SSG No 20 - Shipgaz

Safety
Environment
Security
Editor: Cecilia Österman | Phone +46 31 62 95 88 | E-mail: cecilia@shipgaz.com | www.sesonboard.com
Renewed search
after perished fisherman
An underwater search for the missing
54-year old fisherman from the
33-foot fishing vessel Skarbak was resumed
towards the end of October, after Skarbak’s
collision with the 16,000 DWT chemical
tanker Doris. The Utkilen tanker cut
the fishing vessel in half, as the Doris was
unable to stop in time. At a public hearing
after the accident it became apparent
that the Doris had no lookout and did
not use the radar, but that visibility was
good. Sound recordings of the radio traffic
between the two vessels show that there
seems to have been some difference in
opinion as to who should give way:
Skarbak: “Are you going to slow down,
you who are approaching us?”
Doris: “Are you 20 foot, or are you 19? I
think you should calm down a little bit.”
Just minutes after this conversation the
Doris slammed into the Skarbak and cut
the fishing vessel in half. During the hearing
the chemical tanker captain Trygve
Southampton begins container scanning
Southampton Container Terminals is
first out in the US program for scanning
all containers destined for the US, the
Secure Freight Initiative (SFI), according to
US Customs and Border Protection. Since
October 12, all containers destined for
US ports are scanned with non-intrusive
equipment for the presence of radioactive
material. Port Qasim in Pakistan – which
like Southampton Container Terminals is
owned by DP World – and Puerto Cortez
in Honduras have also introduced container
scanning.
SCAnDinAviAn SHiPPinG GAZeTTe • oCToBeR 26, 2007
UTkilen
The Utkilen-owned Doris.
Bekken said that even though the Doris
should have given way to the Skarbak to
avoid the fatal collision, taking avoiding
action would almost certainly have caused
a collision. He accused the Skarbak of reckless
action when the fishing vessel speeded
up in the hope of getting across before
the Doris passed. Although he admitted
that the Skarbak had the right of way, he
believe that the rule did not apply for the
reason given, namely, that avoiding action
would have led to a collision.
At the largest port in the Nordic region,
the Port of Göteborg, container scanning is
not yet an issue.
”As far as I know, this will come into
force in 2012 but we have not really begun
discussing it yet”, says Tom Westman, head
of Containerterminalen in the Port of
Göteborg, although he is well aware that
the port will ultimately have to introduce
container scanning:
”We handle a lot of exports to the US and
if scanning becomes necessary, we will have
to have it too”, says Tom Westman to SSG.
SES Onboard
The SES Onboard section
focuses on Safety, Environment
and Security issues of interest
for ship operating professionals
at sea and in shore-based
organizations.
One in three seamen sent home
suffers from mental illness
One in three repatriated seamen that
require a medical escort, suffers from
mental illness, writes the London P&I Club
in its Stopploss Bulletin. It could be anxiety,
depression or psycotic disorders that in
extreme cases could be a danger to others
onboard or constitue a suicide risk.
The P&I Club advises all personnel
onboard to consult WHO’s International
Medical Guide for Ships and to seek advice
by radio before administering the right
medication, which the ships medical locker
should contain.
Piracy attacks increase again
– Nigeria and Somalia worst hit
According to
IMB (International
Maritime
Bureau), robbery and
piracy attacks against
vessels increased 14
per cent in the first
nine months of 2007 compared with the
same period last year. The figures show that
198 attacks have been reported worldwide
so far this year. Somalia and Nigeria are
the most afflicted countries with 26 attacks
each. IMB warns that this trend may indicate
that the decline in attacks since 2004
has now bottomed out.
Tove SvenSSon
Loss PRevention
tooLbox
in co-operation with
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