31.08.2017
Blogger of the Week
Mr. Rohan Murray, Head of Technical at GMS

Topic: Challenges faced by owners with technical management of single demolition voyages

Technical management for trading vessels has evolved over the years and ship owners prefer to manage their vessels either themselves through their in house technical team or through a third party ship manager. 

For the single voyage delivery, on board management, is usually assigned to third party ship managers. The quick turnaround required in vessels going for recycling poses many a challenge for the managers. 

The main issue faced is getting competent crew who are honest and transparent during their time on board. Honest to their profession and their duties on board a vessel, transparent with their managers/owners on the condition of the vessel and likely problems to be faced. 

If these two issues are resolved it is easy for the owners to prepare for any eventualities during the voyage. It is often noticed that the crew try to hide the problems faced since it is a single voyage and owners end up with a bigger problem to tackle which is beyond the control of the managers.

Reliability of machinery is always a problem as few, if not most, sellers do not like to share the problems faced on board. However the buyer’s crew needs to try and understand the body language of the seller’s crew and focus on areas where there is a reluctance to show machinery operations.

The reliability also becomes an issue if the two qualities mentioned above for the crew are not met. 

Repair and maintenance budgets are not required to be maintained for a year hence the managers need to be more accurate in their estimation of repairs to prepare for the usually short limited voyages.

Bunkers, stores and lub oils are handled by owners so they have a better control on costs.

Managers and their crew must be able to adjust to newer technologies, regulatory and environmental requirements which are rapidly changing.

Managers therefore have to adapt to the requirements of the Industry and improve their processes to be more competitive.

For any questions or comments, please contact me at: operations@gmsinc.net 

August 11, 2017 

As ship recycling standards have increased across the sub continent, tanker owners need to adapt to the stricter requirements for cleaning vessels for hot works prior recycling. As we have seen earlier this year, tragic accidents aboard vessels that were not cleaned thoroughly led to a tragic loss of life and closure of the Pakistani market for over 8 months now. This should serve as a serious wake up call to tanker owners that their vessels must be totally cleaned of all cargo residues, slops and sludges in all cargo and slop tanks in order to mitigate risks of an accident at recycling yards.

Regrettably, we have noticed a few ship-owners are shying away from such an important and fundamental responsibility. This is a dangerous precedent that must stop immediately. All in the shipping community need to sleep sound at night knowing that they have acted responsibly. Every effort should be made to prevent a repeat of the awful accidents witnessed in Pakistan that led to loss of life, enforced closure of recycling markets, created negative publicity, reduced (financially beneficial) resale options, which ultimately resulted in lowering prices for all wet units across the board.

After working closely with recycling yards, ship managers, gas freeing professionals and ship owners, GMS has developed the industry's first guidelines for cleaning tankers for hot works prior delivery to recycling yards. These guidelines go above and beyond the routine requirements of gas freeing. We request owners to go the extra mile so that lives can be saved and safety standards further enhanced across a rapidly developing ship recycling sector. GMS has adopted a policy that ALL tankers purchased by our principals on "as is where is" basis will be cleaned according to these guidelines.

Should you wish to obtain a copy of these guidelines, kindly send a request to: snp@gmsinc.net

21.08.2017
Blog of the Week
Entry#2 by Jamie Dalzell
Topic: The importance of Hot Works

As standards have increased across the subcontinent, so shipowners themselves also need to adapt to the stricter requirements now faced, particularly when it comes to tankers and cleaning vessels thoroughly to reach the updated more stringent hot works recycling standards. 

As we have seen earlier this year, tragic accidents aboard an FSU and LPG that were not cleaned thoroughly by the concerned cash buyer (possibly seeking to cut corners and do a 'cheap' cleaning job) led to an unnecessary loss of life and closure of the Pakistan market for over 8 months now. This wake-up call should serve as a dire notice to tanker owners that their vessels must now be completely cleaned of all cargo residues, slops and sludges in all cargo and slop tanks to avoid a repeat. With blowtorches cutting vessels, lives are at risk and this should not simply be a burden for shipowners (who know their vessel better than anybody else) to shift onto cash buyers. 

All in the shipping community need to sleep sound at night knowing that they have acted responsibly, and particularly with an increasing flow of tankers now coming for recycling, this responsibility must extend to the shipowners and the nature of the cleaning job they should now take on before delivering to cash buyers / local markets. 

A repeat of the accidents witnessed in Pakistan will only lead to enforced closure of recycling markets, more negative publicity and headline risks, reduced resale options and therefore much lower pricing for all wet units across the board. By simply spending a little extra to clean their vessels in line with the GMS guidelines for hot works, lives can be saved and infrastructure / standards further enhanced across a rapidly developing ship recycling sector.

GMS Dubai, the world’s largest buyer of ships and offshore assets, was shortlisted for the ‘Shipping Company of the Year’ award at yesterday’s 14th Seatrade Maritime Awards Middle East, Indian Subcontinent & Africa ceremony, held at Atlantis, The Palm Dubai.

The award honours companies that have undertaken a major transformation or had a significant impact on the region’s marine market. GMS was recognised for its transformative leadership of the ship recycling industry, its ongoing efforts to lead a global change in perceptions of ship recycling and its direct investment in both the expansion of its Dubai headquarters and the improvement of ship recycling facilities in India and Bangladesh.

GMS has driven forward the concept of responsible ship recycling, which has now gained acceptance from key stakeholders around the world. It is the only buyer of ships committed to safe and environmentally sound ship recycling, with a dedicated “Green Team” working with industry associations, government bodies and unions to support improvements in worker health, safety and environmental standards. Moreover, it is the only buyer of vintage tonnage that has actually invested in the last ten years over $1million USD in the education of shipowners, yard facility owners and media about the significance of responsible recycling.

Most significantly, GMS championed approximately 200 deals last year, finishing on top of its competition once again. Since its establishment in 1992, the company has concluded about 3,000 vessels and offshore structures. Notably, the company is on a rapid growth rate with the addition of two new offices and further expansion plans for next year.

Dr. Anil Sharma, President and CEO, GMS commented: ”Being a finalist in the ‘Shipping Company of the Year’ category at the Seatrade Middle East Awards is a fantastic achievement for GMS. Ship recycling plays a fundamental role in the sustainable lifecycle of a vessel and under the current market conditions, responsible recycling is the only way to address the vessel oversupply. As a company, our leadership and commitment in developing a more sustainable future for the ship recycling industry has made a real, tangible difference to attitudes and practices within the shipping industry and we look forward to seeing this trend growing further in the coming years.”

Source: http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/gms-dubai-shortlisted-as-finalist-for-the-shipping-company-of-the-year-award/