NAUTICAL LOG

A Coverage system Solar-power generated Remote antenna Archipelago coverage ranges Northern islands coverage range Some good news this week from Brasilia, Brazil where the annual UNESCO World Heritage Committee met. As a result of work by the Government of Ecuador it was decided to remove the Galapagos Islands from the List of World Heritage in Danger. For the past three years the the Government of Ecuador, the Galapagos National Park Service (GNPS) and various NGO's active in environmental affairs have been working hard to improve the situation. The Automatic Identification System (AIS) Project was introduced. NAUTICAL LOG found the AIS Project was most interesting as funding came from the Dutch Postcode Lottery specifically for this project. The Sea Shepherds will use this funding to build a network of AIS repeaters throughout the archipelago. These will be solar powered fully self-supporting at eight (8) fixed locations as well as aboard the GNPS vessels. All informatio...

Chris Reynolds, Director IRCG Crest of IRCG - harp and anchor Cliff rescue drill IRCG inshore rapid response IRCG helicopter with RNLI larger rescue boat UPDATE Thursday July 29, 2010: We have had a remarkable comment from Mr. Kevin Bennetts the fisherman who was rescued by HS Juan de la Cosa and the IRCG. It is in the comments to the "SPANISH HOSPITAL SHIP" Post. Mr. Bennetts was kind enough to send photos of his vessel which are now added to the Post. Recently NAUTICAL LOG reported on the Spanish hospital ship assigned to fishing fleets combining with the Irish Coast Guard to transport a sick fisherman. Just who are the Irish Coast Guard ? see their website www.coastguard.ie/ . As it happens there is an article in today's "Irish Times" that tells us something about them. Considering all the vital rescue work they do we thought a little publicity here would do them no harm. So acknowledging the "Irish Times" article by Laurence Mackin as o...

Several times a week NAUTICAL LOG sees in our visitors log references to the Passage Planning Posts. If you would like a copy of the "Nautical Log Passage Planning Guide" just send your e-mail address, and resident country, we shall send a copy by return e-mail. You can then download it, print it out or put it on disc and start passage planning. It is free of charge and that is a good deal in itself these days!! Also welcome to some new "Followers" thank you for your interest in NAUTICAL LOG. Feel free to comment and suggest subject matter for nautical Posts. Good Watch.

FV Ben Loyal WK3 Spanish h ospital ship Juan de la Cosa One of the nice things about being a seafarer is that the learning process is continuous. This morning on reading the "Sunday Irish Times" NAUTICAL LOG learned about a Spanish Hospital ship the MS Juan de la Cosa . She had taken aboard a seriously ill fisherman from a British owned vessel the FV Ben Loyal. Then being concerned about his condition they had contacted the Irish Coast Guard Marine Rescue Coordination Centre at Valentia Island. This resulted in a rendezvous with an Irish Coast Guard helicopter for his transfer to hospital ashore in Ireland. Apparently the hospital ship accompanies various fleets of Spanish fishing vessels in the North Atlantic. Due to being outside the IRCG helicopters range the ship had to proceed at best speed towards Valentia Island, County Kerry. Interested in the hospital ship NAUTICAL LOG did some research and found that she is operated, together with the MS Esperanza de Mar,...

South Africa - before South Africa - after Faeroe Islands - quay full of pilot whales Faeroe Islands - local people and pilot whales UPDATE Sunday July 25, 2010: This Post has been commented on below and NAUTICAL LOG has replied to each one. We shall continue to do so as necessary, while still considering SSCS to be a pirate group that has a strategy of maritime thuggery. Judging from the recent "Whale Wars" series they are also grossly incompetent seafarers and portray themselves as being nautically impaired. However when they do something that is positive in conservation then we shall report that also and in a positive way. Most certainly it is a rare enough event. That is fair and balanced posting which we want NAUTICAL LOG to be as a maritime affairs blog. It is therefore perhaps worthy of respect by you the reader rather than being another ranting forum of one-sided views. The Internet abounds with those already. ORIGINAL POST July 21, 2010: The NAUTICAL LOG ...

News came in the NAUTICAL LOG Press Release folder this morning of a collision between two tankers in the North-East Passage. It might at first glance seem strange that in a area of relatively few ships there would be a collision. Having had the experience of serving in icebreakers as an OOW NAUTICAL LOG knows only too well they can occur surprising easily. Vessels move in convoys under icebreaker escort and depending on ice conditions may be quite close to each other. Add in poor visibility and the difficulty of stopping quickly in ice if the vessel ahead should suddenly have to stop. Very often there is a lot of engine power being applied to make forward progress and the restriction effect of the ice can change quite rapidly. In fact this seems to be what happened as the report states that the MT Varzuga ( 1977) hit the stern of the MT Indiga ( 1976) whose hull was damaged. Both vessels have 1A-Super ice-classification. Hull integrity was maintained as both the tankers are double-h...

The following M-Notices are available at www.mcga.gov.uk/ or if you have difficulty please contact the M-Notice Administrator on 023-8032-9391 . MIN 390 (M) Navigation Safety ECDIS and BNWAS. MGN 413 (F) Code of Practice for fishing crew. MGN 416 (M) Inspection, Survey and Certification. MSN 1796 (M) Amendent to Vessel Traffic Services in the United Kingdom. MSN 1825 (F) Certificates of Equivalent Competency for Fishing Vessels. Good Watch.

1863 - For the second time this year comes news in the NAUTICAL LOG Press Release folder of a fall from aloft resulting in a tragic death. Earlier this year we reported on the death of a young English cadet from a sail training vessel. This weekend a former U.S. Navy officer Mr. Gregory Vance Gushaw a volunteer in the museum ship Star of India slipped from a rope ladder, stuck his head and was pulled unconscious from the water. He was pronounced dead some 40 minutes after he fell from a yard on the 140 foot foremast. The SV Star of India belongs to San Diego's Maritime Museum and Mr Gushaw was some 50 feet aloft training fellow crew members. It is reported he was wearing a safety harness and was familiar with the training exercise. At this time it is unclear if the safety harness was attached or failed, it is also possible that Mr. Gushaw suffered a medical episode before falling. Mr. Gushaw was a longtime volunteer, tour guide and member of the museum's board of trustees. ...

From our European correspondent comes news this morning that Ireland built the cap that so far is preventing the oil spill increasing. The cap was manufactured in County Longford in a subsidiary of the United States company based in Houston,TX. Such a cap would usually take months to make and assemble. As it happened one had been made for a Norwegian oil company and shipped to them. When the enquiry came from BP it was found that the Irish made cap was lying unused in the Norwegian company's equipment yard. It was quickly arranged to have it shipped to the Gulf and as we now know installed successfully. So a little bit of Irish made is doing a good job down the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. As our Irish correspondent says "great news all round". Good Watch.

UPDATE: NAUTICAL LOG received a photograph of what is alleged to be the Caribbean Sea pushing an empty barge. As you can see in this condition it is necessary for whomever is piloting the tow to be in the upper pilothouse so as to see ahead. Even in that position the view forward is severely limited once other vessels get close to the tow due to the length of the barge. It is therefore essential that a lookout be kept from forward on the barge so that the pilot is kept informed. In fact both the International and Inland Navigation Rules state this in Rule 4 and Rule 5 and the wording is the same in both sets of Rules. Since the Inland Rules applied in this incident they state: Rule 4 Application "Rules in this subpart apply in any condition of visibility." Rule 5 Look-out "Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appr...

MS Sunward 1966-2004 This week the latest cruise monstrosity - alright then ship - arrived in the Port of Miami, FL. Yes NAUTICAL LOG knows very well it has every possible dining experience, nightclubs, top line shows, fabulous public rooms, drinking establishments and beautiful staterooms for the passengers - oh right we call them ' guests ' nowadays - whatever. Indeed it is a floating Las Vegas resort but it is not a ship. It does have a vaguely ship like hull but after that it is a series of boxes stacked like the containers on the container ships that berth further down Dodge Island, with an enormous three deck box over the navigation Bridge. This is an incredibly ugly design, one really has to wonder why because this is a NCL cruise vessel. NAUTICAL LOG remembers when they first started operating in 1968 between Miami FL and Nassau Bahamas. The yacht like Sunward caught everybody's attention and started a great improvement in the cruise industry from Miami in every...

Further to our Post "BE CAREFUL OF" ; in our local paper "The Miami Herald" there is an article this morning about disaster in the Gulf scams. The first warning is about expensive training to net jobs in oil cleanup 'Craigslist' is full of them. OSHA has said that most oil spill cleanup should not cost anything at all. The work is being done by BP and its contractors so compulsory training is free. How to avoid getting scammed: Call 877-362-5034 or www.floridagulfrecoveryjobs.com/ U.S. Dept. of Labor 877-872-5627 or www.careeronestop.org/ and www.osha.gov/oilspills Check with OSHA on training if it is from a private company at 800-321-6742 Before investing in a company that says it is working on a project related to the oil spill read the warning at www.finra.org/ . If you believe you have been scammed call the National Center for Disaster Fraud 866-720-5721 or e-mail disaster@leo.gov . In my state of Florida call the Attorney General's office at 8...

Recently NAUTICAL LOG has had a series of posts about Assistance Towing in which we addressed in Part 4 "Issues and Points" the importance of 'Confidentiality' . We also addressed the required behaviour under First Responder laws and how this should be applied by Assistance Towing Responders in "Response and Responders". We gave examples of indiscreet remarks which ended up on Media reports. Our research had brought up that when the USCG ceased to supervise the assistance towing industry an organisation was formed called 'Conference of Professional Operators for Response Towing' ( C-PORT ). On NAUTICAL LOG making further inquires their Executive Director was kind enough to reply with an explanation of their programme. The Executive Director states that "ACAPT Accreditation is available to any marine assistance company who wishes to participate in the process". She further states that "membership in C-PORT is not required to obtai...

Well there are much more important things in our world today but it is still disappointing to read our Press Folder this morning. First of all there was apparently a contest on eBay to vote for your favorite charity and according to Sea Shepherd they won a $15,000 grant to continue piracy operations. Also it was reported that 'Wats-his-name' is busy shopping in Friday Harbor,WA where he has a home. Since he is under an INTERPOL Blue Notice it is hard to understand how he can travel around the world at will - but that's how it is. Secondly Peter Bethune who faced fifteen (15) years for piracy in Japan was sentenced to two (2) years due to the decency and understanding of the Japanese prosecutors, who decide the sentencing under Japanese Law. Due to further understanding by the Japanese Court judicial panel of three judges the sentence was suspended for five (5) years and Bethune will be deported back to New Zealand on July 09, 2010. One can read the long ranting report of t...

LE Aisling P23 at Irish Naval Service Base Haulbowline, Co. Cork. From my birthplace Waterford, Ireland comes news this morning that a local seafarer has been elected President of the Nautical Institute. Captain James Robinson, DSM FNI Irish Navy. CAPT. Robinson, recently retired from the Irish Navy, was elected at the Institutes Annual General Meeting held at Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork and will serve a two year term. He is the first non-British President of the Nautical Institute. CAPT. Robinson retired as Officer Commanding Naval Operations Command and Second in Command of the Naval Service. Born in Waterford and reared at Rockenham, Ferrybank he has been a mariner for 42 years of which 36 was in the Irish Navy. Six years was spent in Irish Shipping Ltd. as Cadet, Third Officer and Second Officer. He was commissioned into the Irish Navy in 1973. In 1985 while in command of LE Aisling he was the On-Scene-Commander for the first 18 hours after the crash of Air India 182; for which service...

Well fellow seafarers here we go again, more law for us to try and figure out, apply and follow. A Bill that requires cruise ships to report alleged crimes and increase security awaits the United States President's signature. The United States Senate has passed the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act . It already passed in the U.S. House last year by a vote of 416-4. Frankly it seems to NAUTICAL LOG , who spent two decades as an officer in passenger ships that Big Brother is now watching every move. Serving in passenger ships is now like living in London, England with thousands of cameras watching one constantly. The new Act requires peepholes in cabin doors, rails no lower than 42 inches and information packets on how to report crimes are some of the changes that commercial cruise passengers can expect to see after this legislation takes effect. New ships built after the legislation's passage must be equipped with time sensitive security technology - you know just like ever...

Well it took at few weeks but the pirates are now making plans to operate in the Gulf of Mexico. In the NAUTICAL LOG Press Release folder comes notice that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is trying to cash in on the BP oil spill. They are advertising that they are going to "train" volunteers in Hazmat and Hazwoper duties to work on the BP oil spill. NAUTICAL LOG has both trained in at Texas A&M and instructed in these duties when OPA 90 came into law. It is quite specialized training which must be conducted by qualified government authorized trainers. One doubts if SSCS has that in place and if you go along with their latest con you may find that both time and money has been wasted. Of course in the same SSCS Press Release is a begging logo for that money, this is called the OCEAN RESCUE FUND. The money will of course go for the upkeep of 'Wats-his-names' lifestyle as usual. It is your money to do with as you want, just don't waste time crying over sp...