Maritime News and Discussions

[TheAvenger]

Originally Posted by FrancisXavier

Celebes sea man tingali na...ahehehehe...

bay dili man ako makasabot ng cebuano, though my grandfather from carmen cebu and my father from Ormoc, manila born naman ako and grow up in bulacan.

hope we can always use English as our medium here.

[FrancisXavier]

Hala...pasensya...nasa isip ko local thread to ng davao kc davao yung pinag uusapan.. wahahaha..my bad.. what i was saying was.

"parang celebes sea yan..hindi pacific ocean"...

[dinabaw]

Originally Posted by SamwiseGamgee
Right, Davao has a good harbor, except for the approach, which is too long. It takes a long time to reach the open sea.

"In 1900, the General Board of the U.S Navy made a thorough study of the naval base building program and decided that in the Philippines, they believed that the American fleet could be easily bottled up in either Manila or Subic Bays. They instead recommended Guimaras Island specifically Sto. Rosario Cove in Buenavista, which is a part of the Iloilo Harbor (emphasis mine), south of Manila, as the most suitable site for the main American naval base in the Philippines. Admiral of the Navy George Dewey and Admiral George C. Remey, Commander of the Asiatic Fleet, disagreed. They thought Subic Bay held the greatest potential." - Wiki

IMHO, Manila Bay is too wide open to be a good harbor. That's why they have to build breakwaters.

In 1900's Davao City was just a frontier city thats why the American Navy never studied it . But in World War II the Japanese Navy found Davao to be a vital Navy Installation because its near access to Borneo(Oil) and Pacific War Theatre.
Putting a Naval Base in Davao they can easily maneuover than putting in our congested sealanes inside our archipelago w/ its interisland vessels, small boats and other shipping lines crisscrossing on it . New Navy vessels are bigger and need more "breathing area". And its strategic location being near to Indonesia , Malaysia ,Australia and Pacific Islands and its typhoon free.
Putting a Naval Base doesnt neccesarily right smack into the city putting the installation after Samal Island is well be best suited.

Why so negative on putting our own Naval Base? I think its time to own one and we are lagging behind w/ our ASEAN neigbors ,our economy is picking up and i hope we can put our Naval base not just for prestige but against terrorism and pirating.

emesber: in your opinion where do you put the Naval Base based on your Davao map?

[TheAvenger]

Originally Posted by dinabaw

In 1900's Davao City was just a frontier city thats why the American Navy never studied it . But in World War II the Japanese Navy found Davao to be a vital Navy Installation because its near access to Borneo(Oil) and Pacific War Theatre.
Putting a Naval Base in Davao they can easily maneuover than putting in our congested sealanes inside our archipelago w/ its interisland vessels, small boats and other shipping lines crisscrossing on it New Navy vessels are bigger and need more "breathing area". And its strategic location being near to Indonesia , Malaysia ,Australia and Pacific Islands and its typhoon free.

Why so negative on putting our own Naval Base? I think its time to own one and we are lagging behind w/ our ASEAN neigbors ,our economy is picking up and i hope we can put our Naval base not just for prestige but also against terrorsm and pirating.

Really Davao and the gulf as well has a very strategic location expecially if a superpower is thinking of geopolitical reasons, like War in the South China Sea, the threat if Islamic extremism from both Indonesia and Malaysia.

There is enough searoom for sea trial or small war games by naval vessel. The coastal area is good enough for building a port and a few meters or a mile from shore, the water depth is good for anchoring deep draft large naval vessels.

I remembered in the 80's they used Davao gulf for anchoring very large oil tankers while waiting for the poll markets to improve.

The Phil Navy naval station in Bongao Sulu and Zamboanga is not safe enough
nor good enough. Davao is a better alternatives for a real Phil Navy Naval Base.

[TheAvenger]

Join Tinig's Usapang Marino: a seafarers' forum on the Web

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Crewing Managers Pulling All Stops to Derail MLC

By Rey Gambe
In what appears to be the last line of defense against the charging ‘Management Level Course (MLC) Express,’ the newly established Crewing Managers Association of the Philippines (CMAP) is still not giving up the fight just yet and it seems that it is not about ready to throw in the towel anytime soon.

Apparently, CMAP is still making one final push to derail the implementation of the controversial upgrading course for management level deck and engine officers through all available legal means necessary, if only to drive home its position that ‘MLC should not be made a requirement for officers in securing their Certificates of Competencies (COCs).’

“We do not resist the introduction of MLC per se. As crewing managers, we know and appreciate the importance of upgrading courses and training for Filipino seafarers. What we are against is the imposition that the MLC should be a mandatory requirement before officers can secure their COCs,” says CMAP President Capt. Reynaldo Valeros Jr.

CMAP also believes that the MLC would only confound the officer shortage woes that the global merchant fleet is now experiencing.

Amid the stiff opposition from CMAP, who appears to have taken over the cudgels for the sporadic resistance that Filipino seafarers and the local maritime industry are offering to the implementation of the MLC, the Maritime Training Council (MTC) is hell bent on implementing the upgrading course for Filipino marine officers within the year.

In a recent caucus with CMAP, Capt. Constantino Arcellana Jr., vice chairman of the Board of Marine Deck Officers of the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC), explained that the MLC was developed basically for the purpose of acquiring COCs for management-level positions onboard since PRC license is not recognized internationally.

“There is a big gap between OIC and management level positions so there is a need for specialized training to bridge such gap,” cites Capt. Arcellana.

Capt. Leuel Oseña, Vice President of CMAP, contended that the STCW 95 merely standardized the name of national licenses for the purpose of efficient screening and control in all ports around the globe. “Those licenses are now COCs. COC is just a generic term and it is equivalent to the PRC license. The only distinction is that the COC is the international name. Therefore, those who pass the PRC board exam are automatically entitled to get a COC as a counterpart of their license,” explains Capt. Oseña.

Capt. Arcellana remains firm however with his position that the MLC is necessary for the country to be able to continue to produce the quality officers that foreign ship owners want. He even disclosed that several flag states are enthusiastically waiting for the full implementation of the MLC.

“MLC is necessary because in the global trade and transportation business, training should be continuous. If continuous upgrading and training would mean bigger chance for the continued employment of Filipino seafarers in the global merchant fleet, then MLC is necessary,” Capt. Arcellana pointed out.

He also revealed that the PRC Board of Marine Deck Officers would start requiring MLC for the issuance of COCs by February 2007, emphasizing the urgency of implementing the course as soon as possible.

The MLC became a major industry divider especially when officials of MTC previously claimed that the implementation of the MLC is part of the commitment of the Philippines to the IMO for its eventual inclusion in the ‘white list.’ Industry pundits however, quickly put off the notion citing that the country would not have made it to the white list if that was the case because inclusion requires full compliance to STCW in the first place.

Local manning agents also contend that the MLC has been taken up by Filipino seafarers during the theoretical phase of their three-year schooling and that seafarers’ knowledge on the subject can best be refreshed serving onboard international merchant vessels rather than in training centers ashore.

CMAP Vice President Capt. Nestor Vargas, Fleet Manager of Michaelmar Phils., Inc., shares the same sentiment citing that the government is indirectly contributing to the shortage of qualified and competent marine officers because of the numerous training requirements and assessments being imposed on them.

Capt. Arcellana counters this belief by saying that the government should not be blamed for the delay in the deployment of Filipino officers and ratings because it is up to the manning agents to develop their proper planning mechanisms.

United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) President Engr. Nelson P. Ramirez, says that MLC may be acceptable to some extent to Filipino seafarers. “But what we want to know is who will teach, who will be taught, and what will be taught? For all we know, those officers who will eventually be taking the MLC course are far better in knowledge and experience with their trainors. So what would they get from the training but purely a waste of their time.”

Capt. Oseña stressed that the government should not interpret the shortfall vis-à-vis the demand for Filipino marine officers by foreign shipowners as a marked deterioration on the quality or expertise of Filipino seafarers to man ocean-going vessels.

“Filipino officers are sought not because they are getting more stupid. Ship owners wanted more of Filipino marine officers because they know that Filipinos are capable. The problem is, most of our officers got stuck-up ashore,” he bewailed.

“Imagine delaying 1,000 Filipino officers by at least five months, how devastating could that be to the world shipping? The government should realize that it is at the core of this problem and that it should be open to all solutions. MLC has its usefulness but if utilized in the wrong time, with the wrong persons, in the wrong way, then its overkill,” stressed Capt. Oseña.

----------------------------------------------------------------
My comments on the controversy in the Philippine Maritime circles is that
the Manning Agencies were all against with new upgrading courses for Pinoy Merchant Marine offices because of their self serving interest. But Pinoy
maritime offices must do all the required upgrading courses so that we can be
at the same level with leading maritime nation's seafarers.

Of course the owners of Maritime Schools that offers upgrading courses to Pinoy seaman ay naglalaway for the vast income they will amass once the
MLC is approved by govt bureaucrats who were also owners or shareholders of those maritime schools and training center. They should start counting their income in dollars not pesos. By the way, it seems the local seaman onboard Philippine ships plying our domestic waters were not affected. Actually the local seaman needs more the upgrading courses than the seaman who sailed on international ships, otherwise maritime disasters like
the recent MT Solar oil spillage will always happens.

[SamwiseGamgee]

@emesber

As a naval base for outside powers, I think the US is already eyeing Dadiangas for this purpose. I have heard that they even have constructed roads disguised as for something else. I'm not sure about this, but it's worth looking at.

As a naval base for the PN, IMHO the present site in Zamboanga is best for the PN's strategy, which is to defend our territory. Ships from Zamboanga can easily cover more territory in less time, than ships from Davao, which take 3 to 4 hours just to get out of Davao Gulf. Moreover, Zamboanga is more strategically located, being nearer to Malaysia and the vital sea lanes.

[TheAvenger]

Originally Posted by dinabaw

In 1900's Davao City was just a frontier city thats why the American Navy never studied it . But in World War II the Japanese Navy found Davao to be a vital Navy Installation because its near access to Borneo(Oil) and Pacific War Theatre.
Putting a Naval Base in Davao they can easily maneuover than putting in our congested sealanes inside our archipelago w/ its interisland vessels, small boats and other shipping lines crisscrossing on it . New Navy vessels are bigger and need more "breathing area". And its strategic location being near to Indonesia , Malaysia ,Australia and Pacific Islands and its typhoon free.
Putting a Naval Base doesnt neccesarily right smack into the city putting the installation after Samal Island is well be best suited.

Why so negative on putting our own Naval Base? I think its time to own one and we are lagging behind w/ our ASEAN neigbors ,our economy is picking up and i hope we can put our Naval base not just for prestige but against terrorism and pirating.

emesber: in your opinion where do you put the Naval Base based on your Davao map?

My first choice depending on the depth is the area on the mainland on the east and west of sasa island. there is also a nice small enclosed bay on the
western part of the Davao Gulf, on the map the location is near Malang.

[TheAvenger]

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Show All » Careers » Headline News/Information 2006»
Shortages Equal Accidents - 13 September 2006


The much talked of global shortage of skilled officers could see an increase in claims resulting from human error and higher premiums in the long term, according to top insurance broker, Aon.

Last year’s BIMCO/International Shipping Federation survey, predicted a shortage of 27,000 officers — some 6% of the required total — by 2015.

“The problem could escalate to the point where shipping companies will have to face real operational difficulties,” Aon maintains.

Over half of officers are already over 40, while new recruits may be deterred by the perception that the work is dangerous and by the trend towards criminalisation.

In addition, outsourcing to Asia and eastern Europe will create language and cultural barriers.

The company is calling on shipowners to counter the projected skills shortfall with better recruitment and retention plans and by ensuring that officers are fully equipped to handle technological advances.

Aon Global Marine chairman Steve Allum said crew employment, training and retention policies may become part of the criteria underwriters use to set premiums.

“Unless shipowners, managers and charterers take further action, the outlook for the maritime industry is not good,” he remarked.

“With diluted experience and training among crews, the possibility of human error is significantly higher and will inevitably lead to increased incidents.”

Aon’s stance is consonant with that expressed by leading employers at a briefing hosting by IMEC in London last week. IMEC vice-chairman Ian Sherwood professed himself “seriously concerned” about both the quantity and quality of officers available.

Unions are also in accord, with a spokesman for UK officers’ union Numast arguing that the officer shortage is starting to bite.

“The industry seems all the time to put the emphasis on cost cutting, without making an assessment of the cost consequences,” he said.

“If you’ve got quality people on board the ship, the ship operates more efficiently.

“None of this is rocket science.”...



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OTHER Careers Headline News/Information 2006 NEWS

Careers Headline News/Information 2006
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» October 2, 2006 - Get Your Own » Poaching of trained LNG carrier crews could have "catastrophic" consequences for the shipping industry, according to the chairman of the ... [view]
» September 26, 2006 - Urged To Climb The Career Ladder » The Philippines' Department of Labor and Employment has expressed disappointment over the lack of officers in sea-based jobs. ... [view]
» September 26, 2006 - Image Is Vital » Shipping's poor image means it will not attract its share of the best and brightest young people to ensure quality in the future, senior industry ... [view]
» September 22, 2006 - Philippines Cannot Match Demand » According to the Philippines' Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz, "the world is looking to the Philippines to meet the shipping industry’s ... [view]
» August 23, 2006 - Is shipping a man’s world? » The truth is that shipping was indeed once a man’s world, but as an industry it is no different from many others in this respect, and along ... [view]

[TheAvenger]

Possible future Philippine Naval ships to be built in our shipyards:

MULTI-MISSION NAVAL SHIP

[IMG][/IMG]

Ingalls Shipbuilders of Pascagoula, Miss. signed a co-production agreement with a Filipino company as part of its proposal offering the PN a variant of the Sa'ar V class multi-mission ship that it built for Israel.

Sa'ar V class
Displacement: 1,075 tons
Speed: 33 knots

Armament:
8 Harpoon and 8 Gabriel II anti-ship missiles
Phalanx close-in weapons system
2 Barak vertical-launch surface-to-air missile groups with 64 missiles
6 anti-submarine torpedo tubes

Has stealth features, a platform and hangar for one helicopter (Dauphin in Israeli Service). Israeli ships cost $260 million each. Top-weight problems have caused the Gabriel missiles not to be installed.


MISSILE BOAT

[IMG][/IMG]

An interesting concept the Philippine Navy might want to consider when designing new vessels or requesting proposals. Denmark's Flyvefisken Class is based on a modular concept - using a standard hull with containerised weapon systems and equipment, which allows the vessel to change role quickly for surveillance, surface combat, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), mine countermeasures/minehunter, minelayer or pollution control. Configuration change can take as little as a few hours. Standard equipment for all roles includes the command system, radars and hull-mounted sonars.

There are four container positions on each vessel. The stainless steel containers, supplied by Monberg and Thorsen, measure 3 x 3.5 x 2.5 m. All dedicated electronics or machinery is installed inside the container and connected to standard interface panels. Just mix and match based on what you need at the moment. The gun reportedly can be changed in an hour, with half a day to align it with it's fire control systems.

Weapon options include Harpoon surface-to-surface missiles, SeaSparrow surface-to-air missiles, a 76mm Oto-Breda dual purpose gun, anti-submarine torpedoes, depth charges and mines.

The hull is fibreglass with kevlar armor for crew protection.

Check it out at http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/fly/index.html.

FRIGATES

[IMG][/IMG]

Offered to the Philippines for lease by the US government.

Originally conceived as low-cost convoy escorts. Armed with 36 Standard SM-1 anti-aircraft missiles and 4 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, all fired from one single-rail Mk-13 Mod-4 launcher. The low-cost description is relative to other ships in the US Navy. Actual costs of operation are about US$16 million a year per ship.

Displacement: 3,658 to 4,100 tons fully loaded
Length: 443 ft.
Speed: 29 knots

[IMG][/IMG]


Offered for lease by France.

Displacement: 1,100 tons
Length: 262.5 ft.
Speed: 23.3 knots
Range: 4,500 miles at 15 knots
Endurance: 15-20 days

Armament:
4x MM-40 or 2x MM-38 Exocet anti-ship missiles
1 100mm Model 1968 gun
1 Simbad surface-to-air missile system (2 Mistral missiles)
2 20mm Oerlikon cannons
4 torpedo tubes for L3 or L5 ASW torpedoes

Noted for being very economical and seaworthy. Designed primarily for coastal anti-submarine and patrol missions. 17 entered service with the French Navy, 2 more were built for South Africa but were embargoed and sold to Argentina, which ordered 1 more. All were built between 1972 and 1983 and France has been slowly retiring them. There was a plan to outfit two of the class with helicopter facilities but this was not implemented. To date France has 10 remaining in service. Six of those retired were sold to Turkey, reportedly for US$60 million, plus an additional US150 million for refit and modernization.

According to Jane's Fighting Ships 2000-2001 ships of this class were offered for lease to the Philippine Navy but they have not been taken up.

The Model 1968 100mm gun has a maximum effective range of 15km against surface targets, 8km against aircraft. Rate of fire is 78 rounds per minute. The entire mount weighs 22 tons.

The MM38 Exocet carries a 165kg warhead at Mach 1 over a range of 42km. The MM40 Exocet has a range of 65km, uses a lighter launcher, incorporates improved seeker and electronics counter-countermeasures technology and better sea-skimming ability.

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Cebu now launching high-tech naval vessels!

INSIDE CEBU By Bobit S. Avila
The Philippine Star 03/06/2006

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Last Saturday noon, we rode to the town of Balamban, Cebu via the Transcentral Highway for the formal launching of the brand-new Boat No. 1021, a Sea Slice vessel named Lider, the most highly sophisticated high-tech vessel ever built in Asia by the FBMA Marine Inc. (an Aboitiz company) since it has been building fastcraft like the SuperCat ferry serving Cebu City and Ormoc City or the 50-knot TriCat ferry that plies Hong Kong and Macau.

Because it was being launched from the FBMA shipyard, therefore, we saw this vessel when it was still on its cradle before it slid into the water. One can immediately see the technology that Lockheed Martin (America’s biggest defense contractor, which built the World War II P-38 Lighting twin-engine fighter and the venerable C-130 Hercules that the Philippine Air Force still uses) designed into this vessel.

Underneath the Sea Slice’s twin hull are four "Torpedo-like hulls," which look more like mini-submarines, attached to its belly. It has been a known fact that submarines are impervious to big waves because waves affect only the surface of the ocean. Therefore, Lockheed Martin designed a vessel whose underwater structure resembles that of a submarine; hence, the Sea Slice can travel in comfort even in 10 feet swells!

To complete its high technology, the propellers are in the front part of the vessel (call it the front-wheel drive for ships) and it doesn’t have a traditional rudder to steer the vessel. What it has are small wings or vanes that not only steer the vessel, but also keep it steady in the roughest of weather. This is perhaps why this vessel doesn’t turn like a traditional ship, but more like an airplane making a turn. Originally, the Sea Slice was designed as fastcraft for the US Navy and Coast Guard.

Lockheed Martin designed Boat No. 1021 for commercial application for Hoteleria y Servicios Petroleros that operates a ferry service for the giant Pemex Corp., Mexico’s state oil company, and it’s the first commercial craft of its kind and it was built in Cebu! The Lider will serve as a "crewboat" to ferry workers from shore to the oilrigs in the rough seas of the Gulf of Mexico. It will replace helicopter ferries, which are more expensive and cannot fly in bad weather. It’s not a large vessel, only 28.5 meters long with a service speed of 22 knots.

Every time we in the media get invited to the launching of vessels in Balamban, we always get emotional because, as Mayor Alex Binghay of Balamban said in his speech,"These high-tech, world-class vessels are made in Balamban, Cebu… which means Filipinos do not really have to leave their country to find better jobs." We should inform our politicians about this!

On hand to grace the launching of Lider were Roberto Aboitiz and Ernesto Aboitiz of FBMA Marine and its CEO, Doug Border. Angel Morales represented the Lockheed Martin Company, while Jesus Cruz represented the Hoteleria y Servicios Petroleros. No launching could start without a blessing from God, which was done by Balamban parish priest Fr. Manuel Tan… complete with Sinulog offerings.

Ernie Aboitiz reminded me that this project rekindles the Galleon Trade that we once had with Mexico, which virtually put a stop to the Great Silk Road of Marco Polo’s days… because a ship could go from point to point smoothly, unlike on land routes, where often traders got robbed or killed en route.

Indeed, it was a rare sight, seeing the flags of the United States, Mexico and the Philippines on the mast of the Lider — three nations working with each other to help develop each other’s economies. Someday, I hope to see the day when the Philippine Navy would purchase a number of twin-hull vessels for the future of the Philippine Navy and Coast Guard, because we Filipinos can build our very own vessels on our own, right in our own backyard!

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200603069906.htm

Here are some pics of 2 completed 25m vessel for the British Ministry of Defense

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[IMG][/IMG]

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25m Air Crew Patrol Vessel

Operator - British M.O.D

Owner:SMIT International

Hull Material:Aluminum

Speed 21 knots

[TheAvenger]

WELCOME TO FORT SAN FELIPE(Sangley Point Naval Station)

TOP VIEW

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Central portion of the base

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BN Islanders park

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Northern Portion

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JCPV on docked

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PN LST on docked also

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Mixed Variety of vessels

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Helicopter

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OV-10 Broncos park

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[TheAvenger]

Photos of the charming peoples who manned the Airwing of the Navy.

[IMG][/IMG]

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[IMG][/IMG]

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[sandrn]

Drainage system, pavement to be built in North Harbor
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/ship02.php

THE Philippine government will still pay for some structural upgrades of the Manila North Harbor even if the facility is expected to be privately managed by next year.

Bid documents indicate that the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is expected to release P23.65 million this year for the construction of a drainage system and a roadway pavement on the harbor’s former railroad system.

Bids for the project, which will take half a year, will be opened at the end of the month.

The PPA is also spending P1.62 million for second phase of the terminal’s improvement survey plan. Seen to be completed in three months, the project involves a detailed topographic survey of the facility such as field inspection, survey of areas within harbor boundaries, preparation of a general topographic map, and the conversion of the Philippine coordinate system to the world geographic reference system, a grid-based system of specifying locations on the earth’s surface, according to Wikipedia.

Earlier, PPA general manager Oscar M. Sevilla said the privatization of the terminal, the country’s busiest but most inefficient, may happen by next year.

He said part of the delay can be blamed on the National Economic Development Authority’s Investment Coordination Committee (NEDA-ICC), which is still reviewing the terms of reference. The NEDA-ICC reviews and recommends for Malacañang’s approval all government ticket projects that falls under the build-operate-transfer scheme.

For its part, officials of the NEDA-ICC maintained the PPA still had to submit some of the required documents, such as the approval from the Department of Finance’s Corporate Affairs Group and the project’s feasibility study.

The government needs to privatize the North Harbor as PPA does not have the necessary funds to modernize the old facility and make it more competitive with the other private ports. VG Cabuag

[Sinjin P.]

^ How about the maritime industry thread?

[ProblemSolver]

Originally Posted by faux_ph

softwares used are custom-made programs specially made for ships and floating platforms such as Strucad commonly used in the oil and gas industry. There are also general structural softwares with add-ons for offshore structures such as SAP2000.

I'd been looking for a collaboration pertaining to Submersible Vessel Design to model, simulate, and analyze propulsion systems. As far as Structural Cad, I think I can integrate output file for System Integrated Analysis. Will you be interested?

[WawaY[625]]

uhmm wouldnt having a Naval base attract attacks from the evil people?

[TheAvenger]

Originally Posted by WawaY[625]

uhmm wouldnt having a Naval base attract attacks from the evil people?

evil people usually attack soft target like buses, passenger ships, etc.
naval base were hard target...

[TheAvenger]

Photos about foreign-owned ship manned by Philippine Crew -
All Filipinos from Captain (Master) down to lowest rank.


MV Handy River

A Philippine registered Bulk cargo vessel of 22,000 GRT, owned and managed by
Malaysia International Shipping Corp. MISC is owned by Petronas the state oil
corporation of Malaysia. Petronas is owned by Malaysian govt. However in 2002
owing perhaps to political reasons all MISC ships were reverted to Malaysian
Registry. However we still remain onboard the ship since Malaysia lacks officers
and crew on their own Malaysian registered vessels.


A voyage with my wife onboard the MV Handy River.
From Brisbane Australia where she boarded the vessel, to Inchon South Korea,
to Portland Oregon, to Vancouver BC, to Iligan City-Philippines, till Johore Bahru
Malaysia where she disembarked from the vessel after the drydocking.


[IMG][/IMG]
Vessel fully loaded with cargo, now on deep draft.


[IMG][/IMG]
Wife at the helm (steering wheel) of the ship.


[IMG][/IMG]
She is looking at the ship's Radar.


[IMG][/IMG]
Wife taking a compass bearing of a target .


[IMG][/IMG]
At the promenade deck looking at the poop deck.



Ship leaving a port.


[IMG][/IMG]
Boat / Abandon ship drill.


[IMG][/IMG]
Fire & Emergency Drill's demonstration of safety appliances by the Chief Mate and Chief Engineer. They both hails from Cebu.



Light moment onboard during Saturday's Barbecue Party.





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Vessel in port at Inchon, South Korea


[IMG][/IMG]
Vessel in port at Inchon, South Korea - my korean-looking wife


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[IMG][/IMG]
Vessel in port - somewhere in Oregon river - USA


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Vessel transiting Oregon River after loading wheat in bulk cargo from Portland, next port is Vancouver BC.


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Vessel in port at Vancouver BC, Canada


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Canada Place at Vancouver BC


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Vancouver Bc


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Vancouver BC


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Vancouver BC


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Vessel in port - Vancouver BC


After leaving Vancouver we proceeded to Iligan City in the
Philippines to discharge the wheat in bulk cargo. After a week
in Iligan we proceeded to Johore Bahru, Malaysia for vessel's
drydocking.


[IMG][/IMG]
Vessel at a Malaysian Drydock and Shipyard
On arriving at the Shipyard, our vessel was fitted to a submerged
craddle with wheels, then hydraulic jacks lifted our vessel
(weight of light ship 10,000 tons) to make the craddle in line with
the wharf's railroad track. Then our ship was towed by a motor
tractor to the shipyard ground.


[IMG][/IMG]


[IMG][/IMG]


[IMG][/IMG]


[IMG][/IMG]


[IMG][/IMG]
Vessel completed the major repair, anchors were still on the ground and
preparing to haul up.


[IMG][/IMG]
Vessel completed drydocking and now docked, waiting for sea speed trial.


[IMG][/IMG]
The Admiral of the ship


My wife disembarked from the vessel before the sea trial and I sent her off
at Johore Bahru Airport for her return trip to Manila.

[3cr]

Dang another big Gov't fiasco...Ano ba to!

SPECIAL REPORT: Poro Point

Investors disturbed, officials scared by Poro Point conflict
Manila Times / Sunday Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/...61015top1.html

TWO months after police commandos swooped down on the Poro Point container port premises to disperse workers protesting a government takeover, Filipino and foreign investors continue to question the government policy and express doubts about the administration investment-welcome program.

In particular, the business sector, led by Bulk Handlers Inc., is questioning the intrusion of the Bases Conversion Development Authority into the Poro Point operations and its meddling with a seven-year-old contract to run the port.

The cast includes not only the BCDA and its subsidiary, the Poro Poro Point Industrial Corp., but the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Philippine Ports Authority, the Philippine National Police and local governments.

All have their say about the controversy at the historic port, whose history began with the US military administration, and it prospered with the termination of the Philippine-United States Military Base Agreement.

Shortly after the Philippine government abrogated its bases treaty with the United States in 1991, it embarked on an ambitious program to redevelop the former military facilities into commercial, industrial and tourism hubs.

The development efforts were on track (witness the former Clark Air Base and the former Subic Bay Naval Base) and had been attracting foreign investments until a contract dispute involving Poro Point—where the former Wallace Air Station of the US military used to be based—erupted two months ago.

This dispute has served to dampen investor confidence in the country.

The Manila Times columnist Dan Mariano interviewed one of the principals in the controversy last month—Narciso Abaya, president of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA). Mariano said that Abaya was “caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place.”

Why so? Mariano wrote that Gov. Luis Singson of Ilocos Sur—“along with his kinsmen and allies on the boards of the BCDA and the Poro Point Management Corp. (PPMC)”—has been pressing for the nullification of a contract with Bulk Handlers Inc.

The BHI is the private operator of the Poro Point port and bulk terminal on the strength of a 25-year contract. In 1999 the PPMC and the BHI formed a joint venture, Poro Point Industrial Corp. (PPIC), to manage the port and build an industrial park in the former US naval base.

So far, so good. But Singson, as Ilocos regional development officer, has described the PPMC-BHI contract as “a sweetheart deal grossly disadvantageous to the government.”


‘Live contract’

The BHI insisted it has a “live” contract with the PPMC. Even BCDA’s lawyers, notably general counsel Arnel Casanova, could find no legitimate cause to discard the deal—despite “pressure from an influential person.” In an interview with Mariano, Abaya said moves to cancel the BHI-PPMC contract began “long before I became BCDA president” in 2004. Those moves were foiled time and again by the BCDA legal department, which maintained the contract to be “valid with some defects, but not fatal.”

Last January the PPMC board of directors—chaired by Filadelfo Singson Rojas, who also chairs the BCDA board—passed a resolution declaring its joint venture with BHI void from the beginning. When the PPMC, as a BCDA subsidiary, brought its resolution to its “mother” board, Abaya advised PPMC president Felix Singson Racadio to first get the opinion of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel. The OGCC affirmed the validity of the contract.

Abaya said he told Racadio that the BCDA could not endorse PPMC’s bid to revoke the port management deal, unless the government corporate counsel reverses itself on the matter. But although Abaya claims to recognize the validity of the contract, the BHI suspects the subsequent charges that it has violated environmental laws were designed to achieve the same objective—kick it out of Poro Point.

Sometime last April Mayor Mary Jane Ortega of San Fernando, La Union, ordered city officials to monitor compliance with environmental laws in the entire city, including Poro Point. What the city monitors found at the port, Abaya said, were violations that included discharging wastewater into the sea, petroleum spillage and the storage of coal near the water line. Ortega not only accused the Poro Point Industrial Corp of violating environmental laws, Abaya said, but also asked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to look into the Poro Point port operations.

According to Abaya, the DENR inspectors found that the PPIC had yet to secure a environmental compliance certificate (ECC) since it began operating.

On August 4 the DENR regional office issued a cease-and-desist order (CDO), directing the PPIC to halt operations until it secures an ECC and complies with environmental laws. The dispute came to a head. Abaya said he asked the Philippine Ports Authority to take over Poro Point and ensure the continued operation of the port despite the CDO slapped on PPIC.

Some 70 vessels berth at Poro Point every month, he said, loading and unloading cargo vital to the Ilocos region’s economy. Also, Poro Point employs about 2,000 stevedores who would lose their livelihood if the port stops operating. On August 5, Abaya said, PPIC personnel barricaded the port gates. BCDA officials notified the PPA, whose operatives disarmed PPIC guards, “in order to avoid the possibility of bloodshed.” The BCDA also sought the help of the Philippine National Police, which deployed men of the Regional Special Action Force to disperse PPIC workers who were protesting PPA’s takeover of Poro Point.

Why it had to take police commandos to conduct the dispersal was not made clear. But Abaya did say: “Some scuffling occurred on August 7 and 8. The windshield of a truck was destroyed, but nobody was seriously hurt.”

On August 21 San Fernando Regional Trial Court Judge Robert Cawed issued a temporary restraining order directing the PPA to lift its takeover of Poro Point. The 20-day TRO had little practical effect, however.


Order affirmed

At about the same time, the DENR reaffirmed its CDO stopping the PPIC from further operating at Poro Point until it secures an ECC and complies with environmental laws. On August 25 Judge Cawed issued another order, this time declaring a permanent injunction on the BCDA and the PPMC from taking over the port and allowing the BHI to resume operating. But, sources said, PPMC officials have refused to honor the bench’s directive. Result: port operations remained paralyzed. BHI officials, meanwhile, are reportedly planning to ask Cawed to cite the BCDA and the PPMC for contempt of court.

In the interview, Abaya said that he continues to recognize the PPMC-BHI contract as valid and that he will not allow himself to be coerced into thinking otherwise. “I cannot be influenced by any person in the discharge of my duties,” said the former AFP chief of staff and West Point graduate.

Despite the bad blood the dispute may have created, Abaya said he was still willing to sit down with the BHI and settle their differences. “All they really need to do is to comply with the environmental laws.”


Businessmen protest

The stalemate has led local businessmen and foreign investors to rethink their options.

An official of the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines who declined to be named asked: “Are we back to the days of the Marcos era when powerful politicians with links to the military and police and maybe even the underworld can push aside legitimate industrialists and businessmen?”

The head of the commercial and industrial office of a European embassy said: “We thought the NAIA 3 fiasco was a one-time debacle for Philippine government trade and industry relations. We thought they would learn to be more careful. But they seem not to learn their lesson at all.”

The Philippine country representative for a big Dutch-EU bank, a Filipino, said: “It’s the same thing that the Marcos cronies did to drive away foreign investors. This matter and many other instances make it very difficult for me to give my one hundred percent support for projects that our banks’ European clients are enthusiastic about. I can never be sure that even after contracts have been signed and carried out for some years, some big fish who has power over the government or who has relatives in government will suddenly have the contract rescinded or nullified.”

Asked if the Poro Point conflict disturbed him, Michael Wooton, chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce Philippines, said, “This is the Philippines. I think people are aware of this sort of risk in the Philippines and it is no surprise. If people are seriously considering investing in the Philippines they should do their research to know the risks. This could be another case of Piatco, which is not good for foreign investors.”

Does he have unsolicited advice to give the administration? He said, “Be consistent, open up a little bit but not to give away sovereignty. Be just a little bit more open to foreign business interest. But be consistent. Don’t change the rules in midstream.” He does not want government and government agencies to suddenly rescind contracts.

Similar words come from the European Chamber of Commerce and Industry, whose Henry Schumacher says conflicts like this could be “an indication that the government does not have the ability to honor its contracts. The government must stick to its policies and decisions and not change these in mid-stride. It’s very detrimental to foreign investor confidence in the country. The Philippines must honor its contracts, and not change the rules of the game so suddenly.”


Flip-flop

Robert Sears of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) said, “The Philippines must stop flip-flopping on policy issues.”

An American businessman who did not want to be named said, “It’s worse when it is the subsidiary of a government body that granted the contract that attacks the winning bidder. Bulk Handlers Inc. has been running Poro Point as a partner of the government for some years. Why are they suddenly finding fault with it?”

Businessmen and industrialists in the Ilocos region, including Baguio City and La Union itself where Poro Point is located, are flabbergasted because they don’t know what is going on and can’t make heads or tails of developments.

They see something similar to the sudden removal of the Sobrepeña group from the Camp John Hay project.

Quite expectedly, Left-leaning Party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna took a swipe at the Arroyo administration on the Poro Point issue: “The Poro Point mess is a classic example of how the government is being used to protect powerful vested interests to the point that authorities deliberately skirt or trample upon laws and government regulations. This is bureaucrat capitalism pure and simple—the blatant use of political power in order to advance one or another faction of big business and landlord interests. Both parties may be guilty of this, it’s just probably that one is more brazen than the other.”


Rosier view

Pro-administration Rep. Antonio Roman of Bataan’s First District, member of the House Committee on Bases and Conversion, takes a more pragmatic view: “In general, everyone, particularly investors, expects and appreciates stability of the contracts he enters into. In fact, by constitutional provisions no law shall be passed impairing the obligation of contracts. Again, in Civil Law the terms of a contract have the force and effect of law between the parties provided, of course, that the same is not contrary to law, public morals or policy, customs, etc.

“If the BCDA did what it reportedly did, it must have been based on something legal . . . Let the court decide.”

Lilia de Lima, director general of the Philippine Export Zone Authority, presents a somewhat rosier view.

“We are pushing for the declaration of the Poro Point Freeport as a PEZA-administered zone to enable locators to avail themselves of incentives.”

She adds, however, that the BCDA-PPIC squabble is a separate matter altogether.

“We are merely trying to give prospective investors access to incentives when they want to set up shop in Poro Point.”


Officials afraid to comment

Our reporters tried to get statements about this issue from various government officials whose offices are involved in dealing with investors. Most of them refused. They frankly said it scared them to be talking about the Poro Point conflict.

An undersecretary of finance was brave enough to be quoted. Said Gil Beltran: “Usually investors have already included prices to cover setbacks like that [government contracts not being honored]. Investors know that contracts in developing countries are not cast in stone as they are in the developed countries, and they have already considered these management risks.

In emerging economies you cannot expect a perfect setting. Despite the risks, foreign investors still go to developing countries because the potential for growth is big, whereas in developed economies the growth of businesses is only around 2 to 3 percent.

“Look at China. Foreign investors still go in despite the situation [of political problems and the bureaucracy] because economic growth is very fast. In the Philippines, foreign direct investors come and would continue to come—despite setbacks [like contract controversies]—if we maintain fiscal improvement and economic growth.”


Master plan

In 1994—two years after the departure of the last American warship from Subic Bay, the John Hay-Poro Point Development Corp. (JPDC) was established to oversee the combined development of Camp John Hay in Baguio City and Poro Point in San Fernando, La Union.

In 2003 management functions for both BCDA subsidiaries were separated to give attention and focus to the development of each property, thus the Poro Point Management Corp. was born.

The master plan was finalized to transform the 216-hectare Poro Point Special Economic Zone into an international container facility and cruise destination. Poro Point’s role in economic development in the Northern Luzon Growth Quadrangle is strengthened by its seaports and airports, making it ideal for commerce, distribution center and export-oriented activities.

In 1997 the Philippine Ports Authority turned over the 15.53-hectare seaport to the BCDA. It underwent renovation to augment its warehousing and transshipment capabilities.

In February 1998 the JPDC also took over the management of the San Fernando airport from the Air Transportation office. The airport will be upgraded to accommodate Boeing 737 and Airbus 300 aircraft.

The seaport is envisioned to be the hub of a multimodal transport system linked up with the airport, the Northern Luzon Railway and the existing trans-Luzon MacArthur Highway. In addition, it will become an important tourism cruise destination.

The courts have been on the side of the BHI and the PPIC. The latest statements from Abaya indicate that he would follow what the justices tell the BCDA to do.

Perhaps he was being swayed by the BHI’s reasoning that it could not do as much as it wanted to do for the development of the Poro Point Special Economic and Freeport Zone, because the BCDA has not given it, as specified in the contract, the complete 84-hectare area for it to develop.

Suddenly, on October 12, Governor Singson filed plunder charges against Abaya and 42 others, including his fellow BCDA officers and those of the Poro Pont Management Authority and the PPIC, as well as past officers of the BCDA, BHI—and the Government Corporate Counsel.

[Sinjin P.]

Rail system plan dropped

By VG Cabuag
Reporter

THE Philippines’ leading port operator has dropped plans to establish a railroad system which will transport cargo to and from its Manila flagship terminal, a move intended to solve congestion along roads near the facility.

Besides saying that the proposal may not be viable, Francis M. Andrews, general manager of the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), said that the company may end up charging the customers too much once the railway system is established.

“It all came down to economics. We can run a train and lose money but that’s not the name of the game. It has to make money,” he said.

While the railway system could decongest the MICT, which handles 1.2 million twenty-foot containers a year, it may also clear up traffic along roads near Manila’s port area, including portions of Roxas Boulevard and Taft Avenue.

According to Andrews, MICT’s initial plans involve container-carrying trains moving in and out of the terminal at least four times daily. However, for the proposal to succeed, not only is the company required to maintain train stations, it also has to ensure that informal settlers will not encroach on the tracks.

He added that shipping companies may not be able to shoulder the high freight costs involving the train service and if they can, the companies may end up subsidizing a system that was intended to make the terminal more efficient in the first place.

Container trucks are being blamed for Metro Manila’s traffic and its poor road conditions.
To decongest the Manila port area, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has built the
Batangas Port as an alternative facility, especially for shippers coming from south Luzon and the Visayas. The facility is being temporarily managed by Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI).
Besides running its own facility in Manila, publicly listed ATI is a competitor of the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), which operates the MICT.

In September, ATI’s temporary permit to run the port was extended by the government after the PPA blamed itself for failing to install equipment to boost traffic in the facility.

http://businessmirror.com.ph/ship01.php

[Sinjin P.]

Intl ship firms eye Mindanao

By VG Cabuag
Reporter

THANKS to increased production of farm produce in Mindanao, foreign shipping lines have contemplated calling at the ports of the Philippines’ second-largest island. However, international shipping operators were taken aback by the lack of necessary infrastructure in the region, considered to be one of the country’s poorest.

Since 2003, Mindanao has caught the interest of foreign shipping companies, especially with rising banana production, according to Cecille B. Bitare, American President Lines’ regional director for operations and logistics in the island. Bitare, whose company belongs to the Association of International Shipping Lines, added that other international carriers were also interested in docking at the Davao and General Santos ports.

However, these companies were discouraged after discovering that the two said ports were not deep enough to accommodate large vessels and that these did not have the proper equipment required by ocean-going vessels.

Bitare said that the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), the operator of the two facilities, should roll out the necessary equipment and develop the terminals. While the PPA included both facilities in its modernization plan, it may take until 2010 before any port upgrades are undertaken. Other terminals awaiting upgrades include the Manila North Harbor, South Harbor, Batangas, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Ozamis and Zamboanga.

“If we are going to have a big ship there, it has to be a self-sustaining vessel [with all the gears], otherwise we will have to spend extra and rent the equipment [to load and unload the cargo],” Bitare said. Starting 2003, PPA data indicated that cargo volumes and ship traffic steadily increased in Sasa Wharf in Davao. During the same year, the wharf handled 2.71 million metric tons (MT) of cargo. In 2004, cargo volumes rose to 2.95 million MT and then to 3.28 million MT in 2005.

Ship calls also climbed from 1,206 in 2003 to 1,321 in 2004 and 1,343 in 2005.
However, while the General Santos port initially reported a slight decline, shipment volumes and ship calls are starting to post a rebound.

In 2003, it handled 1.74 million MT of cargo while accommodating 1,113 ships. These numbers dropped in 2004 which saw shipments decline to 1.55 million MT and ship calls to 1,020. But last year, shipments at the port have bounced back to 1.6 million MT with 960 ship calls.


http://businessmirror.com.ph/ship02.php