Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Our Ref.: JJ 30345/ 1250000
DRAFT MINUTES
INTERTANKO
LATIN AMERICAN PANEL (LAP)
12TH MEETING
November 1, 2011
Hilton Cartagena
CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA
ATTENDEES:
COMPANY NAME
INTERTANKO US Office Joseph ANGELO (Secretariat)
Mexican SENATE Sebastian CALDERON
RightShip Eric CLARKE
Transmarine Navigation Patrick DUNBAR
Indesa Consulting Liliana FERNANDEZ
ABS Jose Carlos FERREIRA
Bulk Shipping Mexico Javier GARCIA-URTIAGA
LBH Columbia Mauricio IBANEZ
Tradewind Tankers Carlos JUAN (Chairman)
ABS Columbia Daniel MARTINEZ
MIEX Franklin MARTINEZ
Petrobras Transporte Julio Cezar MUNIZ
Puerto Bahia Juan Ricardo NOERO
Antares Naviera Gustavo PEREYRA
Ultragas Michael SCHRODER
Agemar Edgar TOVAR
Meritus Mexico Pedro VARGAS
Laurin Maritime Michael WILSON
Puerto de Cartagena Anibal Ochoa ZORRILLA
APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM:
Grupo TMM Eric SERRATOS
AGENDA:
1. Anti-trust/competition law compliance
2. Minutes from the last meeting
3. Managing Director’s Overview
4. INTERTANKO Workplan
5. Update on the Vetting Committee
6. Presentation on the Port of Cartagena
7. Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)
8. Ballast water management
9. Update on piracy
10. Tanker market
11. 2012 Annual Tanker event
12. Any other business
13. Next meeting.
The Chairman opened the meeting by welcoming all those in attendance and thanking them for coming to Cartagena, Columbia. He also thanked all of those that were going to make presentations at the panel meeting. He encouraged all members of the panel to continue to pursue growth of the membership of the panel throughout the Latin American region.
The Secretariat advised the panel of the building safety procedures in the case of an emergency, the proposed meeting schedule, the logistical arrangements for the meeting and the arrangements for the Welcome Dinner.
1. ANTI-TRUST/COMPETITION LAW COMPLIANCE
At the start of the meeting the Secretariat reminded participants of INTERTANKO’s Anti-trust/Competition law Compliance Statement and that the meeting was being conducted in compliance with INTERTANKO’s anti-trust/competition law guidelines.
2. MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING
The draft minutes of the panel’s 11th meeting which was held in Lima, Peru on September 13-14, 2010, as enclosed in the agenda notes were approved as they stand.
3. MANAGING DIRECTOR’S OVERVIEW OF INTERTANKO ISSUES
Joe Angelo, the Managing Director of INTERTANKO, provided the panel with an overview of the latest INTERTANKO issues, including those that were discussed at the most recent Council meeting. This presentation can be seen at http://www.intertanko.com/upload/90696/LAP%20INTERTANKO%20overview%20%201.pptx
His presentation addressed the INTERTANKO membership, budget, secretariat, workplan, the major issues discussed at the Council meeting, some statistics on tanker accidents, an overview of databases and benchmarking available on the INTERTANKO web site and information on the 2012 Annual Tanker Event.
When discussing the budget, it was pointed out that the Council had agreed to reduce 2012 membership fees by 5%. One member commented that the fees had been reduced by 10% just 2 years ago and expressed concern that this could impact the Secretariat’s work. The Secretariat responded that this was a concern and at the next Executive Committee meeting, the Secretariat would be advising of those items that Secretariat would not be able to perform with this reduced budget for 2012.
There was a good discussion by the panel members on the sustainability of the tanker industry. The general view agreed by all is that the current situation is bad for the tanker industry. Although many companies are struggling financially, all agreed that tanker safety must be maintained. One member commented that using measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could be very useful in providing cost savings. Another member indicated that they are practicing slow steaming as much as possible to reduce costs and air emissions. A third member expressed concern that operating costs for crew, insurance, etc. are increasing, further enhancing the problem. In conclusion the panel was thankful that INTERTANKO was doing what it could to assist the industry in these very difficult times.
4. INTERTANKO Workplan
Joe Angelo provided the panel with a presentation on the INTERTANKO Workplan. This presentation can be seen at http://www.intertanko.com/upload/90698/LAP%20WP%202.pptx
He reminded the panel of the associations Mission, Goals and Strategic Objectives and then advised them of the process used to adopt the Workplan, the Core Purposes of the Workplan and the Workplan items, including the high priority items.
In discussing the Workplan priorities, the panel expressed its agreement that Sustainability of the Tanker Industry had been added as a new high priority item under the Tanker Information Focus Area. There was a general view that there was a tremendous amount of work on the Workplan and perhaps there were items that we did not have to do. One example was the tanker market. It was felt that there is considerable information available to members on the tanker market and it was not essential that this same information be provided by INTERTANKO. It was also mentioned that many of the items on the Workplan were not tanker specific and that INTERTANKO should look into having other shipping associations take the lead on those items that were not tanker specific. The Secretariat informed the panel that both of these issues were currently being looked at. The panel thanked the Secretariat for the excellent work being done on such a wide variety of issues with such a limited staff.
5. UPDATE ON THE VETTING COMMITTEE
Michael Wilson, Chairman of the INTERTANKO Vetting Committee, provided the panel with a update on the work of the Vetting Committee. His presentation can be seen at http://www.intertanko.com/upload/90708/LAP%20Vetting%207.pptx
His presentation informed the panel about the work being done with respect to Smart Vettiing, Tanker Officer Training Standards (TOTS), vetting clauses, the Terminal Vetting Database, vessel and port state control inspection databases, TMSA, the ILO 180 and Maritime Labor Convention hours of work and rest requirements, the Confidential Accident Reporting Platform and the recent release of the 9th edition of the INTERTANKO Guide to the Vetting Process which he encouraged all members to obtain.
With regard to TOTS, concern was expressed that the oil companies were not accepting TOTS as an equivalent to their officer matrix requirements. The Secretariat informed the panel that in some cases TOTS had been accepted as an equivalent to the officer matrix, but on a very limited case by case basis. For this reason the Secretariat had engaged with OCIMF to determine if there could be wider acceptance of TOTS. The outcome is that if TOTS could be independently verified, there could be a basis for wider acceptance of TOTS by the oil companies. This was being considered by the INTERTANKO Human Element committee. Another concern expressed is that crew members are using the officer matrix to their advantage to obtain salary increases. While this is always a possibility due to the nature of the officer matrix, Michael advised the panel that the VIQ benchmarking can be a very useful tool to improve crew performance.
One member asked if INTERTANKO model vetting clauses were accepted. Michael informed the panel that when a reasoned explanation is provided as to what the main purpose of the clause is, it is usually accepted. In this regard the Chairman pointed out that there are new charterers appearing in the Latin American region with no experience in these matters and it would be very helpful if experience is shared amongst members to help in educating these new charterers.
The panel thanked Michael for his excellent presentation and expressed the view that the Vetting Committee was extremely valuable to INTERTANKO members.
6. PRESENTATION ON THE PORT OF CARTAGENA
Anibal Ochoa Zorrella, Marketing Coordinator for the Port of Cartagena, provided the panel with a presentation on the Port of Cartagena. He did not make his presentation available for distribution.
His presentation focused on the work that is being done in the Port of Cartagena for container operations in anticipation of the completion of the expansion of the Panama Canal. He indicated that the Port of Cartagena saw the value of the strategic location of Cartagena as a trans-shipment port for containers all along the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal and were developing the port infrastructure to meet this anticipated demand.
7. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
Joe Angelo provided the panel with an update on the latest developments at IMO to reduce greenhouse gases emissions from ships. His presentation can be seen at http://www.intertanko.com/upload/90700/LAP%20GHG%203.pptx
His presentation provided the panel with the details of the new IMO requirements that have been adopted regarding the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEPM) for all ships which will enter into force on January 1, 2013. He also provided the panel with an overview of the Market Based Measures (MBM) that are under consideration. He further informed the panel of the INTERTANKO positions adopted by the Council at its meeting on October 5 regarding EEDI and MBMs.
With regard to the EEDI requirements, there was discussion regarding whether the oil majors would accept a tanker that had been granted a waiver from the EEDI requirements as allowed under the regulations for the first four years after entry into force. The Secretariat advised the panel that in discussions with OCIMF, they indicated that they were waiting to see the outcome of the guidelines that would be finalized to support the EEDI regulations before determining their position on this matter, but he reminded the panel that the INTERTANKO position adopted by the Council is that the EEDI requirements should apply equally to all ships on the same effective date.
One panel member expressed the view that the EEDI requirements should also be applied to existing ships. The Secretariat responded that the EEDI requirements were specifically developed for application to new ships and that application of the EEDI to existing ships would not be appropriate.
There was agreement that the GHG fund as an MBM was easy, simple mechanism for the shipping industry, but it could be perceived as “paying to pollute” which would not be in the best interest of the shipping industry. However, it was pointed out that the fund would be based upon fuel consumption which was an incentive to improve a ship’s performance.
One member was of the view that the shipping industry has done little to reduce GHG emissions and should consider voluntary measure to reduce GHG emissions. In response another member commented that while such voluntary measure would be laudable, the current tanker market conditions were not conducive to such actions at this time. All agreed that it was essential to make it clear to national and regional governments that reduction of GHG emissions from ships is an international issue that should be resolved through IMO.
8. BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT
Joe Angelo provided the panel with a presentation on the latest developments on ballast water management. His presentation can be seen at http://www.intertanko.com/upload/90702/LAP%20Ballast%20Water2011%204.pptx
His presentation provided the panel with the regulatory and operational uncertainties that currently exist to meet ballast water management requirements and what INTERTANKO is doing to assist its members in meeting these uncertainties. He also provided the panel with an overview of the IMO, US Coast Guard and some US state requirements for ballast water management.
The panel agreed that the US Environmental Protection Agency recently released Science Advisory Board Report which indicated that technology did not currently exist to meet a ballast water standard that exceeds the IMO requirement was extremely helpful. The panel also thanked INTERTANKO for the work it was doing to assist members on this very difficult issue.
9. UPDATE ON PIRACY
Joe Angelo provided the panel with an update on recent developments on piracy. His presentation can be seen at http://www.intertanko.com/upload/90704/LA%205%20Piracy.pptx
His presentation informed the panel about the latest statistics on piracy off the coast of Somalia, recent actions that have been taken by the military forces in the area, the work of INTERTANKO to assist its members and the actions that INTERTANKO is seeking governments to take to assist its members and the latest developments of the INTERTANKO initiated Save Our Seafarers campaign.
He emphasized the importance of complying with the industry developed Best Management Practices (BMP4), the industry guidelines that have been developed on citadels and the recently adopted IMO Maritime Safety Committee Circulars on the use of private armed security guards. He informed that panel of industry efforts to convince governments to immobilize motherships, increase the prosecution of pirates, increase navel assets in the region and address the root cause of piracy ashore. He encouraged all members to visit the web site, www.saveourseafarers.com and send letters to their governments to encourage their action.
In discussing this matter, concern was expressed about the liability issues associated with the use of armed guards. It was also mentioned that initially seafarers on hijacked ships were not mistreated, but that had now changed and many were being mistreated, in some cases tortured, by the pirates. Another member commented that entire new businesses related to paying ransoms and protection of ships and crew had sprouted and developed as a result of the growing piracy problem. In addition, it was pointed out that there was a growing concern over the spread of piracy to the west coast of Africa.
10. TANKER MARKET
Joe Angelo provided the panel with an overview of recent developments in the tanker market. This presentation can be seen at http://www.intertanko.com/upload/90706/LAP%20Market%206.ppt
His presentation addressed an overview of the current state of the tanker industry, tanker demand, tanker supply which included a basic analysis of future tanker based upon various trade growth projections, tanker values and strategic considerations for the future.
11. 2012 ANNUAL TANKER EVENT
The Secretariat informed the panel that the 2012 Annual Tanker Event will be held in Singapore on May 9-11, 2012. He encouraged members from the Latin American region to attend the event.
12. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
The Chairman informed the panel of the tragic news that Jose Luis Hernandez of PMI, a member of the panel, had lost members of his family in a car accident. The panel requested that the Secretariat express their condolences to Jose Luis. NOTE: The Secretariat sent the panel’s condolences the next day.
13. NEXT MEETING
The panel agreed that the next meeting of the panel should take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the fall of 2012. The Secretariat will work with the Chairman and its panel members in Brazil to select an appropriate venue and date for the meeting.
Draft) Minutes from the xx Meeting of the yy Committee Page 1 of 6
held in xx on the [Day][Month][Year] Issue No 1
Our Ref.: JJ-30345/ 1250000 Approved by:______