No. 47, September 2013 MV WESTERLAND en route Hongkong to Singapore Reederei Hans Peterson & Söhne GmbH & Co. KG
Introduction Dear Seafarers and Readers, CONGRATULATIONS FIFTEEN YEARS SEA SERVICE Welcome to the no. 47, the 3 rd quarter edition for 2013 already. To be honest, I am running a bit out of ideas how to describe our current economic environment. However I am not the only one lots of experts in our industry struggle with the same challenge in a year which has seen no abatement in the fragile and unstable global economy. On the one hand there are a few positive indicators, e.g. just this morning Lloyds list published that the number of idled boxships fall to lowest level for nearly two years but charter rates are still far below a healthy level. Consequently both on board the vessels as well as in the office we must continue to find the best compromise between cost savings and maintaining a high level of service and efficiency. To let go our experienced superintendent Mr. Maibom was just one measure in this compromise but we are confident that with common efforts onboard and ashore we will manage the daily business effectively even with the reduced office capacity. Captain Hans Gerd Bendig Captain Bendig joined the company in September 1998 as Master on former Thailand Star 1. He was Master on board several vessels of HPS fleet since 2005 he is the permanent Master of M.V. WESTERMOOR / NILEDUTCH SPRINGBOK. Chief Engineer Dennis Strohschein Chief Engineer Strohschein joined the company as Shipmechanic in 1998 for two years. After he completed technical college in 2003 he re-joined the company as Technical Officer on Watch. After some years of experience he was promoted to 2nd Engineer Officer in 2006. Since 2009 he is employed as Chief Engineer mainly on M.V. WESTEREMS. Beside others the successful initial MLC2006 inspections on all vessels, no recordable injuries in the fleet, limited issues with PSC s, no major breakdowns and off hire periods are still positive examples for the operational performance of our fleet. Thank you for keeping this course.. Best regards from Rendsburg Dirk Jebsen MV WESTERLAND 2
Chief Engineer Rupp Good day all colleagues, below you will find a photo of our former Peterson colleague and Chief engineer Leo Rupp in his new position as farmer at his home in Austria. The photo shows Mr. Rupp together with his new toys and the green forklift has loaded an old piston crown of main engine as requisite for Mr. Rupp coming SULZER BAR. The photo was taken during a visit in April by Mr. Heerwagen. Kind regards to all colleagues from Mr. Rupp. /S. Heerwagen Farewell on shore Men at work on Westerships Mr. Michael Maibom, who has been with Hans Peterson & Söhne for more than 5 years, working as a Superintendent in our technical department. We would like to thank Mr. Maibom for his engaged work and contribution during the time with our company and wish him all the best and success for the future. - see page 9 for Mr. Maibom s farewell-cartrace-event Chief Engineer Jan Sitzler on MV WESTEREMS IN MEMORIAM We mourn the passing of Captain Thomas Döhrer *27.03.1952 10.08.2013 3
Share of good practice Since we introduced the column Share of good practice in Dec. 2011 we mainly mentioned various installations or equipment on board our vessels which set an example for potential replication. However not only fixed items may be replicated but remarkable procedures and routines can also be strong candidates for replication. Capt. Laranang and the entire crew did very professionally conduct an exercise scenario of an armed piracy attack while the vessel was en route her voyage in the Gulf of Guinea. During the exercise all elements of such an emergency situation and the appropriate measures and communication procedures were tested and practiced according to the ships security plan (SSP). The entire exercise took about one hour incl. intensive de-briefing of the crew. Finally a detailed report about the exercise was prepared and sent to the CSO Capt. Manthe, with a copy to the flag state administration. Capt. Manthe and the flag state congratulated the vessel for an excellent exercise. Lookout 1 Avelino Sangcap A very positive example for such a routine was recently set by the ANNUAL SECURITY EXERCISE 2013 on board of MV WESTERTAL. Lookout 2 Neil E. Bonotan Given the permanently existing piracy risks in an increasing part of the trade areas of our fleet an one hour exercise is very well spent to have everybody trained how to successfully handle such emergency in case it actually happens. Helmsman Milbert Piquero Thanks to Capt. Laranang and the entire crew of MV WESTERTAL for the excellent exercise and related reports and information. /D. Jebsen 4
Crane repair of MV WESTERHAMM On the 10.11.2012 at about 21: 40 LT the crane no 2 of MV WESTERHAMM was touched by MV "NIKI T." in the port of San Pedro during the vessel was alongside. Due to the problems with the lifting height of the available shore cranes and less draft of the vessel this call as the charter ended, a 400tn mobile crane had been arranged for lifting the crane housing onto the crane column. The Inspection by insurance, class and crane maker took place in Antwerp on November 21 st with the result that the crane needed to be dismantled for further investigation of slewing gear rim and turning gears. Dismantling took place in Bunsbüttel Elbehafen Bunsbüttel Ports on November 26 th when a problem occurred: The lifting height of the shore crane was lower than announced so that max ballast was taken and dismantling of the crane housing could only be done during low water. The gap between crane housing and crane column was a few millimeters only. The dismantling job took 14 hours only and that included waiting time for low water. Inspection of the slewing gear rim by the maker Rothe Erde revealed that it was damaged and needed to be renewed. The delivery time was 14 weeks. The Inspection of the turning gears by the maker Zollern also showed that it needed to be renewed, the delivery time for the part was 6 weeks. The installation of the repaired crane including the new slewing gear rim and turning gears took place in Brunsbüttel on May 9 th. Installing of crane housing and crane jib took place without problems but due to strong winds the installation of the new crane wire had to be interrupted for about 6 hours. Working around the clock the installation was completed by required loadtest after about 36 hours. Mr. Kunst was overseeing the project of the new crane installation in Brunsbüttel 5
The new HPS Racing Team As already known, the HPS Office Team is always up for a lot of fun. Unfortunately one of our much valued colleagues, Mr. Maibom, had to leave us. But this did not stop us from having a lot of fun at his farewell on the Go-cart race course in Schleswig! Amongst others present were Mrs. Nagel and Mrs. Kwauka, later Mrs. Böckmann joined the event too. They took care of the well-being of the driving team and took many memory-pictures. Like it s usual for events of these first-class races there was a spectacular collision during the race between Mr. Manthe and Mr. Maibom, who crashed into each other. The cart of Mr. Maibom was damaged but the drivers didn t suffer any injuries. Fortunately the race was not stopped and everyone could line up for the award ceremony. There were a lot of opponents for Mr. Maibom, especially the secret weapon of the HPS management, the son of Mr. Jebsen, who was specially hired for this race, and proved to be an excellent driver. The residual HPS Racing Team consisted of Mr. Jebsen, Mr. Meewes, Mr. Maibom, Mr. Kunst, Mr. Manthe and Ms. Engelke. Of course the offshore team advanced one extra driver: Mr. Heidbrink. We took this occasion to improve our knowledge of the motorsport. After a briefing and the first introduction of the unknown vehicles, the drivers were ready for the race. The racing team got a lot of support from the pit lane by the official HPS Racing Fans, which consisted of the ladies from the office. But also former colleagues have seized the chance to support the drivers on the race course. After the qualifying and two rough races, the winner was definitely the son of Mr. Jebsen. The second place of the winner s rostrum was achieved by Mr. Jebsen himself followed by Mr. Meewes in third place. After the award ceremonies, the whole team went back to Rendsburg for dinner, refreshments for the drivers and for having a convivial evening by celebrating the great day. /V. Engelke 6
Update MLC @ Hans Peterson & Söhne GmbH & Co. KG Meanwhile the company can confirm that all ships passed successfully MLC Inspection without written deficiency prior the date of enforcement of the convention 20th of August 2013. The inspections have been scheduled word wide. On Liberian Flag vessel the review of DMLC Part II and the inspections have been carried out by representatives of Liberian flag state. After the successful review of DMLC Part II the first inspection conducted on M.V. WESTERHAMM on 21 st of June 2013 Tangier, Maroc followed by WESTEREMS 23 rd June 2013 Auckland N.Z. next WESTERTAL 1 st of July 2013 Coega S.A.; WESTERBROOK 12 th of July 2013 Fremantle, Australia; NILEDUTCH SPRINGBOK 19 th of July 2013 Antwerp, Belgium; WESTERDIEK 27 th of July 2013 Gioia Tauro, Italy and finally WESTERBURG on 28 th of July 2013 Mersin, Turkey. M.V. WESTERLAND which has been bareboat registered under Flag of Luxembourg on 24 th of June 2013 the inspection has been carried out on 3 rd of August 2013 by an inspector of Germanischer Lloyd as Recognized Organization at port of Jebel Ali as Luxembourg delegated MLC matters to the Recognized Organizations. After Luxembourg issued DMLC Part I middle of July 2013 the company commence with the preparation of DMLC Part II. The DMLC Part II had been reviewed by G.L. and at the same time Master and crew on board had implemented the necessary procedures as describe in the DMLC Part II, similar but not same as under Flag of Liberia. Copies of all ship Maritime Labour Certificates have been provided to crewing agents as evidence to confirm that the company complies in all respects with requirements related to MLC. Notwithstanding the ILO Conference Resolution recommending that the PSC enforcement of the MLC should be delayed until August 2014 - and the fact that any lack of certification should not, for an interim period, be regarded as a PSC deficiency port states that have ratified the Convention at least 12 months beforehand are legally entitled to inspect visiting ships for compliance with MLC standards, even if the flag state of the ship has not ratified the Convention. NATIONS ENTITLED TO EXERCISE PSC FROM 20 AUGUST 2013 (notwithstanding ILO Recommendation) Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Gabon, Greece, Kiribati, Latvia, Liberia, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Netherlands, Norway, Palau, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Togo, Tuvalu. One new requirement, which might be examined by PSC, is the establishment of the complaints procedure. All crew on board should be familiar with the complaints procedure, see form MLC-OR-01 (Liberia and Luxembourg). Port state control inspectors are also expected to give special attention to compliance with seafarers work/rest hour limits as specified by the MLC, including the requirement to maintain individual records, since these requirements are already in force under the IMO STCW Convention. 7
Therefore be prepared for possible MLC related port state control inspection after 20- August-2013. If you may have any questions related to MLC or complaints please do not hesitate to contact our office. Contact details as follow MLC Representative, Thorsten Manthe Phone: +49-(0)4331-127224 Fax: +49-(0)4331-127233 24 hour number: +49-(0)173-2406967 Email: MLcomplaints@westerships.com We also take the opportunity to say thank you to all Masters, Officers and crew for the good co-operation during the time of implementation and during the time of inspections. /T.Manthe still waiting any contributions to the WSN are greatly appreciated. Please send your stories, pictures, recipes, jokes, riddles, etc. to m.zwick@westerships.com Funny Tale 8