Loss Prevention Advice
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- Tanker attacked at Nika Tera Port, Nikolayev.
On 03/05/2022 tanker MTM RIO GRANDE (IMO No. 9314911, Flag: Singapore) sustained hit while her stay at Nika Tera Port, Nikolayev. The vessel arrived before start of the war for loading sunflower oil. On the said date Russian forces held attacks along the whole coastline and most probably the vessel was damaged by cluster shell. No crew injuries reported.
- Rocket and mining danger at the Black Sea.
*As of 04/05/2022 there were 3 Russian warships armed with about 20 cruise missiles "Caliber" at the Black Sea. Russian naval groups continue missile strikes, blockade the coast, and conduct reconnaissance.
*One more mine floated onto surface at the Black Sea coast, this time in Zatoka, Bilgorod-Dnistrovskiy District of Odessa Region. The mine was safely liquidated by controlled detonation.
- Third attack on the bridge in Odessa Region.
After 2 attacks on 26 & 27/04/2022, the bridge crossing the Dniester Estuary in the Odessa region was attacked with rocket strike for the third time on 02/05/2022.
The bridge is closed for exploitation.
- Seafarers' crisis.
*Starting from the beginning of the war about 1500 seafarers were evacuated, but around 500 seafarers are still stuck on the vessels at the Ukrainian ports. They can't leave as the minimum safety manning certificate requirements are to be complied with.
But due to regular attacks from the Russian side seafarers' stay at Ukrainian ports is considered to be dangerous. International organizations, in particular ICS and UN, call for evacuation of remained crew.
*Statistics says that number of Russian seafarers takes the second place in the world (~198000), number of Ukrainian seafarers takes the sixth (~47000).
Seafarers of both nationalities face difficulties with employment due to strengthening of sanctions and difficulties with the crew change, respectively.
Ukrainian seafarers can't leave motherland in case they are of military age and do not fall under number of exclusions, also repatriation home is complicated by non-operation of Ukrainian airports, thus need of complex land transport arrangements arises.
Among the problems encountered by the Russian seafarers are lack of civilian flights to Russian airports & cancelled international payment systems in Russia which affects transfer of wages.
Due to above the shipowners are planning to increase number of crew from another countries, in particular Philippines and India.
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Maximum speed when navigating the Talavera passage
Since April 22nd and for 180 days, Coast Guard experimentally established a maximum speed of TEN (10) knots for all types of vessels that sal between kilometres 181 and 205 of the "Talavera Passage".
The maximum speed may be varied exceptionally, when the captain of the ship and/or the Pilot consider it necessary for reasons of safety in navigation. In addition, the new regulation stablishes that all vessels will reduce their speed between Km. 183.6 to Km. 186 in the event of the presence of barges in said area.
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The latest Seafarers Happiness Index report, published by The Mission to Seafarers, reveals the lowest levels of seafarer satisfaction for eight years, with the Index’s measure of overall happiness decreasing from 6.41 to 5.85 and levels dropping across all categories.
The survey, undertaken with the support of the Standard Club and Idwal, reports on Q1 2022 and shows that a turbulent start to 2022 on many fronts has severely impacted seafarer happiness. From the COVID-19 Omicron variant to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and concerns over contractual issues, seafarers have faced a challenging few months, as morale on board has severely declined.
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An incident where an AB lost his balance during a wire change operation, resulting in falling onto the hatch cover from a height of about 8 metres and losing his life.
The incident
It was an early spring morning with clear skies and calm seas and the vessel was sailing in the open seas. The Chief Officer had assembled the deck crew in the deck office and instructed them about the planned job for the day which was to change the wire of one of the deck cranes. All members were designated a job and the risk assessment was discussed and signed by all crew members. Three Abs were stationed in the crane to direct the wire. They had safety harnesses when they climbed up the crane’s ladder.
The crew started the job by releasing the safety pin of the old wire on the drum and then welding the old wire to the new wire and fitting a protective sleeve over the welded joint. This would facilitate the mounting of the new wire on the drum of the crane. The crew would monitor the wrapping of the new wire on the drum and the unwrapping of the old wire from the drum storage space.
The work progressed well but after a couple of hours the new wire became stuck on the aft crossbeam of the boom. The Chief Officer saw the problem, and immediately signalled to the crane operator to stop the winch, by both using his hand and calling on his radio.
One of the ABs who was up in the crane climbed over the safety railing at the drum storage space and out onto the boom. He sat straddling the boom and used his hands to quickly push himself forward and out onto the boom towards the aft crossbeam where the wire was stuck.