Thursday, May 27, 2010

Amver infographic, or how piracy is messing with ships

Our colleagues at the United States Coast Guard Operations Systems Center brought this to our attention and we wanted to share it with you. Thanks Jayden!

Its difficult to really see the impact piracy has on shipping. Its not like you can look down from earth and see a snapshot of all the ships in the world. Oh wait, you can see a bird's eye view of all the Amver ships in the world. Check out these Amver density plots. The first is from April 2007 and the second is from April 2010.


2007April
April 2007 Amver density plot


April2010densityplot
April 2010 Amver density plot


Notice the gaping white spot around the Horn of Africa in the April 2010 density plot? That big white area signifies NO Amver ships have sailed through those waters in the entire month. It is a striking comparison to April 2007. In fact, each square represents one degree (60 minutes latitude by 60 minutes longitude). Amver ships are definitely avoiding the Somali coast.

When will this nonsense end? Clay Maitland has some thoughts on the piracy issue, President Obama has issued an Executive Order on the matter, and the Maersk Alabama pirate, captured in the dramatic take down of his colleagues, recently pleaded guilty to piracy charges in New York.

What do you think will help solve the piracy problem?


Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Welcome Wednesday!

You keep doing it don't you? Just when we think there aren't any more ships to enroll we see another group enrolling in the Amver system. Thank you for surprising us every week. Despite the quiet nature of our work we can tell you your participation matters. Just the other day a group of United States Coast Guard officers commented on how they rely on Amver. Your participation means large areas of ocean are safe and mariners are safe. Please help us welcome the latest threads in our blanket of safety.

  • PARAMOUNT HANOVER
  • YUTAI BREEZE
  • KOHZAN MARU III
  • SAMHO TRITON
  • FRONT ODIN
  • OVERSEAS SANTORINI
  • STAVROULA
  • ANNEGRET
  • NS AFRICA
  • GREBE
  • CLIPPER IZUM
  • MORNING CORNELIA
  • JIUJIANG
  • VANCOUVER EXPRESS
  • MCP ALSTERTAL
  • BUNGA KENANGA
  • SE PELAGICA
  • SAGARJEET
  • CMB EDOUARD
  • BALTIC BEAR
  • DD VOYAGER
  • OVERSEAS MARTINEZ
  • BRO HAWAII
  • DL ROSE
  • FIRST IBIS
  • SOLANA
  • ZEN-NOH GRAIN PEGASUS
  • AGIOS NIKOLOAS IV
  • CHEMROAD NOVA
  • ENTERPRISE STAR
  • BESIKTAS GALATA
  • STADT BERLIN
  • NORD DELPHINUS
Have you joined yet? If not, why not?

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Life at sea

CSEM Swings Overboard

Lloyd's List started a new blog feature and they want you to be a part of it. The Life at Sea feature will highlight stories of seafarers. We invite all of our Amver participants to share their stories with Lloyd's List.

What will Lloyd's List do with these stories of life at sea? That remains to be seen. For now they will be shared with their readership and, hopefully, not behind a pay wall. Tom Leander, the driving force behind the initiative, wants to share these stories as a way of celebrating the Year of the Seafarer. We think its a great idea. Maybe someone will share a story of why then enrolled in Amver or of a dramatic rescue...

Photo credit: Neptunecanada

Monday, May 24, 2010

Pirates nabbed, Russian style

The Naval Institute blog recently posted a link to the story about Somali pirates apprehended by Russian Commandos after seizing a Russian Amver participating ship. Here is video of the take down and subsequent search of the vessel.

Warning, this video is graphic and contains some strong nautical (and other) language and may not be safe for some workplaces.




Can't see the video? Click here.

What do you think? Would a more robust military presence help deter piracy?



<span class=

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Who dunit? How the Coast Guard identifies oil.

It's been reported that tar balls have started washing up on beaches in Key West, Florida and the fear is they are from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Fortunately the United States Coast Guard was able to determine these tar balls were not from the Deepwater Horizon incident.

So how does the Coast Guard know where oil comes from? Just watch this video to see Coast Guard Marine Science Lab in action.



Can't see the video? Click here.


<span class=

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Welcome Wednesday!

You remember the IMO declared 2010 the "Year of the Seafarer" right? The brother and sisterhood of the sea is most certainly evident in the mariners and shipping companies enrolling there vessels in Amver. Just this past week you helped us read an all time record for the number of ships available in a day to divert and assist. There were 3,853 ships on the Amver plot on Sunday May 16th! Who are the latest members that helped us achieve such an incredible goal? Let's welcome them:
  • OCEAN LEO
  • INCE EGE
  • GRETA C
  • NYK ROMULUS
  • IKAN SELIGI
  • NORD INTELLIGENCE
  • ZIM ROTTERDAM
  • DORIC VICTORY
  • COSCO PHILIPPINES
  • COMMANDER
  • SAKURA WAVE
  • SEA BAY
  • BLUE
  • SOPHIA D
  • CASPIAN GALAXY
  • STAR KVARVEN
  • C DISCOVERY
  • GOOD PRIDE
  • AZURA
  • ROLLDOCK SUN
  • UASC SHUWAIKH
  • HK CHALLENGER
  • FLUMAR BRASIL
  • DELTA KANARIS
  • MCKEE SONS
  • RBD THINK POSITIVE
  • CHALLENGE POLARIS
  • KING ORE
  • OCEAN PROSPERITY
  • STRELITZIA
  • CAPE TALARA
  • GLORIOUS SUNSHINE
  • SEMUA PERDANA
  • C. ATLAS
  • PACHACAMAC
  • ORIENT CENTAUR
  • GSF C. R. LUIGS
These ships ensure no call for help, like this one, goes unanswered. Do you have questions about Amver? Want to learn more? You can ask us in person! We will be exhibiting at Posidonia in Athens, Greece. See you in June!


Photo credit: Fotolia

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

American sailor rescued

An American yachtsman learned about the Amver system the hard way! The 47 year old sailor was on a voyage from Costa Rica to Hawaii in his 34 foot sailboat when, on May 8th, he felt something bang up against the hull and dislodge his rudder. Further inspection revealed water pouring in through the rudder shaft. Fortunately the Isle of Man flagged Amver participant, Ostende Max, diverted and rescued the sailor. These incredible photos show the rescue unfold.

DSCF0871_1296x972

SSA40408_1136x852

DSCF0862_1296x972

DSCF0881_1296x972

DSCF0883_1296x972

DSCF0884_1296x972

SSA40432_1136x852

You could be part of a dramatic rescue like this by enrolling in Amver.

Photo credit: crew of the M/V Ostende Max


Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Monday, May 17, 2010

Ship Monitoring Project

Ryan Skinner has quite the project on his hands over on his blog. His current endeavor is about ship tracking and focuses on the potential transfer of hosting the LRIT international exchange from the United States to the European Union.

Ryan wants to know seafarer's thoughts on vessel tracking. Here at Amver we are interested in your thoughts as well and will be watching this carefully.

You can follow the discussion on gCaptain, LinkedIn, or on a new blog called Monitor.

Photo credit: Fotolia


Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

USA flagged Amver ship assists in Atlantic rescue

Take a look at this video from a Hampton Roads, Virginia television station about a recent Amver rescue in the Atlantic off the coast of Virginia. A yachtsman was in distress and the United States Coast Guard used all the search and rescue tools in their arsenal to ensure a safe recovery.

The United States flagged Amver participating ship President Jackson diverted and remained on scene until the tug Julie and a Coast Guard helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City arrived. The helicopter was able to hoist the ill sailor and flew him to a local hospital where he was evaluated.

Want to take part in rescues like this? Enroll your ship in the Amver system and you could be next!





Click here if you can’t see the video.

Welcome Wednesday!

On the heels of another great example of why we encourage more and more of you to enroll in the Amver system we have an opportunity to recognize our latest participants. In fact, as this posts there is an Amver ship sailing to the aid of another boat in distress in the Pacific. While those cases continue to evolve lets take a moment and welcome our latest participants.
  • ZHONG XING
  • NOBLE HALO
  • KEY ACTION
  • TOXOTIS
  • MATADOR
  • EVA SCHULTE
  • UNITED TENORIO
  • FATMARINI
  • IOANNIS ZAFIRAKIS
  • VALBRENTA
  • GIUSEPPE MAURO RIZZO
  • TORM ALICE
  • XPEDITION
  • BOTAFOGO
  • HELLESPONT CENTURION
  • CHRISTINE
  • PENNYSMART
  • KOTA PERMASAN
  • JIN WAN
  • SJN NORDIC
  • CMB JIALING
  • BRIGHTOIL LION
  • SELDOVIA
  • RAINBOW LUCKY
  • GOLDEN ECLIPSE
  • KISKA SEA
  • POLAR STORM
  • CFL PENHAR
  • GLOBAL PHOENIX
  • CITY OF XIAMEN
  • MORNING COMPOSER
  • BALTIC PANTHER
  • NS BURGAS
  • BOW BRASILIA
With luck none of these vessels will have to answer a call for help. But as the sailors in the story highlighted above, or those from previous rescues, will tell you- they sure are glad to know you support safety at sea.

Have you enrolled yet?


Photo credit: Fotolia

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Friday, May 7, 2010

Final update: Russian ship attacked by pirates

Several sources reported that Russian commandos stormed the Amver participating tanker Moscow University late Thursday evening. After a brief exchange of gunfire, which left one pirate dead and 10 more in custody, the Moscow University crew came out of hiding and the ship was freed.

Tradewinds reported because the crew could not identify the pirates, the Russian Navy was forced to release the hijackers. The fact that the Russian Navy released these obvious pirates only underscores the topsy-turvy nature of the legal situation in regards to Somali piracy. There is no clear process for piracy prosecution. Plenty has been written about what to do with Somali pirates but nothing seems to be happening.

We are glad the crew of the Moscow University is free, that no commandos were injured, and a clear message has been sent to Somali pirates. Will that message resonate?

Photo credit: Fotolia

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Russian Amver ship attacked by pirates

Breaking news on Twitter and the BBC alerted us the Russian participating ship, Moscow University, had been attacked by Somali pirates. Tradewinds reports the Moscow University was seized by the pirates 500 miles east of the Horn of Africa.

The Liberian flagged tanker, owned by Novoship, enrolled in the Amver system in 1999 and has earned multiple Amver awards for participation.

According to media reports the Russian destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov was rushing to the scene. Tradewinds speculates a rescue operation could be mounted by Russian forces. We hope the crew remains safe and this issue is resolved quickly.

What do you think would help stop the scourge of piracy?

UPDATE:
At 1330 hours on 5 May Tradewinds reported the master of the Moscow University was able to alert Novoship that the crew had barricaded themselves in the engine room and the ship is dead in the water. The Russian warship steaming to assist should arrive in the early hours of Thursday. We'll keep you posted on updates as we learn them.


Photo credit: Fotolia


Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Welcome Wednesday!

After losing one Amver vessel we are happy to share with you the latest vessels enrolling in the Amver system. 21 ships have agreed to participate in the past week. Have you enrolled yet? Let's welcome our newest members:
  • WAWASAN RUBY
  • NORD ANGEL
  • STAR LEADER
  • CELEBRITY ECLIPSE
  • PROFIT
  • ANGOL
  • SEABOARD CHILE
  • FLEVO
  • BALTIC LEOPARD
  • SEA MELODY
  • BENCHAMAS EXPLORER
  • TUNAPESCA
  • GULF HUWAYLAT
  • SEFOR
  • RIVER PRIDE
  • PACIFIC EXPLORER
  • APOLLON LEADER
  • APL OMAN
  • LOWLANDS OPAL
  • BUNGA LAUREL
  • CHEMICAL MARKETER
Often people say they don't want to join Amver because they already report to multiple vessel tracking schemes. How many do you report to? What reporting schemes do you think are unnecessary?


Photo credit: Fotolia

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Amver ship sinks, crew rescued


Tradewinds reported the Amver participating Capsize, Bright Century, sank off the coast of China after colliding with the Liberian flagged bulker Sea Success early Monday morning, May 3rd. The Bright Century enrolled in the Amver system in October, 1999.

The Bright Century, a 10 time Amver award recipient, managed by Bernhard Schulte-Hong Kong, was underway with a cargo of iron ore. According to Tradewinds, quoting Chinese officials, the crews of both vessels were rescued unharmed.

This collision continues to demonstrate the dangers of shipping, particularly in high traffic areas. While we won’t speculate on what caused the collision you can read Clay Maitland’s recent post on electronic “gizmo's” on the bridge and how they may contribute to distractions. Tradewinds reported there was heavy fog at the time of the collision.

What do you think are the biggest threats to shipping? Poor vessel traffic management, bridge team distractions, or a reliance on technology?


Photo credit: Fotolia

Monday, May 3, 2010

Deepwater Horizon; stopping the oil and spreading the word

100428-G-8744K-009

There is plenty of information available on the Deepwater Horizon incident. The Joint Information Center is busy putting out a steady stream of important information on the incident and should be your first stop when looking for latest official news.

Amver isn't in the business of oil spill response. We don't pretend to know how the oil business works or how to stop a spill of this magnitude. We do, however, reach many people and have lots of people share ideas with us. That is what sparked this post.

If you are a member of the social networking site LinkedIn, check out the Maritime Network discussion on suggested methods to stop the leak. Another good source for discussion on this incident is the gCaptain forums. There is a specific forum thread on the Deepwater Horizon situation on gCaptain.

Finally, you can follow the incident on Facebook, Twitter, find photos on Flickr, view videos on YouTube, or sign up for official emails here.

Photo credit: United States Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Patrick Kelley