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Sunday 27 July 2014

Panama’s Alfonso Castillero joins Liberian Registry


Alfonso Castillero, former Director-General of the Panama Registry, has joined the Liberian Registry as Vice-President.

Castillero worked for sixteen years in the Panamanian maritime sector, rising through the ranks to become head of the registry and director-general of the merchant marine. He says, “I am very excited to be joining the Liberian Registry, although of course I will miss my colleagues from Panama, from whom I part on extremely good terms. Over the years I have gained a thorough understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the industry and its regulations, and indeed of all maritime registries. I would like to acknowledge the professionalism and independence of my leadership staff and of the many key individuals from the consular services and elsewhere, because without them nothing would have been possible.

“Shipping is a highly competitive – and, on occasions, political - industry. I am leaving what is currently the world’s largest ship registry to join the world’s second largest registry. But it is not necessarily about size. It is about quality. Ship registries have a vital role to play in the safe and efficient conduct of world seaborne trade, and change and renewal is part of the process of continuing improvement. Competition is fierce, and I am looking forward to using my experience to help develop still further the expertise and service offering of the Liberian Registry. Liberia’s unprecedented growth and envied reputation for safety, innovation and seafarer welfare continues to be attested to by respected independent arbiters throughout the world.”

Scott Bergeron, CEO of the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR), the US-based manager of the Liberian Registry, says, “We welcome the appointment of Alfonso Castillero. It is not every day that the opportunity arises to appoint somebody of his experience and quality. His long involvement at the highest level of international ship registry affairs will be invaluable and will strengthen the cadre of seasoned industry professionals who help to make Liberia the flag of choice for continually increasing numbers of the world’s leading ship owners and operators.”

The Liberian Registry is one of the world’s largest and most active shipping registers, and has long been considered the world’s most technologically advanced maritime administration. It has a long-established track record of combining the highest standards of safety for vessels and crews with the highest levels of responsive service to owners. www.liscr.com

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Monday 21 July 2014

Bureau Veritas kick-starts LNG bunkering

Leading international classification society Bureau Veritas has published a comprehensive set of guidelines on LNG Bunkering, with the aim of speeding adoption of LNG as a ship’s fuel by kick-starting the LNG bunker chain.

Jean-Francois Segretain, Technical Director, Marine and Offshore Division, Bureau Veritas says, “We really believe that LNG has great potential as a clean fuel for shipping. But fears over its availability in the bunker chain are holding back owners from adopting it. Part of the issue is that ports and terminals wishing to provide LNG as bunkers and shipowners wishing to have LNG-powered ships do not have agreed international standard bunker procedures to work to. Bureau Veritas has very wide experience with LNG in the marine context and we hope that these guidelines will give ports, terminals, LNG suppliers and shipowners confidence to proceed.”

BV’s Guidance on LNG Bunkering NI 618 provides recommendations on LNG bunkering, focusing on the framework to be established with the port authorities and the bunkering organizations before any commercial operation, conditions to be observed before, during and after each bunkering operation, management of emergency situations and the training of staff involved in bunkering operations.
Explains Segretain, “We have done a lot of work on risk analysis for LNG bunkering, helping owners such as Brittany Ferries make the decision to switch to LNG as a fuel. Our risk management expertise combined with our deep LNG experience means we can help everyone involved to be more confident of a safe and standard approach to LNG bunkering.

“We are not talking about specifying the equipment, which will be done by the ISO, we are talking about managing the risks and getting the procedures and people part of this right. We can also provide training for all the personnel involved, from the senior ship management and the engineer receiving the LNG and the port management and LNG bunker staff delivering it. LNG is the future, and confidence in safe handling of it is the key to progress. We can deliver that confidence.”


For a copy of the guidelines e mail martial.claudepierre@bureauveritas.com


Bureau Veritas is a world leader in conformity assessment and certification services. Created in 1828, the Group has more than 60,000 employees in around 1,330 offices and laboratories located in 140 countries. Bureau Veritas helps its clients to improve their performances by offering services and innovative solutions in order to ensure that their assets, products, infrastructure and processes meet standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility.

Bureau Veritas is listed on Euronext Paris and belongs to the Next 20 index.
Compartment A, code ISIN FR 0006174348, stock symbol: BVI.
www.bureauveritas.com

www.veristar.com

Contacts

Bureau Veritas
Martial Claudepierre +33 6 48 69 00 73
martial.claudepierre@bureauveritas.com

Philippe Boisson: +33 (0)1 55 24 71 98
philippe.boisson@bureauveritas.com


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Wednesday 9 July 2014

London P&I Club Chairman calls for international action on ports of refuge


JOHN M Lyras, Chairman of the London P&I Club, has called for concerted international action on the provision of places of refuge for ships involved in casualties.

Writing in the club’s 2014 Annual Report, Mr Lyras says, “Nearly twelve years after the Prestige disaster, it is particularly disappointing to receive reports of other shipping casualties where efforts to mitigate pollution or other risks have been hampered by a reluctance to provide the ships involved with a place of refuge.”

Referencing the widely publicised incidents involving the containership MSC Flaminia and the chemical tanker Maritime Maisie, Mr Lyras says, “There is no easy answer. It is understandable that communities in areas of coastline where refuge may be sought will be reluctant to be exposed to the risk of pollution. But, as the Prestige incident illustrated, and as the risk potentially posed by other ships highlights, there remains a compelling need for further concerted international action in this area.

“As part of that, the efforts of the International Group of P&I Clubs – including its outreach programme and ongoing work to engage with governments and authorities over issues involving both places of refuge and the removal of wrecks – are of great importance.”


www.londonpandi.com

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