In SwedishSAN NEWS 1 2009
Eight months of paternal leave welded family together
After eight months of leave, father Fredrik and his son Axel have grown close and the family has become even more united. But combining a job at sea with the role of father to small children is no easy match.
Seamen’s wives icon status on Åland
– Seamen’s wives are credited with a number of characteristics and are identified through their husband’s profession in a way that no other women are. To a certain extent this picture is true, and the characteristics of seamen’s wives are often used to describe Åland women in general.
Seamen’s priest: Families need to meet to support each other
The seamen’s priest in Göteborg wants to make the church into a natural meeting place for seamen’s families. He believes there is a need to meet and exchange experiences.
Christer Sjökvist: Safety officers can draw advantage from each other’s knowledge
The Grand Hotel is not that bad, but he enjoys being at sea most of all. Christer Sjökvist is the bartender on Silja Galaxy and right now he is involved in updating work after re-flagging to Swedish standards.
Criticism of survival suits’ fitting qualities
Poorly secured cargo, hard weather and lack of knowledge among officers sank the Swedish RORO ship Finnbirch, on which two seamen died, according to the report of the Swedish Accident Investigation Board. The survival suits used were also criticised.
Learning from mistakes – a high price for knowledge
After a long delay, the report of the Swedish Accident Investigation Commission on the Finnbirch disaster, in which two people died, was released at the beginning of December.
New authority to govern shipping
Increased distance to the industry and quality assured inspections. These are the changes that the Director General of the newly formed Swedish Transport Agency wants to achieve in the maritime department.
Fake hydrostatic release units
The Maritime Department is sending out a warning for these counterfeits and encourages anybody in doubt to contact CM Hammar to verify the serial number and production date.
Pilot injured while boarding tugboat
A pilot was about to board a tugboat in the evening, but due to high winds and seas it was decided that the boarding should take place before the normal boarding position. On this occasion the usual pilot boat was not being used, which made conditions more difficult with poorer visibility from the bridge of the pilot boat.
Hawsers in propeller
During mooring work there were two tugboats giving help. The after boat was connected with a towing hawser which had a gantline in its end; it had been used to take onboard the tail rope on the ship’s poop deck. When the hawser was to be released, the gantline fell in the water and was sucked down and got tangled in the propeller.
Poor scuppers cause serious danger
On many ships with RORO decks there are above-deck valves known as scuppers for drainage. The aim is that any water flowing onto the deck, for example when extinguishing a fire, is able to drain off. Scuppers can be closed using maneuverable valves, but in the event that these are not closed in time there are also non-return valves to prevent water from entering from the outside.
