Page 16: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 2011)

16Maritime Reporter & Engineering News Piracy Quick Reference Guide Offered by ABS In support of the maritime commu- nity?s efforts to protect seafarers against acts of piracy, ABS has pre- pared a quick reference guide (QRG) to assist ships? crews in implement- ing the industry?s ?Best Management Practices for the Protection of Sea- farers from Somali Based Piracy,? commonly referred to as BMPs. De- signed specifically for onboard use, the QRG summarizes the recently published version 4 of the BMPs in auser-friendly format that can assistthe Master and the Ship Security Offi- cer in preparing the vessel for transit through a high-risk area. It also identi- fies actions to take should the vesseland its crew be attacked. ?This Guide is another tool ship operatorscan use against the menace of piracyand hijacking? says Hemant Juneja,ABS Director of Management Sys- tems Certification. ?It is not intended to replace the BMPs but rather act as a supplement designed especially togive the crew a quick reference guide for protection against these threats. It can also be used as a training toolin shipboard drills and exercises.? NEWSMSC Chicago Charts New Waters for Durban The 9,178 TEU MSC Chicago has be- come the latest vessel to take advantage of the newly deepened and widened port entrance channel in the Port ofDurban, one of Africa?s busiest and largest multi-service ports. The ship is now also the biggest to date to sail into South African waters. Last week the vessel arrived on its maiden voyage to the country en route from Europe andstopped at the Ports of Cape Town, Ngqura and finally Durban. The Port of Durban?s harbor widen- ing and deepening project was com- pleted in March 2010 and saw the channel depth increased from 12.8m toa variance of 16m in the basin to 19m in the outer channel. The width was in- creased from 125m to an average of 225m. Built in 2005 MSC Chicagomeasures 337 x 46m with a 13.1m draft.MSC Chicago was guided into port by Pinky Zungu, one of three women em- ployed by the country?s freight logistics giant Transnet who recently made his- tory as Africa?s first black, female ma- rine pilots to obtain the prestigious?open licence.? The qualification en- ables Zungu and her colleagues Pre-cious Dube and Bongiwe Mbambo tonavigate ships of any size and type into South African waters. Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) said that the company's Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division placed an 825-ton superlift on the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) on Sept. 12, completing the ship's stern. Gerald R. Ford is being built using modular construction, a process where smaller sections of the ship are welded together to form large structural units called superlifts. The super- lifts are pre-outfitted and lifted into the construction dry dock with the shipyard's 1,050-metric ton crane. The final superlift of the ship's aft end includes the steering gear rooms, electrical power distribution room, store rooms and tanks. At 90 feet long, 120 feet wide and 30 feet deep, the superlift was among the largest of the 162 that comprise Gerald R. Ford. Pinky Zungu, the marine pilot who guided the MSC Chicago into Durban. Sherecently made history with two others to become one of Africa?s first black, fe- male marine pilots with an open licence allowing her to navigate vessels ofany size and type into South African waters. Below: Tugs guide MSC Chicago into the Port of Durban. [Photos by Terry Haywood] MR Oct.11 # 2 (10-17):MR Template 10/5/2011 11:12 PM Page 16