This is my iPhone 5S unboxing (enclosure / housing / backplate). In this unboxing video we get a closer look at what will be the new Gold iPhone 5S. Which color will you pick?
New iPad Mini 2 "Retina" Parts Leaked? (First Look + Comparis
In this video we get a closer look at what might become the iPad Mini Retina edition. We also compare the dimensions of the new iPad Mini against the dimensions of the next gen "iPad 5" that was leaked in yesterday's video.
iPhone 6 Case Leak Hands-on (vs iPhone 5s, Nexus 5, Note 3) (+playlist)
This is a quick look at what looks like the first 3rd party case for the upcoming iPhone 6 - 4.7-inch (may also come in 5.5-inch variant). This video also compares the speculative iPhone 6 4.7-inch against some popular devices that are already on the market including the iPhone 5s, Nexus 5 and Galaxy Note 3.
Filipino seafarers slam incompetence of Marina
MANILA, Philippines—More than a thousand seafarers, mostly belonging to the United Filipino Seafarers (UFS), on Wednesday condemned the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) for mismanaging the maritime industry with its gross incompetence and utter lack of concern to the welfare of seafaring Filipinos.
The UFS-led seafarers gathered in front of Marina offices in Manila on Wednesday morning to dramatize their protest over the agency’s incompetence and mismanagement.
Mock up models of caskets painted in black to symbolize the “death” of the maritime industry were also brought in by the ralliers.
UFS president and rally organizer Engr. Nelson Ramirez said Wednesday they could no longer take sitting down the incompetence and weak leadership in Marina, which put their livelihood and profession at grave risk.
Ramirez said foremost of these is the move of Marina to replace the official Seafarers Identification and Record Books (SIRB) document being given to legitimate seafarers with a piece of paper called “SIR Sheet” or Seafarers Identification Record Sheet.
He said this is the first time in the entire world and only in the Philippines that a government maritime agency issued a piece of paper instead of the “book.”
The Seaman’s Book, Ramirez said, is vital and essential to a seaman when boarding a vessel for work.
Marina, which has been giving out the SIRB for years, suddenly finds itself in short supply of such important document and decided to issue the SIR Sheet instead.
Ramirez said seafarers are already carrying their “Lenten crosses” by joining daily long lines just to secure the SIRB document only to find out at the end of the line that the document has been replaced with a sheet of paper that would embarrass them before foreign port and immigration authorities.
“We seamen are worried that when we reach other countries to board the vessels we have found jobs in, we will not be allowed to leave the airport to go to the port where our ship is,” Ramirez explained.
Marina office in Manila. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
He added: “The authorities in the foreign country will find our MARINA pieces of paper strange and unfamiliar. Then, if we can get to our ships, the captains may not allow us to embark. This is the first time in the whole world that seamen carry sheets of paper instead of the passport looking Seaman’s Book. Only in the Philippines.”
Seafarers usually start queuing before midnight, long before the agency opens at 8 a.m. the next day.
Ramirez said seafarers also have to secure a Certificate of Proficiency (CoP) from Marina, which also takes a long time to obtain.
He said the unjustified shortage of the regular SIRB has resulted to the proliferation of fake Seaman’s Book and other seafaring certificates that are now being sold to unsuspecting victims.
Ramirez said Marina’s lack of foresight to resuscitate the dying local shipping industry and the agency’s lack of commitment on maritime safety have likewise contributed to the sorry state of the industry.
“Dahil sa unang tatlong buwan pa lang ni Dr. Max Mejia ay nagkaroon na kaagad ng dalawang major maritime disaster at nagkaroon na naman ng banggaaan ngayong bago sa Cavite. Idagdag pa ang promotion ng kapatid ni Atty. Bañas na ginawang head ng maritime safety na wala namang alam sa barko dahil driver lang dati (Because of the first three months of Dr. Max Mejia there have been two major maritime disaster already and recently, there’s a new collision in Cavite. Add to that the promotion of Atty. Bañas’ sibling who was made head of maritime safety but has no knowledge in shipping because he used to be a driver),” Ramirez said.
Ramirez has earlier filed a case against the Marina official for appointing relatives and close friends to juicy posts in the agency.
The UFS president said Marina’s weak leadership has compromised the livelihood of at least 80,000 seafarers currently serving in EU-flagged vessels with the imminent cancellation of their SCTW certificates as a result of the country’s failure to pass the second audit of EU’s European Maritime Safety Agency (Emsa) last October.
As a direct result of the Emsa failure, education and training certificates issued by the Philippine government to Filipino seafarers would no longer be honored by EU shipowners and regulators.
Ramirez said the future looks dimmer should Marina assume the maritime licensure function from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) pursuant to the new law recently passed assigning Marina as the single maritime agency.
“Ngayon pa lang, tagilid na ang industriya maritima at lalo ng lulubog sapagkat kukunin pa ng Marina ang licensure examination ng PRC, pati na ang CoC at CoE. Minadali ng Marina ang pagpatay ng ating industriya (As early as now, the maritime industry is on the edge and it will go down because Marina will get the licensure examination of the PRC, including the CoC and CoE. Marina is pushing for the early death of our industry),” he said.
R
The UFS-led seafarers gathered in front of Marina offices in Manila on Wednesday morning to dramatize their protest over the agency’s incompetence and mismanagement.
Mock up models of caskets painted in black to symbolize the “death” of the maritime industry were also brought in by the ralliers.
UFS president and rally organizer Engr. Nelson Ramirez said Wednesday they could no longer take sitting down the incompetence and weak leadership in Marina, which put their livelihood and profession at grave risk.
“The Filipino seafarers are disgusted and worried. Disgusted over the lack of foresight of Marina to confront problems and provide solutions and worried that if such incompetence continues, we will end up with no jobs,” Ramirez said during the protest rally.
Ramirez said foremost of these is the move of Marina to replace the official Seafarers Identification and Record Books (SIRB) document being given to legitimate seafarers with a piece of paper called “SIR Sheet” or Seafarers Identification Record Sheet.
He said this is the first time in the entire world and only in the Philippines that a government maritime agency issued a piece of paper instead of the “book.”
The Seaman’s Book, Ramirez said, is vital and essential to a seaman when boarding a vessel for work.
Marina, which has been giving out the SIRB for years, suddenly finds itself in short supply of such important document and decided to issue the SIR Sheet instead.
Ramirez said seafarers are already carrying their “Lenten crosses” by joining daily long lines just to secure the SIRB document only to find out at the end of the line that the document has been replaced with a sheet of paper that would embarrass them before foreign port and immigration authorities.
“We seamen are worried that when we reach other countries to board the vessels we have found jobs in, we will not be allowed to leave the airport to go to the port where our ship is,” Ramirez explained.
Marina office in Manila. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
He added: “The authorities in the foreign country will find our MARINA pieces of paper strange and unfamiliar. Then, if we can get to our ships, the captains may not allow us to embark. This is the first time in the whole world that seamen carry sheets of paper instead of the passport looking Seaman’s Book. Only in the Philippines.”
Seafarers usually start queuing before midnight, long before the agency opens at 8 a.m. the next day.
Ramirez said seafarers also have to secure a Certificate of Proficiency (CoP) from Marina, which also takes a long time to obtain.
He said the unjustified shortage of the regular SIRB has resulted to the proliferation of fake Seaman’s Book and other seafaring certificates that are now being sold to unsuspecting victims.
Ramirez said Marina’s lack of foresight to resuscitate the dying local shipping industry and the agency’s lack of commitment on maritime safety have likewise contributed to the sorry state of the industry.
“Dahil sa unang tatlong buwan pa lang ni Dr. Max Mejia ay nagkaroon na kaagad ng dalawang major maritime disaster at nagkaroon na naman ng banggaaan ngayong bago sa Cavite. Idagdag pa ang promotion ng kapatid ni Atty. Bañas na ginawang head ng maritime safety na wala namang alam sa barko dahil driver lang dati (Because of the first three months of Dr. Max Mejia there have been two major maritime disaster already and recently, there’s a new collision in Cavite. Add to that the promotion of Atty. Bañas’ sibling who was made head of maritime safety but has no knowledge in shipping because he used to be a driver),” Ramirez said.
Ramirez has earlier filed a case against the Marina official for appointing relatives and close friends to juicy posts in the agency.
The UFS president said Marina’s weak leadership has compromised the livelihood of at least 80,000 seafarers currently serving in EU-flagged vessels with the imminent cancellation of their SCTW certificates as a result of the country’s failure to pass the second audit of EU’s European Maritime Safety Agency (Emsa) last October.
As a direct result of the Emsa failure, education and training certificates issued by the Philippine government to Filipino seafarers would no longer be honored by EU shipowners and regulators.
Ramirez said the future looks dimmer should Marina assume the maritime licensure function from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) pursuant to the new law recently passed assigning Marina as the single maritime agency.
“Ngayon pa lang, tagilid na ang industriya maritima at lalo ng lulubog sapagkat kukunin pa ng Marina ang licensure examination ng PRC, pati na ang CoC at CoE. Minadali ng Marina ang pagpatay ng ating industriya (As early as now, the maritime industry is on the edge and it will go down because Marina will get the licensure examination of the PRC, including the CoC and CoE. Marina is pushing for the early death of our industry),” he said.
R
Deferral of requirement for security awareness certification
Following the International Maritime Organisation's recommendations in Circular STCW7/Circ 21, the Cyprus Department of Merchant Shipping has announced that where a seafarer on board a Cyprus-flagged ship has not received a security awareness certification or training on designated security duties,(1) the department will accept compliance with Section 13 of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code. This is a temporary concession that expires on January 1 2015.
No contract extending beyond July 1 2015 may be offered to a seafarer for service on board a Cyprus-flagged ship if the seafarer does not hold the relevant certifications.
For further information on this topic please contact Vassilis Psyrras at Andreas Neocleous & Co LLC by telephone (+357 25 110 000), fax (+357 25 110 001) or email (vassilis.psyrras@neocleous.com). The Andreas Neocleous & Co LLC website can be accessed at www.neocleous.com.
Endnotes
(1) In accordance with Regulation VI/6 of the Standard of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention and Section A-VI/6, Paragraphs 4 and 6, of the STCW Code.
Bangladesh ferry carrying hundreds sinks
A heavily-laden ferry capsized and sank in central Bangladesh on Thursday after being caught in a storm, leaving at least nine people dead and hundreds more missing, police and officials said.
“We are receiving confusing figures on how many passengers were on board when it sank, but the number could range from 200 to 350,” district government administrator Saiful Hasan told AFP.
“Nine bodies have been recovered so far,” he said of the accident on the river Meghna in Munshiganj district, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.
Local police chief Ferdous Ahmed also confirmed the recovery of the nine bodies, including at least two of whom were women.
The vessel was travelling to the southern district of Shariatpur from Dhaka when it encountered problems and sank in the mid-afternoon, according to the police.
“The ferry is completely under water. We are now trying to locate it,” Ahmed said, adding that a salvage vessel and fire service divers were headed to the spot from the capital.
Hundreds of distraught relatives gathered on the banks of the river as the bodies were laid in lines in order to be identified, Ahmed said.
The local online newspaper Banglanews24.com quoted a survivor of the accident, Abdur Razzaq, as saying that the boat was hit by the storm suddenly and sank within minutes.
Ferry accidents are common in Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed with more than 230 rivers.
Experts blame poorly maintained vessels, flaws in design and overcrowding for most of the tragedies.
Storms known locally as Kalboishakhi often hit Bangladesh during the early summer months in the lead-up to the monsoon, which generally begins in the first week of June.
Boats are the main form of travel in much of Bangladesh’s remote rural areas, especially in the southern and northeastern regions.
Some 150 people were killed in the same district in March 2012 after a overcrowded ferry carrying about 200 passengers sank after being hit by an oil barge in the dead of night.
In 2011, 32 people were killed after a passenger vessel sank in the same river in the same district after colliding with a cargo ship.
At least 85 people drowned in 2009 when an overloaded triple-decker ferry capsized off Bhola Island in the country’s south.
Naval officials have said more than 95 percent of Bangladesh’s hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized boats do not meet minimum safety regulations.
“We are receiving confusing figures on how many passengers were on board when it sank, but the number could range from 200 to 350,” district government administrator Saiful Hasan told AFP.
“Nine bodies have been recovered so far,” he said of the accident on the river Meghna in Munshiganj district, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.
Local police chief Ferdous Ahmed also confirmed the recovery of the nine bodies, including at least two of whom were women.
The vessel was travelling to the southern district of Shariatpur from Dhaka when it encountered problems and sank in the mid-afternoon, according to the police.
“The ferry is completely under water. We are now trying to locate it,” Ahmed said, adding that a salvage vessel and fire service divers were headed to the spot from the capital.
Hundreds of distraught relatives gathered on the banks of the river as the bodies were laid in lines in order to be identified, Ahmed said.
The local online newspaper Banglanews24.com quoted a survivor of the accident, Abdur Razzaq, as saying that the boat was hit by the storm suddenly and sank within minutes.
Ferry accidents are common in Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed with more than 230 rivers.
Experts blame poorly maintained vessels, flaws in design and overcrowding for most of the tragedies.
Storms known locally as Kalboishakhi often hit Bangladesh during the early summer months in the lead-up to the monsoon, which generally begins in the first week of June.
Boats are the main form of travel in much of Bangladesh’s remote rural areas, especially in the southern and northeastern regions.
Some 150 people were killed in the same district in March 2012 after a overcrowded ferry carrying about 200 passengers sank after being hit by an oil barge in the dead of night.
In 2011, 32 people were killed after a passenger vessel sank in the same river in the same district after colliding with a cargo ship.
At least 85 people drowned in 2009 when an overloaded triple-decker ferry capsized off Bhola Island in the country’s south.
Naval officials have said more than 95 percent of Bangladesh’s hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized boats do not meet minimum safety regulations.
A
heavily-laden ferry capsized and sank in central Bangladesh on Thursday
after being caught in a storm, leaving at least nine people dead and
hundreds more missing, police and officials said.
“We are receiving confusing figures on how many passengers were on board when it sank, but the number could range from 200 to 350,” district government administrator Saiful Hasan told AFP.
“Nine bodies have been recovered so far,” he said of the accident on the river Meghna in Munshiganj district, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.
Local police chief Ferdous Ahmed also confirmed the recovery of the nine bodies, including at least two of whom were women.
The vessel was travelling to the southern district of Shariatpur from Dhaka when it encountered problems and sank in the mid-afternoon, according to the police.
“The ferry is completely under water. We are now trying to locate it,” Ahmed said, adding that a salvage vessel and fire service divers were headed to the spot from the capital.
Hundreds of distraught relatives gathered on the banks of the river as the bodies were laid in lines in order to be identified, Ahmed said.
The local online newspaper Banglanews24.com quoted a survivor of the accident, Abdur Razzaq, as saying that the boat was hit by the storm suddenly and sank within minutes.
Ferry accidents are common in Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed with more than 230 rivers.
Experts blame poorly maintained vessels, flaws in design and overcrowding for most of the tragedies.
Storms known locally as Kalboishakhi often hit Bangladesh during the early summer months in the lead-up to the monsoon, which generally begins in the first week of June.
Boats are the main form of travel in much of Bangladesh’s remote rural areas, especially in the southern and northeastern regions.
Some 150 people were killed in the same district in March 2012 after a overcrowded ferry carrying about 200 passengers sank after being hit by an oil barge in the dead of night.
In 2011, 32 people were killed after a passenger vessel sank in the same river in the same district after colliding with a cargo ship.
At least 85 people drowned in 2009 when an overloaded triple-decker ferry capsized off Bhola Island in the country’s south.
Naval officials have said more than 95 percent of Bangladesh’s hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized boats do not meet minimum safety regulations.
“We are receiving confusing figures on how many passengers were on board when it sank, but the number could range from 200 to 350,” district government administrator Saiful Hasan told AFP.
“Nine bodies have been recovered so far,” he said of the accident on the river Meghna in Munshiganj district, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.
Local police chief Ferdous Ahmed also confirmed the recovery of the nine bodies, including at least two of whom were women.
The vessel was travelling to the southern district of Shariatpur from Dhaka when it encountered problems and sank in the mid-afternoon, according to the police.
“The ferry is completely under water. We are now trying to locate it,” Ahmed said, adding that a salvage vessel and fire service divers were headed to the spot from the capital.
Hundreds of distraught relatives gathered on the banks of the river as the bodies were laid in lines in order to be identified, Ahmed said.
The local online newspaper Banglanews24.com quoted a survivor of the accident, Abdur Razzaq, as saying that the boat was hit by the storm suddenly and sank within minutes.
Ferry accidents are common in Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed with more than 230 rivers.
Experts blame poorly maintained vessels, flaws in design and overcrowding for most of the tragedies.
Storms known locally as Kalboishakhi often hit Bangladesh during the early summer months in the lead-up to the monsoon, which generally begins in the first week of June.
Boats are the main form of travel in much of Bangladesh’s remote rural areas, especially in the southern and northeastern regions.
Some 150 people were killed in the same district in March 2012 after a overcrowded ferry carrying about 200 passengers sank after being hit by an oil barge in the dead of night.
In 2011, 32 people were killed after a passenger vessel sank in the same river in the same district after colliding with a cargo ship.
At least 85 people drowned in 2009 when an overloaded triple-decker ferry capsized off Bhola Island in the country’s south.
Naval officials have said more than 95 percent of Bangladesh’s hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized boats do not meet minimum safety regulations.
Bi- Courtney to upgrade operational equipment at MMA2
Chief Executive Officer of Bi- Courtney Aviation Services Limited, Mr. Christophe Pennick yesterday said that the company will invest over N500 million on the upgrade of operational equipment in 2014.
Speaking to newsmen at the Domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, MMA2, Mr. Pennick noted that the N500 million investment would cover the replacement of escalators, elevators and cooling system at the terminal building.
According to him, the firm has concluded plans to replace the existing check-in counters noting that the check-in counters will be increase from 31 to 45 at the departure hall to enhance capacity for new airlines.
Mr. Pennick further stressed that Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited have decided to upgrade facilities at MMA2, to give airlines and passengers who utilise the terminal value for their money.
He said that one of the major challenge facing the company was power as it has spent huge sums of money in the purchase of diesel to power its generators in order to keep the terminal functional.
Mr. Pennick said over 99,000 litres of diesel was utilised monthly on running generators, which he said is the source of power supply at the terminal.
Meanwhile, the Chief Operating Officer of Bi- Courtney Aviation Services, Adebisi Awoniyi said the upgrade of operational facilities at the terminal was necessary to pursue maintenance culture, which has become topical in Nigeria.
She said: “We are changing all 31 check- in counters to 45 counter, like you have in other airports across the globe, fitted with three bar coded system as well as baggage reconciliation system”
“Our plan is to become the best terminal that is IcAo compliant in West Africa. Airlines are very happy over the upgrade of facilities, to raise the bar in air travel. In 2014 alone we plan to invest over five hundred million naira to upgrade our terminal facilities. In a difficult business environment , like ours, it is not easy to run an airport terminal”
“We are also upgrading the conveyor belts, we are working with the handling agents to improve the baggage handling system as well as improve the turn around time”
On power supply, She said the MMA 2 has never experienced power outage, because the terminal runs on generators.
She said the PHCN , has limited capacity to supply power to the terminal stressing that PHCN should expand its power supply capacity to enable it deliver qualitative services to the passengers.
Speaking to newsmen at the Domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, MMA2, Mr. Pennick noted that the N500 million investment would cover the replacement of escalators, elevators and cooling system at the terminal building.
According to him, the firm has concluded plans to replace the existing check-in counters noting that the check-in counters will be increase from 31 to 45 at the departure hall to enhance capacity for new airlines.
Mr. Pennick further stressed that Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited have decided to upgrade facilities at MMA2, to give airlines and passengers who utilise the terminal value for their money.
He said that one of the major challenge facing the company was power as it has spent huge sums of money in the purchase of diesel to power its generators in order to keep the terminal functional.
Mr. Pennick said over 99,000 litres of diesel was utilised monthly on running generators, which he said is the source of power supply at the terminal.
Meanwhile, the Chief Operating Officer of Bi- Courtney Aviation Services, Adebisi Awoniyi said the upgrade of operational facilities at the terminal was necessary to pursue maintenance culture, which has become topical in Nigeria.
She said: “We are changing all 31 check- in counters to 45 counter, like you have in other airports across the globe, fitted with three bar coded system as well as baggage reconciliation system”
“Our plan is to become the best terminal that is IcAo compliant in West Africa. Airlines are very happy over the upgrade of facilities, to raise the bar in air travel. In 2014 alone we plan to invest over five hundred million naira to upgrade our terminal facilities. In a difficult business environment , like ours, it is not easy to run an airport terminal”
“We are also upgrading the conveyor belts, we are working with the handling agents to improve the baggage handling system as well as improve the turn around time”
On power supply, She said the MMA 2 has never experienced power outage, because the terminal runs on generators.
She said the PHCN , has limited capacity to supply power to the terminal stressing that PHCN should expand its power supply capacity to enable it deliver qualitative services to the passengers.
NIMASA’s seafarers’ e-verification will provide Nigerians employment
Stakeholders in the maritime industry have said that the introduction of seafarers’ electronic verification by the management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, will improve employment opportunity for the nation’s seafarers.
The stakeholders pointed out that the agency’s seafarers’ e-verification scheme would also enable the international community that wants to employ any Nigerian seafarer to simply log on to the portal to ascertain the authenticity of such seafarer’s claim.
They charged NIMASA management to ensure that all seafarers whose contacts are in the portal are well trained and have the necessary competence to do the job for which they are certified.
National Secretary of Nigeria Ship-owners Association, NISA, Capt, Niyi Labinjo, described the innovation by the NIMASA management as a step in the right direction.
Labinjo noted that the new scheme, which he has personally tested, will eliminate time wasted by operators going to the agency’s office personally for verification.
According to Labinjo, “Is a good thing, it is very good. I like what I saw, I have tested it and I am happy with it. This means you do not have to go to them before you can check a particular seafarer. It is a good thing and it is long over-due. It is also important to note that the international maritime community can also take advantage of it.”
He further noted that the portal should help curb the recruitment of fake seafarers both in the country and outside the country.
Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer, CEO of Maritime Media Limited, Asu Beks, praised the new scheme, saying that it has opened the door for Nigerian seafarers in the international scene.
According to him, “I think what the Director General and management of NIMASA have done is to bring sanity to whole seafarers verification process in the country. I think it is a step in the right direction but again, I think this may have been prompted by the President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, Tony Nted.
Recall that the Akopolokemi had said that the initiative is part of the agency’s effort to ensure that operations of NIMASA are in line with acceptable international best practice. The DG had explained that the online verification system is more effective and much more reliable.
In his word: “Our commitment to ensure professionalism in the Nigeria maritime sector is unflinching and our goal is to attain maximum efficiency in the process of certificate verification, which can now be done in any part of the world at any time.”
The stakeholders pointed out that the agency’s seafarers’ e-verification scheme would also enable the international community that wants to employ any Nigerian seafarer to simply log on to the portal to ascertain the authenticity of such seafarer’s claim.
They charged NIMASA management to ensure that all seafarers whose contacts are in the portal are well trained and have the necessary competence to do the job for which they are certified.
National Secretary of Nigeria Ship-owners Association, NISA, Capt, Niyi Labinjo, described the innovation by the NIMASA management as a step in the right direction.
Labinjo noted that the new scheme, which he has personally tested, will eliminate time wasted by operators going to the agency’s office personally for verification.
According to Labinjo, “Is a good thing, it is very good. I like what I saw, I have tested it and I am happy with it. This means you do not have to go to them before you can check a particular seafarer. It is a good thing and it is long over-due. It is also important to note that the international maritime community can also take advantage of it.”
He further noted that the portal should help curb the recruitment of fake seafarers both in the country and outside the country.
Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer, CEO of Maritime Media Limited, Asu Beks, praised the new scheme, saying that it has opened the door for Nigerian seafarers in the international scene.
According to him, “I think what the Director General and management of NIMASA have done is to bring sanity to whole seafarers verification process in the country. I think it is a step in the right direction but again, I think this may have been prompted by the President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, Tony Nted.
Recall that the Akopolokemi had said that the initiative is part of the agency’s effort to ensure that operations of NIMASA are in line with acceptable international best practice. The DG had explained that the online verification system is more effective and much more reliable.
In his word: “Our commitment to ensure professionalism in the Nigeria maritime sector is unflinching and our goal is to attain maximum efficiency in the process of certificate verification, which can now be done in any part of the world at any time.”
Aerofex hover bike new on sale in 2017
Aero-X seats 2 and flies up to 3 metres above the ground
A futuristic hovercraft that lets you zip smoothly over rough terrain by flying up to three metres above the ground could be yours in just three years, its maker says.
- 'Hover bike' prototype thrills sci-fi fans
- Watch a video of the hover bike prototype
The first flight of the commercial model is expected in 2016 and the first deliveries a year later, Aerofex said in a recent news release.
According to the company's website, the Aero-X can reach a top speed of 72 kilometres per hour.
Up to two people can sit on board, and including the passengers, the bike can carry up to 140 kilograms.
- Human-powered hover bike wins coveted $250K prize
Aerofex says the hover bike is designed to bridge the gap between light aircraft and all-terrain vehicles, making it an affordable alternative to planes and helicopters for surveying, search and rescue, border patrol and disaster relief. The company adds that the hover bike is also intuitive and easy to drive.
"You can learn to operate it safely in just a weekend of training," the website says. "It responds to your movements just as a motorcycle would."
Like hovercraft already on the market, the Aero-X uses fans to force a cushion of air under it and lift it up. Other existing hovercraft barely skim above flat surfaces such as water. The Aero-X flies much higher because unlike other hovercraft, it relies on the surface below for lift only, not stability, Aerofex says.
New Exomoon Detection Technique Could Find Solar System-Like Moons
A new exomoon detection technique is the first method that has been demonstrated to allow detection of moons akin to those in the Solar System.
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| An artist’s impression of exomoons orbiting a gas giant in an alien solar system. In this vista, the nearest exomoon appears Earthlike, and thus potentially habitable. Credit: NASA |
Among the most sought-after prizes in astronomy these days are “exomoons,” or moons orbiting exoplanets. Although astronomers have detected more than a thousand exoplanets, any exomoons they might harbor have so far eluded capture. However, judging by our own Solar System, where moons greatly outnumber planets, scientists believe that hordes of exomoons are indeed out there.
To find these exomoons hiding in plain view, a new technique has just been proposed. Described in a study recently published in The Astrophysical Journal, the new approach relies on a particular eclipsing effect of moons when viewed against the background radiance of their host stars.
Unlike traditional exomoon hunting techniques, the new method has the advantage of being able to find natural satellites on the scale of the moons here in the Solar System. Other methods can probably only yield exomoons several times the mass of the biggest moon known, Jupiter’s Ganymede — in other words, unprecedentedly monstrous moons.
“This technique is the first method that has been demonstrated to allow detection of moons akin to those in the Solar System,” said study author René Heller, a postdoctoral fellow in astronomy at McMaster University, in Ontario, Canada. “Four hundred years after Galileo Galilei discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter, the first moons we knew of besides our moon, we now have the technologies and methods available to go find ‘alien’ moons beyond our Solar System.”
Additionally, the new method can distinguish multi-moon systems, whereas standard techniques focus on solo exomoons. A third benefit is that existing data from the Kepler spacecraft should suffice for identifying exomoons. That’s in contrast to some other proposed methods which would require new technologies and force exomoon hunters to await future generations of telescopes.
Intriguingly, the method could tease out the presence of exomoons orbiting planets in the so-called habitable zones of red dwarf stars and orange dwarfs. The habitable zone is the not-too-close, not-too-far-away band around a star wherein residing worlds could have liquid water.
To date, the most common planets found in habitable zones are not Earth-sized (though a substantial number of earthly twins could emerge from Kepler data yet to be analyzed). Rather, habitable zone-dwellers are often “super-Earths” and gas giants. The latter certainly, and some have argued the former, cannot serve as abodes for life. But their moons could be a different story.
“Super-Earths and giant planets have been observed to be much more abundant in the stellar habitable zones than truly Earth-sized planets,” said Heller. “While super-Earths and giants may not be habitable, their moons might be. Hence, habitable moons may be much more common than habitable planets.”
Scouring for exomoons in a new way
The new technique comes at a good time. Researchers have already thrown the proverbial kitchen sink at the problem of exomoon catching, trying out about a dozen different methods without a confirmed detection. Some methods include looking for the tiny amount of infrared light a giant, hot exomoon emits, or a one-off, gravitational-light-warping effect of a background star’s light as a planet and its moons pass in front of the star.
The concept behind the new method, observing “transits,” is not in of itself new. Spotting transits, the mini-eclipses caused when an exoplanet (or an exomoon) crosses the face of its star respective to our viewing angle here on Earth, has been used to find hundreds of exoplanets with Kepler, CoRoT and other telescopes. A prominent exomoon-finding project, Hunting Exomoons with Kepler (HEK), as well as other efforts, seeks slight variations in transit timings or durations. These hiccups to an orderly, planetary transit might be the handiwork of a moon blocking out just a little extra starlight.
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| This figure from Heller’s paper shows how the shadows of exomoon transits overlap on each other more at the “wingtips” than the inner portion of an exomoon’s orbital path around its host planet. This stacking effect means that the wingtip shadows are darker, a phenomenon that could be exploited to find exomoons. Credit: Rene Heller |
What the new method, called the orbital sampling effect, does is consider these exomoon transits from a clever statistical perspective. Picture a planet and moon system viewed edge-on in silhouette, where the moon orbits around the planet’s equatorial midline (as is typical in the Solar System). The moon orbits in “front” of the planet, slightly nearer to us, and then completes the orbital circle behind the planet.
Imagine taking a snapshot every now and then of this setup and superimposing the pictures. The moon’s positions in the front and back of the orbit overlap, though where the moon is directly in front of or behind the planet, the moon’s shadow is not seen. What the moon does form, though, looks like two “wings” sticking out of the planet’s sides, made up of dotted lines. The dots represent the moon’s position at any particular, random moment as it progresses through its orbit.
The insight Heller had is that the dots in the wings will not appear evenly plotted over time. The wings will look lighter at their inner edges, nearer the planet, and darker at their outer edges, farther from the planet. That’s because when the moon reaches the extent of its orbit and then starts circling back around the planet, its positions overlap more in a tighter space. As such, the “wingtips” look darker; that is, there is increased eclipsing of background starlight at the moon’s farthest apparent positions from the planet.
For this effect to emerge, an observer must stare at a star constantly over a significant period of time. The moon cannot be glimpsed once or twice in isolation. Instead, the moon must complete quite a number of orbits, and be witnessed doing so, in order for its light-blocking effect to preferentially stack up at the wingtips. Fortunately, the Kepler spacecraft was designed to do just this, having patiently stared at around 150,000 stars for four years before suffering an equipment failure last summer.
“Such observations have already been taken by Kepler, and they are publicly accessible,” said Heller. “So there’s no need to wait for future technology.”
One moon or many
When an exoplanet transits a star as seen by Kepler or another transit-registering telescope, there occurs a single drop in the amount of starlight received (only around a thousand parts per million for a gas giant planet). Using the orbital sampling method with Kepler data, averaged over time, the signature of an exoplanet sporting an exomoon would look like as follows.
First, there would be two small dips in the amount of light collected, one preceding and one following the comparatively much bigger dip in light by the host planet as the transit gets under way. This initial sequence is small dip, big dip, then an additional small dip. The sequence then reverses itself, with a slight lightening, followed by a relatively big increase in illumination, and a final small increase in the star’s brightness as the planet and moon combo, averaged-over-time, emerges from the transit. In other words, small bump, big bump, and a final small bump in brightness.
The upshot of all this: astronomers (or computers) can look through Kepler data for the tell-tale “pre-darkening” and “post-darkening” of an exoplanet’s regular transit to discover an exomoon.
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| A figure, also from Heller’s paper, shows what the first half of an exoplanet-exomoon transit would look like, averaged over time. Heller’s orbital sampling effect method looks for the two small dips in the amount of starlight blocked before and after the big dip caused by the exoplanet. In the second half of the transit, the signals reverse, with two small brightening events bracketing a big brightening event. Credit: Rene Heller |
As a bonus, the orbital sampling method can pick out multiple moons. Rather than the simple step-wise darkening just described for one moon, complex steps could point to more than one moon adding in its own, additional shadowy signature shifted in time.
What it might find
Based on the data collected by Kepler, Heller’s study shows that moons about the size of Ganymede should be findable in the habitable zone of red dwarf stars. The advantage with small stars is that their planets have short orbits, with “years” lasting only weeks or days. Accordingly, these worlds racked up a lot of transits over Kepler’s operational lifetime. More transits, of course, mean more exomoon positioning data for review with the orbital sampling method.
Red dwarf stars present some habitability issues, so better candidates for illuminating life-friendly worlds are the next stellar class up — the bigger, warmer orange dwarfs. In these stars’ habitable zones, the Heller technique could potentially discover exomoons about ten times Ganymede’s mass (but still smaller than Earth), which are the traditional quarry for current exomoon hunting methods, again using Kepler observations.
Unfortunately, moons around exoplanets in the habitable zones of still bigger and hotter Sun-like, yellow-dwarf stars will still remain unobtainable. Exoplanets revolving around stars like the Sun did not pile up enough transits in the Kepler observation window to apply the orbital sampling method. However, future telescopes with sharper cameras will give a leg-up to other exomoon-seeking techniques and will also provide Heller’s method a boost in sensitivity.
The orbital sampling effect is much simpler than the elaborate exomoon detection mechanisms developed by other teams. Heller hopes that fellow researchers might go and try his technique to find extrasolar satellite systems.
“This paper was not planned to serve my own ambitions towards an exomoon detection,” Heller said. “But if someone uses this new effect to find a moon outside the Solar System, I’d feel flattered.” Publication: René Heller, “Detecting Extrasolar Moons Ak
Researchers Discover Record Setting Gas Giant Exoplanet
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| Artist’s view of the planet GU Psc b and its star GU Psc. (© Lucas Granito) |
A distant planet that can be studied in detail
GU Psc b is around 2,000 times the Earth-Sun distance from its star, a record among exoplanets. Given this distance, it takes approximately 80,000 Earth years for GU Psc b to make a complete orbit around its star! The researchers also took advantage of the large distance between the planet and its star to obtain images. By comparing images obtained in different wavelengths (colors) from the OMM and CFHT, they were able to correctly detect the planet.
“Planets are much brighter when viewed in infrared rather than visible light, because their surface temperature is lower compared to other stars,” Naud said. “This allowed us to identify GU Psc b.”
Knowing where to look
The researchers were looking around GU Psc because the star had just been identified as a member of the young star group AB Doradus. Young stars (only 100 million years old) are prime targets for planetary detection through imaging because the planets around them are still cooling and are therefore brighter. This does not mean that planets similar to GU Psc b exist in large numbers, as noted by by Étiene Artigau, co-supervisor of Naud’s thesis and astrophysicist at Université de Montréal. “We observed more than 90 stars and found only one planet, so this is truly an astronomical oddity!”
Observing a planet does not directly allow its mass to be determined. Instead, researchers use theoretical models of planetary evolution to determine its characteristics. The light spectrum of GU Psc b obtained from the Gemini North Observatory in Hawaii was compared to such models to show that it has a temperature of around 800°C. Knowing the age of GU Psc due to its location in AB Doradus, the team was able to determine its mass, which is 9-13 times that of Jupiter.
In the coming years, the astrophysicists hope to detect planets that are similar to GU Psc but much closer to their stars, thanks, among other things, to new instruments such as the GPI (Gemini Planet Imager) recently installed on Gemini South in Chile. The proximity of these planets to their stars will make them much more difficult to observe. GU Psc b is therefore a model for better understanding these objects.
“GU Psc b is a true gift of nature. The large distance that separates it from its star allows it to be studied in depth with a variety of instruments, which will provide a better understanding of giant exoplanets in general,” said René Doyon, co-supervisor of Naud’s thesis and OMM Director.
The team has started a project to observe several hundred stars and detect planets lighter than GU Psc b with similar orbits. The discovery of GU Psc, a rare object indeed, raises awareness of the significant distance that can exist between planets and their stars, opening the possibility of searching for planets with powerful infrared cameras using much smaller telescopes such at the one at the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic. The researchers also hope to learn more about the abundance of such objects in the next few years, in particular, using GPI instruments, the CFHT’s SPIRou, and the James Webb Space Telescope’s FGS/NIRISS.
Relationship satisfaction linked with changing use of contraception
Women's sexual satisfaction in long-term heterosexual relationships may be influenced by changes in hormonal contraceptive use, research from the University of Stirling shows.
The study, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, was carried out by researchers from the universities of Stirling, Glasgow, Newcastle, Northumbria and Charles University in Prague.
The team looked at a sample of 365 couples, and investigated how satisfaction levels -- in both sexual and non-sexual aspects of long-term relationships -- were influenced by women's current and historical use of hormonal contraception.
"Our findings showed women who had met their partner while taking the pill and were still currently taking it -- as well as those who had never used the pill at any point -- reported greater sexual satisfaction than those women who had begun or stopped using the pill during the course of the relationship," says lead researcher Craig Roberts from Stirling's Division of Psychology.
"In other words, the congruence of women's pill use throughout the relationship had a greater influence on sexual satisfaction levels than either simply being on the pill or not being on the pill."
The team found there was no difference in the non-sexual aspects of relationship satisfaction between the groups of women. Additionally, women's history of pill use was also found to make no difference to their male partners' relationship satisfaction in both sexual and non-sexual contexts.
"Previous research has shown that hormonal contraceptives, such as the pill, subtly alter women's ideal partner preferences and that often women who are using the pill when they meet their partner find the same partner less physically attractive when they come off the pill," says Roberts.
"Our new results support these earlier findings but, crucially, they also point to the impact a change in hormonal contraceptive use during a relationship -- either starting or stopping -- can have on a woman's sexual satisfaction with her partner."
According to Roberts, "The pill has been a tremendously positive social force, empowering women and giving them greater control over their lives, but there is also a lot of controversy surrounding the question of whether hormonal contraceptives alter women's libido and sexual satisfaction."
"These results show that examining current use is not enough to answer this question. What seems to be important is whether a woman's current use matches her use when she began the relationship with her partner. We hope our results will help women understand why they might feel the way they do about their partner when they change use," Roberts concludes.
The study, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, was carried out by researchers from the universities of Stirling, Glasgow, Newcastle, Northumbria and Charles University in Prague.
The team looked at a sample of 365 couples, and investigated how satisfaction levels -- in both sexual and non-sexual aspects of long-term relationships -- were influenced by women's current and historical use of hormonal contraception.
"Our findings showed women who had met their partner while taking the pill and were still currently taking it -- as well as those who had never used the pill at any point -- reported greater sexual satisfaction than those women who had begun or stopped using the pill during the course of the relationship," says lead researcher Craig Roberts from Stirling's Division of Psychology.
"In other words, the congruence of women's pill use throughout the relationship had a greater influence on sexual satisfaction levels than either simply being on the pill or not being on the pill."
The team found there was no difference in the non-sexual aspects of relationship satisfaction between the groups of women. Additionally, women's history of pill use was also found to make no difference to their male partners' relationship satisfaction in both sexual and non-sexual contexts.
"Previous research has shown that hormonal contraceptives, such as the pill, subtly alter women's ideal partner preferences and that often women who are using the pill when they meet their partner find the same partner less physically attractive when they come off the pill," says Roberts.
"Our new results support these earlier findings but, crucially, they also point to the impact a change in hormonal contraceptive use during a relationship -- either starting or stopping -- can have on a woman's sexual satisfaction with her partner."
According to Roberts, "The pill has been a tremendously positive social force, empowering women and giving them greater control over their lives, but there is also a lot of controversy surrounding the question of whether hormonal contraceptives alter women's libido and sexual satisfaction."
"These results show that examining current use is not enough to answer this question. What seems to be important is whether a woman's current use matches her use when she began the relationship with her partner. We hope our results will help women understand why they might feel the way they do about their partner when they change use," Roberts concludes.
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