Bunker barge scheduled for testing
July 31, 2014, South Africa, Cape Town
Chevron advise that the bunker barge “Southern Valour” at Cape Town will be out of service for scheduled annual delivery hose pressure testing on Wednesday 6 August.
She is expected to be back in service by 1800 hours on the same day.
For information about operations in Cape Town contact GAC South Africa at shipping.capetown@gac.com
National Day 2014 – Dressing & lighting up of ships
July 31, 2014, Singapore, Singapore
As part of the celebrations for Singapore’s 49th National Day on Saturday 9 August, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore is encouraging masters of ships in port to participate by dressing and lighting up their ships.
For information about operations in Singapore contact GAC Singapore at singapore@gac.com
Source: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore Port Marine Notice No.94 of 2014
Risk of tug strike – Update: 31 July 2014
July 31, 2014, Australia, Port Hedland
Tugs are still working as normal at Port Hedland and no stoppages have been declared. The three days notice period for any industrial action remains in place.
Negotiations between Teekay Shipping and tug crews are continuing to reach a satisfactory outcome, and are presently subject to mediation in the Fair Work Commission.
All three maritime unions (MUA, AIMPE & AMOU)have held protected action ballots which approved taking protected action. The MUA have approved the taking of stoppages of 2, 4, 6 and 12 hours, AIMPE has approved similar including stoppages of 24 & 48 hours duration.
Safety and/or emergency related work will be exempt from all stoppages.
For information about operations in Australia contact GAC Australia at shipping.australia@gac.com
Changes to port depths (further information)
July 31, 2014, Australia, Townsville
Maritime Safety Queensland’s Notice to Mariners provides amended port navigational depths at Townsville following the quarterly survey by POTL.
Depth loss is generally in accordance with expected siltation however Platypus Channel (the main channel used by all vessels) has been declared at 10.5m from 11.9m.
POTL is currently undertaking works to increase depth in two stages with a target depth of 11.0m by 5 August and 11.5m by 12 August, subject to weather.
For further details and information about operations in Australia, contact GAC Australia at shipping.australia@gac.com
Pre-Mooring Safety Inspections
July 31, 2014, Italy, Trieste
The SIOT/TAL Terminal at Trieste has advised that the TAL Pre-Mooring Safety Inspection program will be modified from 1 September.
The checks at road will affect:
– Any ship at her first call at S.I.O.T. Terminal
– Any ship of 15 years old or less, if the previous check is older than 1 year
– Any ship aged more than 15 years, if the previous check is older than 6 months
– Any ship in TAL Warning List
– Any ship in TAL Refusal List, on trial voyage.
In case of reduced Terminal berth capability (for example with a pier unavailable), any ship the Terminal should judge advisable to be checked in order to reduce the risk of prolonged berthing time (for example in case of overcrowd Trieste road, in case of vessels with heated cargo onboard, subjected recently to incident, that exceed the max. allowable berthing time at the previous call and so on).
(For information about operations in Italy, contact the GAC UK Hub Agency Centre at hub.gb@gac.com)
New tolls structure
July 31, 2014, Panama, Panama Canal
The Panama Canal Authority has advised that a new tolls structure will be introduced when the expanded Canal opens.
The proposal the Authority plans to present in the coming months provides a structure that is competitive, attractive and customised to reflect advantages to clients by ship type, vessel size, utilisation level (referring to actual cargo aboard during transit), laden/ballast transits, completely or partially full transits, among other factors.
The Panama Canal Authority is currently reviewing the tolls proposal, which would include the new locks. Details are not yet available, but the Canal’s pricing policy states:
– Tolls will be established to reflect the value provided by the Canal to users;
– Tolls will be set so that their relative value is maintained over time and will be periodically adjusted to consider inflation;
– Tolls will be established at appropriate levels to maintain the competitiveness of the Panama Canal route at all times.
Once a firm position has been approved, any questions submitted should include the above information so that the matter could be properly addressed.
If a change in tolls is proposed, there will be an announcement and the formal proposal will be in writing. Post announcement there is a legally mandated consultation process. Consultation extends for a minimum of 30 days and includes the reception of written comments and a public hearing. In this process, customers are given a period of time to review the proposal and present their comments. Customers’ comments and suggestions are carefully considered, and, where appropriate and possible, the comments and suggestions can result in some form of adjustments.
The expected date for completion of the Canal expansion project is December 2015, with the opening of the new locks during the first quarter of 2016.
For information about operations in Panama contact GAC-Wilford & McKay at gac-wilfordmckay.panama@gac.com
GAC is a global provider of integrated shipping, logistics and marine services dedicated to helping customers achieve their strategic goals at the highest levels of quality, safety and compliance.
“Jo”
