MAYDAY

International Workers’ Day, 2024: Solidarity with Iranian workers, women, and youth

John McDonnell 

Today

Left Foot Forward


On International Workers’ Day, 2024, we will march as a contingent on the London May Day march to express our solidarity with workers and women in Iran

Solidarity with Iranian workers, women, and youth

London May Day march contingent

Workers and women in Iran continue to protest for their rights and freedoms. Workers in sectors such as oil, steel, and elsewhere have struck for better pay and improved conditions; women have continued to resist the Islamic Republic’s repression.

The regime has responded with yet more repression and has stepped up executions, and attacks on women. Rapper and singer Toomaj Salehi is among those who have been sentenced to death for supporting protests. Moreover, dozens of trade union activists have been arrested, and many jailed. Women’s rights activists have also faced detention, and female students have been poisoned in schools. The regime is now attempting to use the threat of attacks from Israel, and their own warmongering response, to whip up nationalist sentiment to distract from the conditions faced by the Iranian people. A regional war will only serve the reactionary agenda of Israel and Iran’s rulers.

The Iranian regime is a capitalist neoliberal regime that uses execution and state terror to maintain its power and spends the wealth produced by workers to support regional proxies and destructive wars. Iran’s ruling class practices patronage and embezzlement and enriches itself via capitalist enterprises while workers and the poor in Iran face sharply declining living standards.

On International Workers’ Day, 2024, we will march as a contingent on the London May Day march to express our solidarity with workers and women in Iran. The rights we fight for – liberty, equality, and workers’ democracy – must be universal, or they are meaningless.

As well as jailing trade unionists and attacking labour activists, the Islamic regime of Iran violates numerous workers’ rights, including:The right to establish and join independent unions
The right to bargain collectively
The right to strike

Join us on May Day to say:Solidarity with workers, women, and youth in Iran
No to compulsory hijab laws and sexual apartheid; for women’s rights in Iran
No to regional war
Capital punishment is state murder: no to executions
Free jailed trade unionists and political prisoners
Expose the representatives of the anti-worker Iranian regime at the International Labour Organisation
For freedom, democracy, and equality for all: for international socialism

This contingent has been initiated by the Committee for Solidarity with the Iranian Workers’ Movement (SWIW). We welcome cosponsorship from any network or organisation committed to solidarity with Iranian workers’ struggles.

Keep speaking up for Palestine – May Day rally!

29th April 2024Events, Gaza, International, Labour & Palestine, Middle East, PalestineLeave a Commenton Keep speaking up for Palestine – May Day rally!

“We must keep protesting and keep remembering why we are doing this: for an end to the occupation, for the right of return for refugees and for a free Palestine.”

Jeremy Corbyn

By Matt Willgress, Labour & Palestine

The revelation last week that ministers David Cameron and Kemi Badenoch authorised British arms sales to Israel right after an airstrike killed three British charity workers in Gaza has further exposed how complicit ‘our’ Government is in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. It also underlines why it’s so important that we remain active on the streets and throughout the labour and trade union movement, speaking up for Palestine.

Additionally, the Government is also refusing to rule out whether British machinery was used in the killing of the aid workers.

The obvious truth is that Britain is arming Israel’s assault on Gaza about which the United Nations Secretary-General, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and many others have said Israel has committed grave violations of international law.

This is why it is so vital to keep demanding – in the words of Zarah Sultana’s important Early Day Motion – that “in light of plausible breaches of the Genocide Convention, [we] further call on the UK Government to demand an immediate ceasefire and suspend all arms exports to Israel.”

In this context – and with a further horrific Israeli aggression against Rafah seemingly being prepared despite the ‘crocodile tears’ of Biden and his international supporters including Keir Starmer – Saturday saw another massive national demonstration for Palestine. Following this, next week sees further solidarity activities including on International Workers’ Day, May 1st.

Alongside our major May Day rally online which will be addressed by the Palestinian Ambassador, the Stop the War Coalition have called a range of workplace actions, Workers for Palestine have activities planned and then next Saturday there will be another national day of action called by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and others.

As Jeremy Corbyn said this week, “We must keep protesting and keep remembering why we are doing this: for an end to the occupation, for the right of return for refugees and for a free Palestine.”

Readers should support all these initiatives and also take the new model motion (below) to their local Labour parties, which concludes that, “The first step towards justice and human rights for all Palestinians is the upholding of their right to self-determination under international law, including recognition, an end to the occupation and for negotiations leading to a just and enduring peace.”

Despite the Labour front bench’s shameful line – namely still not joining the growing calls in the UK and internationally for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza and to halt the trade of arms with Israel being used illegally in the war – we will keep speaking up for Palestine!

You can view a model motion for CLPS below:

“The Israeli bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians since 7th October, over 70% of whom are women and children. 

“This branch/CLP joins the growing calls in the UK and internationally for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza and to halt the trade of arms with Israel being used illegally in the war.

“The United Nations Secretary-General, Amnesty International and many others have said that Israel has committed grave violations of international law in this assault.

“Israel has a clear obligation to ensure the basic needs of Gaza’s population are met. As famine looms in Gaza, the UK Government and the international community must urgently secure not just a ceasefire, but unfettered aid access. The UK should restore its support to UNRWA.

“The first step towards justice and human rights for all Palestinians is the upholding of their right to self-determination under international law, including recognition, an end to the occupation and for negotiations leading to a just and enduring peace.”

---

• The May Day Rally for Palestine! takes place online this Wednesday, May 1st at 6.30PM. The rally is hosted by Labour & Palestine and guest speakers include the Palestinian Ambassador Husam Zomlot, Richard Burgon MP, John McDonnell MP, Kim Johnson MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, Beth Winter MP, Louise Regan (Palestine Solidarity Campaign & NEU), Maryam Eslamdoust (TSSA General Secretary), and more. Register here.
• You can lobby your MP to sign Zarah Sultana’s Early Day Motion calling for the Government to stop selling arms to Israel here.
• You can follow Labour & Palestine on Facebook and Twitter.
• This article was originally published by Labour Hub on April 27th, 2024.

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New sonar images show mangled heap of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge at bottom of river

By Katherine Donlevy

NY POST
Published April 3, 2024

The mangled remnants of the Francis Scott Key Bridge can be seen lying at the bottom of the Patapsco River in new sonar images released on Tuesday.

The once-iconic bridge appears unrecognizable in the 3D renderings as it sits shrouded in the dark waters of the channel.

“These 3D images show the sheer magnitude of the very difficult and challenging salvage operation ahead,” the US Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District said.

The 3D images will be used by divers to navigate the mangled disaster zone.

twitter/USACEBaltimore

Taken by the US Navy’s Naval Sea System Command’s primary sonar tool called CODA Octopus, the images will be used to create maps to help divers navigate the chaotic scene, where visibility is limited to just one or two feet.

Several feet of mud and soot were dislodged from the river floor last week when the Dali container truck smashed into the bridge, causing it to crumble and plunging at least eight construction workers into the water.

The Army compared the cloudy conditions to “driving through a heavy snowfall at night with high-beam headlights on.”

As recovery efforts continue, divers will rely on detailed verbal directions from operators in vessels who are viewing the real-time CODA imagery.

The renderings were taken by the US Navy’s Naval Sea System Command’s primary sonar tool called CODA Octopus.

twitter/USACEBaltimore

US Army Corps of Engineers Col. Estee Pinchasin said the underwater conditions are “extremely unforgiving” for divers.

“The magnitude of this is enormous,” she said.

Crews are in the process of removing the heaps of steel and concrete at the site of the collapse, where authorities believe the bodies of four of the eight victims are still trapped.

The visibility around the wreckage is just one or two feet.

The bodies of two construction workers with Brawner Builders were pulled from a red pick-up truck submerged 25 feet below the surface near the middle span of the bridge one day after the disaster.

Two people — a state inspector and a contractor from an engineering firm — were rescued shortly after, one of whom was seriously injured and the other who refused treatment.

All eight victims were part of the construction crew working to repair potholes on the bridge when the cargo ship Dali lost power in the early hours of March 26, shortly after leaving Baltimore on its way to Sri Lanka.

US Army Corps of Engineers Col. Estee Pinchasin said the underwater conditions are “extremely unforgiving” for divers.

The ship issued a mayday alert, allowing just enough time for police to stop traffic.

The owners of the ship, Synergy and Grace Ocean, filed a court petition Monday seeking to limit their legal liability, a routine but important procedure for cases litigated under US maritime law. A federal court in Maryland will ultimately decide who is responsible and how much they owe.

With Post Wires

 

Maritime Mishaps and the Circadian Clock

The container ship Dali hit Baltimore's Key Bridge at 0129 hours on the morning of March 26. The circumstances are under investigation (Image courtesy USCG)

PUBLISHED APR 1, 2024 9:39 PM BY CAPT. JOHN CORDLE (USN, RET'D)

 

 

The tragic allision of the container ship Dali with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore is sure to produce a good deal of speculation as to causal and contributing factors, and the NTSB investigation will certainly provide specific insights when it is completed. One area that will certainly be of interest is the impact of fatigue on maritime operations.

Although not a sleep scientist, I am an experienced Mariner and Human Factors Engineer who studies fatigue for a living and assists in creation of policy for fatigue management and crew endurance for the United States Navy. In our training, one of the key areas that we focus on is the circadian clock, which is part of our human biology. In fact, looking back at historical precedents, the vast majority of significant maritime incidents involving loss of life occurred in the natural circadian dip between midnight and 4:00 am.

Having stood my share of midnight watches, I can attest that the combination of fatigue, darkness, confusing lights, and stress can definitely impact performance and decision making. My own close call occurred in 2002 while in command of USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) during a strait transit under the Copenhagen Bridge. Having been up all day and into a night transit under the bridge, I dozed off at a critical moment. I opened my eyes as the panicked crew scrambled to figure out what was going on. It was quickly apparent everybody lost track of where we were . . . including me. 

Out of caution I gave the order to stop the ship - and then I realized that I had no idea what was going on. I had forgotten that there were three ships behind me that could have run into me had not an alert watch stander announced on the Bridge to Bridge radio that I was stopping my engines. I was so tired that I didn’t think it through; in my foggy state, I could have driven us into shallow water (or into the bridge) or caused a multi-ship collision! Everything turned out OK, but in retrospect I let myself get so tired that I basically caused a near miss[i].

The author fell asleep while piloting the USS Oscar Austin in Denmark. This photo, published on www.navsource.org, was taken from one of the three ships following the vessel on the night of the near-miss. (Kevin Elliott / U.S. Navy photo)

After a series of fatal collisions in 2017, where fatigue was found by both Navy and the NTSB to be a contributing factor[ii], most of the Navy adopted a circadian watch rotation which takes into account the body’s natural cycle and places watch and sleep periods at the same time each day. According to most experts, the majority of the commercial maritime industry is a similar schedule, with four hours on watch followed by eight hours off. However, manning shortages, excessive workload and scheduling anomalies can create a situation where a circadian watch rotation is not enough to ward off excessive fatigue.

While it is too early to tell, historical precedent is fairly consistent. The following graph from my colleague at the Naval Postgraduate School, Dr. Nita Shattuck, shows a few key incidents and their location on the circadian cycle:

Figure 1. A study of ship collisions and other major incidents shows that the vast majority of them occur during the naturally adverse phase of the circadian rhythm where reactions are slower. MV Dali hit the Key Bridge at 01:29 AM (Courtesy of Dr. Nita Shattuck, Naval Postgraduate School.

A 2021 Cambridge study of over 1600 maritime collisions concluded that:

“The result of the analysis confirms that collisions between vessels are more frequent at night and that these accidents are usually more serious than during the daylight watches. This does not mean that bridge officers and lookouts are not affected by fatigue during sunlight shifts, but that the necessary absence of light to improve the vision during the night watches diminishes their skills. As a result, the probability of shipping accidents fluctuates according to a circadian rhythm with peaks during the night. Although this analysis has focused only on collisions, it should be accepted that it affects any kind of task carried out by watch keepers, which means that the results obtained in this investigation can be extrapolated to any type of navigation incidents.[iii]”

In the case of the MV Dali, however, the watchstanders appear to have had the presence of mind to announce an emergency situation with a “Mayday” call that quite likely saved lives, allowing authorities to stop traffic from crossing the bridge, but unfortunately not in enough time to warn the workers in their cars on break[iv].  Despite the historical precedent and personal examples cited in this article, it is entirely possible that the master and crew were taking preemptive measures to reduce nighttime fatigue in a close maneuvering situation, and that these practices paid dividends in a casualty situation – only time will tell.

Captain (retired) John Cordle completed two Navy surface ship command tours including a wartime deployment in command of USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) and a counter-piracy deployment in command of USS San Jacinto (CG 56). He was awarded the Navy League John Paul Jones Award and the Bureau of Navy Medicine Epictetus Award for Innovative and Inspirational Leadership for his work in crew endurance and circadian watch rotations.

References:

[i] You Have To Close Your Eyes To See The Military's Powerful New Weapon, Sarah DiGiulio, Huffington Post, Jul 30, 2016

[ii] Comprehensive Review of Recent Surface Force Incidents, VADM R. Davidson, United States Navy, 28 October 2017

[iii] The effect of circadian rhythms on shipping accidents, Juan Vinagre-Ríos, José-Manuel Pérez-Canosa, and Santiago Iglesias-Baniela. Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 April 2021

[iv] What to know about the cargo ship Dali, a mid-sized ocean monster that took down a Baltimore bridge, Rick Perry, AP News, 28 March 2024

 

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

Baltimore bridge crash: Sri Lanka unaware of ship carrying toxic wastes from US, say officials

The US National Transportation Safety Board is still ‘analysing the ship’s manifest to determine what was onboard’ in its other 4,644 containers

PTI Colombo Published 02.04.24

The Singapore-flagged container ship vessel Dali, which was mainly manned by an Indian crew, collided with the 2.6-km-long four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore in the early hours of March 26.

Sri Lanka is not yet aware of the nature of hazardous materials on the cargo vessel that collided with a key Baltimore bridge last week as it was supposed to declare the contents of containers only 72 hours before the time of arrival into the Colombo Port, officials here said.

The Singapore-flagged container ship vessel Dali, which was mainly manned by an Indian crew, collided with the 2.6-km-long four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore in the early hours of March 26. The 984-foot cargo ship was bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The ship was carrying 764 tonnes of hazardous materials as reported by the US media.


According to the information available, there are 57 containers with such toxic materials that can be categorised under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code. The waste included mostly corrosives, flammables, miscellaneous hazardous materials, and Class-9 hazardous materials, including explosives & lithium-ion batteries – in 56 containers. So says the US National Transportation Safety Board, still ‘analysing the ship’s manifest to determine what was onboard’ in its other 4,644 containers, Daily Mirror Online quoted the official as saying.

"Prior to Baltimore, Dali called at New York and Norfolk, Virginia, which has the world’s largest naval base. Colombo was to be its next scheduled call, going around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, taking 27 days, scheduled to land just after our New Year," the official said.

Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Keith Bernard said the ship should declare the contents of containers only 72 hours before the time of arrival at the Colombo Port.

“The ship is supposed to arrive here on April 21, 2024. It means they are supposed to inform us by April 17 or so. There is enough time. If there are containers with hazardous items as declared by them, we will isolate such containers in accordance with protocols. As a major transhipment hub, we have a procedure set in place to deal with such containers. Most likely, these containers are meant for transhipment,” he said.

Asked about the procedure if the containers are meant to be allowed into the country, he said the clearance of the Defence Ministry and others would be sought.

However, Deputy Director of the Central Environment Authority (CEA) Ajith Wijesundara said it is not yet clear whether the ship was carrying containers with hazardous wastes or toxic substances. According to the Basel Convention, he said such wastes would not be allowed into the country.

He added that toxic substances are imported as raw materials and guidelines are applied.

The collapse of the bridge has effectively shut down operations at Baltimore’s port, affecting about 8,000 jobs and about USD 2 million in daily wages for those workers, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last week.

Baltimore ship crew worried about ‘world’s perception’ days after Key Bridge collapse


Singapore-flagged ship Dali stuck under bridge with mostly Indian crew since last Tuesday

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

02/04/2024

The crew members stranded for a week on board a cargo vessel that collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore were worried what the world thought of them, an official said.

The Singapore-flagged ship Dali, en route to the south Asian country, has been stuck with 4,000 containers and its mostly Indian crew since last Tuesday after the vessel lost power and collided with a support column of the bridge, leading to its collapse.

The 20 Indian and one Sri Lankan sailors were in good health, including a member who suffered minor injuries, according to officials

The “rattled” sailors had adequate food on board but were keeping quiet about their situation amid an ongoing investigation, said Joshua Messick, the executive director of the non-profit Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center.

“They’re not saying much at all to anyone who has been in touch with them,” Mr Messick told the BBC.

“They didn’t have WiFi until Saturday and they didn’t really know what the perception of the rest of the world was. They weren’t sure if they were being blamed, or demonised. They just didn’t know what to expect.

“They are also in a very sensitive situation. What they can say can reflect on the company. I would imagine that they’ve been advised to keep a low-profile for the time being,” he added.

There has been very little information provided by the authorities on the condition of the crew members or their backgrounds.

The sailors have been praised for raising a mayday alarm moments before the crash, which allowed the authorities to stop cars from entering the bridge from both sides, saving countless lives. However, they also became the target of racist jokes on the internet, featuring in cartoons stereotyping Indians.

Wreckage from collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge rests on cargo ship Dali 

(Getty Images)

Authorities in the US said there was no immediate plan to disembark the crew members as workers raced against time to clean up the bridge’s debris from the Patapsco River.The sailors would likely stay on board until the ongoing investigation was completed.

"The crew members were busy with their normal duties on the ship and assisting the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Coast Guard investigators," a spokesperson for Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, the owner of the vessel, told news agency PTI.

"At this time, we do not know how long the investigation process will take and until that process is complete, the crew will remain on board."

The Synergy Group, which manages the vessel, said in a statement that the NTSB – an independent US government investigative agency – boarded the vessel on Wednesday and collected documents, voyage data recorder extracts, and began interviewing the sailors as part of their investigation.

The Port of Baltimore opened a temporary channel on Monday, freeing some tugs and barges that had been trapped by the bridge collapse.

One of last people to cross Baltimore bridge describes harrowing drive

BY MIRANDA NAZZARO - 04/01/24 -  THE HILL

A Maryland man said he considers himself “lucky” while reflecting on being one of the last drivers to go across the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore moments before it was struck by a cargo ship and sent crumbling into the Patapsco River.

Larry DeSantis was making his daily commute last Tuesday to his second job at Herman’s Bakery in the Baltimore area when he crossed the bridge shortly before 1:30 a.m. He told The Baltimore Banner he remembered slowing down to look out for highway workers doing construction on the bridge and now realizes he witnessed some of the workers’ final moments before they presumably died in the collapse.

He did not notice a ship coming toward the bridge or the black smoke coming out of it and later told CNN the only indication of something being wrong was the lack of vehicles on the roadway, even at that time of day.

“I really didn’t even see the ship at all. I just focused on what was right in front of me,” he told CNN. “There was one other vehicle behind me. It was a tractor, but he didn’t have a trailer because I actually got in front of him right as we started to go over the bridge.”

DeSantis was off the bridge by around 1:27 a.m., and at 1:29 a.m., a 984-foot cargo ship, named the Dali, crashed into bridge, causing it to collapse. Officials said the Dali was attempting to leave Baltimore Harbor on its way to Sri Lanka when it lost power.

The ship was able to issue a last-minute mayday call to allow police to stop traffic moments before the crash, but the eight individuals working on the bridge were not able to get off and fell into the water. Two of the workers were rescued and survived, and divers found two bodies in a submerged truck. The four others are presumed dead.

“I mean, they were doing their job, and they lost their lives. It’s hard; I drove right by them; I saw all of them, just a minute before they probably died,” he said.

DeSantis told The Baltimore Banner, which broke the story, he did not hear the noise from the crash because he had a radio channel playing.

“I didn’t even know anything was going on, but it was just really eerie when I got off of the bridge and there was nothing [behind me],” DeSantis said. “Because with Amazon there, I’ll see 20 Amazon trucks every morning. I don’t care what day of the week it is. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing.”

Minutes later, he received a call from a co-worker to make sure he was OK and later from a Maryland Transportation Authority Police detective.

“I think about it; I might not be here now if I had been just a little bit later,” he said. “Just a minute would’ve changed everything. It’s scary, you know.”

DeSantis said he has gone to work each day since the collapse, though his commute now takes closer to an hour than 20 minutes, like before.

“I’ve been very tired this week because of the amount of hours I’ve been working, but it makes you think a lot, it really does,” he told CNN. “I just can’t believe it happened. I consider myself very lucky.”

A lifelong resident of the Baltimore area, DeSantis said it is “hard to believe” the landmark bridge is gone and only remembers one other time in his life when the skyline did not have the bridge — when it was being built.

The bridge collapse has closed the Port of Baltimore, a major shipping hub along the East Coast that supports more than 15,000 direct jobs and more than 139,000 indirect jobs, Axios reported last week.

The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday it is expected to open an auxiliary channel for commercially essential vessels near the site of the wreckage.

“This will mark an important first step along the road to reopening the port of Baltimore,” Coast Guard Capt. David O’Connell, the federal on-scene coordinator for the joint command response, said in a statement. “By opening this alternate route, we will support the flow of marine traffic into Baltimore.”

Crews began removing the first piece of wreckage from the water over the weekend, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.

Moore, along with other state and federal officials said the port’s closure will not only impact Maryland’s local economy but will also have ripple effects on a national level. No definitive timeline has been determined for when the port could reopen as the salvage and rebuilding process is expected to be extensive.

ST Explains: Baltimore bridge collapse

What does it mean for a ship to be S’pore-flagged, and why is S’pore involved in the probe?

The Dali container ship crashed into one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26.

 PHOTO: REUTERS

Kok Yufeng and Kolette Lim

STRAITS TIMES 
UPDATED
MAR 28, 2024

SINGAPORE - A container ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26 was sailing under the Singapore flag, spawning questions about what this means, why Singapore’s authorities are involved in the investigation and the parties that could be held liable.

The Straits Times looks at what it means for a ship to be registered in Singapore and why investigators here have been sent to the United States to aid in the probe.

1. What does it mean when a ship is Singapore-flagged?

Under international maritime law, all merchant ships participating in international trade need to be registered in a country of the shipowner’s choosing, called the flag state. Each ship is bound by the laws of the flag state that it is registered in.

The Singapore Registry of Ships, which was established in 1966, is responsible for overseeing Singapore-flagged ships and ensuring that these vessels and their owners meet local and international regulations covering areas such as crew safety and environmental protection.

Singapore’s ship registry, which was the fifth-largest in the world in 2023 according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, comes under the purview of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

The moment the ship crashed into the bridge. STRAITS TIMES GRAPHICS

2. How many vessels fly the Singapore flag, and what is needed for a ship to get on the registry?

As at January, there were about 4,000 vessels being administered under the Singapore Registry of Ships, representing a total internal ship capacity of more than 100 million gross tons.

Except for certain vessels like fishing boats, all types of ships, including offshore vessels such as oil rigs, can be registered with the Singapore ship registry so long as they comply with the relevant international standards.

According to MPA’s website, vessels that are less than 17 years old and meet these requirements are normally accepted for registration.

MPA has said that the Singapore flag has become a flag of choice for many shipowners and operators due to the quality of the ship registry here.

Other advantages of flying the Singapore flag that have been cited within the shipping industry include the ease of incorporating a Singapore company, as well as tax exemptions and various incentive schemes.

3. Who can be registered as owners of Singapore-flagged ships?

Only Singapore citizens, permanent residents or companies incorporated in Singapore may be registered as owners of Singapore-flagged ships. These companies can be locally or foreign-owned.

For a company to be registered as the owner of a Singapore-flagged ship, it must have a minimum paid-up capital of $50,000. But this requirement may be waived depending on the number of ships being registered and their aggregated tonnage.

The owner of every Singapore ship must appoint a manager whose residence is in Singapore, according to MPA. The ship manager may be an officer of the owning company or of a management company, and he is responsible for all matters related to ship registration and crew manning, as well as safety at sea.

In the case of the Dali container ship – which rammed into one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, in the United States, resulting in six people presumed dead – the shipowner is Singapore-based firm Grace Ocean.

The ship’s appointed manager is Synergy Marine Group, a Singapore-headquartered company, which hired and manages the crew aboard the Dali.

Synergy, which manages 668 vessels, oversees various aspects of operations for shipowners, such as docking procedures and risk management.

Baltimore bridge collapse: What we know so far

Baltimore bridge collapse: S’pore-flagged ship passed inspections in 2 foreign ports in 2023





4. Why is MPA involved in the probe, and what are its responsibilities in terms of maritime safety?

Mr Moses Lin, partner and head of shipping at law firm Shook Lin & Bok, said MPA ensures Singapore-flagged ships have complied with relevant safety regulations.

It also ensures that these ships have undergone the regular inspections and certifications needed for a vessel’s structural integrity, seaworthiness and safety.

But flag states, he noted, do not have direct responsibility for the day-to-day operational safety of vessels.

In an accident like the Baltimore one, just because the ship involved is registered in Singapore does not mean the Republic is responsible, said Associate Professor Goh Puay Guan of the National University of Singapore Business School and Centre for Maritime Studies.

“Safety checks and compliance checks would likely have been conducted regularly, and as long as these are done in accordance with procedure, the regulatory bodies would have carried out their responsibilities,” he added.

Under international law, flag states must conduct an inquiry into any marine casualty or incident involving a ship flying its flag that causes loss of life or serious injury to nationals from another state, or causes serious damage to ships or installations of another state.

The flag state must also cooperate in any inquiries held by the other state into such incidents.

In the case of a marine casualty or incident, owners and masters of Singapore-registered ships must first take urgent steps on the ground to prevent further deterioration of the situation.

Once that is done, they should alert MPA to the incident immediately or within two hours of the incident at the latest. A more detailed report should then be submitted within 24 hours of the occurrence.

Engineers are raising questions about piers supporting Baltimore bridge

What we know about Francis Scott Key Bridge

5. Why are investigators from Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) being sent to Baltimore?

TSIB – a department of Singapore’s Ministry of Transport (MOT) – is the authority responsible for investigating air, marine and rail accidents and incidents here.

When it was set up in 2016, it took over the task of carrying out independent safety investigations into marine accidents from MPA.

The bureau will investigate incidents that occur in Singapore with a “very serious marine casualty”, regardless of the country the ship is registered in, or those that involve a Singapore-registered ship when it is overseas.

These “very serious” incidents involve the total loss of a ship, a death, or severe damage to the environment. TSIB may also investigate marine casualties and marine incidents where safety lessons can be drawn.

MOT has said TSIB’s investigations are aimed at preventing accidents and incidents, and not to ascribe blame or liability. Still, any investigation being conducted by the bureau does not prevent other entities, such as MPA, from conducting their own probes.

The shipowner of the Dali container vessel is Singapore-based firm Grace Ocean. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

6. Which party bears the liabilities in such accidents?

As early investigations into the Baltimore bridge collapse are under way, it is difficult to ascertain which party would be liable for damages, legal experts told ST.

Major parties that might be potentially responsible include the shipowner, operator, charterer, captain or master of the vessel, said Shook Lin & Bok’s Mr Lin.

The Dali container ship was chartered by Danish shipping giant Maersk at the time.

Losses would likely include damage to the bridge, business and service disruptions, and the loss of lives, said lawyer Kevin Chan.

Depending on the outcome of the investigation, Grace Ocean can seek compensation from relevant parties, lawyers said.

“If it was an engine failure which caused the vessel to lose power and collide with the bridge, it might be the operator or the engineer who was responsible,” said Mr Mathiew Rajoo, partner at DennisMathiew law firm.

The company that hired the parties responsible may then be liable, he added.

Port pilots may also be held liable in certain situations.

“Pilots typically board ships in local waters to direct the ship as these waters could be small and narrow or have conditions that the ship’s captain may not be aware of. “So, in certain instances, it could also be the pilot’s fault for failing to direct the vessel correctly,” Mr Lin said.

Grace Ocean may shield itself from damages by filing for a limitation-of-liability action under maritime law, said Mr Mathiew. The liability will be based on the tonnage of the vessel.

But the company, he said, will not be entitled to the limitation if it is established that the loss resulted from a deliberate act or omission.

The shipowner would also likely be covered by insurance, said lawyers.

The ship has been insured by the Britannia Protection and Indemnity Club, a mutual insurance association owned by shipping companies, since 2014.




According to its website, the insurance group covers areas such as loss of life, liability to cargo and collision liability.

But there may be instances where shipowners could be denied their claims, depending on the terms of the policy, said Mr Chan.

“Possible situations where coverage may be excluded would include the vessel’s failure to maintain its class (a certification of its technical standards) required under the policy, or if the collision was intentional or a result of wilful misconduct by the shipowner,” he said.Additional reporting by Grace Leong

 

A Remedy for Ship Accidents: Tug Escorts

AP Images

PUBLISHED MAR 30, 2024 1:21 PM BY TONY MUNOZ

 

 

When the M/V Dali had an allision with Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge at eight knots, the 116,000-deadweight-tonne ship hit with explosive force. This tragedy left six bridge workers dead, an economically-essential port closed, and the entire maritime sector under scrutiny.

Commercial shipping transports over 80 percent of the world's trade, valued at $14 trillion. The global fleet is estimated at 120,000 vessels, of which five percent are container vessels.

After the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 was enacted. This act mandated tug escorts for laden tankers in Alaska, and soon after that, the states of Washington and California required tanker escorts in their waterways.

As the San Francisco Bay Area stakeholders met, there were serious concerns about tankers transiting the bay’s extreme tidal environment and eight bridges. But the remedy was easy: all tankers would require tugboat escorts of two or more boats based on deadweight tonnage. The only debate was whether twin-screws or tractor tugs met the OPA90 mandate of “best achievable technology.

Recently, ships have stuck bridges in China and Argentina, and the industry is again reminded of the freighter ramming the Tampa Bay Skyway Bridge in 1980, killing 35 people as trucks, cars, and a Greyhound bus fell 150 feet into the bay.

The heroic efforts of two marine pilots on the M/V Dali, who made a mayday call and dropped the ship’s anchor, will not be soon forgotten. But had they been able to radio their tug escort to maneuver the ship’s course, this maritime catastrophe would not have occurred.

Tony Munoz is the publisher and editor-in-chief of The Maritime Executive. 

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

UPDATED

Baltimore bridge being cut up after ship collision


By AFP
March 31, 2024

A handout photo from the US Coast Guard shows demolition crews cutting the top portion of the north side of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 30, 2024 - Copyright US COAST GUARD/AFP Kimberly REAVES

The crumpled Baltimore bridge was being cut up in preparation for its removal, Maryland’s governor said Sunday, promising “progress” was being made after it was destroyed by an out-of-control ship.

Demolition crews using blow torches sliced through the top part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed when the Dali cargo vessel lost power and struck it on Tuesday, killing six people.

“Progress is beginning to happen despite the fact that it’s an incredibly complicated situation,” said Maryland Governor Wes Moore, adding that weather conditions and debris in the water meant divers were unable to assist with the recovery operation.

“We now do have cranes, the Chesapeake 1,000, which has a capacity of lifting a thousand pounds,” Moore told CNN on Sunday.

“(Workers have) begun to cut up the remnants of the bridge that we can then prepare for removal.”

Video footage shared Saturday by the Unified Command — the overall response team that includes the US Coast Guard — showed sparks flying as crews suspended in cages cut through an upper section of the steel structure.

The Unified Command said the wreckage will lifted away and processed at a Baltimore shipping site before being taken to a disposal site.

Moore said the recovery would be a “long road,” adding: “This is a very complex operation, but movement is happening.”

– Search for bodies –

The difficult conditions have hampered efforts to recover the bodies of the six road workers — all Latino immigrants — who died when the bridge collapsed, with just two bodies recovered so far.

Shipping in and out of Baltimore — one of the United States’ busiest ports — has been halted, with the waterway impassable due to the sprawling wreckage.

Moore told MSNBC on Sunday that his priorities were recovering the victims’ bodies before reopening the channel.

“It’s impacting the nation’s economy. It’s the largest port for new cars, heavy trucks, agricultural equipment. It’s impacting people all over the country,” he said.

The ship veered towards the bridge due to power trouble, with the pilot issuing a Mayday call that allowed some road traffic to be stopped just before the collision at 1:30am after which the structure collapsed in seconds.

“It takes a lot to make sure that it can be dismantled safely, to make sure that the vessel stays where it is supposed to be and doesn’t swing out into the channel,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told “Face the Nation” on CBS.

Oklahoma highway reopens following shutdown after a barge hit a bridge

An Oklahoma highway has been reopened following its closure for a few hours on Saturday after a bridge over the Arkansas River was struck by a barge

ByThe Associated Press
March 31, 2024, 


1:13

SALLISAW, Okla. -- An Oklahoma highway was reopened Saturday following its closure for a few hours after a bridge over the Arkansas River was struck by a barge.

Troopers with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol closed a portion of U.S. Highway 59 south of Sallisaw at around 1:25 p.m. after the barge hit the bridge.

No injuries were reported on the highway or the barge, according to state patrol officials. The bridge crosses the Arkansas River where it enters the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir, which is not far from Oklahoma's border with Arkansas.

The highway reopened to traffic around 4 p.m.

“Engineers inspected the structure and found it safe to reopen,” the Oklahoma Department of Transportation said in an email.

A spokesperson for the highway patrol did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment on whether officials have determined what caused the barge to hit the bridge.

The news came as engineers began working Saturday to lift a section of twisted steel from the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland after it crumpled into the Patapsco River after a massive cargo ship crashed into one of its main supports.

Baltimore's bridge collapse recalls lessons of Florida tragedy decades ago

In 1980, a ship crashed into Sunshine Skyway over Tampa Bay, killing 35


The Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa, Fla., was rebuilt in 1987 after the original bridge collapsed in 1981. A freighter struck a support post during a storm, collapsing the southbound span. A Greyhound bus and seven other vehicles were plunged into the water, killing 35 people.

 File Photo by Robert Neff/Wikimedia Commons

March 27 (UPI) -- The catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday over Baltimore's Patapsco River, where six people remain missing and presumed dead, is drawing tragic comparisons to a similar bridge collapse in Florida 44 years ago.

On the morning of May 9, 1980, a freighter slammed into the support columns of the old Sunshine Skyway bridge over Tampa Bay during a violent thunderstorm, causing a 1,300-foot section of the southbound span to collapse. A Greyhound bus and seven other vehicles plunged into the water, where 35 people died. Only the driver of a pickup truck survived the drop.

In Baltimore, a Singapore-based cargo ship is reported to have issued a mayday Tuesday morning after losing power. Crews performing pothole work on the bridge alerted drivers to stop the flow of traffic as the ship crashed into a support column, collapsing much of the span and sending eight people into the water. Two were rescued as a search continued for the other six until late Tuesday, when it was called off.

Both bridge collapses involved freighters hitting support columns, collapsing much of the span, and plunging vehicles and people into the water below. Both bridge collapses cut off a major artery for drivers and for shipping. And both spans that collapsed opened in the 1970s.

Related

Six construction workers presumed dead in Baltimore bridge collapse as search called off

As investigators gather in Baltimore to determine what happened Tuesday, the question is what lessons learned from Florida's tragedy decades ago could have made a difference this week.

Post-disaster findings

In Florida's bridge collapse, the pilot of the ship, John Lerro, ultimately was cleared of negligence and the collision was deemed an accident. During months of hearings, Lerro maintained that he had no control over the freighter and was at the mercy of the 70-mph winds as he navigated through the 800-foot-wide opening under the twin bridge spans.

"We believe he made a reasonable decision of attempting to transit under the bridge, in view of his fear of slamming into the bridge broadside," Douglas Rabe, chief National Transportation Safety Board investigator, said in 1981. Investigators ultimately determined the National Weather Service should have warned mariners of the severe storm and that Lerro should have abandoned his attempt to navigate under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

While Tuesday's bridge collapse is still early in the investigation, there are reports that the crew aboard the cargo ship Dali issued a "mayday," saying the vessel had lost power, before it slammed into one of the support piers of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Engineering protective barriers

On Tuesday, engineers and bridge designers raised questions about the structural safety of Baltimore's bridge and whether protective barriers around the support columns would have prevented the tragedy.

British structural engineer and bridge designer Ian Firth told The Baltimore Sun that protective barriers include cable systems, pontoons, caissons and submerged islands. Firth said the most commonly used protection for bridge support columns are bumpers or "dolphins," which are filled with sand or concrete to protect the bridge from cargo ships.

When the Sunshine Skyway was rebuilt in 1987 at a cost of $240 million, engineers added dolphins mounted to artificial islands to protect the bridge from "potential water-traffic collisions." The six piers, closest to the shipping channel in Tampa Bay, are protected and the two main piers are flanked by 60-foot dolphins, which can withstand an impact of up to 30 million pounds.

Maryland's Francis Scott Key Bridge opened 10 years earlier in 1977. Codes for building bridges and their structures have changed over the years and vary state by state to accommodate vehicle traffic above and maximum access for water traffic to traverse underneath.

Benjamin Schafer, a professor of civil and systems engineering at Johns Hopkins University, told the Sun that protecting the bridge piers, in the unlikely event that a large freighter is unable to navigate, could have made a difference Tuesday.

"This sort of protection is what FSK did not have, and we can see now that it may -- may -- have helped," Schafer said.

Scenes from Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore

A damaged container ship rests next to a bridge pillar in the Patapsco River after crashing into and destroying the Francis Scott Key Bridge at the entrance to Baltimore harbor on March 26, 2024.

 Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo

Explained: The outrage over the racist cartoon mocking Indian crew of ship behind Baltimore bridge crash

FP Explainers • March 29, 2024

An American webcomic posted an illustration of the Baltimore bridge collapse incident showing the ship’s Indian crew wearing loincloths ahead of the collision. This came a day after US president Biden praised the team for their prompt Mayday call

The narrative has drawn criticism for both undermining the ship's crew and for its racist portrayal of Indians. Image Courtesy: @FoxfordComics/X

An out-of-control cargo ship rammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, resulting in six presumed fatalities on 26 March.

The Indian crew on the ship is receiving praise from US President Joe Biden, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, and other prominent figures; yet, a “racist” cartoon that depicts the tragedy has sparked controversy.

Let’s take a look.

The racist cartoon

An American webcomic has posted an illustration of the tragic event the day after US president Biden praised the ship’s crew, the majority of whom were Indians, for their prompt Mayday call.

The animated film, which was aimed at the ship’s crew, depicts dishevelled men wearing only loincloths ahead of the collision. 

An audio clip of people cursing at each other in English with a heavy Indian accent was also included in the cartoon.

The video was posted on X with the caption, “Last known recording from inside the Dali moments before impact,” by Foxford Comics.

With 4.2 million views and more than 2,000 comments, the image has become widely popular.

Parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge remain after a container ship collided with one of the bridge’s supports in Baltimore. Rescuers are searching for multiple people in the water. WJLA via AP

Criticism

The narrative has drawn criticism for both undermining the ship’s crew and for its racist portrayal of Indians.

Indian economist Sanjeev Sanyal shared the cartoon and stated that a local pilot was probably in control of the ship at the time of the tragedy.

“At the time that the ship hit the bridge, it would have had a local pilot. In any case, the crew had warned the authorities which is why the casualties were relatively few (for such a disaster). The mayor in fact thanked the Indian crew as “heroes” for raising an alarm that limited casualties,” he said.

Another X user said, “It’s shameful that people are mocking Indian crew for the tragic incident. Meanwhile the governor himself praised the crew.”

“This racist trash is one of the reasons that many Indians still don’t prefer the United States, apart from the cheap way in which your gun laws enable your citizens to dispose our brethren due to the same racist agenda without fear,” a third user chipped in.

Biden and others praise Indian crew

Synergy said all crew members and the two pilots on board were accounted for, and there were no reports of any injuries. “All 22 crew members of Cargo ship that hit Key Bridge in Baltimore are Indian,” Synergy said in a statement issued on its website.

After the tragedy, Maryland governor Wes Moore hailed the Indian crew on board the Dali , saying that it was their quick thinking that saved other lives.

US president Biden said that the crew notifying officials that they had lost control of the ship, prompted the shutdown of the bridge, a move that “undoubtedly” resulted in the saving of many lives.

Personnel on board the ship were able to alert the Maryland Department of Transportation that they had lost control of their vessel. As a result, local authorities were able to close the bridge to traffic before it was struck, which undoubtedly saved lives,” stated Biden during his comments at the White House regarding the collapse.

Aerial view of the Dali cargo vessel which crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse in Baltimore. Six people have been presumed dead following the incident. Reuters

Baltimore bridge tragedy

The ship flying under Singapore’s flag departed from Baltimore port at 1 am local time on Tuesday for a journey lasting around one month to Colombo, Sri Lanka, as per Marine Traffic.

The operators of the Dali cargo ship issued a mayday call that the vessel had lost power moments before the crash. At around 1.28 am, the vessel struck one of the 2.6-kilometre bridge’s supports, causing the span to break and fall into the water within seconds.  Puffs of black smoke were seen as the lights flickered on and off.

The six missing people were part of a construction crew filling potholes on the bridge, according to Paul Wiedefeld, the state’s transportation secretary. Guatemala’s consulate in Maryland said in a statement that two of the missing were citizens of the Central American nation. Honduras’ deputy foreign affairs minister Antonio Garcia told AP that a Honduran citizen, Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, was missing. The Washington Consulate of Mexico also said on X that citizens of that nation were also among the missing.

A view of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, after the Dali cargo vessel crashed into it causing it to collapse, in Baltimore. Reuters

Rescuers pulled two people out of the water, one of whom was treated at a hospital and discharged hours later. Multiple vehicles also went into the river, although authorities did not believe anyone was inside.

Tuesday’s collapse might create a logistical nightmare along the East Coast for months, if not years, shutting down ship traffic at the Port of Baltimore.

The port is a major East Coast hub for shipping. The four-lane bridge spans the Patapsco River at the entrance to the busy harbour, which leads to the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.

The governors of those states promised in a joint statement on Thursday that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will plan to take on more cargo to assist minimise the impacts on the supply chain up the coast from Baltimore.

Other racist cartoons

There have been numerous occasions in the past where visuals have drawn attention to the unequal treatment given to different nations.

In August 2023, a German magazine named Der Spiegel published a cartoon depicting India’s population overtaking China. It showed an overcrowded Indian train passing a modernised Chinese bullet train travelling on a parallel track with only two drivers inside. The passengers on top of the Indian train were seen holding the tricolour.

While people on social media heavily criticised the inaccurate portrayal, some politicians and other authorities have also used Twitter to condemn the cartoon as “racist” and “derogatory.”

In 2015, a cartoon was published in the Australian newspaper depicting starving Indians chopping up and eating solar panels sent to the developing nation in an attempt to curb carbon emissions has been condemned as “unequivocally racist.”

Drawn by the veteran cartoonist Bill Leak, the cartoon received massive criticism for being racist. Amanda Wise, an associate professor of sociology at Macquarie University, was quoted as saying by The Guardian, “This cartoon is unequivocally racist and draws on very base stereotypes of third world, underdeveloped people who don’t know what to do with technology,”

In 2014, the New York Times newspaper published a cartoon showing a man, wearing a shirt, dhoti, and a turban, standing with a cow and knocking on the door of a room marked “Elite Space Club” where two bespectacled men donning Western clothes were reading a newspaper on India’s Mars Mission.

The cartoon, made by Singapore-based artist Heng Kim Song, accompanied an article titled India’s Budget Mission to Mars. It received widespread condemnation, with many calling it ”racist,” and accusing it of mocking India.

For the uninitiated, in September the same year, India became the first nation to successfully put the Mangalyaan robotic probe into orbit around Mars on its first attempt. With this, ISRO joined the elite club of NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Soviet Union for carrying out successful missions to the Red Planet.

With inputs from agencies