New training boats for FMI

The Pacific Islands Maritime Association, or PacMA for short, is the current name of the Association which used to be called the Association of Pacific Islands Training Institutions and Maritime Authorities, or APIMTIMA. The reason for the change is that the Regional Maritime Programme under SPC had to restructure itself to streamline the services to the maritime sector in the region and to deliver a quicker response to the region’s needs. Accordingly, the association expanded the scope of its membership to include shipping operators, port authorities and legal entities concerned with safe and efficient operation of the maritime transport sector. The original membership, however, were only maritime training institutions and maritime authorities.

Established under PacMA is the Executive Committee, which, between the annual general meetings, meets regularly on matters of mutual concerned and any other matters and issues that come out as a result of the discussions during the preceding annual general meeting. Furthermore, the committee, before each annual general meeting, puts together the agenda for the next annual general meeting. Also established are the Auditing Subcommittee, which looks after the quality of the training programs offered at the members maritime training institutions by conducting quality audits to ensure that international standards relating to all the aspects of the training programs are met. This subcommittee has developed its schedule to go from country to country to audit training institutions and the maritime administrations. The Examiners and Assessors Subcommittee recommends regional courses to be developed and offered or modified including developing the training structure, ensures quality delivery of programs and services by keeping up-to-date with the latest development in technology and with the STCW Convention. The third subcommittee is the one on Port State Control. This subcommittee ensures that the material condition of ships flying the flags of all its members including ships calling at member’s ports are in effect seaworthy and that all of their certificates are in order. This subcommittee establishes guidelines for surveyors and its members conduct inspections and surveys, including port state control surveys, on ships flying the members flags of those of foreign flags visiting members ports.

Membership of PacMA is comprised of all the Pacific Island member governments of SPC, including the territories of French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Tokelau, and Wallis and Futuna. Guam participated in last year’s meeting but did not sent a representative this year so its membership was not assured. Associate members include Australian Maritime College, Asia Pacific Maritime Institute and New Zealand Maritime School. This year, the Women in Maritime Association (WIMA) of Fiji had just been admitted to become the third associate member of the Association. Honorary members are the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and New Zealand Maritime Safety Authority. The United States Coast Guard participated in this year’s annual meeting and had neither expressed for nor against membership of the association.

The Association has a consultative status with the International Maritime Organization and is in consultation terms with the Association of Pacific Ports with respect to the training schemes and fiscal resources that may be available to them through the Secretariat of the Regional Maritime Programme which could benefit both organizations.

The Chair for the meeting is Samoa, in the person of Mr. Maselino Tominiko, the Assistant CEO for Maritime in Samoa. The Chair is rotated every three years and Maselino is into his second year in office. According to the articles of association, the current Chair may continue to serve in the capacity for another three-year term subject to re-election by the plenary.

This year’s meeting took two days, and was opened by the Chairman, Mr. Tominiko, followed by an opening prayer by the Vice Chairman, Mr. Delai Vakasilimi from the Fiji School of Maritime Studies. The meeting went through the normal procedure by first adopting the provisional agenda as being the agenda for the meeting. Then it proceeded on to approving the Treasurer’s Report and adoption of the Minutes of the 9 th Annual General Meeting of the Association, followed by the presentation of the Association’s seal and name abbreviation. The Association, by the way, is keeping a record of all membership dues by all members, each member paying an annual fee in the amount of $200.00 ( Fiji dollars). The fee for FSM membership is paid for by the FSM Division of Marine Transportation, Department of TC&I.

It seemed that the tone of the meeting was concentrating on security, with the International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) Code implementation became mandatory worldwide as of 01 July 2004. The United States is the main force behind the expeditious ratification and implementation of this code, being mindful of sabotage or terrorist attacks on its ships and ports following the 9/11 attacks.

What the ISPS Code requires is that all ports must have a port facility security plan approved by the Maritime Administration of the country. The plan must contain all possible scenarios of threats, and with each threat, the actions or sequence of actions the port must do in order to prevent or mitigate loss of life or property. As well, each port must have a port facility security officer who shall ensure that the security plan for the port is working and meets the requirements of the port. A port not having a port facility security plan or a security officer will not be visited by ships complying with the ISPS Code because first, it is not known whether the port facility is secured or not, and second, a vessel visiting a port not complying with the ISPS Code will be refused entry by ports complying with the code.

On the other hand, a shipping company must have a company security officer with all of its ships having a security plan and a ship security officer. The company security officer and the ship security officer must ensure that the ship security plan is full proof and is working for that particular vessel. Similarly, the ship security plan must contain all possible threats that may be encountered during her voyages, and contain also the actions and mitigating factors applied in order to prevent or mitigate loss of life or property. When a ship is arriving a port, the ship and the port must communicate before the ship’s arrival in the port as to the security level at the port. Agreeing on a particular security level is crucial as it will enable the ship and the port to provide the necessary personnel and equipment for security purposes including back-ups.

Fortunately, with the assistance from SPC, all of the FSM ports have established their port facility security plans and have appointed their port facility security officer. Furthermore, the Caroline Voyager, Micro Glory in Pohnpei and Micro Spirit in Yap all have their ship security plans in place. One will notice that because of our ports’ compliance with the Code, ships coming from the United States West Coast are able to pass through our ports and still able to trade internationally. Some countries have not met all the requirements of the ISPS Code, however. These countries include Albania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritania, and of course our neighbor Nauru.

The meeting acknowledged that although the ISPS Code has been in force in most of the Pacific Island countries since 01 July 2004, its application does not extend to fishing vessel. Therefore, the challenge now is to maintain the effective implementation of the Code in relation to both port facilities and ships using such ports. One of the concerns raised at the 2004 meeting of the Forum Regional Security Committee (FRSC) was the non-application of the ISPS Code to fishing vessels in the region. The FRSC then tasked the FFA and SPC to develop possible mechanisms to apply the Code to fishing vessels in the region. The issue therefore is for the Pacific Island Countries to ascertain ways to apply either the Code or alternatively some other security clearance arrangements that will not be opposable to the flag States. Certain delegations suggested that perhaps a regional safety convention be drawn up using the Torremolinos Protocol of 1993, the ISPS Code and the STCW-F as the bases for the convention. With a major restructuring of the Regional Maritime Program (RMP) following its in-depth review in 2003, the review recommended the appointment of an information assistant fully committed to information management to disseminate information to the member countries, circulate discussion papers or other documents, improve the exchange of information and experience among Pacific Island countries. The RMP’s information section is now staffed by two dedicated personnel. Among the several activities the information section is putting out are:

1. Production of a regional maritime newsletter – The newsletter is a quarterly production of RMP disseminated to relevant people in the wider maritime sector in the region and abroad, reporting on maritime issued affecting the Pacific Island countries.

2. Production of a maritime information bulletin – This is a monthly production disseminated to relevant people and authorities in the maritime sector in the region, and is mainly a compilation of articles selected from various sources that are thought to be of interest to the readers as well as of relevance to the region.

3. Production of maritime safety notices - They are produced monthly and disseminated to shipping companies, shipowners and shipping agents as well as relevant people and authorities in the maritime sector, and they are comprised of articles that deal with safety and other like matters.

4. Publication of articles in relevant journals and magazines – Articles relevant to maritime issues are published sporadically in journals such as the Marine Studies, Marine Review and Fiji Islands Business. They first underwent initial editing to ensure they meet the required SPC publishing standards before being forwarded to SPC for review and approval.

5. Production of Safety Pamphlets – Sea safety pamphlets are produced in English, Bislama, Pidgin, I-Kiribati, Fijian and soon to be printed in French, Samoan and Tongan. These pamphlets include:

Suddenly in Command
Tips on Boating Safety
Sea Smart
Five Minutes that can save your life

6. Maintenance of an up-to-date regional maritime website – The Regional Maritime Programme has had a website in place since 2001, with the following address: http://www.spc.int/Maritime/. At the moment it is being reconstructed so users may not have access to updated information on the activities of the Programme. The revamped website is expected to be operational at least by mid-2005. The website is supposed to provide access to maritime legislations, regulations, laws and other like matters of maritime in nature for all the Pacific Island countries and territories.
7. Development and maintenance of databases – There are four separate databases being looked after by the Regional Maritime Programme which, except for the Neptune, were developed in 2004.

Neptune– The Neptune database was developed in early 1980s and its main purpose is to keep a record of all seafarers in the Pacific region including their training and competency levels. This is by far the most sophisticated of all the databases, centralized at SPC and linked to the designated Pacific Island countries for data input into the system. Specific information available are: Seafarer identity, status of seafarer competency levels, SPC training modules, exam results, etc.
Courses, Training and Meeting Database – Commissioned in 1997, the main purpose of this database is to keep a record of all Pacific islanders who participate/have participated in any of the courses, training and meetings run by the Regional Maritime Programme and also to keep a record of all training instructors who have conduced the courses or trainings.
Ports and Port Facilities Databases – The main purpose of this database is to keep a record of all ports and port facilities in the Pacific region and other relevant information pertaining to each port
Vessels and Ports of Call Database – The main purpose of this database is to keep a record of passenger and cargo vessel movements in the Pacific region.

The big challenge facing the Regional Maritime Programme is availability and accuracy of data collected for these databases. Take the Ports and Port Facilities Database for example, there have been only three countries that have responded to RMPs request for information on ports to date. RMP is currently in the process of reviewing all its databases to enable the development of a single consolidated database. This will allow member countries and stakeholders to have better access to any public domain. There will also be various security levels to protect confidentiality requirements associated with the nature of certain documents.

Following the two-day meeting of PacMA was a three-day seminar/workshop, in which different speakers from honorary members and associate members of PacMA were invited to give presentations on certain maritime issues of mutual concern. The Pacific Island countries could take these and see if they could adopt any among them for their use in the region.

The first issue was on the matter of seafarer’s identity document. For Australia, there is nothing definite about seafarer’s identification document and there is not even discussion over it in the Parliament. Seafarer’s ID and the passport would be the regular norm for the time being. The United States is still debating the best possible document by which seafarers would be best and properly identified. For the time being, the US Coast Guard is still leaving the proper identification for seafarers to the facility operators and the shipowners to make the proper arrangements prior to the vessel arrival. For New Zealand, the Maritime Safety Authority is still accepting the use of the seamen’s discharge book for seafarer’s identification. However, all of these countries are investigating the possibility of using identity documents that are similar to credit cards and are tamper proof.

The second issue was for the regional countries to look into becoming members of the Marine Accident Investigations International Forum. This forum shares among its membership information regarding marine accidents and the results of investigations into them. Participation in this forum would require countries to continually send information on marine accidents involving boat—commercial or recreation—and all ships. The reason for gathering all these information is to see whether something on security and safety could be learned from these incidents.

The case of M.V. Ovalau II, a Fijian registered cargo/passenger ferry, was introduced for the information of everyone. Apparently, the hull of the vessel was breached in two places (most probably from wear and tear), and all attempts to plug the hole with wooden wedges only managed to increase the size of the hole. Apparently, the engine room became flooded and was being pumped out with a portable pump. Unfortunately, the discharge end of the hose remained in the vehicle deck, causing accumulation of water on that deck. When another company ship took the weight on the towline, the Ovalau II listed, then started a chain of events that caused the final capsizing of the vessel.

From the investigation conducted on the M.V. Ovalau II, there were several things that could be learned therefrom.

Loading:

First, the cargoes were not lashed, although the Stability Booklet specifically provided that all cargoes must be lashed irrespective of the duration of voyage and condition of weather. It had become a common practice to wedge the truck wheels at both ends to secure them.

Cause of Casualty:

M.V. Ovalau II capsized and sank due to free surface effect by the accumulation of water on the vehicle deck.

Failure of FIMSA (Fiji Islands Maritime Safety Authority) to properly adhere and enforce law.

Surveyors overlooked safety by failing to ensure proper and efficient survey pursuant to law as the vessel had very severe structural weaknesses.

In its totality, the M.V. Ovalau II was not seaworthy. In accordance with law, a ship is seaworthy if she is fit for the voyage, in design, construction, condition, equipment, and in all other respects would be able to encounter ordinary perils of the sea on the voyage. She must have a competent master and a competent and sufficient number of crew.

Countries were given the chance to present issues that concern them and perhaps make certain recommendation to the Regional Maritime Programme for action. It seemed that from the reports countries were concerned with numerous items. One concern presented has to do with the speed of conventions, recommendations, regulations, etc., coming out from bodies like IMO, ILO, and other international fora, which are dominated by giant, industrialized countries, and the little Pacific Islands, without proper personnel and equipment, would have to deal with their implementation.

Other issues concerned with drafting of legislation and regulations for the implementation of these conventions, recommendations, etc., proper qualifications of instructors at regional maritime training institutions, proper equipment and facilities for training at those sites, etc. These issues were noted by the RMP with the idea that something has to be done to resolve them.

On Thursday, there was a presentation of the regional audit standards put together with the assistance from Asia Pacific Maritime Institute. Due to the confidentiality of the standards, it was not possible to have the standards discussed in such a public forum as the workshop, but was just made known for the information of those in attendance. Second topic of the day was a review of the STCW-95 compliance and how the region fared therewith. Except for a few things to be done, it was noted that the Pacific Island countries are all on the IMO’s while list. The challenge now is for these islands to maintain that status.

On Friday, 18 March 2005, all the presentations were completed and the Chair thanked everyone for their contribution to the success of the meeting and the seminar/workshop. After all the closing speeches were made, the Chair brought the meeting to a close.