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The importance of ensuring navigation bridge visibility

ALERT
24 NOV 2022

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Has your ship been exempted from complying with parts of the navigation bridge visibility requirements of SOLAS Regulation V/22 when carrying specialized cargoes such as wind turbine blades and towers? Beware that such exemption documents may not be accepted for compliance purposes in Australia.
The stink bug season is here again!

ALERT
06 OCT 2022

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September marks the start of the risk season for Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs in Australia and New Zealand and this year, China and the United Kingdom have been identified as ‘emerging stink bug risk countries’. This means that vessels carrying certain goods shipped from the two countries will be subject to random onshore inspections when they arrive in Australia.
US MARAD updates its security warning for the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Western Indian Ocean region

ALERT
04 OCT 2022

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Updated 10 October 2022

While the Indian Ocean piracy ‘High Risk Area’ will be removed on 1 January 2023, regional conflicts, heightened military activity, and increased political tensions continue to pose threats to merchant vessels operating in this geographic area, warns US MARAD.
Slow down for killer whales off the North American west coast

ALERT
02 SEP 2022

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In an effort to help the endangered southern residence killer whale recover in numbers, commercial ships trading to Vancouver, Canada, Seattle, US, and other ports in the Salish Sea area are encouraged to slow down when crossing the defined seasonal critical whale habitats and when killer whales have been spotted near their planned route.
PSC inspection campaign on STCW

ALERT
24 AUG 2022

Casualty investigations continue to show that there is a clear link between fatigue and accidents at sea. Recent years has also seen a growing concern regarding the difficulties in implementing and enforcing provisions related to seafarers’ hours of work and rest, and fatigue. This year’s joint concentrated inspection campaign by the Paris and Tokyo MoUs on Port State Control aims to raise the awareness of the requirements in the STCW Convention and the Principles of Minimum Safe Manning. The campaign starts on 1 September 2022.
Mpox declared a global public health emergency

ALERT
10 AUG 2022

Updated 29 November 2022

All six WHO Regions have reported cases of mpox and although the number of new reported cases may be decreasing in some regions, we encourage ship operators to follow the evolution of the outbreak and keep seafarers informed about the risks of infection.
Black Sea Grain Initiative - Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) procedures for merchant vessels with cargos from Ukraine

ALERT
09 AUG 2022

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On 22 July the Republic of Turkey, Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the United Nations signed the Initiative on the safe export of foodstuffs and fertilizers, including ammonia, from the Ukrainian ports of Odesa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny.
Military exercises by China in waters off Taiwan

ALERT
04 AUG 2022

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Updated 5 August 2022

China has announced that military and gun firing will be carried out in certain areas off Taiwan. Shipping traffic along regular routes may be impacted as a result.
Be careful with lines under tension

ALERT
28 JUL 2022

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Mooring deck fatalities as a result of snap-back continue to occur despite well published guidance on the hazard, warns the UK MAIB.
Do you know the safe passages through the Bohai Strait in China?

ALERT
21 JUL 2022

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The Bohai Strait in China is the only entrance and exit for vessels to the Bohai Sea. In recent years, there have been frequent reports of ships being fined by the authorities for crossing the areas with restricted navigation in the Bohai Strait.
Polar Code on the PSC agenda

ALERT
22 JUN 2022

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Paris MOU has launched an inspection campaign to verify compliance with the requirements of the Polar Code. The campaign will be run over two periods, the first inspection period started on 13 June and will last until 1 July 2022, the second period will run from 1 to 19 August 2022.
Having an abandon ship drill anytime soon?

ALERT
01 JUN 2022

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Make sure the ship’s crew conduct a thorough visual inspection of the lifeboat and davit installation and a ‘test lowering’ prior to operating the lifeboat with crew onboard.
Update on Covid-19 restrictions in Chinese ports

ALERT
18 MAY 2022

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China is still adhering to its Covid-19 dynamic clearance policy as the Omicron variant is spreading across the country. Following a recent politburo meeting, the central government has received clear instructions to continue its Covid-19 control policy. Since the strict measures to contain the virus are unlikely to relax in the short term and one key aspect of such measures is to prevent the import of cases from abroad, the Covid-19 restrictions in Chinese ports are likely to remain in place for some time.
Fire safety onboard ships – a continuous cause for concern

ALERT
09 MAY 2022

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Fuel leaks and oil soaked insulation in engine rooms, clogged nozzles of fixed fire extinguishing systems, malfunctioning fire water pumps, holes in ventilation ducts… The list of unacceptable fire safety systems and arrangements observed during port state control inspections is long - and more worrying, it does not change much from one year to another.
Navigating safely through the seasonal fishing ban in Chinese waters

ALERT
05 MAY 2022

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The seasonal fishing ban in China came into force on 1 May 2022. Similar to the increase in fishing traffic seen in the period before the start of the ban, the number of fishing boats is expected to increase significantly once the ban comes to an end. As some illegal fishing activities may still continue in some areas during the ban, ship operators and masters are advised to take additional precautions when planning a voyage to and from Chinese ports during this period.
Gard warns Members to remain vigilant about liquefaction risk

ALERT
26 APR 2022

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Gard has recently been notified of new incidents where solid bulk cargoes classified as Group A, liable to liquefy, have been loaded with moisture content in excess of the transportable moisture limit (TML). Gard reminds Members to remain vigilant when loading such cargoes and to have a low threshold for contacting the Club if they have any concerns or questions.
Three steps to contain an outbreak of infection onboard

ALERT
20 APR 2022

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An ‘outbreak’, in very simple terms is defined as prevalence of an infectious disease in a population. In the context of merchant ships, an outbreak is when multiple crew members are infected by the same infectious disease. In the confines of the onboard environment, infectious diseases can spread rapidly from one crew member to another.
Face masks are effective transmission barriers against infections

ALERT
06 APR 2022

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Respiratory viruses can lead to significant illness and in some cases even death. One of the most effective infection control strategies is to wear a face mask.
Measures to protect North Atlantic right whales

ALERT
05 APR 2022

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Masters and crews operating along the US/Canadian East Coast must maintain a good lookout for right whales and follow the speed restrictions in force at any given time.
Feeling unwell? Report and recover but don’t pass it to others

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31 MAR 2022

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Any one of us can fall sick with a viral infection. What do we do? We take prescribed medicines and try to stay away from our family and friends until we have recovered. This is us being ‘socially responsible’.