"I will leave with only good memories and take this opportunity to thank all the representatives of OCIMF member companies with whom I have had the honour of working closely with during my tenure as Director."
Directors log
This is a rather special Newsletter for me this month as this will be my final Directors log.
Although I can scarcely believe it five years have passed since I arrived here at OCIMF in the spring of 2010. It is now time for me to say farewell and pass the helm of the good ship OCIMF to Andrew Cassels who will take over as Director on 10 June at the 75th meeting of the Executive Committee.
I will leave with only good memories and take this opportunity to thank all the representatives of OCIMF member companies with whom I have had the honour of working closely with during my tenure as Director. There cannot be many positions that enjoy such broad support from such a diverse, global team who meet with the common goal of improving safety in our industry and freely provide their expertise. I am sure you will give equal support to Andrew and I wish him every success. The marine industry is a small world and I am sure our courses will cross again in the future. PTC colleagues if my face fades from your memories you will recognise me by my boots!
Captain David Cotterell
Introducing Andrew Cassels
Andrew Cassels takes the helm at OCIMF at the next Excom on 10 June following Dave Cotterells return to Shell following his five successful years as Director.
Andrew joined BP in 1975 as a Deck Cadet and spent 14 years at sea serving in ranks up to Master on a range of BP oil tankers from 1,500 dwt to 278,000 dwt which included both global and UK coastal trades. Following a move ҡshoreҠAndrew held a broad range of roles across BP Shipping and BP Exploration. Although Andrew has some commercial experience (chartering and demurrage) his main roles have been within the two operational main areas of BP Shipping; Marine Assurance where he has held roles in Vetting and Port and Terminals including a posting as the eastern hemisphere Assurance Manager; and Fleet Operations which included time running the BP Maritime Services manning provision to BP Shipping, Fleet Integrity, Procurement and Agency.
Other extracurricular roles over the years have included directorships at East Asia Response Ltd (EARL) and the Middle East Navigation Aids Service (MENAS), Managing Director of the BP ShipCare vessel lay-up service, Member of the Merchant Navy Training Board (MNTB) and is currently a Council Member of the Merchant Navy Welfare Board. Andrewӳ most recent role was the Vice President of Safety and Operational Risk embedded in BP Shipping but reporting independently on the operational integrity of BP Shipping. In addition Andrew was the BP Shipping Segment Marine Authority.
In his spare time Andrew can be found walking his English Bull Terrier, gardening, cycling or walking, the latter two this year will support the British Heart Foundation (the London to Brighton Bike Ride on 21 June) and The Merchant Navy Fund (climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in August).
Andrew Cassels
BP
Maritime Trade Information Sharing Centre
During May the Maritime Trade Information Sharing Centre within the Gulf of Guinea region (MTISC-GoG) has seen the departure of Capt Bourgon (ConocoPhillips) as he completed his two month secondment as Merchant Navy Liaison Officer (MNLO) at the Centre.
MTISC-GoG is extremely grateful for his hard work, advice and contribution to all aspects of project. Capt Bourgon is replaced by Capt Fantaouzzi (Chevron), who has worked extensively in the West Africa region and brings much experience from his long career. MTISC-GoG is extremely pleased to welcome Capt Fantaouzzi who will be working with the MTISC-GoG for a two month period.
May has also seen the departure of two Ghanaian Navy watchkeepers; AB1 Kwaw Aaron Tsatsu and AB1 Ahiadome Jonathan. We thank them for their contribution and wish them well in their future careers.
This month it was the turn of MTISC-GoG to host the Maritime Security Working Group Meeting in Ghana. The meeting takes place monthly and is well attended by members of the diplomatic community in Ghana along with companies and organisations with a maritime interest. The meeting was held at the DC10 restaurant in Accra. MTISC-GoG was also very grateful to host Capt Peter Hammarstedt from Sea Shepherd, a non- profit marine conservation organisation as a guest speaker. Capt Hammarstedt provided a very interesting account of the recent incident when two Sea Shepherd vessels MV Sam Simon and MV Bob Barker were involved with the pursuit and eventual crew rescue of a vessel involved in Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
During May the Centre has welcomed a number of important visitors including a delegation from the Danish Foreign Ministry and a delegation from the Spanish Ministry of Defence.
The Americas regional panel
The Americas Regional Panel met for the third time in April. The morning plenary session hosted close to 70 participants including guest from the USCG and California State Lands.
In addition to OCIMF updates from the secretariat several presentations were offered by members and guest.
- Regional Champion Luciano Maldonado (Petrobras) reviewed some of the significant issues faced in the region and challenged the members to continue to stay involved to make improvements in our industry.
- Daniel Hughey (SeaRiver) provided a detailed update on the Offshore Operators Committee work generating the Common Marine Guidelines.
- Deb Cobb (Tesoro) provided an update on the progress of the TMSA 3 work group and reminded members that there is still time to provide input to be considered in the revision. The work group estimates completion in early 2016.
- Captain Clint Winegar from Houston pilots offered a very compelling presentation highlighting the progress they have made with their new initiative to train green water and brown water bridge teams together including a real life incident that credited the program in avoiding a collision in the channel.
- William Burroughs gave a detailed presentation on the current status of the Ballast Water Management requirements. After setting the stage for both USCG and international regulatory requirements and forecast he outlined key strategies for operators to consider and offered practical implementation options to ensure compliance in the short and long term.
The morning discussions were dominated by an underlying thread that many of the members are facing a challenging market. Director David Cotterell challenged the members to find ways to efficiently continue to provide resources to complete the significant work already underway. With every cost being scrutinized it was clear that now more than ever organizations want to leverage any synergies and use new technologies to create savings.
The afternoon session found the three work streams progressing current work items and considering new issues raised in the morning session.
The next Americas Regional Panel is scheduled for 12 November in Houston. Any questions or comments can be directed to:
A SIRE New Inspector Course
A SIRE New Inspector Course was held in the OCIMF office in London. A total of nine candidates attended, two of whom were observers.
New Technical Adviser, Engineering
Joe Megeed joined OCIMF as an Engineering Technical Adviser in May 2015.
Before joining OCIMF he sailed both steam and motor crude oil tankers with the ConocoPhillipsҠPolar Tanker fleet as an Engineering Officer.
Following his sailing time with ConocoPhillips, Joe worked as a Technical Superintendent with OSG Ship Management in Tampa, Florida, managing shipyards for product carrying ATBs and tankers. Joe then returned to ConocoPhillips to work as an Engineering Superintendent to manage shipyards and voyage repairs for ConocoPhillips. Prior to being seconded to OCIMF Joe was the Director, Engineering Compliance with the Polar Tanker fleet based in Houston, Texas.
Joe proudly served as a US Navy Reserve Officer working with the Ready Reserve Fleet and provided Midshipmen training and mentorship aboard school training ships. He also received an honourable discharge as Lieutenant Commander. Joe holds a Bachelorӳ of Engineering in Marine Engineering and a Masters of International Transportation Management from SUNY Maritime College.
Outside of the maritime industry, Joe has a continued passion for the water as evidenced by his love for water sports. If the weather permits, he can be found kiteboarding, surfing, or stand up paddle boarding. Joe also has a love for travel.
OVIQ v2 and MODU Template release
The long awaited release of the new Offshore Vessel Inspection Questionnaire (OVIQ) and Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) templates is now upon us.
We plan to release the new OVIQ2 and MODU templates on 1 July 2015. It has been a long road to get here but we feel it was worth the wait.
Special thanks to everyone that participated in testing of the OVIQ editor and new templates.
Witherby bid David goodbye
Kat Heathcote and Iain Macneil of Witherby Seamanship presenting David with a leaving gift during a trip to their offices in Scotland last month.
