GLOBAL SEAWAYS GROUP OF COMPANIES CHRISTMAS PARTY

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1 GS NEWS p. 1 NAUTILUS UPDATE p. 2 INTERNATIONAL ISSUE p. 3 Global Gateway Crewing Services Inc. PHILIPPINE LEGAL ISSUES p. 5 GS NEWS GLOBAL SEAWAYS GROUP OF COMPANIES CHRISTMAS PARTY 2018 Christmas Party of 2018 for Global Seaways Group of Companies Manila branches was held on Friday 07th of December where everybody had the chance to celebrate and enjoy the food, the music, etc. 88 Aces Maritime Services Incorporated, as newly affiliated branch in Manila of Global Seaways Group of companies represented by its President Ms. Esmeralda Bravo are likewise express appreciation to the great contribution of officers and staff. Those word of Mr. Patentas and the President of 88 Aces Maritime Services Incorporated are simple and yet powerful because their appreciation are the tools that help employees to grow and sustain relationship. In his speech the director of Global Seaways group of companies Mr. Patentas extended his gratitude and wished to all officers and staff of Global Seaways Group of Companies Manila office branch a Merry Christmas and fruitful year ahead. It s another milestone of Global Seaways Group of Companies as business continuous to grow. 1

2 NAUTILUS UPDATE PHILIPPINE MARITIME INDUSTRY AUTHORITY (MARINA) LAUNCHED ONLINE EVALUATION AND APPOINTMENT SYSTEM To ensure that training is being dutifully provided and not to comprise quality training the Philippine Maritime Industry Authority had come up with a sign in process to its database. All STCW courses accredited by MARINA offered by Maritime Institution will be sign to MARINA appointment schedule database. The said database not only catered STCW courses as well as seafarer s seaman s book application and renewal including theoretical examination for Marine Officers. Certificate of Competency (COC) and Certificate of Proficiency (COP) will launches soon. The implementation of MARINA sign in process, evaluation and appointment system is in line with the computerization of all MARINA processes, which is on top of the MARINA s 14 point agenda for With the help of the online evaluation and appointment system, this will ensure that all seafarers can apply from anywhere either while onboard or from the comforts of their home. Hence, all seafarers are encourage to obtain their Seafarer s Registration Number (SRN) at MARINA for smooth online evaluation and appointment system processes. 2

3 INTERNATIONAL ISSUE Asia bunker markets set for changes as IMO 2020 sulfur cap looms Source Bunker fuel markets in Asia are speeding up for a wave of changes in 2019, as the industry accelerates towards the International Maritime Organization s global sulfur cap rule starting January 1, While supply and demand dynamics remain uncertain ahead of 2020, market participants will be riding on a myriad of strategies geared towards the use of cleaner fuels. Singapore, the world s largest bunkering port, will brace itself for tightening environmental rules by enhancing its strategies for distillate bunkering. A key development to watch will be the mandate of mass flow meters for distillate delivery, scheduled for implementation by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore starting July 1. In October last year, the MPA said it started acceptance tests to roll out MFMs on bunker tankers for the delivery of distillates, with the first test completed in September. This comes at a juncture when demand projections for cleaner fuels are set to grow, especially towards the end of 2019, trade sources said. While some ship owners might adopt mixed blends, using more gasoil is the only way to go as people will have to replace bunker fuel with options of lower sulfur content, a bunker trader based in Singapore said. Market participants are expecting a surge in buying interest for low sulfur marine gasoil and low sulfur fuel oil towards the later half of That being said, the demand for fuel oil was unlikely to vanish completely, sources said. With desulfurization and scrubber technology, the demand for HSFO will not die off rapidly even into 2020, another bunker trader in Singapore said. 3

4 Over in the Persian Gulf, the Fujairah port is also expected to see a gradual transition towards the use of cleaner fuels. Availability of low sulfur fuels is still a question so we foresee that RMG [380 CST bunker fuel] demand will still be quite consistent going into the year, a bunker trader based in Fujairah said. Meanwhile, average bunker demand in Fujairah was expected to remain stable at around 700,000 mt/month, according to trader expectations. The volumes that were lost after the Qatar issue are, unfortunately, not going to be recovered, another trader based in Fujairah said. In North Asia, demand for cleaner fuels is set to rise following China s imposition of a 0.5% bunker fuel sulfur limit for ships along its entire coastline from January 1, expanding from its initially designated Emission Control Areas. Already, shipowners are buying larger volumes of LSMGO at China and Hong Kong ports. Inquiries for LSMGO are at a higher range, volumes have gone up by 50% to even 100%, a China based trader said. LSFO demand is also set for a significant rise. While LSFO for bonded bunkering is not produced by China s local refineries, it is imported from Singapore, Malaysia and the Middle East, and stored in tanks in China s major Ports such as Shanghai and Zhoushan. China s apparent demand for LSMGO is expected to rise 32% year on year to 8.09 million mt/year in 2019, while demand for LSFO and blended distillates would grow 44% on year to 5.12 million mt/year, Wang Zhuwei, senior analyst with S&P Global Platts Analytics said. LSFO production is expected to ramp up this year to meet the incremental demand. For one, Chinese oil giant Sinopec is planning to start the first commercial supply of LSFO for the bunker fuel sector from its coastal refineries from August. While South Korea will not be implementing any sulfur cap this year, refineries have started looking into the production of IMO 2020 compliant low sulfur bunker fuel. S Oil is tentatively producing LSFO through its new residue upgrading complex, which will be operated on a full scale this year. SK Innovation is building a Vacuum Residue Desulfurization 4

5 unit facility in the Ulsan Complex by 2020, while Hyundai Oilbank has been operating a solvent deasphalting process in its Daesan Plant. Competition among oil refineries in the supply of LSFO is expected to intensify. We are focusing on increasing refining margins by raising the oil refining segment s upgrade rate to 40.6%, a Hyundai Oilbank official said. We will prepare for a spike in demand by establishing a sales network capable of supplying low sulfur heavy oil by October. PHILIPPINE LEGAL ISSUE Facts: The seafarer was engaged as Oiler when he experienced back pains after doing maintenance work and lifting of a metal plate. He was repatriated and placed under the care of the companydesignated physician who diagnosed him with chronic bilateral L5 S1 radiculopathies probably secondary to a lumbar canal stenosis with grade 11 disability. Labor Arbiter : The Labor Arbiter considered the seafarer permanently and totally disabled as the final assessment was issued by the company designated physician only after 149 days of treatment. The Labor Arbiter reasoned that seafarer s condition is considered as permanent and total due to his inability to perform his customary work for more than 120 days. NLRC Commissioner: This was also the decision of the NLRC Commissioner. Court of Appeals: On the other hand, the Court of Appeals while sustaining the award ruled that the seafarer is permanently and totally disabled because he was still under treatment after more than 240 days and there was no showing that he was engaged to work again. 5

6 Supreme Court: The award was modified and the seafarer was just considered to be suffering from a permanent partial disability with the following argumentation. The 120/240 days rule; disability grading issued by the company designated physician upheld The seafarer reasoned that he was no longer obliged to undergo a third doctor assessment because under contemplation of law, he was already considered as permanently and totally disabled as he was not declared fit to work within a period of 120 days/240 days. The Court held that seafarer s argument is flawed. Under the POEA Contract only those illnesses or injuries that are classified as grade 1 shall be constitute total and permanent disability. Thus, those from grade 2 to 14 are considered as partial permanent disability subject to the schedule of rates provided by the contract. The lapse of the 120 or 240 day period does not automatically entitle the seafarer to a total permanent disability. It is the company designated physician who will certify him as either fit to work or classify his condition as either partial or total permanent disability within the said periods. In fact, the POEA Contract itself provides that the disability should be based on the schedule provided therein and not on the duration of the seafarer s treatment. It is only after the lapse of 240 days that the seafarer is still incapacitated to perform his usual duties and the company designated physician has not made any assessment at all (whether the seafarer is fit to work or whether his permanent disability is partial or total) that the conclusive presumption of permanent total disability on the part of the seafarer arises. Here, the seafarer was under the medical care of the company designated physician and the Court determined that the initial 120 days period may be justifiably extended as further treatment was needed. Within the extended period of 240 days, the company designated physician assessed the seafarer with a grade 11 disability. In the absence of a third doctor s opinion, such assessment should be upheld. Greece Global Seaways Ltd., 182, Androutsou Str , Piraeus Ph.: , piraeus@globalseaways.com, Website: 6