MPA Hosts 18th Marine Accident Investigators Forum in Asia

The MPA hosted the 18th Marine Accident Investigators Forum in Asia (MAIFA 18) from 4 to 5 August 2015 in Singapore. The forum was organised to foster closer cooperation and coordination on marine safety investigations, and to promote safety at sea amongst member states.

Mr Tan Suan Jow, MPA's Director (Marine) and Director (Shipping), gave the opening address and officially announced Singapore’s membership of Marine Accident International Investigators' Forum (MAIIF), which would allow for participation on an international platform, as well as sharing of best practices and technological advances in conducting marine safety investigations. The keynote speaker for the event was Professor Richard Lim, Chairman of the National Maritime Safety at Sea Council.

MAIFA 18 saw one of the largest participation numbers with the attendance of delegates from 14 countries, namely Australia, Cambodia, People Republic of China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Thailand, United Kingdom and Vietnam. In addition, the General Secretary of MAIIF, Capt Nick Beer, Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) of Singapore and a representative from the United States Coast Guard also attended as observers.

During the two-day forum, participants took part in discussions on a wide range of topics including application of human factors and legal challenges in marine safety investigations, as well as tour MPA’s Port Operations Control Centre and the Singapore Maritime Gallery.

MAIFA is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of safety at sea and the prevention of marine pollution. The inaugural MAIFA was held in Tokyo, Japan in 1998 and subsequently developed into a formal forum with increased participation of regional investigation administrations.

Tripartite Maritime Manpower Taskforce for Seafaring (TF-SEA)

SkillsFuture was recently announced as a national-level effort to build an integrated system of education, training and career progression for Singaporeans based on skills mastery. The MPA is the champion agency to develop the Sectoral Manpower Plan for the sea transport sector under the nation-wide SkillsFuture framework. Seafaring jobs have been identified as key positions necessary to sustain Singapore as a premier hub port and an international maritime centre.

Seafaring Taskforce

The Tripartite Maritime Manpower Taskforce for Seafaring (TF-Sea) was formed in May 2014 to develop initiatives under the Sectoral Manpower Plan for seafarers. TF-Sea comprises tripartite members - the MPA, the Singapore Shipping Association, the Singapore Maritime Employers Federation, the Singapore Maritime Officers Union and the Singapore Organisation of Seamen, together with the training institutes, Singapore Maritime Academy and Wavelink Maritime Institute.

TF-Sea aims to address manpower issues within seafaring jobs for Maritime Singapore to remain competitive and future-ready. The approach is to build a sustainable pipeline of a Singaporean core within the seafaring sector. Shipping and port activities will be supported by reinforcing existing manpower initiatives and introducing new initiatives to ensure that Maritime Singapore remains competitive. These initiatives were unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean at the Singapore Shipping Association’s 30th Anniversary dinner on 25 Sep 2015. A media briefing was also held in MPA earlier that day to provide details of the initiatives.

Three Key Initiatives

The TF-Sea has developed three new schemes to encourage Singaporeans to take up seafaring careers, facilitate up-skilling of Singaporeans and improve seafaring talent retention.

A. Cadet Allowance Reimbursement.
This scheme encourages employers to train Singaporean cadets who are pursuing their Certificate of Competencies (CoCs) under the Diploma in Nautical Studies (DNS) and the Diploma in Marine Engineering (DMR) in the Singapore Maritime Academy, by alleviating part of the employer’s training cost in monthly allowance.

B. Achievement Award.
This is a monetary award given to candidates for attaining their CoCs. This scheme recognises candidates for completing the rigorous shipboard training under the DNS and DMR to obtain their first CoCs. The award is also given to candidates looking to subsequently upgrade themselves to the higher class of CoCs so as to continue sailing and progress in their seafaring career.

C. Up-Skill Allowance Scheme
This scheme encourages employers to provide an up-skill allowance to local junior seafaring officers pursuing the full-time programme leading to the award of CoC 2 and CoC 1. The scheme hopes to allow employers to fill critical senior command positions on their ships.

For more information on the new initiatives developed by TF-Sea, please refer to Shipping Circular No. 26 of 2015. Details of the eligibility, application and claims can be found in the circular.

The amount for MPA to fund these new initiatives that are developed by the TF-Sea will be part of the additional $65 million that was announced earlier in March 2015 for injection into the Maritime Cluster Fund for Manpower Development. The top-up will go towards encouraging maritime businesses to hire and up-skill Singaporeans.

Singapore Supports “Day of the Seafarer”

The 25^th of June was designated by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) since 2010 as the “Day of The Seafarer”. On this day each year, the world pays tribute to as well as recognises the contributions and sacrifices made by an estimated number of 1.5 million seafarers in supporting the growth of the world's economy and trade.

The fifth running of the “Day of the Seafarers”; on 25th June 2015 was organised by the Seafarer's Management Department of Shipping Division. Like in previous years, MPA, together with joint sponsors, the Singapore Maritime Officers Union (SMOU) and the Singapore Organisation of Seamen (SOS), distributed a total of 600 hampers to ships that call in the Port of Singapore.

This year, the “Day of the Seafarers” was made more meaningful with Sembcorp Marine Ltd hosting the event at the new Sembmarine Integrated Yard at Tuas. Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, then Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Transport, was the Guest-of-Honour during the ceremony and he presented gift hampers to ship masters and representatives from shipping companies.

MPA presented book prizes to 29 top cadets for their excellent academic achievements in various Certificate of Competency courses at Singapore Maritime Academy and Wavelink Maritime Institute.

An educational tour was conducted by SembCorp Marine Ltd for all guests during the ceremony. The guests saw the state-of-the-art facilities at Sembmarine Integrated Yard at Tuas provided for the use of yard workers, shipyard staff, and staff of their respective customers.

Special Feature on Sembcorp Marine Tuas Boulevard Yard

Located at Tuas View Extension in the west of Singapore, the Sembcorp Marine Tuas Boulevard Yard is a shipyard designed to maximise operational synergy, production efficiency and critical mass with optimised docking and berthing facilities, an improved dock and quay ratio, a centralised work-efficient layout and integrated facilities.

Capable of serving a wide range of vessels and rigs, including VLCCs, new generations of mega containerships, LNG carriers and passenger ships, Phase I development of the Tuas Boulevard Yard spans 73.3 hectares and includes four VLCC drydocks with a total dock capacity of 1.55 million deadweight tonnes as well as finger piers and basin lengths totalling 3.9 kilometres.

The yard has naturally deep waters that enable the installation of thrusters for semi-submersibles without the need of towing the rigs to sea. There is also a special reinforced load-out area for offshore platforms of up to 20,000 tonnes.

The ongoing Phase II development of Sembcorp Marine Tuas Boulevard Yard, totalling 34.5 hectares, consists of two 150,000 dwt drydocks and one offshore drydock dedicated to rig building and repairs. Close to 2 kilometres of berthage will be built to meet customers’ needs. Completion of the Phase II marine works is scheduled for 1Q 2017.

The Phase II development also features a state-of-the-art steel fabrication facility that offers a streamlined and extensively automated production process, from stock piling to final assembly and finishing. The steel fabrication facility will open in November 2015.

Besides these operational innovations, the Sembcorp Marine Tuas Boulevard Yard also redefines employee care with its “in-yard living” concept, where employees live in self-contained dormitories and accommodation within the new yard premises.

Comprising two phases of development, the dormitories will be capable of housing almost 9,400 employees when fully completed. The Phase I precinct comprises 3 blocks of 7-storey dormitories and 1 block of 7-storey apartments to house some 5,000 staff members, and will come complete with a centralised kitchen, in-house laundry services, sports and recreational facilities and other amenities to provide for work-life balance.

Ships Rescue@Sea

All crew of capsized trawler rescued by Singapore Navy

At about 9.40am on 22 September 2015, the MPA received a report that a Malaysian-registered fishing trawler, PAF 4658, had capsized 7 nautical miles north-east of Pedra Branca, in Singapore waters.

All five crew members onboard were rescued by the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) patrol vessel, RSS Independence. Two crew members had sustained minor injuries. They were given medical attention by the crew of RSS Independence.

MPA deployed three vessels to conduct salvage operations in Singapore waters and to ensure navigational safety. MPA also issued navigational broadcasts to ships warning them to stay clear of the incident area.

Singapore-ship NYK JOANNA rescued 7 fishermen

On 3 October 2015, Singapore-registered container ship NYK Joanna was involved in a SAR operation while on passage from Vungtau (Vietnam) to Tokyo. It was reported that the fishing boat capsized in the heavy seas and NYK Joanna rescued the 7 fishermen who were found adrift on wooden planks.

MPA commends the Master and crew of RSS Independence and NYK Joanna on the gallant efforts extended in the rescue of the fishermen involved in the incidents.

Shipping and IMC Divisions Visit to Accommodation Rig “Safe Zephyrus”

The Shipping and International Maritime Centre (IMC) Divisions visited the semi-submersible accommodation rig Safe Zephyrus on 26 August 2015 at Jurong Shipyard Pte Ltd. The tour was hosted by the company representative, Mr Mark Arlow.

Safe Zephyrus is owned by Prosafe Rigs Pte Ltd and will be registered with the Singapore Registry upon delivery. At the time of the visit, the rig was in the final stages of construction and was preparing for delivery in October 2015.

Similar to her sister, the Safe Boreas, the vessel was constructed according to the GVA 3000E design and equipped with a DP3 (dynamic positioning) system as well as 12-point mooring arrangement. This will allow for operations in both DP and anchored mode, providing maximum cost efficiency and flexibility. The vessel will have the capacity to accommodate 450 persons in single man cabins. Being constructed to comply with stringent Norwegian and UK regulations, the rig is also designed such that the accommodation block incorporates two atriums that will provide natural light to cabins and offices. There is also an open deck area of approximately 2,100m², two 50 tonne cranes and additional client offices and recreation facilities – these include a cinema, a gym, an internet cafe and two saunas!

On behalf of MPA, we would like to thank the owner and manager of Safe Zephyrus for graciously inviting us onboard to the new accommodation rig. It was definitely a great learning experience for the MPA officers. We would like to wish Safe Zephyrus fair winds and following seas!

Do You Know?

Safe Zephyrus was named after Zephyros (or Zephyrus) was the god of the west wind, one of the four directional Anemoi (Wind-Gods). He was also the god of spring, husband of Khloris (Greenery), and father of Karpos (Fruit).

The 2nd International Bowling Tournament for Seafarers

The 2nd International Bowling Tournament for Seafarers was held at West Bowl on 25 Sep 2015. The tournament was organised by MPA as part of our outreach efforts to engage seafarers through recreational activities. The event was also held in conjunction with the World Maritime Day 2015.

The tournament attracted 112 participants from 13 ships and 5 maritime organisations/institutions and shipyards. Participating were seafarers from different countries, namely Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, India, Poland and Canada. The teams were divided into two categories namely Ship/Merchant Seamen, and Maritime Organisations/Institutions & Shipyards.

The team from Morning Glory Team B was the winner in the Ships Category while the Keppel Shipyard Team A emerged as winner for the Maritime Organisations/Institutions & Shipyards Category.

New e-Finance Initiatives

As part of MPA’s efforts to speed up the processing of financial transactions, MPA has introduced a series of electronic forms, available on our website for our customers' convenience. They are as follows:

• Account Opening Form: A customer is required to open an account in order to transact with MPA. The successful account application will be accompanied by complimentary access to Marinet to facilitate the customer's adherence with statutory and regulatory requirements, and for operational and financial transactions.
• Refund Form: A customer may submit this form to seek for a refund, where applicable.
• Account Closing Form: A customer may submit this form should the account have to be closed. This could be due to a number of reasons which include change of business activity, cessation of business operations, etc.

The above forms are available at http://www.mpa.gov.sg/sites/global_navigation/e-services/e_services.page.