NAUTICAL LOG

SMALL INFORMATIONAL NOTE: March 01, 2010. When the international media reported this incident this vessel was described as a 55 tonne ship, much to the amusement of seafarers. This is an example once again of rushing to report without proper research and editing. The correct tonnages of MS Costa Europa is 42,092 GRT (Gross registered tons) and 5157 DWT (Deadweight tons). A quick visit to 'Google' would have given you this data. Media getting there first is fine but get it right !! The News Media is reporting that the MS Costa Europa hit the pier at Sharm el-Sheik Egypt at 0445 this morning while berthing. At the time very high winds and rough seas were reported. Tragically three crewmembers are reported killed, in addition four passengers and other crewmembers had to go to hospital for treatment as a result of injuries. The vessel was arriving at the Egyptian resort from Dubai bound for Italy. All 1400 passengers were removed from the vessel to hotels and flights are being ...

UPDATE: February 26, 2010 The SS-PG are now in full retreat having lost out in tactics with the Japanese Whaling Fleet. In spite of boldly stating just earlier this week that they had fuel to remain with the fleet until the end of the season. The MS Steve Irwin is already bound for Hobart Tasmania and 'Wats-his-name' announces today that the no Flag State vessel MS Bob Barker also has fuel problems and is joining them bound for Hobart. This year has been an unmitigated disaster for the Sea Shepherd Pirate Group with an unaccomplished mission, as the Japanese are now free to hunt at will, useless tactics, a prisoner taken and bound for the Japanese Maritime Court. However as yet both the SS-PG vessels are not safe in their Australian Sanctuary so the drama may not be over. UPDATE: February 25, 2010 Received six (6) fascinating and long comments this morning, all clearly from Sea Shepherd supporters, tracked from an address in Hayward California but it had bounced around so who...

Rescue frigate of the Brazilian Navy Flag of Barbados As has been widely reported in the world's newspapers and nautical blogs the SF Concordia of Barbados Flag State sank several hundred miles off the coast of Brazil last week. There is some confusion about the actual day, some say Wednesday, some say Thursday and therein lies the problem. The Brazilian Naval authorities have been placed in the position, largely by the reporting of Associated Press, of having to defend search efforts for the shipwreck. This is the same Brazilian Navy which expanded such gallant efforts in search and recovery after the Air France crash at sea between Brazil and Africa. In the Associated Press Release on my desk the report by one Tales Azzoni contains some points, in the opinion of NAUTICAL LOG , worth mentioning. The Brazilian Navy is defending its response to a shipwreck that left dozens of teenage students from around the world adrift on the ocean for two nights. The Navy deployed a search ai...

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith The Japanese may not like to discuss confrontational issues face to face but this does not bother those macho Aussies one bit. Not having done anything besides aide, abet, and shelter the Sea Shepherd Pirate Group for years they now start a fight during a diplomatic visit. The Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada is currently visiting Australia and had meetings with the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd who immediately told him that Japan had until November to stop hunting whales in the Antarctic. The 2009/2010 Season ends in about three weeks so that was handy!! With that Australian diplomatic greeting the Japanese FM went on to meet his counterpart Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith in Perth Western Australia. Now Perth just happens to be the current Port State base of the SS-PG - yes indeed - again Australian tact and style at work. Super-macho Steve threatens to take Japan to the International Court of Justice if it does not stop whale h...

FINALLY A WORD: February 23, 2010. In a Press Release consisting of a confused rant 'Wats-his-name' has mentioned the fact that Togo has stripped MS Bob Barker of its flag. Also mentioned is the fact that the MS Steve Irwin is returning to Hobart Tasmania due to 'being down to its last reserves of fuel'. This just days after stating that both vessels had fuel to remain with the Japanese Whaling Fleet 'well into March' until the end of the season. The indications are that 'Wats-his-name' really does not know what is going on aboard his ships, cannot read fuel tank soundings correctly or a combination of both. It may be that having told so many conflicting stories that he now has trouble keep track of them. In view of the Australian Government threatening the Japanese Government it must be hoped that they detain the MS Steve Irwin in Hobart at least until the whaling season ends. On the Japanese side they would be well within maritime law rights to arr...

Those of you who read NAUTICAL LOG know that great importance is placed on safety at sea and this in turn comes from training. It is my opinion that each and every seafarer should hold a license indicating this training has been completed. One of the nautical Blogs that we follow and indeed read each day is BITTEREND hosted by Captain Richard Rodriguez. Captain RR is a well known and excellent instructor resident in the Pacific Northwest. Also he is well known to many of you from his service as a Vessel Assist Captain during the Spring and Summer boating seasons from Friday Harbor WA. The courses he teaches lead to a full United States Coast Guard (USCG) license. There is another excellent source of training and licensing and these are the State Safe Boating Certificates. Putting ones money where ones mouth is NAUTICAL LOG held a USCG Master and also a State of Florida Safe Boaters Certificate. When NAUTICAL LOG visited the 'Miami International Boat Show' last weekend we h...

The net reportedly cut by Bethune when boarding. He also reported cutting his hand. Having been busy watching the Olympics from Vancouver BC where I lived for two years and of course a visit to the Miami International Boat Show, I finally got to my mail this morning. It came as no real surprise that two Media Releases from The Institute of Cetacean Research were waiting for me. It seems that once again the people in the Southern Ocean are behaving stupidly - well now that's a bit harsh - NAUTICAL LOG is not perfect so perhaps we should change that to inappropriately - there that's better. When the DVC Ady Gil was sunk her Captain Peter Bethune was quoted as saying to his wife in New Zealand that all he wanted to do was head for home. Sometime later he arrived in Perth Western Australia aboard MS Steve Irwin and was interviewed by the NZ Maritime Authorities. When she sailed two or three days later he was 'mentioned-in-dispatches' as being aboard as an officer. Full o...

The following M-Notices are now available at www.mcga.gov.uk/ MIN 366 (M+F) MIN 373 (M+F) MIN 377 (M+F) MGN 405 (M+F) MGN 406 (M+F) MSN 1817 (M+F) Good Watch.

Some years ago when NAUTICAL LOG first heard of the SEA SHEPHERD Pirate Group it was in conjunction with GREENPEACE. Back in those long gone days the two groups worked reasonably well together to try and prevent Japanese Whaling. However the SS-PG decided to take a more violent stance or at least its fearless leader did which meant everyone else had to follow along or leave. This caused a complete division and GREENPEACE becoming a non-starter in anti-whaling activities and the SS-PG becoming extremely violent in their tactics. Blatant acts of piracy became commonplace and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) did what it does best of all - absolutely nothing. Each year more and more violent acts in violation of international maritime law were used by SS-PG to try a prevent the commercial success of the Japanese Whaling Fleet. In turn the JWF which calls it's hunting "Research" is clearly in the business of commercial whaling. In spite of hunting in the South...

MS Bob Barker collision damage Flag of TOGO West Africa Yet another incident and yet another nation involved in antiwhaling activities. The Norwegian/Togo vessel MS Bob Barker and the MS Yushin Maru 3 were involved in a mutual ramming incident at position 65-21 South and 67-58 East or 180 miles from Cape Darnley in Australian Antarctic Territory. While as usual both sides blame the other it does seem clear that the MS Bob Barker was blocking the slipway of the Japanese whaling factory ship MS Nisshin Maru . In the attempt to move her clear the MS Yushin Maru 3 came into collision with the starboard side of MS Bob Barker. The SS-PG report that a 1 metre gash has been opened in the MS Bob Barker midships starboard side above the waterline ( see first photo above ). In the Sea Shepherd Pirate Group website www.seashepherd.org/ there are photos and also in the Japanese website www.icrwhale.org/ which clearly shows the MS Bob Barker flying the flag of Norway as its Flag State. H...

RIDDERZAAL DEN HAAG Amongst the papers landing on NAUTICAL LOG desk this morning was a report from Brussels Belgium, the European Union capital city. The Dutch Government has submitted a Bill that would empower it to strip violent anti-whaling environmentalists of the registry of their ships. This follows violent protests against Japanese whalers by Dutch registered ships of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The amendment to the law on the nationality of ships would deprive Dutch registered vessels of Certificates of Registry - Zeebrievenwet - issued by the Dutch Government "when harm is done to a ship, its crew or load or when it would be used in such a way that relations with other countries could be affected negatively" according to the draft legislation. The existing Law was enacted in 1926 and empowers the Government to strip ships of their Dutch nationality only in cases where ships are used to practice piracy, transport slaves or bring The Netherlands into a war...

If you know what that title means - we need you! There is currently a great need in South Florida for speakers of Creole and also French. This is due to the needs of the Haitian People, so if you speak Creole please contact the AMERICAN RED CROSS and they will direct you. Training is available 'nan Kreyol' to run the computers and process the paperwork for a variety of needs such as the 'Temporary Protective Status' forms. Florida International University and Miami-Dade County Public Schools are building a database and offering classes 'nan Kreyol'. Thank you/Merci. Good Watch

Having been away from the Internet for about ten days NAUTICAL LOG has been catching up on things. We also decided to make a new layout for our Blog - same old thing gets a bit boring. Just reading a comment in OLD SALT BLOG - which is just about the best nautical Blog around - to a criticism by the CENTER FOR RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL on the cruise lines continuing to call at Labadee Haiti. One person in charge of such things is Richard Fain, who happens to be a neighbor of mine, he wrote an explanation in reply. The commenter referred to Richard Fain and called the CENTER 'self-righteous'. As NAUTICAL LOG had also Posted a similar criticism of Labadee calls that would make us, according to the commenter, 'self-righteous' also. Interesting! The CENTER FOR RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL is a non-profit research institute who's mission is to improve ecotourism and sustainable tourism. Seems worthy enough to NAUTICAL LOG. Lets face it if we keep destroying everything there will b...