Published by The Maritime Executive

Published by The Maritime Executive

Published by The Maritime Executive

Published by The Lowy Interpreter

Published Feb 9, 2022 9:01 PM by The Maritime Executive

A court in New Zealand has ordered a stevedoring company to pay fines and restitution totaling about $75,000 for dropping an excavator over the side of a log carrier during loading operations.

“The excavator, which was being moved between two cargo holds where it was being used to load logs, fell from its lifting arrangement attached to the ship’s crane, hit the side of the ship and fell into the water," said Maritime NZ central compliance manager Blair Simmons.

The stevedoring firm, C3 Limited, pleaded guilty to violations of New Zealand's Health and Safety at Work Act and was sentenced on February 4. 

In a statement, Maritime NZ said that it found that C3's lifting technique for picking up the excavator "has been identified as poor practice and is no longer being used by other stevedoring companies" in New Zealand. Further, the agency said that C3's workers were not properly trained to use this poor procedure; the lifting lugs for the excavator were not certified; and C3 had no system to ensure that its crane operators could hear and see well enough to perform their roles.

"While no single factor can be identified as the cause of the incident, there were clearly several serious health and safety failings that needed to be urgently addressed," said Simmons.

It is the second time in five years that C3 has been fined for dropping an excavator off a ship. In the previous incident in 2017, a 15-tonne machine came within "seconds" of killing five workers when it hit the wharf below, according to Maritime NZ. "The five workers had been in the drop zone moments before the excavator fell from the crane," said Maritime NZ compliance manager Neil Rowarth. After this serious near-miss, C3 paid a fine of $160,000. 

C3 has also received positive recognition from New Zealand safety authorities. The company safely unloaded the stricken log carrier Funing, which lost power and ran aground at the Port of Tauranga in July 2020, despite challenging and hazardous circumstances on board. For its contributions to the response, C3 took home the "best collaboration" award at the 2021 New Zealand Workplace Health and Safety Awards.

Published Oct 14, 2022 11:00 PM by The Maritime Executive

Next month, Royal Caribbean will open its new $125 million ultra-modern cruise terminal at the port of Galveston, Texas, which is designed to be the world’s first LEED-certified "zero energy facility." The cruise line said that the new Galveston terminal will be the first to generate 100 percent of its needed energy through on-site solar panels. The 161,334-square-foot state-of-the-art terminal expands Royal Caribbean’s presence in the port, increasing the cruise line’s ability to accommodate up to 630,000 guests per year,...

Published Oct 14, 2022 10:21 PM by The Maritime Executive

With delays and uncertainties engulfing the Australia–UK–US submarine partnership (AUKUS) program, the Australian government has decided to invest in the capabilities of its existing submarines, whose lifespan has repeatedly been extended. The government said it will invest $202 million in a five-year contract with Raytheon Australia to sustain and upgrade the capabilities of the Royal Australian Navy’s fleet of Collins class submarines. The subs, which were expected to be retired around 2026, have seen their lifespan extended to the 2030s....

Published Oct 14, 2022 9:25 PM by The Maritime Executive

The organizers of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar have chartered in a third cruise ship to provide another 1,000-plus hotel rooms during the month-long event.  An estimated 1.2 million people will descend on the small Mideast nation for the games beginning November 20, and their needs will outstrip the 31,000-room hotel capacity in the capital of Doha. Qatari organizers are taking a variety of measures to make sure that attendees have somewhere to stay, including containerized "cabins" on the...

Published Oct 14, 2022 8:39 PM by The Lowy Interpreter

[By Rodger Shanahan] There has been little to cheer about of late in terms of positive developments towards peace in the Middle East. But this week, the news came from an unexpected source – relations between Lebanon and Israel. An agreement demarcating a maritime boundary between the two countries allows for the exploitation of gas and oil fields below the waters of the Mediterranean. A decade in the making, this important agreement, when ratified, holds the potential to lead Lebanon out of its economic...

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