Maritime Review (May – June 2019 Issue)
(click cover to download the magazine)
May 2019
Consolidating Our Maritime Forces
To be relevant and to survive, many profit-oriented organizations positively react to their changing operational environment. They are cognizant that the very thing to expect over time is change. As a consequence, they revise their structure to support a new corporate strategy with the aim to improve efficiency, promote teamwork and reduce cost. These changes could lead to mergers, acquisitions,…
Cleaning up Manila Bay: The SC Mandamus and Corruption
The neglect by the government in implementing environmental laws and regulations caused some concerned residents to file suit, and this resulted in the issuance of the Supreme Court Continuing Mandamus on the Clean-up of Manila Bay. Lead Counsel Antonio Oposa Jr stated it succinctly: “If there is lack of political will on the part of government agencies, it is the…
Philippine Coast Guard bags DSWD ”PaNata Award”
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), through its Civil Relations Service (CRS), conducted four sorties of relief, psychological, social, medical and dental missions in the evacuation areas of Iligan and Marawi City. The PCG also sent alternately BRP Corregidor and BRP Pampanga to transport food packs from DSWD, and school supplies from Manila to the Iligan Port. Captain Armando Balilo, Acting…
MARINA Inaugurates New Central Office Building
Finally, after more than 4 decades, the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) has a home to call its own. The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) has inaugurated its newly constructed central office building on Bonifacio Drive corner 20th Street at Port Area, Manila. The 12,000-square meter 12-storey building was constructed with a cost of PHP382 million through the assistance of the Department…
PCG Personnel Graduate at USCG Training Center in Virginia
In 22-February-2019, another member from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) completed the Boatswain’s Mate “A” Course at US Coast Guard Training Center in Yorktown, Virginia. Seaman Second Class John Daryl Paglinawan PCG finished the 14-week course designed to equip Coast Guard personnel with knowledge in deck operations such as open-water navigation, international rules and regulation, vessel responsibility, search and rescue…
What Are the Roaring Forties?
Sailors call the latitudes between 40 and 50 degrees south of the equator the Roaring Forties. In 1611, Dutch explorer Hendrik Brouwer first used this band by which it effectively halved the duration of the trip from Europe to Java. “To run the easting down” was the phrase used to describe the fast passages achieved through the Roaring Forties. During…
IMO to Include Anti-Corruption on Formal Agenda
In the first week of April, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) showed massive support agreeing to include maritime corruption as a regular work item on its agenda. A paper on the topic of maritime corruption was presented by the Marshall Islands with many countries and international organizations expressing their endorsement of a proposal to develop guidelines to assist all stakeholders…
The Netherlands Ratifies HK Ship Recycling Convention
Under the treaty, ships to be sent for recycling are required to carry an inventory of hazardous materials, specific to each ship. Ship recycling yards are required to provide a “Ship Recycling Plan” specifying the manner in which each ship will be recycled, depending on its particulars and its inventory. The Netherlands recently became the 8th country to become a…
World’s First Approved Viking LifeCraft™ Survival Craft
Following successful heavy weather trials in November 2018, the Survival Craft component of VIKING Life-Saving Equipment’s unique hybrid lifeboat/liferaft solution, the VIKING LifeCraft™ System, has now received official approval from the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA). The approval, awarded on 8-March-2019, is the culmination of a long development and approval process. But that’s not the real news. While the LifeCraft™ itself…
What Are Totten Beacons?
These Totten Beacons –19th century aids to navigation– are protected historical resources. In 1513, Spanish explorer Ponce de León sailed into the strong currents of the Florida Straits. Little did he know that within a few years, these uncharted waters, which feed into the Gulf Stream, would become a major international shipping route to and from Europe and the New…
Interferry Looks to the Philippines for Safety Lessons Learned
A four-man team from global trade association Interferry were in Manila from March 18-22 in the first stage of a project to study significant safety improvements in Philippines ferry operations and produce a “lessons learned” report to help other developing nations. The FerrySafe project team had arranged one-hour meetings with a wide range of stakeholders to learn how fatal incidents…
Joint Law Enforcement Operation Confiscates Illegal Drugs and Firearms
In Calarian, Zamboanga City, a Joint Law Enforcement Operation resulted to the confiscation of Methamphetamine Hydrochloride (Shabu), and recovery of Firearms in Barangay Tenan, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay on 13-March 13-2019. The Joint Law Enforcement Troops were composed of: Naval Intelligence Support Unit – 63, Naval Intelligence and Security Group-Western Mindanao (NISG-WM); Provincial Intelligence Branch (PIB); Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit Zamboanga…
IMB Piracy Reporting Center
The ICC – International Maritime Bureau (IMB) was established in 1981 to act as a focal point in the fight against all types of maritime fraud, malpractice and piracy. The United Nations (UN) International Maritime Organization (IMO) in its resolution A 504 (XII) (9) adopted on 20-November-1981 has among other things urged all governments, interests and organizations to exchange information…
Philippine Navy Air Group to Get Wing Status
With the Philippine Navy’s expanding operations and growing capabilities, its Air Group is poised to be upgraded to wing status. The restructure of the Naval Air Group, the first time since it was formed 7 decades ago, has become imminent due to increasing demands for maritime situational awareness and expertise. “With this wide reach of Naval Air Group nowadays, the…
MARINA Opens 8 Industry-Proposed RoRo Routes
The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) has opened 8 RoRo missionary routes proposed by shipping operators in support of the Road Roll-on / Roll-off Terminal System (RRTS) and the priority program relating to the upgrading of the domestic shipping in support of the nautical highway development under the 10-year maritime industry development plan (MIDP). At the latest Oversight Meeting of the…
ABB to Power Iceland’s First Electric Ferry
New electric ferry to operate on an Icelandic route known for its harsh weather conditions will benefit from efficiency and sustainability enabled by ABB’s technology. ABB will supply integrated power and electric storage solutions to the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration’s new ferry that will take 3,600 annual trips in the rough waters between Landeyjahöfn on the mainland and the…
Creditors Bail out Hanjin Heavy Industries
The creditors of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction (HHIC), the financially troubled South Korean shipbuilder, are expected to receive compensation for unpaid loans in a debt-for-equity swap, which will leave them in control of the company. Korea Development Bank (KDB), the state-owned policy bank which holds the largest share of HHIC’s outstanding debt, said that the group of creditors have…
DNV GL Certifies Norsepower Wind Propulsion Solution
Finland’s Norsepower wind propulsion solution, the Rotor Sail, has received the first-ever type approval design certificate granted to an auxiliary wind propulsion system on-board a commercial ship. DNV GL granted the type approval following a design assessment of Norsepower’s 30m x 5m Rotor Sail. The certification means that vessels operating with the Rotor Sail are technically capable of navigating all…
Stena Roro Acquires Japanese Ferry for Ropax Rebuild
Sweden’s Stena RoRo has purchased a used ferry, Yamato, from the Japanese shipping company Hankyu Ferry. It is intended for the European market. The ferry vessel is the 2003- Yamato built by MHI SHIMONOSEKI SHIPYARD measures 195 meters in length and disposes of 2,350 lane meters. The Yamato ferry will be rebuilt at a shipyard in Europe and adapted to…
New Propeller Technology Reduces Cavitation by 14%
A new technology that reduces propeller cavitation volume by nearly 14% and underwater radiated noise (URN) by up to 21dB has been developed by Strathclyde University and Oscar Propulsion, a UK-based innovation and technology transfer company. The patented Oscar PressurePores system reduces propeller tip vortex cavitation by applying a small number of strategically bored holes in the propeller blades. The…
Coalition Grants Permit for Australia’s First Offshore Wind Farm
Plans for what would be Australia’s first offshore wind farm, the massive 2000MW Star of the South off the coast of Victoria, have taken a small step forward this week, after the project finally got the green light from federal government for site exploration. The federal Coalition said after months of delay, that it had approved a deed of license…
The Port Management Office of Misamis Occidental-Ozamiz (PMO-MOZ)
The Port Management Office of Misamis Occidental/Ozamiz (PMO-MOZ) has 5 ports located in its area of jurisdiction: Port of Plaridel, Port of Oroquieta, Port of Jimenez, Port of Ozamiz, and Port of Silanga. There are 2 private ports both located in Jimenez: Third Millennium Oil Inc. (TMOI) and Chevron Philippines Inc. (CPI). The Baseport of PMO-MOZ is the Port of…
The Cagayan River
The Cagayan River is known throughout the Philippines as the “Rio Grande de Cagayan” because it is the longest, largest and widest river in the Philippines. The length of the river is about 350 km and has a drainage basin covering 27,753 sq. km, flowing along the provinces of Apayao, Aurora, Cagayan, Ifugao, Isabela, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Nueva Vizcaya and…
Deuterium: Truth or Hoax?
It’s not really white gold metal but rather, an energy source the entire world could use a gas that is clean, environmentally green, and self-replenishing. The Philippine Trench as well as the Philippine Rise is breeding grounds of the endangered Pacific Blue Fin Tuna, but speculators also say that lying at the bottom of the Philippine Trench is the world’s…