Issue No. 09January 2009

Samos Waveswww.samossteamship.gr

Published in Greece

We are sailing the first days of the New Year now and it’s time for all of us to review what was gained and what was lost in the last twelve months. It is also time to stare at the future and set our targets for 2009, which comes bringing uncertainty to most of the world.Strategic business plans, well drawn and

followed the past years are paying us back now and give us confidence for the days to come.Our New Building program will be contin-

ued as planned, and we know for sure that our robust infrastructure, our ships and the very heart of this organization: our people, are ready to face any challenge and come out winners. Being committed to our long tradition, for

this year and the years to come, Samos

Steamship will maintain those aspects that have made us what we are now: Excellence in sea transportation services, Safe working environment for all company members, and a deep respect for the Environment and all forms of Life. May this year bring to us all, days of health, hap-

piness and prosperity.

From the Directors

ISO 14001 Maritime Environmental Management System (EMS) is a process that requires continual procedures improvement for all marine operations that are potentially hazardous for the environment. Samos Steamship has implemented a policy on en-vironmental protection that outlines requirements for all company’s members, both ashore and on board, to perform their duties minimizing the risk of harming the marine bio system.Cpt. Dimitris Vlamis, our Environmental Coordinator reports:

“Through this certification scheme, we can be cer-tain that we are in control of our organizational pro-cedures and actions in total. Especially for those directly affecting the environment, we will now be in position to measure and analyze accurately the impact they have so to take measures if things start going the wrong way. We will be finally in place to demonstrate that our long taken commitment for viable development throughout the years is bench-marked and commonly accepted. Our environmen-

tal procedures will be reviewed and audited.And that through all this process, we will make ship-ping a more friendly industry to all forms of life. For present and future”.

ISO 14001 certif cationThe road towards a viable development

i

Deliveryof theSunrise

Owner Westaway Investments Ltd.Type Super Handy Box Builders Saiki/JapanFlag BahamasClassification ABS Notations A1, Bulk carrier, BC-A, +AMS, + ACCU, TCM,

GRAB, SHCM, ESP, UNWILD, CRC, RWMain Engine Akasaka Mitsubishi, 6UEC52LA, MCO

7,080KW @ 133rpmCargo Holds 5DWT 37,268 MTHeavy Cargoes YesAlternative Loading YesCranes 4 x 30 MT SWLGrabs 4 electro hydraulic x 15 MT SWL

SUNRISE, the Saiki built 37kDWT box-type bulk carrier was smoothly delivered on the 16th January, following successful sea trials carried out in the Japanese inland sea. This geared vessel, is designed to carry a wide variety of products such as grain, packaged goods, metal slabs or wooden logs. Equipped with 4x 30MT Mitsubishi cranes and 4 SMAG PEINER electro hydraulic grabs, it can serve remote docks while its dimen-sions counting (LxBxT) 170.5 x 28.6 x 10.86m, make it ex-tremely flexible and handy.Sea trials and delivery were supervised by Mr. A. Kokkalis and Mr. P. Togias, while Cpt. Wu Zhong Qing, the ship’s Master and Mr. Zhao Xu, Chief Engineer were commanding the ship-board operations.Sun Rise is the first of three sister ships to be built for Samos Steamship. Sun Shine, the second in row, is al-ready launched and will be delivered in late February, while the third one, the Sun Set is due for July this year.

January 2009 No.09

On 9th of January 2009 directors and personnel of our office had a great time to the annual office party held in the ‘Island Club’, a cosy lounge by the sea. After a delicious lunch and a bit of wine, the New Year’s cake was cut and as tradition requires sheared by all company’s members. Mrs. Elena Nana was the lucky one to get the sovereign which brings luck and good fortune.The party rolled on with dancing and cheering and it was get-ting dark when we left happy and full of good spirit.

New Year

PartyMr Mellor from our London office, spe-cially invited for the event, enjoys warm Samos Steamship hospitality

The roots of piracyIf we want an insight into the current problem of piracy occurring off the east coast of Africa then we should relearn the lessons of history. That is the view of academic Virginia Lunsford, who has studied piracy and is the author of sev-eral works on the subject. From ‘Safety at Sea’ Magazine we quote:Four factors allow piracy to flourish. The first is an available population of potential recruits. There are numerous trained militia fighters who populate the semi-autonomous regions of Punt-land and Somaliland. They are well-armed and their pool of weapons and boats is upgraded thanks to the large ransoms paid already. The second factor is a secure base for opera-tions. The adoption by the UN Security Council of Resolution 1846 (2008) has extended its au-thorisation for states and regional organisations to enter Somalia’s territorial waters but this man-date appears to stop at the beach. As already stated, this problem’s solution lays ashore as much as at sea.Factor three is a sophisticated organisation. This appears to be demonstrated by the taking of the VLCC Sirius Star, 450nm off the Kenyan coast and the extremely high ransom request-ed. If the hijacking was deliberate and planned, this points to a sophisticated operation. That the pirates have the means to disburse millions of dollars in ransom payments points to a com-plicated banking operation. The fourth factor is the clan system. This pro-vides cohesive and binding ties and is extreme-

ly influential within Somalia: the pirates work as a team and their loyalty to one another super-sedes patriotism. Interception of pirates on the high seas is a must. The severity of the problem should not be underestimated by dismissing them as a few men in speedboats. Such arrogance is danger-ous. Piracy history shows that even without significant naval assets pirates can do serious damage. Dealing with the ‘roots’ individually, not much can be done about recruitment or tribal loyalty, but the organisation can be undermined. The financial element should be quarantined, so it can no longer be used as a conduit for ransom money. Through intelligence gathering, lines of communications to the pirates’ supporters should be identified and cut.

News in brief

Through pirate watersPetalouda recently crossed the troubled waters of Aden and got out unharmed. ‘Good passage planning, alert-ness of the crew and specific drills are essential’, reports her Master Cpt. O. Petrenko. Ambrosia had also crossed the hostile golf of Aden again free of unpleasant visits.

‘ZERO’ Observationsm/t Ambelos passed an unusually good vetting inspection in Costanta, resulting in ‘0’ observations. Congratulating the Master, the Chevron inspector confessed that he re-ally wanted to put something but could not find any!

Samos Waves

Ambelos

Built: November 2006105kDWT Crude Oil CarrierMaster: Savin ArkadyC.Engineer: Gurzhiy Alexander

ButterflyBuilt: July 200547kDWT Product CarrierMaster: Akhtyrskiy IgorC.Engineer: Kravchenko Sergey

AmbrosiaBuilt: June 2006105kDWT Crude-ProductCarrierMaster: Mikhaylov RuslanC.Engineer: Belikov Viktor

NectarBuilt: June 2005105kDWT Crude-OilCarrierMaster: Druzhinin EvgeniyC.Engineer: Kovsh PetrPapillon

Built: June 200747kDWT Oil/ChemicalMaster: Kharunin SergeyC.Engineer: Mul’ko Alexandr

KerkisBuilt: August 1982208kDWT gearlessMaster: Turchin SergiyC.Engineer: Novytskyy Sergiy

StamatisBuilt: September 2004203kDWT gearlessMaster: Kokarev AndreyC.Engineer: Nabiullin Farit

London SpiritBuilt: December 2007208kDWT Double hull - gearlessMaster: Sapozhnicov VictorC.Engineer: Khilchenko Vladimir

KokkariBuilt: February 2008300kDWT VLCCMaster: Lushnikov SergiyC.Engineer: Tumasyan EduardOracle

Built: July 2008105kDWT Crude Oil CarrierMaster: Khromikhin SergeyC.Engineer: Prus Volodymyr

PetaloudaBuilt: February 2008 47kDWT Product CarrierMaster: Petrenko OlegC.Engineer: Perevyazko Vitaliy

SunriseBuilt: January 200937kDWT gearedMaster: Wu ZhongqingC.Engineer: Zhao Xu

The Fleet Now