercise effective jurisdiction 

and control over all ships flying 

their flag and live up to the 

high standards expected of the 

European shipping industry.’ 

In the spirit of cooperation, Mr 

Dickinson said Nautilus is prepared 

to support — where necessary 

— a ‘flexible and pragmatic 

interpretation of the provisions 

of the MLC, providing always that 

the underlying aim is to ensure 

that the objectives of the 

convention are fulfilled and the 

seafarers’ employment situation 

is improved’. 

The application of the convention 

to the large yacht sector — 

and accommodation standards in 

particular — has been a hot issue, 

and Mr Dickinson said Nautilus is 

determined to find a workable 

solution with its social partners. 

David Dearsley, head of the International Committee 

on Seafarers’ Welfare strategic review and 

development project 

‘Majority 

of firms 

fall short’ 

Working conditions for the 

Down at the bottom, he 

majority of the world’s seafarers noted, ‘the officer shortage has 

were condemned as poor by a had no impact on wages or other 

maritime welfare expert speaking employment conditions. The 

at last month’s Informa European employers scrape along on the 

Manning and Training Conference. bottom employing those seafarers 

David Dearsley, head of the who are too poor financially, too 

International Committee on 

poorly skilled or who would not 

Seafarers’ Welfare strategic 

be engaged by most reputable 

review and development project, companies, and they have no 

told the meeting that while some bargaining power’. 

leading companies offered good The bottom tier of maritime 

conditions, the employment employers, urged Mr Dearsley, 

conditions of many seafarers fall ‘need to be harassed by flag and 

short of best practice in the industry port inspectors, port authorities, 

— despite the serious difficulties the bankers that loan the money to 

faced by companies in recruiting buy the ships, the charterers who 

officers and higher skilled ratings provide cargoes for them to ship 

even after 18 months of acute and by others, such as unions or 

recession. 

port welfare workers’. 

Mr Dearsley said the top tier 

Mr Dearsley said seafarers 

of companies ‘need to attract were often very vulnerable 

and retain the brightest and best workers, and he pointed to 

seafarers and offer whatever evidence showing the continuing 

employment packages are 

problems they face. The 

necessary’. 

International Seafarers’ Assistance 

But he said the second tier of Network helpline gets some 300 

employers — probably the largest calls a month — with common 

group — ‘generally mean well complaints including welfare, 

but do not always have the staff or contract terms, living conditions 

financial resources to match the and bullying. 

best practices of the top tier’. 

Cases of seafarer abandonment 

These operators, Mr 

continue to plague the industry, 

Dearsley said, would respond to he added, with more than 1,000 

encouragement, guidance — ‘and, seafarers stranded around the 

when necessary, threats’. 

world last year. 

The bottom tier of employers Mr Dearsley urged the industry 

he defined as ‘substandard and to do more to improve important 

probably always will be so long elements of the seafarer’s life, 

as they are allowed to remain in including food, accommodation 

business’. 

and social life.


MEMBERS AT WORK 

ANDREW LININGTON meets the Nautilus members 

who deliver vital supplies for the Isles of Scilly… 

A lifeline 

awaits a 

new ship 

Left to right: second engineer Stephen George, Capt David Redgrave, mate/master Peter Crawford, chief engineer 

Mike Stevens and superintendent Kevin Ayres Picture: Andrew Linington 

K 

From tractors to tampons, 

you name it, we 

carry everything everyone 

needs for their day-to-day 

life,’ says Captain David Redgrave, 

master of the ferry Scillonian III. 

The long-running controversy 

over the seemingly endless 

reviews of the state aid provisions 

for the ‘lifeline’ ferry services in 

Scotland has tended to obscure 

the similar role being undertaken 

by the Isles of Scilly Steamship 

Company. 

This year marks the 90th anniversary 

of the company, which 

runs passenger and freight services 

to the islands, some 30 miles 

SW of Lands End, and it is a year 

that could prove crucial to its 

future. 

A long-awaited decision on 

funding for a project to replace 

the ageing Scillonian III with a 

new purpose-built vessel and to 

upgrade the terminal facilities in 

the Cornish port of Penzance is 

expected imminently. 

Former shipping minister Paul 

Clark underlined the importance 

of the plans in a House of Commons 

debate earlier this year — 

describing the ferry services as ‘an 

essential lifeline to more than 

2,000 islanders’. 

But they also help to underpin 

much of the local economy, helping 

to sustain a flow of visitors to 

the area — with around threequarters 

of the jobs in the Isles of 

Scilly related to tourism. 

The services — which also 

include a freight-only ship and a 

newly-acquired vessel, the Ivor B, 

to carry building materials for 

work on a new school — also provide 

employment to more than 

40 seafarers and support staff. 

Many of the crew members are 

local people, and many have 

served with the company for substantial 

periods. Second engineer 

Stephen George and purser Marcia 

Still both joined straight from 

school, whilst Capt Redgrave 

joined in 2003 after serving on 

bunker tankers in Falmouth. ‘This 

is a great job,’ he says. ‘At this time 

of year, when the weather is good, 

it is virtually unbeatable.’ 

K 

Capt Redgrave took 

over as master of Scillonian 

III earlier this 

year, following the retirement of 

Capt David Pascoe after almost 28 

years working for the Isles of Scilly 

Steamship Company. 

Mate/master Peter Crawford is 

now one of the longest serving 

seafarers — with a grand total of 

28 years with the company. Originally 

a radio officer working on 

Italian-flagged ships, he re-trained 

for the deck department following 

the introduction of GMDSS — 

gaining some deepsea experience 

with Curnow Shipping when it 

operated the RMS St Helena. 

‘This is a great place to work,’ he 

says. ‘The wages can’t compare 

with deepsea, but when the 

weather is good there’s no better 

place than Scilly.’ 

K 

Built in 1977, the 1,346gt 

Scillonian III carries up 

to 600 passengers and 

has two cargo holds arranged so 

that up to six cars and 14 containers 

can be carried. The vessel’s 

cargoes have ranged from food to 

flowers, fuel and fish catches, to 

beer and boats. 

‘Over the years, we have taken 

just about anything from buses to 

circuses,’ says Peter. 

‘You come to realise just what a 

lifeline service it is, particularly 

when the fog comes down and the 

aircraft can’t fly. Our record speaks 

for itself — we have to be reliable 

when so many people depend on 

us.’ 

The service really does provide 

a literal lifeline at times, Capt Redgrave 

points out. ‘There have been 

occasions where we have been 

asked to wait because they can’t 

fly and need to get blood over to 

the hospital, or they need to get 

Loading containerised cargo onto Scillonian III in the port of Penzance 

someone back with a broken leg. 

It’s not just transport that we do; 

this is very much a community 

service.’ 

Peter Crawford echoes this 

point. ‘Lots of the passengers are 

regulars. We get a huge volume of 

repeat custom and they all know 

us by name and know all about 

us.’ 

K 

Scillonian III normally 

runs between March 

and November each 

year, operating a service between 

Penzance and St Mary’s for six 

days of the week, whilst the 590gt 

freight vessel Gry Maritha runs 

all year round, providing three 

return voyages a week. Crews normally 

work two weeks on and one 

week off. 

The voyage generally takes two 

and a half hours — and Peter is 

quick to point out that some passengers 

forget that the passage 

includes time in the Atlantic! Sea 

states aside, the particular 

demands of the route include a lot 

of fishing vessels and pleasure 

craft to look out for, as well as 

berthing challenges in northwesterly 

and south-easterly winds 

at either end of the service. 

The area is rich in wildlife, and 

Scillonian III runs a series of special 

services in partnership with 

the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and 

The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust to 

give passengers the chance to spot 

birds such as puffins and storm 

petrels and marine life such as 

“ 

It’s not 

just transport 

that we do; 

this is very 

much a 

community 

service 

” 

The 1977-built Scillonian III 

Picture: Isles of Scilly Steamship


MEMBERS AT WORK 

The 590gt former Norwegian coaster Gry Maritha provides a year-round freight service between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly 

dolphins and basking sharks. 

Naturalist Paul Semmens, who 

serves as a guide on these voyages, 

says: ‘The Scillonian is probably 

the best platform from which to 

see marine life. Last year I made 

over 750 sighting of at least seven 

different marine animals — 

mainly dolphins and porpoises, 

but with the occasional minke 

whale.’ 

Peter Crawford says these trips 

are also a treat for the crew. ‘It’s a 

long day for us, but it’s always a big 

success. We get bird watchers 

from all over Europe and their 

enthusiasm really rubs off. We go 

out to “Wilson’s triangle”, about 

65 miles SW of Scilly, and you can 

get to see anything from turtles to 

whales and albatrosses — 

although the jewel in the crown in 

the Wilson’s petrel.’ 

K 

Now 33 years old, Scillonian 

III was purpose-built 

in Devon, 

by Appledore Shipbuilders. The 

twin-screw ship was bigger and 

faster than her predecessor — 

powered by two eight-cylinder 

Mirrlees Blackstone ESL diesel 

engines, giving a service speed of 

15.5 knots. 

The engineroom is spotless — 

a tribute to chief engineer Mike 

Stevens and second engineer 

“ 

When it is all hands 

to the pump, there is 

a lot of goodwill from 

the staff 

” 

Stephen George. ‘Apart from the 

generators, which were changed 

just over 10 years ago, it’s all original 

and it’s a credit to Appledore 

that it is all still going so well,’ says 

Stephen. 

However, a report to Cornwall 

Council earlier this year warned: 

‘The risk of the existing vessels 

being withdrawn from service 

due to the need for uneconomic 

repairs/refits increases the longer 

the [replacement] project is 

delayed.’ 

Not only that, councillors 

heard, but further extensions to 

the operating licences of Scillonian 

III and Gry Maritha ‘must be 

underpinned by a firm commitment 

to replace those vessels at 

the earliest opportunity’. 

Talks about the future of the 

ferry link have been going on for 

more than a decade, and the 

favoured scheme would see the 

introduction of a single vessel — 

costing some £27m — to run the 

passenger and freight operations. 

K 

Linked to a project to 

upgrade the shoreside 

facilities, the total 

cost of the scheme would be in 

the region of £60m, and would 

include £34m support from the 

UK government and a further 

£11m European funding. 

As part of the process to 

develop the project, tenders had 

to be sought for the running of the 

ferry service and the Isles of Scilly 

Steamship Company had to put in 

a bid against other operators competing 

to run the link. 

‘At the beginning of May, we 

were told we had been selected as 

the preferred bidder, with a view 

to contracts being signed when 

funding is finally secured,’ says 

chief executive Jeff Marston. 

‘We have fought very hard for 

this,’ he adds. ‘For a small company 

such as ours, it has been a big 

burden and we have had to spend 

a lot of money. It involved us 

bringing in consultants, including 

one from Caledonian Mac- 

Brayne, who were used to this kind 

of process.’ 

Mr Marston describes the current 

service as ‘a well-oiled 

machine that is heavily embedded 

in the community’ — but says 

replacement tonnage is well overdue. 

‘At busy times, when it is all 

hands to the pump, there is a lot of 

goodwill from the staff and everyone 

else as they are not working in 

ideal conditions and the quays are 

not covered,’ he points out. 

The ‘tortuous’ process to secure 

approval and funding for the new 

project has created a lot of uncertainties, 

he adds. ‘Whilst all of this 

has been going on, we have not sat 

back and we have done a lot to 

make sure the company develops 

and remains successful. 

‘We want to be well-prepared 

for the time when the new ship 

does arrive, as it will be a new way 

of working and we hope to bring 

forward new systems to improve 

the way in which we handle 

freight,’ he says. ‘We have to adapt 

to new ways of doing things, and 

that process has already started…’ 

Long history 

of services 

c There are more than 100 islands 

and rocky islets in the archipelago 

that makes up the Isles of Scilly. 

Many ships have come to grief in 

the area — one of the most notable, 

in recent times, being the flag of 

convenience cargoship Cita, which 

ran aground on Newfoundland 

Point in 1997 after the officer of the 

watch fell asleep. 

A succession of different 

operators, dating back as far as the 

18th century, ran shipping services 

between the mainland and the 

islands. Fed up with the frequent 

changes of vessel and operator, 

inhabitants formed the Isles of Scilly 

Steamship Company in March 1920 

in an attempt to provide a regular 

and cost-effective link. 

The first Scillonian vessel began 

regular trips from Penzance to St 

Mary’s in February 1926 and, since 

then, the company has continually 

operated the service. 

The first ship to bear the name 

Scillonian was purpose-built for the 

service at the Ailsa yard in Scotland 

in 1925. The second Scillonian came 

into service in 1956, being built at a 

cost of £250,000 by the Thornycroft 

yard in Southampton. 

Scillonian III — the first 

passenger ferry to be built by 

Appledore Shipbuilders in Devon 

— was delivered within 17 months 

of the contract being signed and 

came into service in spring 1977. 

Named by HRH The Prince of Wales, 

the vessel has since made more 

than 6,600 return voyages, and 

carries around 86,000 passengers 

every year. 

The Isles of Scilly Steamship 

Company — which also runs the 

inter-island passenger vessel 

Lyonesse Lady and the cargoship 

Gry Maritha — employs up to 45 

seafarers at peak times. Carrying 

more than 14,300 tonnes of freight 

a year, the vessels supply the 

2,000-plus inhabitants of the Scilly 

Isles with almost three-quarters of 

all the goods they require. 

Cars 

and containers in one ofth 

ftheca 

ecargo 

holds softh 

the Scillonian ian III 

Picture: Jayne Linington 

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22 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | July 2010 July 2010 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 23 

OFFSHORE ENERGY 

OFFSHORE ENERGY 

“ 

This requires 

specialist ships and 

personnel from all 

disciplines of marine 

offshore work 

” 

A Global Marine Systems vessel working on an offshore 

energy scheme in Finland Picture: Captain David Sanders 

Above: a computer-generated impression of one of 

two new specialist wind turbine installation vessels 

being built for the UK firm MPI Offshore 

Picture: MPI 

Left: the North Hoyle project was the UK’s first major 

offshore windfarm , commencing operations in 

December 2003. The 30 turbines generate enough 

electricity to power 40,000 homes 

C 

The answer is blowing in the wind, croaked Bob Dylan. And 

— as a future source of jobs for British seafarers — he may 

well be right. 

For, as a result of the growing pressure to develop ‘green’ energy 

generation, the UK has embarked upon a massive expansion programme 

— with a target of meeting 15% of total energy needs from 

renewable sources by 2020. 

And, as a sign of what it could mean for UK maritime employment, 

the offshore wind farm support vessel specialists OWPMS last month 

announced a £30m agreement with the Brook Henderson Group that 

will build a fleet of up to 60 support vessels and create some 200 fulltime 

jobs over the coming 24 months. 

The UK enjoys the best wind resource in Europe, with average wind 

speeds higher than in much of continental Europe. As a result, the 

government forecasts that almost one-third of the country’s ‘green’ 

energy needs can be met by wind generation — and 19% of this from 

offshore windfarms. 

Facing a European Union legal obligation to hit the 15% target 

within a decade, the UK’s offshore windfarm capacity is rapidly 

expanding under the official auspices of the Crown Estate, which 

owns the seabed around the UK. 

Many of the projects developed under Rounds 1 and 2 of the programme 

— typically sited close to shore — are already underway. 

Round 1 projects, each involving around 30 turbines, are mostly built, 

whilst Round 2 projects, which are under construction, are much 

larger scale. 

The government has now given the go-ahead for Round 3 projects 

which will typically be sited further from shore, where even larger 

windfarms can be developed. The Crown Estate announced the results 

of a bidding process in January, with Round 3 delivery expected from 

about 2014 onwards. Additionally, another 6GW of capacity with similar 

time-build scales is projected for Scottish territorial waters. 

Further down the line is the possibility of a Round 4. 

Current UK windfarm capacity is 688MW, but the projects now 

under construction, consented or planned will see capacity vault to 

some 47GW. The landmark first gigawatt of installed UK offshore 

wind capacity was reached at the end of April, when the Robin Rigg 

and Gunfleet Sands windfarms began generating electricity — forming 

part of a network of 11 windfarms in UK waters that provide sufficient 

power for more than 700,000 homes. 

The green energy development programme — which also includes 

wave and tidal power sources — is offering huge business opportunities, 

not least for the offshore support vessel (OSV) sector at a time 

when North Sea oil exploration and drilling is on the wane. 

Speaking at a recent OSV conference in London, Rhys Thomas of 

RenewableUK — the trade association for wind and marine energy, 

informed delegates: ‘The shortage of supply of offshore vessels has 

meant you’ve got a sellers’ market for this industry. The developers of 

the windfarms have been competing with each other and this has 

raised costs to get their projects delivered on time.’ 

But he added: ‘The important thing to realise at the moment is 

really that since January we’ve seen a number of vessels being ordered 

or being built specifically for the offshore wind industry.’ 

Survey vessels, turbine installation vessels, construction vessels, 

trenchers, cable-layers, pipe-layers, guard ships, operation and maintenance 

support vessels: all the types of tonnage needed to help the 

UK realise its wind energy aspirations, and all require crews. 

Windfarms 

generating 

new jobs 

From the beginning, Nautilus has actively supported the development 

of windfarm technology through its involvement with NOREL, 

the Nautical Offshore Renewable Energy Liaison forum. 

‘It is an industry that has the potential in the UK to generate some 

70,000 jobs, many of which are in the marine field,’ says Nautilus senior 

national secretary Allan Graveson. 

What, though, of the shipping industry anxiety about navigational 

safety? ‘A lot of it is very much ungrounded scaremongering 

and is a myth that we need to dispel,’ responds Mr Graveson. 

‘Some ferry routes may need to change, and there could be small 

additional costs. But equally well, the separation of traffic that could 

well come about from windfarms can actually improve the safety of 

traffic. If you’ve got good radar, properly adjusted with a competent 

crew, there’s no problems whatsoever with windfarms,’ he points 

out. 

One of the first UK companies to stake a major presence in the offshore 

energy market — creating a significant and growing number of 

jobs for seafarers in the process — is the Yorkshire-based company 

MPI Offshore. With a track record that totals more than 200 wind turbine 

installations, the company operates the world’s largest and most 

powerful wind turbine installation vessel, MPI Resolution. Built in 

2003, the 14,547gt vessel was the first of its kind in the world and has a 

self-elevating capability, a state-of-the-art dynamic positioning system 

and 300-tonne and 50-tonne cranes. 

MPI Resolution has installed the turbines for the Thanet offshore 

windfarm, some 12km off the Kent coast. When it becomes operational 

later this year, it will be the largest operational windfarm in the 

world, with 100 turbines generating up to 300MW of electricity. 

Nautilus members have been working on the Resolution since it 

first came into service in 2004. Being purpose-built for the job, the 

vessel has been designed to overcome many of the traditional installation 

challenges — such as dependence on large numbers of infield 

logistical support vessels and problems. Partly owned by the Dutch 

shipping group Vroon since 2006, the vessel’s DP and jacking systems 

provide a stable platform in water depths of as much as 35m and 

far beyond the limits of traditional weather windows. 

The vessel’s success has prompted MPI to invest some US$550m in 

two newbuilds — MPI Adventure and MPI Discovery. Due to be delivered 

next year, the vessels are based on the Resolution’s design — but 

will be slightly bigger and have even greater capabilities. MPI Adventure 

has been contracted for two years to work on the record-breaking 

1gigawatt London Array project in the outer Thames estuary. 

Another UK company with shipping interests that is very much 

engaged in windfarm activities is Global Marine Systems. Traditionally 

involved in subsea communication cables, the firm has a growing 

involvement in the offshore energy sector — earlier this year securing 

a contract to install cables for the first 630MW phase of the massive 

London Array project in the outer Thames Estuary. 

Nautilus industrial officer Jonathan Havard said the Union has 

been involved in discussions over the terms and conditions of seafarers 

working in the expanding energy division. ‘They have been putting 

incentives in place to get people across to the new venture and they’re 

making it comparable to the traditional seafaring role,’ he said. 

Nautilus member Captain David Sanders, offshore superintendent 

with Global Marine’s Energy Sector, tells it from the inside: ‘This 

job involves responsibility for the installation of power cables from 

the beach to either offshore installations or beach to beach as 

country connectors.’ 

Pictured above are the first turbines for the Greater Gabbard offshore 

windfarm arriving in the port of Harwich in May. Due to be completed in 2012, 

He has worked at sea for 30 years — mainly on tankers and also in 

the North Sea sector — but says joining Global Marine 13 years ago 

(when it was Cable & Wireless) was easily the best move he has made. 

Windfarm-related work, he explains, involves all aspects of offshore 

operations and the specific skill of cable installation and burial. 

‘This requires specialist vessels and personnel from all disciplines of 

marine offshore work: riggers, ROV operators and surveyors as well as 

DPOs and traditional marine crew. Global Marine can provide all 

these staff, as well as the shore side of project management, route 

planning and surveying. 

‘The work is quite demanding,’ he adds, ‘because aside from our 

more traditional telecoms work where we work with a limited 

number of cable owners, the offshore energy sector involves the cable 

manufacturers as well as energy companies and a number of other 

interested parties. I feel that I am using all aspects of knowledge and 

experience gathered over a number of years. 

‘I think it is a particularly good for the EU and the UK government 

to support these projects as the capital investment is massive and 

would probably mean that smaller marine engineering companies 

would baulk at the investment needed to start work in this sector,’ 

Capt Sanders comments. ‘At a time when politicians are desperately 

trying to find ways for UK industry to compete globally with emerging 

markets, it is a good way to both preserve and develop offshore 

sector marine skills — particularly at sea. 

‘Having said that,’ Capt Sanders adds, ‘it is galling that neither the 

ships required, the power cable itself, nor the turbines are manufactured 

in the UK. Unless the UK government makes some effort to 

attract such business to Britain we will lose out in the manufacture of 

the hardware to other European countries or the Far East.’ 

the 500MW 140-turbine project is located some 23km off the Suffolk coast and 

is presently the largest windfarm being built in the world. 

‘Skills are vital 

for sector’s 

safe growth’ 

Since October 2008, the UK has been the 

biggest offshore wind producer in the world 

— and a government-commissioned report 

suggests a massive expansion programme 

could create as many as 145,000 jobs, 

nationwide, in installation, operation and 

maintenance. 

Published in May, the Offshore Valuation 

report forecast that marine-based wind, 

wave and tidal power around the UK could 

generate an amount of electricity equivalent 

to a billion barrels of oil per year by 2050. 

However, operators are warning that 

more must be done to safeguard investment 

in the necessary skills and equipment 

— including new ships — to meet the 

ambitious development targets. 

With a two-year lead time for building 

new vessels, Global Marine Systems has 

stressed the need for planning certainty. 

Without that, says CEO Gabriel Ruhan, ‘it 

makes it very difficult for companies such as 

ours to plan the required fleet’. 

Peter Madigan, of the trade association 

RenewableUK, said that with government 

support, the North Sea could once again 

become a spur for growth. ‘As an association, 

we have long been saying that the North Sea 

will become the Saudi Arabia of wind energy, 

and today’s tonne of oil and employment 

comparisons amply bear this out,’ he added. 

‘Just as 30 years ago, the North Sea could 

be our ticket for economic growth. We are 

looking forward to the new government 

putting in place the policy framework to 

make this happen.’ 

Another industry body, Subsea UK, has 

warned that skills are crucial for the safety 

of the offshore green energy expansion 

programme. It is urging the fast-growing 

offshore renewable industry to learn lessons 

from the oil and gas industry now — or face 

the consequences of loss of life, technical 

failure, commercial risk and reputational 

damage. 

In a presentation to delegates at the 

All Energy event in Aberdeen in May, 

chief executive Alistair Birnie urged the 

renewables industry to take stock of the 

risks involved in offshore operations and 

ensure it has a supply of safe and competent 

people. 

‘In oil and gas we have seen what can 

happen if safety is not a priority and the risks 

are not fully understood and managed,’ he 

said. ‘We learnt the hard way and lives were 

lost. The offshore renewables sector must 

appreciate the hostile environment in which 

it is working and ensure that it has done 

everything it can to ensure the safety of its 

people and mitigate the risks.’ 

With the projected expansion in offshore 

construction and maintenance operations, 

Mr Birnie warned that there will not be 

enough skilled and competent people 

around to do the work. 

‘A key underlying finding on many 

incidents, arguably all, has been the need 

to develop competency and experience. 

We must therefore be even more diligent 

in understanding and managing the risks 

in terms of competency, capability and 

capacity. A safe and competent workforce 

requires training and education, as well as 

codes of practice and standards.’ 

The offshore renewables industry is 

just starting out and forging ahead in 

developing new technologies. But Mr Birnie 

reckons it has not properly thought through 

how it will manage safety when it comes to 

marine construction and maintenance. 

He said the renewables sector should 

use the processes that have been developed 

by North Sea oil and gas operators. ‘Some 

of the designs coming forward from the 

renewables sector appear to have ignored 

basic safety guidelines, adding significant 

risk to offshore operations,’ he warned. ‘If 

cost is to be the sole driver in the renewable 

sector, be prepared for casualties.’


SAFETY AT SEA 

The world 

says ‘no’ 

to piracy 

The shipping industry has launched a global 

petition to protest about piracy. In this 

special ‘blog’, an International Transport 

Workers’ Federation ship inspector explains 

why everyone should sign up to it… 

“ 

We have to go 

through the pirates to 

get there and we are 

very scared 

” 

Y 

In October last year a middle-aged British 

couple en-route from the Seychelles to Tanzania 

were taken hostage when their 38ft 

yacht was intercepted by Somali pirates. They have 

been held captive ever since. 

The incident made news headlines around the 

world, and for many people who have little contact 

with the maritime world it was the first time they 

were made aware of the scourge of modern piracy. 

Oh, but hang on, wasn’t there another one earlier 

in the year? That US-flagged Maersk ship, where 

American forces ended up shooting dead three of the 

pirates whilst rescuing the captain they had taken 

hostage? 

Friends of mine outside the maritime world were 

shocked that this kind of thing could happen in this 

day and age. 

But it was nothing compared to their shock once I 

started to explain what the real situation is for today’s 

seafarers — particularly those trading through the 

Gulf of Aden. 

People are simply astounded when I tell them 

that in 2009 there were actually 217 ships involved in 

piracy incidents; that there were 47 hijackings of 

ships and that 867 crew members were actually 

taken hostage. Some people simply don’t believe me. 

They think I must be exaggerating. But the figures 

are not mine. They are from data produced by the 

International Maritime Bureau. 

I ask my friends if they can imagine what would 

have happened if 47 commercial aircraft had been 

hijacked last year? If 867 passengers, flight crew and 

cabin crew were taken hostage? They all agree. There 

would be international outrage. It would be the lead 

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Pirates onboard the ro-ro Faina shortly before they received a US$3.2 ransom last year Picture: NATO 

Suspect piracy skiffs, spotted from a naval helicopter in the Indian Ocean Picture: NATO 

story of every major news outlet. And there would be 

a concerted international response to deal with the 

situation. 

Why is it that the safety of seafarers is somehow 

considered to be less important? (I suppose we 

should be used to that. A quick Wikipedia search 

shows that in 2009 there were at least 37 vessels and 

hundreds of lives lost at sea — and this is not a complete 

list. Imagine the outcry if 37 commercial aircraft 

came down in one year.) 

Anyway, the point is that the lives of thousands of 

seafarers are being placed in danger every time a 

shipowner needs to move a cargo through the vast 

and ever-expanding piracy zone. The reason the 

shipowner is moving goods through these areas is 

because we — the world’s consumers — want them. 

Some countries are making efforts to protect 

ships and seafarers trading through the affected 

area. But others — such as the major FoC flag states 

making billions from the ships on their registers — 

are doing absolutely nothing to protect them. 

Last week I inspected a well-run vessel with a relatively 

happy crew. They were paid regularly in 

accordance with the ship’s ITF agreement and their 

families received their allotments on time. Provisions 

were plentiful and of good quality and the 

accommodation areas were clean and tidy. The ship 

seemed to be well maintained. 

But there was something in the eyes of some of 

the crew that told me all was not right. I wondered 

if overtime was being paid, but when I checked it 

clearly was. When I got talking to a few of the crew in 

the mess room I asked them what was on their mind. 

Was there something wrong I should know about? 

‘No,’ they said. ‘It is nothing to do with how we are 

treated. It is our next port. We have to go through the 

pirates to get there and we are very scared.’ 

Who can blame them? In February this year 17 

Filipino seamen were part of a crew released after 

being held captive by Somali pirates for 10 months. 

The rest of the crew were made up of six Indonesians, 

five Chinese and two Taiwanese. A Chinese sailor and 

two Indonesians had reportedly died in captivity. 

What could possibly make this story any worse? 

I’ll tell you. The chairman of the Manila Economic 

and Cultural Office had to call on the Department of 

Labour and Employment to ensure that the Filipino 

seamen received their back wages for the period of 

their captivity. 

In other words, their wages had been stopped 

once the pirates had captured them and their families 

had suffered not only the mental torture of not 

knowing if they would ever see their loved ones again 

but the cruelty of having their income stopped at a 

stroke, thereby seriously jeopardising their ability to 

survive financially. Not all employers act so callously, 

but we have to make sure that none do. 

And the international community has to do more 

to ensure that everything possible is being done to 

minimise the risk in the first place. 

Y 

The ITF and a group of industry partners 

have launched a campaign to persuade 

all governments to commit the resources 

necessary to end the increasing problem of Somalia-based 

piracy. The growing number of incidents 

clearly demonstrates that the measures in place at 

present are wholly inadequate. 

Much more commitment needs to be given to 

tackling the problems of Somalia and its people. 

Piracy has become a livelihood for a small number of 

Somalis. There is no easy solution to this. It will take a 

global effort and a careful approach to bring Somalia 

back from the wreckage. But unless the international 

community addresses the causes, piracy will persist 

and seafarers will continue to face the threat of 

attack. 

If the world wants to continue to trade, and survive, 

then it should make it a priority to protect those 

of you whose job it is to transport the goods from A to 

B. In this, the Year of the Seafarer, it is the very least it 

can do. 

We hope to deliver half a million signatures by 

World Maritime Day, 23 September 2010, to make it 

clear to governments that they should close the circle 

on protection of ships. And those states now ducking 

their responsibilities need to stand up and follow 

the example of those actively involved in combating 

the threat. 

The petition will call on nations to: 

zdedicate significant resources and work to find 

real solutions to the growing piracy problem. 

ztake immediate steps to secure the release and 

safe return of kidnapped seafarers to their families 

zwork within the international community to 

secure a stable and peaceful future for Somalia and 

its people 

We all have a responsibility to sign the petition 

and to convince as many people as possible to add 

their signatures too. An electronic web-based petition 

has been set up and can be accessed by clicking 

here. So, do your bit — visit www.endpiracypetition. 

org, sign the petition, get your family and friends to 

sign it and spread the word.


SAFETY AT SEA 

‘We’re getting 

tougher’ 

Close comfort: a naval ship provides a protective escort for 

a merchant vessel off Somalia Picture: NATO 

An unprecedented multinational task 

force is succeeding in the fight against 

piracy, top brass at NATO’s Northwood 

base near London tell the Telegraph... 

M 

‘I find it intolerable that 

a few punks with AK47s 

can hold the world to 

ransom in the way that they are 

doing right now.’ 

Commodore Hans Christian 

Helseth is passionate about his 

job as deputy chief of staff operations 

at the Maritime Component 

Command Headquarters at NATO 

Northwood, overseeing the multinational 

naval counter-piracy 

task force. 

‘Presently, 17 ships and 357 seafarers 

are being held hostage,’ he 

says. ‘What would have happened 

if they were 17 civilian airliners? 

The world would never accept it, 

but because these are Filipino, 

Indian and Romanian seafarers 

the world does not pay interest to 

their fate.’ 

But, he warns, there are solid 

economic reasons why the world 

should treat piracy more seriously. 

‘Around 95% of world maritime 

trade travels through nine 

choke-points — including the 

Panama and Suez Canals, the 

Straits of Hormuz, Gibraltar and 

Malacca, the Gulf of Aden and the 

Turkish Straits — and if we do not 

fight and eradicate piracy in 

Somalia, it will spread.’ 

Tankers carry millions of barrels 

of oil per day through some of 

these choke-points, Cmdre Helseth 

points out, while 50% of the 

world’s containers pass through 

the Indian Ocean. 

When the VLCC Sirius Star was 

hijacked off Somalia, oil prices 

went up 1.4% overnight, and when 

the Greek tanker Maran Centaurus 

was seized in November there 

was a 3.3% increase in oil prices 

over the following two days. 

The battle against piracy is 

therefore vital, Cmdre Helseth 

says, but it is also an increasing 

challenge. ‘Distance from the 

shore does not mean safety any 

more. The attacks have moved 

beyond 60E, 1,400nm from the 

coast. It is a massive task for us to 

combat.’ 

Operation commander Rear 

Admiral Peter Hudson underlines 

the scale of that task — a sea area of 

some 1.5 sq miles. ‘It can take two or 

three days’ steaming to get a ship 

to an incident,’ he points out. 

The operational area is getting 

even bigger to reflect the way 

in which the pirates have moved 

further out to sea, and Admiral 

Hudson says additional air surveillance 

and a dedicated replenishment 

tanker would be welcome. 

The statistics of seized ships 

and seafarers might suggest that 

the unprecedented international 

naval operation has not been successful. 

But Cmdre Helseth points 

out that the figures also show that 

the number of disrupted piracy 

operations has risen dramatically. 

‘There were 24 disruptions in April 

alone,’ he points out, ‘and many of 

these were close to the shoreline.’ 

M 

Only three ships have 

been hijacked in the 

Gulf of Aden’s internationally 

recognised transit corridor 

since July last year, he notes, 

while more than 29,000 have got 

through safely. Naval forces have 

broken up more than 70 pirate 

action groups off the east coast 

of Somalia and processed around 

500 suspected pirates over the 

same period. 

But chief of staff Rear Admiral 

Hank Ort, of the Dutch Navy, 

stresses: ‘The main message I 

would have for the shipping 

industry is that this is still a very 

real threat, even though we have 

been increasingly successful in 

disrupting the pirates. 

‘It is therefore vital that we 

spread the message and make 

Task force commanders Rear Admirals Peter Hudson, of 

the Royal Navy, and Hank Ort, of the Dutch Navy 

sure that all ships that pass 

through the dangerous areas prepare 

properly. The industry needs 

to take a certain amount of 

responsibility and play its part,’ 

he adds. ‘It is all about vigilance 

and awareness. 

‘If the ships are better prepared, 

it is more likely they will 

have a good lookout and therefore 

get an earlier warning of suspicious 

activity,’ he points out. ‘It 

really does make a big difference.’ 

M 

Northwood is home to 

the NATO Shipping Centre, 

which coordinates 

the organisation’s contribution to 

counter-piracy operations, alongside 

the EU Naval Force, the US-led 

Combined Maritime Forces, and 

the individual contributions of 

countries such as Malaysia, India 

and China. 

The centre runs on a 24/7 basis, 

with staff including up to five MN 

masters who liaise with merchant 

vessels and pass on the latest 

information and advice. Staff deal 

with around 200 reports a day 

and have been pleased by the 

recent increases in the proportion 

of commercial vessels that use the 

reporting systems and adopt the 

guidelines for reducing the risk of 

attack. 

But there is still a hard core of 

around 20% of ships that sail into 

the high-risk areas without following 

the recommended precautions. 

Most recent hijackings had 

involved relatively ill-prepared 

and cheaply run merchant ships 

that failed to adopt best practice 

or routeing advice, says Cmdre 

Helseth. ‘It would not matter so 

much except these ships are still 

generating ransoms, funding 

piracy and making it worse for 

everyone else,’ he adds. 

‘The progress so far has been 

great, although there is much 

more that can be done,’ Admiral 

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Hudson stresses. ‘We have every 

ambition of closing down as much 

of this piracy as we can, but in 

terms of reducing risk it has to be a 

joint effort.’ 

And he warns: ‘It will be 

extremely difficult without significant 

progress ashore in Somalia 

to limit the risk. Therefore, by 

adopting best practice and working 

with the military, merchant 

ships can significantly lower the 

danger of attack.’ 

M 

Ultimately, however, he 

is realistic about the 

limitations of what can 

be achieved by the naval forces. 

‘The solution here is not charging 

around the Indian Ocean in 

expensive destroyers,’ he says. ‘It 

has to be a Somalia-based solution 

on land. We don’t want to 

be here in 300 years’ time, but 

it is going to be difficult to fix 

Somalia.’ 

At a time when western governments 

are looking at massive 

cuts in public spending — including 

defence budgets — the naval 

commanders are aware of the economic 

pressures facing their mission. 

‘I would turn it around, and 

say that we cannot afford not to 

continue it,’ argues Admiral Ort. 

‘The price of pulling out would be 

much higher.’ 

Indeed, he suggests, there is a 

strong possibility that the threat 

will continue to grow as more and 

more young men look to piracy as 

a lucrative way of life in a country 

where the average annual income 

is barely US$600. ‘What you see in 

Somalia now, and it is particularly 

worrying, is that society and 

the economic infrastructure is 

changing. Whole villages have 

become dependent on pirate 

activity and a whole generation 

sees pirates as heroes and piracy 

as the only way to be someone…’


CAREERS AT SEA 

Taste of 

the sea 

at MNTB 

Robert O'Leary's visit to the bridge onboard the Ocean Village 2 cemented his 

determination to pursue a career in the Merchant Navy Picture: Robert O'Leary 

“ 

There are 

interesting and 

constructive ways 

to introduce young 

people to the 

industry onshore 

” 

MNTB head of education, 

training and careers – Glenys 

Jackson 

w 

For many of us, the 

work experience lined 

up for us during our 

schooldays was pretty useless. 

Often, shadowing an employee 

would mean endless hanging 

around and trying to stay awake 

while ‘observing’. And if you were 

really lucky, there would be educational 

tasks to carry out such as 

tea-making and photocopying. 

In the shipping industry, the 

problem is not just with uninspiring 

work experience placements 

— it seems that many firms aren’t 

offering any placements at all. So 

the Merchant Navy Training 

Board has decided to do something 

about it. 

‘We appreciate that insurance 

issues make it pretty impossible 

to invite school pupils onto ships,’ 

says MNTB head of education, 

training and careers Glenys Jackson. 

‘But there are interesting and 

constructive ways to introduce 

young people to the industry 

onshore, and we’re putting 

together a support pack to help 

Giving you a voice on your future 

Worried about your retirement? Join us! 

The Nautilus Pensions Association is a pressure group and support 

organisation that: 

z provides a new focal point for seafarer pensioners — increasing 

their influence within, and knowledge of, the Merchant Navy 

Officers’ Pension Fund and other schemes within the industry 

z serves as a channel for professional advice on all kinds of 

pensions, as well as offering specific information on legal and 

government developments on pensions, and supporting the Union 

in lobbying the government as required 

z provides a ‘one-stop shop’ for advice on other organisations 

providing support and assistance to pensioners 

z offers a range of specialised services and benefits tailored to 

meet the needs of retired members 

z operates as a democratic organisation, being a Nautilus Council 

body — with the secretary and secretariat provided by the Union 

Oceanair House, 750-760 High Road, Leytonstone, London E11 3BB 

t +44 (0)20 8989 6677 f +44 (0)20 8530 1015 

npa@nautilusint.org www.nautilusint.org 

Prospective cadet is aiming for the top after a two-week 

work placement gives an insight into seagoing careers... 

companies set up suitable work 

experience placements.’ 

The idea was born when 15- 

year-old Robert O’Leary, of the 

Royal Liberty School in Essex, contacted 

the MNTB to see if they 

could help with his ambition to 

become a master in the Merchant 

Navy. The Board already had an 

arrangement with Viking Recruitment 

and Holland America Line 

to offer ‘taster days’ onboard ship 

to interested sixth-formers, but 

this did not cover the under-16s. 

However, as Robert explained to 

the Telegraph, pupils aged 14 and 

15 are the ones looking for work 

experience at his school, as this 

contributes towards a Certificate 

in Personal Effectiveness studied 

in year 10. 

‘I was interested in working at 

sea because of taking family holidays 

by the coast and being 

involved with boats generally,’ he 

said. ‘Then I was invited onto the 

bridge of the Ocean Village 2 during 

a cruise with my dad, and 

really enjoyed watching the crew 

working as we were leaving port. I 

would have loved to join a crew 

onboard ship for my work experience, 

but it wasn’t possible. So I 

tried approaching some shorebased 

shipping organisations, 

also with no luck, and then my 

careers teacher Miss Isaacs came 

up with the MNTB.’ 

w 

Miss Isaacs had made 

a good call. Glenys 

Jackson and her team 

invited Robert in for an interview, 

and were impressed that he had 

made the effort to meet the ship’s 

officers during his cruise. They 

offered him a two-week placement 

at their office at the Chamber 

of Shipping in central London, 

with a detailed schedule for his 

time there and a dedicated supervisor, 

careers coordinator Beth 

Richmond. 

‘I was worried there wouldn’t 

be work to do, because that happened 

to some of my friends in 

their placements,’ admitted 

Robert, ‘but at the MNTB it was 

nine-to-five.’ On the first day, he 

was given a tour of the building 

and attended a team leader meeting. 

Then he was assigned meaningful 

tasks such as completing 

Encouraged by his work 

experience placement 

with the MNTB, Robert 

O'Leary is now hoping to 

win a cadetship in the 

cruising sector 

paperwork for the HAL ship visits 

and acting as a ‘mystery shopper’ 

for a careers helpline. He also carried 

out a full review of the Careers 

at Sea website, which was being 

revised at the time. ‘They really 

took my views on everything into 

consideration,’ he said. ‘It was just 

nice working there.’ 

The MNTB team were equally 

happy with the experience, praising 

Robert’s drive and intelligence. 

But however enthusiastic 

the intern, the real key to the success 

of the placement is careful 

planning by the host organisation, 

points out Glenys. ‘We have 

been learning from our own experiences, 

and we’ve hosted another 

successful work experience placement 

since Robert came, with two 

more in the pipeline. 

‘Now we would like to see other 

organisations following in our 

footsteps, hence the support pack 

we are planning. This will include 

sample timetables and information 

on the kind of activities for 

the student to carry out.’ 

The MNTB’s key tips for 

employers offering work experience 

placements are as follows: 

z conduct an initial interview for 

the organisation and the student 

to find out each other’s expectations 

z appoint a dedicated mentor 

and arrange for other staff members 

to help with specific tasks 

z arrange a timetable of meaningful 

activities for the student to 

do — not just filing or ‘sitting in’ 

z find ways in which the student’s 

viewpoint can make a 

genuine contribution to the 

organisation 

z arrange an activity which acts 

as a round-up at the end of the 

placement (in Robert’s case, this 

was giving a presentation to 

Chamber of Shipping management 

about what he had learnt) 

The support pack will include a 

sample timetable based on the 

ones drawn up for Robert and the 

other work experience students 

at the MNTB, as well as suggestions 

for suitable activities. ‘You 

don’t have to be at sea to learn 

about the Merchant Navy,’ notes 

Glenys. ‘Even in an office, you can 

be immersed in a world of new 

ideas and terminology such as 

“ro-ro” and “bunkering”’. 

w 

Remember that the 

placement is not just 

for the benefit of the 

student, she adds. ‘The mentoring 

role could give a first taste of 

supervisory responsibility to 

someone in your team wanting 

to develop their own career. This 

could even become part of your 

company’s continuing professional 

development scheme. And 

do consider how to make the most 

of having a young person on the 

premises — the feedback we have 

received from students like Robert 

O’Leary has been invaluable.’ 

So what has Robert taken away 

from the experience? Now 16 

years old, he is looking ahead to 

finding a trainee officer placement 

at 18, and is using everything 

he learnt at the MNTB to 

help him choose his A-Level subjects 

and later apply for cadet 

sponsorship. ‘My ambition is to 

be a master with Carnival,’ he says. 

One happy work experience customer, 

and one more seafarer for 

the British Merchant Navy. 

gFor more information on the 

MNTB work experience support 

pack, please contact Glenys Jackson 

on 020 7417 2876 or glenys. 

jackson@mntb.org.uk.


CAREERS AT SEA 

Above: the MNTB's cheeky Careers at Sea badges are popular with older pupils 

Right: MNTB careers coordinator Beth Richmond leading the May Careers at Sea 

Ambassadors training session Picture: Sarah Robinson 

Below right: younger pupils like to win the Nautilus 'delivered by ship / seafarers' stickers 

as quiz prizes 

Ambassadors for 

a new generation 

The Merchant Navy is well 

dhidden from schools.’ This 

wry observation, from Princess 

Cruises deck cadet Will Bishop, 

goes to the heart of the recruitment 

problem in British seafaring. If the 

Merchant Navy Training Board 

succeeds in encouraging more 

maritime employers to offer work 

experience places, then who will 

come forward to fill them? 

This is why the MNTB set up 

the Careers at Sea Ambassadors 

programme, a volunteer scheme 

launched last year with support 

from Nautilus International and 

the Marine Society. The idea is for 

maritime professionals to go into 

their local schools and youth groups 

to give talks about Merchant Navy 

careers — using an inspirational 

slide-and-video presentation and 

stories of their own experiences 

to open the eyes of their young 

audience. 

Ambassadors can start giving 

their presentations whenever they 

like, but many choose first to attend 

a dedicated training event. Will 

Bishop was one of eight participants 

in the latest session, held in May 

at the Chamber of Shipping. The 

attendees came from a variety of 

employment backgrounds, including 

ship’s cook, marine superintendent 

and tanker master, but they were 

united in their determination to tell 

young people about life at sea. 

The session was led by 

dMNTB careers coordinator 

Beth Richmond, who said: ‘Ideally, 

we need to inspire pupils about 

seafaring careers in the early years 

of secondary school, before they’ve 

started to choose their GCSE options 

or decided where they want to go 

at 16.’ However, schools vary in the 

way they deal with careers advice, 

and Careers at Sea Ambassadors 

have so far given talks to groups 

ranging in age from 10 to 18. 

Because of this, the materials 

provided by the MNTB are flexible, 

and can be customised to reflect 

the age and interests of the 

audience. While going through the 

presentation with the volunteers, 

Beth pointed out places where 

speakers could add their own 

photographs, noting that the 

pupils particularly enjoy hearing 

about ‘real’ seafaring experiences. 

The presentation also provides 

opportunities to engage the 

audience’s interest through games 

and quizzes, and Ambassadors are 

furnished with a selection of goodies 

to give out as prizes, such as badges, 

stickers and pens. 

The training session 

dmoved on to a discussion 

of the practicalities of giving a 

presentation, attempting to 

anticipate any problems. Beth 

offered tips on making the initial 

approach to schools and youth 

groups using existing personal 

or family connections, and she 

stressed the importance of finding 

out what technical facilities would 

be available for the presentation. 

On arrival at a school, she said, 

Ambassadors can expect some 

security procedures, but a criminal 

record (CRB) check is not usually 

necessary as the speaker will not be 

left alone with the pupils. 

And although giving the careers 

talks can be a lot of fun, Beth 

reminded the volunteers that they 

should present an honest picture of 

the industry. The MNTB presentation 

helps put across positive messages 

about good salaries, interesting 

work and sponsored qualifications, 

but speakers should be prepared 

to tackle issues such as piracy and 

the reality of spending long periods 

away from family and friends. An 

experienced Ambassador, Captain 

Mike Bechley, gave the group 

some useful feedback about the 

questions he had been asked during 

his own careers presentations in the 

Southampton area. 

Finally, the volunteers’ attention 

was drawn to the follow-up materials 

to give out to pupils expressing a 

particular interest, and there was an 

opportunity for the new Ambassadors 

to practise giving a presentation. 

gTraining events for Careers at 

Sea Ambassadors are held two or 

three times a year at the Chamber 

Many seafarers we note are under the illusion that to qualify for the 100% 

foreign earnings deduction, all they have to do is spend 183 days out of 

the country on foreign going voyages. 

Many have found to their cost, when investigated by the Revenue that it is 

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for more 

details: 

of Shipping in central London, but 

individual support for volunteers can 

also be provided between sessions 

by the MNTB team. To find out more, 

and to sign up for the scheme, go to 

www.mntb.org.uk or contact Kirsch 

Edwards at kirsch.edwards@ 

british-shipping.org. 

Elgin House, 83 Thorne Road, Doncaster DN1 2ES. 

Tel: (01302) 364673 - Fax No: (01302) 738526 - E-mail: info@seatax.ltd.uk 

www.seatax.ltd.uk


MARITIME AUTHOR 

It’s the year 2000. The millennium celebrations are ringing 

rather hollow for 2nd engineer Nick Ardley, whose damaged 

knees have just forced him to take early retirement from 

the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Having been with the RFA for the 

whole of his adult life, what is he to do next? 

A write turn of 

career for Nick 

RFA Sir Bedivere, above left; and Nick Ardley on an 

RFA vessel in 1975, above 

X 

RFA engineer turned maritime author Nick Ardley is in regular demand for book signings (pictured above in a 

Chelmsford bookshop). He was a featured author in 2008 and 2010 at the Essex Book Festival. 

Finding out that he had 

to leave the RFA well 

before the normal 

retirement age came as a heavy 

blow, says Nick Ardley. ‘At that 

time [in 2000], you weren’t 

allowed to tell people you were 

leaving on medical grounds, as it 

was forbidden to discuss medical 

matters, so I couldn’t even say 

goodbye to my colleagues. There 

was no support to adjust to my 

change in circumstances, and I 

went into a depression.’ The only 

redeeming feature, he adds sardonically, 

was that he had kept his 

National Insurance payments upto-date. 

It is fair to say that Nick would 

miss life at sea more than most. 

He had actually grown up on the 

water; his parents had renovated 

the sailing barge May Flower in 

the early 1950s to be a family 

home, and secured a permanent 

mooring at Frindsbury and later 

at Upchurch, both on the River 

Medway. ‘It wasn’t so out of the 

ordinary to live on a barge,’ he 

says, ‘but my mother and father 

were unusual in keeping it sailing. 

On many Fridays, Father [an architect] 

would come home from 

work, moorings would be dropped, 

and off we’d go for the weekend.’ 

The barge had no electricity or 

even running water in those early 

years, and Nick and his brother 

were used to rowing across to the 

well on the other side of Whitewall 

Creek opposite Chatham Dockyard 

to fetch water for the vessel’s 

tank. ‘We had paraffin lighting, 

and coke and coal for heating… 

there was a lot of physical work.’ 

Nevertheless, it was a special 

way of life with a great deal of fun 

and adventure. Working the rig 

became second nature to the four 

Ardley children. Not surprisingly, 

Nick began to lean towards a 

career at sea, and was encouraged 

by family friends to apply to the 

RFA. ‘At 15 years and nine months 

old I went up to London to sit in 

front of a load of old buffers to 

answer some stupid questions,’ 

he laughs. But those answers must 

have been up to scratch, because 

he was soon embarking on a 

30-year career as an engineer 

officer with the organisation. 

X 

‘I enjoyed the type of 

work,’ he says. ‘No two 

days were the same — I 

don’t think I’d have wanted to do 

the ferries. There would be eight 

months away, but then a long 

period of leave in the summer 

where I could go sailing.’ 

The travel aspect of his job was 

a particular attraction, and Nick 

says that his favourite voyage was 

the north of Norway and the inner 

passage: ‘I enjoyed it every time’. 

Another highlight was the socalled 

‘round the world cruise’ in 

which his RFA ship, the 1949-built 

Resurgent, joined a Royal Navy 

task force. 

‘It wasn’t so much fun in the 

“places of tension”, though,’ he 

muses. ‘In the first Gulf War in 

1990, I was out there with the Diligence, 

and there was wave after 

wave of missiles, as well as minefields 

to negotiate.’ This was obviously 

a stressful period for Nick’s 

wife Christobel, although his 

young son Alexander seemed to 

have a touching confidence in his 

father’s survival skills. ‘He was at 

junior school then,’ recalls Nick, 

‘and one day he came home upset 

that a friend’s father was to be sent 

to Kuwait. My wife reminded him 

that his dad was already there, and 

he cheerfully said “I know”’. 

In the subsequent decade, Nick 

worked his way up to the rank of 

2nd engineer in the RFA (later 

renamed chief officer engineer). 

This period also included a fouryear 

shore post as part of the Sir 

Bedivere reconstruction project. 

He then went back to sea, but 

unfortunately, before he could 

reach the summit of his engineering 

career, his knees intervened. ‘I 

don’t know if the wear and tear 

started with all the crawling 

around I did on the barge as a boy,’ 

he says, ‘and maybe the vibrations 

on diesel ships contributed, but 

whatever the cause, it got so bad 

that my knees were starting to 

give way at times, and I was having 

trouble with the ladder out of the 

engineroom. I couldn’t have kept 

quiet about it knowing that something 

might happen, so I reported 

it, saw a specialist, and finally the 

RFA doctor told me I had to go.’ 

X 

So what did happen 

next? Nick says he 

had no luck with finding 

shoreside engineering jobs, 

and eventually decided to take 

a different tack, volunteering at 

his local college as a one-to-one 

learning support assistant for 

adults with special educational 

needs. He found this work interesting, 

and decided to take a qualification 

in the subject so he could 

take up a paid post at Essex Adult 

Community College in 2003. He 

now teaches entry-level numeracy 

and literacy, helping people 

with disabilities and those who, 

for whatever reason, did not learn 

to read properly as children. ‘It’s 

estimated that there are 8m-10m 

people below standard in literacy 

and numeracy in the country,’ he 

points out. ‘The brave ones are 

those who turn up to college asking 

for help.’ 

Nick feels that, much as he 

enjoyed engineering, his present 

work is ‘the most important job 

I’ve ever done’. He finds it fulfilling 

because it requires him to draw 

on maturity and life experience 

as well as technical skills. ‘Anyone 

with some intelligence can be an 

engineer,’ he says, ‘but the work I 

do now needs so much patience 

and sensitivity — you’re dealing 

with people’s feelings.’ 

X 

He may be a born-again 

educator, but Nick 

has not lost his links 

with the sea. He has kept up his 

membership of maritime professional 

bodies such as IMarEST and 

Nautilus International, and he 

and Christobel go out regularly 

on their wooden clinker sloop 

Whimbrel. 

Most notably, he has started to 

make a name for himself as a maritime 

author. A few years ago, an 

acquaintance at the Thames Sailing 

Barge Trust encouraged him 

to write an article about his nautical 

childhood. ‘Once I started writing, 

I couldn’t stop,’ he smiles. The 

article turned into a memoir — 

The May Flower, a Barging Childhood 

— and he has since had two 

further books of ‘bunkside reading’ 

published about sailing in the 

Thames estuary: Salt Marsh and 

Mud, a Year’s Sailing on the 

Thames Estuary and Mudlarking: 

Thames Estuary Cruising 

Yarns (reviewed on page 35). 

His relaxed, anecdote-rich style 

means that he has found an audience 

beyond the hardcore yachting 

crowd. With the books available 

on internet sites such as 

Amazon, he now receives fan letters 

from readers as far afield as 

New Zealand. 

X 

More books are in the 

pipeline. The next will 

be structurally similar 

to his previous yachting works, 

in that it will explore the experiences 

of sailing in all the different 

seasons of the year, but this time, 

he will not be focussing on a particular 

year or place. ‘I have sailing 

stories from all round the world 

as well as the Thames and the 

Medway,’ he explains. ‘I used to go 

out sailing anywhere I could if we 

were in port for a while with the 

RFA.’ There will also be a historical 

dimension to the new book, as it 

will look at past literature by other 

authors. 

Nick is also hoping to find a 

publisher for a special new 

project: a series of stories using a 

bank of core vocabulary which 

can be appreciated by adults 

learning to read. The stories would 

function something like the wellknown 

‘Janet and John’ children’s 

reading scheme, he says, but using 

subjects of more interest to adults: 

‘They’re written around the 

theme of a group of friends and 

how they meet up in their working 

lives.’ 

Meanwhile, he has heard that, 

following his colleagues’ puzzlement 

when he apparently vanished 

into thin air in 2000, the 

RFA has introduced leaving 

ceremonies for retiring crew 

members. He is pleased that others 

can ‘receive their cut-glass 

bowl’ and won’t have such an 

abrupt transition into shore life. 

It’s been a hard road, but Nick is 

now equally proud of his 30 years 

in the RFA and the 10 years since: 

‘People ask me if I miss shipping. I 

do get a bit choked, but I would 

never have written the books otherwise.’

PLAN 


MARITIME HERITAGE 

A new life 

for Africa’s 

oldest ship 

An appeal has been launched to convert a vessel 

built in 1898 into a floating clinic for Lake Malawi... 

b 

The London-based maritime insurance 

specialist Thomas Miller is making a major 

contribution to an ambitious project to 

give new life to what is believed to be the oldest ship 

still afloat in Africa, the Glasgow-built Chauncy 

Maples. 

To mark its 125th anniversary, Thomas Miller has 

launched a fund-raising appeal to help with the restoration 

of the 112-year-old ship and to convert it to a 

floating clinic that will provide medical care in one of 

the world’s poorest countries. 

The Chauncy Maples Malawi Trust needs to 

raise up to £2m to enable the planned refit to be 

completed within a 12 month timeframe. Thomas 

Miller is contributing £250,000 and had already 

raised a similar amount from its friends, employees 

and business associates even before the official 

launch of its appeal last month. 

Chauncy Maples was built in Glasgow in 1898 for 

British missionaries working in central Africa, and 

was shipped to Mozambique in 3,481 small parts. 

Together with an 11-ton boiler mounted on 

wheels, the vessel components were moved by river 

and then overland, with local tribesmen carrying 

and dragging them the final 100 miles to Lake 

Malawi for the two-year assembly work. 

Since then, Chauncy Maples has had a chequered 

career with service as a gunboat, a trawler and even 

a refuge from Arab slave traders. Until recently, the 

vessel was used as a bar. 

The restoration project aims to use qualified local 

marine engineers and apprentices to ensure the 

floating clinic is fully operational in one year. 

The initiative is badly needed: Malawi is the 

world’s fifth poorest nation and half a million people 

living along the 560km coastline of the lake have 

The Chauncy Maples was shipped out from Glasgow in more than 3,480 small parts and went on to serve in such 

varied roles as a missionary ship, a gunboat, a trawler and ‒ most recently ‒ a bar 

neither access to health care nor medical protection 

from conditions such as cholera, malaria, tuberculosis, 

dysentery and HIV-Aids. Many of those seeking 

medical attention currently paddle dug-out canoes 

up to 80km to reach medical aid, risking fatal attacks 

by hippos and crocodiles. 

Thomas Miller chairman Hugo Wynn-Williams 

said the company had decided to support the project 

because it would make a huge difference to the local 

community and reflect the firm’s global reach and 

maritime heritage. 

Director Mark Holford said several potential 

donors had already come forward to offer more 

practical support, such as equipment or services. 

Chauncy Maples is presently fitted with a Crossley 

diesel engine that replaced the former steam plant in 

1967, and Thomas Miller has had talks with ‘a major 

manufacturer of diesel engines who we hope will 

offer us a new main engine on favourable terms’. 

Trust director Janie Hampton added: ‘Sailing 

between the small village communities scattered 

around the lake, Chauncy Maples will bring free 

treatment for common diseases, dentistry, maternity 

care, immunisation for babies, family planning 

and information on safe sex. 

‘Presently, Malawi citizens have a life expectancy 

of just 36 years; with only one doctor for every 

52,000 people, the infant death rate is 111 per 1,000 

births — 20 times worse than Europe. We are certain 

that the team of nurses that will be living and working 

aboard Chauncy Maples will reduce mortality 

rates of both adults and children.’ 

LEGAL 

How the SS Robin will look in its new role as a maritime museum and learning centre Picture: Ruben Beltran 

Robin rises again 

An important milestone was 

reached last month in the 

preservation of the 1890-built 

historic ship SS Robin, with the 

delivery of a purpose-built pontoon 

to support the vessel and provide 

the base of a new museum. 

The world’s only remaining 

steam coaster will now be housed 

in a structure which is ‘part ship, 

part floating dock’ — to be used as 

a maritime museum and learning 

centre for young people. 

The new SS Robin museum 

should be ready to open to the 

public in 2012. 

Things were not looking so 

good for the Robin two years ago. 

She had been used as a floating 

museum and arts centre for many 

years in London’s West India 

Dock, but by 2008 her hull had 

deteriorated to such an extent that 

she was in danger of sinking and 

had to be closed to the public. 

A fundraising effort was 

underway to pay for the necessary 

repairs, but the project was given 

additional urgency because a new 

railway station was about to be 

constructed across the exit to the 

dock, cutting off the vessel’s route 

to dry dock. 

Fortunately, a £1.9m loan from 

the Crossrail company enabled 

the Robin’s trustees to take her 

to a repair yard in Lowestoft and 

to commission the 50m x 15m 

pontoon from the Finomar shipyard 

in Szczecin, Poland. 

‘It was only when we got to the 

dry dock stage that we were able 

make a full assessment of the ship’s 

condition,’ says project director 

David Kampfner. ‘That’s when 

we realised we had two options: 

the restoration route, where we 

made the vessel seaworthy but 

essentially had to give her a 21st 

century hull; or the conservation 

route, where we kept the old hull 

but had to accept that she would be 

out of the water permanently.’ 

The conservation option was 

chosen, partly because this would 

allow the Robin’s interior to be 

seen in something like its original 

condition. ‘You can’t really see the 

cargo hold properly if you need 

to put in a bar, or classrooms,’ 

explains Mr Kampfner. ‘Sometimes 

children would even come away 

from their visit [to West India Dock] 

thinking that old ships had full 01 

modern staircases because of the 

additions that were there. Now 

we’ve been able to strip away some 

nasty 1970s plywood and reveal 

some wonderful seams of rivets.’ 

Classrooms, exhibitions and 

a café will now be located inside 

the new pontoon, which will be 

large enough to walk around inside 

— giving the museum as a whole 

10 times as much space as it had in 

its previous incarnation. 

With the conservation project 

progressing well, the next step 

is to find a new mooring for the 

museum. Initial negotiations have 

focussed on the south bank of the 

Thames in central London, but 

David Kampfner says that other 

offers would be considered: ‘We 

would be happy to go to any city 

that would appreciate having a 

museum about seafarers and the 

Merchant Navy. In fact, if Telegraph 

readers have any suggestions 

for the new mooring, please get 

in touch with us via our websites 

www.ssrobin.org and www. 

kampfner.com.’ 

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NL NEWS 

STEUN ALLEN DE ON-LINE 

ANTI PIRATERIJ PETITIE! 

F 

Nautilus steunt van harte het 

initiatief van een coalitie van 

organisaties in hun campagne tegen 

piraterij middels het ophalen van 

tenminste een half miljoen 

handtekeningen in een digitale 

petitie. 

De coalitie o.a. bestaande uit de 

International Transportworkers’ 

Federation, de International 

Federation of Shipmasters’ 

Associations en verbanden van reders 

en verzekeraars verspreiden een 

digitale petitie om er bij overheden 

beter op aan te kunnen dringen om 

extra maatregelen te nemen tegen de 

piraterij voor de kust van Somalië. Zij 

roepen overheden op om snel 

mogelijk te komen met gezamenlijke 

CAO-onderhandelingen 

Stena Line van start 

Op 30 april jongstleden liep 

Fde CAO voor het zeevarend 

personeel van Stena Line af. 

Aansluitend hierop heeft Nautilus 

International eind april een 

ledenvergadering georganiseerd 

voor de CAO-onderhandelingen 

2010. De voorstellen die tijdens de 

bijeenkomst naar voren kwamen, 

zijn inmiddels in een voorstellenbrief 

aan de werkgever verzonden. 

Vooralsnog wordt uitgegaan van een 

eenjarige CAO. De inzet voor de 

onderhandelingen is gebaseerd op 

het FNV loon- en arbeidsvoorwaardenbeleid 

dat door Nautilus is 

overgenomen. Dit komt neer op een 

loonsverhoging van 1,25% onder de 

voorwaarde dat er wel concrete 

afspraken gemaakt kunnen worden 

op het gebied van werkgelegenheid, 

werkzekerheid, scholing en pensioen. 

Als dat niet mogelijk is, zal 

ingezet worden op een loonsverhoging 

van 2%. 

Uitloopschalen 

Omdat de vakbondscontributie en 

de zorgverzekeringbijdrage in de 

vorige CAO-onderhandelingen niet 

zijn gehonoreerd, zijn deze — 

Geef uw mening 

Vorige maand vroegen wij: Bent u van mening 

dat de nieuwe IMO ‘goal-based standards’ voor 

de scheepsbouw de veiligheid verhogen? 

Ja 

34% 

initiatieven die leiden tot echte 

oplossingen. Meer middelen om 

gegijzelde zeevarenden z.s.m. met hun 

families te kunnen herenigen en meer 

middelen om ervoor te zorgen dat de 

normaliteit terugkeert in Somalië. 

Het ligt in de bedoeling om de 

handtekeningen op World Maritime 

Day, 23 september a.s. aan alle 

vertegenwoordigers in de Verenigde 

Naties aan te bieden. 

fWij roepen alle Nautilus leden en 

hun familieleden nadrukkelijk op om 

dit goede initiatief te ondersteunen. 

Ga hiervoor naar 

www.endpiracypetition.org 

fOok kunt u voor meer informatie 

terecht op onze website 


opnieuw — toegevoegd aan de 

voorstellenbrief. Verder wil Nautilus 

International met de werkgever 

praten over de introductie van 

uitloopschalen. Hoewel de 

loonruimte beperkt is zal feitelijke 

effectuering pas later plaatsvinden. 

Ter bevordering van de motivatie én 

het behoud van ervaring, stelt de 

vakbond een systeem voor waarbij 

werknemers na een bepaalde 

periode extra anciënniteiten kunnen 

krijgen gebaseerd op een zeker 

niveau van functioneren. 

Ook het onnodig oplopen van 

verloftegoeden en het ontstaan van 

negatieve verlofsaldo’s zullen tijdens 

de komende onderhandelingen 

onderwerp van gesprek zijn. 

Tot slot zijn er voorstellen gedaan 

met betrekking tot de fiscale faciliteit 

van de vakbondscontributie via de 

werkgever, een bijdrage in de 

zorgverzekeringspremie voor de 

werknemers en faciliteiten voor 

kaderleden. 

Voortgang 

In juni zijn de onderhandelingen met 

Stena Line voor de nieuwe CAO 

opgestart. We houden u natuurlijk 

op de hoogte over de voortgang. 

Nee 

66% 

De poll van deze maand vraagt: Bent u van 

mening dat de internationale zeestrijdkrachten 

de strijd tegen de Somalische piraterij winnen? 

Geef ons uw mening online, op nautilusnl.org 

FNV Waterbouw blikt 

terug op geslaagde 

jaarvergadering 

Op woensdag 19 mei 

vond derde 

Pjaarvergadering plaats 

van FNV Waterbouw. De leden 

waren hiervoor op een 

bijzondere locatie uitgenodigd, 

namelijk Futureland gelegen 

aan de rand van de tweede 

Maasvlakte. Vanuit de 

vergaderzaal hadden de leden 

een fantastisch uitzicht op de 

aanleg van de tweede 

Maasvlakte door PUMA, 

Projectorganisatie Uitbreiding 

Maasvlakte, een samenwerkingsverband 

tussen de 

waterbouwers Boskalis en van 

Oord. 

Na de presentatie door het 

bestuur en goedkeuring door de 

leden van zowel het algemeen 

als het financieel jaarverslag 

2009, werd er gesproken over 

onder andere de gevolgen van de 

crisis, pensioenfondsen en 

interna-tionale verdragen. 

Vooral het artikel over de 

werkingssfeer en de lopende 

CAO-onderhandelingen stonden 

hoog op de agenda. 

Leo Uileman 

De onderhandelaars van 

FNautilus International lijken 

er met Holland Amerika Lijn uit te 

zijn. Na verschillende onderhandelingsrondes 

hebben de betrokken 

partijen elkaar begin mei 2010 een 

hand gegeven en Nautilus 

International zal het bereikte 

resultaat met een positief advies 

aan de achterban voorleggen. 

Op tafel ligt een 3-jarige CAO, met 

een looptijd van 1 januari 2010 tot 

en met 31 december 2012. In de CAO 

is onder meer een algemene 

gageverhoging opgenomen van 

1,5% per 1 januari 2011 en 2% per 

1 januari 2012. Om voor de 

Werkingssfeer 

Het jaar 2009 gaat in veel 

sectoren de geschiedenisboeken 

in als crisisjaar. Ook de waterbouwsector 

voelt hiervan de 

gevolgen maar maakt zich 

vooralsnog geen zorgen. Het jaar 

2009 was voor FNV Waterbouw 

bijzonder vanwege het CAOconflict 

met werkgevers, 

waarvan de rechter heeft 

bepaald dat de werkgevers het 

CAO-akkoord moeten ondertekenen. 

Inmiddels zijn ook de 

CAO-onderhandelingen voor 

stafofficieren iets extra’s te doen, 

ontvangen zij per 1 januari 2011 

geen 1,5% maar 2%. Daarnaast 

komen de diensttijdverhogingen 

terug met 1% per 1 juni 2010, 1% per 

1 januari 2011 en 1% per 1 januari 

2012. Over de gemiste periode van 

1 januari 2010 tot 1 juni 2010 volgt 

een nabetaling van 1%. 

Aanpassing vaar-/ 

verlofschema 

Het vaar-/verlofschema van 

3 maanden op 2 maanden af gaat 

verdwijnen. Officieren in de functies 

van 1st officer, 1st engineer, 2nd 

engineer, chief electrician, facility 

manager, 2nd officer (met 3 jaar 

2010 in volle gang. Zoals 

verwacht hebben de werkgevers 

het artikel van de werkingssfeer 

als onderhandelingspunt 

ingebracht. In de vorige uitgave 

van de Telegraph kon u lezen dat 

de mogelijkheid voor een 

dispensatieregeling van de CAO 

per werk wordt onderzocht. Om 

dit onderzoek goed te kunnen 

uitvoeren moeten beoordelingscriteria 

vastgesteld worden. 

Verder heeft FNV Waterbouw 

een lijst van voorwaarden 

opgesteld. De belangrijkste is dat 

diensttijd bij HAL) en 3rd officer (met 

3 jaar diensttijd bij HAL) komen in 

aanmerking om te kiezen voor 

3 maanden op 3 maanden af. De 

officieren in de overige functies gaan 

naar 4 maanden op 2 maanden af, 

vanzelfsprekend met uitzondering 

van de stafofficieren die gewoon 

3 maanden op 3 maanden af blijven 

varen. De environmentol officer kan 

per 1 januari 2013 in aanmerking 

komen om te kiezen voor 3 maanden 

op 3 maanden af. 

Vaste bonus 

Ander belangrijk nieuws is dat het 

zogenaamde Officers Incentive Plan 

(winstafhankelijke bonus) zal 

er geen werkloosheid op basis 

van verdringing van de 

Nederlandse werknemers op de 

arbeidsmarkt mag optreden. 

Implementatie MLC 

Verder kregen de aanwezigen 

een presentatie over de 

implementatie van de Maritime 

Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) 

in de Nederlandse weten 

regelgeving. Deze presentatie 

werd verzorgd door de heer 

Hylke Hylkema, hoofdbestuurder 

van Nautilus 

International, welke actief 

betrokken is bij deze implementatie 

die voor Nederland per 

1-1-2012 plaatsvindt. 

Na het officiële gedeelte 

werd een lunch geserveerd, 

waarna de aanwezigen een 

rondleiding kregen door het 

interactieve informatiecentrum. 

Hier werd ondermeer een 

virtuele luchtreis gemaakt 

met de Future Flight Experience, 

een fascinerend schouwspel 

van de toekomstige ontwikkeling 

van de tweede Maasvlakte in 

2033. 

Leo Uileman met pensioen 

Na een dienstverband van 

C30 jaar neemt Leo 

Uileman afscheid van het AZVZ. 

Leo, ook wel bekend als mister 

AZVZ, trad op 1 juli 1980 in 

dienst van het toenmalige GAK. 

Sindsdien is hij onafge-broken 

werkzaam geweest voor het 

AZVZ. 

Toen Leo in 1980 aantrad had 

het Algemeen Ziekenfonds voor 

Zeelieden 12.576 verzekerde 

zeelieden. Daarna maakte hij 

veel mee, zoals de opheffing van 

de vrijwillige verzekering in 1985, 

de invoering van de nieuwe 

werkloosheidswet in 1987, de 

samenwerking met het Zilveren 

Kruis gedurende de jaren 1996- 

1999, het opheffen van de eigen 

kas en in 2005 de opheffing van 

het ziekenfonds en de doorstart 

van het AZVZ als maritieme 

zorgverzekeraar. Ondanks al deze 

turbulentie was en bleef Leo 

gedurende al die tijd bij het AZVZ 

de rots in de branding. 

Nu gaat Leo met pensioen. 

Het bestuur van het AZVZ zal 

hem missen en sluit ook 

helemaal niet uit dat we hem 

nog eens zullen storen met een 

vraagje. 

Leo, bedankt en namens alle 

zeevarenden wensen wij je het 

allerbeste. 

Onderhandelingsresultaat 

Holland Amerika Lijn 

worden vervangen door de Sailing 

Assignment Return Bonus (vaste 

bonus). Verder werden afspraken 

gemaakt over de uitvoering van een 

functiewaarderingsonderzoek tijdens 

de looptijd van de CAO door een 

extern onderzoeksbureau, waarmee 

een lang gekoesterde wens van 

Nautilus International in vervulling 

gaat. Een aantal afspraken over 

onder andere de uniformtoelage, 

enige flexibiliteit in het vaar- 

/verlofschema en training aan boord 

completeerden de resultatenlijst. 

Het bestuur van Nautilus 

International zal het bereikte 

resultaat met een positief advies 

aan de achterban voorleggen.


NL NEWS 

Uit de dienstgang 

P 

Dit verhaal gaat over 

een matroos die al 

twintig jaar bij 

dezelfde binnenvaartrederij 

werkt en opeens wordt 

geconfronteerd met een aantal 

veranderingen die alle 

kenmerken hebben van een 

reorganisatie. Na het stilleggen 

van een aantal schepen geeft 

de reder aan dat hij de loon- en 

arbeidsvoor-waarden eenzijdig 

wenst aan te passen. Deze 

aanpassingen, waar overigens 

ook de collega’s van ons lid 

mee te maken krijgen, bestaat 

uit het wegvallen van het 

overwerk met daarvoor in de 

plaats een all-in loon. 

De matroos in kwestie voer op 

een van de schepen die uit de 

vaart werd gehaald. De reder 

wilde hem vervolgens op een 

ander schip plaatsen maar dan 

wel onder een nieuw 

arbeidscontract met een andere 

functie. Ons lid weigerde dit 

contract. Het zou een inkomensachteruitgang 

hebben betekend 

van €9000,- bruto per jaar. 

Nadat ons lid op een ander schip 

van zijn werkgever aan de slag 

was gegaan ging zijn werkgever 

steeds dringender bij hem 

aandringen op ondertekening 

van het eerder genoemde 

nieuwe contract. Het nam zulke 

vormen aan dat er snel een 

onwerkbare situatie ontstond 

die uiteindelijk uitmondde in 

psychische klachten van ons lid 

waarna ziekmelding volgde. 

All-in loon 

Ons lid werd vervolgens, op 

verzoek van de werkgever en de 

Arbodienst geconfronteerd met 

mediation. De mediator gaf te 

kennen dat ons lid samen met 

de werkgever tot een oplossing 

moest komen en dat beide 

partijen water bij de wijn 

moesten doen. Nog voordat de 

mediation werd opgestart, 

hebben wij de rederij een reëel 

tegenvoorstel voor een all-in 

loon gedaan uitgaande van het 

basisloon en de structurele 

vergoeding voor overwerk van 

ons lid. In eerste instantie werd 

dit afgewezen door de 

werkgever maar, door onze 

inspanning volgde er 

uiteindelijk wel een compromis 

waarin ons lid zich goed kon 

vinden. 

Het is goed dat ons lid zich 

bijtijds tot Nautilus 

International heeft gewend 

want zonder onze interventie 

zou deze zaak waarschijnlijk 

nog zeer lang en zeer 

onaangenaam zijn doorgelopen. 

Nu was ons lid binnen enkele 

weken weer gezond aan de slag 

tegen een beloning waar hij 

zich prettig bij voelt. 

Belangenbehartiger 

We willen u erop wijzen dat 

een werkgever niet eenzijdig 

de loon- en 

arbeidsvoorwaarden kan 

aanpassen, tenzij daarvoor een 

dringende financiële reden 

bestaat die door de 

kantonrechter nadrukkelijk is 

onderschreven. Meestal is dat 

niet het geval en proberen 

werkgevers hun werknemers 

gewoon onder druk te zetten 

onder het mom van dat het 

niet zo goed gaat met het 

bedrijf. Laat u niet met een 

kluitje in het riet sturen. Want 

of het nu een tijdelijk of vast 

contract betreft: u hoeft niet 

zomaar akkoord te gaan met 

een voorstel tot een nieuw 

arbeidscontract. Twijfelt u en 

wilt u weten wat nu precies uw 

rechten zijn, neemt u dan 

contact met ons op. Wij zijn er 

om úw belangen te behartigen! 

LET OP: examens CCV worden duurder 

Per 1 juli 2010 zijn de examens 

Fvan het CCV duurder 

geworden. De reden hiervoor ligt in 

het feit dat er geen wettelijke BTWvrijstelling 

meer geldt voor 

beroepsonderwijs (en daarmee dus 

ook de examens). De examens en 

opleidingen worden hierdoor 19% 

duurder. U als werknemer heeft 

geen mogelijkheid om de BTW te 

verreke-nen en derhalve heeft u te 

maken met een kostenstijging voor 

onderwijs. 

Met betrekking tot de CCV willen 

wij u er ook graag op attenderen dat 

Nautilus International de 

werknemersvertegenwoordiging is in 

de Binnenvaartraad. Mocht u tijdens 

een opleiding of examen van het 

CVV tegen problemen en/of 

misstanden aanlopen, meld het ons! 

Wij zullen dan bij de juiste personen 

aan de bel trekken en alles in het 

werk stellen om problemen nu óf in 

de toekomst op te lossen. 

Onderwijscoördinator 

binnenvaart kan aan de slag 

Op 28 mei 2010 werd onder 

feestelijke omstandigheden de 

intentieverklaring van de Visie op 

De ondertekenaars van het visiedocument: vlnr Hans Snijders, 

Ron Kooren, Rob Pauptit en Marijn Nelen 

arbeidsmarkt en scholing binnenvaart 

ondertekend. 

De visie is een rapport dat in 

opdracht van het Onderwijs Centrum 

Binnenvaart (OCB) en door SENS 

adviseurs is opgesteld. De sector 

binnenvaart, het onderwijs en de 

overheid zijn de partijen die de visie 

inhoudelijk verder vorm moeten 

geven. Het OCB wordt coördinator 

van het geheel en zal 

vertegenwoordigd worden door 

onderwijscoördinator Han van 

Roozendaal. 

De intentieverklaring van de Visie 

op arbeidsmarkt en scholing 

binnenvaart is ondertekend door: 

de Stichting CAO Binnenvaart, 

waarvan Nautilus International dit 

jaar het voorzitterschap bekleedt, 

ROC Zeeland, Stichting STC-groep, 

ROC Nova College en Dunamare 

Onderwijsgroep. 

Met de ondertekening is een 

samenwer-kingsverklaring 

afgegeven door de sector 

binnenvaart en het onderwijs om 

zoveel mogelijk in te spelen op 

ontwikkelingen in onze snel 

innoverende sector. Met de kaders 

die opgesteld worden door de 

ondertekenaars van de 

intentieverklaring, kan het OCB een 

actieplan ontwikkelen om de 

geformuleerde kaders om te zetten 

in daadwerkelijke 

onderwijsprogramma’s. Het OCB is 

overigens nu al druk bezig met het 

ontwikkelen van lesprogramma’s 

die beter aansluiten op de vraag 

vanuit de praktijk. Ook de 

doorstroming van het vmbo naar 

het mbo en zijinstroming worden 

beter afgestemd. 

Eén van de zichtbare 

ontwikkelingen van de visie is de 

ontwikkeling van een opleiding op 

hbo-niveau, namelijk hbo minor 

binnenvaart! Door de toenemende 

complexiteit in de transportsector 

neemt de vraag naar hbo 

geschoolde werknemers alleen 

maar verder toe. Vanuit de binnenvaartsector 

is er niet alleen een 

vraag naar hbo geschoolden, maar 

ook bestaat er een grote behoefte 

aan werknemers met gedegen 

kennis van de binnenvaart. 

Svitzer presenteert 

eindbod Geen 

alcoholische 

dranken, wel meer 

loonsverhoging 

Svitzer Ocean Towage heeft 

Conlangs het eindbod op tafel 

gelegd, nadat eerder het principeakkoord 

door de leden werd 

afgewezen. In plaats van 0,4% 

loonsverhoging, heeft de rederij 

een verhoging van 1,25% 

toegezegd. Ook heeft Svitzer 

aangegeven nu al willen te kijken 

naar de leefbaarheid. Aan één punt 

valt daarentegen niet te tornen en 

dat is het zero tolerance beleid ten 

aanzien van alcohol en drugs. 

Voor velen kan de drooglegging 

een hard gelag zijn. De meeste 

werknemers zitten immers vaak 

maanden achtereen aan boord en 

het is wellicht moeilijk te verkroppen 

dat tijdens de vrije uren geen 

alcoholische dranken genuttigd 

mogen worden. Svitzer kan zich 

echter niet aan deze maatregel 

onttrekken die op de hele organisatie 

wereldwijd van toepassing is. Het zero 

tolerance beleid is dan ook een feit 

en inmiddels heeft de werkgever de 

leden hiervan op de hoogte gesteld. 

Leefbaarheid en gages 

Daarentegen worden de gages en 

afgeleide emolumenten per 1 januari 

2010 met 1,25 % verhoogd, in 

navolging van de wens van de 

werknemers. Ook is de rederij bereid 

nu al te kijken naar de verbetering 

van de leefbaarheid. Zo zullen 

frisdranken vrij verstrekt worden en 

het recreatiebudget wordt met 10% 

verhoogd. Daarnaast wordt elk schip 

voorzien van internet waar de leden 

gratis gebruik van mogen maken. 

Ook heeft de werkgever 

toegezegd om in samenspraak met 

Nautilus International een onderzoek 

te starten naar de vaarmogelijkheden 

van 1-op-1-af en het verkorten 

van de uitzendtermijn. Het 

onderzoek wordt tijdens de looptijd 

van de CAO uitgevoerd en de 

uitkomsten hiervan zullen 

meegenomen worden in de 

volgende CAO-onderhandelingen. 

Het eindbod is inmiddels door 

een meerderheid van de leden 

aanvaard. 

Eindbod in CAO-onderhandelingen John T. Essberger Tankers 

De CAO-onderhandelingen 

Cmet chemicaliëntankerrederij 

John T. Essberger (voorheen Broere 

Shipping) kenmerkten zich dit jaar 

door de slechte economische 

situatie in deze markt. Los daarvan is 

ook nog eens het nieuwbouwprogramma 

van de rederij getroffen 

door een dramatische oplevering 

van het schip Caroline Essberger. Dit 

schip bleek namelijk vol met 

asbesthoudende pakkingen te 

zitten, zo bleek kort na het in de 

vaart brengen. Hierdoor moest het 

schip langdurig tegen de kant om 

alle asbest – waar mogelijk – te 

verwijderen. De onderhandelingen 

startten tijdig, halverwege december 

2009. Al snel bleek echter dat 

Esbberger niet wilde bieden wat de 

leden vroegen, namelijk een 

loonsverhoging ter hoogte van de 

prijscompensatie als afspraken 

gemaakt konden worden over 

werkzekerheid en werkgelegenheid. 

Sterker nog: de rederij wilde 

eigenlijk dat de werknemers afzagen 

van de jaarlijkse anciënniteitverhogingen 

en daarbovenop wilde 

Essberger een bijdrage van de 

werknemers als signaal van 

betrokkenheid met het bedrijf. Een 

signaal dat ook de Duitse eigenaar al 

had afgegeven door een extra 

kapitaalinjectie. Begin maart gaven 

de werknemers aan, zowel op zee als 

aan de wal, hiermee niet te kunnen 

instemmen. De vestiging in 

Dordrecht was over 2009 immers 

winstgevend en dan is inleveren van 

loon een niet te begrijpen actie, ook 

al is die als solidariteit met het hele 

bedrijf bedoeld. Medio mei werden 

de onderhandelingen voortgezet. 

Opnieuw kon geen onderhandelingsresultaat 

worden bereikt over 

een loonsverhoging. De rederij 

besloot daarom een eindbod op tafel 

te leggen met de volgende inhoud: 

een CAO voor één jaar tot en met 31 

december 2010 met 0% 

salarisverhoging. Dat betekent 

dat iedereen per 1 januari 2010 

wel zijn of haar anciënniteit 

krijgt (overigens was dit het 

resultaat uit de vorige CAO). Ook 

in 2011 krijgt, op een zevental 

HWTK’s na, iedereen nog een 

anciënniteitverhoging. In het 

eindbod is tevens vastgelegd dat de 

rederij de mogelijkheden gaat 

onderzoeken voor internet en 

intranet op de schepen, met als 

eerste aanzet de zogenaamde privé 

mailboxen. Nautilus International 

gaat nu met de leden overleggen 

hoe er met dit eindbod omgegaan 

moet worden.


ACCOUNTS 

Balancing 

the books… 

NAUTILUS International’s accounts for the year 2009 have been 

externally audited and approved by Council. The accounts — which 

appear below — were submitted in accordance with the Union’s rules to 

the Nautilus International Council in April 2010. They show that Nautilus 

International continues to have an underlying strong financial provision, 

with sufficient resources available to meet members’ requirements. 

STATEMENT OF INCOME & EXPENDITURE 

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2009 

Rule 10 of the Nautilus International Rules 

z provides that the Council is responsible for 

the absolute control and administration of the 

affairs and property of the Union and thus for 

safeguarding the assets of the Union. Rule 14.5 

provides that the general secretary shall provide 

Council with such financial statements as it may 

require. 

The general secretary is responsible for keeping 

proper accounting records which disclose with 

reasonable accuracy at any time the financial 

position of the Union and for ensuring that the 

financial statements comply with the Trade Union 

and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 as 

amended and hence for taking reasonable steps for 

the prevention and detection of fraud and other 

irregularities. 

Law applicable to Trade Unions requires the 

General Legal 

Fund Defence fund Total 2008 

Note £ £ £ £ 

Contributions from members and others 4,023,957 237,239 4,261,196 2,894,587 

Contribution from RLE 577,236 - 577,236 - 

Investment income 

net of corporation tax 6 159,715 - 159,715 225,864 

Advertising revenue 457,817 - 457,817 557,020 

Other income net of corporation tax 6 48,568 - 48,568 50,369 

5,267,293 237,239 5,504,532 3,727,840 

Expenditure 

Travel and general organising 408,321 - 408,321 402,820 

Elections and BGM costs 112,500 - 112,500 83,222 

Legal defence costs - (107,913) (107,913) 454,035 

Affiliations and council expenses 209,049 - 209,049 109,603 

Telegraph — net cost 560,542 - 560,542 489,822 

Phone, post, printing and stationery 222,021 - 222,021 145,205 

Professional fees and bank charges 150,175 - 150,175 99,426 

Donations 25,550 - 25,550 30,820 

Staff costs 2,248,526 - 2,248,526 1,481,500 

Pension fund asset and costs 10 235,681 - 235,681 180,681 

Building costs 180,630 - 180,630 122,293 

Computer and equipment costs 217,435 - 217,435 108,505 

Loss/(profit) on disposal of vehicles - - - 8,003 

Depreciation — Freehold buildings 18,586 - 18,586 18,965 

Motor vehicles 50,767 - 50,767 45,012 

Computers and equipment 112,200 - 112,200 71,917 

4,751,983 (107,913) 4,644,070 3,851,829 

Total operating surplus / (deficit) 515,310 345,152 860,462 (123,989) 

(Loss)/profit on sale of investments net of 

corporation tax 6 (250,025) - (250,025) 31,853 

Total surplus / (deficit) for the year £265,285 £345,152 £610,437 £(92,136) 

Statement of total recognised gains and losses 2009 2008 

£ £ 

Total surplus/(deficit) for the year 610,437 (92,136) 

Actuarial gains on SPF net pension costs (863,000) (141,000) 

Total recognised gains and losses related to the year £(252,563) £(233,136) 

STATEMENT OF COUNCIL AND GENERAL 

SECRETARY’S RESPONSIBILITIES 

preparation of financial statements for each 

financial year which give a true and fair view of the 

Union’s activities during the year and of its financial 

position at the end of the year. In preparing those 

financial statements, the general secretary is 

required to; 

z select suitable accounting policies and then apply 

them consistently; 

z make judgements and estimates that are 

reasonable and prudent; 

z state whether applicable accounting standards 

and statements of recommended practice have 

been followed, subject to any material departures 

disclosed and explained in the financial statements; 

z prepare the financial statements on the going 

concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume 

that the Union will continue in operation. 

BALANCE SHEET AT 31 DECEMBER 2009 

2009 2008 

Fixed assets notes £ £ £ £ 

Freehold land and buildings 2 1,155,891 1,174,293 

Motor vehicles 2 69,910 100,677 

Equipment 2 244,821 160,788 

1,470,622 1,435,758 

Investments 3 4,116,341 4,464,141 

5,586,963 5,899,899 

Current assets 

Debtors and prepayments 884,204 87,210 

Cash at bank and in hand 

- Current accounts 165,689 272,114 

- Deposit accounts 50,877 222,046 

1,100,770 581,370 

Less: Creditors 4 (438,186) (780,159) 

662,584 (198,789) 

Net assets excluding pension (liability)/asset 6,249,547 5,701,110 

SPF pension (liability)/asset 10 (793,000) 8,000 

NET assets £5,456,547 £5,709,110 

Reserves 

General Fund 7 3,563,976 4,155,780 

Legal Defence Fund 8 1,108,211 763,059 

Revaluation Reserve 5 784,360 790,271 

£5,456,547 £5,709,110 

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue on 15 April 2010 

and were signed below on its behalf by: R Gutteling Chair 

A M Dickinson General Secretary 

Auditors’ Report 

w 

We have audited the financial statements 

of Nautilus International for the year 

ended 31 December 2009 set out on pages 

1 to 9. These financial statements have been prepared 

under the accounting policies set out on page 3. 

This report is made solely to the members of the 

Nautilus Council, as a body, in accordance with the 

Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) 

Act 1992. Our audit work has been undertaken so that 

we might state to the Union members those matters 

we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report 

and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted 

by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility 

to anyone other than the Union members, as 

a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the 

opinions we have formed. 

Respective 

responsibilities of 

directors and auditors 

As described on page 9 the Council and General 

Secretary are responsible for the preparation of 

financial statements in accordance with applicable 

law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards. 

Our responsibility is to audit the financial statements 

in accordance with relevant legal and regulatory 

requirements and International Standards on 

Auditing (UK & Ireland). 

We report to you our opinion as to whether the 

financial statements give a true and fair view and 

are properly prepared in accordance with the Trade 

Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 

1992. We also report to you if the Union has not kept 

proper accounting records, or if we have not received 

all the information and explanations we require for 

our audit. 

Basis of opinion 

We conducted our audit in accordance with 

International Standards on Auditing (UK & Ireland) 

issued by the Auditing Practices Board. An audit 

includes examination, on a test basis, of evidence 

relevant to the amounts and disclosures in the 

financial statements. It also includes an assessment 

of the significant estimates and judgements made 

by Council in the preparation of the financial 

statements, and of whether the accounting policies 

are appropriate to the Union’s circumstances, 

consistently applied and adequately disclosed. 

We planned and performed our audit so as to 

obtain all the information and explanations which 

we considered necessary in order to provide us with 

sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance 

that the financial statements are free from material 

misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other 

irregularity or error. In forming our opinion we also 

evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation 

of information in the financial statements. 

Opinion 

In our opinion, the financial statements give a true 

and fair view of the state of the Union’s affairs as at 

31st December 2009 and of its surplus for the year 

then ended and have been properly prepared in 

accordance with the Trade Union and Labour Relations 

(Consolidation) Act 1992. 

haysmacintyre, Chartered Accountants 

Registered Auditors 

Fairfax House, 15 Fulwood Place, London WC1V 6AY 

15 April 2010


ACCOUNTS 

Nautilus International expenditure for the year ended 31 Dec 2009 

Pension Fund 

Deficit & Costs 

5.1% 

Travel & 

Organising 

8.8% 

Elections & BGM Costs 

2.4% 

Affiliations & Council 

Expenses / Donations 5% 

Telegraph 

Gross cost 12.1% 

NB: £457,817 income 

was received 

Phone, Post, Printing 

& Stationery 4.8% 

Professional Fees & Bank 

Charges 3.2% 

Staff Costs 

48.4% 

Buildings, 

Equipment, 

Vehicles & 

Depreciation 

12.5% 

Rule 4 Legal Costs 

-2.3% 

1. Accounting policies 

1.1 BASIS OF ACCOUNTING 

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention as 

modified by the revaluation of freehold land and buildings and in accordance with the 

Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (‘FRSSE’) (effective April 2008) and include 

the results of the Union's operations. 

1.2 REVENUE 

Revenue is recognised when receivable by the Union and is stated net of VAT where 

applicable. 

1.3 DEPRECIATION 

Depreciation is provided using the following rates to reduce by annual instalments the cost of the 

tangible assets over their useful lives: 

Freehold buildings 2% straight line 

Equipment 

33.33% straight line 

Software 

6 years straight line 

Motor vehicles 

25% straight line 

1.4 INVESTMENTS 

Investments are included in the financial statements at cost. 

1.5 LEGAL DEFENCE FUND 

In 2008 it was agreed that the Legal Defence Fund be capped at £1,000,000 in real terms 

and reviewed annually. The annual transfer of members’ contributions is 7.5% per annum. 

The 2008 report stated that an in-depth review was to take place in 2009. A thorough 

review of the current cases cost estimates was undertaken and resulted in a reduction in the 

Legal Defence creditors from the £406,700 in 2008 to £137,110 in 2009. The Legal Defence 

Fund has been amended accordingly and now stands at over £1.1 million. The level of the 

Fund will be kept under review. 

1.6 PENSION COSTS 

The Union participates in two multi employer pension schemes; namely the MNOPF and 

MNOPP. Contributions to the Schemes are charged to the Union’s Income and Expenditure 

Account so as to spread the costs of pensions over employees’ working lives. 

The Union accounts for these schemes as though they were defined contribution 

schemes as permitted by the FRSSE. The information required by the FRSSE is disclosed in 

note 10 to the financial statements. 

The MNAOA Supplementary Pension Scheme (SPF), a defined benefit scheme, which is 

administered by Trustees, provides pension benefits for certain members of staff. 

The deficit on the SPF defined benefit pension scheme is shown on the balance sheet. 

Current service costs, curtailments, settlement gains and losses and net financial returns are 

included in the income and expenditure account in the period to which they relate. Actuarial 

gains and losses are recognised in the statement of total recognised gains and losses. 

1.7 VAT 

The Union is registered for VAT on a partially exempt basis and therefore irrecoverable VAT 

has been allocated proportionately against the relevant expense heading. 

1.8 TAXATION 

The majority of the Union’s income is exempt from taxation under the mutual trading 

exemption. Where income is not covered by this exemption, which largely represents 

investment income, provision for taxation has been made in the accounts. 

1.9 FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS 

The Union has operations in the Netherlands. Transactions and balances denominated in 

Euros have been included in these financial statements using the net investment method 

under SSAP20, with all amounts being translated at the exchange rate ruling at the balance 

sheet date. 

2. Fixed assets 

Freehold 

Computers 

land & Motor & 

buildings Vehicles Equipment Total 2008 

Cost £ £ £ £ £ 

At 1 January 2009 1,221,086 180,383 800,873 2,202,342 2,024,255 

Additions 184 20,000 196,233 216,417 233,592 

Disposals - - - - (55,505) 

____________________________________________________________________ 

At 31 December 2009 1,221,270 200,383 997,106 2,418,759 2,202,342 

____________________________________________________________________ 

Depreciation 

At 1 January 2009 46,793 79,706 640,085 766,584 652,370 

Charge for the year 18,586 50,767 112,200 181,553 135,894 

On disposals - - - - (21,680) 

____________________________________________________________________ 

At 31 December 2009 65,379 130,473 752,285 948,137 766,584 

____________________________________________________________________ 

Net book value 

31 December 2009 £1,155,891 £69,910 £244,821 £1,470,622 £1,435,758 

____________________________________________________________________ 

31 December 2008 £1,174,293 £100,677 £160,788 £1,435,758 £1,371,885 

____________________________________________________________________ 

The freehold land and buildings at Leytonstone and Wallasey were professionally valued 

on 12 October 2005. Charles Living & Sons valued Oceanair House and Nautilus House, 

the former on an open market basis and the latter on a depreciated replacement cost basis 

in accordance with the Statements of Asset and Valuation Practice and Guidance Notes as 

issued by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. 

DM Hall valued Bannermill Place on an open market basis on 22 September 2005 in 

accordance with the Statements of Asset and Valuation Practice and Guidance Notes as 

issued by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. 

An interim valuation was performed at the 31 December 2008 which confirmed that 

there had not been a material change in the value of the properties since they were last 

valued in 2005. 

If the revalued land and properties were stated on a historical cost basis, the amounts 

would be as follows: 2009 2008 

£ £ 

Cost 743,778 743,594 

Accumulated depreciation (201,769) (189,094) 

____________________________________________________________________ 

Net Book Value £542,009 £554,500 

____________________________________________________________________ 

3. Investments 2009 2008 

£ £ 

Fixed interest securities 866,092 1,162,807 

Other quoted securities 

Investment Trusts 137,901 198,487 

Overseas Trusts 606,709 625,355 

Equity Holdings 2,329,632 2,301,485 

____________________________________________________________________ 

£3,940,334 £4,288,134 

____________________________________________________________________ 

Market value of quoted investments at 31 December £5,292,463 £4,286,943 

____________________________________________________________________ 

Unquoted 

Equity holdings £176,007 £176,007 

____________________________________________________________________ 

Total of quoted and unquoted investments held at cost at 31 December 

£4,116,341 £4,464,141 

____________________________________________________________________ 

4. Creditors 2009 2008 

£ £ 

Legal Defence Fund costs 137,110 406,700 

Corporation tax 13,745 27,577 

VAT 10,891 64,299 

Other creditors 276,440 281,583 

____________________________________________________________________ 

£438,186 £780,159 

____________________________________________________________________ 

5. Revaluation reserve 2009 

£ 

Balance at 1 January 2009 790,271 

Transfer of realised profits to the General fund (5,911) 

____________________________________________________________________ 

Balance at 31 December 2009 £784,360 

____________________________________________________________________ 

This represents the excess of the revaluation of the Union’s freehold properties over the 

net book value. 

6. Taxation 2009 2008 

Current year taxation 

£ £ 

UK corporation tax at 28% (2008 – 28%) £13,765 £27,577 

____________________________________________________________________ 

UK corporation tax 

The above charge is disclosed in the accounts within the figures for:- 

Profit on sale of investments £- £5,349 

____________________________________________________________________ 

Interest received on general investments £8,986 £15,787 

____________________________________________________________________ 

Other income £4,779 £6,441 

____________________________________________________________________ 

7. General fund 2009 

£ 

Balance at 1 January 2009 4,155,780 

Surplus for the year 265,285 

Actuarial losses on pension scheme (863,000) 

Transfer of realised profits from revaluation reserve 5,911 

____________________________________________________________________ 

Balance at 31 December 2009 £3,563,976 

8. Legal defence fund 

This represents a provision against payments for certain legal costs and provident benefits 

incurred in accordance with the Rules of the Union. 2009 

£ 

Balance at 1 January 2009 763,059 

Surplus for the year 345,152 

____________________________________________________________________ 

Balance at 31 December 2009 £1,108,211 

9. Welfare fund 

The Balance Sheet and Statement of Financial Activities of the Nautilus Welfare Fund, which operate 

under a Charity Commission Scheme, are published separately. 

10. Pension commitments 

The Union operates a defined benefit pension scheme, the MNAOA Supplementary Pension Scheme 

(SPF) for certain members of staff. This scheme is now closed to new entrants. It is funded by the 

payment of contributions to a separately administered trust fund. The assets of the scheme are held 

separately from those of Nautilus International. 

The Union adopts the valuation and disclosure requirements of the FRSSE 2008. The Union 

includes the assets and liabilities of the SPF in the Union’s balance sheet, with a subsequent effect 

on reserves. 

The pension contributions are determined with the advice of a qualified actuary on the basis of 

triennial valuations using the aggregate method. The most recent valuation was conducted as at 

31 December 2005. The principal assumptions used by the actuaries were that the return on assets 

would be 5.4% per annum and salaries would increase by 4.8% per annum. The market value of 

the assets at 31 December 2005 was £2,749,000. 

The pension charge for the year was £75,000 (2008:£75,000). Contributions to the scheme 

are expected to remain at this level in the future. 

The most recent valuation and has been updated to reflect conditions at the balance sheet 

date. The key assumptions were as follows: 

Main assumptions 

% per annum 

2009 2008 

Rate of return on investments 5.5 5.2 

Increase in earnings 5.5 4.8 

Increase in pensions 3.7 3.0 

Increase in MNOPF pensions 

- post April 1997 service 3.7 3.0 

Inflation rate 3.7 3.0 

Discount rate 5.7 6.2 

Value at Value at 

31 December 31 December 

2009 2008 

£’000s £’000s 

Market value of assets 3,511 3,131 

Present value of scheme liabilities (4,304) (3,123) 

____________________________________________________________________ 

Net 

____________________________________________________________________ 

pension scheme (deficit)/surplus (793) 8 

2009 2008 

£’000s £’000s 

FRS 17 Actuarial valuation of scheme liabilities at the start of the period 3,123 3,147 

Current service cost (14) 15 

Interest on scheme liabilities 189 181 

Employee contributions 4 4 

Loss/(gain) on change of assumptions 1,092 (128) 

Benefits paid (90) (96) 

____________________________________________________________________ 

FRS 

____________________________________________________________________ 

17 Actuarial valuation of scheme liabilities at the start of the period 4,304 3,123 

10. Pension commitments (continued) 

Reconciliation of fair value of scheme assets: 2009 2008 

£’000s £’000s 

Fair value of scheme assets at the beginning of the period 3,131 3,241 

Expected return on assets 162 176 

Gain/(loss) on assets 229 (269) 

Employer contributions 75 75 

Employee contributions 4 4 

Benefits paid (90) (96) 

____________________________________________________________________ 

Fair value of scheme assets at the end of the period 3,511 3,131 

____________________________________________________________________ 

In the opinion of the actuary the resources of the scheme are likely in the normal course of events, to 

meet in full the liabilities of the scheme as they fall due. 

The next actuarial valuation is to be carried out as at 31 December 2008 and has been delayed 

pending the valuation of the MNOPF. 

In addition Nautilus International has financial commitments to pay employer contributions and 

as laid down in legislation and the trust deeds and rules, to two multi employer pension schemes — 

the MNOPF, a defined benefit scheme, and the MNOPP, a defined contribution scheme. 

The actuarial valuations in March 2003 and 2006 of the MNOPF identified significant deficits in 

the New Section of the industry wide scheme. This is now being funded by the relevant employers. As 

one such employer, Nautilus International will continue to make an annual contribution of £83,361 

until 2014 re the 2003 deficit and £77,320 pa also to 2014 re the 2006 deficit. These contributions are 

charged to the income and expenditure account when they become payable (2009: £160,681, 2008: 

£160,681). In 2008 an additional contribution of £90,599 was made in respect of the shortfall in the 

MNOPF caused by some other employers being unable to pay their deficit contributions. 

The results of the MNOPF actuarial valuation as at March 2009 showed a further deficit in the 

New Section to be funded by employers including Nautilus International. The MNOPF Trustee has not 

yet approved the Recovery Plan for 2009 and the amount of additional deficit contributions is not yet 

known. 

The Trustees of the pension scheme cannot identify the Union’s share of the underlying assets 

and liabilities of the MNOPF defined benefit scheme on a consistent and reasonable basis. As 

explained above, the Union’s pension contributions are assessed in accordance with the advice of a 

qualified independent actuary whose calculations are based upon the total scheme membership of 

the MNOPF. 

In accordance with FRSSE 2008 the scheme is therefore included in the accounts as if it was a 

defined contribution scheme. 

Political fund 

Nautilus does not have a political fund. 

Conditions 

The Trade Union Reform and Employment 

Rights Act 1993 provides for the publication 

of the salary paid to and other benefits 

provided to each member of the executive, 

the president (if any) and the general 

secretary. The only person covered within 

Nautilus under the relevant section of the 

Act is the general secretary. The information 

is as follows: January – 15 May 2009 Gross 

salary £33,393; Employer’s National 

Insurance Contributions £3,447; Employer’s 

Pension Contribution £3,739; Telephone 

rental £120; Use of Vehicle £1,915. 

15 May 2009 – December 2009 Gross 

salary £52,638; Employer’s National 

Insurance Contributions £6,266; Employer’s 

Pension Contribution £9,072; Telephone 

rental £175; Use of Vehicle £1,262. 

Statement 

Section 32A(6)(a) of the Trade Union and 

Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 

as amended by the Employment Relations 

Act 1999 states: ‘A member who is concerned 

that some irregularity may be occurring, or 

have occurred, in the conduct of the financial 

affairs of the union may take steps with a 

view to investigating further, obtaining 

clarification and, if necessary, securing 

regularisation of that conduct. 

‘The member may raise any such concern 

with such one or more of the following as 

it seems appropriate to raise it with: the 

officials of the union, the trustees of the 

property of the union, the auditor or auditors 

of the Union, the Certification Officer (who 

is an independent officer appointed by the 

Secretary of State) and the police. 

‘Where a member believes that the 

financial affairs of the union have been 

or are being conducted in breach of the 

law or in breach of rules of the Union and 

contemplates bringing civil proceedings 

against the union or responsible officials 

or trustees, he should consider obtaining 

independent legal advice.’ 

z Any members with queries on these 

financial statements should contact Olu 

Tunde, director of finance, at Nautilus 

International head office. He can also supply 

copies of the full audited accounts of the 

General and Nautilus Welfare Fund.


OFFWATCH 

ships of the past 

by Trevor Boult 

The Fingal began life as a fine 

F‘Channel class’ screw steamer. Her 

owners required a fast and robust ship to 

operate one of the most arduous passenger 

routes in western Europe. Linking the 

Scottish west coast mainland to the distant 

northern reaches of the Outer Hebrides, 

Fingal ran between central Glasgow and 

Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. 

However, within four months she was 

sold to a most unusual buyer and soon 

gained notoriety and fame on both sides of 

the Atlantic. After eight eventful years, her 

career ended as a warship, beneath the seas 

off the eastern seaboard. 

As the Fingal plied her trade in the 

challenging local waters of NW Scotland, 

America was being tom apart by civil war. 

The Confederate southern states required 

ships to run the naval blockade set up by 

the Federal forces of the North. A 

Confederate navy agent visited the Clyde in 

July 1861; his covert mission to acquire a 

vessel able to run the blockade with what 

The former Scottish steamer Fingal, running as the 

USS Atlanta on the James River, Virginia, in 1864 or 

1865 Picture: US Naval Historical Center 

Scottish ship’s 

civil war role 

reportedly became the largest single 

consignment of arms of the war. Fingal’s 

attributes were considered ideal, and she 

became the first of many foreign ships to 

be acquired by the Confederacy. 

Confederate interest in the Fingal had 

not gone unnoticed by the Federal Secret 

Service in Europe. The ship was kept under 

close surveillance. Federal-hired detectives 

gathered incriminating evidence about her 

secret mission. Forewarned by an 

informant in the British Foreign Office, the 

agent decided against bringing the Fingal 

round to the Thames to load her with the 

arms and munitions. Instead, a chartered 

steamer carried the whole consignment to 

the more remote port of Greenock. 

Fingal lay at an anchorage in the Clyde 

and, under cover of darkness and in haste, 

the armaments were transferred. However, 

Federal sleuths had observed the 

clandestine operation, which enabled a 

strong official protest about a flagrant 

breach of British neutrality to be made to 

the Foreign Secretary. 

Yet Fingal managed to slip away, in foul 

weather, sailing with a Scots master and 

under the British flag, and in November 

1861 the vessel arrived at Bermuda, where 

an armed Confederate privateer was 

waiting, with dispatches and a pilot for 

Savannah. 

The crew had been recruited in 

Greenock for a round passage to the 

Bahamas. The deceit had to be discarded 

when the ship’s course was altered towards 

Savannah, and the Confederate agent 

revealed his true identity to the crew. He 

declared his aim of running the blockade as 

a neutral and without firing a shot. If 

confronted by a blockader, he would legally 

relieve the master of command, raise the 

Confederate flag and fight his way through. 

He warned them of the serious 

consequences of agreeing to fight if caught, 

but the cash incentive was greeted, 

unanimously, with the answer ‘Yes!’ 

The vessel was readied for a potential 

armed action. She made her landfall in 

thick fog, her engines throttled back, the 

crew in silent running order and all lights 

except that of the compass binnacle 

extinguished. Unable to find a particular 

‘short cut’, the pilot decided to risk all, as 

the fog lifted, to sprint for the main 

entrance to the Savannah River. As Federal 

blockaders were engaged elsewhere, Fingal 

passed unchallenged. 

Bringing the Fingal to Savannah was also 

a desperately-needed propaganda victory 

for the Confederate cause, but the river 

soon became effectively blockaded by 

Federal warships. To Washington the ‘Fingal 

incident’ was a spectacular breach of British 

neutrality and an indictment of the 

complacency, or even passive collusion, of 

the British government. 

The Confederate navy converted the 

Fingal into a heavily armed ironclad, 

making her unrecognisable from the 

elegant Clyde-built ferry. Renamed CSS 

Atlanta, she eventually did battle with two 

blockading monitors, but with her 

primitive armour soon pierced, capitulated 

to avoid needless slaughter. The 

propaganda victory was reversed. The 

captured ironclad was repaired and sent 

back to blockade Savannah — one of many 

vessels which were to turn from poacher to 

gamekeeper during the American Civil War. 

The former Fingal was sold in 1869 and 

is reputed to have become the Haitian 

warship Triumph, being lost at sea off Cape 

Hatteras a few months later. 

50 YEARS AGO 

At the Merchant Navy & Airline Officers’ Association AGM in 1954, a resolution was 

adopted calling for all seafarers to be provided with an identity card for 

international acceptance, thus facilitating the movements of seafarers while 

ashore in foreign countries. The matter was progressed through the International 

Transport Workers’ Federation and, finally, by the International Labour 

Conference. The resulting convention was ratified by the UK government and on 9 

June 1960 a new British Seamen’s Cards Order gave effect to its requirements. The 

order provides for the issue to all British seafarers of a new card, which will be a 

considerable improvement on the existing one and it will be noted that the new 

one does not require the fingerprints of the holder MN Journal, July 1960 

25 YEARS AGO 

The inauguration last month of a single union to represent the interests of all the 

UK’s Merchant Navy officers, masters and cadets was an historic event, says 

general secretary Eric Nevin. It represents the culmination of years of negotiation 

between the MNAOA, MMSA and REOU. Your response — an overwhelming 

majority for unity — was the vote of confidence we needed to forge ahead with 

the new union. Never have we needed that unity more. Back in those days when 

we started the talks, no one could have foreseen that a British government would 

have presided over the virtual dismemberment of the UK fleet. And that it could 

happen even though British officers, still the most professional in the world, have 

adapted to a rate of technological and organisational change that would leave 

other industries gasping The Telegraph, July 1985 

10 YEARS AGO 

Britain’s Merchant Navy has bounced back to its biggest size in four years thanks to 

the imminent introduction of the UK tonnage tax scheme. And NUMAST is now 

battling to ensure that the expansion of the fleet is matched by growth in UK 

officer employment and cadet recruitment. New figures show a 16% increase in 

UK-registered deadweight tonnage during the first quarter of this year, with 23 

trading vessels of 100gt and above ‘flagging in’. General secretary Brian Orrell 

welcomed the fleet growth, but said NUMAST is pressing the government to 

ensure that it is mirrored by increased opportunities for UK seafarers. He said 

there are serious grounds for concern over whether sufficient work is taking place 

to achieve the shipowners’ commitment to a 25% year-on-year increase in training 

and the UK should improve its support to bring UK training costs into line with 

other EU nations The Telegraph, July 2000 

THEQUIZ 

1 Which country’s shipowners have 

got the biggest orderbook in terms 

of the value of the orders in place? 

2 True or false: the Exxon Valdez was 

the largest accidental oil spill from 

a tanker since 1980. 

3 Singapore is still the world’s 

busiest container port, but by how 

much did its TEU throughput 

decline last year? 

4 How many of the world’s top 10 

container ports are in the Far East? 

5 In what year was the red ensign 

allocated to British merchant 

shipping? 

6 What were hog chains? 

J Answers to the quiz and 

quick crossword 

are on page 42. 

Telegraph prize crossword 

Name: 

The winner of this month’s cryptic crossword competition 

will win a copy of the book Looking Back at Bristol 

Channel Shipping (reviewed on the facing page). 

To enter, simply complete the form right and send it, 

along with your completed crossword, to: Nautilus 

International, Telegraph Crossword Competition, 

Oceanair House, 750–760 High Road, 

Leytonstone, London E11 3BB, 

or fax +44 (0)20 8530 1015. 

You can also enter by email, by sending your list of 

answers and your contact details to: 

telegraph@nautilusint.org. 

Closing date is Wednesday 14 July 2010. 

Address: 

Telephone: 

Membership No.: 

QUICK CLUES 

Across 

8. Golf tournament (5,3) 

9. Annual (6) 

10. Dance move (4) 

11. Celtic and Rangers (3,3,4) 

12. Abrasion (6) 

14. Gamp (8) 

15. Appease (7) 

17. Main characteristic (7) 

20. Nanny (3,5) 

22. Sales talk (6) 

23. Nevertheless (10) 

24. Art Gallery (4) 

25. Russian city (6) 

26. Coward (8) 

Down 

1. Spiritual (8) 

2. Rope twine (4) 

3. Mower (6) 

4. Accelerate (5,2) 

5. Study programme (8) 

6. Confusion (10) 

7. Flowery (6) 

13. On the rise (10) 

16. Refuse (4,4) 

18. Making anew (8) 

19. Acknowledgment (7) 

21. Greek teacher (6) 

22. Goes with mortar (6) 

24. Pastry (4) 

CRYPTIC CLUES 

Across 

8. A cargo list - it’s obvious (8) 

9. He’s written Spanish article on 

the jungle king ... (6) 

10. ... a home for it in Middle East 

(4) 

11. & 12. Kyle of Lochalsh to 

Kyleakin – as the song would 

have it ... (4,3,3,2,4) 

14. ... the peak of one’s 

achievement - Inaccessible in 

the Cuillins (8) 

15. If R.C., yet to properly say so in 

writing (7) 

17. Finding part of blimp in 

Germany may have a limiting 

effect (7) 

20. Elemental climate change 

around Latvian capital (8) 

22. Fellow with Yorkshire flower 

in fertiliser (6) 

23. Enormous stimulus to return 

American soldier and debts 

(10) 

24. ‘There is a --- on the sea’s 

azure floor’ (Shelley, 

Epipsychidion) (4) 

25. Industrial action at end of 

match (6) 

26. Ray upset after type of paint 

appears in list of terms (8) 

Down 

1. Hospital gown and 

somewhere to hang it (8) 

2. Appearance could have been 

mine (4) 

3. Far away in sleep phase, and 

Old Testament English (6) 

4. A bone to entice — give it a 

try (7) 

5. It’s 20, valuable and may be 

blonde (8) 

6. Fashion allowance, but not to 

extremes (10) 

7. Sounds like instalments 

of story dished up at 

breakfast (6) 

13. Somewhat flustered, I thank 

kind family and friends 

(4,3,4) 

16. Golfer I’m converting to the 

movies (8) 

18. Great, Ray upset over 

Conservative being 

circuitous (8) 

19. Why the Dickens so mean? (7) 

21. Ear tar — some mistakes there 

surely (6) 

22. Talisman master’s someone 

north of the border (6) 

24. Employment with the mail 

service (4)


books 

OFFWATCH 

Titanic: hit or myth? 

101 Things You Thought You Knew 

about the Titanic… but didn’t 

by Tim Maltin 

Beautiful Books, £12.99 

ISBN 978-190-563-6686 

There’s still two years to go 

Kbefore the centenary of the 

Titanic disaster, but the flow of 

books about the ship is already in 

overdrive. And for those who 

thought everything that has been 

said comes the ambitiously titled 

101 Things You Thought You 

Knew About the Titanic… but 

didn’t. 

Author Tim Maltin, who claims 

to have studied the subject for 

more than 25 years, is promising a 

‘magnum opus’ on the Titanic in 

2012 but in the meantime has 

produced this work in the hope of 

encouraging people to ‘think 

differently’ about the incident. 

Tackling such hoary chestnuts 

as whether all the engineers died 

at their posts below deck, whether 

there were sufficient lifeboats on 

the ship, whether owner Bruce 

Ismay had ordered the ship to go 

faster than normal, and whether 

the band went down playing 

Nearer My God to Thee, the book 

demolishes many of the myths 

that have grown up around the 

circumstances of the loss. 

In particular, he firmly rejects 

the contention that all the lives 

could have been saved had the 

nearby vessel Californian gone 

to the aid of the Titanic 

immediately. 

However, he puts forward an 

equally controversial theory — 

arguing that the Titanic delayed 

sending a distress call by more 

than three-quarters of an hour 

and that the eventual message 

gave the wrong position for the 

ship. 

The book also suggests that 

Titanic’s master, Captain Edward 

Smith, despite being regarded as a 

highly skilled and experienced 

ship handler, was unfamiliar with 

the characteristics of a vessel of 

Titanic’s size and was 

consequently accident-prone — 

narrowly missing another ship 

while leaving Southampton. 

Particularly interesting is Mr 

Maltin’s take on the British 

inquiry into the loss. It was a 

whitewash, he argues, because it 

was conducted by the Board of 

Trade — the very body that had 

been ‘lulled into a false sense of 

security by the shipowners who 

advised it’. Despite that, the book 

concludes, it did yield some 

useful recommendations on 

matters such as lifeboats, radio 

watches, the frequency of boat 

drills and improved standards of 

watertight integrity. 

Also of interest — and of 

particular relevance to today — is 

a section dealing with the claims 

that the Titanic was ‘unsinkable’. 

The book quotes Bruce Ismay’s 

evidence to the British inquiry, in 

which he stated that the vessel 

‘was looked upon as being a 

lifeboat in herself’. Given that this 

philosophy continues to underpin 

the approach to the safety of 

contemporary cruiseships, there’s 

probably scope for a whole other 

book examining such parallels. 

In his introduction, the author 

suggests that one of the reasons 

why the Titanic continues to exert 

such a grip upon the public (and 

publishers!) is because its loss had 

been as shocking to the world as 

the destruction of the ‘twin 

towers’ in 2001. As a reflection 

upon the way in which this 

disaster will loom even larger over 

the next 18 months, this is of note 

and is worthy of further 

exploration — if only to observe 

the changing public perception 

of shipping over the period. 

Expletive-filled 

stories from 

yachting world 

Superyacht X-Rated 

by Marc Wilder 

John Blake Publishing, £7.99 

ISBN 978-1844-549702 

The marketing material 

Kbreathlessly informs us that 

this book ‘lifts the lid on the most 

exclusive sun, sea and sex holidays in 

the world’. 

It’s written by a qualified master 

mariner who, wisely, has not used his 

real name in this action-packed 

account of life working as a chief 

officer onboard a large private motor 

yacht cruising the Mediterranean. 

X-rated it most certainly is — 

opening with a stream of expletives 

that sets the tone for what’s to come. 

With copious servings of f-words, 

c-words, sex, crime, booze and drugs, 

it’s certainly not for the sensitive 

reader. 

In his introduction, Marc Wilder 

describes how he first went to sea — 

inspired by a statue of Captain Cook 

in Whitby — and served a cadetship 

with the Ministry of Defence before 

going on to work on ships including 

government-owned vessels, squarerigged 

sailing ships taking disabled 

people to sea and cruise ships. 

His book draws from his recent 

time spent working as chief officer on 

a superyacht based in Monte Carlo. 

His job as second in command was to 

run the deck department and 

manage the crew for the captain. 

Every story in Superyacht X-Rated 

is based on true events, Mr Wilder 

assures us, but many readers will 

recognise the familiar maritime 

themes of getting back at unpopular 

masters, winding up first-trip cadets 

and playing practical jokes (boot 

polish on the binoculars, to take one 

example). 

Quite what his colleagues in the 

superyacht sector will make of the 

book remains to be seen, and quite 

what it would do for recruitment into 

the industry might be interesting. 

As a read, it fairly rattles along but 

the constant barrage of profanities 

and pranks can get a bit wearing. A 

few more changes of tone and a bit 

more depth about colleagues 

onboard would be welcome. 

However, if the book does capture the 

reality of working life then perhaps it 

is no surprise when one of the main 

characters decides he had had 

enough of his lifestyle: ‘It’s fun when 

you’re growing up because it’s 

exciting and you never know what’s 

going to happen,’ he reflects. 

Loss account 

with lessons 

for sailors 

Sunk Without Trace 

Paul Gelder (ed) 

Adlard Coles Nautical, £8.99 

ISBN 978-1-4081-1200-7 

Yachting Monthly editor Paul 

KGelder’s Sunk Without Trace 

features 30 dramatic true life 

accounts of yachts lost at sea, and the 

safety lessons that can be learned 

from them. 

It is a follow-up to his best seller 

Total Loss, and covers incidents across 

the globe, including in Dutch and UK 

waters, involving a wide variety of 

craft from cruising yachts to oceanracers, 

multihulls, sloops, gaff-cutters, 

a yawl-rigged boeier (also known as a 

‘Dutchman’) and a barge yacht. 

These stories are collected from 

various sources spanning from 1935 

to February this year. Some chapters 

are Gelder’s own write-ups of 

yachting incidents, some are derived 

from other authors, including firsthand 

accounts, and many from 

articles in motley yachting 

publications (including an undated 

piece from The Old Gaffers’ 

Association Newsletter). 

All are vividly ‘squeaky bum’- 

inducing. One survivor, whose 32ft 

cutter struck something hard south of 

Barbados — possibly wreckage or a 

large tree trunk just below the surface 

— causing serious leakage, recounts: 

‘To realise suddenly that one is on a 

sinking ship, far from land, outside of 

any shipping lane and with no 

equipment on board is most 

depressing, and perhaps even more 

so on a pitch dark night, windy and 

with frequent rain squalls. But 

however unhappy I was, I never 

stopped trying to figure out how to 

save my own life.’ 

Yachties would do well to 

diligently study the safety tips, 

although all bar the most 

superstitious may choose to ignore 

the quirky: ‘Never change the colour 

of your boat — it’s considered 

unlucky.’ 

Even if one’s boat is in tip-top 

condition and best practice safety 

measures are observed, yachting can 

be perilous. But as one hardy survivor 

in the book imperturbably puts it: ‘If 

you can’t cope with this, then don’t 

go to sea. But don’t get in a car 

either, and don’t cross the road to get 

your morning paper!’ 

Enjoyable tales 

of messing on 

the Thames 

Mudlarking: Thames Estuary 

Cruising Yarns 

by Nick Ardley 

Amberley Publishing, Cirencester 

Road, Chalford, GL6 8PE 

£16.99 

ISBN 9-781848-684928 

f www.amberley-books.com 

Retired Nautilus member Nick 

KArdley (profiled on page 28) 

makes a welcome return to the world 

of publishing with Mudlarking — a 

whimsical account of his voyages of 

exploration in his wooden clinker sloop 

Whimbrel around the rivers, creeks and 

islands of the Thames Estuary. 

Each place on the journey is 

described in detail, with observations 

on the natural phenomena to be 

found there and well-researched 

information about local history. The 

joys of sailing are also a major theme 

of the book, and there are many 

lighthearted tales of life onboard the 

Whimbrel with the skipper and his 

mate (his wife Christobel). 

Mr Ardley won a strong local 

following with his previous book of 

sailing yarns, Salt Marsh and Mud, 

and word is now spreading via the 

internet. The follow-up, Mudlarking, 

is likely to have wide appeal at a time 

when the British public are wearying 

of airport security and flight 

cancellations and looking to spend 

their holidays closer to home. Nick 

Ardley could soon find his favourite 

haunts a little busier, thanks to the 

people he has inspired to visit. 

Memories 

of Bristol 

Looking Back at Bristol Channel Shipping 

by Andrew Wiltshire 

Bernard McCall, £16.00 

ISBN 978-1-902953-46-5 

The Bristol Channel once abounded with 

Ktraffic, and Andrew Wiltshire’s book captures 

many of the vessels that sailed its waters in full 

glossy colour. 

Looking Back at Bristol Channel Shipping is a 

sequel to a 2006 book on the same theme, and 

covers additional locations including the former 

small port of Watchet (now a marina), Gloucester, 

Sharpness on the Severn estuary, and the tidal 

harbour at Port Talbot. 

Five hundred photographs, many spanning the 

entire width of a page, are featured, showing a wide 

variety of vessels — paddlesteamers, tugs, 

dredgers, general cargo ships, tankers, colliers, 

tramp ships, barges, bulkers, ore carriers, passenger 

excursion vessels, cable layers, naval craft and 

more. Each image is accompanied by a detailed 

caption. 

The book will delight ship-spotters; one is 

repeatedly struck by how handsome and beautifully 

proportioned many of these ships were. 

However, a chapter giving an historical overview 

of Bristol shipping would have been useful. 

To advertise 

your products 

& services in 

the Telegraph 

please contact: 

CENTURY ONE 

PUBLISHING 

Tel: 01727 893 894 

Fax: 01727 893 895 

Email: ollie@century 

onepublishing.ltd.uk


SHIP TO SHORE 

M-Notices 

M-Notices, Marine Information 

Notes and Marine Guidance Notes 

issued by the Maritime & 

Coastguard Agency recently include: 

MIN 382 (M+F) — Amendments to 

mandatory requirements recently 

agreed at the International Maritime 

Organisation 

The large number of amendments to 

IMO mandatory instruments and the 

size of the documentation involved 

mean that it is not practicable to 

publish the information in a Marine 

Information Note. MIN 382 gives 

details of how to find the 

amendments on the MCA website. If a 

hard copy is preferred, please contact 

the International Liaison Team. 

MIN 386 (M) — Written examination 

dates 2010/11: deck and engineer 

officers (Merchant Navy) 

MIN 387 (M) — Written examination 

dates 2010/11: engineer officers 

(yachts and sail training vessels) 

These notes set out certificate of 

competency examination dates 

between September 2010 and August 

2011. MIN 387 also points out that, in 

addition to these fixed dates, some of 

the examinations on the yacht 

syllabus will be on demand at the 

request of a training provider giving a 

minimum of 14 days’ notice. 

MIN 391 (M) — Navigation: vessel 

traffic services V103 and local port 

services course dates 2010-2011 

This note sets out the IALA V103 and 

LPS course dates available to UK port 

and harbour authorities between 

June 2010 and August 2011. The dates 

have been arranged following 

consultation with the two training 

institutes offering the courses: South 

Tyneside College and Fleetwood 

Nautical Campus (Blackpool and the 

Fylde College). 

Candidates should contact the 

training institutes for full course 

details and to determine any 

accredited prior learning. 

Further information about VTS 

training in the UK can be found in 

MGN 318 (M+F) — Training and 

certification of VTS personnel. 

MIN 392 (M) — Research project 

599: The Human Element — a guide 

to human behaviour in the shipping 

industry 

This note draws attention to a new 

publication investigating the effect of 

human behaviour on maritime safety. 

This is a result of a year-long research 

project jointly commissioned by the 

MCA, BP Shipping, Teekay Shipping 

and the Standard P&I Club. 

The new publication, The Human 

Element — a guide to human 

behaviour in the shipping industry, 

explains the complex interaction of 

human element issues in the 

maritime industry and argues that 

managing the human element needs 

to take place simultaneously at all 

levels onboard ship, within companies 

and amongst regulators. The book 

provides guidance on how the issues 

can be addressed, which is intended 

to feed into policy-making as well as 

for use in day-to-day operations. 

Printed copies of the book can be 

obtained from The Stationery Office: 

customer.services@tso.co.uk, and 

for electronic versions: 

human.element@mcga.gov.uk. 

MIN 393 (M) — Research project 

600: Lashing at sea 

The Lashing@Sea Project was a threeyear 

investigation of cargo-securing 

practice on ro-ro, heavy-lift and large 

container ships. The research was 

backed by a consortium of 

commercial organisations and 

government bodies, including the 

MCA. It was carried out by Marin in 

the Netherlands. 

The project’s objectives were to 

make lashing systems more effective, 

to increase the efficiency of lashing 

systems and to minimise the risk of 

damage to the environment. MIN 393 

summarises the conclusions as 

follows. 

Accelerations on ships are 

dominated by: 

zextreme roll motions for 

transverse loads 

zpitch/heave and impulsive wave 

loads for vertical loads 

zrigid body response for smaller 

ships 

zdynamic amplification for larger 

container ships due to hull flexibility 

On the design aspect, it was found 

that the effects of flexible hull 

response and container row 

interaction are not included in the 

design models, and this can result in 

the actual securing loads and stack 

loads being far greater than 

anticipated. 

On the operational side, two 

aspects were considered [to be 

significant]: the effects of continuous 

operational relevance (design quality) 

and the vessel’s handling in severe 

weather (sea keeping). 

An executive summary of the 

Lashing@Sea report can be found on 

the MCA website (type Lashing@Sea 

into the search box). It includes some 

text in Dutch as well as English. 

MGN 411 (M+F) — Training and 

certification requirements for the 

crew of fishing vessels and their 

applicability to small commercial 

vessels and large yacht 

This notice sets out requirements for 

safety training on all fishing vessels for 

new entrants and experienced 

fishermen, including: 

zadditional voluntary training 

courses for fishing vessels of less than 

16.5m registered length 

zhow to book a training course and 

requirements for proof of attendance 

zcertification requirements for 

fishing vessels of 16.5m registered 

length and over 

zacceptance of a skipper’s ticket for 

small commercial vessel operations 

zacceptance of fishing certificates of 

competency for use on small 

commercial vessels and large yachts 

zenforcement of the requirements 

z M-Notices are available in three 

ways: a set of bound volumes, 

a yearly subscription, and individual 

documents. 

z A new consolidated set of 

M-Notices has been published by the 

Stationery Office. This contains all 

M-Notices current on 31 July 2009 

(ISBN 9780115530555) and costs 

£210 — www.tsoshop.co.uk 

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’. 

The face of Nautilus 

Jorg Wendt, D&B Services 

Jörg Wendt is the face of 

gNautilus International for many 

seafarers working in the growing 

superyacht sector. 

Since 1999, he has been co-owner 

of the firm D&B Services — based in 

Antibes in the south of France — 

which is one of the Union’s strategic 

partners in the large yacht sector, 

providing a contact point and support 

services for members in the area. 

A German national, Jörg studied 

chemistry at university but was 

attracted into seafaring by the wages 

that were on offer by working on 

superyachts. ‘At the time, it was 

simply a choice of working on yachts 

for twice the money I was being 

g National Pensions Association 

Thursday 1 July 2010 

11:00hrs 

Sea Hotel, Sea Road, South Shields, 

Tyne & Wear NE33 2LD 

The meeting will cover developments 

in the MNOPF, MNOPP and TMSP 

schemes. Open to all UK members, 

including associate and affiliate. 

Contact Adele McDonald to let us 

know you’re coming: 

Member meetings and seminars 

+44 (0)20 8989 6677 

amcdonald@nautilusint.org 

g Professional & Technical Forum 

Tuesday 21 September 2010 

13:00hrs 



The forum will deal with technical, 

safety, welfare and other professional 

topics relevant to shipmaster and chief 

offered as a chemist,’ he says. ‘But 

what began as just fun sailing 

developed into a professional career 

and it is a decision that I have never 

regretted.’ 

After deciding to work ashore for 

family reasons, Jörg has helped to 

develop D&B Services as a specialist 

company providing training, 

management and crew placement 

services. Together with his wife, 

Frédérique, and business partner 

Jerry Baylis, he has built the company 

into a major player in the sector, with 

activities including administration of 

crew in France, acting as an employer 

of yacht crew on behalf of owners 

and being the second MCArecognised 

training centre in Europe 

outside the UK. 

D&B Services was one of the first 

strategic partners for Nautilus in the 

superyacht sector, reflecting the 

increasing demand for seafarers with 

professional qualifications and 

experience and the changes that the 

industry will face as the Maritime 

Labour Convention comes into effect. 

Jörg describes the partnership 

with Nautilus as ‘a very interesting 

development’ and says yacht crew 

need the support that the Union 

provides. ‘The pay can be pretty 

attractive and the crew may be very 

happy — up to the moment 

something happens,’ he points out. 

Nautilus International organises regular meetings, forums and seminars for members to discuss pensions, technical 

matters and legal issues. Coming up in the next few months are: 

College contacts 

Induction visits 

Nautilus International’s recruitment team carry out 

regular induction visits to UK nautical colleges to provide 

information and help trainee officers join the Union. The 

team are also available for consultation by all members 

at these sessions. 

See www.nautilusint.org/newsandevents for dates of 

upcoming college visits by Garry Elliott and Blossom Bell 

(scroll down to ‘latest events’). For further information, 

Blackpool and the Fylde College 

(Fleetwood) 

Derek Byrne 

Tel: +44 (0)151 639 8454 

dbyrne@nautilusint.org 

Glasgow College of Nautical Science 

Gary Leech 

Tel: +44 (0)151 639 8454 

gleech@ 


UK 

Head office 

Nautilus International 

Oceanair House 

750-760 High Road 

Leytonstone 

London E11 3BB 

Tel: +44 (0)20 8989 6677 

Fax: +44 (0)20 8530 1015 


Northern office 


Nautilus House 

Mariners’ Park 


Tel: +44 (0)151 639 8454 

Fax: +44 (0)151 346 8801 


National Maritime College of Ireland 

(Cork) 

Ian Cloke 

Tel: +44 (0)20 8989 6677 

icloke@nautilusint.org 

South Tyneside College 

Steve Doran 

Tel: +44 (0)151 639 8454 

sdoran@ 


Contact Nautilus International 

Offshore sector contact 

point 

Members working for 

companies based in the 

east of Scotland or UK 

offshore oil and gas sector 

can call: 

+44 (0)1224 638882 

THE NETHERLANDS 

Postal Address 


Postbus 8575 

3009 An Rotterdam 

Physical Address 


Schorpioenstraat 266 

3067 KW Rotterdam 

engineer officer members. 

Contact Sharon Suckling to let us 

know you’re coming: 

+44 (0)20 8989 6677 

protech@nautilusint.org 

See www.nautilusint.org/ 

newsandevents for the most 

up-to-date information on member 

meetings and seminars (scroll down 

to ‘latest events’) 

email recruitment@nautilusint.org or call Garry and 

Blossom on +44 (0)151 639 8454 

Industrial support 

Nautilus International has assigned named industrial 

officials to support cadet members at the five main 

colleges in the British Isles, as well as providing contact 

points for trainees at other colleges in the UK and 

Netherlands. For queries about employer relations, 

workplace conditions or legal matters, please contact 

your industrial official, who will help you via phone or 

email or arrange a visit to your college. 

Tel: +31 (0)10 477 1188 

Fax: +31 (0)10 477 3846 

infonl@nautilusint.org 

SINGAPORE 

10a Braddell Hill #05-03 

Singapore 

579720 

Tel: +65 (0)625 61933 

Mobile: +65 (0)973 10154 

singapore@ 


FRANCE 

Yacht sector office in 

partnership with D&B 

Services 

3 Bd. d’Aguillon 

Warsash Maritime Academy — 

Southampton Solent University 

Gavin Williams 

Tel: +44 (0)20 8989 6677 

gwilliams@nautilusint.org 

Other colleges (UK and Netherlands) 

Garry Elliott or Blossom Bell 

Tel: +44 (0)151 639 8454 

gelliott@nautilusint.org 

bbell@nautilusint.org 

Nautilus International welcomes contact from members at any time. Please send a message to one of our department 

email addresses (see page 17) or get in touch with us at one of our offices around the world. 

For urgent matters, we can also arrange to visit your ship in a UK port. Nautilus officials make some 200 ship visits 

every year at the request of members. If you need to request a visit, please give your vessel’s ETA and as much 

information as possible about the issue that needs addressing. 

06600 Antibes 

France 

Tel: +33 (0)962 616 140 

recruitment@ 


www.dandbservices.com 

SPAIN 

Yacht sector office in 

partnership with dovaston 

C/Joan de Saridakis 2 

Edificion Goya, Local 1A 

Marivent 

07015 Palma de Mallorca 

Spain 

Tel: +34 971 677 375 

recruitment@ 


www.dovaston.com 

Quiz and 

crossword 

answers 

ACDB 

Quiz answers 

1. Greek owners have got the biggest 

orderbook in value terms — totalling 

some US$53.6bn at the start of this 

year. 

2. False: there were four bigger spills 

from tankers between 1980 and 2010. 

3. Singapore suffered a 13.5% decline in 

TEU traffic during 2009. 

4. Eight of the world’s top 10 container 

ports are in the Far East. 

5. The red ensign was allocated to the 

UK Merchant Navy in 1864. 

6. Hog chains were iron chains that 

were stretched tight between stem and 

stern posts to prevent ships from 

hogging. 

Crossword answers 

Quick Answers 

Across: 8. Ryder Cup; 9. Yearly; 

10. Step; 11. The old firm; 12. Scrape; 

14. Umbrella; 15. Placate; 17. Essence; 

20. Dry nurse; 22. Patter; 

23. Regardless; 24. Tate; 25. Moscow; 

26. Poltroon. 

Down: 1. Mystical; 2. Hemp; 3. Scythe; 

4. Speed up; 5. Syllabus; 

6. Bafflement; 7. Floral; 

13. Ascendancy; 16. Turn down; 

18. Creation; 19. Receipt; 21. Rhetor; 

22. Pestle. 24. Tart. 

This month’s cryptic crossword is a prize 

competition, and the answers will 

appear in next month’s Telegraph. 

Congratulations to Nautilus member 

Angela Loveridge, whose name wa s 

the first to be drawn from those who 

successfully completed the June cryptic 

crossword. 

Cryptic answers from June 

Across: 1. Brainstorm; 6. Puma; 

9. Fortissimo; 10. Spat; 

12. Astonishment; 15. Emaciated; 

17. Taste; 18. Steps; 19. Arrogance; 

20. Experimental; 24. Troy; 

25. Storehouse; 26. Raft; 

27. Sciagraphy. 

Down: 1. Buff; 2. Airs; 3. Nail scissors; 

4. Tesco; 5. Remainder; 7. Unpleasant; 

8. Antitheses; 11. Photographer; 

13. Newsletter; 14. Waterproof; 

16. Traumatic; 21. Norma; 22. Jump; 

23. Very.


JOIN NAUTILUS 

CALL NOW TO JOIN NAUTILUS ON: +44 (0)151 639 8454 

Ten good reasons why you should be a member: 

1. Pay and conditions 

Nautilus International negotiates on your behalf 

with an increasing number of British, Dutch and 

foreign flag employers on issues including pay, 

conditions, leave, hours and pensions. The 

Union also takes part in top-level international 

meetings on the pay and conditions of maritime 

professionals in the world fleets. 

2. Legal services 

With the maritime profession under increasing 

risk of criminalisation, Nautilus International 

provides specialist support, including a 

worldwide network of lawyers who can provide 

free and immediate advice to full members on 

employment-related matters. Members and 

their families also have access to free initial 

advice on non-employment issues. 

3. Certificate protection 

As a full member, you have free financial 

protection, worth up to £105,000, against loss of 

income if your certificate of competency is 

cancelled, suspended or downgraded following a 

formal inquiry. Full members are also entitled to 

representation during accident investigations or 

inquiries. 

4. Compensation 

Nautilus International’s legal services 

department recovers substantial compensation 

for members who have suffered work-related 

illness or injuries. 

5. Workplace support 

Nautilus International officials provide expert 

advice on work-related problems such as 

contracts, redundancy, bullying or 

discrimination, non-payment of wages, and 

pensions. 

6. Safety and welfare 

Nautilus International plays a vital role in 

national and international discussions on such 

key issues as hours of work, crewing levels, 

shipboard conditions, vessel design, and 

technical and training standards. Nautilus 

International has a major say in the running of 

the industry wide pension schemes in the UK 

and the Netherlands. 

7. Savings 

Being a Nautilus International member costs less 

than buying a newspaper every day and gives 

you peace of mind at work, with access to an 

unrivalled range of services and support. It’s 

simple to save the cost of membership — by 

taking advantage of specially-negotiated rates on 

a variety of commercial services ranging from 

tax advice to UK credit cards, and household, 

motoring, travel and specialist insurance. 

8. In touch 

As a Nautilus International member, help is 

never far away — wherever in the world you are. 

Officials regularly visit members onboard their 

ships and further support and advice is available 

at regular ‘surgeries’ and college visits 

throughout the UK and the Netherlands. There is 

also an official based in Singapore. 

9. Your union, your voice 

Nautilus International is the voice of some 

25,000 maritime professionals working in all 

sectors of the shipping industry, at sea and 

ashore. As one of the largest and most influential 

international bodies representing maritime 

professionals, the Union campaigns tirelessly to 

promote your views. 

10. Get involved! 

Nautilus International is a dynamic and 

democratic union, offering members many 

opportunities to be fully involved and have your 

say in our work — at local, national and 

international levels. 


It’s never been more important to be a member and it’s never been 

easier to apply for membership. You can now join over the phone, 

or online at www.nautilusint.org — or post us this form to begin: 

SURNAME 

FIRST NAMES 

GEN DER 

ADDRESS 

POSTCODE 

PERSONAL EMAIL 

HOME TEL 

EMPLOYER 

SHIP NAME 

DISCHARGE BOOK NO (IF APPLICABLE) 

DATE OF BIRTH 

MOBILE 

RANK 

If you are, or have been, a member of another union please state: 

NAME OF UNION 

SUBSCRIPTIONS PAID UNTIL 

MEMBERSHIP NO (IF KNOWN) 

DATE OF LEAVING 

Please post this form to: 

Membership services department 



Wallasey CH45 7PH, United Kingdom



Alarm over 

attacks on 

unionists 

The International Trade Union 

AConfederation (ITUC) has 

reported a dramatic increase in the 

number of trade unionists murdered 

in 2009, with 101 killings worldwide 

— up 30% on the previous year. 

The ITUC annual survey of trade 

union rights violations, published last 

month, provides detailed evidence of 

harassment, intimidation and other 

forms of anti-union persecution, 

including beatings and detentions. 

Forty-eight of the deaths took 

place in Colombia, which has long 

had a poor reputation for anti-union 

violence. 

Elsewhere in the world, the ITUC 

survey highlights the situation in the 

Philippines, described as ‘one of the 

most dangerous countries in Asia for 

trade unionists’. In this nation — 

popular with international shipping 

companies as a source of low-cost 

crew — three trade union leaders 

were murdered in 2009 and another 

died following interrogations by state 

security forces. 

New Spirit 

for P&O 

A 

Captain David Miller, senior 

master of the new P&O Ferries 

vessel Spirit of Britain, is pictured left 

as the 49,000gt ship was launched at 

the STX Europe yard in Rauma, 

Finland, last month. 

Due to be delivered in December, 

Spirit of Britain was floated out of its 

construction dock to enable work to 

start on a sistership — Spirit of 

France. Costing more than €360m, 

the two ships are the largest designed 

for service on the Dover Strait and will 

be capable of carrying 1,750 

passengers, 180 lorries and 195 cars. 

Spirit of Britain is set to begin sea 

trials in October and is expected to 

enter into service on the Dover-Calais 

route in January 2011, to be followed 

by Spirit of France in September next 

year. 

P&O Ferries chief executive Helen 

Deeble said the ships were designed 

for a lifespan of 25 years, and would 

be the first ferries to comply with the 

International Maritime Organisation’s 

‘safe return to port’ regulations. 

Union warns on 

fatigue dangers 

F 

Nautilus hits out as owners and flag states seek to retain STCW ‘flexibility’ on working hours 

PNautilus International 

was last month working 

with other maritime 

unions to oppose attempts by 

shipowner groups and some flag 

states to water down proposed 

new curbs on seafarers’ working 

hours. 

The Union was taking part in 

the week-long diplomatic conference 

in Manila at the end of the 

month that was due to decide on 

a package of revisions to the international 

Standards of Training 

Certification & Watchkeeping 

(STCW) convention. 

In the lead-up to the final talks 

on the STCW shake-up, controversy 

mounted over plans to 

bring the International Maritime 

Organisation rules on watchkeepers’ 

working hours into line with 

those set by the International 

Labour Organisation (ILO). 

Merchant Navy Operations (Deck) 

Certificate of Competency 

Officer of the Watch (Unlimited) Jan, May & Sept 

Chief Mate/Masters (Unlimited) May & September 

Short courses to STCW 95 

Safety 

Personal Survival Techniques 

Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities 

Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting 

Elementary First Aid 

5 Day Combined Basic Safety Training 

Specialist training for the maritime and offshore industries 

Passenger Ships: Crisis Management and Human Behaviour 

Passenger Ships: Safety, Cargo Safety and Hull Integrity 

Crowd Management 

Medical 

Medical First Aid Onboard Ship 

Medical Care Onboard Ship (and Refresher) 

Radio 

GMDSS GOC/ROC/LRC 

Navigation 

NaRAST (O) & (M) 

Originally, the IMO was looking 

at proposed changes to cut 

the STCW’s maximum weekly 

work hours limit for watchkeepers 

from 98 to 91 and increase 

minimum rest time requirements 

from 70 hours to 77. 

But a flurry of counter-proposals 

were tabled as major 

shipowners and flag states sought 

to win support for alternative proposals, 

seeking to retain daily and 

weekly exceptions from the rules. 

They claim these are essential to 

enable ships to meet varying trading 

patterns, operational requirements 

and weather conditions. 

One paper, submitted by the 

Bahamas and Liberia and owners’ 

organisations including the International 

Shipping Federation, 

BIMCO, Intertanko, the Cruise 

lines International Association 

and the International Ship Managers’ 

Association, urged the IMO 

to continue to permit flexibility. 

They want the conference to 

agree to allow daily exceptions to 

the requirement for 10 hours of 

rest in very 24-hour period in certain 

circumstances. 

The International Shipping 

Federation argued that both the 

IMO and ILO regimes permit 

‘occasional deviation’ from minimum 

rest hour rules — provided 

that sufficient safeguards are in 

place and that compensatory rest 

is provided. 

‘Unfortunately due to misunderstandings 

amongst some 

governments about the practical 

aspects of ship operations, particularly 

when ships are in port, 

there is a danger that any scope 

for flexibility could be completely 

removed from the revised STCW 

Convention,’ it warned. 

‘In effect (with the exception 

of emergencies) seafarers could 

be prohibited from ever being on 

duty for more than 14 hours in 

any 24-hour period,’ the ISF said. 

‘This could prove particularly 

damaging to shortsea shipping 

and could also have an impact on 

the wages received by seafarers, 

since their overtime hours could 

be substantially reduced. 

‘While it is accepted that the 

total hours of rest in any seven 

day period must never be less 

than those stipulated (77 hours 

under ILO and currently 70 hours 

under STCW), there needs to be 

flexibility in how this work is distributed 

throughout the seafarers’ 

working week.’ 

As long as seafarers are compensated 

with rest for working 

extra hours and the total hours 

worked do not exceed the weekly 

Bridge Simulator 

Bridge Team Management 

Ship’s Safety Officer/Security Officer 

Tanker Familiarisation 

Specialist Tanker Training (Oil) 

Other courses 

Efficient Deck Hand 

CPSC&RB 

Dynamic Positioning 

DP Induction 

DP Simulator 

limit there should be no problem, 

the ISF contended. 

EU member states put forward 

another paper that sought to 

ensure any exceptions were 

granted for safety and security 

reasons rather than commercial 

pressures. 

But Nautilus senior national 

secretary Allan Graveson said he 

was appalled by the moves and 

argued that there are strong 

health and safety grounds for 

tighter controls on seafarers’ 

hours. 

‘Those flag states that accept 

either a 91 or 98 hour working 

week, with or without derogation, 

should be prepared to take 

responsibility for their actions — 

be that of bodies in the water or 

oil on the sea,’ he warned. ‘Such 

incidents are entirely foreseeable 

and preventable.’ 

Offshore Oil & Gas (OPITO) 

OIM Management of Major Emergencies 

CRO Controlling Emergencies 

Command & Control for ERRVs Masters & Mates 

Competence Management Consultancy 

Offshore First Aid (and Refresher) 

Advanced Offshore First Aid (and Refresher) 

Accredited by 

New Code 

brings big 

changes 

The new STCW Convention and 

Code, due to be adopted at a 

diplomatic conference at the end of 

June, will see some sweeping 

changes to key elements of life and 

work at sea. 

The overhaul is the first since 

1995, and for Nautilus one of the 

most important elements it 

introduces is international 

recognition for the role of the 

electro-technical officer. 

‘We have done what we set out 

to do almost three decades ago, 

delivering formal ETO qualifications 

on a global basis at operational and 

support level,’ said senior national 

secretary Allan Graveson. 

An additional paper being tabled 

at the conference by China sought to 

extend this further, to cover 

guidance on the competence 

requirements for senior ETOs. 

Other STCW changes include: 

zimproved measures to prevent 

certificate fraud 

znew rules to combat drug and 

alcohol abuse 

zupdated medical fitness 

standards for seafarers 

znew requirements for security 

training 

znew training guidance for 

personnel serving onboard offshore 

support vessels 

znew certification for able 

seafarers 

gFull report in August’s Telegraph 

Lowestoft College, St Peters Street, Lowestoft, 

Suffolk NR32 2NB United Kingdom 

Tel 00 44 1502 525025 

Fax 00 44 1502 525106 

Email maritime@lowestoft.ac.uk 

Web www.lowestoft.ac.uk/maritime.asp

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