With its "Day of the Seafarer" on 25 June, the International Maritime Organization IMO draws attention to 1.2 million seafarers worldwide and their interests. This year the day is themed "gender equality". The IMO arranges their campaign mostly in social media. Some seamen's missions celebrate this day together with the seafarers.
From 1 August, the BG Verkehr will survey ships under a foreign flag requiring a Certificate of Equivalence in German ports only. One reason being that the amount of surveys has escalated, another is the large expenditure of travel time to and from ports abroad.
Convincingly establishing safety awareness on board can only work if all crew members are actively involved. Hazards can be found anywhere safety provisions are only followed half-heartedly. With their new Safety Bulletin, the Ship Safety Division of BG Verkehr gives practical advice for sound safety awareness on board.
The Ship Safety Division of BG Verkehr has changed their approval practice regarding in-water surveys of German-flagged ships. As of now, the inspection of the ship's bottom can also be done inside the water if a ship does not have an additional class notation for in-water surveys (e.g. "BIS", "IW").
Shipowners have to document fuel consumption of their ships
Maritime shipping too has to become (even) more environmentally friendly. Therefore, since the beginning of 2018, the EU prescribes that the shipowners have to trace the emissions of their ships. This requirement of the so called MRV Regulation are now supplemented with new rules by the International Maritime Organisation IMO. We explain the differences between the two systems.
We want to convince you of the advantages of the German Flag. Find out about the benefits of shipping under German Flag.
People of the German flag
Behind the German flag are many strong personalities. We introduce the people of the shipping sector that are closely connected to German flag.
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Confirmed by the ICS: The German Flag is one of the best
With the Flag State Performance Table of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), shipowners can get a quick overview of the quality of the 117 flag states worldwide. The German Flag has long been exemplary in all areas and once more ranks among the best this year.
Annual Report 2018 on the German Maritime Labour Act
In its Annual Report 2018 on maritime labour rights, the Ship Safety Division of BG Verkehr shows at a glance how it monitored compliance with the provisions of the Maritime Labour Act over the last year. Since last year, the BG Verkehr has been issuing Maritime Labour Certificates and Fishing Labour Certificates electronically. The Ship Safety Division also published its MLC-Guidelines in a completely revised format.
The German Flag State Administration gets more and more digital. In addition to e-certificates, online application procedures and many other interactive applications on the website, the Hamburg shipping register, as the first shipping register in Germany, will become digital. A user-friendly and time-saving procedure will facilitate the registration of ships for the shipowners and the administration staff.
For a long time, asbestos was considered a miracle product: the natural mineral is fire resistant, an insulator, easy to process and inexpensive. But asbestos causes illness and can give rise to cancer. BG Verkehr summarized the things shipping companies have to observe when they flag-in a ship that is contaminated with asbestos.
