In SwedishSAN NEWS 1 2008
Inspections lead to better-secured loads
Too few lashing straps. Wrong lashing techniques. Too much free space between cargo and front wall. Hardly any of the trucks coming off the Polish ro-pax ferry pass the inspection without any criticism.
IMO says no to cargo-securing certificates
– We want to introduce a cargo-securing certificate but have not got any support for the idea from IMO, says Patrik Granstam from the Swedish Maritime Administration, who is currently working with a compendium of instructions for lashing cargo.
Swedish Accident Investigation Board: ”Shifting of cargo sank Finnbirch”
Poorly lashed cargo can expose crew and passengers to mortal danger. The Finnbirch disaster, which resulted in two deaths, was probably caused by unsecured goods.
New year, renewed efforts
You are holding the first issue of SAN News 2008 in your hand. You will recognise it from last year, but a new vignette – Profile – has been added. Under that heading you will meet professionals that spend a large amount of time and effort improving the environment for those at sea.
”Yes” to super-convention
Work with ratification of the ILO super-convention for seafarers continues. The time period for submitting proposals in Sweden ran out in January, and when the responses are compiled the case will be prepared by the Swedish Ministry for Industry, Employment and Communications before a bill can be put before the Riksdag.
New guidelines will produce shorter sickness times
In the spring the National Insurance Office will apply new recommendations for the length of time off for sickness. This will lead to a decrease in absence due to sickness and other similar assessments.
“Time off sick for seamen a special case”
Monica Widell, doctor at the company healthcare Feelgood in Göteborg, is uncertain what the new recommendations for sickness times will mean for seafaring personnel.
Anette Wugk: ”I want to raise the status of work environment activities”
Raising the status of work environment activities. That is what Anette Wugk, deputy personnel manager at TT-Line, sees as one of her most important duties.
– We must get personnel to understand how much they have to gain by getting involved in their work environment.
From Insjö
At the time of writing there are 1,983 reports in the joint database for shipping, Insjö. One of the latest reports describes an exercise using a stretcher.
Accident statistics for 2006 – continued fall in accident levels
Statistics from 2006 show that the number of accidents on Swedish merchant and fishing ships continues to fall, despite a small increase in the number of ships registered. No reason has yet been established, but one guess is that electronic aids such as AIS may influence the figures positively to some extent.
