IMO chief calls for action on global warming

IMO secretary general Efthimios Mitropoulos has stressed the need for IMO to take action on greenhouse gases. Speaking at the start of this meeting of IMO's SubCommittee on Fire Protection he noted that the theme for this year's World Maritime Day is “Climate change: a challenge for IMO too!”. He said the theme was chosen by IMO's Council to give the organisation the opportunity to focus on an urgent issue of global dimensions.

He said: “I sincerely hope that the theme will galvanize intense action within IMO and the international maritime community throughout the year so that the contribution we will be able to make to the Conference scheduled to be held in Copenhagen in December to produce a new treaty instrument to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is the appropriate one, commensurate with our degree of care, concern and sensitivity about the environment both marine and atmospheric.”

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Quality driven 'Fleet' on course to excellence

World Class Safety and Environment friendly systems in place. Mr. K. S. Rajvanshy, Managing Director, Fleet Management Ltd., Hong Kong significantly brought out the contributory factors that helped convert the fleet (now at over 200 in number) into a top of the line management company.

It is the company's portfolio of services that helped it chart the path to success he pointed out. “What we do includes 3rd party technical management, lay-up solutions, insurance, inspections and condition surveys, shipboard audits, training videos, new building supervisions, special projects and IT systems all of which form the backbone of our quality system,” says Mr Rajvanshy.

A member of the Noble Group Limited, the company boasts of a multi-national crewing pool of over 7000 seafarers comprising mostly of Indians, Filipinos, Chinese and Europeans.

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How do we dispose of offshore structures?

No doubt about it, one of the wonders of the maritime world in the last quarter of the 20th century was the winning of oil and gas from below the seas offshore. Amazing structures were built to sit piled into the sea bed to support the masses of equipment that would extract the energy and see it safely down the pipelines to the mainland.

It was the North Sea which saw a huge amount of pioneering work, in increasingly deep and stormy waters, with enormous steel jackets floated out from their construction sites to be tilted and placed accurately on the sea bottom. Some of these mighty structures would involve complex fabrications of perhaps 60-70,000 tons of steel, piled into the sea bed with powerful submerged pile drivers. Others were made of reinforced concrete and resembled islands, enclosing reservoirs for oil, and supporting accommodation for hundreds of offshore workers, who would be ferried to and fro by helicopters.

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Mediterranean Shipping Company conference holds an edge

The two-day conference of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) held at the J. W Marriott, Mumbai on 30th and 31st January 2009 was akin to a home coming for the officers of the ship board staff where opportunities abounded for exchanging notes and sharing experiences both with fellow colleagues, ship owners and the management. The occasion coincided with the inauguration of the Training Institute held earlier on the 3rd floor of MSC House, on the Andheri-Kurla Road, Andheri (East), Mumbai.

At the outset Mr N Petroyannis, the chief guest representing MSC Geneva, Mr Ashok Jha, Managing Director of MSC Ship Management, Capt Nitin S Hardi, Director, MSC Ship Mgmt India and Capt M P Basin, General Manager, MSC Ship Mgmt India and other top dignitaries lit the traditional lamp.

Thereafter, an enthusiastic welcome was extended by Capt Hardi who was moved by the warm response from the dignitaries, guests and all seafarers who had made it convenient to attend the programme from various parts of India and Hong Kong.

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Container Freight Stations seeing a change in business landscape

As the impact of the downturn has begun to trickle down to the container freight stations (CFS), operators are beginning to see the need to bring in a change in their concept of 'work' to pass through the subdued environment conditions. Where traditionally CFSs was considered an extension of a port, more and more operators are now beginning to view them as being more productive and important tools in the global logistics / supply chain industry. This means that modernisation and adhering to global standards of operations is a mandatory requirement.

Though the change in the business landscape is considered a strategic move to keep them from getting in the red, various options are being mulled over by CFS owners on how this can be achieved. Many are focused on providing end-to-end logistics solutions. Some find it is time to come up with outsourcing offers to the EXIM trade by providing various facilities at the CFS as a cheaper option to undertake manufacturing activities.

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Japan to deploy ships off Somalia

Japanese Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada has ordered the dispatch of ships to fight pirates off Somalia. He did not say how many ships would be sent or when, but told the military to assess what sort of force was needed. Japan's parliament and Prime Minister Taro Aso would need to pass a formal order before the ships could set off, a process expected to take a month.

Japan would be joining a multinational effort against piracy which includes ships from the United States and China.

"The pirates' activities off the Somali coast are a major threat not only to Japan but also to international society and it is a problem that we must deal with urgently," Mr Hamada said.No Japanese ship has been taken by pirates yet, the government said, but pirates have fired at three Japanese vessels. No-one was injured.

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Softlink unveils Logi- Sys and X-ponent

Softlink, one of India's leading software product companies, today announced the launch of two new products, 'Logi-Sys' & 'X-Ponent' at the International Cargo, Logistics & Maritime Conference and Exhibition.

These products are designed for simplifying operations of the entire logistics industry.

Logi-Sys is a web-based, enterprise-class Logistics Suite for managing the operations of international freight forwarders, third party logistics players (3PLs), Air Cargo Agents, Shipping Agencies and Non-vessel operating common car riers (NVOCCs). The product is designed to address the challenges of management of air and sea freight operations across locations, manage revenue flow, streamline documentation and meet regulatory requirements. Logi-Sys supports multi-country and multi-currency transactions.

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