NAUTICAL LOG

The following M-Notices are available at www.dft.gov.uk/mca if you have problems contact 023 8032 9391. MGN 449 (M) ELECTRICAL - Potential Hazards of Excessive Harmonic Distortion of Current and Voltage of Onboard Electrical Systems. MGN 451 (M+F) Risk of Exposure to Radiation. MIN 428 (M) Navigation: Vessel Traffic Systems V103 and Local Port Services Course Dates 2012 - 2013. Good Watch Please be aware and remember that nearly 600 of our fellow seafarers are held hostage by pirates off the coast of Puntland, Somalia.  There are NO current plans in place to rescue them.

USS New York the right way MS Mingzhu No. 7 the wrong way In the nautical world as in other professions there is a right way to behave and a wrong way.  Recently we had two vessels pass under bridges across rivers coming from an upriver shipyard.  Here in America the USS New York passed under a bridge spanning the Mississippi - it went well. In China a vessel the MS Mingzhu No.7 passed under a bridge spanning a Chinese river - it went badly.  So one learns to perhaps not use upriver shipyards or make the clearance calculations accurately. Here in South Florida, more particularly the Spanish speaking " Banana Republic of Miami-Dade County " there has been a case in Miami Federal Court involving a local ship surveyor.  According to the report in  gCAPTAIN® this morning which gives his name, however NAUTICAL LOG  chooses not too, he was found guilty of maritime fraud and lying to the USCG - never a good idea. The charg...

Peter Hammarstedt UPDATE: Monday 21, 2012. In Germany "Wats-his-name" has been released from gaol/jail on bail of €250,000.  He must remain in Germany while the extradition order from Costa Rica is being processed.  The President of Costa Rica, who is a former Minister of Justice, is on an official visit to Germany this week.  My, My, what a coincidence!! *********************************************************************************** UPDATE: Sunday May 20, 2012. The extradition proceedings will continue on Monday in Frankfurt, Germany for SSCS pirate group leader "Wats-his-name".  The German Justice Ministry has set a bail of €250,000 for his release  and this money has apparently been placed at the disposal of the SSCS by a supporter. If the Judge does release "Wats-his-name" on bail he must remain in Germany until the extradition proceedings by Costa Rica are complete.  Well good luck on him doing that! This means he cannot go to ...

Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu The IMO Conference of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) 90th. Session, May 16 - 25 2012 has been opened by IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu.  The High-level segment of which is arms on board merchant vessels. In his opening address the Secretary-General mentioned various points and no doubt as in the past there will be numerous speeches and high moral statements.  Like UNCLOS Nations will eventually sign or not sign (as the United States has not) but will still vigorously enforce the laws of UNCLOS (as the United States does) when it suits them. Of the points that were covered in the Opening Address the one that interested NAUTICAL LOG because of our viewpoint on it was  Resolution A. 1044 (27) which states: "Resolution A. 1044 (27) on piracy and armed robbery against ships in waters off the coast of Somalia endorses the position of this Committee that seafarers should not carry firearms and that the ca...

It is with quite some amazement that NAUTICAL LOG has now arrived at 75,000 visitors since starting this Blog.  We use only our Blog to publish our views or comments to other Blogs having no RSS ®, Facebook ® or Twitter ® accounts or links to them. When we started out it was our intention to write on maritime subjects and see if there was any interest.  From the beginning we planned not to have any additional writers, follow the DMCA rules of publishing, try to write to a high standard in the English language but accommodate certain other languages in which we had some familiarity and most definitely use spell check!! As we look back over the years the comments on some of the subjects we have written about have in some cases completely reversed in opinion.  Once most were critical of our stance on certain subjects, now they seem to reflect an understanding of the NAUTICAL LOG viewpoint while not necessarily fully agreeing with it - which of course was...

To the surprise of most if not all of us the Sea Shepherd self-declared international pirate "Wats-his-name" was arrested and then detained by a German Judge on Monday.  He sits in gaol/jail in Frankfurt, Germany under a warrant issued by the current Government of Costa Rica. The SSCS regards this as wrongful detention but the German Court is merely acting under International Law at the request of the Government of Costa Rica so it is quite legal.  Any change of status will have to be made with the input of Costa Rica.  It should also be remembered that it is not so long ago that an Interpol Blue Notice was issued for "Wats-his-name" being the result of legal action by Japan. It would seem that his own bombastic language came back to haunt him and the Judge reasoned that "Wats-his-name" would not observe any bond arrangement made in the German Court while the extradition order requested by Costa Rica was processed.  This procedure can take several months...

*********************************************************************************** UPDATE: Tuesday 5/15/2012. Surprise, surprise, sometimes it is so nice to be wrong!  At his German Court appearance the self declared international pirate Paul Watson ("Wats-his-name") was remanded in custody by the Judge and escorted to gaol/jail.  His German lawyer one Oliver Wallasch, said afterwards that "Wats-his-name" was shocked by the Courts ruling and for once it seems he had nothing to say. Perhaps finally the tide has turned this individual now being regarded and being treated like the nautical criminal that he is.  The Judge of the German Court has so declared what we professional mariners have always known.  Besides the Costa Rica, and Faeroe Islands warrants there is of course Japan which has suffered from the thuggish behaviour of the Sea Shepherds for years. It is likely that other Sea Shepherd crew may also now be arrested particularly thos...

The following M-Notices are now available at www.dft.gov.uk/mca any difficulties call 023 8032 9391 MGN 448 (M)    Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Convention, 1978 as Amended Manila Amendments: Medical Certification, Hours of Work and Alcohol Limits MIN 427 (M)    Lifejackets - Withdrawal of General Exemption to Carry Lifejackets on Class V Vessels on Inland Lakes Good Watch There are some 300 of our fellow seafarers held hostage by pirates off the coast of Puntland, Somalia as such they face mutilation or death at any moment.  There are currently no plans to rescue them.

From various Media Reports and the comments to them it seems that many who are commenting do not know what the Nautical Rules are, let alone having read and understood them.  Some are still wallowing in that great nautical misconception of " steam gives way to sail ".  Nothing could be further from the truth and if you settle down to read and understand the Nautical Rules 1 to 38 plus the annexes and other data all will be revealed to you.  This is another advantage of having a maritime license one has to study and pass a comprehensive examination in the Nautical Rules. For those of you involved in yacht racing and those of you who state you do not know about yacht racing - but still comment on it - the instructions of the yacht race committee do NOT supersede the " International Rules of the Road " in any way whatsoever.  The Nautical Rules - International or Inland as applicable to the waters operated in are always in force.  If a situation oc...

All vessels, of all sizes, of all Nations, are covered by the " International Rules of the Road " which were first formulated and published in the 1840's.  Since then there was a major revision in 1972 and amendments in later years.  In the United States of America the Rules are the responsibility of the United States Coast Guard to both publish and enforce them, this is done under NAVIGATION RULES INTERNATIONAL - INLAND COMDTINST M16672.2 followed by a letter indicating the current edition. All vessels are required to have a copy of the Rules on board (with few exceptions) and all persons operating a vessel of any size are required to know and follow the Rules.  Unfortunately those unlicensed persons in recreational boating often do not have this required knowledge.  One of the areas where it is clearly lacking is South Florida, which unfortunately is where NAUTICAL LOG resides. There are some 37 Rules with Rule 38 Exemptions being fol...