MNA CIRCULAR 2020 - #16 04Th September 2020
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MNA CIRCULAR 2020 - #16 04th September 2020 The Pulse The MISSION of The Merchant Navy Association is to bring all serving and retired Seafarers together in a spirit of companionship, consideration and commitment towards a united lobby for the Community of the Sea Hi Shipmates, Please find below more snippets of information since circular #15 was published 14th August 2020. My thanks to MNA National Secretary, Pete Sinke’s daily publication “Maasmond Maritime - Shipping News Clippings”, Lloyds List, gCaptain, Maritime London, Flashlight and many others from the T’internet, not forgetting the items sent in by Readers and any other source I can access. MNA National Contact Points National Secretary, David Parsons = Email: [email protected] Tel: 01935 414 765 Welfare & Events, Tim Brant, - Tel: 01733 205001, Email : [email protected] National Membership Secretary, Roy Glencross - Mobile: 07738 425875 Email: [email protected] MNA Slop Chest, The Supply Officer:- Sandra Broom [email protected] Tel 0121 244 0190 If you call her, it may go to an answerphone. Please leave a message and she will call you. Change of Address???? If any member has changed any of their contact details (Postal, E- mail or Telephone) it is important that you inform the following people by email:- [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Please Note the Change of Contact Details of the above _____________________________________________________________________________________ Already, workers are dismantling the ship which once proudly held the title of “World’s Largest Cruise Ship.” Before long, this thing of beauty will have been reduced to what amounts to scrap metal. Bits and pieces of her will wind up being sent around the world But for the millions who had the pleasure of cruising the seven seas onboard SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS, the memories will last forever photos courtesy of Fatih Takmakli of Suustunde.com _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 1 MNA CIRCULAR 2020 - #16 04th September 2020 The Pulse _____________________________________________________________________________________________ We are pleased to say we are now able to offer our supporters the facility to make donations via our Just Giving page. This is a secure means of making payments and enables us to claim Gift Aid from the Treasury. Go to www.justgiving.com Click on ‘Search' at the top right- hand side and type in Merchant Navy Association. _____________________________________________________________________________________ West African stowaways jump to their deaths from ship in Valencia THE 3,104-TEU Liberian-flagged LETO has informed authorities in the Port of Valencia that two stowaways jumped overboard shortly after the ship arrived at Valencia August 7.Police searched the area; both stowaways were found dead near the bow and are thought be from either Cameroon or the Ivory Coast, reports Kiev's Maritime Bulletin, which specialises in marine casualties. The ship was managed by Peter Dohle Schiffahrts-KG of Hamburg. "Hopefully, the crew won't be blamed for these deaths, though it is highly likely that NGOs will do all they can, to blame the crew and shipping in general for the tragedy," commented the Bulletin. Source : Schednet _____________________________________________________________________________________ New powerful icebreaker might never make it to the Arctic It is one of the world's most powerful icebreaking vessels, but Russia's "Viktor Chernomyrdin" might end up serving only in Baltic waters. The vessel named after the former Russian prime minister is one of the world’s most powerful diesel-engined icebreakers. It will be officially handed over to operator Rosmorport in the course of 2020, the state port authority informs. The 25 MW icebreaker has been under construction at the Baltic Yard and the Admiralty Yard in St.Petersburg since 2012. The 29 meters wide and 147 meters long ship is reportedly capable of breaking through three meter thick ice and stay autonomously at sea for up to 60 days. It is the only ship built of Project 22600 (LK-25) Construction has been marred by numerous technical problems and delays, as well as cost overruns. Sources in the Russian shipbuilding industry in 2019 said that the total construction cost will exceed 12 billion rubles (€139 million), up from the original budget of 7.95 billion (€92 million). Furthermore, the ship might ultimately not sail in the Arctic. According to newspaper Kommersant, the icebreaker will instead end up serving in Baltic waters. The change of plans might be related with Rosatom’s development of the Northern Sea Route, the newspaper argues. The state nuclear power company is in the process of developing infrastructure along the Arctic shipping route and the diesel-engined Viktor Chernomyrdin might not fit into plans. When entering service, presumably early fall 2020, the icebreaker will become part of Rosmorport and its quickly expanding fleet of ice-class ships. According to the port authority, it now has 37 icebreaking ships in its fleet. Source : Barents Observer _____________________________________________________________________________________ 2 MNA CIRCULAR 2020 - #16 04th September 2020 The Pulse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________________ "I am a medical student currently doing a rotation in toxicology at the poison control centre in Brisbane. Today, this woman called in very upset because she caught her little daughter eating ants. I quickly reassured her that the ants are not harmful and there would be no need to bring her daughter into the hospital. She calmed down and, at the end of the conversation, happened to mention that she had given her daughter some ant poison to eat in order to kill the ants. I told her that she better bring her daughter into the emergency room right away". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 MNA CIRCULAR 2020 - #16 04th September 2020 The Pulse Rescue mission launched after wild swimmers stranded on Cromarty Firth oil rig By Hector MacKenzie A RESCUE mission involving Ross-shire lifeboat crew and a search and rescue helicopter was launched after two swimmers were left stranded on an oil rig in the Cromarty Firth. The two males grabbed hold of an anchor chain of the semi-submersible Well Safe Guardian after getting into difficulties with the ebbing tidal current in the early evening drama. Invergordon RNLI's volunteer lifeboat crew didn't have far to travel after being scrambled by Aberdeen’s HM Coastguard last Friday at 6.02pm. The swimmers had set out from the public slipway on the town’s Shore Road for an open swimming session in the firth, accompanied by a friend in a kayak for safety. They became caught up in the strong ebbing tidal current and soon found themselves in difficulty, with the moored Well Safe Guardian fast approaching. After grabbing the anchor chain, they were quickly spotted by crew of the rig who raised the alarm. They scrambled up the chain, as the kayak made its way up the firth with the outgoing tide. The Trent class lifeboat Douglas Aikman Smith was quickly on scene and with Inverness HM search and rescue helicopter Rescue151 also on route, the decision was made to launch the all- weather lifeboat’s daughter XP craft to navigate into the location and extract the males to safety and bring back on board the lifeboat for the quick trip back to Invergordon West Harbour. Once on board the lifeboat crew medically assessed the friends. Though cold no medical issues were reported. Meanwhile, Rescue 151 had pinpointed the kayak further up the firth and marked it for the crew to recover once the two casualties were safe ashore. The lifeboat located and recovered the kayak to be reunited with the owner. The lifeboat was made ready for service by 8:30pm, abiding by all Covid-19 precautions as outlined by the RNLI. Michael MacDonald, RNLI volunteer press officer and crew member said: ‘"The call-out shows the importance as the summer season continues of prior planning, in respect of weather conditions, tide and means to communicate if difficulty occurs, and keep it within reach. Both Respect The Water and Float to Live key messages were passed over to the two individuals for any future trips." Source : The Northern Times ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE LOW CARBON ECONOMY IS COMING. MEET THE CHALLENGE WITH DAMEN’S NEW ELECTRIC HARBOUR TUG – THE RSD-E TUG 2513 The race is on to reduce emissions as the effects of climate change are starting to become apparent to all who care to look. With global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) alone up by almost 50 per cent since 1990, governments and supranational bodies are taking steps to reverse the relentless rise in greenhouse gases via legislation. In Europe, the EU has set an ambitious target of cutting such emissions by 40% over the next decade and of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Worldwide, 189 nations have signed up to the 2016 Paris Agreement to keep the increase in global warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Every aspect of industrial and economic activity must play its part including shipping and specifically harbour tugs which, typically