Vol. 19 No. 1 January/February 2022

I
N
S
I
D
E

Voicesfrom theSeafarers
Page 32022: Wishing you all a Happy New Year!
‘We will join forces and press ahead together on the foundation of labor industry movements of our predecessors.’

Mitsuharu Matsuura
President
All Japan Seamen’s Union

H

appy New Year tomembers who went
into 2022 while on
duty at sea and to
those who celebrated it with theirfamilies after long intervals. I
would like to extend my greetings
at the beginning of this new year.
First, the coronavirus has very
quickly spread and infected ahuge number of people across theglobe since it was first detected in
Wuhan, China. I am again offering my most heartfelt condolences and most profound sympathies
to those who have lost their precious lives.
The All Japan Seamen’s Union(JSU) convened its 82nd annual
national assembly in November
2021. Having fully taken measures against the pandemic, we
had representatives meet together
for the first time in two years. It
was held in Kobe, the place where
our predecessor, the Japan Seamen’s Union, was organized. Al-

though we only
had a limited amount of time intwo days, active discussions withattending representatives led toagreement on action policies forour 77th year.
To prevent from ceasing thelabor union movements that oursenior colleagues have made fora long time since the Japan Seamen’s Union was established in
1921, when 23 maritime labororganizations united their front,
and enhancing them, I am determined to proceed with activities
together with other members torealize agreed action policies. To
this end, I will, as president of
the JSU, take the initiative in encouraging the Central Executive
Board Committee to join forces
with other executives, shop stewards and on-site union members,
and cooperating with membersof Zenkoku Kaiyu Fujinkai (Association of Family Members of
Seamen Who Work at Sea).

The coronavirus pandemic ishaving a serious impact on the
shipping and fisheries industries, where we work. Lockdowns
around the world have kept seamen from getting on and off ships.
At one time, a growing number ofseamen had to stay on board for
longer than the periods set forthin their labor contracts. Thanks toefforts by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF)
and other relevant international
authorities, however, we are now
in an improving situation. But,
optimism is still not allowed atall, as a new variant of the coronavirus has rapidly spread.
In Japan, meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 infections is on
the decline, leading to the lifting of
the state of emergency declarations
and allowing us to return to normal. It is, however, still necessary
to remain alert. We will, as such,do our best to address the challenges that we could face owing to thecoronavirus pandemic and maintain work environments where seamen can feel safe and at ease.
For seafarers, who work atsea, the peace on the oceans andaround the world are both important. To date, the JSU has aspired
toward eternal peace at sea, making a pledge not to allow seafarers
to be involved in wars. During the
Pacific War, as many as 60,643 of
our brethren had become victims.
We should never forget this experience. In the conviction that we will
never become war participants or
victims, we will continue to workfor the peace of the world and theseas, while renewing our pledge andpaying close attention to domestic
and international situations.
Now, seafarers are facing amountain of challenges, and one
common challenge is the securement and development of successors. In Japan, a maritime nation, seafarers, who are engaged
in shipping and fisheries activi-

ties, underpin the maintenanceand development of the Japanese
economy and the lives of the Japanese people by carrying goods andpassengers by sea, sustainably supplying fisheries products and soon. Nevertheless, Japan is suffering a declining birth rate and an
aging population, both of which
are now advancing more steeply
than ever, making the problemsof aging seafarers and the shortageof successors graver issues. Therefore, it is an urgent task to secureand train Japanese seafaring successors.
For securing and cultivating
seafarers, in principle, the government of Japan is responsible, but
the shipping and fisheries industries should be responsible, too,for securing and fostering successors for their future. To have thesecurement and development ofseafarers realized, we will, therefore, strongly demand that thecentral government and relevantorganizations implement policies
to those ends.
To put our action policies into
practice, it is necessary to workwith various related parties including those from the government, administrative organs,other relevant entities and overseas partners. Because we are stillin the midst of the pandemic, wewill communicate with others
more tightly, encourage all members to feel that they are getting
together under the JSU flag andwork hand-in-hand with you topress ahead with labor movements
at sea and in the industry.
On a final note, I would like tooffer a pray before concluding my
New Year message that you stayhealthy and that all ships operatesafely this year.

Some maritime predictions for 2022 to consider ...
The best way to predict the future
is to create it.
There have been some major
challenges faced during the pandemic that should be addressedin 2022, such as the problems ofcrew change, and port congestion.
The marine insurance industry
has had a relatively light burden
to carry despite headline catastrophes, but it too will change. Hereare our top 10 predictions for theyear ahead:• Shipping Crew Systems willchange…
Crews tend to want to work
time-based schedules such asmonth on, month off or six
months at sea, one- or twomonths shore leave. Ports forbidding crew transfers during the
pandemic rather damaged thatsystem. New and inventive systems will have to be developed toensure crew changes are possible.
Various modules have been developed in on-board ship management systems that download da-tasets of piracy activity, changes tohealth (Covid) regulations, route
planning etc. and are then able
to optimise crew transfers. Thisis a trend that will become standard over the next few years. Thismeans more connectivity and AI.
• Ports won’t be dumping
grounds for storage…
Logistic companies have beenusing ports as cheap storage areas. Many factors contribute tothis including shortage of hauliers
but the backlog of containers andincreased cargoes in the post-lockdown rebound have resulted in
clogged ports. Many of these areconsidering introducing increased
fees for long-dwell containers. AI
will make these fines easier to police and will incentivise logistics
companies to get their own businesses in order. This means moreconnectivity and AI.
• Forget Covid vaccine certificates, route optimisation intobusy ports will become mandatory…

Schedule reliability has beena big problem over the last few
years. It peaked at around 80%
in the middle of 2019 and has
been falling ever since. It is now
languishing close to 35%. As
discussed in previous blogs, port
congestion is a big factor in thisproblem. The two main ports in
California, Long Beach and Los
Angeles, have extended the distance that inbound trans-Pacific
Continued on Page 3

MARITIME NEWS(2)JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

Mintra joins mission to deliver mental health support

Digital learning specialist Mintra has
joined forces withwelfare organization The Mission to Seafarers todeliver vital support to seafarers
around the world who are struggling with their mental health.
The charity’s successful WeCare
wellbeing courses are now available exclusively to individual seafarers on mintra.com, allowing
the training resources to be accessed online by those who needthem most.
Mintra is hosting the eLearningon its mintra.com eCommerce
website completely free of charge,
allowing proceeds from the saleof every course to go directly towards funding The Mission to
Seafarers’ work in supporting seafarers in 200 ports across 50 different countries.
Since the launch of WeCare in
2019, several employers in themaritime industry have purchased
the packages for their sea-going
staff under corporate licenses. The
partnership with Mintra allows
the charity to now help individuals and small companies that werepreviously unable to access thecourses under a corporate model.
The WeCare programme wasdeveloped by The Mission to
Seafarers to address the growing
number of seafarers experiencing
poor mental health and wellbeing. The charity identified two
main contributing factors – financial pressures and a breakdown incommunication with loved ones
at home.
WeCare, which evolved fromclassroom training into an eLearning package following theCovid-19 pandemic, provides
courses that are relevant to bothseafarers and their families. Financial Wellbeing explores thelink between money, relationships
and mental health and promotes
financial coping strategies such as
budgeting, saving and risk assessments.
The Social Wellbeing course
looks at how social media and texting – the most common formsof communication with family
members onshore – can impact
on long-distance relationships.
It provides guidance on how topromote healthy relationships

through positive communication.
Both courses feature a Chat toa Chaplain function, which allows
seafarers who may be in emotional
distress and in need of help to access a member of The Mission to
Seafarers’ chaplaincy team, which
is on call 24/7 to respond to welfare issues.
Kevin Short, CEO of Mintra,
said the company was proud tobecome a partner of The Mission
to Seafarers, and to support thevital work of a charity operating
in one of Mintra’s main customer
markets.
He added: “Our eCommerce
website was launched at the startof 2021 and is specifically designed for individuals and small
groups of learners, such as yachtcrews. Our technology on mintra.
com ensures The Mission to Seafarers can provide equal access tothese high-quality resources, notjust to those who are employed bylarge corporates.
“Seafarers can now access WeCare courses from any device withan internet connection – a phone,laptop or a computer in a port
welfare centre – and instantly get

the support they need. There are
no delays or complex sign-up process: they just purchase the course
and immediately start learning.
“Mintra truly understands theemotional challenges of working
in this profession and that the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly thecrew change crisis which has left
so many seafarers in limbo, hasonly exacerbated those pressures.
Our support of The Mission to
Seafarers is a small way of saying
thank you to those who every day
risk their lives so the global economy can prosper.”The Rev Canon Andrew
Wright, Secretary General of The
Mission to Seafarers, said thepartnership with Mintra came at a
critical time, with more and moreseafarers experiencing feelings ofloneliness and isolation after being separated from family andfriends over the festive period.
“We are incredibly excited to be
partnering with Mintra, as making the WeCare courses available
on mintra.com allows us to reachthe individual seafarers and smaller groups of employees that havenot been able to access WeCare

before. This allows us to be inclusive and ensures that we are providing courses to those who are in
most need,” he said.
“We know that these courses are
incredibly useful and appreciatedby seafarers around the world.
We asked a sample of those whohave already completed WeCare
courses whether it met their expectations – 95% agreed that it
did, and they would recommend
it to others.
“We are grateful to Mintra for
its support and for hosting WeCare free of charge on mintra.com,
as this ensures every penny fromsales goes back into supporting
the activities of our chaplains
who work tirelessly to address awide range of seafarers’ welfare
needs.”
While there is a charge for accessing WeCare courses, port
chaplains are also able to provide
access to those experiencing difficulties and severe financial hardship. It is planned that computersin the charity’s port centres will
display the website to increaseawareness of the training resources on offer. (Source: Mintra)

Ship officer’s adapts industrial oxygen for COVID-19 patient
Shaun Gerald D’Souza was partof a team helming natural gas
tanker sailing from the UnitedStates to Indonesia in May lastyear when one of its crew members tested positive for COVID-19.
The stricken electrical officer’s
oxygen level plummeted to below
95 percent.
Medical oxygen supply on
board was running low and theship was still many days awayfrom land, forcing Mr. D’Souza,
36, to think on his feet.
“We were running against
time,” said Mr D’Souza, a chiefengineer at Executive Ship Management, which is headquarteredin Singapore.
“We had the option of reduc-ing the flow rate of the medical
oxygen to prolong its usage, but
his oxygen levels did not seem toimprove with a lower flow rate.”“I heard that industrial oxygen could be used as a back-up,
but was not completely sure as it
could have contaminants. Aftera bit of reading up and discussions, we decided to use it withadditional measures, like having the industrial oxygen bubble
through a water column to remove any contaminants as there
was no other option,” said Mr.
D’Souza, who has been sailingfor 16 years.
Industrial oxygen has a 99.5
percent concentration, comparedwith the near 99.9 percent of
medical oxygen.

Mr. D’Souza used the watercolumn as a humidifier and a filter, and changed the water every
two to four hours to keep the
supply clean.
The adapters of the industrial
oxygen were also different andrequired some quick tweaks on
the spot so that there would be
no leaks.
All this time, while managing
the crisis, Mr. D’Souza was powering the ship through “one of
the harshest” sailing conditions
to get the ship to a meeting point
so that the electrical officer could
be airlifted to receive medical attention.
“We pushed the engines totheir maximum limit to reachthe rendezvous point just in time

before the sun set at 5 p.m. We
would otherwise have to wait for
the next morning,” Mr. D’Souzasaid, describing gale-force winds
and high waves.
The electrical officer was airlifted to Namibia and then flown to
one of the best hospitals in South
Africa’s Cape Town, where, despite the ship crew’s valiant efforts, he succumbed to COVID-19 two weeks later.
Recounting the incident, Mr.
D’Souza said it was the first time
the crew members had to deal
with a COVID-19 case on board,even if they had been briefed on
precautionary measures and actions to take if someone was suspected or confirmed to have thedisease.

Living and working in suchclose proximity meant that a potential cluster erupting was a very
real threat.
The clusters that emerged on
board other ships, such as the
Diamond Princess cruise withsome 700 COVID-19 cases in
February 2020, weighed heavily
on everyone’s mind.
For his valiant efforts, theMaritime and Port Authority ofSingapore (MPA) honored Mr.
D’Souza with the MaritimeSG
Care Award in November lastyear.
The award was also given to 49
others for keeping the industry
afloat in the challenging conditions of COVID-19. (Source: The
Straits Times)

Japan regional banks introduce system to monitor ship-to-ship transfers
At least 12 regional banks in Japan have introduced a system tomonitor ship-to-ship transfers ofcash and gold earned through illicit means as part of their efforts
to combat money laundering,bank officials said Wednesday.
The introduction of the system
of IHS Markit, an informationproviding firm headquartered in
London, comes as an intergovernmental body tasked with combating money laundering and terrorist funding has indicated Japaneseregional banks’ anti-money laundering measures were insufficient.
According to its 2021 report on

Japan, the Financial Action Task
Force said some financial institutions in the country other thanmegabanks have a limited understanding of money launderingand terrorism financing risks thathave become a global issue.
The 12 banks which introduced
the system include Hiroshima
Bank, Hyakujushi Bank and Fukuoka Financial Group Inc., withmany based in areas where shipbuilding and shipping businessprosper.
The monitoring system allows
them to confirm locations andspeeds of ships, as well as changes

in waterlines of vessels which indicate loading and offloading ofcargos, via satellites and antennas
installed in various locations.
The system alerts its users when
the speed of a vessel dips below its
setting.
U.S. and European financial
institutions as well as major Japanese institutions started introducing the monitoring system after
the 2001 terrorist attacks in the
United States as part of their antimoney laundering and counter
terrorist financing measures.
Among the 12 regional banks,
Iyo Bank in Ehime Prefecture inwestern Japan, where the country’s leading shipbuilder Imabari
Shipbuilding Co. is located, introduced the system in 2019 as thelender has many shipping firms asclients.
The bank monitors maritime
activities of large vessels on computer screens.
“We have been closely monitoring vessels cruising around countries that are subject to U.N. sanctions,” an official of the bank said.
Among such countries, North
Korea, sanctioned for its nuclear
and ballistic missile programs,
was accused by Japan and othercountries of smuggling petroleum
products through illicit shipments
in a report submitted in 2020 toa U.N. Security Council sanctionscommittee on North Korea.
Yamaguchi Financial Group
Inc., meanwhile, has been monitoring some 200 vessels operated
by clients of affiliated banks withfocus on activities in the Sea ofJapan, according to a person withknowledge of the matter.
“Regional banks’ measures tocombat money laundering havesteadily made progress,” said anofficial of Japan’s Financial Services Agency. (Source: Kyodo News)SEAFARERS’ CORNERJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

(3)

VOICES from SEAFARERS

Officers and crew of MV SANTA VIRGINIA
Let us start the new year with a pleasant chapter of alifetime. Having been through the past couple of years
with pandemic, we wish the surge of the current corona
virus would likely diminish. Take care and be aware ofyour safety.

Officers and crew of MV BIWA ARROW
Wish lists had appeared noteworthy from the year 2022.
It reminds each in everyone praises and future plans. Mostof all, everybody wished upon a healthy and prosperous
new year!

Engine officers and crew of MV MCC CEBU
A successful accomplishment has its own equivalent. It
takes hardwork and determination to climb up to a man’s
dream. Be proud of wearing those stripes and continue
with your kind labors. We wish you all the best and congratulation!

Officers and crew of MV CLIFTON BAY
Greetings to our fellow seafarers…May you have fairwinds and safe sailings to the rest of your voyages. Likewise, Happy New Year to all!

Officers and crew of MV BULK BOLIVIA
The previous year has gone with joy and sorrows.
Though the globe is on the midst of the pandemic, we’re
glad to welcome 2022 with gestures of prosperity and best
wishes. Happy New Year!

Signed off crewmembers of MV WORLD SPIRIT
There were smile of excitements in signing off when seafarers reach the end of contract. It is the happiest momentin everyone’s dream to be home with their family. To theconcern authorities, who has arranged this successful repatriation, thank you and Happy New Year!

Ships became ‘prisons’ for crew amidst the pandemic
When the coronavirus pandemic
struck in 2020, seafarers at theend of their contracts were suddenly prevented from going home.
Flights were canceled and borders
were closed by port states, transit
countries, and home nations. As
the months stretched on seafarers’
dismay turned into bewilderment
and then anger as governments

were unwilling to provide practicalsolutions.
This meant that the lives of seafarers operating cruise ships, cargovessels, and fishing vessels werethrown into crisis.
In Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa, the home of one of Africa’s
largest ports it was reported thatmost of the seafarers suffered men-tal health after staying on board forlong periods without disembarking. Some even died.
“Seafarers suffered a lot when
their contracts ended. They suffered from mental health issues.
We got a lot of crews dying on
board. In the Kenyan port ofMombasa, we received 3-4 vessels
which crew came and collapsed,”

Betty Makena, the International
Transport Workers FederationInspector in Kenya, said.
Some stranded seafarers had
been onboard for more than a year.
Governments wouldn’t allow themashore for a walk or even emergency medical care. Seafarers told theInternational Transport Workers
Federation that they were growing

increasingly tired, fatigued, anddesperate to leave their “floating
prisons”.
“Right now, we’ve four cases ofpeople who have died on board
and all of them at the port ofMombasa...Because they overstayed, they are tired, have mental
issues, they need to rest. (Source:
CGTN Africa)

Technological advancements mean better connectivity and improved AI
Continued From Page 1
containerships are requested to
avoid while awaiting a berth at
the ports. This is now 150 miles
from the coast – roughly 15 hours
steaming.
The benefit of this is that it increases safety by spacing ships out
further out at sea as opposed todesignated anchorages or tighterloitering areas within 40 miles (4hours) from the ports. It also allows ships to adopt slow-steaming
and reduce their carbon footprint.
In much the same way as air traffic control can arrange flight arrivals and departures, ports need
to be able to schedule shipping.
It is expected that this type of operation will be adopted by otherinternational ports. This means
more connectivity and AI.

• Blockchain technology andmaritime insurance are going tobecome well-acquainted…
Distributed ledger technology(DLT), such as blockchain, will
be heavily adopted by the maritime insurance industry. This will
help streamline and ironclad multiparty arrangements and reduce
overheads (by an estimated 40%)in the insuring office.
• Digitalization, IoT, ship operations…and what’s happening
in my container?
Increasing adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) will transformrisk management of containers
in transit, especially those needing to be stored at very specifictemperatures (such as vaccines).
The ability to monitor the cargo
inside containers in real-time will
not only reduce spoilage of time-

sensitive products but also reduce
the risk of fires. These have become
an increasing claims trend on large
containerships such as Maersk Honam, Yantian Express, and APL
Vancouver, where the very size ofthe vessel combined with the complexity of the fire control operation significantly increased salvage
and General Average costs. This
will be aided by better labelingconventions, assisted by DLT, toavoid an unknown concentrationof containers carrying potentiallyflammable cargo. This means moreconnectivity and AI.
• Expect more offshore energy
activity, particularly the gutsy
one….
Offshore oil and gas production
will stay relatively strong withmore bespoke FPSOs being built
as modifying VLCCs no longer

provides the capacity needed. Inshore drilling will decline becauseof environmental pressures andwind and wave power will become
the norm. This means more connectivity and AI.
• Two more big, vertical acquisitions…
We expect to see two more major acquisitions in the maritime
connectivity market in the next 6
months and predict they will bevertical moves.
• Data analytics vendors next
on the menu…
Probably not of the same gravitas, but we will see more partnerships with service providers andthe smaller maritime data analytics players.
• Government intervention
for Port Management…
We have spoken about port

management, block chain technologies, and leaner just-in-timelogistics. I think we will see a bigger involvement of accounting
and technology consultancies inreviewing how shipping ports canbe better run. This will be driven
by government intervention.
• Digital shipping logbooks amust for shipping insurance…
Shipping insurance will demand full datasheet specs on
vessel performance from charters
and ship owners. Each vessel willneed to be benchmarked against
its peers, of similar age and class.
In the UK, our car logbooks arecalled V5C. Perhaps another internet poll is needed to determine
the shipping equivalent. (Source:
Joshua Flood, Senior Research Consultant, Valour Consultancy, https://valourconsultancy.com/)

(4)ADVISORIES/WARNINGSJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

Digital evolution improves not only communicationIn the past decade, the transition to digital solutions
has emerged as a top trend
in the maritime sector. By
facilitating ship-to-shore communication as well as communication between ships, it supports
new opportunities that improveship compliance, security and logistics.
Alongside the evolving industry, is the accelerating rate at
which maritime regulations arechanging. This presents a challenge for ship owners, managers
and operators – more regulations,from more regulators and changing more quickly than ever.
Until now, the best solution forthis challenge has been installing
software onboard ships with digital publications. The software solutions however came with problems of their own – complicatedinstallations, restrictive licenses,
updating errors and cybersecurity
issues to name just a few. Having only few providers to choose
from, ship managers often struggled with finding a solution thatwould fit nicely into their business.

DanCompliance is harnessing the accelerating growth inmaritime regulations by providing a cloud-based regulatorycompliance solution to ship andshore-based officers and managers. MarineRegulations is acomprehensive online databaseof documentation and regulations including from IMO, Flag
States and Classification Societies, which works as well on board
as it does ashore.
Ronni Palmqvist, CEO of DanCompliance commented: “Wehave the most comprehensive col-lection of maritime legislation,
rules, notices and guidelines on
the market, and we keep expanding every single day.”Using the latest cloud application technology ships can accesstheir regulatory publications,
without the need for any locallyinstalled software, whether they
have a live internet connection ornot. For the first time this reallycuts the cord with shore-based
supply of publications, data andsoftware.
“Our newest feature is easy-touse and tailored for ships. Only

selected content will be downloaded, so your library is kept upto-date using only the required
data and it synchronizes automatically when connected to the internet.” – Ronni explained when
asked about the functionality.
MarineRegulations is alreadytrusted by some of the largest
names in the maritime world such
as Maersk, RINA, P&O Maritime
and Bourbon Offshore and thus
DanCompliance has in record
time become a significant global
provider of regulatory publications. (Source: DanCompliance)

Four inefficient shipping regulations that no one talks about Be a handwash
hero, not a zero
Do you know exactly how many
regulations and laws govern today’s
shipping?
For an industry that’s about
5,000 years old and moves approximately 90% of the world’s goods,
while navigating some of the mostchallenging environments on international waters, there are boundto be a bunch of rules. In fact, there
are so many, it’s almost impossible
to give an exact number.
Shipping was amongst the very
first industries to adopt the widely
implemented international safety
standards. Because of its inherent
global nature, the International
Maritime Organization (IMO) has
developed a comprehensive global
maritime safety regulations framework. But that’s obviously not all.
There’s SOLAS, MARPOL, COLREG, LOADLINE AND ISPS,
which just cover ship operations.
Then there’s STWC and ILO 147
for the seafarers, and ISM dealing
with the shipping companies. On
top of this, there are numerous local and port regulations to follow,
certifications to obtain, taxation
frameworks, cybersecurity guidelines, along with many other maritime instruments concerning more
specific issues that are also in force
worldwide.
To put it mildly, shipping’s regulatory framework is complex.
But what makes this landscapesometimes unnecessarily cumbersome are obsolete rules andrequirements that have lost theirrelevance with time. “We’re using
AI on ships while forcing them tohave a bell on board. In between
these two generations of technologies, there’s a huge gap that’s
getting too big to manage,” says
Hendrik Bußhoff, Head of Product Autonomy Solutions, Wärtsilä
Voyage. “With every technologicaladvancement, we keep adding new
regulations to the books without
retiring or at least reviewing theold ones.”
Many of these old conditions ofoperation are mindlessly enforced,
and unnecessary solutions are engineered to incorporate them inmodern automated systems merely

to check a box.
– Hendrik Bußhoff, Head of
Product Autonomy Solutions,
Wärtsilä Voyage
Here are four such examples ofobsolete regulations and redundant systems that shipping could
sail without.
The Foghorn
In reduced and low visibility
conditions, as per rules, a ship is
supposed to sound the horn to signal its presence to other ships. In
return, other ships are required tokeep a lookout ‘by sight and hearing’. On most ships, when you goon the bridge wing, you hear yourauxiliary engines, engine roomfans and possibly the noise of a few
hundred reefer containers. There’s
hardly a chance of hearing anothership, not to mention determining
its accurate bearing and range. So
why do we have this requirement?
That’s because back in the days, you
had little choice but to listen. And
it did work well when you were ona sailing ship or older three-island
designs where the bridge is separate
from the engine. But today, it’s adifferent scenario. You no longer
have to depend on hearing otherships to be aware of their presence or sound the foghorn to makethem aware of yours. We now havea rich set of technology choices tosolve this archaic problem that aremuch better and more accurate
than honking the horn or ringing
the bells and gongs.
Unmanned engine rooms are agood example of similar progression. Original regulations required
an engine room watchkeeper toutilise their senses of hearing,sight, smell and touch. But when
we substituted human watchkeeping with ‘unmanned’ technological solutions, we didn’t have to
substitute the senses of touch andsmell. “That’s because, 50 years
ago, someone was brave enoughto say it doesn’t make sense anymore, given all the technologicaladvancements. Take the example
of smell, for instance: The original
purpose behind this requirement
was to ensure that the whole ship
doesn’t go up in flames. But today

we are better off with a contemporary fire detection system than trying to sniff out smoke,” points out
Bußhoff.
Logbooks and Noon Reports
There are many digital ways today to quickly and efficiently record data. Yet, the golden standard
to date is writing things down.
This makes the information neither searchable nor can it be structured or unified. Similarly, like everyone else, ships start their days at
midnight and yet are still required
to file noon reports. “Noon reports
made sense when navigation was
based on stars, and around noon
the sun offered a convenient opportunity to calculate the vessel’s
position. We definitely no longer
depend on the sun to determine
the ship’s position and yet continue
to obsess with noon reports,” says
Bußhoff.
The Magnetic Compass
Lots of time and money is spenton adjusting and operationallymonitoring the deviation of themagnetic compass. However, what
used to be a tool of immense value
on wooden ships, now delivers
questionable results on today’s shipmade of steel. As we know, steel
corrupts the core alignment of thecompass that’s based on Earth’s
magnetic field. And it doesn’t get
any better when you have thousands of containers made of, well,steel again. Meaning, the compass
has to be reconfigured during every port call as every loading andunloading operation disrupts yourcareful adjustment. And so, what
is often perceived as your last navigational resort to bring you home
if the lights went out, has every
chance of underperforming when
it is needed the most. But thenagain, considering today’s systems,
your engines most likely also wentout with your lights, making having the compass futile again.
But that’s not all. “There is a particular failure mode on many newbuilds connected to the magnetic
compass,” tells Bußhoff. “Because
there is a requirement to have thecompass visible on the steering station, many ships have a periscope-like duct, pointing upwards. This
open duct catches not only lightbut often rainwater, which finds
its way down, dripping directly on
instruments, damaging them andoften triggering the same shortcircuit against which the magnetic
compass is immune to.” Thus, thequestion here is: Does the compass
still solve a real problem onboard?
Or is it just another nugatory remnant from shipping’s evolutionary
past, only delivering a perceived
sense of safety?
Numerous Certificates to sailTo give an example, we simulated an inland voyage carrying grainfrom Nakskov in Denmark to Salzgitter, a small port about 200 kilometres south of Hamburg, Germany. The journey starts somewherein the Baltic Sea, and we travel
down Germany’s inland river system. To complete this single journey, it requires six different operator qualifications and certifications
along with expert knowledge of theGerman language. Starting withthe standard deep-sea certificatesof competence to the different
pilot exemptions certificates andseparate river licenses along with aClass A general inland waterways
license, it can take about ten yearsof training to get there. In short,no one person can be expected tohave all these skill sets alone. So,
typically a vessel would have tohave multiple crew members on
board to be able to navigate thissmall stretch or spend a handsome
amount on getting special pilots’assistance at each junction.
The bigger problem with suchan arrangement is that all thesequalifications and pilot exemption certificates are then tied to resources onboard a specific ship, ina particular area.
Instead, if the operations werecarried out by a remotely monitored vessel, there won’t be a needto have six different specialists onboard anymore. Having the rightcompetencies available in a single
remote-control centre, and used
only when they are needed, would
both suffice and optimise the process. (Source: Wärtsilä Oyj)

It is important to understand thedifference between washing handswith soap and water and using
hand sanitizers when maintaining
good hand hygiene. According to
the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC)’s guidelines on Hand Sanitizer Use Out
and About, soap and water remove
all types of germs, while sanitizer
only kills a certain type of germs
and may not remove other harmful chemicals such as pesticides or
heavy metals.
When to wash hands?
• Before and after preparingfood.
• Before eating.
• Before and after caring forsomeone who is sick or attending
to a cut or a wound.
• After using the toilet.
• After touching animals, including pets and their associated foods.
• After touching garbage.
• After coughing, sneezing or
blowing your nose such that thehands are likely to have saliva droplets.
How to wash hands?
Wash your hands with soap for aminimum of 20 seconds to remove
harmful germs and chemicals effectively. Hand washing with soap
and water is the best way to remove
all types of germs and contaminants from your hands. (Gard,https://www.gard.no/web/updates/
content/32865327/be-a-handwashhero)
All JApAn SeAmen’S Union
15-26, Roppongi 7-Chome,
Minato-Ku, Tokyo 106-0032
Tel.: (03) 5410-8320
Fax: (03) 5410-8336
E-mail: iss@jsu.jp
Internet: http://www.jsu.or.jp
Publisher: Hiroshi Saito
Send inquiries to the attention of
Mr. Hiroyuki Watanabe,
Director, International Dept.