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Publisher Sean Moloney
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Accounts Fiona Crosbie
Production & Design Diptesh Chohan, Hannah Black The Ship Supplier is published by the International Shipsuppliers & Services Association and is entirely devoted to reporting on the dynamic and diverse Ship Supplying industry.
elcome to the latest edition of your magazine. This edition will be at our 63rd Annual Convention & Trade Exhibition in Istanbul in November.
I am looking forward to meeting many Members and maritime friends at our premier annual event. If you haven’t registered yet then please do so as “early bird” discounts and accommodation availability is limited.
The theme of this year’s Convention is: “Global Ship Supply: are you ready for tomorrow’s maritime world?” This is a very apposite theme as the only constant in our industry is change and if you don’t embrace it and turn it to your advantage you will not reap the benefits of the exciting future that beckons.
The need for digitalisation is increasing not only for saving cost but also to help to speed business transactions. The maritime industry is increasingly encouraged to use all the digital tools available to stream-line routine processes, save cost and speed fulfilment. Ship suppliers must recognise this and seek new and innovative ways of interacting with customers to the benefit of buyers and suppliers.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that e-commerce is the future. To this end, your Association is busy exploring this medium to harness its benefits in a neutral way for Members and their customers to make it the business model of choice for ship supply.
Dialogue is everything in the maritime world, and I firmly believe all the associations within it must work more closely to face common challenges – regardless of their different business sectors’ representational roles . Already your management team has begun such dialogue with our colleagues at InterCargo. We continue to have strong working relationships with InterManager, IMPA and FONASBA.
I seek many more such strong bonds to be forged, linking ship supply with all the other areas of the maritime industry which can only be of benefit to all concerned.
We have two exciting launches at Istanbul:
Watchdog – the joint venture with our ISSA Lawyer Bruce Hailey and his firm, Salvus Law, to provide cost-effective credit reporting and debt recovery services to Members.
The refreshed and updated ISSA website. This has a bright, new look with more interactivity such as a central “page” where payments of whatever type may be conducted securely and efficiently between Members, commercial customers of the Association –anyone who needs to pay ISSA.
Another new initiative we are rolling out in the coming months is marketing of our well-respected and popular ISSA Quality Standard. The revised and updated Standard will, in early 2019, include Environmental matters as part of its upgrade, allied to ISO 14000 in the same way as the rest of the ISSA Quality Standard is allied to the other relevant ISO Standards.
Finally, the new edition of our ever-popular ISSA Ship Stores Catalogue is due to be published in early 2019. There is still time to advertise in this global-reaching publication of ours. Email Julian Berry at issa@elabor8.co.uk for full details. Similarly, if you have any product listing improvements or comments email Dr Peter Albury, Technical Editor, at pfalbury@snap.net.nz
You can keep up to date with the latest news on the ISSA website at www.shipsupply.org and send in your comments and views to the ISSA Secretariat either by phone on +44 (0)20 7626 6236; Fax +44 (0)20 7626 6234 or alternatively email secretariat@shipsupply.org
Meanwhile, it only remains for me to remind you that www.issa2018istanbul.com is where you will find all the information about Convention.
I much look forward to seeing you in Istanbul in November. u
Saeed al Malik ISSA President
Noorul Ameen , Director, Admiral Marine Services, Chennai gives his perspective on the current ship
How is the ship supply market in India at this present time?
India has a coastline of over 7500 km, forming one of the biggest peninsulas in the world. In addition to coastal shipping, it has a very active offshore industry and there are 14,500 km of potentially navigable waterways. There are 12 major and 200 minor and intermediate ports and there is a recently approved initiative for six new mega ports to be developed in the country. The logistics cost is currently at 14% of the GDP, which is way above the 8 to 10% levels in evolved economies. The vast majority for the movement of goods within India is carried out by road and then by rail.
Given this present reality, India has severely lagged behind especially in terms of the port infrastructure, berthing facilities, transportation of goods to-from-within ports, port formalities, and customs procedures. Port charges for supply to vessels calling at Indian ports and especially the private ports remain very high. The entire supply chain is by itself not matured enough to meet international standards.
Realising the obvious advantages of the underutilised waterways, the Government has introduced several promising initiatives that is expected to vastly benefit the shipping industry in India.
Earlier, only Indian-flagged vessels were allowed to carry cargo between Indian ports and foreign vessels could ply after obtaining a licence, only if an Indian vessel was unavailable. With the easing of the cabotage law in May 2018, the Shipping Ministry has relaxed
the norms and has now allowed foreign vessels to transport several types of cargo between Indian ports without licence.
The logistics cost and efficiency has been an issue for a long time but the recently completed road projects, the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, the removal of the interstate check posts, the 3,228 km dedicated freight corridor that is currently under construction, is expected to reduce both the time and cost of transportation.
The workforce in India with skilled graduates, a high fluency in English and with much lower employment costs when compared to other nations, has made India the destination for several of the top shipmanagement companies to outsource their operations especially in the crucial area of procurement.
What are the main challenges that ship suppliers in India are currently experiencing?
Late payments and the threat of customer bankruptcy exist the world over and more so in India but the recent articles by Roger Symes and Bruce Hailey in The Ship Supplier have provided valuable information on better managing these risks.
Supplying in Indian ports has its own unique challenges in terms of its diverse culture and poor infrastructure, which puts us well behind the supply capabilities in other developed ports across the world.
The ban in supplying beef and pork at most ports has inconvenienced foreign crew and imposed a huge cultural gap.
Another example is the restricted, complex and expensive means of arranging fork lifts within the port if available and having to wait for fork lift operators who are often not held accountable, has limited the use of pallet-based supply, increasing the need of additional manual labour.
At times we find that expectations from some vessel crew are in line with those of the well-developed ports worldwide.
In reality though, the maturity of the supply chain where vendors lack the discipline of packaging standards in terms of providing trade names and expiry dates for provisions, preference to supply more of fresh than frozen meats, lack of proper monitoring of the cold chain, and no seriousness to HSEQ standards are some of the issues prevalent among ship suppliers in India.
Furthermore, certifications across several organisations are based on customer contractual requirements rather than a desire to actually improve quality. Given the preference to certification over quality, I believe that it leads to create an alternate system on paper that can pass an audit but doesn’t have much to do with the way the business is actually run.
What kind of industry developments have you seen locally that may have impacted on the ship supply market?
Most suppliers lack proper infrastructure of their own and rely on a just-in-time policy where the items are loaded onto the vehicle directly by the vendors. While this entails an opportunity to reducing prices in quotations and winning orders, it also leads to the
risk of rejection due to a lack of proper quality checks and proper packaging.
Purchase officers would be paying a lot higher in other countries but would be very prudent with cost when considering Indian suppliers. This has created an immense strain on suppliers having to compromise on acceptable standards of quality in order to win orders with lower prices.
How do you see business over the next 12 to 18 months?
Established in 1968, this is our 50th year as a ship supplier in India. We take pride in stating that all ports that we serve is through our own staff and offices. We would like to continue this expansion while ensuring that our fundamentals, policies, processes, and integrity remains intact.
We have restructured our organisation by investing on our staff who appreciate and to a large extent understand the husbandry of a vessel. We want our teams to progress beyond the requirements of our customers and so meeting our HSEQ policies and ISO standards would be a minimum that we expect to be ingrained in all our activities.
Our focus is not on the enquiry to order conversion ratio but instead on customer delight. To achieve this, we would like to revive the concept of ‘farm to plate’. We intend to procure directly from the source while ensuring our own well-monitored and resourceful supply chain. u
By Saeed Al Malik, ISSA President
UAE Value Added Tax (VAT) has been implemented in the UAE since 1st January 2018. This has been long planned to increase non-oil revenues. VAT was introduced at a rate of 5% across the board but parts of seven sectors - education, healthcare, renewable energy, water, space, transport and technology received special treatment. VAT will provide new income to the UAE but this will cause an increase of living costs which affects purchasing power of consumers. The maritime sector has been treated as zero rated, however, many of the UNSSA members are facing challenges due to long wait to obtain the VAT refund from FTA as the process is taking long time.
Despite the economic challenges, Dubai’s shipping sector has continuously grown better. According to Gulf News Economy , Dubai has been ranked among the world’s top five cities in the International Shipping Centre Development Index, making it the top-ranked Arab city. Dubai was selected for the first time in the top five with Singapore leading the way followed by Hong
Kong, London and Shanghai. We are more than proud to see Dubai to reach such great milestone.
Amer Ali, Executive Director of Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA), expressed delight at the achievement. He says is a testament to the success of the efforts that have been made to enhance the competitiveness of the local maritime sector and consolidate Dubai’s leadership as a major global maritime player.
UAE has the vision to become one of the world’s shipping nations. Experts say opportunities for investors lie in sustainable shipping or transport projects including facilitating the production of cleaner marine fuel, knowledge in economy and innovation, maritime financing and physical infrastructure development (Gulf News Special Report).
Khaleej Times reported the UAE economy is expected to grow faster in 2018, driven primarily by recovering oil prices, an expansionary fiscal stance and an upswing in investment ahead of Expo 2020. The economic activity has continued to improve during the first quarter of 2018, underpinned by the revival of oil prices and a stronger growth in non-oil activity. u
The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) decision to implement a 0.50% cap on sulphur emissions has created uncertainty among vessel operators with many unsure of the best way to comply with the new regulations.
John LaRese, Marine Fuels Technical Advisor at ExxonMobil, says questions are already being asked such as what types of fuels will be available, and where. However, compliance isn’t just about fuel selection. The actual switchover process from heavy fuel oil (HFO) to new, low-sulphur alternatives needs careful management and there are also implications for the selection of lubricants.
“A series of important steps need to be taken before bunkering a low-sulphur fuel; vessel operators will therefore have to work out arrangements that meet the specific requirements of their vessels. Significantly, without careful preparation operators may jeopardise their sulphur compliance, which carries the risk of costly fines,” said Mr LaRese.
“They must also plan around fuel availability, given the possibility that some ports may be unable to meet the demand from the industry.”
He says that unless a vessel is fitted with a scrubber, operators will need to ensure their fuel tanks do not contain
They must also plan around fuel availability, given the possibility that some ports may be unable to meet the demand from the industry
high-sulphur HFO by the IMO deadline. “Fuel tanks will probably retain sediment from the existing HFO, which is likely to contain those higher levels of sulphur. If this is not removed, there is the risk that the sulphur will contaminate the compliant fuel, pushing its sulphur content above the 0.50% limit.”
ExxonMobil expects that many compliant fuels entering the market will have a sulphur content very close to the 0.50% cap, so even very low levels of residual sulphur left in a fuel tank could tip a vessel over the compliance limit.
To minimise this risk, ExxonMobil is recommending that vessel operators flush fuel tanks with a distillate-based product, which will help remove sludge deposits. This process may need to be repeated, depending on the amount of residue present and in some instances, tank bottoms may have to be manually cleaned.
It also says operators should remember that the storage, handling and treatment of 0.50% sulphur fuels will involve bunkering fuels of a wider variety of viscosities, types and formulations than seen today.
“Onboard handling practices have to take into account likely changes in fuel types, including fuel segregation and routine compatibility testing.”
One benefit of the sulphur cap, says Mr LaRese, is that vessels will be able
to streamline their lubricant inventory as only one cylinder oil will be required. Vessels with scrubbers will continue to use HFO and high-BN oils, while those who choose to switch to low-sulphur fuels will need correspondingly low BN-formulations.
“These vessels must deplete their stocks of high-BN cylinder oils prior to the IMO deadline to avoid waste and disposal costs,” said Mr LaRese.
To ensure compliance, ExxonMobil recommends that vessel operators work with suppliers who have adopted the latest ISO 8217:2017 fuel standard and have the proven technical expertise to help them navigate the upcoming changes.
Joris van Brussel, Chief Executive Officer, Shell Marine says marine lubricant choices to address the IMO 2020 regulations must be based on verifiable
cylinder oil performance data and engine testing to cover all operating conditions.
He said Shell Marine had its own laboratory – the Marine & Power Innovation Centre (MPIC) in Hamburg –where samples could be tested and new products developed. One of these is its BN40 grade cylinder oil which is currently in field trials.
“We are very confident that we’ve got a good product. Rather than recycling something which was lying on the shelf, we’ve developed a new product because we wanted to test it with current fuels in current engines,” he said.
“Recent months have seen some movement by mainstream ship owners towards exhaust gas scrubbing to meet the 2020 marine fuel sulphur cap. These customers will continue using high sulphur heavy fuel oils with two stroke engines, and demand lubes that are proven to protect cylinders against cold corrosion under extreme stress, such as the Shell Alexia S6 or the higher BN Shell Alexia 140.
“However, with just over a year to go before the new restrictions enter into force, a significant part of the market will shift to fuels with less than 0.5% sulphur, where other cylinder oil formulations with a lower BN number is expected to deliver optimum performance. The two-stroke product portfolio for 2020 is largely in
During the change-over, but especially after the change-over, we anticipate there is going to be a much greater need for analysis and we are preparing for this on the lubricants side
“ ”
place, but we expect that there will be a requirement for significant volumes of higher BN cylinder oils to be replaced by BN40 or BN70 grades.”
Mr van Brussel said the 2020 sulphur cap was bringing insecurity for owners, who want to remain competitive but Shell Marine could help them to make the right choices. “At Shell, we have partnered with the shipping industry for a very long time, and we are not just a lubricant supplier. We are a ship owner, a ship manager, and we supply LNG and we look at the shipping industry from all angles. That puts Shell Lubricants in a position to support ship owners and ship managers regardless of the choice that they make.”
Shell’s Marine Integrated Lubrication and Expert Solutions (MILES) programme aims to help by combining purchasing options, services and an extensive lubricant range into a strategy that addresses operational concerns such as fuel stability and compatibility.
As well as providing optimal port lifting recommendations, a MILES package can include the entire lubrication management for a vessel, combining stock levels and demand planning for a given operating profile, feed-rate optimisation and even flexible payment schemes.
“In the MILES concept, customers can send in samples and Shell can recommend the right products onboard,” said Mr van Brussel. “There is going to be lots of insecurity and maybe some people onboard don’t know what they need to do – but we do.”
He added: “During the change-over, but especially after the change-over, we anticipate there is going to be a much greater need for analysis and we are
preparing for this on the lubricants side.”
Shell lubricants are available in 705 ports in 61 countries and technical advisers are available in all of the main ports.
Shell is investing heavily in digitalisation and another key innovative project is its Accuport software offering, which is now live on 500 vessels.
It predicts lubricant consumption and provides advice to help optimise deliveries, prompts to supply supplementary oils and greases alongside the main Shell engine, cylinder and system oils and provides analysis and insights to support better decision-making in a timely manner, therefore increasing operational efficiency.
“This is a first for the industry,” explained Mr van Brussel.
“We are using machine learning and algorithms which predict which ship is going to port, where and when. It means we know when you are coming and we know what you need. We see in practice that crews have a lot on their mind. We are actually taking that burden away from the crew, and from the management.”
Chevron Marine Lubricants says it has developed a new range of cylinder lubricants compatible with virtually
all available global sulphur cap 2020 compliance options.
It is said the Taro Ultra range of lubricants will deliver the same high performance and protection expected from Chevron’s Taro engine lubricants, with the added benefit of being compatible with almost all engines, marine bunker fuels and abatement technologies. The full range of Taro Ultra products cover the needs of the vast majority of vessel owners, from Taro Ultra 25 which is compatible with low sulphur fuel, distillates and many alternative fuels, to Taro Ultra 140 which is ideal for applications using high sulphur bunker fuels that require scrubbers.
“A key driver for launching Taro Ultra is to ensure the product availability and the flexibility to meet the demands of the changing sulphur global landscape, recognising the need for more diverse fuel options we expect to be available both now and post-2020. This enables customers to make clear and concise choices that suit their unique operating requirements, ensuring the right products are available in the right places,” said Chia Yoo Soon, General Manager at Chevron Marine Lubricants.
The new range of Taro Ultra lubricants will be phased in throughout 2019.
“We are performing a rigorous and extensive programme of field testing with leading OEMs, demonstrating the strong performance of our lubricant offering. In addition to our trusted supply network, we are delivering the reassurance and supply security our customers need during the transition,” said Luc Verbeeke, Senior Product Development Engineer at Chevron Marine Lubricants. u
Customer response times are set to be slashed with the introduction of a new customer portal by Wilhelmsen Ships Service.
Launching at last month’s SMM trade fair in Hamburg, the FRED (Framework for Enterprise Data) customer portal will provide WSS customers with an, until now, largely unseen instant overview of all their transactions, on-demand.
As Nakul Malhotra, Vice President, Technical Solutions & Marketing, Wilhelmsen Ships Service, said: “Whether it’s online banking, or e-commerce, as consumers we take for granted that we can access our account details, or ordering information anywhere, anytime with just a few keystrokes. But shipping, as an industry, is typically slower to realise and effectively harness the power of new technologies. We’re focused on changing that, and especially when it can totally transform our customers’ experiences and interactions.”
He added: “FRED is about us being able to personalise what we actually want to see. We need to start bringing what we are used to as consumers into our B2B world. Most importantly we need to make sure that the maritime industry gets into 2018.”
Developed by Wilhelmsen Ships Service’s Marine Products Division, the FRED integrated platform enables customers to securely access their transaction information, including invoices, delivery notes, their order history and view the current delivery status of orders. It also allows customers to retrieve certificates for products such as ropes, along with providing an instant overview of which cylinders they have onboard, and where.
The numerous calls and emails that are typically needed to track current orders, chase invoices, retrieve certificates, or get transaction overviews will become a thing of the past, slashing the time and effort needed from days and hours to minutes.
The portal allows customers to access the information they need wherever and whenever they need it, via a computer or mobile phone and along with transactional data, FRED is inbuilt with alert settings relating to order status or usage such as highlighting when cylinder assets have been onboard for extended periods.
There is also a voice-activated Chatbot facility, where customers can ask about current orders and get an immediate response.
Mr Malhotra said: “The foundation for co-creating value-driving applications and easy to use tools FRED eliminates real pain points with the current transaction mechanisms in our business and wider industry.”
Currently available as a limited release, FRED’s development is constant, with Cargo Hold Cleaning selectors, the next generation of Waterproof –Wilhelmsen’s water treatment logging and reporting tool, and a host of other applications and tools in the pipeline.
He is adamant FRED and its latest iterations will become an invaluable part of Wilhelmsen business.
Mr Malhotra said: “FRED was developed as a direct response to customer feedback and it cures an established and totally avoidable pain point. Transactional data on demand frees up an enormous amount of time. But more importantly it allows us to provide customers with invaluable insight into specific needs and create efficiencies related to the pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase processes for the management of marine products for customers. It’s a massive leap forward for us, our customers and the industry.
“Welcome to a new way of transacting.” u
Next month sees the 63rd ISSA Convention and Trade Exhibition take place in Istanbul and it is shaping up to be one of the best yet, so make sure you save the date.
The event will take place across the 23rd and 24th November at the Wyndham Grand Levent Hotel and is being organised by TURSSA, the Turkish Ship Suppliers Association, in conjunction with ISSA.
Turkey is one of the biggest supply hubs in the Mediterranean and Black Sea with some 40,000 deliveries each year, making it a great place to host this year’s Convention, which has attracted not one, but two distinguished Guests of Honour – Bekir Pakdemirli, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Chamber of Shipping President, Tamer Kiran.
These guests will certainly add lustre to the event and we are sure they will receive a warm ISSA welcome from delegates.
As usual, there will be excellent networking opportunities and a packed Programme of plenary sessions with excellent speakers addressing a variety of topics. This year’s theme will be ‘Global Ship Supply: Are You Ready for Tomorrow’s Maritime World?’
The only constant in ship supply is change. This year’s Plenary Programme focuses on useful presentations designed to draw attention to what is heading your way in this evolving digital world in which we all now dwell.
The Keynote Speech will be delivered by Kaan Turan, Turkcell Digital Integration & IT Solution Director. His expertise is harnessed to update delegates on the rapid development of maritime-specific technology.
Day 1 then continues with a vibrant line-up of Turkey-based speakers delivering a variety of presentations that are bound to pique the interest of our global audience. These include Hizir Deniz Reis, Director-General of Coastal Safety; Recep Duzgit, President, Maritime Association of Shipowners & Agents; and Sadan Kaptanoglu, next President of BIMCO.
ISSA does like a party, and this year will be no exception when it comes to the social side. The Welcome Cocktail Reception that follows Day 1 Plenary will allow us all to mingle. It’s what gives the ISSA Convention its well-deserved reputation as a networking hotspot. Where else can you meet colleagues from 40 plus countries in one room? Many long-term business relationships have been forged in the relaxed atmosphere of the ever popular Welcome Reception.
Plenary’s Day 2 welcomes some familiar faces and old friends of ISSA including Bruce Hailey, Partner and Director at Salvus Law, who will be launching the joint Salvus Law/ISSA initiative dubbed ‘Watchdog’. This is a slick and cost-effective credit reporting and debt recovery service, tailored to ISSA members who continue to require an efficient service in this sector that they can readily access.
Also present will be Arne Mielken, Customs Adviser to OCEAN, who will, we hope, unlock the mystery of blockchain technology and its impact on ship supply. Prepare to be dazzled!
This year’s Panel Discussion also embraces Convention’s theme and has as its title ‘Ship Supply’s Digital Future: an interactive discussion with experts on the digital future of ship supply and the coming e-commerce revolution.
Panellists include ISSA President Saeed al Malik, ISSA Senior Executive Vice-President Abdul Hameed Hajah and Michael Leoutsakos, Sales Manager at Poseidon Marine Supplies. We feel sure that panel moderator Sean Moloney, Managing Director, Elaborate Communications will navigate
the discussion to a positive conclusion.
Re-introduced this year is the opportunity for Members to quiz ISSA top management on matters of interest and concern. All Members are welcome to the interactive session, chaired by the ISSA President on the afternoon of the 24th. In addition to ISSA matters, wider industry subjects up for discussion include the increasing use of drones in ship supply; ship recycling and ship suppliers’ duty of care; and P&I, with input from the Turkish P&I Club.
As The Ship Supplier went to press, negotiations continued for the line-up of ship owner and ship manager panellists.
Convention will be preceded on 22nd November by the ISSA General Assembly meeting and following the two-day
Convention and Trade Exhibition, there will be the customary Gala Dinner on the evening of the 24th. We are promised a real taste of Turkish hospitality with great entertainment. The evening will end with the traditional flag hand-over ceremony from Turkey to Korea, the country hosting ISSA 64.
Trade stands and sponsorship opportunities are still available for ISSAS 63. Sponsors so far include (Platinum) Shipcentric, (Gold) AVS, Middle East Fuji and Simsekler; (Silver) United Arab Emirates National Ship Suppliers Association and Singapore Association of Shipsuppliers & Services; (Bronze) Australian Shipsuppliers & Services Association; and others include Atlas Ship Supply and Black Sea Marine.
For those wishing to accompany delegates to Istanbul there will also be an interesting Accompanying Persons programme. The first tour is a half-day morning tour and will be on ‘Istanbul Classics’. This
will include a tour of Sultan Ahmet Center, the heart of the Old City from where the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires were ruled.
This tour will also take in the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome – which used to host chariot races and athletics – and the Grand Covered Bazaar, the biggest ‘souk’ in the world with nearly 4,000 shops selling antiques, jewellery gold, carpets and leatherware.
The second tour is a half-day afternoon tour of the Ottoman Relics taking in the Topkapi Palace and Sultan Tombs. The Topkapi Palace was the residence of Ottoman Sultans and includes exhibits of sacred Islamic relics of Prophet Mohammed and Chinese porcelain while the Tombs - five in total – are of Ottoman Sultans within the graveyard at Hagia Sophia. u
For more information about 63rd ISSA Convention and Trade Exhibition visit www.issa2018istanbul.com
Our tastes for more quality, crafted tipples are leading a huge growth in the gin and beer markets.
Gin ‘in particular’ is seeing a rise in demand, especially the pink varieties, according to Peter Blatch, Business Development Director at Southampton-based MSX, a bonded warehousing and distribution company supplying beers, wines, spirits to the travel retail industry including cruise ships and ferry operators in the UK, Europe and beyond. Notable clients include Carnival UK (Cunard & P&O Cruises), Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Fred Olsen, Brittany Ferries, P&O Ferries and Condor Ferries.
“It is quite noticeable that the growth trend within gin is continuing, with a recent development being the increased demand for pink gin,” said Mr Blatch.
“In order to satisfy this demand, we have had to increase our brand offering and recently added Whitley Neill, Edinburgh and Greenall’s variants alongside Gordon’s Pink Gin.”
He added: “We are also still seeing the demand for ‘craft’ beers increasing, which has seen a keen interest in smaller, more regional brewers. So again, we are looking to increase our portfolio in this area.”
Mr Blatch is one of the new owners who completed a management buy-out in February this year, alongside Rob Glanville, Operations Director, and Finance Director Mark Pullen, taking over the company from the Ridge-Jones family who started it in 1974.
Mr Blatch said business had remained strong since the MBO though the beers, wines and spirits market had seen a great deal of change in recent times.
“As with many industries, we see the landscape continually changing and evolving, as consolidation happens with both brand owners and travel retail customers. The challenge that some of these moves creates is the continual need to change and adapt which, thankfully, our flexibility and attention to detail allows us to do at MSX.”
He said the biggest change was the MBO at MSX.
“The fundamentals of our growth strategy were already in place, and it was this that gave us the confidence to embark on the MBO in the first place,” he said. “It is very encouraging for us that a number of clients see our potential, and have now opened a number of new and positive discussions.”
The company has seen a strong growth in the cruise and ferry sectors over the last few years with existing customers showing positive results, but supported by engaging with many new customers, especially within cruise.
“Obviously, our location on the South Coast provides a significant advantage, with more and more cruise companies operating out of the region,” said Mr Blatch.
“As is well-documented, the cruise channel is predicted to continue to grow over the next 10 years, with virtually all major cruise lines launching more, bigger and better vessels in the coming years. This will hopefully give us the opportunity to offer an even wider customer base our expertise and experience, which has been developed by servicing this sector for more than 25 years.”
Another big change on the horizon is Brexit and the challenges that may bring when the UK leaves the EU in March 2019.
Mr Blatch said that like most companies, MSX was trying to follow the various Government papers being published and interpreting what implications, of any, Brexit might have for MSX.
“Clearly, as we are moving products in and out of the country, the deals with regards to the Customs Union and trade are of particular interest, as these will likely have the greatest impact on the movement of goods,” he said.
“As we are already experienced in the movement of goods outside the EU, we believe that we should have sufficient knowledge and flexibility to adjust to any changes. There are some obvious concerns around the potential of increased administration, and red tape at borders, leading to delays in the movement of goods, but this will only really be known in the fullness of time.” u
“ It is quite noticeable that the growth trend within gin is continuing, with a recent development being the increased demand for pink gin
Peter Blatch, Business Development Director at
Southampton-based MSX
”
By Felicity Landon
Advances in IT are making it more feasible; recent food scandals and the ongoing move towards healthy eating are making it more desirable. Traceability of food products is increasingly being demanded by corporations and consumers alike and, with the ongoing emphasis on seafarer wellbeing, the world of shipping is no exception. These days, people want to know what they are eating and where it has come from.
There is a rising expectation that food will be traceable, said Tony Broadhead, Head of Shipping and Offshore at Turner Price in Hull. The company first started offering full traceability in its food service division, which supplies hotels, restaurants, hospitals, schools and similar customers. Customers were asking for certifications such as the Red Tractor label.
This trend has now logically expanded into Turner Price’s ship supply and exports division: “There is no difference between a hotel and a ship,” said Mr Broadhead. “Ships are basically floating hotels and the people onboard need food just as they would in a hotel or restaurant. We have the option to pass this traceability service to our shipping customers.”
Many UK-based chandlers buy in meat and other products from mainland Europe “and I don’t know whether they are fully traceable”, he said. “That is where we differ, because the bulk of our products are bought and allocated from the UK. We have some contracts for government vessels, so automatically it fits in with these clients. We get audited by them and they go through everything with a fine toothcomb.
“The vessels we mainly look after – survey vessels, renewables and oil & gas vessels – have people onboard working particularly hard and they need good quality products. That is the kind of business we want – we are not particularly trying to corner the market and say we are going to be the biggest ship supplier in the UK. We want to serve vessels that want good quality.”
We live in a ‘suing’ society, he pointed out. If something goes horribly wrong and a customer (or crew member) gets food poisoning, they will likely take their employer or catering company to court.
“Inevitably, the finger then gets pointed further down the chain. Traceability can help eliminate that risk for us. If we know when ‘Daisy’ was born, what she was eating and when/where she was culled, that’s an advantage for us.”
Added to that, Turner Price is unusual in being a ship chandler with its own onsite butcher. It has eight butchers working onsite at any one time and it also handles and provides bonded meat where there is good traceability.
“We can also do traceability of fresh produce,” said Mr Broadhead. “Fish is another area – we import fish from Norway, for example, and we have to have full traceability for that.”
Overall, he said, there has been a massive push for crews’ wellbeing and even though budgets are tight, Turner Price has noted an increasing level of spend per person.
Another notable change has been the demand for more variety.
“Menus are changing. For some of the vessels we have been dealing with for a long time, we would know what day of the week it is by what they are cooking today. We have been helping some of our customers redevelop their menus and that is new to us.
“They don’t just want nationalitiesbased food – i.e. you would sell stacks of rice, noodles, garlic, chilis and various cuts of meat for a Filipino crew. Now it is all changing. Vessels want better variety and different options. They don’t want everything deep-fried. We have the capability to help develop menus and manage budgets, if vessels want that.”
Turner Price’s focus on traceability could be said to match the company’s own transparency; it welcomes visitors to its site, where there is a viewing area to watch the butchers at work, and fresh produce is received in every single day. “We wouldn’t put anything onboard a ship which we were not prepared to eat ourselves,” said Mr Broadhead.
The demand for traceability is evolving, said Mohammed
Muses, Managing Director of Mombasa Ship Chandlers. “There are those who don’t want traceability now, I think eventually we will have a situation where everyone will have a need for it,” he says.
“We provide traceability, as we have a wide range of sourcing both locally and internationally. We serve customers that require this and those that don’t. Nevertheless, we see ourselves standardising our process to make traceability a standard.”
Mombasa Ship Chandlers has already invested in an information system which will give a good foundation for this, he said. “We are also building stronger ties with our suppliers, in order for them to get involved in this. However, while it has worked with the more forward-looking suppliers, we have had to part ways with others, and we are identifying suppliers who conform or at least are working towards conformity.”
This is a ‘work in progress’ project, said Mr Muses, and constantly evolving. “In line with offering traceability as a standard, we will also be upgrading our website so that our clients can log on and trace the items that we offer, as a value added.”
The move towards traceability started with quality, he pointed out. “Initially it was ‘by the way, have you got a quality mark?’. Now that has become more of a standard. With IT these days, everything has become much simpler. To give an example: if we get a lollo rosso lettuce from our supplier, we will make sure we have the necessary certificates so we can trace where the product is from. We input that into our information systems and when the time comes to print a price list for a client, that information is there too.”
In August, Mombasa Ship Chandlers had a major boost when the Kenyan authorities confirmed that the company had qualified for bonded warehousing at Mombasa. “We will be the first ship supplier here to have such a facility, which means our doors are now open to exports from all over the world,” said Mr Muses. “This is a big one for us. We have been chasing this accreditation for quite a while now.”
He explained: “This means there will be no tariff barriers for us to be able to cater for our clients. For example, if we have a client that wants Mama Sita’s food products (a popular Filipino brand), we can have these in the warehouse to supply. We couldn’t do that previously because it would be next to impossible to get them and we would have had to pay high duties. There would have been a lot of nontariff barriers, too. Now we will be able to cut bureaucracy by three-quarters – in essence, we have our own mini Freeport.”
Additionally, he said: “When naval ships come into town, they can be a bit shy of taking our meat products. Now we can overcome that; we will be able to give them, for example, EU-certified meat from Spain. This means we are opening a whole lot of new possibilities as far as the industry is concerned. The information system we put in will also help give us a good foundation and control of these things.”
Mombasa Ship Chandlers has invested in its own supply vessel with 100-tonne capacity, which gives it the capability to supply vessels anywhere in the Indian Ocean.
“We were before limited to ports and mostly could not go more than five nautical miles out,” said Mr Muses. “We have two branches – in Mombasa and in Tanzania – and between them we cover a large area. But we have had many occasions where ships are stuck outside port and need provisions, or something has happened and they need a spare part. We have had to rely on third parties, and that becomes extortionate and we don’t have control. Now, with our own supply vessel, we have total control of that supply chain.” u
InterManager’s Secretary General said he was “humbled” to be awarded an honorary doctorate by Solent University recently.
Captain Kuba Szymanksi, who started a career at sea 33 years ago, was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Maritime Studies.
In addition to his role at InterManager, he also sits on the Executive Board of The Nautical Institute, is a Director of the TK Foundation and a Director at Seafarers Right’s International.
Capt Szymanksi started his career in 1985, graduating from the Maritime University of Szczecin with a Master’s Degree and started his deck officer career with the Isle of Man’s Dorchester Maritime, sailing on chemical and product tankers and reaching his first command as Master in 1999.
He came ashore in 2001 as a Marine Superintendent in the parent Dorchester Maritime Ltd IOM and was among the very first Lloyd’s Academy students on the Ship Superintendency course in 2003-04.
He became involved with Solent Unifversity after witnessing the experiments being carried out at the Warsash Campus for the HORIZON project on seafarer fatigue. InterManager became a partner on the subsequent MARTHA project and he was directly responsible for disseminating the findings to the shipping industy.
“I am truly humbled to receive this award,” he said. “I am proud to be able to support the pioneering research carried out by Solent University which will benefit today’s and tomorrow’s seafarers as well as the global shipping industry.” u
Business has been so brisk for NEKO Ship Supply in Spain that it has outgrown its premises in Algeciras and moved to a new site.
The Netherlands-headquartered company first opened in the strategic Port of Algeciras Bay nearly five years ago and it has now expanded its warehouse and offices to a new, and more spacious, location, allowing business to grow even more and consolidate it as a leading supplier in the Strait of Gibraltar area.
Part of NEKO Holding, NEKO Ship Supply benefits from the strong and competitive purchasing power of its parent company in Rotterdam and boasts a large and varied stock of consumables and provisions on site. u
When Derrick Samms set up his marine catering company, Garrets International, in 1991 with his son, Barry, it was born out of a desire to give crews the food they deserved.
For the shipping stalwart, who passed away in July, wanted to transform the diets and nutrition of seafarers worldwide – a move that would later see them help with creation of the MLC 2006, aimed at transforming the welfare of crew members.
Speaking to The Ship Supplier about the death of his friend and father, Barry told how the company had enjoyed a meteoric rise in its two decades, going from the humble beginnings of the two of them working off the dining table of their East London home to a company with a $50 million turnover and 30 plus members of staff.
Derrick was involved in shipping from a very young age. His first job was at British shipping company Ellerman Lines who, in 1987, became part of the Cunard Group. Working as a purser, he saw an opportunity to take over the staff restaurant within Ellermans which he made a real success of.
A company was then formed within Cunard offering out-sourced catering and, after being head-hunted, he moved to another catering company.
“He was very successful but his passion was always to go back to the shipping side because he believed that what he was doing within company premises, he could do onboard vessels,” said Barry.
“This just wasn’t being offered at the time by anybody. Owners were doing it all themselves and they didn’t really prioritise the welfare of the crew.”
Derrick was made redundant and he never looked back, setting up Garrets with son Barry, who had been working in catering at Chelsea Football Club.
Barry said the company grew quickly and one of the main reasons for this was the way owners trusted his father with their vessels.
“To him, it was all about building relationships and that is especially important now where shipping has become so corporate.”
He said the ethos behind Garrets stemmed from the Samms’ own standards for food at home.
“The way we looked at it was very simple – we had high standards at home for ourselves so why shouldn’t we have high standards for crew onboard ship that we were being paid to manage. When we switched over to doing things like free range and organic, suppliers were wondering what we were talking about!”
He added: “Previously, it was a case of pile the plate up high and they’ll be happy onboard. That never sat well with us and we changed owners’ perspectives on that.”
Garrets was so successful that it received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade in 2009 and again in 2014, the UK’s highest honour for business success.
Up until they sold the company in 2012, Derrick was still going into the office at weekends. They sold the
company to an equity company, who in turn sold it to Wrist Ship Supply.
“The reason we sold Garrets is that we had got to such a big size that my dad was coming up to retirement age and we needed some extra backing. It wasn’t investment we needed, rather a management structure in place because for years and years it was just me and my dad.”
Soon after selling the company, the Samms both left the business. However, the intention was never to just sell the business and give up work.
Around six months ago, Barry set up a new company, SeaSteward, based in Loughton, Essex, and now employs a couple of former key staff members from Garrets.
“Dad and I felt that catering wasn’t doing what we used to do. That’s why we decided to start up the new company and Dad was going to help me in the background.”
Unfortunately Derrick’s health deteriorated following a two-year battle with cancer and he died in July aged just 69, also leaving a daughter and his wife, Bernadette, who Barry claims was a major influence in Garrets and is also well-known within ship supply circles after attending various ISSA events with him.
“The business was everything to us and to my mum. My dad was the brains behind the company but my mum always had good advice to give. She supported Dad in the setting up of the business and gave him the freedom to do so. Without her support there wouldn’t have been a Garrets.” u
“
” He was very successful but his passion was always to go back to the shipping side because he believed that what he was doing within company premises, he could do onboard vessels
he Hamburg-headquartered
German Shipsuppliers Association has published the 46th edition of its annual German Shipsuppliers Register containing information on 134 ship store merchants in 28 ports in Germany and maritime lawyers.
In addition to company names, addresses, telephone, telex and facsimile numbers, email addresses, websites and lines of business, the Register details the names of proprietors, branch offices, ports of delivery, departments, managing directors, managers, clerks, agencies and information on the distribution of specific items.
More than 4,000 copies of the 124-page A5 size English language Register will be distributed worldwide to ship owners, ship brokers, ship suppliers, companies allied to the shipping industry and to shipyards.
The Register includes data on Association member companies considered as bona-fide ship store merchants and it enables all addressees to select “their” supplier from a large number of companies. Moreover, the Register provides extensive information on the ship store trade in Germany for the wholesaler trade and others connected with the shipping industry. Also Non-Association members have the opportunity to place advertisements. u
A PDF version for download and a new online smart PDF version are included at the Association’s website www.shipsuppliers.de.
Companies interested in the print version of the Register can be included in the distribution list for next year’s delivery; companies interested in placing an advertisement please contact the German Association office by email to vds@shipsuppliers.de
In the last issue of The Ship Supplier we referred to the Singapore national association (SASS) as the Singapore Association of Ship Suppliers. We would like to point out that it is now known as the Singapore Association of Shipsuppliers and Services. u
We are delighted to inform you that our ever-popular ISSA Ship Stores Catalogue will be re-launched soon.
The existing catalogue has undergone extensive revision in recent years to ensure that information remains up-to-date and relevant to our industry and the wider maritime community.
The ISSA Catalogue is recognised as the pre-eminent tool when it comes to storing ships. From an anchor to a match, a tea-spoon to a length of steel, the ISSA Catalogue categorises and numbers many thousands of line items of ship stores.
An easy to use coding system means purchasers can see what they are ordering and by quoting the accompanying ISSA code to their chandler can ensure they are ordering the correct item among the thousands featured.
It is also an ideal opportunity for Members to showcase their companies, so we actively encourage you to advertise within the Catalogue.
With a paid for global circulation of over 7,000 the ISSA Ship Stores Catalogue is one of the best advertising opportunities available to suppliers to the shipping industry.
Due to the longevity between editions we have found over the years that the advertisement you take out in the Catalogue keeps being viewed by purchasers globally so you become ever-present in their minds! u
For further information or to reserve your advertisement please contact Julian Berry issa@elabor8.co.uk Tel: +44-1296 681428
By Felicity Landon
In our high-tech, increasingly automated, constantly monitored world, one thing hasn’t changed: we still chuck a rope over the side to the mooring team, or for the tug crews to pick up.
It’s nearly two-and-a-half centuries since Timm Ropes was established in Norway. The company says it has come a long way since 1772, specifically from hemp, then the material of choice in the maritime industry, to the ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene fibres it uses today.
And yet, as Tore Strand, Timm Ropes Business Manager, says: “This is still an oldfashioned product which is still being used in some of the ways it was in 1772. In essence, ropes haven’t changed very much.”
That, however, is changing. Timm Ropes, now part of Wilhelmsen Ships Service, has developed what it says is the world’s first digital rope, in which embedded sensors capture data for tension, time and temperature, with that data being processed and transferred direct to the bridge or to the cloud.
The solution, which is currently being trialled onboard a ro-ro vessel, allows for live load distribution data, safety alerts for potential rope snaps, electronic recording of rope usage and consumption, predicted cope condition and lifetime, and smart contracts.
‘Having the right feeling’ about something is disappearing from onboard operations as more and more sensors assist seafarers in their tasks, said Mr Strand, and ropes should not be the exception. This technology enables those on the bridge to see how the load is distributed
between the ropes – even if the adjustments will still be manual.
“People don’t know how tension is distributed in a rope or ropes – for example, they use a hammer to test the tension, or you will find people putting their leg on the rope to test the tension,” he said. “If ropes run in parallel but are not the same tension, one will be taking too much load. The wind might start up and it can be a domino effect – one rope starts snapping, then the next and the next.
“People onboard say ‘this doesn’t look good’ but it’s a subjective feeling – a sort of ‘what do you think?’”
Timm Ropes has a patent pending for its new system; it says it is the first to put a sensor into a rope. The sensor is in the form of a cigar-shaped cylinder, with the total weight of battery, mechanical pars and transmitting kit (for wireless communication) at 700 grams. It is using the latest Bluetooth technology based on tech from Nordic Semiconductor, with a range of 250 to 300 metres.
On the bridge, the information can be display on a tablet – but in the long-term, it could be integrated into the alarm system.
As well as increasing safety, the system has the potential to increase the lifetime of ropes – often by rotating them to replace those that have taken greater loads, said Mr Strand. “In our pilot project, the system showed that the load on some ropes when going through the locks was sometimes three times higher than it should be. It’s possible to analyse the results, and this will enable best practice to be established.” u
By Vincent Lim, SOP (Save our Planet) LED Lightings
LED lighting is by far the most energy-efficient, cleanest and most eco-friendly way of illumination. LEDs have an outstanding operational life time of more than 100,000 hours, substantially reducing maintenance and replacement costs in terms of manpower and spares. LED lights have an outstanding energy efficacy when compared with conventional lightings, reaching levels as high as 90% when compared with incandescent lamps. They contain no toxic materials, zero UV emission hence lesser heat and reduces your carbon footprint with them being 100% recyclable. LED lights are capable of operating in extremely hot (50°C) and cold temperatures (-50°C) and are extremely durable and resistant to vibrations onboard ships.
The rise of LED technology is transforming the maritime lighting industry, and huge potential for future LED improvements will arise from new levels of quality and efficacy of the lights.
However, there are increasing concerns on the use of LED lightings and the potential interference of Radio and automatic identification systems (AIS) Reception. The United States Coast Guard has raised a safety alert with regards to crews, ship owners, inspectors and other mariners facing poor reception on VHF frequencies used for radiotelephone, digital selective calling (DSC) and automatic identification systems (AIS) when they are near LED lighting onboard. The radio frequency interference will cause potential safety hazards when ships become uncontactable owing to poor reception. This does not simply imply that LED lightings should not be used on vessels. In fact, with the correct LED lightings installed, ship owners will not face such interference plus benefit greatly from the various advantages of LED Lightings over conventional lightings!
In 2015, International Standard- IEC 60533:2015
Electrical and electronic installations in ships - Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) was passed. This is a global regulation implementation with regards to the EMC compliances of electrical and electronic products installed onboard ships. The control of undesired electromagnetic emission ensures that no other device onboard will be unduly influenced by the equipment under consideration. Equipment which is tested and installed in accordance with this standard meets IMO requirements and will not interfere with radio and automatic identification systems (AIS) reception.
SOP’s range of products is designed according to IEC 60533:2015 standard and prevents EMC interferences. We are focused and committed to the development of marine and offshore lightings that provides green and innovative energy - efficient technologies and meeting demands of the harsh marine environment at the same time. We encourage sustainable development through LED that brings about energy efficiency and waste minimisation.
There is a growing trend of owners opting for green lightings on ships. Currently, we are working with ship chandlers and owners for LED retrofits and new-build projects. They see the importance and benefit of not having to keep spares/ consumables and almost zero maintenance of lights during its lifetime. To allow owners to accurately understand the cost savings, Beng Hui Marine provides a complimentary assessment to vessels by going onboard to inspect current lightings, study the GA drawing of the vessel, recommend retrofit or replacement options, provide lux calculation reports and then advise on the suitability based on the Return of Investment (ROI). Samples are also provided to be tested onboard in actual sea conditions. Ship owners will benefit from reliable Marine & Offshore LED lightingallowing them to maximise their investment in operations and reducing maintenance needed and ship chandlers will be able to provide timely support in terms of spares or new lightings from their various offices worldwide. u
We have pleasure to announce the re-branding of sister companies “Southern Everise (s) PTE Ltd” of Singapore and “Southern Star Marine CO Ltd” of China. As from the 1st August 2018 the companies shall trade as Everise Shipping Service PTE Ltd (Singapore) & Everise Shipping Service CO Ltd (China).
In recent times we have seen considerable growth and we believe now is the time to enhance efficiencies within the group. Introducing initiatives:
• One Bank Account
• One Accounting Department
• One Management Team
• One main email contact address
We shall maintain a Group Head office covering Sales & Marketing, Accounting, Purchasing & Management in Singapore. This will be the communication centre for the Group.
We believe the new concept will not only enhance the service efficiencies of the group but help reduce the operating costs. Thus savings can be enjoyed by our ever growing customer base.
There are no other significant changes to the operation and all key staff will remain in place to continue to offer you the high grade service you have become accustomed to.
Further all previous contracts and agreements with our customer base will remain in place to be honoured to the best of our ability.
All telephone and mobile numbers will remain the same. For the time being email addresses will remain unchanged but these will be upgrade to encompass the new trading name.
SERVICE WILL BE PARAMOUNT, QUALITY AND PRICE – THE BALANCE
Should you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us for further clarification.
Assuring you of our best service & attention at all times
The motto for this year’s SMM trade fair in Hamburg was ‘Trends in SMMart Shipping’ and it was very apt with the maritime sector driving the use of digital solutions, from network-integrated fleets and smart ship control to 3D printing and autonomous shipping.
Those exhibiting included agile start-ups offering specialised software applications to market-leading suppliers of maritime technology offering entire portfolios of digital systems.
One of the most fascinating topics was the increased use of 3D printing and the printing of spare parts. For the world of industrial production, the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ and the Internet of Things are key initiatives.
Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is starting to play a key role in the maritime industry, opening up entirely new options for suppliers and manufacturers.
So, in the future, urgently needed spare parts for a ship could be manufactured at the next port of call, or even directly onboard, reducing the logistical effort while avoiding costly laydays.
For the first time ever, SMM presented a special exhibition on 3D printing, arranged jointly with the Nothern German Maritime Cluster (MCN). In addition to seeing various exhibitors specialising in 3D printing, visitors were able to listen to lectures and watch live presentations including those from member companies of the newlyformed Forum 3D Maritim.
One of the presentations showed the process of 3D-printing blades for controllable pitch propellors. Manufacturing these components the conventional way is complex and time-consuming but using a printing machine by German company Gefertec, the blades will be made from duplex steel in an additive production process, estimated to take eight to 10 hours per blade.
“Our 3DMP process can be used for a wide range of materials. This opens up vast new possibilities for the manufacture of maritime components,” said Gefertec CEO Marcus Ortloff. u
By Roger Symes, Director, Marine Debt Management
It is more than 20 years since I last wrote about catering managers (often known as catering contractors) in The Ship Supplier (then named Storing Ships News), so a return to the subject is long overdue. The increased use of such companies by ship owners and managers worldwide means they are amongst the customers of most general ship supply companies.
Catering managers offer their customers control over expenditure on provisions for a contracted period. Normally this is calculated as a fixed fee per crew member per day, sometimes called the ‘feeding rate’. For a ship with 20 crew onboard, fed at a rate of, say, $12 per day, this equates to a cost of $7,200 charged monthly by the catering manager to the ship owner.
For this sum, the catering manager will undertake to supply the ship with provisions whereever she trades. This enables the ship manager to precisely budget the cost of provisions in advance. The catering manager will seek to turn a profit by reducing food waste onboard, strategic purchasing and negotiating discounts with suppliers. They may also offer related services such as menu planning, training and hygiene inspections.
Catering managers broadly fall into four categories. There are ‘stand-alone’ businesses, unconnected to buyers or suppliers. Second are crewing agencies who include the supply of provisions in their ‘all-in-crew-cost’ packages. Thirdly, there are ship suppliers who have subsidiaries or departments offering catering management services. Finally, there are third-party shipmanagement companies who have ‘spun-off’ the catering management function into a separate business or division.
The advantage to the ship owner of a single, reliable supplier of provisions regardless of where the ship trades is clear. However, it is equally clear that such companies must rely upon a dedicated network of local ship suppliers in order to offer a truly global service. For local suppliers, it means orders are placed with them not by the ship’s owners or managers but by the nominated catering manager. For the careless supplier, this often results in misunderstandings about who is responsible for payment.
The most basic error is to think that if goods are delivered to a ship and signed for by the crew, then responsibility for payment always rests with the ship owner. Next is the belief that addressing invoices to ‘The Master & Owners’ makes the ship owner jointly liable, regardless of contractual arrangements. If that were true it would be better to address invoices to ‘The Master & Owners & Mr Spencer Eade’. You could then look to our esteemed ISSA Secretary whenever a customer fails to pay! Clearly that makes no sense at all but it illustrates the point that you should establish who is liable for payment long before drawing up invoices.
Whenever orders are received from a catering manager, it is essential to establish whether that company is purchasing as principal (buying for its own account and re-sale to its customer) or as agent only (buying without liability on behalf of another, most likely the ship owner, responsible for payment).
As an example of the pitfalls to look out for, the Purchase Order Terms and Conditions of one catering management company expressly state, “...payment will be released upon receipt of the payment from vessel’s owners/manager for the same period”. In other words, you won’t get paid until we do! u
More must be done to protect passengers and crew members on ferries and cruiseships from contracting the potentially deadly Legionnaires’ disease and other infections from waterborne pathogens.
That’s the warning from France and US-based infection control solutions expert aqua-tools following research which found higher levels of Legionella contamination in smaller, older ships.
“While larger, newer passenger ferries and cruiseships have been built with preventative measures aimed at curbing the spread of Legionella, little has been done to protect passengers aboard smaller, older ships which, in many cases, are not well maintained,” said aqua-tools CEO Marc Raymond.
Legionnaire’s disease is a severe form of pneumonia that causes inflammation of the lungs. Bacteria, called Legionella, spreads through drinking water or from inhalation of air containing water droplets rich in Legionella or contaminated soil. The bacteria can grow in indoor water systems like hot water tubes, mist sprayers or air conditioners and hot tubs, whirlpools and swimming pools.
It is a life-threatening infection of lungs and people over the age of 50 can be more susceptible to catching the infection, along with smokers,
and those with a weakened immune system due to chronic diseases such as diabetes and HIV.
The research paper to which Mr Raymond refers is Legionella Risk Assessment in Cruiseships and Ferries, which was published in June 2017 by the US National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine.
Researchers evaluated the frequency and severity of Legionella contamination on 10 ferries and six cruiseships alongside or in transiting the Port of Messina, Sicily. From the water and air samples tested for qualitative and quantitative identification of Legionella, the researchers found that Legionella pneumophila sg1 was present in samples of shower and tap water in 70% of the 10 ferries examined and in 33% of the six cruiseships examined.
They found Legionella pmeumophila sg 2-14 in 80% and 16.7% of these ships respectively. And while no Legionella contamination was found in whirlpool baths, air and ice samples, they concluded that the ‘data confirmed higher levels of Legionella contamination in local ferries and cruiseships, underlining the need to adopt corrective actions more specific for these smaller vessels’.
Mr Raymond said: “While the Norovirus continues to be the main
cause of infection onboard passenger ships, Legionnaire’s disease, Pontiac fever and other infections from waterborne pathogens can be fatal. The high-risk points of use can expose passengers to an aerosolised form of water where water particles are inhaled. Aerosolisation primarily occurs at shower heads and faucets, but infection can be prevented by simply installing FILT’RAY 2G Point-of-Use Filters on all outlets where water is intended for human use.”
To protect cruise and ferry passengers against nosocomial infection, aqua-tools has introduced its FILT’RAY 2G Point-of-Use Filters to the maritime market. The membrane technology rapidly secures Point-of-Use by preventing the discharge of waterborne pathogens from faucet, shower and inline filters. The technology meets ISO 9001:2008, ISO TS 16949:2012 and ISO 13485:2012 medical standards and has received a Certificate of Sanitary Compliance in France, Germany, Australia and are considered as Medical Device Class 1.
“Cruiseships are the equivalent of a ‘public building’ so they have to prevent and manage the risks with regulations specific to each country under which they are flagged,” said Mr Raymond. u
By ISSA’s legal expert Bruce Hailey
Ship suppliers, like many businesses, are concerned with both buying and selling internationally. Where those transactions involve international transportation, it is important to ensure that the responsibilities of the parties in the transport arrangements are clearly understood.
The International Chamber of Commerce (the ICC) has for many years published the INCOTERMS, which are a set of rules written by the ICC and designed to assist parties in clearly defining their respective duties. INCOTERMS do not have force of law, but parties can choose to use them in the contractual dealings should they wish to do so. The parties can choose to describe their responsibilities in other ways, but the INCOTERMS are a convenient way of doing so and are well understood in international commerce.
In 2010 the INCOTERMS were heavily revised, and some of the familiar “rules” were dropped and some new ones introduced. There are now 11 “rules” within the INCOTERMS, designed to cover all eventualities, and are essentially divided into the rules applicable to bulk shipments by sea and the rules that can be applied to all other transport (including containerised shipments).
Despite eight years having passed since the “new” INCOTERMS were introduced, many businesses have failed to appreciate the important changes and typically use the wrong “rules”, or indeed rules that are no longer contained within the 2010 INCOTERMS.
Those likely to be reading this will most commonly ship goods by container, or by air and will rarely be transporting bulk cargoes. That being the case very rarely would the FOB, CFR, CIF or FOS terms be appropriate, applicable as they are to bulk shipments being loaded directly into the ship’s holds.
The most appropriate terms are Ex-Works (EXW), Free
Carrier (FCA) Carriage Paid To (CPT), Delivered at Place (DAP) and Delivered Duty Paid (DDP). There are, however, several others. The differences between the different rules can be slight, but nevertheless important.
In any transaction where you buy or sell there must be a consideration of where the responsibilities will lie for arranging and paying for the carriage (and if applicable the insurance). Where will that responsibility end – at the destination terminal or at the final place of delivery? Who will pay the import duty or destination terminal charges? Once such matters have been considered the most appropriate INCOTERM can be selected, and supplemented as necessary within the contract.
There is not sufficient time and space to discuss them all in detail here but by way of example EXW puts minimum responsibility on the Seller, who must simply make the goods available to the Buyer, suitably packed, marked and labelled for export. DDP puts maximum responsibility on the Seller, who must ensure their delivery at the agreed destination, with all import duties paid - the Seller assumes responsibility for arranging all carriage to the final destination, and to pay the charges and any import and export duty.
The internet is full of helpful resources around INCOTERMS and their use, and if you use these terms in your business then it would be wise to undertake a review to ensure that you are you using up-todate terms most suitable for the transactions you are entering.
For a traditional “ship supply” to a vessel in port, the ISSA Conditions of Sale contain appropriate provisions concerning delivery. However, where the goods are to be delivered in some other way (ie. delivery to an agent in another country, or to the owner’s overseas office) the ISSA Conditions should be supplemented with the appropriate INCOTERM. u
Swedish bio-tech innovator I-Tech AB has developed a new ‘drop-in, dust-free’ dissolvable packaging system to enhance the way the antifouling active agent Selektope is added to marine coatings during the manufacturing process.
The expanded polystyrene (EPS) container, which can be added to paint without being opened, fully dissolves almost instantaneously without leaving any traces in the coating system. This innovative packaging therefore allows for the dust free charging of 100% Selektope powder material to a liquid paint batch, eliminating dust formation completely. It also allows the paint manufacturer to make optimal use of available Selektope and improves safety in the paint processing plant.
Each EPS container is supplied within a CurTec HDPE screw lid jar with locking mechanism making it durable with improved impact resistance for transport. The complete EPS container system can hold 300-800g of medetomidine (the chemical name for Selektope) as a dry powder within a very low weight (18g) EPS container.
The formal launch of the EPS container follows extensive testing with the revolutionary packaging having been qualified for use during the manufacturing process without compromising paint performance.
Philip Chaabane, CEO I-TECH AB, said: “This latest innovation from I-Tech supports our customers in the safe
use of Selektope and is a game-changer for the addition of biocides during the paint manufacturing process. In recent years, I-Tech has been successful in scaling up the production of its unique technology from quantities measured in kilos to a robust manufacturing platform producing at multiple tons scale. This latest invention supports the increasing uptake of this breakthrough technology in the market.”
Characterised by high efficacy at extremely low concentrations (0.1% w/w) with ultra-low leaching, the organic, non-metal compound biocide repels barnacle settlement on ships’ hulls by temporarily stimulating the barnacle larvae’s swimming behaviour. u
Marine distress signal supplier WesCom Signal and Rescue has supported the World Arctic Fund – a fiveweek sailboat expedition to the North Pole.
The Berlin-based World Arctic Fund was formed to draw attention to and to preserve the Arctic. Its 2018 AISE – Polar4 mission combines climate change and pollution research with the search for the remains of the airship Italia, which crashed in 1928. A crew of 25 scientists, sailors and volunteers were travelling to the North Pole onboard the first ever mindcontrolled boat in the world – a schooner motor-sailor.
WesCom Signal and Rescue donated a comprehensive kit of life-saving Comet marine distress signals for the voyage, which set out last month, including handflares, parachute rockets, orange smoke signals and rocket propelled line throwers.
Chris Feibusch, Director of Global Marketing and Communications at WesCom Signal and Rescue, said: “We are proud to support the World Arctic Fund’s AISE – Polar4 mission this year. The expedition to locate the wreckage of
the Italia, along with valuable research into climate change and pollution, are important for global awareness and will provide fascinating results and information for wider conservation of our planet. We wish the team all the best and hope they do not need to use our flares – but know they’ll be in safe hands if they do.” u
UK-based Coldharbour Marine, a manufacturer of ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) based on unique inert gas technology, has opened a new office in Singapore and appointed Capt Mohit Batra, a master mariner with an MBA from Oxford University, to lead its planned expansion into the Asian market.
Capt Batra, Managing Director of Coldharbour Asia has extensive experience of the shipping sector gained over more than two decades. He has held several senior positions ashore including spells with classification society ABS and marine technology company Wärtsilä.
Andrew Marshall, Coldharbour Marine’s Chief Executive, commented on Capt Batra’s appointment and the new Singapore office. “Having a hub in Asia has always been a key part of our development strategy and I believe we have found just the right man to head our operation in this important market. Mohit has an unusual combination of seagoing and shore management experience and will bring these strong capabilities to our operations in Asia.”
Capt Batra explained the company’s strategy: “We have timed the new Singapore set-up in advance of being awarded US Coast Guard type approval which we expect to receive in 2019.
And it is next year that we expect the ballast water treatment installation market to take off strongly. This is particularly the case in our specific target markets which include large tankers, big bulk carriers and LNG vessels. We have identified a large number of ships in these sectors for which owners will need to plan system installations from 2019 onwards. Many of these retrofit projects will be undertaken in Chinese shipyards, whilst we will also be supplying treatment systems for new ships under construction at yards across Asia.”
Capt Batra stressed the importance of Singapore as a location. “Apart from the obvious benefits of operating from this important maritime hub with its excellent international connections, we will be working closely with many ship operators and management companies which have chosen Singapore as their Asian base,” he said. u
The move from vessel-based decision-making to shorebased decision-making is gathering pace, according to the Chief Commercial Officer of digital navigation services and voyage compliance provider ChartCo.
Speaking to The Ship Supplier at the recent SMM trade fair in Hamburg, Howard Stevens said more and more companies were doing on-shore routing, stating this was a “natural progression”.
At the fair, ChartCo – an ISSA member - announced the launch of a new e-navigation and compliance platform, which highlighted the future direction of the UK-based company, following a period of high investment in product development.
ChartCo OneOcean is a unitary platform that aims to make life simpler for both seafarers and management teams ashore. It will also play an important role in how shoreside operations and shipping fleets are managed, while also offering significant benefits to onboard crew.
The platform brings together global compliance needs in navigation, environmental, safety and regulations management using a comprehensive suite of products including the newly updated e-navigation and compliance solution PassageManager; Regs4ships – to maintain compliance with flag state and international regulations; Fleet Manager – which unlocks real-time shore-side vessel tracking and management; EnviroManager – to ensure environmental compliance; and Docmap, to meet safety and quality compliance obligations.
Mr Stevens explained how the company –which has a long maritime history dating back several hundred years in various forms and whose heritage lies in paper charts and paper publications - had spent 18 months developing the platform and it had been on around 30 vessels for a few months now. The company is about to start upgrading it to the existing client base.
“Where we are driving our business to, is actually putting layers and layers of incremental value over the top of all the UKHO data,” said Mr Stevens.
“We will always be in the navigation sector and that’s never going to change but we are increasing our portfolio. Now, we are very much into e-navigation and compliance in general.”
He added: “As a business, we have 13,000 vessels we serve in one way or another. Perhaps the most important statistic though is that from a software point of view, we have over 10,000 vessels with one or more of our bits of software on.”
The core of this software is the PassageManager platform which sits on 6,500 vessels, along with Docmap, Regs4Ships and EnviroManager.
“All of these, up until the launch of the ChartCo OneOcean Platform, have principally been different things. They can all sit on the mariner’s laptop but they have to go into one and out of another,” explained Mr Stevens.
“What this new platform means, in essence, is that as they go to their voyage planning, they can get all the information they need, all in one place. It can all get pulled through to a passage plan and that passage plan then comes into the shoreside of OneOcean and it gets stored on the shoreside. The guys in head office such as the superintendents can track their vessels with a tracking platform.”
Mr Stevens said the regulatory world was changing almost every day, particularly from an environmental perspective and it was a very tough landscape to keep up with.
“We are trying to make things less clicks and make life easier.”
He also discussed the cyber protection on the system explaining how there was concern from customers regarding the transfer of information from a laptop to the ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System).
ChartCo has overcome this vulnerability by launching the ChartCo Vault – an ultra-secure USB stick which is pin-encoded meaning you cannot put it into the laptop or ECDIS without putting a pin number in.
“Overall, the platform has been very, very well received,” said Mr Stevens. “In 20 years maybe, you will have full-on autonomous shipping and there’s a journey between where we are today to everything happening on shore.” u
Maritime safety equipment manufacturer
and global service provider
VIKING Life-Saving Equipment has announced it has acquired Norsafe, the Norwegian boatbuilder whose lifeboats are used throughout the world. The acquisition is in line with VIKING’s long-running strategy of putting the customer first.
Established in 1903, Norsafe produces a full range of free-fall lifeboats and fast rescue boats with davits and has supplied over 28,000 lifeboats to the global ship market over the years. Its advanced lifeboat products are manufactured in accordance with the latest SOLAS requirements and approved by national and certifying authorities for both ships and offshore use.
VIKING says the acquisition is yet another step forward for its thousands of customers around the world, who now stand to benefit from the world’s most complete range of lifeboat, hook and davit products. And it is the strongest signal to date that VIKING is firmly committed to provide a complete safety offering that also includes the best range of lifeboat products and services – a
focus that initially saw VIKING acquire the company behind the innovative and now widely installed Nadiro lifeboat Drop-in-BallTM hook, now known as VIKING Nadiro.
“This is a very close operational and cultural fit,” said VIKING CEO Henrik Uhd Christensen. “Like VIKING, Norsafe has been family-owned for generations, which creates strong and lasting relationships with customers – and it places the same emphasis on quality, on the use of advanced materials and on technological innovation as we do.”
With the Norwegian manufacturer’s 24/7 service network providing lifeboat maintenance from over 300 ports worldwide, the Norsafe acquisition adds further fuel to VIKING’s focus on answering new demands for full-scope solutions by providing the world’s most comprehensive safety solutions, encompassing everything from products and services – including long-term Shipowner Agreements - to design, installation and training. And VIKING expects new efficiencies to be won not just from integrating the two companies’ product lines and widening customer choice, but also from leveraging complementary supply chain and production capabilities.
With Norsafe’s specialised centres in Norway and Greece offering product and STCW courses, VIKING’s training arm will also receive a boost to its ability to help vessel and offshore asset owners manage crew competencies. u
Prevention at Sea (PaSea) has launched Mooring System Management & Line Management Plans which cover both requirements in line with the latest OCIMF Marine Equipment Guidelines (MEG 4 – July 2018) Ref. VIQ7 –Chapter 9 (Mooring).
The ‘Mooring System Management Plan’ (MSMP) has been developed to ensure that all assessed risks are effectively managed through the design and operation of the mooring system. The primary objective is to ensure that during mooring operations, no harm comes to ship or terminal stafrf or damage to the ship or terminal/facility that is interfacing with and that the mooring system meets applicable regulations, codes and recommended practice.
The ‘Line Management Plan’ (LMP) contains the ship operator’s requirements for the management of mooring
line maintenance, inspection and retirement during the operational phase of the mooring line lifecycle. The LMP also documents the requirements, assumptions and evaluation methods used in determining the line retirement criteria.
By combining Mooring System & Line Management best practices, along with valuable insights from global rope manufacturer KATRADIS Marine Ropes, PaSea can undertake the compilation of both Plans on behalf of the ship operator and in accordance with the specific design and operation of the ship’s mooring system.
The Plans are also designed so that they adapt to existing procedures and plans without creating additional workload for the user. u
Bose Sleepbuds are perfect for getting a good rest, whether you’re on a long-haul flight or tucked up in your bed at home.
The tiny earpieces use noise-isolating tips to help drown out unwanted noise, and boast a library of 10 pre-loaded relaxing sounds. They came in three sizes of tips ensuring a good fit, and a companion app lets you manage settings like volume and alarms.
Bose Sleepbuds
$250 www.bose.com
This brilliant little speaker is both stylish and portable, enabling you to play your favourite tunes wherever you are.
It uses True360 sound processing and a pair of amplifiers to get the most out of its dust and splash-proof body. It offers 16 hours of battery life and also features an integrated microphone for calls.
Bang & Olufsen Beoplay P6 Speaker
$400 www.beoplay.com
The Manchester Arena terrorist bombing last year was the prompt behind this album from US popstress Ariana Grande, who was playing the venue when the attack happened.
Grande said she hoped the lead single, No Tears Left to Cry, which topped the charts in April, would bring light and comfort but also make people want to dance and live life to the full and the album is certainly bright and breezy. It also features guest appearances from Pharrell Williams, Missy Elliott and Nicki Minaj, who she sings with on promotional single The Light is Coming.
Sweetener Republic Records
The hype for 20-year-old Jorja Smith’s debut album has built, ever since she was awarded the Critic’s Choice Award at the Brit Awards, held earlier this year.
The soulful singer and songwriter has released a steady stream of tracks over the last couple of years including singles Blue Lights, Teenage Fantasy and Where Did I Go? and these are included as hits on the album. Comparisons have been made with Amy Winehouse and Lauryn Hill, and we think Jorja will be a big star too.
Lost & Found FAMM
Pop fans will love this major new exhibition, taking place at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Michael Jackson: On the Wall, explores the influence of the legendary artist on some of the leading names in contemporary art and also includes new works made specifically for the exhibition. The final commissioned portrait of Michael Jackson by artist Kehinde Wiley is also on public display for the first time in the UK. The portrait, Equestrian Portrait of King Philip II (Michael Jackson), 2010 (pictured) was started months before Jackson died and finished posthumously.
Other works going on display for the first time in the UK include American artist and activist Faith Ringgold’s story quilt Who’s Bad? And Jackson’s ‘dinner jacket’ covered with cutlery and made by costume designer Michael Lee Bush.
The exhibition will tour to The Grand Palais, Paris (November 2018 to February 2019), The Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn (March to July 2019) and Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Finland (August 2019 to January 2020).
Michael Jackson: On the Wall Showing now until 21st October, 2018 www.npg.org.uk
La Rambla by Catalunya gives some of the best views across the Hong Kong skyline.
The Spanish restaurant, located in the International Finance Center in Victoria Harbour, is run by Executive Chef Ferran Tadeo who previously worked at the legendary but now defunct El Bulli restaurant in Spain.
The Catalan-inspired menu includes tapas and mains using authentic ingredients such as 120-day hung Galician beef direct from Barcelona’s top steakhouse and huge, red carabinero shrimp. And, if you have any room left, there are tempting desserts such as Catalan Mille Feuille.
The restaurant also boasts a terrace bar, where snacks and drinks can be enjoyed while taking in the fabulous views.
La Rambla by Catalunya, 3071-73 Level 3, ifc mall, Central, Hong Kong Larambla.hk
This is the incredible true story of life as a London firefighter. What is it really like to be a firefighter? How does it feel to respond to an emergency call, to know that someone’s life hangs in the balance and every second is critical? What is it like to fight a fire, to battle through the heat and the smoke, to put your own life in danger to save others? How elated do you feel to rescue survivors, to reunite families, and how devastating is it to recover the bodies of those who you didn’t reach in time? How do you cope with the trauma of a life spent facing death? Into the Fire offers an unforgettable insight into the highs and lows of life in the fire service.
Edric Kennedy-Macfoy has spent over a decade serving in the London Fire Brigade, attending many of the capital’s biggest incidents, from last year’s tragic blaze at the Grenfell Tower flats to the Croydon tram derailment. This is his remarkable story.
Into the Fire: My Life as a London Firefighter
By Edric Kennedy-Macfoy Transworld
