WALLEM WORLD

Charity applauds Frank Coles for bringing crewing crisis to the world’s attention

Charity organisation Mission to Seafarers has acknowledged Wallem CEO Frank Coles’ crusade to bring the crewing crisis that has engulfed the shipping industry since the start of the pandemic to the attention of world media and to prompt governments to act in tackling the emergency.

He was handed the prestigious Secretary General Award for the person and company that has shown ‘sustained efforts to improve seafarers’ welfare at sea or ashore’ at a ceremony that took place virtually on 6 November.

In a short video message, he dedicated the award to all the seafarers and their families, many of whom have struggled to cope in these challenging times. He thanked the crewing departments in Wallem and throughout the sector for their exceptional efforts as they navigated rapidly changing restrictions on cross-border travel and facilitated crew changeovers wherever they could. Frank went on to praise the Mission to Seafarers and other charity organisations for doing their utmost to assist the crew struggling the most as changeover delays turned from weeks into months.

A change of tone followed as he condemned national governments for failing to recognise the scale of the problem and for their inaction: “They have acted selfishly and demonstrated a complete lack of leadership.”

Time and again, when shipping’s representative organisations came up short, Frank stepped in to fight the corner not only of Wallem’s 7,000 managed crew, but of all of the men and women who keep global trade moving, consistently proposing pragmatic solutions.

Not only was he first to raise the alarm on the crew-change issue in the trade press in February; he brought the issue to the attention of major news outlets including the New York Times and the South China Morning Post, and in doing so significantly amplified the calls for seafarers to be designated as keyworkers, which had previously fallen on deaf ears.

Through demonstrating strong leadership Frank displayed solidarity with the thousands of crew who remained stranded at sea and an unequivocal willingness to protect and advance their interests.

Wallem takes four DSD newbuilds into management

Wallem has taken Stavanger Pride – the last of four newbuild tankers ordered by DSD Shipping – into management. The latest delivery brings the number of tankers entrusted to Wallem by the Norwegian owner to eight.

As previously reported, the DSD Shipping newbuilds coming into Wallem management are 49,999 DWT IMO 2 product/chemical tankers featuring a range of environmentally friendly technologies, including UV ballast water treatment plants, SOx exhaust gas scrubbers and MAN 6G50 ME-9.5C “Green” ultra-long stroke prime-movers with HP-SCR (High Pressure Selective Catalytic Reduction), designed to optimise fuel efficiency and meet NOx Tier III requirements for operation in Emission Control Areas.

To ensure the vessel’s 22 crew members reached the newbuild to take up their duties amid travel restrictions and public health requirements imposed by the pandemic was a major logistical exercise that called for careful planning and teamwork every step of the way.

The first step was to assemble a backup team of 14 crew who were placed on stand-by in case any of the original joiners were unable to reach the vessel for health reasons. After taking Covid-19 tests, all 36 were placed into quarantine for 11 days in Mumbai, India. When none of the tests came back as positive and none of the group showed symptoms after their isolation, the original party departed for Vietnam.

Thanks to meticulous logistical preparation, onward transport and connections proceeded without unexpected setbacks. Having safely reached the Stavanger Pride, the crew set about preparing for sea trials.

The smooth execution was helped by leveraging experience gained transferring 44 crew members to sister vessels Stavanger Pearl and Stavanger Poseidon both delivered in August. At the time, Vietnam had all but closed its borders to international travellers, with stringent documentation requirements imposed by local immigration authorities to set foot in the country. Despite the mixed nationalities of the crew, the Wallem Crewing Team were able to gather and complete all the necessary paperwork.

The final stage of the operation was to organise air travel – this time involved a changeover in Incheon, South Korea. Both legs of the journey were on specially chartered aircraft. After the 44 crew arrived in Vietnam together with travel leaders Capt Saketh Reddi and 2nd Officer Karan Singh Chavan, and completing the required 14-day quarantine, they reached the newbuilds exactly on schedule to commence the sea-trials.

Wallem Ship Agency update

As Singapore looks to resume leisure travel amid coronavirus pandemic in the form of so called cruise-to-nowhere, Wallem is working closely with our principal Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, to restart their operations. At the same time, the team in Singapore has welcomed Norwegian Escape (Norwegian Cruise Lines) for their drydocking at SEMBCORP on 4-11 October.

Vale, one of the largest logistics operators in Brazil, has renewed Wallem’s appointment as its port agent in Singapore. Singapore is a bunkering port for Vale.

NYK commends Wallem’s safety drive

Wallem picked up an award for its achievements in promoting safety at an event held by Japanese shipping line NYK in October. The win was announced during a virtual conference on fleet safety management where ship management companies responsible for NYK vessels were invited to share details of initiatives aimed at fostering a safety culture.

Before 2S

After 2S

The Brush Up on Safety Awareness competition included two categories – the first covering ‘Safety Management System Enhancement’ and second being ‘Spread of 2S’, corresponding to two of five elements in the 5S philosophy aimed at optimising workspace and workflows to boost teamwork and safety, reduce hazards, prevent waste and raise productivity.

Wallem’s shore team provided toolkits and collaborated closely with Masters serving aboard NYK vessels to assist them put the 2S philosophy into practice. As a result of this teamwork, all ships achieved ‘outstanding’ results – a fact acknowledged by NYK’s Safety Team and reflected in significant improvements in the vessels’ safety KPIs over the period.

Mission to Seafarers raises alarm over long-term pandemic impact

Seafarers continue to face a bleak future in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to findings presented in the latest Seafarers Happiness Index, compiled by The Mission to Seafarers.

The survey, undertaken with the support of Wallem Group and the Shipowners’ Club, reports on the experiences of seafarers between July and September 2020. This period saw some welcome action to address the dire situation facing the world’s seafarers in the midst of COVID-19, including the ongoing crew change crisis, but still fell short of the comprehensive response that is needed from the international shipping community in the face of the second wave of the pandemic.

Reacting to the findings, Wallem CEO Frank Coles said: “The index is a measure of the incompetent leadership of world governments to recognise and support seafarers. We need to start listening to our seafarers and urging governments to confirm their status as keyworkers and open their borders to them as a matter of urgency.”

The Seafarers Happiness Index serves as a barometer of seafarer wellbeing based on analysis and interpretation of the responses given to an online survey conducted every three months.

To read the latest Seafarers Happiness Index report, visit happyatsea.org