MARITIME NEWS: ‘Pilot error’ costs P&I clubs US$ 50 million per year

Pilot error is costing the protection-and-indemnity (P&I) clubs $50m per year with the claims bill appearing to be increasing.

An analysis of 406 claims that cost the clubs $443m over nine years shows the number of incidents arising from pilot error is not increasing but the value of claims is.

[Of course it is: for starters, ships have been getting bigger.]

A breakdown of pilotage claims produced by Mark Williams of the West of England Club, who is chairman of the International Group’s pilotage subcommittee, puts Mexico in the top spot with an incident costing $100,000 or more for each 13,440 pilotage moves.

By contrast, Italy has the best performance with a costly incident only arising once in 70,400 moves.

But the Mexican figure was based on only three casualties.

The worst place for pilotage error where there was a substantial level of pilotage activity was Argentina, with one in 24,591 moves producing a casualty.

But a challenge for the clubs in tackling the problem of pilot error is that there is little international regulation of standards to match that of seafarers.

The International Group has mooted the idea of pilotage being added to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) convention but Williams accepts that finding a state to sponsor the change and then pushing the change through was likely to be difficult.

[It was tried before — and failed. What came up was the IMO Resolution A-960.]

Although a pilot may cause a casualty and the master of a ship have little knowledge or opportunity to challenge a bad decision, the shipowner usually ends up footing the bill.

[Expected, though not always fair, as the asymetry of resources between pilots and shipowners and carriers is hugely in favour of the latters.]

The idea of the clubs or some other insurer providing insurance for pilots so they had equally deep pockets was mooted at the conference but an objection is that the premium would be added to pilotage fees, so the owner would still end up with the bill.

Source: Tradewinds, 2012.02.01

SHIPPING | ISF Launches New ‘Guidelines on the IMO STCW Convention’

The International Shipping Federation (ISF) has launched a new edition of its comprehensive ‘Guidelines on the IMO STCW Convention’.  The new edition has been extensively revised to take account of the substantial changes made to the Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) by the IMO Diplomatic Conference in Manila, in June 2010.

ISF Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe, explained:

“Since the 1990s, when the STCW Convention was previously revised, the training of seafarers has been substantially overhauled, and the 2010 ‘Manila amendments’ will hopefully consolidate this improvement in standards.”

The new Guidelines explain in detail these amendments, which cover everything from enhanced refresher training for qualified seafarers to the introduction of standards of competence for the new grade of Able Seafarer in both the deck and engine departments.  Importantly, the 2010 amendments also introduce major changes to the IMO regulations concerning seafarers’ minimum rest hours, which are intended to prevent fatigue.  Given their significance to shipboard operations, an entirely new section of the Guidelines has been added to this edition to explain these new rules.

Mr. Hinchliffe added:

“The competence of seafarers is a critical factor in the safe and efficient operation merchant ships, and has a direct impact on the safety of life at sea and the protection of the marine environment.  Consequently it is imperative that the standards required by the STCW Convention, as amended in 2010, are put into effect as soon as possible.  It is hoped that the new edition of the ISF Guidelines will help achieve this objective and ensure that the highest standards of seafarer competence will continue to be maintained worldwide.”

The Manila amendments to the STCW Convention will enter into force on 1 January 2012, with full compliance required by 1 January 2017.

Source: http://www.marisec.org/pressreleases.htm#22march

MARITIME | IMO boss: Filipino seafarers are ‘unsung heroes’

IMO secretary-general Efthimios Mitropoulos has recognised the major contribution of Filipino seafarers to international shipping. “They are the unsung heroes we should pay tribute to wherever they may be,” Mitropoulos told yesterday’s opening ceremony of the International Conventions on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) diplomatic conference in Manila.

It is the first time the diplomatic conference has been held away from IMO’s London headquarters.

The conference will cover the ‘human element’ in crewing as there have also been growing cases of violations of seafarers’ human rights, Mitropoulos said.

Other measures due for adoption are changes to chapters of the STCW Convention, additional requirements on hours of work and rest, prevention of drug and alcohol abuse and the prevention of fraudulent practices associated with certificates of competency.

Amendments will also incorporate new requirements related to training, environmental awareness, security and piracy concerns.

Mitropoulos said piracy remains the biggest threat, and IMO was dedicating significant resources and effort to find real solutions to the growing menace in which Filipino crewmen were among the victims of pirate attacks. Currently, 65 Filipino seafarers are being held hostage in Somalia.

Source: SAFETY AT SEA INTERNATIONAL