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The salvage operation led to the Wakashio splitting in two on August 15, and then being deliberately sunk off the coast of Mauritius, to international outcry and potentially in breach of several international laws on August 24. This raises even more questions about why MOL wasnt immediately aware of the grounding or why the Designated Person of Authority took so long to contact anyone else with what had gone wrong. Ethically acceptable technology guaranteeing seafarers dignity, and data confidentiality should be identified.. This means that the crew were not employees of Anglo-Eastern, or that Anglo-Eastern were responsible for setting the course or giving instructions to maneuver the Wakashio (what would be known as full third party management). It will soon face a starker choice between protecting Japanese corporate interests or choosing to take the moral high ground and build genuine goodwill with the population of Mauritius (not just with a highly unpopular Government against whom a hundred thousand have been on the streets marching in protest at their handling of the Wakashio). not create additional safety hazards on board vessels. Crew sizes are larger for older ships ships as the maintenance workload starts to increase. As Japan has made a strong virtue signal on Monday of decarbonizing by 2050, many wonder whether the response to the Wakashio will now be any different? The UNs International Labor Organization has a specific set of laws governing safe manning levels on ships, called the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC). For vessels of this class (the Wakashio was one of the largest ships in the sea, a Capesize class, meaning it is too large to pass through the Panama and Suez Canals), the crew size should have been 24. One of its most important chapters covers the Safety of Navigation, including safe levels of crew on board, which is most relevant for the Wakashio incident. The question at the heart of the uncertainty is: who was in control of the operations of the Wakashio? The journey taken by the Wakashio around Mauritius. This is almost unheard of in a major oil spill disaster. The MV Wakashio struck a coral reef on 25 July and began spilling oil on 6 August. 935. Bystanders look at MV Wakashio bulk carrier that. It should have been fairly apparent within a day of entering the Indian Ocean on July 16. around global shipping to take the right action on social or environmental issues, as well as the apathy and disregard with ship owners have viewed crew safety as a priority. The Hong Kong Maritime Hub article quoted the head of the International Maritime Employers Council, Francesco Gargiulo, who highlighted how cargo owners unwillingness to share the extra crew change costs was adding to the lack of progress in resolving the coronavirus crew change crisis, that has been described as a humanitarian crisis. A lot of charterers are saying Im not going to charter your vessels unless you sign a no-crew-change clause, he said. Since last week, various shipping databases show that Okiyo Maritime no longer appears to be the registered owner of the second vessel any more. So where are the certificates of the Safe Manning levels and the Emergency Exception to have allowed the Wakashio to travel with 17% fewer crew? after their ship docked in Rotterdam, Netherlands. But it has been six months now, and we have reached the safe limit of exemptions, extensions and all-too-convenient interpretations of these life-saving rules. The ITF have mentioned they have been dissatisfied with progress on the unsafe staffing issue, and have since had to engage the UN Secretary General, Antonio Gutteres in order to make more progress. Sources from Anglo-Eastern have indicated that the crew on the Wakashio were being employed on a crew management contract. The World Maritime Universitys upcoming report on the laws on rest and work hours for seafarers highlight the seriousness of inaccurate logs work and rest logs. Here are the ten basic questions that Japan-based Mitsui OSK Lines, Nagashiki Shipping and Hong Kong-based Anglo Eastern have failed to answer more than three months since the grounding. Further questions will need to be asked of Anglo-Eastern during the enquiry: MOL Corporate Headquarters in Central Tokyo. Five luxury cruise ships are seen being broken down for scrap metal at [+] the Aliaga ship recycling port. Ships often have several satellite internet. We consider it as a social responsibility.. Accurate recording of seafarers work/rest hours is not only a legal requirement under both the MLC, 2006 and the STCW, 1978, but also a compliance monitoring tool. The ISPS Code is an essential maritime regulation for the safety and security of ships, ports, cargo and crew. . With questions also raised by lawyers about the role of alcohol, even though the Captain was not on watch duty at the time of the crash, the clause in the agreement on operating the owners drug and alcohol policy is likely to receive particular scrutiny. As part of their standard crewman agreements, they identify a few areas directly relevant to the safe staffing of Capesize Bulk Carriers. Seen here, logbook entry by 2nd officer on board icebreaker Polaris on 5 February, 2019. I cover innovation within the green/blue industrial revolution. Lets first start with the owner of the Wakashio. The deployment of such technologies with the right safeguards could radically transform ship safety. These seafarers worry day and night about the threat of accidents occurring. Fifteen years after MIT Professor and shipbuilderJack Devanney wrote about the systemic issues in the global shipping industry almost 15 years ago in his iconic maritime accident book The Tankship Tromedy, it appears the global shipping industry have conveniently forgotten how to read and remember such lessons. A ship is required to have a Safe Manning Certificate on board. Okiyo Maritime signed the insurance agreement with the salvage company for the salvage and cleanup of the Wakashio on July 26. It had been chartered by Brazils mining giant and one of the biggest iron ore producers in the world, Vale. Mauritius shipping disaster caused by lack of attention to safety Seen here, a ship engine room in a vessel that is less than 10 years old with a 2 stroke, 6 cylinder engine like the Wakashio. This is a journey of at least 15,000 miles, making it a 30,000 mile round trip (without any crew change given Covid-19 restrictions). The International Safety Management Code are critical to the safe operations of modern ships. In the last three months alone, evidence about the Wakashio appears to be going missing (e.g., voice recording from the VDR, even though it has been revealed that there is a copy in Japan), evidence is not being collected (e.g., images of critical parts of the ships engine) and evidence is allegedly being tampered with (e.g., the oil fingerprinting). The deployment of such technologies with the right safeguards could radically transform ship safety. Any failure to do this or falsifying of logs would be a very serious breach of international law, with severe consequences. If MOL had paid for a vessel to collect a particular set of cargo from Brazil, it should be responsible for ensuring the Wakashio met minimum standards and also took a certain amount of responsibility for the safe operations of the vessel to and from the destination - not just at the moment the cargo was placed on the ship. The key phrase is sound crew management practice. This would mean that Crew Managers should be forming a judgement around crew management practices on board vessels they send crew to, including minimum manning levels, accuracy of work and rest logs, receiving and handling feedback from crew about any vessel deficiencies that had not been addressed. had his six-month contract extended by three months on May 1, a spokesperson for Japan-based owners Nagashiki Shipping had confirmed to Lloyds List on, numbers of crew, roles and qualifications, on board. The result is over-worked, stressed seafarers onboard who are not physically or mentally well-rested enough to discharge their duties safely. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. ITF calls on Mauritian government to release Wakashio crew on 17 Aug 2020 News Michelle Wiese Bockmann @Michellewb_ michelle.bockmann@lloydslistintelligence.com The actions of Wakashio 's crew during the three-hour period when Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking showed it deviated from a major shipping lane in the Indian Ocean are now central to an investigation The MV Wakashio, a bulk carrier ship loaded with about 4,000 tons of fuel oil, ran aground off the coast of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, on July 25. For example, The Hong Kong Maritime Hub today highlighted the pressures being placed on crews by Charterers, in an article entitled Charterers contributing to toxic environment aboard ships.. The vessel split in two on 15 August having run aground on July 25. third party delivery contracting service to meet growing demand. Seen here a third party contracting white van at an Amazon distribution centre in Saxony, France. The debacle surrounding the Wakashio has dragged on beyond 100 days since the the massive Japanese bulk carrier ploughed into the coral reefs of Mauritius, spilling toxic oil among a network for. But instead of helping, they are doing the opposite, he said. These rules were introduced to protect seafarers safety, lives, and the marine environment over many decades. This does not bode well for corporate Japan, and now by extension, the Japanese Government. The White House commission into the disaster blamed BP and its partners for a series ofcost cuttingdecisions and an inadequate safety system, and also concluded that the spill resulted from systemic root causes. It is the same analogy here. The laws and regulations around minimum safe manning is the result of a very careful analysis of the requirements for safe navigation and operation of a ship, so discarding such safe manning levels for such a long voyage to Brazil and back to Asia should not have been taken lightly. Seen here, logbook entry by 2nd officer on board icebreaker Polaris on 5 February, 2019. It is not enough just to visit elementary schools or only listen to individuals who appear sympathetic. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) has called for the immediate release and repatriation of the MV Wakashio crew who have been held by Mauritian authorities for over a year since the Panamanian-registered, Japanese-owned bulk carrier ran aground off the coast of Mauritius in July 2020. By: Heather Croze March 30, 2018 PUEBLO, Colo. - Born into a tightknit, traditional Navajo family, Keyshawn Whitehorse's roots run deep in the high desert of southern Utah. For vessels of this class (the Wakashio was one of the largest ships in the sea, a Capesize class, meaning it is too large to pass through the Panama and Suez Canals), the crew size should have. Whitehorse takes Pride in his Navajo Roots - Wrangler Network BIMCO, headquartered close to Copenhagen in Denmark, such incidents are inevitable and it was the responsibility of the Mauritian taxpayers, qualifications and training of investigators, An understaffed and overworked skeleton crew, With a potentially faulty engine that would have impaired the crews ability to steer or slow down. along 10% of its entire previously pristine coastline, and. There is a need for a particular focus on qualifications and training of investigators to demonstrate expertise in marine casualty investigation and be knowledgeable in matters relating to the marine casualty or incident. They call for each country where a vessel is flagged (in the Wakashios case, Panama, although the vessel was built, owned and operated by major Japanese companies), should have a sufficient number of seafarers employed on board to ensure that ships are operated safely, efficiently and with due regard to security under all conditions, taking into account concerns about seafarer fatigue and the particular nature and conditions of the voyage.. Mario Vaquerizo Caro (Madrid, 5 July 1974) is a Spanish singer-songwriter, journalist, writer, manager and occasional radio and television personality.He became famous with the Spanish reality show Alaska y Mario on MTV Spain.The reality show depicted his life with his wife, the singer Alaska, whom he married in Las Vegas.He is also known for his appearances on different Spanish radio and TV . They are in the top 1% of all ships built, in terms of size. explains what this means. Someone had to have taken a decision to charter the Wakashio for a particular journey to pick up a cargo of iron ore from Brazil at a certain date and time, and transport that cargo back to Asia. The MV Wakashio was underway from Singapore to Brazil when it grounded on July 25 off Mautitius' Pointe d'Esny. starts to increase. TSMC Vs. Arizona Pipe Trades 469 Union: Everyone Loses, Tariffs Up To 300% On Steel For Tin Cans Will Likely Hit Consumers, How Three Car Guys And A Winemaker Want To Save Americas Farms With Tractorbots, Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2023: AI And Data Dominate This Years List, How To Think About AI: A Guide For Manufacturers, The 3D Printing Behind The Billion-Dollar Smile Business, Why The Assumption That Manufacturing Jobs Are "Good" Is Dead Wrong, Table A-II/1 and Table A-ll/2 of the STCW Code, Regulation 2.3 - Hours of work and hours of rest, Regulation 2.8 Career and skill development and opportunities for seafarers employment. There appears to be a standard playbook for oil spills responses, where there is first an outpouring of verbal apologies by the IMO, polluters and insurance companies. It is not how it should work. It remained stuck and started breaking apart 13 days later on Thursday 6 August, releasing 1000 of. Global Headquarters of Nagashiki Shipping, owners, Main street in front of Nagashiki Shipping's, The global headquarters for Nagashiki Shipping is, New Hong Kong headquarters of Anglo Eastern since, ECDIS and Radar system being used by the crew on. That now appears to have changed. The only way to travel in breach of this Safe Manning Certificate, is with a Certificate of Emergency Exception., The Minimum Safe Manning Document (image above) is a strictly regulated document by the UN Shipping [+] Regulator, the IMO, Captain John Konrad explains what this means. Who would have reason to be altering digital records after a vessel has been declared a loss, and whilst a major investigation is going on? With reduced crew numbers, everyone onboard is forced to work longer hours. There are several well defined laws that are very specific on the work and rest logs, the manning levels, the protocols for exemptions, and the time duration of these. of corals remain off limits to tourists, fishermen and tour boat operators. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) has called for the immediate release and repatriation of the MV Wakashio crew who have been held by Mauritian authorities for over a year since the Panamanian-registered, Japanese-owned bulk carrier ran aground off the coast of Mauritius in July 2020. Rather than acting ethically and transparently, their actions do not match their words. Mauritius on 29 August and 12 September with more protests planned. Providing training and certifying crew are key responsibilities of Crew Management Organizations, [+] and vital to the safety of the ship. Fri Jul 21 10:15:20 CEST 2023 Timsen. Some are big unanswered questions concerning serious breaches of international law, but others are very basic facts that should be available at the click of a button or with any clear corporate disclosure policy. The August oil spill was (and is) a major disaster for Mauritius, triggering a declaration for a State of National Environmental Emergency in Mauritius (which the country is still in), impacting a network of important nature reserves containing dozens of endangered species, and forcing thousands of Mauritians to mobilize themselves to protect their coastlines with homemade oil protection booms, as the vessel did not have sufficient protection on board. Minimum Safe Manning levels should prevent that from happening, but flag states all over the world are now making a mockery of their role as manning level regulator. The disastrous effects of an oil spill: A tale of Mauritius vs. MV Wakashio We have ship owners proposing manning numbers for their ships that are well-below what would have been considered safe pre-pandemic, and flag states rubber-stamping these proposals through exemptions., Inadequate manning levels spread the same workload across a smaller number of seafarers. 22 January 2020, Amazon has developed its own. was 13 years old. Seen here, a ship engine room in a vessel that is less than 10 years old with a 2 stroke, 6 cylinder engine like the Wakashio. Seen here, an Amazon Prime delivery truck in New York. To do this for months on end, while working, living, sleeping, eating in small cabin quarters, with no support from family members or loved ones, can create intolerable conditions. The vessel WAKASHIO (IMO: 9337119 ) is a Bulk Carrier built in 2007 (16 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of Unknown . Most tragically, the poorer coastal communities in the Solomon Islands are still awaiting an investigation report and payout from the Solomon Trader that leaked oil into a Pacific Tropical Eden more than 18 months on. What were the financial rewards or penalties for making or missing that deadline in Brazil and back again in Asia? Various shipping databases reveal that Anglo-Eastern has deep corporate relationships with both Nagashiki Shipping and MOL. Students operating equipment in ship's bridge simulation room. This call comes as international shipping databases reveal that records are being altered about the Wakashio, several months since its large front section (the bow) was controversially sunk below the waves on August 24 and a month after it was written off as a total constructive loss on July 25. The ITF also highlight the amount of fraud in the global shipping industry that undermines ship safety. The purpose of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code is to provide an international standard for the safe management and operation of ships and for pollution prevention. 2 Oct 2020: Izmir, Turkey. The standard Crew Management Agreements usually clearly specify the responsibility of such Crew Managers. So MOL places a large emphasis on the role of its inspectors to ensure all vessels it charters and owns are safe. So far, no list of these 11 vessels that Nagashiki Shipping said it owns has been shared publicly by the company. clearance from authorities for their Filipino crews who have undergone swab tests for the COVID-19 coronavirus. Satellite analysis shows that on the journey South West from Singapore over this summer, half the vessels took the Northern passage and half took the Southern passage around Mauritius. In the comfort of a living room, there is all the time in the world to learn how to use each phones operating system. On July 25, 2020, the MV Wakashio, a 300 m long Japanese tanker ran aground on a barrier reef off the south-east coast of Mauritius, and two weeks later, it began leaking this fuel into the sea. ITFs Malterud said the report was about putting a line in the sand over the industrys rapid backslide on safety and seafarers rights. It sets out the clear international laws that all ship owners, operators, crew training colleges and crew must follow when on board a vessel. Seen here using plant based water soluble ink. Looking at publicly available standard agreements for such arrangements, the Basis of the Agreement states that, Crew Managers shall carry out Crew Management Services in respect of the Vessel as the agents for and on behalf of the Owners. had been sailing from China to Brazil to pick up a cargo of heavy iron ore and bring it back to the steel mills of Japan and China. This is not just about crew change, but that is part of the story, ITF Seafarers and Inland Navigation Section Coordinator, Fabrizio Barcellona, said. MOL has had a deep corporate relationship with Nagashiki Shipping for many years, so it should have been aware of Nagashiki Shippings capabilities when contracting with them. One of the concerns about the Wakashio incident has been what happened with Watchkeeping and the ability to read and use Electronic Charts that were on the vessel. These responsibilities are laid out in several standard agreements, such as by BIMCO, headquartered close to Copenhagen in Denmark,and which is the largest representative of shipowners, covering 65% of global shipping with members in more than 120 countries. It was presented at a senior UN panel on the topic of Covid-19 and Maritime Crew, which involved various UN leaders, including the head of the UN shipping regulator, the IMOs, Kitack Lim. By Yasine Mohabuth BBC News, Mauritius The captain and first officer of a ship that ran aground on coral reef in Mauritius have been found guilty of endangering safe navigation. TheWakashiohad been sent to Brazil (Port of Tubarao) to pick up a cargo of Iron Ore.Who would have been considered the Operator of theWakashiofor the return leg had the Wakashio run into difficulty at that stage when passing Mauritius? Crews prepare to sink Mauritius spill ship despite opposition This raises several other questions for the inquiry. Someone had to have signed off on the route taken this time (i.e., to take passage around the Southern coast of Mauritius, compared to the Northern passage that was taken last time the Wakashio safely passed Mauritius in 2017). Seen here: protestors outside the IMO calling out the SOS for shipping. AAPL The ITF is calling for the immediate release and repatriation of the MV Wakashio (IMO: 9337119) crew who have been held by Mauritian authorities now for over a year. By not disclosing material information in a timely manner, MOL could end up being responsible for the wrongful imprisonment of the Captain and Crew of the Wakashio. Just look at the examples of New Zealands worst oil spill, the MV Rena in 2012, or the MV New Carissa that split in two off the coast of in Oregon in 1999, or even the Solomon Trader that spilled its ship oil in a UNESCO world heritage site in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean last year. Government restrictions on borders, travel and transit have made it difficult to recruit seafarers and some in the industry are responding by dumping more and more work on the tired and fatigued workforce who remain on ships. Given the Indian Ocean was the main hotbed of maritime terrorism activity over the past ten years, a breach of these laws by vessels travelling through the Indian Ocean would be particularly serious for maritime safety. lockdowns. There is nothing commercially sensitive about this information, and it would not only prevent a serious miscarriage of justice, but also have ensured a more effective oil spill response. About 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil from the Japanese-owned MV Wakashio leaked into the ocean in July 2020, causing Mauritius' worst ecological disaster. In the case of Mauritius, it looks like that timebomb has been set off in a very dramatic fashion. This would be particularly relevant for safe navigation, given what happened with the Wakashio in Mauritius. ineffectiveness of the current governance system. So far, it has been the poorer coastal communities of Mauritius and the rare, endangered wildlife, who have borne the brunt of this toxic spill. In the Beyond the Limit report and in statements by the IMO, they specifically highlight another UN agencys guidelines, the International Labor Organization. that details for the Wakashio were updated this week, more than three months since it was considered a Total Loss. From statements to Forbes, MOL admitted that it took them four and a half hours to be made aware that the vessel they had chartered had run aground. The MV Wakashio crashed off Mauritius on July 25 with 4,000 tonnes of fuel aboard but did not begin leaking oil for more than a week. However, due to the opaque rules in global shipping (which global shipping protestors outside the IMO have been highlighting), this was not a simple cash for ship transaction that MOL can simply walk away from. No captain should ever have been alone without there being a designated authority aware of the vessels movement at all times, including being aware of any anomalies in the vessels journey. They specifically point out that the ILO and IMO should review tamper-proof monitoring technologies limiting manual input and forging attempts. At what stage did MOLs SOSC notice that the Wakashio was off course in the Indian Ocean? So has the SOSC materially improved MOLs fleet safety, or is it more useful as a marketing tool? I cover innovation within the green/blue industrial revolution. Yoshihide Suga delivers a policy speech at National Diet Building in Tokyo with one of his priorities being to cut greenhouse gas emissions in Japan to net zero by 2050. Final Wakashio report held up one year after disaster Did any other corporate entity associated with the Wakashio, such as Nagashiki Shipping or Anglo Eastern, also have such a capability similar to MOL to track the position of the Wakashio relative to its pre-agreed course? We cannot in good conscience be complacent and allow seafarers safety and security to be put at risk. This was a disaster of Japans own making - a Japanese built, owned, operated and insured vessel that ran aground on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, which it never should have been close to. Wakashio's Skeleton Crew: Mauritius Oil Spill Ship Was 17% - Forbes In the Beyond the Limit report, the ITF goes on to highlight that ships are complicated, highly technical pieces of machinery that require the continuous cooperation of many skilled seafarers across all hours of a day to ensure their continued safe operation and navigation. The world is watching. This is the equivalent of an Amazon delivery service, where Amazon has had to expand its fleet to include third party delivery vans or cars. It was an understaffed vessel with a skeleton crew - having 20 crew when regulations state that there should have been 24 crew. 2 Aug 2020: Amazon had to expand its fleet beyond. The ship began to leak fuel oil in the following weeks, and broke apart in mid August. The article referred to the feeling among seafarers that many felt charterers were actively working against them, by seeking to introduce no crew change clauses in charter parties. The MV Wakashio ran aground at Pointe d'Esny, a known sanctuary for rare wildlife. This is especially so where they are being prevented from leaving vessels. In the case of chartered vessels, the shipowner receives any corrective guidance through the business division. This has been the same with the oil fingerprinting, amount of oil that has been leaked, techniques used with the oil spill clean up. 19 Oct: protestors outside the Panama and Japanese. The oil spill could not have happened in a worse area, hitting a nature reserve that was housing some of the worlds most endangered species that were being prepared for release back into Mauritius national parks. There are very serious penalties for the non conformity with the ISM Code as agreed at the IMO under MSC/Circ.1059 MEPC/Circ.401, and vessels can be prevented from sailing with major deficiencies. Oct 19: The UN Secretary General and the Pope have. 18 Oct: The stern of the Wakashio continues to, grind away on Mauritius' coral reefs, but is accessible to collect crucial evidence, Several international shipping databases showed.