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3 Vietnamese injured as China continues assaults on Vietnam ships
Three members of the V ietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance Force were l ightly wounded on Saturday after their ships w ere h it a nd s prayed w ith w ater c annons f rom C hinese v essels a round B eijing’s o il r ig Haiyang Shiyou 981, illegally planted in Vietnam’s waters in the East Vietnam Sea since early this month. The attacks from the Chinese side also caused damage to the audio-visual equipment and antennae o f e ight V ietnamese ships t asked w ith r equesting China to move their oil rig and escort vessels out of the Vietnamese waters. The latest figure brings the number of injured staff of the Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance Force to 12. Before that, nine members of the force had been wounded during two separate attacks from the Chinese ships. According to the Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance Force, China on May 24 dispatched 127 vessels, including one warship, to guard its drilling platform. On the same day, four aircraft were seen flying above Vietnamese ships at an altitude of 300m to 500m while a Chinese missile frigate was spotted moving away from the oil rig and anchoring in the southeastern area of Tri Ton Island of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago. Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance Force ships still tried to come close to the oil rig to demand that China withdraw the platform and escort vessels from the sea area. Sometimes, the Vietnamese ships were just 3.7 nautical miles from the rig. The Chinese-run
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drilling rig is located at 15°29’58’’ North latitude and 111°12’06’’ East longitude in the East Vietnam Sea, within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, as the drilling platform lies about 119 nautical miles (221 km) from Ly Son Island off the central Vietnamese province of Quang Ngai and 18 nautical miles south of Tri Ton Island. China has put it there since May 1 despite strong opposition from Vietnam. Source : tuoitrenews
Galápagos: Challenges in Effort to Free Grounded Ship
A few days after the cargo ship Galapaface I ran aground on the rocks off San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos, high tides strengthened by a f ull moon rotated t he s hip s ome 40 degrees, further damaging i ts hull and worrying t he people involved i n t he s alvage e ffort, a ccording t o Dr. A rturo I zurieta, t he G alápagos National Park Director. 2014-05-24-galapaface512.jpg
That was just one of several new challenges Dr. Izurieta spoke of Friday in a telephone interview with Galápagos Digital. "Every day that comes along brings new things," Dr. Izurieta said, noting that he's gotten by with very little sleep in the two weeks since the ship ran aground. On the positive side, Dr. Izurieta said there has been no evidence of contamination in the waters around the ship and that crews successfully removed 19,000 gallons of diesel fuel from the Galapaface I. He also praised the cooperation of the various agencies involved in the salvage effort as they deal with a whole gamut of issues. The crews working on the ship include not only Ecuadorians but specialists from several other countries.
"The ship now has big, big holes, " he said, noting that the largest one is 11 feet (3.5 meters) long. That lessens t he chances that the ship can be repaired successfully. According to Dr. Izurieta, t he p lan i s t o patch the hull t emporarily, r efloat t he sh ip and tow it out o f t he Galápagos Ma rine Reserve where it can be scuttled, unless a buyer comes along to purchase the Galapaface I. Dr. Izurieta described the mixture of seawater, rotting produce and toxic substances swirling about inside the ship's hull as a "contaminant soup," but noted that there has been no significant pollution detected in the waters nearby and that the ship will be pumped out once the holes are patched.
"So far, so good," Dr. Izurieta said, although he noted that lab results on samples of the ocean water in the vicinity of the ship have yet to be completed. The salvage operators plan to import tons of equipment and repair supplies from abroad to patch and refloat the Galapaface I. Some items are awaiting customs clearance on the Ecuadorian mainland, despite a government-declared state of emergency. Asked whether anything was being done to cut through the red tape, Dr . Izurieta said "The President of Ecuador is aware of the s ituation," adding that the Environment Minister is doing everything possible to speed up the process.
Another headache for salvage crews: a generator they had hoped to use to power the ship's crane was not yet operating Friday afternoon. The generator had to be dismantled for shipping by plane from the Ecuadorian mainland and then reassembled at the site of the grounding in San Cristóbal. That work was going slowly, Dr. Izurietta said.
Once the generator is running and the crane can be operated, crews will be able to hoist some of the heavier items the G alapaface I was t ransporting, i ncluding a f orklift t ruck. As t o w hether o fficials c an st ick t o t heir t imetable o f removing the Galapaface I within a month, Dr. Izurieta made no promises. "Nothing is perfect," he said, "but we have managed t o c ontrol the i mpact o n t he e nvironment." And how a bout l essons l earned f rom t his m ishap? A fter t he tanker Jessica ran aground off San Cristóbal in 2001, spilling 175,000 gallons of diesel and bunker fuel, investigators made a recommendation that tugboats be stationed in the archipelago to assist ships entering and leaving the populated islands. That recommendation was never followed and tugboats had to be dispatched from the mainland, 600 miles away, after the Galapaface I ran aground. "We need to think seriously," about stationing tugs in Galápagos, Dr. Izurieta said, noting that each year brings at least four emergencies involving marine vessels nearby. He said he will push for the deployment of tugboats in the archipelago to provide a quicker response to future marine emergencies. Dr. Izurieta holds a PhD in Rural Management and Natural Systems from the University of Queensland, Australia and has extensive experience in dealing with environmental issues. This is the second time he has served as Director of the Galápagos National Park. George Lewis contributed to this story. You can read more about the Galapaface I on our blog, www.galapagosdigital.com
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RUSSIAN STRATEGY TO BUY UP EUROPE’S REFINERIES EXPOSED
Russia’s strategy of buying up oil refineries in Europe could compromise the bloc’s energy security, EU officials said in a draft report prepared for the region’s leaders. Europe’s refining sector has been weakened by a combination of high oil prices, slack demand and poor profit margins, prompting many companies to se ll off refining units, which Russia has been buying. Russia’s Lukoil, for instance, owns refining operations in Italy, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and Romania. Gazprom through it s o il a rm Gazprom Neft a lso owns refineries. In a report prepared ahead of a summit meeting of EU leaders in June, the European Commission is expected next week to make public its vision of how to improve energy security in response to the crisis in Ukraine, the transit route for roughly half the gas Russia exports to the European Union. Among the many issues it says need to be closely monitored, it cites increased Russian ownership of EU refineries.
“Combined w ith t he dependence on R ussian c rude o il, a nd t he emerging i nfluence of R ussian p layers, t he r efinery industry is v ulnerable t o political in terference,” a d raft seen by Reuters o f t he Commission’s st rategy on EU energy security says. The EU relies on Russia for 27% of its gas consumption and about a third of its oil, the Commission, the EU executive, says.
Europe also receives imports of refined products from the United States, which the International Energy Agency says has overtaken Russia as the EU’s leading supplier, although Russia seized back the top spot earlier this year when U.S. refineries were undergoing seasonal maintenance. For the EU, the biggest gas supply threat is a price dispute between Kiev and Moscow that has led Moscow to warn it could cut supplies to Ukraine, with possible knock-on effects for the EU. There is n o immediate threat to o il supplies, as Russia lacks sufficient capacity to refine the o il it produces and relies therefore on EU refineries, the Commission says. But Director General for Energy in the Commission Dominique Ristori said the Commission was assessing “all aspects” of energy security, including refining. “Our main concern will be t o i ncrease t he p reparedness f or t he next w inter,” h e s aid o n t he s idelines o f a co nference o n t he E U r efining industry on Thursday. The Commission is expected to call on member states to assess their vulnerability to any supply crisis and to build up inventories. Longer term, the Commission is seeking to increase fuel efficiency and increase the use of electric vehicles and alternative fuels, such as biofuels. source : EurActiv
Cunard Queens: countdown is on as Liverpool gets set to play host to epic
ocean liners last weekend was the start of the 12-month countdown until Liverpool p lays h ost t o t he t hree largest Cunard ships ever built. Merseysiders are being encouraged to act now to book their place on one of the liners which w ill a rrive i n the c ity f or a historic three-day event in the Mersey on May 24-26, 2015. The Queen E lizabeth, M ary 2 a nd Queen Victoria ships will star in global celebrations for shipping line C unard’s 1 75th b irthday in 2015. Those not able t o g et tickets will still enjoy a
spectacular celebration as the ships assemble in front of the Three Graces at the Pier Head.
Angus Struthers, Cunard director, said: “With one year to go the countdown is well and truly underway to when the Cunard fleet meets in Liverpool and salutes 175 glorious years since the departure of our first ship, Britannia, from the city in July 1840. “It promises to be a spectacle the like of which has never been seen on the Mersey and one which may never be seen again. “Bookings are coming in strongly – although there is still some space on each of the ships so I would urge those who want to take their place in h istory to book today.” Queen Mary 2 will arrive in Liverpool on Sunday, May 24. She w ill make her f irst ever overnight stay in the c ity in sight o f the P ier Head’s Cunard Building, which was the company’s HQ until 1967. The following morning, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria will sail into the city and all three ships of the Cunard fleet will line up on the Mersey in a spectacle expected to draw huge crowds.
It will rival Cunard’s former flagship QE2’s inaugural sailing into Liverpool, in July, 1990, which drew around one million spectators. Queen Mary 2 will then sail out of Liverpool late morning on Monday, May 25, as Queen Elizabeth berths at the landing stage, where she will remain until late that night. Queen Victoria, meanwhile, will anchor in the Mersey.
Later that evening, Queen Elizabeth will set sail and Queen Victoria will then take the berth and remain there overnight, and for the following day, on Tuesday, May 26. Source : Liverpool Echo
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HSEQ consultancy for On- Offshore Oil & Gas / Renewable Energy Providing practical and logical solutions.
Arie van der Harst [email protected], www.shippinglane.nl http://nl.linkedin.com/pub/arie-van-der-harst/16/733/17a/
New Abu Dhabi cruise terminal to ‘preserve’ the history of Port Zayed
A permanent cruise terminal at Port Zayed will be ready in about two-and-a-half years’ t ime, according to Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, the chief executive of Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC).
“We h ave i dentified a l ocation f or t he p ermanent c ruise terminal. We have conducted a competition among four architectural firms to design an iconic building. We are evaluating the designs and will soon announce the winner,” Mr Al Shamisi said. ADPC intends to transform an existing w arehouse w ithin the p ort f or t his p urpose. The plan is to be able to handle at least three vessels simultaneously that can carry up to 2,500 passengers. “The terminal will aim to preserve the tradition and history of Port Zayed. And as it is the f irst experience of tourists entering Abu Dhabi, we intend it to reflect the spirit of the city as well,” Mr Al Shamisi said. Abu Dhabi’s cruise sector has been growing steadily since it first started receiving ships in 2006. The 2013-14 cruise season ended late last
month when the f inal ship, MV EUROPA 2, sailed away from Port Zayed. Fourteen ships made 75 calls b ringing in 189,000 passengers. Although Mr Al Shamisi would not reveal projections for the upcoming season, there are plans to attract more operators and increased cooperation with ports within the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar, which is showing a keen interest.
Royal Caribbean International, one of the world’s leading cruise line, said in March that it would return to the region for the 2015-16 season and would deploy its SPLENDOUR OF THE SEAS. It expects to bring in more than 32,000 tourists.
As the chairman o f t he Abu Dhabi cruise development committee, Mr A l Shamisi sa id various st akeholders such a s Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi Airports Company, Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and even hotels and malls are working t ogether t o d raw more c ruise l iners. “The Louvre, Guggenheim and Sheikh Zayed Museum w hen t hey a re ready will only add to the value proposition.” On the subject of cruise liners’ issue of requiring multiple visas to enter different countries holding back the growth of the sector, Mr Al Shamisi said that the Government is aware of it. “As a first step, the UAE already issues multiple-entry visas for cruise tourists. The decision-makers involved are looking at it closely. I would say that it is not a major issue as visitors from 20 countries can enter the UAE without a visa.”
Lakshmi Durai, the executive director for the Middle East at Royal Caribbean, says the company is working closely with regional tourism boards on the issue of visas for cruise tourists. “The tourism boards have been extremely cooperative. Oman is issuing visas on arrival and we are discussing it with the UAE,” Ms Durai said. Gaurav Sinha, the chief executive of Insignia, a branding company, said that the cruise tourism segment had grown in the past few years but that the UAE could potentially benefit from more regularly scheduled cruises in the Gulf. “There is definitely room for growth by providing seamless accessibility to destinations, as tourists would find that very beneficial,” Mr Sinha said.
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ADPC’s principal focus is Abu Dhabi. Since 2006, the port authority’s mandate has been to build and deliver the Dh26 billion Khalifa Port and Kizad (Khalifa Industrial Zone of Abu Dhabi), which was handed over on time and below budget. Alp Eke, a senior economist at National Bank of Abu Dhabi’s economic department sums it up rather succinctly. “Kizad is by far the most significant project in Abu Dhabi,” he says. Kizad’s main focus is to reduce reliance on hydrocarbons and increase non-oil sector contribution. It is also part of the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 strategy to grow the non-oil economy’s contribution. The industrial zone is expected to contribute 15 per cent of non-oil GDP and create about 150,000 jobs by 2030. Khalifa Port, meanwhile, handled about 902,000 containers in 2013. Container traffic this year is expected to grow 22 per cent year on year to reach 1.1 million units, while bulk cargo traffic is set to grow 29 per cent to reach 12 million tonnes. Phase one of Khalifa Port has a capacity of 2.5 million container and 12 million tonnes of general cargo and will eventually be able to handle 15 million containers and 35 million tonnes of general cargo a year.
With most of the heavy lifting now being done at Khalifa Port, Port Zayed is focused on its anchor tenants Abu Dhabi Vegetable Oil and Grand Flour Mills, and now project cargo to support oilfield requirements. This month ADPC signed a deal w ith Hyundai Engineering and Construction, a llocating it a dedicated p lot, warehouse and a workshop for l ight fabrication w ork. “ We have r e-enhanced o ur f acilities a nd e quipment. W e i ntend t o s tay h ere a nd P ort Zayed w ill continue to serve the capital,” Mr Al Shamisi said.
He is also conscious of the shift in trade from the West to East. “We are looking at how we can tap into such a shift. Historically the UAE has been a hub for trade between Africa and Asia. Even now the UAE’s ports handle 60 per cent of the trade in the Middle East. The shift requires major hubs and Khalifa Port and Kizad offer that along with the right government policies, procedures and ease of doing business.” In fact, ADPC is looking at investment opportunities in Africa and Asia. Guinea in West Africa is one such country. Last November, Mubadala Development and Dubai Aluminium agreed to invest US$5 billion in the country to develop a bauxite mine, alumina refinery and port. The port in the coastal city of Kamsar is likely to be operational by 2017. The move makes sense, as it will give Emal access to raw materials for its smelter in Taweelah and is also one of Khalifa Port’s main customers. Mr Al Shamisi, however, did not d ivulge details o f ADPC’s role in the undertaking. On the p rogress a t K izad, the ADPC chief executive said that more than 80 per cent of warehouses have been leased out and they will be handed over to tenants from the end of this month or early next month. The port authority will soon be embarking on phase two of the logistics project, which includes additional warehouse c lusters for foods, mixed use and metals, and these could include heavy, mid-stream and downstream industries. Mr Al Shamisi said that Etihad Rail will make its way into Kizad and Khalifa Port in phase two of its expansion and will have its main depot here. “Khalifa Port’s master plan included a preserved corridor through the port for a railway much before Etihad Railway was conceptualised. When the rail tracks are laid it will pass through the heart of the industrial zone all the way to the port.” Mr Al Shamisi also touched upon the revamp of ports in t he Western Region. The ports i n Sila, Delma, Mugharrag, M irfa and S ir Bani Ya s were being upgraded f or two reasons – to support the community and provide logistics support for major infrastructure projects such as the nuclear plant and o il a nd gas developments in the a rea. One a rea that Mr A l Shamisi is p leased w ith the ADPC’s e fforts is Emiratisation. Through its training initiatives along with Abu Dhabi Terminals, UAE nationals now operate gantry cranes, automated stacking cranes. They have also been employed as harbour masters, tug masters and security supervisors. “Previously operational jobs were not attractive, but by providing the right development courses we have succeeded in winning them over.” This year ADPC plans to recruit fresh graduates and is working with various colleges including Higher Colleges of Technology to add to its workforce and support its growth plans. Source : thenational.ae
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Plymouth's lifeboats have busy bank holiday weekend
PLYMOUTH’S RNLI lifeboats were busy over the bank holiday weekend after a diver suffered a head injury and one man had breathing problems. The volunteer crew for Plymouth RNLI’s lifeboat, Sybil Mullen Glover, w as ca lled o ut o n Saturday a t 4 .40pm. A spokesperson for the RNLI sa id: “A d iver thought to be in his early fifties was reported to have received a head injury after having fallen while on-board a d ive boat.” While the reported injury was not due to a diving related incident, the situation was still deemed urgent and best s peed w as m ade t o a p re-arranged m eeting p lace in side Plymouth breakwater. Upon contact w ith the 11-metrediving vessel, RNLI p ersonnel went aboard to assess the sit uation a nd render medical assistance to the casualty. The injured diver was then put on a stretcher before being transferred to the Plymouth lifeboat. After a short r un t o t heir b erth a t Millb ay Marina, t he lif eboat c rew sa fely delivered t he c asualty o ver t o a wai ting am bulance an d f urther medical care. At 2 am the same day, the in-shore boat, M illennium Forester, was called to the Mount Edgcumbe area to attend to a man with b reathing p roblems. In w hat h as b een r eferred t o a s t he
beginning of the summer season, both of the RNLI Plymouth lifeboats have been busy. Source : Plymouthherald
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Bij een grote oefening voor de kust van Hoek van Holland hebben de hulpdiensten zaterdag zo'n 130 vrijwilligers van een Stena Line-ferry 'gered'. Onder meer de Kustwacht, de KNRM, de Veiligheidsregio en de marechaussee oefenen eens in de 5 jaar de hulpverlening rondom een veerbootramp. En dat verliep goed, zo meldde het Kustwachtcentrum Den Helder. Dit keer was de veerboot zogenaamd tegen een ander schip gebotst. Door de aanvaring zat er een groot gat in de Stena Line-ferry, lekte olie uit de boot en was aan boord brand uitgebroken door kortsluiting in een trailer.
De 130 'passagiers' en 'bemanningsleden' zijn met reddingsboten en helikopters van boord en vanaf vlotten gehaald. „De eerste indrukken van de oefening zijn zonder meer positief te noemen”, aldus het kustwachtcentrum. De samenwerking tussen de verschillende hulpdiensten verliep goed dankzij „de uitgebreide voorbereiding met workshops, waardoor beter inzicht in elkaars werkwijzen is verkregen.” Bron : De Telegraaf
Total to Stop Offshore Gas Flaring in Nigeria
Total, a French oil and gas company, has expressed its determination to be the first multinational oil and gas company to stop offshore gas f laring in Nigeria. A Senior Development Engineer for the company, made this known when he received some Nigerian journalists a t Total’s headquarters in P aris, F rance, a ccording t o a News Agency o f Nigeria (NAN) report. Bamidele sa id the commitment to stop gas f laring was motivated by the company’s desire t o provide better energy i n a friendly manner “The motivation did not start t oday, it is t he philosophy of Total t o i ntelligently manage its resources and we are committed to better energy by using gas flaring to power our equipment on the field.
“Our footprint i s not a s b ig a s our competitors on shore. We a re mostly o ffshore and for gas we a re beginning to monetise much of the gas and use the gas for reservoir purposes. “In some cases, we re-inject the gases to do proper reservoir management to make sure that we are able to provide oil for a longer period without degrading the environment. We have been doing it for a longer period of time and that makes us different from other oil companies in Africa countries,” he said. He sa id the company had also invested in renewable energy, with the aim of reducing gas flaring and carbon dioxide. Also, Mr. Betrand de Nadaillac, Vice President in charge of Environment and Health, said the company had another action plan to eliminate gas flaring.
Nadaillac said the action was to increase the energy efficient of its stations by promoting projects that emit low carbon dioxide in the downstream business. He said the company would showcase its achievement in the area of low carbon and r enewable en ergy a t C onference o f P arties ( Cop 2 1) o n C limate C hange to b e h osted b y France i n 2 015. On renewable energy, Vice-President Country Adviser Nigeria, Mr. Francois Le Cocq, said the company had already partnered t he F ederal Government on t he p rovision of s olar l amps. Cocq sa id Total h ad st arted t he sa les o f c lean energy solar lamps in Nigeria and other African countries under its social business scheme. He put the cost of the lamp between 10 and 70 dollars depending on the s ide and the country i n which t hey were sold. According t o him, t he company is looking at the system of micro-credit so that people would be able to buy and pay back when convenient for them. On the company’s social responsibility to the host communities, Cocq said Total had provided some education grants and scholarship to some host communities. “We have also established the Niger-Delta Development Community Fund for the development of the region. Each year, we have a certain amount dedicated to the Niger Delta and also we negotiate with the communities and sign MoU with them on areas of development on a yearly basis.” NAN reports that Total is a French multinational integrated oil and gas company and one of the six “super-major” oil companies in the world, working in more than 130 countries. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and international crude oil and product trading. Source : this day live
Paragon Offshore, a sp inoff o f leading o ffshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation, withdrew it s p lans for an initial public offering on Friday citing current market conditions. On April 30, Noble ( NE ) announced that it would spin off Paragon as a dividend to Noble's shareholders during the third quarter. Noble's subsidiary originally filed for a $400 million IPO on December 20, 2013 and changed i ts name to Paragon in March. The year's other offshore drilling r ig spinoff, North Atlantic Drilling ( NADL ), trades 8% below its IPO price.
The London, United Kingdom-based company, which was formed in 2013 and booked $1.9 billion in sales for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, had planned to list on the NYSE under the symbol PGN. Barclays, Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan were set to be the joint bookrunners on the deal. Source : nasdaq
Why long-term contracts help liquefied natural gas carriers
Given that LNG carriers require a few months to construct—about 28 to 34 months, according to Golar LNG Ltd. (GLNG), there could be short-term timing disconnects between the delivery of a new LNG vessel and the LNG cargoes they were o rdered t o t ransport. The t iming o f LNG p roject upstarts, newbuild delivery le ad t ime, t he e conomics o f investing in newbuilds, economic cycles, and structural weaknesses or strengths in natural gas consumption are some factors that shape the industry’s cycles. As the chart above shows, spot rates for LNG carriers have fluctuated wildly in the past, ranging from as low as an average of ~$34,000 a d ay to recent highs of ~$128,000 a d ay, which we can attribute to the inelastic nature of the shipping industry’s supply. While companies that do operate in the spot market are subject to volatile earnings, keep in mind that most LNG carriers such as Golar LNG Partners LP (GMLP), Dynagas LNG Partners LP (DLNG), GasLog Ltd. (GLOG), and Teekay LNG Partners LP (TGP) are contracted out long-term (for five years or more) with inflation adjustment features, under which rates are much less volatile than the spot market. In s ome c ases, t hese c ontracts a re a greed u pon f or u p t o 2 5 years. As w e n oted e arlier in t his se ries, lo ng-term contracts have been dominant because these vessels are costly to build, so LNG owners are more cautious about being able to generate adequate returns on investments. But their dominance is a lso because shipping costs can make up 15% of landed LNG gas p rices for importers such as utility operators. To hedge against the volatility o f spot rates, most utilities are also interested in engaging in long-term contracts. Certainly, this could change in the future if newbuild prices came down, the LNG shipping industry’s rivalry intensified, and shipping rates came down to the extent that the cost of shipping makes up only a small percentage of total delivered price. This could make investing in LNG carriers more risky, although it’s probably going to take years before this happens. Source: Market Realist
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The INNOVATION in Aalborg, loaded with monopiles and transition pieces for the Westermost Rough Offshore
ONGC Videsh, Rosneft team up to search for hydrocarbons in offshore Arctic
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of the state-owned explorer ONGC, has signed a deal with Russia’s largest oil and gas producer Rosneft to jointly explore hydrocarbons in the offshore Arctic. Igor Sechin, President and Chairman of the Management Board of Rosneft and Dinesh Kumar Sarraf, Chairman of OVL and Chairman & Managing Director, Oil and Natural Gas Corp, signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The Memorandum paves the way for the companies’ cooperation in subsurface surveys, exploration and appraisal activities and hydrocarbons production in Russia’s offshore Arctic,” the Indian firm said in a statement here.
The parties will jointly consider forming a consortium led by Rosneft and involving other partners. Sechin had visited India in March to expand ties with New Delhi. His firm had offered OVL a stake in nine offshore oil and gas blocks in the Barents Sea and one in the Black Sea. Rosneft is also looking at supplying crude oil to Indian refineries. Moscow is courting India to counter moves by the US and Europe to isolate it for annexing Crimea from Ukraine.
India does not have a firm contract to import crude oil from Russia. It gets small volumes once in a while from OVL’s Sakhalin-1 project in Far East Russia. Of the blocks offered in the Barents Sea, OVL found five were not lucrative. Of the remaining four, it would like to participate in two. It will decide on the other two once Rosneft makes available data by June. Rosneft had previously offered ONGC a stake in the Magadan 2 and Magadan 3 exploration blocks in the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk in eastern Russia, which the Indian firm is studying. OVL has a 20 per cent stake in the Sakhalin—1 oil and gas f ield in the Russian Pacific Ocean. Rosneft has a similar stake in the project, which is operated by Exxon Mobil. OVL had bought Imperial Energy, which has fields in Siberia, for $2.1 billion in January 2009. It is k een t o g et a f oothold in t he A rctic p rojects a nd e xpand in S iberia a nd Far E ast R ussia. “At p resent, OV L i s studying the preliminary data provided by Rosneft for identifying the preferred blocks for participation with Rosneft,” an official said. Source : The Hindu Business Line
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SOHAR Port's new container terminal, OCIT, has docked its largest containership of 10,000-TEU APL SAVANNAH at its T erminal C w ith it s 1 8 metre d epth a longside. The O ICT, a US$130 m illion joint v enture b etween H ong K ong's Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), the government of Oman, Steinweg of Netherlands and a number of Omani investors, has increased the port's annual capacity to 1.5 million TEU. The maiden call of the APL SAVANNAH arriving from Abu Dhabi, spent around 17 hours at the terminal for the loading and discharging of boxes, then going to Singapore.
OICT will enable Oman to realise economies of scale to further advance the country's economy and trade growth, said OICT chief executive officer Rashid Jamil Syed, ahead of a welcoming ceremony. Terminal C, located on the western side of the Jindal Shadeed plant, allows for the future expansion of OICT's facility in line with volume growth. Source : Asian Shipper
BBC SAPPHIRE LOADS 1536 mt MODULE IN DALIAN
At the photos seen the preparations last week
for the lifting of the 1536 MT accomodation unit in Dalian (1950 mt. module On the hooks.
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Misery continues for large tanker owners
The misery goes on in the large crude tanker sector with most routes delivering abysmal earnings for owners. VLCC earnings out of the Gulf last week were $6,000 a day or worse East and West. Only West Africa/US Gulf bucked the trend, rather surprisingly for a trade that has all but disappeared, with just under $20,000 a day. Suezmaxes were also hit hard with only Med-Med voyages topping $10,000 a day. Aframaxes managed to put on a little weight with Gulf/East and Caribs/US Gulf around $20,000 a day but elsewhere it was a similar debacle. There are simply too many ships on the water and charterers can drip feed cargoes into the market to keep owners jumpy. They are not the ones under pressure. Product carrier earnings have begun to recover a bit though not to the exalted levels of last year when the products story boosted a burst of newbuilding orders. LR1s and LR2s were up to $16,000 a day and $18,000 a day AG/Japan against year-to-date averages of around $10,000-11,000 a day. However, the Atlantic, which was the star of the show last year with earnings from $15,000-$20,000 on average is now struggling below $10,000 a day. Falling US gasoline imports had a big part to play here as well as a sheer excess of tonnage. While in the short term the supply side in the MR market will improve because there are a number of single hull vessels that must be phased out and a number o f o lder t ankers t hat m ight b e r etired, t here i s a t idal w ave o f newbuildings c oming down t he pipe. Dirty product earnings, which tend to outperform clean product earnings are more or less holding up - average earnings on four key routes, according to C larkson Research, are a lmost double last year's averages - and Caribs/US at c lose to $20,000 a day is looking particularly robust. Source: Seatrade Global
MOL-owned LNG Carrier departs for Japan with first LNG cargo from PNG
LNG Project
TOKYO-Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. a nnounced t hat t he L NG carrier SPIRIT OF HELA, which is jointly o wned b y M OL a nd I tochu Corporation ( President & C hief Executive Officer: Masahiro Okafuji), has left Papua New Guinea ca rrying t he f irst L NG cargo f rom t he E xxonMobil-led PNG LNG Project. The PNG LNG Project is Papua New Guinea’s first ever LNG project, and will provide
long-term supply o f gas t o customers i n Japan and other c ountries. The vessel loaded LNG a t the P roject’s Ma rine Terminal, which is located near Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. The f irst cargo will be delivered to Tokyo Electric Power Company. On May 14, Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill visited the vessel for a tour. Taking advantage o f the experience, know-how, and networks built up over t he years a s one o f t he world’s
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largest LNG carrier owners and operators, MOL is committed to safe and stable transport of LNG, which has increasingly gained considerable prominence as a viable green fuel in recent years. Source : TOKYO-Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.
Misery continues for large tanker owners
The misery goes on in the large crude tanker sector with most routes delivering abysmal earnings for owners. VLCC earnings out of the Gulf last week were $6,000 a day or worse East and West. Only West Africa/US Gulf bucked the trend, rather surprisingly for a trade that has all but disappeared, with just under $20,000 a day. Suezmaxes were also hit hard with only Med-Med voyages topping $10,000 a day. Aframaxes managed to put on a little weight with Gulf/East and Caribs/US Gulf around $20,000 a day but elsewhere it was a similar debacle. There are simply too many ships on the water and charterers can drip feed cargoes into the market to keep owners jumpy. They are not the ones under pressure. Product carrier earnings have begun to recover a bit though not to the exalted levels of last year when the products story boosted a burst of newbuilding orders. LR1s and LR2s were up to $16,000 a day and $18,000 a day AG/Japan against year-to-date averages of around $10,000-11,000 a day. However, the Atlantic, which was the star of the show last year with earnings from $15,000-$20,000 on average is now struggling below $10,000 a day. Falling US gasoline imports had a big part to play here as well as a sheer excess of tonnage. While in the short term the supply side in the MR market will improve because there are a number of single hull vessels that must be phased out and a number o f o lder t ankers t hat m ight b e r etired, t here i s a t idal w ave o f newbuildings c oming down t he pipe. Dirty product earnings, which tend to outperform clean product earnings are more or less holding up - average earnings on four key routes, according to C larkson Research, are a lmost double last year's averages - and Caribs/US at c lose to $20,000 a day is looking particularly robust. Source: Seatrade Global
Neptune Orient Lines Has Sunk By 55% In Three Years: Can It Ever Recover? Neptune Orient Lines was once a proud representative of Singapore in the container shipping industry. Today, i t’s a shadow of its former self, having suffered pre-tax losses for three consecutive years between 2011 and 2013. Its latest first quarter results for 2014 also showed no sign of any imminent turnaround with its quarterly losses coming in at US$97.9 million, a far cry from the quarterly profit of US$75.5 million it had earned a year ago. In a reflection of the sorry state of its business, shares of the shipping firm have sunk by 55% to S$0.98 since the start of 2011. By way of comparison, the Straits Times Index has actually inched up by 2.7% to 3,275 points in the same time frame. Neptune Orient Lines currently has two major business segments: Container Liners, and Logistics. The container liner business brings in much higher revenue between the two but unfortunately, is the more problematic one as well.
What has happened in the shipping industry?
The shipping industry has been in a slump for some years now. Prior to the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09, many large liner companies had over extended themselves in the name of expansion and are now suffering; many of those companies are facing bankruptcy with fleet rates remaining weak. Neptune Orient Lines, though not in a situation as dire as having to declare bankruptcy, is quite clearly not lying on a bed of roses either.
To g ive an idea o f the magnitude o f the t roubles facing the company, i ts container l iner business had accumulated more than US$800 million in pre-tax losses between 2011 and 2013. And that’s piled on top of a huge debt load (at last c ount, t he c ompany’s total b orrowings s tood a t US$4.7 b illion; i n c omparison, c ash on ly a mounted t o US$605 million) and a weak macro environment for the shipping industry.
In lig ht of s uch f igures, it ’s p erhaps f air t o a sk: Is Neptune O rient L ines f acing a c yclical iss ue o r is t he c ompany suffering f rom a st ructural p roblem w ith its business model. The d istinction is important because the former would likely see the company’s business improve once the shipping cycle turns; the latter however, might result in the company’s business never recovering.
Neptune Orient Lines’ response
The company has always prided itself for being a high quality service provider for the shipping industry. However, in an environment where there’s fierce competition stemming from an oversupply of ships, it’s the customers that seem to have more bargaining power. In such a situation, being the lowest-cost service provider might be more important
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than aiming to deliver higher quality service. APL, the shipping and container liner arm of Neptune Orient Lines, realized this issue and had announced in January this year that i t would be restructuring to ensure that i t would be able to compete more ef fectively in this highly competitive, price-conscious environment. As part of the restructure, APL will be focusing more on cost management and market responsiveness in delivering its services to customers.
The success or failure of APL’s restructuring bears watching from investors: I f the company is not able to compete more effectively in this market environment, it might find itself facing even more pressure as its debts pile up.
Elsewhere in Neptune Orient Lines, the company does have a high quality business in its logistics arm. Revenue at the segment has grown from US$1.26 billion in 2010 to US$1.59 billion in 2013; in comparison, revenue at the container liner arm has declined from US$8.29 billion to US$7.33 billion in the same period. Although the logistics business is still relatively small in terms of Neptune Orient Lines’ total revenue, the profits it can generate helps provide much needed support in the company’s quest to turn its container liner business around.
Foolish Summary
Although Neptune Orient Lines can hardly be faulted for t he s tormy s tate o f the shipping industry’s downturn, cost controls are still within its jurisdiction to a large extent. If it’s not able to control its costs and streamline its container liner business, it might just find itself having to answer to its creditors before the industry can turnaround. Source: Motley Fool
Fraser Lifeboat Dedication Ceremony
On May 17, 2014 at the Imperial Landing dock in Steveston a crowd of 150 gathered – Canadian Lifeboat Institution ( CLI) volunteers and supporters, local dignitaries including The Honourable Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay MP, The Honourable Alice W ong MP , Mayor Malcolm Brodie, and city councillors B ill M cNulty a nd Linda McPhail, and representatives f rom t he
marine industry and other local organizations. Led in by bagpipes, Captain Jamie Clarke of the Maritimes Forces Pacific representing Rear Admiral Bill Truelove, addressed the crowd. He offered his congratulations on “the addition of significant life-saving capability in the region” with the Fraser Lifeboat. “Whether at sea in diffic ult conditions or educating boaters to help reduce mishaps at sea, this organization (CLI) has made a difference in the lives of Canadians who spend their time on the water.” The CLI is a search and rescue organization dedicated to saving li ves at sea. Founded in 1981, it is a not-for-profit organization funded by personal and corporate donations and operated by volunteers. The first boat in it’s fleet, The
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Steveston Lifeboat provides safety patrols in the Strait of Georgia and the Fraser River, an escort service for tow boats and deep-sea ships during commercial salmon fisheries, and training for its crewmembers. In December the Steveston Lifeboat plays another important role – bringing Santa Claus to the Steveston Christmas celebrations. The Fraser Lifeboat, formerly named the Famous Grouse, is a 47-foot Tyne Class vessel purchased from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in the United Kingdom. Tyne Class Lifeboats were built for the RNLI and are se lf-righting. The hull design is p articularly suited for operations where there is d anger of h itting bottom or “tapping,” an advantage in BC waters where dead-heads and fishing nets can present problems. On the Fraser Lifeboat’s delivery voyage in August 2013, after being unloaded at Fraser Surrey Docks, she assisted a 24-foot pleasure craft whose engine had failed by towing the boat into Steveston, her first rescue before she had even docked. Both lifeboats also provided a safety escort for the roe herring fishery at Comox in March of this year. The 10th Richmond Scout Group, presented a new bell for the Fraser Lifeboat, a gift in honour and in memory of the late Allen Fraser, formerly leader of the Scout Group and treasurer of the CLI. Svein Stokke and Kathie Regnar were presented with the CLI’s Duke of Kent Gold Medal for their assistance in the acquisition of the Fraser Lifeboat.
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Unions take action on ‘sea of shame’ The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) and its affiliated unions are launching a week of action today f rom ports on the B lack Sea to combat what an updated report f rom the organisation f inds a re s till shocking levels o f crew abuse and unseaworthy vessels there. Two years a fter the ITF and it s unions in B lack Sea countries launched an intensive campaign to expose these shameful conditions (see http://bit.ly/1ojQpj6), it remains one of the most dangerous places on earth to be a seafarer. This week of action is the latest step in the campaign to publicise and improve that disgraceful situation. Joint teams of ITF inspectors and union activists in Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine will use it to inspect ships, inform seafarers of their rights – particularly under the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) – and highlight the need for drastic action by littoral state governments.
ITF maritime coordinator Tomas Abrahamsson commented: “Any honest observer will find themselves appalled by the low st andards in t his r egion. T he st ate o f so me o f t hese v essels a nd t he a bominable w orking conditions o n t hem almost defy description.
“Unions a re actively battling these conditions and, even in the face o f current political events, t hey a re focusing as usual on the interests of workers. There is, though, a crying need for genuine governmental action. There have been some encouraging detentions by port state control in Bulgaria and Russia but much more needs to be done.”
The desperate need for action is underlined by an updated version of the report Black Sea of Shame, which has been prepared in conjunction with this action week. It is attached and also available at http://bit.ly/1nj890P and updates the original 2012 report, which can be found at bit.ly/1gnftp1
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The i ntroduction t o t he new report s tates: In June 2012 I TF a ffiliated unions compiled t he ‘Black Sea of Shame’ report to highlight the frequency of serious accidents and the poor living and working conditions endured by seafarers on vessels trading in the B lack Sea area. Since then, the ILO Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC) entered into force on 20 August 2013 and is now in force in two countries in the region: Bulgaria (ratified 12 April 2010) and Russia (ratified 20 August 2012). Thus far however, a significant impact of the MLC has yet to be felt. The region is st ill a haven for older vessels with inadequate insurance operated by owners with scant regard for obligations to their crew. In a ddition p olitical in stability a nd a la ck of p olitical will m ake it d ifficult t o d evelop r obust n ational le gislation a nd mechanisms to ensure ef fective implementation of internationally accepted standards. The f ive ITF inspectors in the region based in the ports of Batumi, Constanta, Istanbul, Novorossiysk and Odessa continue to handle multiple cases of n on‐payment o f w ages, n oncompliance w ith in ternational st andards, p oor li ving a nd w orking conditions, a nd o n occasion, abandonment and loss of life. This update collects together examples of cases that would indicate that much more work is needed before the region can shake off the ignominious title of ‘Black Sea of Shame’.
Stockton couple win compensation after dream cruise turns into nightmare
A husband and wife from Stockton have vowed never to travel with Thomson Cruises again after their experience A couple whose dream cruise turned into a nightmare when the wife fell ill have been awarded compensation f rom holiday giant Thomson. John and Sheila Randall vowed never to travel with Thomson Cruises again after their ordeal. The Stockton couple were appalled by standards on board the luxury Thomson Dream cruise ship and Sheila, 61, fell ill on the second day with fever, sickness and diarrhoea. They are among a number of passengers who have now been awarded settlements after suffering gastric illness while cruising on the ship. John, 63, claimed the couple witnessed
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“examples of poor f ood hygiene” on a number o f o ccasions during their two-week c ruise i n J anuary 2011 “such a s some of the foods being re-used at different meal times”. “Never in a million years will I travel with Thomson Cruises again,” he said. “Our holiday was ruined and nothing l ike the luxurious break we expected. We’re pleased Thomson has now settled the case.”
Specialist travel law firm Irwin Mitchell has successfully represented 12 passengers who travelled on board the cruise ship between November and December 2011, many of whom suffered illness, with damages awarded up to ￡7,500 per c laimant. In total the firm has now represented over 250 holidaymakers dating back to 2010 whose c ruises on board the Thomson Dream ship were ruined by the experiences they endured. Suki Chhokar, a specialist travel lawyer a t Irwin Mitchell, sa id: “We are now investigating the concerns raised by passengers who t ravelled last year and a re seeking to work with the cruise operator to investigate the cause o f t he illness su ffered. “A number of the passengers who travelled on the Thomson Dream over the years have been left devastated that they have suffered serious illnesses. “Some passengers have suffered significant and distressing symptoms while on board the ship. Many of our clients suffered from symptoms such as stomach cramps, sickness, diarrhoea and lethargy. “Aside from making their h oliday ex tremely u npleasant, t hese t ypes o f illness c an h ave a d ebilitating lo ng-term impact o n t heir h ealth. Some passengers had t o seek m edical a ssistance u pon t heir r eturn home.” A sp okesperson f or Thomson sa id t he company does not comment on settlements. Source : Gazettelive
NAVY NEWS Russia-China naval drills to practice
new tasks — vice-admiral One of the main and most important elements of the exercises was to practice the interaction of forces
and sides in the formation of united warship squadrons
Russia-China naval exercises may involve fleets of both countries from various regions of the World Ocean to practice new tasks in the future. Russian Navy Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Vice-Admiral Alexander Fedotenkov stated this on Sunday.
Fedotenkov is heading the Naval Interaction-2014 exercises on the Russian side. The drills involving naval forces from Russia and China in the East China Sea are scheduled for end on Monday. “One of the main and most important elements of the exercises was to practice the interaction of forces and sides in the formation of united warship squadrons,” Fedotenkov said. The complex mechanism of united squadrons requires a detailed and effective control system,” the Russian vice-admiral said, adding that the Russian and Chinese sides had made “a considerable progress in this area” during the naval drills.
The skills acquired in the course of the naval drills will help reinforce them in the future with “new episodes, tasks and tactical techniques.” This will involve not only artillery, submarines and aviation but also the use of “missile weapons and the fleets of other regions of the World Ocean,” the vice-admiral said. “The future exercises will be filled with new episodes, new tactical techniques and w ill include new regions,” he sa id, adding it was important that not only the Pacific Fleet but also the Baltic, Northern and Black Sea Fleets should practice interaction with Chinese warships and aviation.
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Eastern Shipbuilding delivers another PSV for Boldini
One of the leading shipbuilders of offshore support vessels in the world, Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc., Panama City, FL, recently delivered the M/V Bravante VII, the third in a series of STX-designed 4,500 dwt Platform Supply Vessels to Boldini S.A., Bravante Group of Brazil. The Bravante VI, the second in the series, which was delivered three months a go, is c urrently o n c harter t o P etrobras in Brazil. The se ries o f P SVs f or B oldini a re b eing c onstructed b y Eastern Shipbuilding with the assistance of a $240.8 million Title XI shipbuilding loan guarantee. Eastern Shipbuilding is the only U.S. shipyard building offshore support vessels for export. Like her sister vessel, the 284 ft x 60 ft x 24 ft 6 in Bravante VII is an STX SV290 design from STX Marine, Inc., which has offices in Houston, TX, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Its parent company is STX Offshore & Shipbuilding. Classed by ABS, Bravante VII carries the notations IMO/SOLAS, ABS Classed A1, Offshore Support Vesse l Ocean Service, Loadline, +AMS, +ACCU, +Circle E, ABS +FFV-1, with additional ABS Class notations UWILD, ENVIRO, +DPS-2.
All five PSVs fly the Marshall Islands flag. The Bravante VII has a clear deck of 9,365 ft2, with a capacity of 5,030 barrels of liquid mud and 8,631 ft3 of dry bulk mud. The diesel-electric PSV Bravante VII has four Cummins QSK-60DM 16-cylinder turbo-charged IMO Tier II diesel generator engines, each rated at 1,825 kW at 1,800 rev/min. Cummins also furnished four Marathon Model 744 690VAC main generators. Main propulsion power is provided by two 690VAC
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electric motors that drive two nozzled Schottel Combi-Drives SCD 2020 single fixed-pitch propellers rated at 2,500 kW at 750 rev/min each. Schottel also supplied two STT 4 fixed-pitch reverse tunnel thrusters, rated at 1,180 kW at 1,170 rev/min, each with direct coupled Hyundai 690VAC electric motors. The system integrator was GE Energy, which supplied the complete system integrated diesel electric package, including the thruster drives, motors, control systems, DP system, switchboards, motor control centers, automation and navigation/communication electronics. Bravante VII is capable o f a maximum speed o f over 13 knots, w ith a c ruising speed o f 12 knots. The fully in tegrated b ridge is arranged for increased visibility and features the latest technology in navigation, communication equipment. source : MarineLog
Spain’s Metalships & Docks, Vigo continues to be fully occupied since
summer last year. The current projects w ill keep facilities, t he two docks and the two s lipways, occupied t ill end o f June. On average contracts are being awarded some three months ahead of drydocking, fairly uncommon in today’s shiprepair market. The success can be put down to ‘word of mouth’ of our regular customers, who have had successful projects completed by the yard. There have been two major projects recently from the dredging industry – involving two of the world’s major dredging contractors – Boskalis (Holland) and Jan de Nul (Belgium). Running repairs were carried out on B oskalis’ 4 ,906 m 3 t railing s uction h opper d redger WATERWAY, which u nderwent h er t hird i ntermediate survey after finishing a dredging contract in Cameroon - it is the first time at Metalships for Boskalis and the contract was awarded after an owner’s audit the shipyard. Boskalis was impressed with the yard’s capabilities, safety, quality and competitive rates and the contract was awarded against stiff competition from other Spanish and Portuguese yards. Work on the dredge equipment included:
• Exchange sliding piece and bend for spare sliding piece and bend • Replacement of worn out sheaves of intermediate gantry and
draghead gantry • Renewal of pins and bushes of the Trunnion gantry • Renewal of pivot pins of the bottom doors • Renewal of the jet nozzle and flanges in the hopper well • Renewal of brackets for water jet in hopper • Renewal of damaged bottom door rubbers and securing strips • Overhauling of the bottom door pins and bushes
Steel renewal, repair o f c ylinder beams above the hopper, installation of a platform and beams on the main deck, replacement of hydraulic lines o n deck, renewal of HT box cooler in the main engine and repair of four LT Box Coolers including the overhauling of two of them. It took some 45 days to complete the project. Jan de Nul’s 3 ,700 m3 t railing su ction hopper dredger De BOURGAINVILLE currently undergoing her second intermediate survey after f inishing h er l atest co ntract i n Da kar, Senegal. This is the third dredger from Jan de Nul over t he l ast f ive m onths s howing t he trust t he owner has i n t he yard’s h igh
standards. The estimated time for repairs is 36 days. The scope of work being carried out includes: Accommodation, i ncluding c omplete r enewal of a ll b ridge w indows, a nd f looring, cleaning a nd p ainting o f a ll accommodation Piping renewals including 400 m sanitary piping, 200 m FiFi line, 150 m in engine room. Renewal of 700 gaskets in pipelines
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Trailing suction pipe works - Replacing sliding piece and suction bend, overhauling sliding piece in workshop and renewal of under water pump motor Hopper - Hopper seal renewal, steel renewals on hopper seal and closing plate of hopper, remove screen plate and reduce play screen plate. Engine works - Overhauling of 16 cylinder heads, cleaning of two oi l c oolers and two a ir c oolers of b oth main engines Dredging equipment - Machine shafts of t he T runnion gantry, alignment of Trunnion gantry to shipside guides Removal and repair/recondition of propellers, cleaning, polish and repair of bow thruster propeller and s haft seals replacement Major steel renewals in tanks and hull and bottom damage
Pesquera tuna mother ship ATLANTICO is undergoing her seventh special survey after laying up for a long period. Ship was recently taken over from Venezuela’s shipownerPescalba and the new owner awarded the repair to Metalships due to its large experience repairing tuna ships and the high know-how in the area of Vigo for these ships. One of the leading jobs is major steel renewals in the bow, and, since the vessel’s hull was not in so good a condition, a l arge a mount o f s teel n eeded t o b e r enewed. S ome o ther s tandard j obs l ike t una v essel m ast a nd c row´s n est treatment are being carried out. Estimated time for repairs is some 60 days. Albacora’s tuna ship ALBACORE UNO is undergoing her third intermediate survey. This is the second ship of Albacora in the last month. Albacora continues to rely upon Metalships either for the minor or major repairs and so have become one of the yard’s most important customers. Apart from the drydocking works, the ship’s propulsion will be modified from fix propeller to control pitch (C.P.) p ropeller, replacement o f the tailshaft by a new one, which needs to be machined and a ligned, and a silicon paint c oating f or the h ull. T he es timated t ime for r epairs is 5 0 d ays. McDermott’s latest n ew b uilding a t Metalships, LAY VESSEL 108 was in dock for a period of two weeks to finalise hull treatment plus several outfitting works such as installation of reduction gear. Outfitting works continue alongside till delivery date - August 2014.
European shipbuilding 'not dead yet', shipping market 'normalising': DNV GL
European shipbuilding " not dead yet" shipping market "normalisinG" DNV GL
DNV GL’s ceo of maritime Tor Svensen has indicated that shipping may be returning to “a more healthy balance” of supply and demand, in an address in Hamburg this week. Speaking at a conference organised by Hamburg Messe at the Blohm & Voss shipyard, Svensen argued that with reductions in fleet growth and improved charter rates, “We see that things a re starting to normalise again.” “It w ill t ake a few years more to recover but it ’s a possible t rend that there will be more capital going into the industry, more investors, and it seems to be that we are moving towards a more healthy balance.” Svensen said that owners of container vessels, tankers, a nd particularly MR Tankers, could look forward to “a more positive outlook economically,” adding that “bulk has been growing very rapidly, particularly because of imports of raw materials to China.” Svensen argued that European markets still represented major investment opportunities despite the migration of shipbuilding activities to Asia. “It’s true that 90% of ships are built in Asia, but 70% of the world fleet is controlled from Europe.
“European equipment manufacturers dominate the market, there’s a huge European content of specialised vessels. We have some very strong clusters in Norway, the Netherlands, Greece, and Germany. Europe is not dead yet.” Source : Seatrade -Global
Oblique icebreaker Baltika of project Р-70202 arrives at Yantar shipyard
On May 21, 2014, multipurpose emergency and rescue vessel BALTIKA of innovative project Р-70202 arrived at Baltic Shipbuilding P lant “Yantar”, t he sh ipyard sa ys i n i ts p ress r elease. The w orld’s f irst ic ebreaking ship w ith a n asymmetric hull and ability to operate sideways has been built by Kaliningrad shipbuilders in cooperation with Finnish colleagues.
BALTIKA has been delivered to Kaliningrad by two tugboats from Helsinki where she had undergone fitting-out and testing at Arctech Helsinki Shipyard. The delivery certificate will be soon signed at Yantar and the ship will be delivered to the customer in Saint-Petersburg. The customer is the Federal Marine and River Transport Agency of Russia which signed the contract with Yantar on November 9, 2011. The vessel was laid down in Kaliningrad on June 6, 2012. Under the contract, Yantar, as the principal executor of the order, was in charge of hull works. They were completed in May 2013 and the ship then underwent fitting-out in Finland. BALTIKA was launched on December 12, 2013 and fulfilled
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the programme of sea trials in the Baltic Sea. The innovative project Р-70202 was developed by Aker Arctic Technology (Finland). The vessel features an asymmetric hull, patented oblique design and three 360 degrees rotating propulsors, which allow the vessel to operate efficiently sideways, astern and ahead. In oblique mode the vessel will be able to generate 50 m wide channel in 0.6 m thick ice. Bow and stern first the vessel can operate in 1.0 m thick ice. The icebreaker i s fitted with sp ecial e quipment f or o il sp ill r esponse a ctivities, f irefighting a nd e nvironmental monitoring. Main particulars: Length - 76.4 m, Breadth overall - 20.5 m, Draught - 6.3 m, Propulsion power - 7.5 МW, Speed - 14 knots, Speed in flat ice 1.0 m thick - 3.0, knots, Crew - 24, Special personnel - 12, Sea endurance - 20 days (24 persons). Class notation: KM✪Icebreaker6, [1], AUT1-ICS, OMBO, FF3WS, EPP, DYNPOS-1, ECO-S, Oil recovery ship (>60°C), Salvage ship, Tug. Kaliningrad-based Baltic Shipbuilding Plant “Yantar” (Amber) was founded on July 8, 1945 on the basis of a Koenigsberg unit of German’s Schichau Werft. Yantar Shipyard specializes in building and repairs of warships and civil boats. Throughout the years the Shipyard has built 157 warships and more than 500 merchant vessels. The Russian Government holds the majority stake in the shipbuilding firm through Western Center of Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of the state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation Aker Arctic Technology Inc was set up on December 30, 2004. The company specializes in designing of icebreakers and other vessels intended for operation in Arctic conditions. It also provides technical consulting services. 50% of the company’s shares are controlled by the United Shipbuilding Corporation (Russia). The company with annual turnover of some EUR 6 mln numbers over 40 employees. source : portnews
Shipbuilder Namura to buy rival Sasebo Namura Shipbuilding Co., Japan’s fourth-biggest industry player, said it will acquire 10th-ranking Sasebo Heavy Industries Co. in October. The acquisition will make Namura the nation’s third-biggest shipbuilder in terms of production volume. The move a ims t o help t he f irms survive compe-tition f rom domestic r ivals a s well a s t hose i n South Korea and China, officials said. Sasebo shareholders will receive 0.128 Namura share for each of their shares in Sasebo, w hich w ill b ecome a w holly owned s ubsidiary o f Namura. In t he year en ded i n March, Namura ea rned a consolidated net profit of ¥12.6 billion, on sales of ¥124.5 billion. Sasebo was in the red for the second straight year, with sa les t otaling ¥30.9 b illion. “It was d ifficult t o survive on our own,” Sasebo P resident Yoshifumi Yushita t old a news conference, noting excess capacity in the industry. “We will prevail in the cutthroat competition by strengthening our development capabilities and rationalizing our procurement operations,” Namura President Kensuke Namura said. Source : The JapanNews
ROUTE, PORTS & SERVICES
Newbuilding ordering activity rises by 78% in dwt tonnage over the first 4 months of
the years, as owners invest $ 40.5 bn Ship owners have p lunged i nto newbuilding o rders during t he f irst f our months o f t he year, a s o verall newbuilding business ended for the first four months of 2014 at 55% higher volume of activity, in terms of number of units and 78% higher, in terms of deadweight, based on f igures compiled by shipbroker Golden Destiny. The total number o f
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new orders is estimated to be 1054 vessels with an invested capital of more than $40.5bn, when last year the number of new orders was 681.
According to Golden Destiny, "Greek shipping players follow the overall investment strategy towards the construction of newbuilding vessels and emerge very aggressive during the first four months of 2013 by placing 148 new orders, from 56 in a similar period last year (up by 164% year-on-year, in terms of new orders and up by 186% in terms of deadweight). The invested capital o f Greek owners i n the secondhand market has increased to region $5,6bn from $2,3bn last year and they hold, during the year to date ,14% share of the total number of new orders reported".
It added that "in the secondhand market, Greek Shipping players appear also very dynamic but for the first time since 2009, t he newbuilding business o f G reek owners a ppears t o be at t he s ame l evels o f t heir s econdhand p urchasing appetite. The investment strategy of Greek shipping players during the year to date was the preference towards secondhand vessels with a serious firm interest in newbuilding units. This trend now seems that may be reversed and ordering activity from Greek players to surpass their secondhand purchasing appetite. It would be interesting to see if this trend will materialize as it’s very likely since Greek players show a hungry appetite for the construction of newbuilding units in all main vessel categories, bulk carriers, tankers, gas tankers and containers. Their ordering appetite in the bulker segment is up by 181% year-on-year, which is the main cause laying behind the massive upward momentum in the newbuilding business. Bulk carriers are also in their top preference of s econdhand purchases w ith an i ncreased i nterest i n t he t anker segment and weak appetite for containers. During the f irst four months of 2014, Greek secondhand purchasing appetite is estimated to be 25% share of the total S&P activity with 148 vessel purchases at an invested capital of more than $4,3bn. Their secondhand purchasing appetite shows 38% year-on-year increase and follows the overall increased shipping confidence". According to Golden Destiny's analysis, globally "the surge of newbuilding appetite is due to the spectacular ordering activity reported for bulkers with ultramax vessel size being the new newbuilding trend after the kamsarmax size in year “2010”. The upturn of freight market p erformance f rom the e nd o f s econdhand half o f 2 013 l ed t o a s ignificant v olume o f b usiness for C hinese shipyards that attract investors’ interest towards the ultramax newbuilding design. The freight market performance is now under serious threat from this record ordering appetite, but shipping players keep high confidence in the shipping market and do not forego their investment plans. The number of new orders for bulkers is estimated to be more than 400 vessels from le ss t han 200 vessels i n J anuary-April 2 013 ( 120% year-onyear in crease), while st rong in vestors’ interest is recorded in the tanker segment for 186 new orders, up 77% year-on-year with firm interest for VLCCs and MR product tankers". Meanwhile, in the Union of Greek Shipowners' latest annual review, President Theodore E. Veniamis sa id t hat " despite r ecession, o vertonnaging, a n unstable f reight m arket, r educed a ccess t o sh ip f inancing from banks, the Greek owned fleet increased in tonnage (dwt) and in number of vessels. The Greek register accounted for 8 02 ve ssels ( over 1, 000 g t) a mounting t o 4 1,829,594 g t . T he Gr eek o wned t onnage he ld f irst p osition internationally. The fleet accounted for 3,669 vessels (ships greater than 1,000 gt) of 261.63 million deadweight tons, representing 1 6.16% o f total w orld d wt . T he G reek f lag f leet r anks se venth internationally ( in t erms of d wt) a nd second in the European Union (EU) (in terms of gt). The Greek owned fleet under EU flags accounts for 46.72% of the EU dwt tonnage. Moreover, Greek owners control 18 .51% of the world tanker fleet (crude oil tankers), 23.32% of the world bulk carrier fleet and 13 .81 % of the world chemical and products tankers fleet in terms of dwt (excluding ships currently on order) .
By the end of December 2013, newbuilding orders by Greek interests amounted to 371 vessels (over 1,000 gt), representing 32.60 million dwt. Of these vessels, 149 were tankers corresponding to 18 .32% of world tonnage (dwt), including 58 LNG / LPG tankers amounting to 25.94% of world tonnage (dwt) and 51 products tankers corresponding to 14.24% of world tonnage (dwt), 169 bulkers corresponding to 15% of world tonnage (dwt) on order in each type, 48 containerships corresponding to 7.08% of world tonnage (dwt) and 5 other vessels. The orderbook of Greek shipping in 2013 continues to indicate a diversification to specialised ships like LNG / LPG vessels, containerships as well as products tankers.The age profile of the Greek flag fleet in 2013 was 11 .5 years – over 50% of the fleet being younger than 10 years old – and of the Greek owned fleet 9.9 years, whilst the average age of the world f leet was 12.4 years. source : Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
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