Bayonne police are still awaiting the arrival of the Explorer of the Seas cruise ship at the Cape Liberty Cruise Port after the Royal Caribbean line's vessel and Coast Guard recovered the body of a crew member from the ocean after the man was reported missing Wednesday, according to city officials.

The identity of the 26-year-old man has not been released.

According to CruiseCritic.com, " ... closed-circuit camera footage revealed that the employee was on Deck 5, and 'climbed over the railing and lowered himself over the side of the ship ... "

The ship sailed past Puerto Rico when the man was last seen. Coast Guard Spokesman Ricardo Castrodad said crews had searched for the man 138 miles north of the coastal town of Isabela in Puerto Rico..

The ship was nearing the end of a nine-night Bermuda and Caribbean cruise that departed from the Bayonne on April 29.

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Somali pirates have hijacked a Taiwanese fishing vessel with 26 crewmembers onboard, an official said Saturday.
The owner lost contact with Tai Yuan 227 two days ago.

The vessel was heading for the Maldives.

Crewmembers included Chinese, Kenyan, Taiwanese and Mozambique nationals.

“We received the reports Friday and it seemed the hijack took place two or three days ago,” Andrew Mwangura, East Africa coordinator of Seafarers Assistance Programme, told Xinhua on phone.

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ITF’s Cockroft To Speak On Human Factor At INTERTANKO Anniversary

ITF General Secretary David Cockroft will talk about the human factor in shipping and praise improved communication between the ITF and INTERTANKO when he appears as a guest at the tanker owners’ association’s 40th anniversary meeting in London today.

Addressing the meeting Cockroft is expected to say:

“It is unfortunate that you should be celebrating the 40th anniversary of INTERTANKO at the same time as what is quite probably the worst oil related disaster in history, which is currently taking place off the US coast. Once again, it is not the 11 rig workers who tragically lost their lives who get the most attention. It’s the oysters, the crabs, the seabirds and the sea turtles.

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Cargo ship and barge collide; 8 missing

In the early hours of the morning on Tuesday, May 4, a cargo ship and a barge collided off north China’s Tianjin coast. One of nine crew members aboard the barge was rescued before it sank, the other 8 are still missing. The crew aboard the cargo ship was unharmed.

A dozen Chinese rescue vessels are searching for the missing crew.
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ROK ship spills fuel after collision in Panama Canal

On Monday night, May 3, the South Korean ship HANJING MONACO leaked fuel after colliding with the Pedro Miguel floodgate in the Panama Canal.

The collision damaged the ship’s fuel tank, causing an estimated 35 barrels of fuel to be leaked. The spill was quickly under control and technicians and staff of the Union of Control and Response to Pollution cleaned the fuel spill zone.

The ACP towed the ship to a safe zone where it is going to be repaired. Panamanian authorities are carrying out an investigation into the cause of the accident.

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Hong Kong ship sinks after collision with freighter

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The chief engineer of a cargo ship that included the state port in Morehead City on its route pleaded guilty this week in federal court to dumping oil-contaminated waste in area waters and failing to follow recording procedures, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

Vaja Sikharulidze, 59, a citizen of Georgia, pleaded guilty May 3 before U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III to violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, the release said.

Sikharulidze was the chief engineer of the Motor Tanker Chem Faros, a 21,145 gross-ton ocean-going cargo ship. The ship was operated by Cooperative Success Maritime SA and regularly transported cargo between various ports in Asia and the United States, including the Morehead City port, the release said.

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Even by the jaded standards of the failed state of Somalia, this week's news was enough to raise eyebrows: one of the country's two competing Islamist factions, Hizbul Islam, stormed into the coastal city of Harardhere and drove out the pirates who have run amok in the waters off the Horn of Africa, wreaking havoc on global shipping and confounding the world's navies.

"Piracy has become too much. It's an anti-Islamic business, and we won't accept it," Hizbul Islam spokesman Sheik Mohamed Ali Abdinasr told TIME. "We want to bring law and order to that country of Somalia, and we want to show the good name of Somalis."

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THIS being the Year of the Seafarer, as decreed by the International Maritime Organisation, Lloyd’s List would like to encourage commercial seafarers of all stripes to share their stories.

The object will be to publish them throughout the year to give all of our land-bound readers, clinched to their desks, to paraphrase Herman Melville, a chance to live vicariously.

The point will be to draw an accurate first-person picture of the struggles and joys of a life at sea. We are not asking for fine writing, but, of course will be delighted to receive it. Lloyd’s List’s gallery of green eyeshades will assist by editing where necessary.

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ITF General Secretary David Cockroft will talk about the human factor in shipping and praise improved communication between the ITF and INTERTANKO when he appears as a guest at the tanker owners’ association’s 40th anniversary meeting in London today.

Addressing the meeting Cockroft is expected to say:

“It is unfortunate that you should be celebrating the 40th anniversary of INTERTANKO at the same time as what is quite probably the worst oil related disaster in history, which is currently taking place off the US coast. Once again, it is not the 11 rig workers who tragically lost their lives who get the most attention. It’s the oysters, the crabs, the seabirds and the sea turtles.

“We do not yet know the reason for the accident and I am sure that lawyers will be fighting over it for many years, but someone somewhere made a serious mistake. This demonstrates what the ITF has long been saying, and I suspect the reason you invited me here today, which is that the human factor is crucial to a well run, safe oil industry – both in production and in shipping.

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The nine crew members of the hijacked Miri-registered tugboat Atlantic 3 were found in the high seas, about two days journey from the shores of Vietnam.

The crew of the tugboat and a barge who were rescued off the coast of Vietnam – nine days after they were hijacked and dumped into the seas more than 1,000km away from their last point of journey near southern Borneo – are now on board a Vietnamese navy ship.

Axsonic Shipping Sdn Bhd, the ship’s owner based here in Miri, is keeping track of the crew with the help of its agent in Vietnam.

“Our agents told us that the crew members are still on the way to the Vietnamese shores. They were found far off the coast. They may arrive in a day or two.

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Sixteen crew members who were abandoned by their ship's bankrupt owners since March will soon be able to fly home to their families after the 6,894-tonne vessel MV Nicea was yesterday auctioned in court.

The ship sold for €851,000, from which the crew will receive €130,000 in salaries they were owed. Some of the money will also go towards their repatriation costs.

A company registered in the Marshall Islands, MSK, bought the boat, which was "arrested" in Maltese waters after its Turkish owners, Erwina Shipping Ltd, defaulted on bank payments.

The crew has been stranded in Malta for two months and managed to catch the media's attention after writing calls for help on bed sheets saying things like: "Help us. No food or electricity" and "Where is the ITF (International Transport Workers Federation)?"

"Our situation became critical on March 20 when provisions practically finished. We had no fuel for electricity supply so we had to cook on deck and ended up eating barbecued spaghetti for breakfast and dinner," Vladimir Motsalov, captain of the Maltese-registered ship had said.

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The burly, bearded man in overalls settled into the command chair of the Joe Griffin and admired the precious cargo firmly attached to the stern of the supply boat: a four-story box jutting from the deck that will be lowered into the Gulf of Mexico to contain an out-of-control oil gusher.

Sean "Slim" Weichel was on the same boat 16 days ago when he and his mates responded to the oil rig explosion, dousing the flames of the Deepwater Horizon in what proved to be a futile effort to keep it from sinking.

Their latest assignment: Return to the scene of the disaster with a giant concrete-and-metal box designed to cover the biggest leak and funnel the oil to a tanker on the surface.

"We are carrying a tool that could possibly end a lot of this ordeal," said Weichel, a bespectacled 35-year-old deckhand from Rocklin, Calif. "It is exhilarating to know we might be able to do some more good than we could before."

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Russian special forces stormed an imperiled oil tanker off the Horn of Africa and freed its crew this morning from Somali pirates who hijacked the vessel a day earlier.

The dramatic rescue comes after a 20-hour siege aboard the ship called Moscow University, a Liberian-flagged oil tanker bound for China carrying more than $50 million worth of crude oil.

Armed Somali pirates driving speed boats allegedly attacked the ship around dawn Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden, between Yemen and Somalia. The 23-member crew locked themselves in an engine room to protect themselves -- which also prevented the pirates from being able to drive the ship.

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he crew of a Russian destroyer engaged in a “robust” firefight with pirates early on Thursday and freed 23 Russian seafarers who had been taken hostage on a Russian tanker a day earlier, the European anti-piracy naval force (EUNAVFOR) said.

The ‘Moscow University’ was sailing from Sudan to Ningpo in China with a cargo of 86,000 tonnes crude oil when it was hijacked Wednesday morning abut 350 miles east of Socotra, in the Gulf of Aden.

Cmdr John Harbour, a spokesman for EUNAVFOR, said Thursday that the Russian warship had freed the tanker, after its crew members locked themselves into the rudder compartment of the ship.

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A log ship on which two seafarers died of suspected asphyxiation has left Marsden Pt after surviving Burmese crew members were promised repatriation once they reach South Korea.

The TPC Wellington sailed at 1pm yesterday after the Maritime Union reached a deal with its South Korean operator to release the vessel's 10 remaining seamen ratings from their contract in Busan, and to pay the costs of flying them home to Burma, also known as Myanmar, as well as wages and a bonus.

International Transport Workers Federation inspector Grahame McLaren earlier reported that morale was at rock-bottom after the ship's South Korean first officer and a Burmese seaman died in a hold on Monday, and the remaining crew just wanted to go home.

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The increasingly severe shortage of seafarers and its future impact on the global maritime industry will be addressed at an international seminar at the headquarters of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in London on 11 May.

Co-hosted by The Nippon Foundation and the Japan International Transport Institute (JITI), the seminar, entitled ‘Problem of the Global Shortage of Seafarers and the Role of the Shipping Industry through CSR Activities’, is supported by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan, and the Round Table of the International Shipping Association.

At the seminar, which will feature presentations from specialists from the maritime industry, academic community and governments around the world, The Nippon Foundation and JITI will present the results of their recent study on the future global supply and demand for seafarers, following the work of a high level steering committee.

‘There is now worldwide concern that the rapid growth of the maritime industry has outstripped the number of available high calibre young seafarers, said a spokesperson from The Nippon Foundation. ‘The study indicates how changes in the world economy might influence the maritime industry in the future, along with possible measures to secure the required workforce.’

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A crewman on the Pride of America fell overboard yesterday morning about 13 hours after the cruise ship left Honolulu Harbor and was quickly picked up by crew members in a rescue boat.

The Coast Guard was notified of the accident by Pride of America crew yesterday and classified the incident as a "self rescue."

Because the Coast Guard was not directly involved, Petty Officer Anthony Soto said he had no other details, such as the condition of the crewman.

But passenger Brett Aubrey, a professional photographer and former member of the Canadian Navy, took pictures of the rescue.

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Two sailors, a Korean and a Burmese, died after suffocating in the hold of a ship at a wharf on North Island, New Zealand police said Monday.

A third person was hospitalized in stable condition following the accident aboard the Panamanian-registered bulk carrier TPC Wellington.

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Two crewmen died of suffocation and another was critically hurt in a log ship's hold at Marsden Pt wharf near Whangarei yesterday.

Police said one of the men entered a hatch on the bulk carrier TPC Wellington to check for a leak - a move that started a fatal domino-effect of sailors trying to help their distressed colleagues.

The first sailor got into difficulty and a second crew member entered the same hatch to rescue him. He also got into trouble and a third crewman followed.

It was not until two more crewmen entered the hatch using breathing apparatus that they were able to help their shipmates.

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A 14-year-old sea cadet has died after falling overboard in the Solent.

The boy, from Kent, was on the training ship TS Royalist which was anchored at Stokes Bay south of Gosport, Hampshire.

He was climbing the rigging to bring in the sails when he fell 25ft (7.5m) into the sea on Sunday night. The crew retrieved him and sent a Mayday call.

The Solent Coastguard helicopter took him to the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth where he was pronounced dead on arrival. An investigation has begun.

Standard exercise

The teenager was one of 19 sea cadets and 10 staff onboard the brig, all from the south-east of England and aged between 13 and 18.

They were celebrating the movement's 150th anniversary at the 2010 Sea Cadet Festival, which was held at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth over the bank holiday.

Mike Cornish, chief executive of the Marine Society and Sea Cadets, said the accident happened during a standard exercise after setting anchor for the night.

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You have probably heard of the “slow food” movement and the various spinoffs including slow travel and slow parenting. But is globalization ready for the latest — “slow steaming”?

An oversupply in the shipping industry means that companies can slow down their ships to save fuel and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 30%, according to a recent study by Dutch consultancy CE Delft.

International shipping, like the aviation industry, is not regulated by the Kyoto Protocol, and contributes nearly 3% to global greenhouse-gas emissions, compared to the 1.5% of global emissions generated by airplanes.

According to John Maggs from Seas at Risk, the environmental group that commissioned the study, the shipping industry initially criticized the idea of slow steaming because it would require them to build more ships. But since the recession began in 2008, trade has declined, producing a surplus of ships, many of which are sitting at anchor. Some carriers have begun taking vessels out of layup and slowing down their entire fleet to reduce fuel consumption.

Mary R. Brooks, who teaches courses on transportation at Dalhousie University, says the conditions were ideal for the adoption of slow steaming in the fall of 2008, when the global slump created an overcapacity of ships and fuel prices spiked. Since then, fuel prices have fallen and trade has begun to resume. Nevertheless, slow steaming will continue to be economically prudent for some time. Carriers continued ordering ships right up to the market crash, so “the overcapacity is built into the order books of the shipyards,” says Maggs.

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The Jones Act is integral to the health and viability of the US shipping industry and its ability to compete with a growing number of fleets from offshore countries. However, previous interpretations of the Jones Act could be a serious setback for the industry in light of the Obama administration's decision in March to expand offshore drilling.

In its simplest form, the Jones Act states that only vessels built, owned and manned by Americans may carry cargo between US destinations in a bid to protect the American shipping industry from offshore competition. However, according to the 4/23/10 issue of New Orleans City Business, foreign vessels have managed to get a foot in the door, thanks to an interpretation of the Jones Act by the US Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBPA) that allowed for foreign vessels to transport oilfield cargo to rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

While there are far more US vessels out there—1,200 US flagged vessels versus 90 vessels flying foreign flags, according to estimates provided by the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA)—the foreign fleets are growing. Last year, there were just 50 foreign vessels operating in the Gulf of Mexico. That's an increase of 40 in one year.

Critics of the current interpretation of the Jones Act fear that the [administration's decision to expand offshore drilling—originally intended to support the US shipping industry and create jobs—will be rendered ineffective if foreign operators outbid US-based operators. US fleets must adhere to stringent US safety and quality regulations, adding significant costs that foreign operators can bypass.

Ken Wells, president of OMSA, is concerned that "a lot of the perceived advantages of this offshore expansion are going to bypass the very communities that are counting on it."

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Radical Islamist insurgents in Somalia seized one of the country’s most notorious pirate dens on Sunday, raising questions about whether rebels with connections to Al Qaeda will now have a pipeline to tens of millions of dollars — and a new ability to threaten global trade.

Dozens of insurgents stormed into Xarardheere, a pirate cove on the central Somali coast, around noon, but instead of putting up a fight, the pirates sped off. According to witnesses, several pirate bosses raced out of town in luxury four-by-four trucks, with TVs packed in the back and mattresses strapped on top. Islamist fighters in a fleet of heavily armed pickup trucks then occupied the strategic points in town, including the defunct police station and several crossroads.

What will happen next is not clear. Two of Somalia’s biggest problems and its most troubling exports — Islamist extremism and piracy — seem to be crashing into each other.

For several years, an intense civil war has raged in the country between a weak United States-backed government and radical Islamist groups that are trying to overthrow it. The ensuing lawlessness has given rise to a thriving piracy trade, in which Somali thugs in small skiffs have commandeered some of the biggest vessels on the sea, including a 1,000-foot-long oil tanker.

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Somali pirates have moved three hijacked ships from the port of Harardheere, which was seized by Islamist militants on Sunday.

Witnesses say pirates sent the three ships farther out to sea as fighters from the insurgent group Hizbul Islam stormed into Harardheere, prompting pirates there to flee.

The destination of the ships is not known but many of the pirates have fled to another pirate stronghold, Hobyo, farther north on Somalia's eastern coast.

A spokesman for Hizbul Islam, Abdinasir Mohamed Afdhuub, says the group seized Harardheere to impose Islamic law.

However, pirates from the area say Hizbul Islam had demanded a cut of the pirates multi-million dollar business – hijacking ships for ransom.

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Filipino seafarers who own Smart Link SIMs may now make calls to any Philippine or international number using a new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service offered by Smart.

Dubbed as the Smart Link NetFone, the service has been designed to complement the existing Smart Link satellite phone service, which is used in areas beyond the reach of landlines or cellular signals.

To avail themselves of the new VoIP service, Smart Link subscribers simply have to register their Smart Link SIM card number and download the NetFone software program from the Smart Link website (http://www.smart.com.ph/smartlink). Once NetFone is installed on a computer, the subscriber may log on to NetFone using his registered Smart Link number and password on a virtual keyboard, to directly call via the Internet to any mobile or landline number in any part of the world.

Through the Smart Link NetFone service, Filipino seafarers may now use computers with Internet connectivity to make calls wherever they may be overseas.

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Shipping companies with U.S. interests don't know if they are allowed to pay ransoms to Somali pirates anymore after President Obama declared them an "extraordinary threat," even as pirates extended their reach farther than ever toward Asia, hijacking three Thai vessels, officials said Tuesday.

A total of 77 crew members were taken Sunday in the hijackings 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) east of Somalia in the Indian Ocean — the farthest from the Somali coast pirates have ever attacked, the EU Naval Force said. Pirates now hold 14 vessels and 305 hostages, the International Maritime Bureau said.

Pirate attacks have risen over the last year despite increased patrols by U.S. and European warships, in part because the multimillion dollar ransoms keep rising.

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Summary: Today, 20. April 2010, 12h00 UTC, still at least 23 foreign vessels plus one barge are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least 384 seafarers - including an elderly British yachting couple - plus the lorry drivers from Somaliland suffer to be released. See the Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor for background info and the map of the PIRACY COASTS OF SOMALIA.

CASES NOT COMPLETELY CLOSED:

MS INDIAN OCEAN EXPLORER and S/Y SERENITY - presumed sunken, but wrecks not secured.

BARGE NN - an unnamed barge (allegedly with chemical waste) is held at Kulule (near Bendar-Beyla) since mid March. Ownership and circumstances could not yet be clarified. In the meantime local people have developed some ailments. Community awareness campaign was carried out, barge is provisionally secured. The case needs an immediate solution.

S/Y JOUPLA (aka JUMLA or YUMLA ?) - a mysterious yacht, said to hail from the Seychelles or South-Africa, with three Africans on board was kept since a long time near Dinoowda on the Indian Ocean coast of North-Eastern Somalia. Rumors say the yacht was involved in the sea-jacking of MV NAVIOS APOLLON as well as MV JAMES PARK and was then sighted near Hobyo. The yacht, initially used to smuggle drugs, is reported now to have been wrecked during the latest spree and sunk near Dinoowda Qorioweyn. The three African men reportedly still stay in Garacad as hostages, being forced to train sea-shifta.

FV INTMAS 6 [aka FV TAWARIQ 2]: Was missing since March 2009. FV INTMAS 6 (sometimes named FV TAWARIQ 2) with a crew of around 30 seamen went missing around the time when FV TAWARIQ 1 was arrested by Tanzanian authorities with the help of the South African coastguard for illegal fishing. Families of four Kenyan crew members, who were hired by a Chinese shipping agent in Kenya, are desperate to know the fate of their relatives, while the shipping agent is now held also in the Tanzanian prisons in connection with the arrest of FV TAWARIQ 1. When FV TAWARIQ 1 was seized also FV TAWARIQ 2, 3 and 4 fled from the Western Indian Ocean. TAWARIQ 4 is now anchored in Singapore, TAWARIQ 3 caught fire off Mauritius, which has developed into a hub for fish-poachers, and TAWARIQ 2 (INTMAS 6) and her multi-national crew comprised of Taiwanese, Chinese, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Indonesians and Kenyans was missing for nearly a year. When FV WIN FAR 161 was captured by Somalis, who had followed the vessel close to the Seychelles , the other WIN FAR vessels were called back to Taiwan. The Taiwanese real shipowner of FV TAWARIQ 1, who is said to also have had his part in FV WIN FAR 161, which recently was released from Somalia with two dead sailors on board - is wanted by the authorities too. INTMAS 6 also fled from Tanzania after the arrest of FV TAWARIQ 1 - first to the Seychelles and then to Malaysia, from where now three Kenyan crew members returned to Kenya and the repatriation of a fourth from Bangkok is awaited. While the vessel is reportedly now sailing from Malaysia to Bangkok, investigations are ongoing.

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Somali pirates snatched 77 Thai fishermen Tuesday, their largest single hostage seizure, in an area of the Indian Ocean well outside the zone protected by an international anti-piracy mission.

The fishermen, aboard three vessels, were attacked by pirates about 1,200 miles (2,222 kilometres) from the coast of Somalia, said Commander John Harbour, spokesman for the EU anti-piracy mission EUNAVFOR.

"It's the furthest east that any attack and any hijacking has taken place, certainly since EUNAVFOR arrived in the area December 2008," he said.

The crew members seized in the attack, which took place on Sunday, were all Thai, he said.

"I can say, having confirmed through the owner, that all the crew are safe and well. The vessels are presently on a heading towards the Somali coast. EUNAVFOR will continue to monitor the situation," Harbour added.

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Somali pirates hijacking vessels at sea have become an almost daily occurrence. But the latest incident is raising the alarm far from the East African coast.

It is a scenario that has become all but routine – an act of piracy on the high seas by Somalis. This time the pirates have hijacked three fishing vessels from Thailand (and operating from Djibouti) with a total crew of 77 Thais aboard the ships. But what is unusual is that it has taken place more than 1,900 kilometers east of the African coast.

Commander John Harbour is at the European Union's Naval Force Maritime Security Center in London.

"Since the European Union Naval Force arrived in the Gulf of Aden and Somali Basin in the Indian Ocean back in December 2008, this is the farthest hijacking that we're aware of. In fact, it's closer to the Indian coast than it is to the Somali coast," Harbour said.

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SOMALIS CAPTURE ILLEGAL THAI FISHING FLEET WHILE THE HIGHLY PAID WATCHMEN ARE SLEEPING

EU NAVFOR DELAYS CONFIRMATON ON THAI FISHING VESSELS TAKEN BY SOMALI SEA-SHIFTA (ecop-marine)

It appears that the EU NAVFOR command deliberately withheld the confirmation of a sea-jacking of three Thai fishing vessels.

The EU Naval Force confirmed only today, Tuesday, that suspected Somali pirates hijacked three Thailand-flagged fishing vessels, which were reported already two days ago on 18 April as captured with a total crew of 77 Thai sailors in the Indian Ocean nearly 2,000km off Somalia – their farthest offshore attack to date.

“This was in the Indian Ocean, but far away from the east coast of Africa…This is the farthest hijacking to date. They are now operating near the Maldives and India,” said Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the Kenya-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Program.

"The vessel group was fishing off on 18 April as captured with a total crew of 77 Thai sailors in the Indian Ocean and we try to establish if they had a licence to fish there, since it is strange for fishing vessels operating out of Djibouti to fish in the Maldives," said an analyst working with ECOTERRA International. "However," he added "the families of seafarers deserve to be informed as soon these cases become known to those whose duty it is to know and not only after delayed media releases hit the wires."

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As a Canadian warship wrapped up its mission this week after five months patrolling the waters off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia, its captain highlighted the importance of Canada's role in maintaining a multinational naval presence in the precarious region.

"The fact is that terrorists continue to use the international waters to conduct illicit activity," said Cmdr. Steve Waddell, captain of HMCS Fredericton.

"Pirates continue to attack shipping in the region . . . they've been doing it while we are here, and they continue to do it now even as we get ready to go home. The fact . . . that other countries are continuing to plan to send ships over here tells me that there's a reason to continue to be here."

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