The 12 th (A) annual seminar was held at Chennai, Hotel Accord International on the 10th and 11th July 2012.

The event was kicked off by President Mr. Kuboshima after customary introductions of the Management and the attendees were carried out. In his opening speech after welcoming the attendees, he firstly thanked one and all for their continuous support to the company in the difficult times. He further spoke about the continuing economic crisis, and the steps taken by the company to mitigate the same. Kuboshima san mentioned about the commitment of the company to remain competitive despite the challenges being faced. He also mentioned the about some of the unfortunate incidents which occurred in the recent past at the same time urging all to take note of the same and strive hard to prevent the same in the future. He ended this speech by requesting continued support and looking forward to better times ahead.



Piracy : Action Plan and Status by Authorities in India, by Dr. P. Misra, :
After the warm welcome by President Mr. Kuboshima san, Dr. P. Misra, Principal Officer, MMD, Chennai, gave his presentation about the action plan and status regarding the piracy issue in context of the Indian Authorities. It was a very good presentation, which highlighted the serious approach to the piracy issue taken up by the Indian Govt. and in fact several bold measures being implemented by them. It was also a big morale booster to the seafarers, as it affects them the most. Dr. Misra’s presentation in fact reassured the seafarers that indeed concrete action was being taken by the Indian Authorities, and it was not just left to God as it appeared to be from the outside.

Dr. Misra expressed deep appreciation of KLSM, whereby he mentioned that this was the only company he had seen, where the Senior Management such as President and Directors flew all the way from Japan to attend seminars. He praised their active interest not only in attending the seminar but even fully participating and hearing out the delegates by personal interaction thereby being a motivating factor for all seafarers.

Mr. Kuboshima san, President, most graciously accepted the compliments from Dr. Misra, presenting him a souvenir on behalf of KLSM along with Capt. T. Saito and Capt. T. Ibusuki who joined him.

This was followed by a presentation on Healthy Seafarers on board by Capt Sanjiv Sehgal. The presentation mainly highlighted the approach to be taken in order to keep  good health and a good lifestyle on board to prevent illness and other lifestyle diseases. Capt. Sehgal also spoke about the initiative taken by the Norwegian Maritime Authorities to spread the issue about seafarers health on board by the introduction of the onboard training programme related to maintaining good health onboard and costs practically nothing to the company implementing the same. He also linked the MLC 2006 regulations with regard to health and related issues which the company would also have to address.



Subsequent to the presentation by Capt Sehgal, a glimpse of the new training program by SEAGULL, being introduced on board KLSM vessels was carried out by Capt. A. Galliara. The concept of the CBT training, the reasons behind going in for such a program, its benefits and use in relation to the MLC 2006, STCW 2010, and TMSA were highlighted. The training program was addressing various needs simultaneously which gave it an edge as compared to the older training system we had in the company before. Explanation was given about the entire concept that it was individual centric and not group centric with continuous record being kept for every individual on a permanent basis. Actual visuals of the CBT were shown with the aim of introducing the change to personnel in order to make it readily acceptable.

After a hearty lunch, and the time when most people would love to doze off, the seminar went onto operational matters which actually affect us, or could possibly adversely affect us. A wonderful presentation by Capt. S. Rele was done on the topic of SIRE Inspections and Avoidable Observations. Capt. Rele not only explained the various observations received on different vessels, but also, the proactive actions which could be taken to ensure that such observation would not be issued at all. He explained the consequences of getting certain types of observation on any vessel, which impact the credibility of KLSM, and thus K Line. The importance of that could not be stressed more than what was said, and all were reminded to be particularly attentive for such matters in order to aim for our best practices of zero oil spills, zero delays, and zero accidents. His usual humorous style kept everyone actively involved.

The following presentation was on another very relevant topic in recent times, which is affecting all Shipowners. The fact that very expensive fuel costs, necessitating Owners to resort to slow steaming, and super slow steaming. This topic was well presented by Mr. Obineni Rao.He explained the pros and cons of super slow steaming and how with a lot of study and liaisoning with the Engine makers, this could be achieve. Finally how it was helping the companies, something which a few years ago, nobody had thought possible. A true and good case of “Necessity is the Mother of Invention”. Had the economic crisis and high fuel prices not occurred together, probably nobody would have thought of it. So much so for the human brain which seems to find a solution for everything when needed!

Capt. I. Juvale took up the podium for his presentation which was just as relevant. He dwelled upon the ECDIS related incidents in our fleet, as well as the upcoming regulations which we all need to be aware of. How they affect us, and how we need to be prepared for the same. As usual his topic was well presented with facts and figures in great details which made it not only interesting but informative as well.



A presentation by Capt. S. Rele, was on Injury Cases in our fleet. He highlighted various cases which had occurred in recent past, and how they could have been avoided. Since injuries impact any company adversely in many ways, and not just the relevant injured seafarer alone, it was vital that attention be focused on the Prevention part of it by being proactive. The relevance beyond the seafarer is with regard to the grading done by SHELL for its customers, wherein injuries is one of the measured KPI. Customer focus is another matter too. Thus the importance of Prevention.

Following close on the heels of the presentation was a very interesting exercise carried out by all participants who were grouped into various groups aptly named after the various groups in our company CWG, MSG, TSG, QCG, Charterer, Class. Participants were given 20minutes to plan and discuss strategies they would use as their group, for Injury Prevention. They were then asked to give a brief presentation on their strategy. Each group had a Presenter, and a Group Leader. Subsequent to that, a brief time was given for question and answers amongst each group and the audience. Finally, a reward to the best performing group was given. It was very lively, done with a lot of active participation and everyone enjoyed it thoroughly.

The first day ended with socializing during the evening and reaching out to knowing compatriots, and the families of all delegates, over cocktails and dinner. There was a lot of bonhomie and good humour to end a wonderful day.



Day 2 started off with a presentation by Capt. S. Rele on the Damage Prevention in Adverse Weather, along with recent incidents of Heavy Weather Damage on our ships. Again, a very relevant topic involving safety of the ship, life and its cargo on board. The presentation stressed again on following correct procedures which would help us in realizing our goal.

This was followed by “Near Miss Reporting” by Capt I. Juvale. Capt. Juvale gave out facts and figures of near miss reports from ships in our fleet. The importance of these near miss reports was stressed upon, and how they were useful. An interesting presentation with a lot of details indeed.

Capt. Chati, proceeded with the topic of Safety Checks during Dry Docking. An important and useful topic in itself, it gave a lot of insights on what could go wrong and how, if correct procedure was not implemented. Such a presentation was very useful for the new Junior officers who are gradually getting entrenched in the profession and the company.



One relevant topic after another captured the rapt attention of the delegates, and the next one was for sure an equally enthralling presentation by Capt. S. Rele about Emergency Procedures for a Tsunami. After the terrible Tsunami which struck Japan, after the Earthquake on March 11th, 2011, the need was felt by KLSM to include an Emergency Procedure ofr Tsunami giving valuable guidance to the Master and crew on actions to be taken in the event of such a calamity.

With such thoughts in mind, people proceeded for lunch, which refreshed them back to their jovial mood ready for the post lunch session. The seminar was moving rather rapidly.

Capt Juvale gave an interesting presentation on Incident Investigation along with a case study, which is also one of the requirement of the TMSA. This was followed up by a workshop which was for deck as well as engine officers. The one for deck officers was on a Navigation Incident within our fleet, whereas the Engineers had a different workshop on Machinery accidents lead by Mr. Obineni Rao. The aim of separating the two groups was to have maximum involvement form all, as against if it is centred only for deck or engine related matters then the other side would find less opportunity to participate. This was, the enthusiasm was sustained throughout.



Following the presentation opportunity was given to the seafarers from the fleet, to give their views by way of presentation.

CE Mr. R. Prabhaharan took the stage, with his presentation on Cost Saving Suggestions. It was indeed interesting and well presented from his view point as a seafarer. His usual humorous style kept it lively and enjoyable.

This was followed by a very interesting presentation by CE Vishal Sharma, about suggestions to Improve Performance and Output. Mr. Sharma has been our onboard Instructor also besides having sailed on various ships. His insight into this topic was very nice and useful.

Similar to each year, opportunity was also given to our seafarers to give a presentation on their onboard experiences. Two such presentations were given by seafarers. One was by Capt. J.S. Parhar, and the other one by CE Glive Ahilan. Each one of them gave their respective viewpoints in a well presented manner which not only made it interesting but also noteworthy. A good insight into our working and procedures which would help us in the long run was provided. The presentations were not only liked but well appreciated too.



The seminar was fast drawing to a close. Capt. T. Saito, Director GM, Tokyo, addressed everyone by mentioning his close appreciation to all for their good efforts, and thanking one and all for the continued support to the company.

The event was concluded by Mr. Kuboshima san, who gave away the various Awards and Seminar Certificates.

The final concluding remarks for a well hosted and successful were given by Capt. T. Ibusuki, CEO, KLSM India, who not only thanked everyone for the participation and unstinted support to the company, but also reassured everyone again of the commitment of the KLSM towards Indian seafarers.

The evening was waiting for us all to enjoy and keep the happy memories of the seminar whilst bidding adieu, looking forward to the next seminar.