Cargo ship detained in Brisbane after crew unable to use navigation equipment

[Cody Williams]

Article by Cameron Atfield for the Brisbane Times.
Article source: brisbanetimes.com.au

A cargo ship made its way down the Queensland coast and through the Great Barrier Reef without its crew knowing how to use the bulk carrier's electronic navigation equipment.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority detained the Panama-flagged bulk carrier, the African Alke, in Brisbane on Thursday.

An AMSA spokesman said a port state control inspection found the 177-metre ship's bridge watch-keeping officers were unable to show they could operate the vessel's Electronic Chart Display and Information System.

That system helps ships navigate Australia's defined coastal routes, including through the Great Barrier Reef.

"The vessel was detained because the safety management system had not identified a lack of on board familiarisation training in the use of ECDIS," the AMSA spokesman said.

"The ship's operators have flown an ECDIS trainer in from Singapore to train the crew.

"AMSA will release the ship from detention once it is satisfied the crew have been trained to an appropriate standard and can demonstrate the expected level of competency."

The African Alke remained berthed at Fisherman Islands on Friday morning.

Comment has been sought from the ship's operators, MUR Shipping.

Maritime Union of Australia Queensland branch secretary Bob Carnegie said the African Alke went through the Great Barrier Reef during its journey from Malaysia to Brisbane, via Mackay.

"It's just another example of circumventing Australian laws and doing whatever they want," he said.

"They'll see the Great Barrier Reef destroyed and they'll see massive environmental damage done to this country as long as they can save 30

[Captain Ted]

Interesting article

1) The Jones act keeps US sailors in jobs but has also its disadvantages , like the US flagged
vessels are unable to compete on international trades because crews are very expensive.

2) It makes the US fleet a old ship fleet , because there is no need to build new ones as the old ones
are guaranteed employment

3) The extra costs, as australian sailors will be much more expensive will be levied on the products
in the stores. Are the peoples willing to accept that ?

4) and where is a guarantee that australian crews will not make mistakes and grounding ships, after all remember the Costa Concordia for example, or the Exxon Valdez

I am sure that there are more reasons.
It is a little more involved than to invent the "Jones-Act" in Australia

[davidships]

Well, perhaps they were looking out with mark-one eyeballs, taking regular sightings for position and marking up the paper charts?  Or perhaps not.

But more to the point, this doesn't look like the wisest approach for the owners to protect their interest in a brand-new ship (delivered March 2016). 
Registered owner: Fair Wind Panama SA, Panama (own 9 ships at present)
Parent owner: Doun Kisen KK, Ehime (about 100 ships, but with multiple detentions every year since 2010, and rising - 14 last year, already 6 this year)

Operator: MUR Shipping Holdings BV (a subsidiary of MacSteel International Holdings BV, which is owned by Arcelor/Mittal), Amsterdam
It is pleasing to know that "MUR are looking for candidates who can add value to our dynamic team of experienced staff."

In service with Jebmur Shipping, a JV of the Dubai offshoot of MUR and Jebsens, Norway: http://jebsens.com/?page_id=363

It is not clear whether MUR is a bareboat charterer (and therefore responsible for crew), or merely a time-charterer.

[Captain Ted]

@ Davidships

sad,,but thats the world wanted the shipping,, now to get that out,, impossible.
It starts already,,equal salaries for all Masters world wide (ships types and trades and speciality set aside as often demanded)
that would mean,,to grab a number, USD 10000 for all masters per month.  Then a Capt who lives in India or Thailand or such is at home a rich man. A Capt living in Northern Europe or US is compared to that a poor booger !!!!

[Federico]

Absolutely true!
I remember various Indian Captains which stop thei vessels like two or three miles from pilot station! When onboard and questioned why they didn't continue the approach as normally made by everybody two or three times they argueed that they earn between 15.000 and 18.000 usd per month and they don't want to risk at all to loose their position for any surprise may them happen! Captains of...Virtual Sailor maybe!

[umtali2]

Curious as to why the Torres Strait pilot would not have picked up such incompetency.

[Captain Ted]

@ umtail
because the ECDIS is not proper used, the navigation of the vessel is not necessarily dangerous,,,after all there are radars to take bearings and GPS, all transferred proper into charts and the navigation
may be better than with ECDIS.
I don,t know how ECDIS is now on new ships, like a double system and therefore the main navigational
technic, but on older ships they are clearly marked as navigational aid !!!!
However, having a ECDIS aboard means that OOW,s have to be able to use it proper.

[Malim Sahib]

The Torres Strait pilot probably didn't notice because he would have had his own laptop/GPS receiver and was navigating using that.
I first saw this setup in the late 90s when transiting the strait and it was the subject of much wonderment on our part because it was the first time most of us had seen an electronic chart!

[MO Roy]

STCW,
I love it!!!!!!

If the ship is from this year for sure it's a double set-up with master and slave, maybe even paperless, though Australia, to my knowledge, still requires paper-charts.

I'm sure they all had their certificates and then that's it.

Cheers,
Roy

[Captain Ted]

STCW is in effect by now useless, was watered down over the years that much that lower ranks can come aboard with such a minimal knowledge that one really questions the intent of STCW in the first place

[MO Roy]

Yes Ted,
And you know it's all about money.
STCW is there so now the world can sail with cheap officers who are perfectly certified.
Cheers,
Roy