The only specialised marine publication in Oceania that focuses on the maritime industry, from super yachts to small craft to large commercial ships, including coastal shipping, tugs, tow boats, barges, ferries, tourist, sport-fishing craft
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Oyang 70 coroner's inquest released THE MARITIME UNION of New Zealand announced that the coroner's findings on the sinking of the Oyang 70 have confirmed the Union's view of industry practices. "It is a stain on New Zealand's conscience that these ships of shame were allowed to be operated in New Zealand waters," Union secretary Joe Fleetwood said. The inquest revealed systemic failure of ship management and safety procedures, routine violation of maritime rules and seafaring practice. The sinking occurred when the master attempted to take onboard an oversized net of catch, causing the vessel to take on water. Crew members were left with no evacuation system in place and survivors were aided by the fast rescue action of New Zealand vessel Amaltal Atlantis which was in the area. Fleetwood says that the Maritime Union has been calling for an overhaul of the industry for a decade and the Coroner also criticized aspects of New Zealand's ship safety management process. Six people were drowned when the foreign fishing charter vessel the Oyang 70 sank in the New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone off the east coast of South Island in August 2010. TYPHON SPEAKS UP ON ANTI-PIRACY DESPITE A FIVE year low in the number of attacks, Ant Sharp, CEO of Typhon, provider of naval-grade private convoy protection and port security, says that pirates are opportunists and if the deterrent is removed the problem will return. Anti-piracy operations are decreasing as defence budgets are being cut by a number of governments around the world. The United States and British warships patrolling the waters around Somalia have contributed to the decrease in recent attacks, but if these governments reduce anti-piracy spending their presence will drop significantly. "With ships still carrying 90 percent of the world's cargo, including essential commodities like oil and gas, the void left by the cuts must be filled," Sharp said. Piracy levels could escalate due to rising factors such as illegal overfishing from foreign fishermen that compromises the livelihoods of Nigerian and Senegalese fishermen. Sharp says that the complaints of these fishermen are strikingly similar to those voiced by Somalia's fishermen shortly before the boom in piracy. "What starts as a defense of their livelihoods can quickly escalate into piracy as impoverished fishermen seek a living. If this pattern is repeated we could see an expansion of pirate hotspots to include the West Coast of Africa, an area that currently has no United Kingdom, European Union Naval Force, or United States Naval presence," said Sharp. In Egypt growing unrest could mean closure of the Suez Canal, but the higher fuel costs associated with re-routing are a significant consideration for shipping companies. According to Sharp, these companies are concerned that escalating tensions in Egypt are affecting wider trade with the country. "The unrest is a major cause for concern for ship owners, charterers and the government. Re-routing will be a big issue for Egypt, which heavily depends on the fees it charges ships for permission to transit the canal. In short, one of Egypt's major sources of foreign revenue is the canal. Revenue has been in decline for several years due to a decrease in transits and the rise of piracy off the coast of Somalia." "Should Egypt continue to increase transit toll fees to boost revenues and should there be a rise in ship owners re-routing and an increase in piracy due to incessant unrest, the steady decline of the country will only continue and countries will cease to trade with Egypt," said Sharp. East and West Africa remain "hot" areas for piracy. In 2012 nearly 300 ships were attacked as opposed to the 439 vessels of the previous year. Globally, pirates boarded 174 ships last year, while 28 ships were hijacked and 28 were fired on. Hostages taken on board fell to 585, lower than the 802 in 2011; a further 26 were kidnapped for ransom in Nigeria. Six crew were killed and 32 were injured or assaulted. In brief… Sealord remains bad apple New Zealand supermarkets are pledging to source their canned tuna from pole and line caught suppliers. Foodstuffs brand Pams has changed most of its range to FAD free and pole and line caught tuna, while Ceres, a smaller chain specialising in organic food, has already introduced the Fish 4 Ever range of pole and line caught tuna. The other major canned tuna brands sold in New Zealand are John West and Greenseas, both are Australian-based and have recently made similar commitments to stop selling FAD caught tuna on both sides of the Tasman. Woolworths Limited, the parent company to New Zealand's Countdown supermarket chain recently announced it was shifting its own brands away from FAD caught tuna, with its Select range at Countdown changing to pole and line caught tuna by the end of the year. Greenpeace warns that Sealord is now the only big Australasian canned tuna brand that refuses to stop using fish aggregating devices, which attract tuna and many other species, along with purse seine nets which let nothing escape, killing sharks, juvenile tuna and turtles. "Sealord should have led the way in ending this deadly practice. Now, it's the lonely cheerleader for a destructive fishing method being rejected by all its local competitors and by tuna brands around the world," says Greenpeace New Zealand Oceans Campaigner Karli Thomas. Four of New Zealand's five main brands have made pledges to cease destructive fishing methods along with all the major UK tuna brands and retailers, as well as Safeway in the United States. Pup Count Up The sea lion pup count on the Auckland Islands is up for the second year in a row. This season's count is the highest in five years with 1684 pups counted in 2012. According to seafood industry's Deepwater Group CEO George Clement, pup numbers in the rookeries have always fluctuated. "It's the nature of all wild populations for numbers to go up and down. After increasing in the 1990s, pup production has steadily declined since 1998." Most of the Auckland Islands' sea lion pups died from Campylobacter disease in 1998 and Klebsiella also had a major impact in subsequent years. The Department of Conservation has reported that 1931 sea lion pups were born in the Auckland Islands rookeries over this past summer. The increase is a promising sign for the recovery of this endangered species. May/June 2013 Professional Skipper 43