Maritime Port Authority of Singapore released a marine circular which outlines its precautions to Singapore-registered ships, ship owners, managers, operators, masters, on ongoing security concerns for ships operating off the coast of West Africa, including the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) due to piracy and hijacking incidents.
According to IMO, seafarers are invited to take part in an online questionnaire as part of a comprehensive study to assess the effectiveness of the International Safety Management Code (ISM Code) and how well it is implemented.
As explained, seafarers have a key role in implementing safety and environmental protection policies, in particular the safety management system (SMS) on board ships at sea. Through the questionnaire, their feedback will be instrumental to understanding how effectively the ISM Code is being implemented and will inform future work on relevant instruments.
According to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), as human rights due diligence (HRDD) laws expand in scope and reach, many companies are falling behind on their responsibilities. As a result, the Federation has issued a guidance to show companies how to respect the human rights of seafarers shipping cargo.
One actual incident of armed robbery against ships (CAT 4) in Asia, between 25 – 31 July.
The incident occurred to a bulk carrier while underway in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS).