The M/V Kayan-I, a 5,644 tonne Sierra Leone-flagged general-cargo vessel, was taking on water in its stern and had been towed to a secure position, after colliding with the M/V Adriablue in the southern part of the Bosphorus.

“Due to strong south wind M/V Kayan-I collided with M/V Adriablue while she was trying to anchor at Southern Bosphorus anchorage area,” the shipping agency said on Friday.

Further to this the GAC said, in an email, “The situation on M/V Kayan I is getting critical minute by minute, and there was a rescue operation for the crew. The vessel is still taking water, and there is high risk of her sinking.”

The M/V Adriablue sustained damage to its accommodation section but is still afloat.

Both the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits were currently open to shipping traffic, the agency said.

The Bosphorus – the world’s narrowest strait used for international navigation – divides Europe from Asia. Its shores are heavily populated as Istanbul – Turkey’s largest city – straddles it.

Information was received that a Spanish fishing vessel, operating to the north of its position, had come under attack from a group of pirate vessels. The RFA Fort Victoria’s Lynx helicopter was quickly dispatched to investigate.

Once at the scene, the helicopter identified two suspect vessels, a whaler and a skiff, in the vicinity of the fishing vessel. The faster of the two, a skiff, sped away at over 25 knots as the helicopter gave chase. When the skiff ignored orders to stop, the Lynx helicopter fired warning shots ahead of the fleeing vessel. It stopped, and the suspected pirates onboard were then transferred to Fort Victoria via boat.

Fort Victoria’s Royal Marines boarding team then boarded the whaler and another skiff in the vicinity. As a result of the day’s action, a total of seven suspected pirates were detained onboard Fort Victoria along with their whaler as evidence. No injuries were sustained by either side during the operation.

Captain Gerry Northwood of the Royal Navy, embarked in Fort Victoria said, “It has been a long but rewarding operation with many complex aspects. Operating under NATO tasking and in consultation with our headquarters in the Middle East and in the UK, we utilised a range of national and international assets to bring these events to a satisfactory conclusion. Fort Victoria has once again demonstrated that multinational coordination can be successfully deployed to disrupt piracy in this area in order to protect international merchant shipping.”

NATO has contributed to the international counter piracy effort off the Horn of Africa since December 2008. The mission has expanded from escorting UN and World Food Programme Shipping under Operation Allied Provider and protecting merchant traffic in the Gulf of Aden under Operation Allied Protector. In addition to these activities and as part of the latest mission, Operation Ocean Shield, NATO is working with other international bodies to help develop capacity of countries in the region to tackle piracy on their own.

Source: Maritime Journal

Exhibiting for the first time at Marintec, AMI Marine (UK) Limited are very proud to introduce their BNWAS and SMIDS to the Asian market.
Martin Cox (Sales Manager) and Steve Houseman (Product Development Manager) will be present at the British Pavilion in Hall W3 –Booth 3G51D throughout the exhibition and would be very pleased to meet you and demonstrate these products to you.

With yet more mandatory deadlines fast approaching, make sure you don’t miss this opportunity to review the AMI product range and discuss pricing with us before making your final decisions. You will find full details of our products and global support network on this website.

Please see below for direct links to BNWAS and SMIDS:

Click here for BNWAS
Click here for SMIDS
Click here for the complete AMI product range

You can contact us at sales@amimarine.net or on +442380 480 450

We look forward to seeing you there…………..

The BNWAS is the latest mandatory carriage requirement for all vessels over 150gt, being phased in over the next three years. The AMI KW810 BNWAS now carries the MCA flag Type Approval and CCS Type Approval and is accepted by all major classification societies including, but not limited to, Lloyds, DNV, GL and ABS.

SMIDS is AMI’s GPS and GLONASS based Speed and Distance Measuring Device which is also approved by MCA and CCS. Giving bow and stern movement over the ground when SMIDS is accurate to 0.02 of 1 knot – 0.02%!

CCS approval is key to our concentration on the Far East market and this will allow us to satisfy many ship owners and ship manager’s requirements. Many of our customers have asked for the BNWAS and SMIDS to be approved by CCS and our only problem we are now facing is keeping enough stock to meet the hike in demand!

DOWNLOADS:
BNWAS – CCS Certificate
SMIDS – CCS Certificate

For more information on our BNWAS click here – BNWAS

For more information on our SMIDS click here – SMIDS

Or feel free to contact one of our sales team at sales@amimarine.net or on +442380 480450

Svitzer Salvage spokesperson Drew Shannon explained that the four salvors onboard today would come disembark the ship tonight, when swells and wind were forecast to remain strong.

Workers would remain on-site throughout the night and return in the morning.

A large crack in the starboard side has apparently widened over past days but the ship’s condition is said to not have significantly deteriorated.

However Transport Minister Steven Joyce said the Rena’s position was “very precarious” and salvors were being forced to play a waiting game.

Salvors had been unable to get onto the vessel for a day amid fears it would break up in heavy swells.

Salvage Unit Manager Andrew Berry said booster pumps had now been installed to speed up the rate of oil extraction from the vessel. He said the team’s focus was pumping out of a large port tank reported to contain about 700 tonnes of oil.

“Salvors will recommence pumping when weather and swell conditions allow this to be done safely.”

Mr Berry said a light sheen of oil had been spotted moving southward from the Rena during aerial observations this morning. The stern section of the vessel had moved slightly since rough weather set in yesterday evening, while the bow remained firmly on the reef, he said.

Oil spill cuts off the people of Motiti Island

For two weeks, since the Rena began to spill oil, the people living on Motiti Island have been living in misery.

An exclusion zone means that the ferry that brings their supplies cannot travel to the Island and the people have been told that they cannot fish or drink rainwater from their roofs.

So a community that prides itself on self-sufficiency has become reliant on the Air Force. An Iroquois chopper dropping in supplies for those in need has become a lifeline for the people of Motiti Island.

As oil, timber and containers continue to wash up on the coastline, that iwi used to call their supermarket, the Air Force trips are crucial.

“Typically, we’ve been doing a couple of runs a day, bringing everything from generators, through to food supplies, safety clothing. All that kind of stuff that can assist with the clean up out on the island,” an airforce spokesman told 3 News.

Landing beside a marae that now doubles as a base for island operations, iwi are sending their own teams to clean beaches and Department of Conservation staff have been on the island to help marine life. Three seals and 17 penguins have so far been cleaned up.

Iri Hapeti-Dickson and Erena Rihara Nuku Ulu have spent most of their lives here. They say life post-Rena is tough.

“We do get nervous, we’re just sitting here waiting to see if it splits up,” says Ms Ulu

But as the container ship breaks up the island comes together.

“It’s brought more of us home.”

“It took the Rena on the reef to bring people together in the same way that Pike River and Christchurch have brought people together.”

For local iwi the reef, like the island, is a part of them, so seeing it in such a state is incredibly upsetting.

“We try not to look, you know, but every time we look there you know tears just well up in our eyes,” says Ms Ulu

But as long as the Rena blots their horizon help is on hand to get them by.

Sources – New Zealand Herald and 3Newz NZ

Attending the show will be our sales manager who will be very pleased to meet you and will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Our popular KW810 BNWAS will be on show along with our highly rated KW919 SMIDS “Speed and Distance Measuring” system.

Please come and visit us at any time on stand stand 1A 130-131 – 29^th September to 1^st October 2011

We look forward to seeing you there

For more information please feel free to contact us at sales@amimarine.net or on +442380 480 450

Posted 23 Sept 2011

RS Hellas has been withdrawn from acting as an agent and representative to the Maritime Administration of Greece and shipowners on behalf of RS.

Information agencies reported that documents on instituting criminal proceedings against Antonios Petridis, RS Hellas Ltd Director, were referred to the prosecution agency by the Coast Guard of the Republic of Greece. On 31 August 2011, RS notified RS Hellas Ltd of withdrawing the authorities to represent any RS interests and of avoiding all agreements concluded. The Maritime Administration of Greece was informed of these actions.

RS is ready to assist Greek authorities in the investigation into illegal activity committed by RS Hellas Ltd and by Mr Petridis personally.

RS is readying a prompt review of class assignment requests of all the shipowners suffered from the above deceit, as well as to perform all the necessary actions and surveys for class assignment under the RS procedures.

Source: World Shipping Directory

The Republic of the Marshall Islands, which flagged the Transocean rig that was leased to oil major BP, asserted that “a deviation from standards of well control engineering” caused the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, which caused 11 deaths and a massive, months-long oil spill.

RMI rejected the findings of a US Coast Guard report released in April that partly blamed the flag state for the accident, claiming that RMI had delegated inspections to class societies without conducting its own surveys, concluding on the contrary that faulty well abandonment plans – and approved by US regulators – contributed to the disaster, leading to a failure by authorities to react to indications that the situation was rapidly deteriorating.

The reports recommended that “Better communication and co-ordination between the flag state and he coastal state regarding inspections and surveys could help to ensure that both … are aware of conditions or requirements that could affect the safety” of offshore drilling units in future, urging further that a communication system should be developed for closer ties between the flag state and the coastal state.

Source – Fairplay

This first phase category includes “all ships of 150 gross tonnage and upwards and passenger ships irrespective of size
constructed on or after the date” (1st July 2011)

The BNWAS International standard is IEC62616 which incorporates the parts of the performance standards included in IMO resolution MSC.128(75)

As outlined in the performance standards MSC 128(75) – “The purpose of the bridge navigational watch alarm system (BNWAS) is to monitor bridge activity and detect operator disability which could lead to marine accidents.
The system monitors the awareness of the Officer of the Watch (OOW) and automatically alerts the Master or another qualified OOW if for any reason the OOW becomes incapable of performing the OOW’s duties. This purpose is achieved by a series of indications and alarms to alert first the OOW and, if he is not responding, then to alert the Master or another qualified OOW. Additionally, the BNWAS may provide the OOW with a means of calling for immediate assistance if required. The BNWAS should be operational whenever the ship’s heading or track control system is engaged, unless inhibited by the Master”

If you would like more information on the BNWAS please feel free to visit our BNWAS page HERE or to ask us directly via the following:

E-mail: technical@amimarine.net
Telephone: +442380 480 450

Martin Cox has been working with AMI on new product development for some months but his enthusiasm and communication skills has propelled him from the workshop into the sales team where his experience in international sales and management will be fully utilised. Martin will be focusing on Africa, Middle East, Asia, India, Russia and Australasia.

Chris Boyle has worked in the marine electronics industry for many years with such companies as Garmin, Raymarine and Navico and brings experience of both the commercial and the leisure markets. His easy manner and methodical approach to problem solving will be invaluable to the team. Chris will be concentrating on the UK, Europe and the America’s.

Steve Houseman joins as Business Development Manager at a critical point in the growth of AMI Marine (UK) Limited. Whilst much of the world is experiencing a recession, AMI is experiencing an unprecedented level of enquiries and in order to meet this growing demand, the development of new products is already underway. Steve brings a wealth of international experience having worked with Martek Marine amongst others, and he will be working closely with our technical and sales teams to get both existing and new products to the market.

Martin, Chris and Steve will all be attending Seawork in Southampton, UK from 14-16 June so if you are planning to attend, please make contact with them by emailing sales@amimarine.net, or calling +442380 480 450 and they will arrange to meet up and introduce themselves.