Trauma from Red Sea Attacks Adds to Seafarer Shortage
his ship in the Red Sea, Costas Rassias vowed to stop sailing through the perilous waters."I froze," said the Greek 34-year-old second class marine engineer, describing the close call. "I weighed what was more important - my life, or a better income?"As attacks on merchant ships by the Iran-backed Houthis persist, traumatised seafarers are refusing to sail through the Red Sea, according to interviews with more than 15 crew members and shipping industry officials.That's another staffing headache for an industry already facing a shortage of seafarers worldwide, with ranks having shrunk
Panama's Arsenio Dominguez Elected as IMO Secretary General
to clean up its fleet to prevent substandard Panama-flagged ships from being detained in foreign ports, a week after the country was added to an international watch list."Panama's association with enabling sanctions evasions through the use of its flagged tankers for transporting sanctioned Iranian oil warrants a careful re-evaluation of our maritime choices," said Claire Jungman, chief of staff at U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, which tracks Iranian-related tanker traffic via satellite data.Guy Platten, secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping association
ITF Expands into Asia Pacific
their ports and solidarity support for dockers projects and campaigns, all under the coordination of an experienced ITF inspector.The total number of countries covered by this close coordination and the ITF Inspectorate combined is now 90, with Contacts Networks already established in the Arab World and Iran, Latin America and the Caribbean, and West Africa.The Arab World network now has contacts in 14 countries and has proven on numerous occasions to be effective in assisting seafarers despite difficult and challenging situations
Hardy Takes Over as Vitol CEO
allies, to be later repaid with crude cargoes. For many years, Taylor has also been one of the most active donors of the Conservative party. The company's ability and appetite for deals with elevated political risks has often brought challenges -- in 2012 Vitol admitted it was trading Iranian fuel oil despite international sanctions. It pledged to stop dealing with the material. After international sanctions on Iran were lifted, Vitol agreed a major oil-backed loan with Tehran. Trading over 7 million barrels of oil per day, Vitol remains a privately held company and
Unpaid Seafarers Stranded in Durban
added. “A doctor came on board to treat the two crewmembers that needed medical attention. One had a heart condition but his medication was out-of-date, while the other had burnt his arm and could not be treated as their first-aid kit was almost empty.” The 11 seafarers are from Syria, Iran, Bangladesh, India and Mozambique. Giraldo said all but the master and two engineers are due for repatriation as soon as their passports are renewed. Currently arrangements to sell the vessel are being made in order to pay the men, who are not allowed to leave the port. AoS said it will continue
Braemar Adjusting Promotes Foster
, Foster transferred from London to Dubai and has played a significant part in establishing Braemar’s Middle East operation, running offshore and onshore energy, power and utility loss adjustments, with associated business interruption, in UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, India and Kazakhstan on behalf of local insurers and international reinsurers
Japan Places Focus on Maritime Education
;I again congratulate the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as the host and organizer of this event,” he said. “This year has set a new standard for World Maritime Day Parallel Events, and I am very happy that organizers of future events such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, South Africa and of course Turkey are here to witness it. I was also very heartened to see so many cadets training for maritime careers attending these events in their uniforms. I hope that IMO Member States will also send their cadets to the celebration of World Maritime Day in London in September
Oil Above $55 on Weaker Dollar, Saudi Output
industrial economy in China and the rise of U.S. shale," Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a report. "A combination of a strong dollar, higher interest rates and subdued growth may keep commodity prices in check in 2015," it added. China's February crude oil imports from Iran fell 3.7 percent from a year ago to 2.04 million tonnes. China boosted overall imports late last year, taking advantage of cheap oil to build its reserves, but storage tanks could be reaching their limits, forcing a slowdown in orders. By Ron Bouss
DMCC Employs Zarghamian
Dan-Bunkering (Middle East) DMCC announced that Sahar Zarghamian joined the company on August 11 in the position of Bunker Trader. Sahar who was born in Iran has been living in different countries over the years. She brings a wealth of experience from her previous years in the bunker industry and speaks several languages.
Dan-Bunkering Appoints New Bunker Trader
Effective from 1st May, A/S Dan-Bunkering Ltd. has employed Ali Hoodaji as Bunker Trader at the Company’s head office in Middelfart. Ali who was born in Iran grew up on Southern Fünen in Denmark and speaks Danish, English and Iranian/Farsi fluently; he has many years experience in sales but this is his first encounter with the bunker business. “Ali is with his international background and his substantial sales experience the perfect candidate for the position of Bunker Trader and with Ali we are pleased to have brought additional resources and expertise to Dan-Bunkering’s
