The impact of proposed changes to the Jones Act and the use of foreign flagged vessels in the US offshore sector is already being felt by seafarers according to international shipping recruitment agency Faststream, with companies rushing to replace their…

Read at PROPOSED CHANGES TO JONES ACT ALREADY IMPACTING SEAFARERS

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• To stop imprisoning our sailors

    The Round Table of shipping associations has called on governments to stop imprisoning seafarers without charge claiming that that the spread of criminalisation and unfair treatment will only jeopardise the global recruitment and retention of seafarers.

• To provide EU-led welfare facilities for seafarers and their families in India

    Indian seafarers and their families stand to benefit from two new welfare schemes in 2010, thanks to an initiative by an ITF-affiliated seafarers’ union. The two schemes, initiated by the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI), will provide much needed financial help and assistance to seafarers and their families

• Finnish Association and unions agree on mixed teams

    The Shipowners’ association and the different seafarers’ employee unions in Finland have agreed on the terms of employing seafarers from non-EU countries on Finnish-flagged vessels. The aim is to secure the supply of competent seafarers on Finnish and Åland cargo vessels. The share of foreign employees in a shipping company

• Latvian seafarers at sea again as recession bites

    Latvia has suffered more than most from the economic ravages of the current global recession but its difficulties has lit a light of hope for crew managers as larger numbers of its ex-seafarers are now returning to sea in search… Read at Latvian seafarers returning to sea as recession bites

• Nigeria offers U.S. $ 200 million purchase loans to ship owners

    Nigerian ship owners can now access the US$200 million ship procurement loan to be facilitated by the Standard Chartered Bank of London, the director-general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Temi Omatseye, told journalists on Thursday in Lagos. According to Omatseye, the loan was being guaranteed by

• Norwegian shipping company to hire more seafarers

    NORWEGIAN shipping firm Torvald Klaveness Group (TKG) said it will continue to hire hundreds more Filipino seafarers in the coming years as the company expands its fleet on expectations that the world economy to recover. Chairman Tom Erik Klaveness said on Wednesday the company will prioritize the employment of Filipino seafarers

• Nigeria loses N150b for foreign seafarers

    Nigeria is losing over N150 billion annually to foreign seafarers due to dearth of manpower in the shipping sector. The hint was dropped at a two- day seminar on the role of seafaring in a nation’s economy at the Administrative Staff College, Topo, Badagry in Lagos. Sources said no fewer

• Update BIMCO and ISF manpower study in 2010

    It has been 20 years since BIMCO and ISF first decided to conduct the original 1990 BIMCO/ISF Manpower study and both parties have recently decided to launch a 2010 update.

• Improvements for seafarers

    Ongoing international negotiations between maritime employers and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) have resulted in improvements in seafarers’ working conditions despite the current economic downturn. Sixty delegates from 17 countries representing international maritime employers and the ITF, known as… Read at Improvements for seafarers

• Agency: Russia 2009 oil reserves up from 620 million tonnes

    Russia’s known oil reserves increased by 620 million metric tons and its natural gas reserves by 580 billion cubic meters in 2009, the Mineral Resources Agency said in a report obtained by Prime-Tass. The annual volumes of hydrocarbon reserves discovered have been exceeding output since 2005, the agency said. In

• Enhanced Yoga ship

    Shipowners should consider encouraging their seafarers to perform yoga onboard ship as a remedy to possible diseases and ailments and as a way of introducing exercise onboard, the Chairman of the Shipping Corporation of India has suggested. Speaking at the 10th International Symposium of Maritime Health in Goa, Sabyasachi Hajara said

• Port Company to pay, Storm Water violations

     (marinelink)  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today proposed a fine of $47,100 against APM Terminals Pacific Limited for violations of its storm water permit at its Port of Los Angeles facility. READ MORE

• Indian trade unions lobby shipping minister about the criminalization of seafarers

     Seafarers’ unions have called on the Indian government to support their campaign against the criminalisation of seafarers and help secure the release of the practice’s latest victims. The Indian Seafarers’ Federation – representing the ITF-affiliated unions, National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) and the Maritime Union of India (MUI) – met

• Brazil Vale Looking at listing in China, Australia – Estado

    Brazilian mining giant Vale SA (VALE) is looking at the possibility of listing its stock on Chinese or Australian stock markets, the Estado news agency reported Tuesday. Citing local mining analyst Gilberto Cardoso of Rio de Janeiro’s Banif Investimentos, Estado said the information came from Vale’s investor relations area. Contacted by Dow Jones,

• Brazil Expects Anglo mine licenses until 2010 – Estado

    Anglo American PLC (AAUKY) doesn’t expect any delays in the environmental license for its proposed Minas-Rio iron-ore project in Brazil, the Estado news agency reported Wednesday. Stephan Weber, president of Anglo’s Brazil operations, Anglo Ferrous Brazil, said he expected to have all the licenses by next year. The project is slated to start