NEWS - Nautilus International

16 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | July 2010
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
NEWS
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
slashed its home
insurance prices...
Come direct to
Endsleigh. You could
save money now!
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
Plus get
FREE
Home Emergency
Cover when you buy
buildings and contents
insurance together
direct*
Visit: endsleigh.co.uk/nautilus Call: 0800 028 3571
*Available from 18th March until further notice, when customers purchase Buildings and Contents Insurance together from the same insurer, directly from Endsleigh.
Endsleigh Insurance Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. This can be checked on the FSA Register by visiting its website at www.fsa.gov.uk