DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2008 – 019 Distribution : daily 3700+ copies worldwide Page 1 1/19/2008 Number 019 *** COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS *** Sunday 20-01-2008 News reports received from readers and Internet News articles taken from various news sites. SVITZER OCEAN TOWAGE Jupiterstraat 33 Telephone : + 31 2555 627 11 2132 HC Hoofddorp Telefax : + 31 2355 718 96 The Netherlands E-mail: [email protected]The MSC SANDRA seen enroute Rotterdam Photo : Jan van der Klooster – www.scheepvaarthoek.nl DO YOU HAVE PICTURES OR OTHER SHIPPING RELATED INFORMATION FOR THE NEWS CLIPPINGS ?? PLEASE SEND THIS TO : [email protected]
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DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2008 – 019
Distribution : daily 3700+ copies worldwide Page 1 1/19/2008
Number 019 *** COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS *** Sunday 20-01-2008 News reports received from readers and Internet News articles taken from various news sites.
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EVENTS, INCIDENTS & OPERATIONS EDT PROTEA CHARTERED BY SMIT/GB DIVING
The 91 mtr long EDT PROTEA is chartered for 1 year (+ options) by SMIT / GB Diving , the 1991 built DP III offshore support vessel is expected in Rotterdam Waalhaven March 1st , the vessel is having capacity for 88 persons
and equipped with a helideck able to handle heli’s upto 9,3 tons, like the Super Puma and Bell 214 Photo : Coll. Jan van Oost
Scapa Tug Jobs Axed MORE than 30 marine jobs are to be cut in Orkney, prompting fears of a future environmental disaster. The island council will axe 20 towage staff and 11 harbour workers in Scapa Flow after losing a contract worth £1.7million a year at the Flotta oil terminal. Orkney Towage, who have 119 staff, man the tugs which bring in huge tankers carrying around 100,000 tons of crude oil each. Transport and General Workers Union rep Stevie Rendall called the job cuts a "recipe for disaster" should a tanker break down. Talks will begin today with union chiefs on the proposed cuts. Source : Daily Record Co UK
Seventeen foreign ships under detention in the UK during November & December 2007 The Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced today that seventeen foreign ships were under detention in UK ports during November & December 2007 after failing Port State Control (PSC) inspection. Latest monthly figures show that there were twelve detentions of foreign flagged ships in UK ports during November & December 2007 and five vessels under detention from previous months. The overall rate of detentions compared with inspections carried out over the last twelve months is 5.4%, a slight decrease on Octobers' twelve month rate. During the months of November & December 242 Port State Control inspections were carried out in the UK. A total of 46 vessels had no deficiencies raised against them, 120 had between one and five deficiencies, 52 had between six and ten deficiencies 18 had between eleven and twenty deficiencies and there were 8 vessels inspected which had more than twenty deficiencies.
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Out of the detained vessels five were registered with flag states listed on the Paris MOU white list, four were registered with states on the grey list and four were registered with a flag state on the black list and four vessels were unlisted. Vessels detained in November & December included: a 20,432gt Belize flagged Bulk Carrier which was detained in Newport South Wales for 2 days because the ship's personnel showed lack of emergency preparedness during a fire & abandon ship drill. Deficiencies included there was no notification to port state control that the vessel was due a mandatory expanded inspection, port state control officers identification was not checked at the gangway also records of rest for entire ships crew and officers not recorded in accordance with ships movements. Lifesaving equipment and appliances were not properly maintained. The number and nature of the deficiencies raised indicated a severe failure of the on-board Safety Management System (SMS) a 15,981gt Panama flagged Bulk Carrier vessel which was detained in Swansea for 22 days because the port & starboard life boats had been insufficiently maintained. The winch foundations were severely wasted and the davits were wasted and holed. Many of the retaining cleat supports for the cargo hold covers were severely wasted and detached and buckled. A major non conformity under the ISM code was identified in respect of maintenance of ship and equipment and in emergency preparedness the fire and abandon ship drills were unsatisfactory. a 9,611gt Syrian flagged General Cargo vessel which was detained in Tilbury for 8 days because the vhf radio was inoperative and the fire drill was unsatisfactory. In addition the crew had not been familiarized with ship and the fire drill had to be abandoned because of crew incompetence. In addition there were serious failings by the company during recent flag and ship name changes. Source : MARITIME AND COASTGUARD AGENCY
Miliciens ronden Elementaire Vakopleiding af Na een zware eindbivak sloten 59 dienstplichtigen van de Antilliaanse Militie vrijdag 18 januari de Elementaire Vakopleiding af. Tientallen familieleden, vrienden en marinecollega’s stonden klappend en juichend bij de poort van Marinekazerne Suffisant, om de vermoeide, maar troste miliciens te verwelkomen. Vorig jaar begonnen 75 Antilliaanse jongeren op Marinekazerne Suffisant aan hun dienstplicht van een jaar. In de huidige opzet begint deze met zes maanden van militaire training, de zogenoemde Elementaire Vakopleiding. Tijdens
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deze karaktervormende periode wordt de milicien normen en waarden, discipline, verantwoordelijkheidsgevoel en zelfvertrouwen bijgebracht. Na deze fase volgt de Civiele Vakopleiding, waarin de dienstplichtigen een beroep leren.
Moe maar voldaan, marcheren de 59 miliciens naar de poort van Marinekazerne Suffisant. Ze worden voorgegaan door een tamboer en pijper van het Korps Mariniers.
Marianne Lie forced to leave the NSA SSG-TØNSBERG. Marianne Lie (43) has been forced to leave the position as managing director of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association (NSA) as of February 1, 2008, after six years, mainly because she lost the battle against the infamous shipping tax. John Egil Johnsen will take over as acting managing director from the same date. Johnsen is currently in charge of offshore matters at the NSA. In a terse press release, the NSA says that: “Marianne Lie has done very good work in cooperation with the association’s board. However, both parties believe there is a need to look ahead after the matter of the shipping tax is concluded by the Norwegian parliament. For this reason, a leadership change is natural now.”
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The speed with which the shipping tax was announced last September caught the NSA completely on the hop. This annoyed a lot of the more powerful NSA members and when the subsequent lobbying activity did not succeed, someone had to carry the can.
SSG-GÖTEBORG. The first mate on the Barbados-flagged cargo vessel Wilson Garston, which went aground in Västhamnen in Helsingborg at the end of December, has been sentenced by the Malmö District Court to three months in gaol for being drunk on board. When the vessel went aground, the Russian first mate was in command alone on the bridge. He fell asleep after drinking alcohol and taking pharmaceutical preparations. A sample taken after the accident showed that the first mate had 0.89 permillage of alcohol in his blood.
Fairstar Heavy Transport issues update on Fjord conversion
Fairstar Heavy Transport NV (FHT) has announced that what it called "significant progress" has been made in close consultation with the DNV to remedy all outstanding points in order to certify its semi-submersible heavy lift vessel Fjord for its final class approval. Said the company: "There are a number of test that DNV has required the ship to perform over the next 10 days. Management of FHT does not expect anything to arise at this time which will impede the ability of Fjord to obtain class certification as a self-propelled heavy transport ship from DNV."
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The first round of sea trials in December revealed a number of aspects of the ship’s construction and systems that the DNV has asked us to revisit. For example, bubbles flowing down the keel created by the ship’s new bulbous bow interfered with the accuracy of the ship’s echo sounder, which will now need to be repositioned.
"This is not a major problem, but will require Fjord to spend a day in dry dock to re-locate the sensor. In addition, DNV has required the company to execute a series of thermal imaging tests on the vessel when it next leaves port to ensure there are no dangerous hot spots caused by the density of almost 200 kilometres of electrical cabling that is now in the Fjord," Fairstar explained. Philip Adkins, CEO of FHT, said: "We are pleased with the results so far. DNV is tough, but we know that the value of a DNV Class approval is the ‘Gold Standard’ in our industry. The holiday period caused us to lose the momentum that we had at the end of last year, but I am satisfied that everything is moving in the right direction and we will be on our way this month.” Fjord and sister vessel Fjell will be among the world’s largest semi-submersible barges. Both are being converted to self-propelled heavy transport vessels, for entry into service in the offshore heavy transport segment in 2008.
Seven hurt in ferry/dolphin encounter Seven passengers on a high-speed passenger ferry en route from Busan, South Korea, were injured after the ferry collided with an unknown object, thought to have been a dolphin, this morning. The accident took place 30km outside Busan. The ferry, operated by Miraejet in South Korea, was carrying 168 passengers to Hakata in Japan. It lost engine power and suffered an electricity blackout, and flotsam resembling flesh and blood was reported after the accident. The Korea Coast Guard says that there have been nine similar collisions with unidentified objects thought to be dolphins in the past three years. One such accident last April killed one ferry passenger injured another 27. Many of the cetaceans gather to calve in waters crossed by the Busan/Japan high-speed ferries in the first quarter of each year. A Busan Coast Guard patrol vessel has been sent to tow today's ferry casualty back to the port. Source : Fairplay / Lloyds daily news
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Actievoerders walvisjacht terug op eigen schip
Een Australisch schip heeft de twee actievoerders van de natuurbeschermingsorganisatie Sea Shepherd opgepikt die vastzaten op een Japans harpoenschip dat deel uitmaakt van de Japanse walvisvloot in de wateren bij Antarctica. De twee actievoerders, de Australiër Benjamin Potts (28) en de Brit Giles Lane (35), gingen dinsdag na een achtervolging op zee aan boord van het harpoenschip en zaten daar sindsdien vast. De Australische regering zei gisteren dat was besloten een schip te sturen om de twee op te halen en vervolgens aan boord van hun actieschip, de Steve Irwin, te brengen. Dat is inmiddels gebeurd.
Vandaag maakte de Japanse walvisvloot zich op om weer op jacht te gaan. Sea Shepherd zal de vloot hinderlijk blijven volgen. Source : novum/ap/ka
Freed ... activists Giles Lane (in red) and Benjamin Potts leave the whaling vessel Yushin Maru No. 2 to be transferred back to the Steve Irwin.
Tug, barge hit bridge over Petaluma River A tug and a sand barge ran into the Northwestern Pacific Railroad bridge over the Petaluma River at Black Point near Novato early Wednesday, causing an unknown amount of damage to the bridge, the Coast Guard reported. The accident was the third time in a little over two months that a bridge on San Francisco Bay or its tributaries has been hit by a vessel. On Nov. 7, a cargo ship ran into the Bay Bridge, causing a 58,000-gallon oil spill, and last week, an oil barge being towed by an ocean-going tug hit the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.
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No oil was spilled in the Richmond-San Rafael accident, and neither the tug nor the barge spilled any cargo in the Petaluma River incident. The Coast Guard said Wednesday's accident occurred about 2 a.m. when the 71.5-foot tug, accompanying a 206-foot sand barge, hit the bridge. The river bridge, which swings to allow vessels to pass through, is normally kept in an open position. No trains have operated over the bridge in several years. The bridge is located on the Marin-Sonoma county line near where State Highway 37 crosses the Petaluma River. Source : San Francisco Chronicle
NAVY NEWS French Firm Eyes Sub Sale to Brazil
French naval company DCNS is looking to sell a conventional attack submarine of the Scorpene type to Brazil, as the South American country looks to expand its submarine fleet, an industry executive said. “It’s part of normal commercial prospecting,” the executive said. “They are looking to develop their submarine fleet.” Brazil has five German-built conventional submarines and wants to buy a sixth. The executive said there are no talks for sale of a nuclear-powered boat, as reported by defense newsletter TTU Jan. 17. TTU reported French President Nicolas Sarkozy could offer technical assistance to Brazil to build an atomic-powered attack submarine in a forthcoming visit, drawing on expertise at DCNS and Areva, a nuclear power company. The DCNS submarine would be an all-French product, not the Scorpene, which is a collaborative program with Spain. Chile, Malaysia and India have bought the diesel-electric Scorpene submarine, which uses acoustic technology developed for the new generation of French ballistic missile submarines. Source : Defensenews
Pentagon faked Iran boat ‘attack’ Anti-war group demands investigation of U.S. war provocation
The Bush administration has been caught red-handed in manufacturing evidence of a “provocation” off the Iranian coast on Jan. 6, in which five small Iranian open-air speedboats were alleged to have threatened three massive U.S. guided missile warships. The U.S. Navy now admits that audio and videotape given to the media and widely publicized had been spliced together. What is most ominous in all this is that no major U.S. politician or institution, or any international body, has denounced this dangerous and deceptive move, nor have they called for an inquiry or investigation. Neither the U.S. Congress—now in session—nor any of its committees, all of them now controlled by the Democratic majority elected on an anti-war vote, took action. With almost half the U.S. Navy hovering off the coast of Iran, this war provocation must be challenged and confronted. The media is giving wall-to-wall coverage to both Democratic and Republican politicians campaigning in primary elections. Each of these politicians could and should be confronted on where they stand on this Pentagon fraud and what steps they personally plan to take to pursue the matter. The corporate media in the U.S., which gave the story days of coverage, should also be challenged. The Stop War on Iran Campaign has taken the first steps. It has begun an emergency alert and petition to demand a full investigation of this war provocation and the illegal war games that the U.S. Navy has been staging in the Persian Gulf. The goal is to prevent President George W. Bush and the Pentagon from using this scenario or another staged operation to launch an attack on Iran.
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The Stop War On Iran Campaign has also urged rank-and-file Navy personnel on U.S. ships in the Gulf and officers to reveal what they know of U.S. war preparations and past war games in the region. For three days before Bush departed on an eight-day trip to the Middle East, the media were full of denunciations of Iran by Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and top generals and Navy commanders, all denouncing Iran for a “dangerous provocation” and “a threat to world peace” based on this phony incident. On arriving in Israel, even as the story was unraveling, Bush again threatened Iran and ominously warned that “all options are on the table to protect our assets.” The U.S. Navy has now admitted that the video of the “incident” between the U.S. warships and the Iranian patrol boats was heavily edited and that the threatening voice on it warning “You may explode” may not have belonged to any Iranian sailors. Yet this video was the basis for the latest threats against Iran. Who manufactured this video? Who spliced together completely different sound and video footage? Who signed off on it? Who distributed it to all the major media? It was viewed and commented on at the highest levels of the Bush administration. This is hardly the first time that a manufactured U.S. crisis has launched a war. On Feb. 5, 2003, Secretary of State and former Gen. Colin Powell presented satellite photos to the United Nations to prove that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction. This false charge, endlessly repeated, became the justification for the U.S. bombing, invasion and continuing occupation of Iraq. Before the first Gulf War in 1991, photo images of Iraqi units supposedly massed on the Saudi Arabia border for an invasion also turned out to be totally fraudulent. Manufactured evidence was also used in the famous Gulf of Tonkin incident, when North Vietnamese Coast Guard boats supposedly attacked two U.S. destroyers off the coast of Vietnam in August 1964. This fraud provided the justification for a congressional resolution authorizing the escalation of the U.S. war against Vietnam. This latest fabrication comes after a National Intelligence Estimate from 16 top U.S. spy agencies publicly reported that Iran has not had a nuclear weapons program since at least 2003, nor does it possess any nuclear weapons. This NIE Report exposed to the world a rift within the top levels of the U.S. military and the ruling class, where there is concern that the Bush/Cheney push for a wider war involving Iran would boomerang. The attempt by the administration to suppress the NIE Report and the fact that it was publicly released are signs of just how overstretched and conflicted the U.S. government is as it faces massive popular resistance in both Iraq and Afghanistan, along with growing instability in Pakistan. Even after the NIE Report, Bush’s threats on Iran continued unabated. But the U.S. charge of a Jan. 6 Iranian “provocation” began to unravel by Jan. 9 and soon turned into a miniscandal. Iran charged that the U.S. footage was a “bad fake” and that the audio and video were not even synchronized. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard released its own four-minute video clip showing its two- and three-person, clearly unarmed speed boats asking the U.S. warships to identify the number on their ship and their reason for being in the area. A U.S.-accented voice responded by giving the number of his ship and claiming to be operating in international waters. Blog commentaries asked the obvious question: Why in the U.S. Navy’s video was there no ambient background noise of water, wind and motors as the small open Iranian boats supposedly made threats to “explode” the warships? This and other discrepancies discredited the U.S. story.
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By Jan. 10 the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain cast doubt on the earlier U.S. version of the incident. “There is no way to know where this [radioed threat] exactly came from. It could have come from the shore ... or another vessel in the area,” Lt. John Gay told the French Press Agency. Some media speculated the message was from “a prankster.” But none of the corporate media have even once asked what this deadly array of U.S. warships is doing in the narrow waters off the coast of Iran that are vital to shipping. This is the real issue. The largest and deadliest ships in world history, armed and in attack mode, with targets already selected, are now off the coast of Iran. This is international lawlessness on a grand scale. Contrary to what the corporate media claim, the conduct of the vast U.S. armada in the Gulf is in explicit and continual violation of international law and United Nations treaties. According to a Jan. 15 article by Kaveh L. Afrasiabi in Asia Times OnLine, there is no “international water” in the Strait of Hormuz. The two-mile-wide inbound traffic lane there is within Iran’s territorial waters. Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgiff claimed that the U.S. ships were “five kilometers outside Iranian territorial waters.” This is impossible. Even a voice from one of the U.S. ships says, “I am engaged in transit passage in accordance with international law,” making it clear that the commanders recognized that they were inside Iranian waters. Peaceful transit through passageways is permitted, according to the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. The U.S. has refused to sign this international treaty, along with countless other international agreements, yet it invokes its right to avail itself of convenient parts of the UNCLOS treaty, such as transit for its giant warships through the territorial waters of other countries. On the other hand, the U.S. Navy flagrantly violates the provisions that explicitly prohibit actions like the continual war exercises, nor does it bring its submarines to the surface as required. Bush’s visits to the Israeli apartheid state and to the occupied Palestinian West Bank confirm that the U.S. president has no solutions and no proposals even worth coverage in the corporate media. U.S. credibility is at an all-time low throughout the Arab world. On a world scale there is a drastic decline in the ability of U.S. imperialism to influence events or impose its colonial solutions. Even in the United Arab Emirates, Bush’s lecture on democracy to a gathering of oil-rich feudal monarchs, their political appointees, wealthy corporate investors, and police and military functionaries aroused only a perfunctory scattering of applause. By all accounts his efforts to rally support for a U.S.-led Arab alliance to financially squeeze and isolate Iran flopped. Throughout the region, U.S. puppet rulers fear their own masses and fear standing too close to Bush. For imperialism and for the thin strata of corrupt rulers in the area, the war in Iraq is a disaster. And the war in Afghanistan is in serious disarray. The U.S. alliance with the Pakistani military is in crisis. Israel, Washington’s one totally dependent and usually dependable military outpost, proved unable to destroy Hezbollah in Lebanon or even to defeat Hamas by starving and surrounding Gaza. While each of the many ships in the U.S. armada has the deadly power to destroy entire cities with one launch, the political, diplomatic and economic position of the U.S. is slipping faster than the dollar. This can drive U.S. imperialism to ever more drastic adventures and desperate measures. It is also what silences large sections of the U.S. ruling class and top political leaders of both parties. The world movement for human progress and all opponents of endless U.S. wars must be on full alert at the possibility of a new, deadly military offensive. They must continue to expose this phony incident off the coast of Iran and confront the U.S. war makers. Source : Workers World
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Submarine To Be Commissioned First Week in May
Preparations are underway for the USS North Carolina commissioning, and Sailors say it's not just going to be a one-day celebration but rather an entire week of events. City officials along with the submarine's admiral and commander met on Thursday. Officials say it's important for the boat to be celebrated in one of North Carolina's historic cities, especially a city with such a deep sense of patriotism. The boat will be commissioned in Wilmington on May 3.
France to build military base in Abu Dhabi by 2009
France's first permanent military base since the end of the colonial period gives it a strategic role in the Strait of Hormuz bordering Iran, the main supply route for world oil. France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed an accord during a visit by President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday for Paris to set up a military base in Abu Dhabi, the wealthiest and largest of the UAE's seven emirates. The military facility, due to become operational in 2009, will eventually host 400 to 500 French army, navy and air force personnel, according to a military aide to Mr Sarkozy. 'I wouldn't go so far as to speak of a geostrategic revolution - it's a bit soon for that,' said Didier Billion, deputy director of the Institute for International and Strategic Relations. 'But this step formalises a rapprochement started several years ago with the Gulf States, and the Emirates in particular.' Aides to French Defence Minister Herve Morin said that the chief purpose of the Abu Dhabi base will be to provide 'support for the French forces deployed in the region, and in particular the naval forces stationed there permanently'. But for Bruno Tertrais, of the Foundation for Strategic Research, 'given its geographical location and the political context regarding Iran', the new French base represents a 'significant reinforcement of the ability of French forces to act in the region'. The Strait of Hormuz, the transit route for 40 per cent of the world's oil, was the scene of an incident between Iranian and US military boats last week, straining the already tense relations between Washington and Teheran. US President George W Bush said during a Gulf tour this week that he still viewed Iran as 'a threat' despite last month's US National Intelligence Estimate, which concluded that Teheran had shelved its nuclear weapons programme
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in 2003. 'Politically, this is a powerful decision, especially at this time of diplomatic confrontation with Iran, a matter on which France has hardened its stance since Nicolas Sarkozy came to power,' writes the right-wing French newspaper Le Figaro. 'Strategically, it is just as important. In the event of a conflict in the region, France will find itself almost automatically involved in the battle.' Le Figaro also warned that the new French base could find itself 'a target for terrorist attacks or Iranian missiles' in the event of a flare-up of violence in the region, and predicted that Paris would be seeking firm security guarantees. Mr Billion predicted that the new French base would be seen as a fresh sign of the rapprochement with Washington undertaken following Mr Sarkozy's election in May. But he said that it also illustrated the will of Washington's partners in the region to diversify their alliances, 'to avoid putting all their eggs in the same basket'. France is a leading military supplier to the UAE, and the two countries are linked by a 1995 defence pact under which their armed forces chiefs meet once a year and their army troops conduct around 25 joint manoeuvres per year. Their next major joint exercise, dubbed 'Gulf Shield', is to take place in February and March, involving 1,400 troops from UAE and Qatar and 600 from France. Under the current pact, French navy ships also make around 30 stops per year in the UAE, while the French air force sends fighter pilots there twice a year on training courses. France has a number of military bases mainly in Africa including Djibouti, which occupies a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden, and which is expected to supply some of the troops for the Abu Dhabi base. Source : AFP
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Fierce battle to use new MTBs SSG-TØNSBERG. A political battle royal is about to take place about the future of Norway’s new catamaran MTBs. Members of the Storting (national assembly) defense committee visited Båtservice at Mandal this week at the launch of the fourth of six MTBs. They were also taken for a trip on one of the MTBs, KNM Skjold, off Mandal at 40 knots in five-metre waves. The Norwegian government will present a white paper on the future of the MTBs before Easter and it is expected that it will recommend that all six vessels go into lay-up. The total price tag is NOK 5.0 billion when the last of the vessels is delivered before the summer of 2009. Båtservice had hoped to sell future MTBs abroad, but says this may prove very difficult if the Norwegian Navy lays up the first six vessels.
Hanjin to invest US$2b in Philippines' biggest shipyard
SOUTH Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Corp has signed a deal to build the Philippines' biggest shipyard in the southern part of the country. Hanjin will build the US$2 billion yard at the Phividec Industrial Estate at Misamis Oriental on Min- danao island. 'The world is taking notice of the new Philippines we are working hard to create,' said Philippine President Gloria Arroyo. 'That is why Hanjin is bringing US$2 billion to Misamis Oriental.'
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It will be Hanjin's second shipyard in the Philippines. It already has a US$1.68 billion yard - the world's fourth-biggest - at Subic Bay. The new yard, to be called Misamis Oriental Shipbuilding Complex, will cover 442 hectares. Construction of a plant to supply 80,000 tonnes of ship parts per year will start early next year. The plant will initially provide parts for Hanjin's yard at Subic and its main yard at Busan, South Korea.Shipbuilding at Misamis Oriental will start in 2010. And by 2012 the complex should be exporting US$1.7 billion a year of parts and vessels such as container ships, tankers and LPG carriers. With limited space at Busan, Hanjin has expanded operations to the Philippines with its lower land and labour costs. The Philippines has aggressively courted the shipbuilder with generous financial incentives such as duty-free imports of capital equipment and tax holidays, Hanjin's Subic yard has received 35 new-building orders worth US$3 billion since it was set up in 2006. Source : Shippingtimes
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Orskov Yard more than doubles profit SSG-RINGKØBING. Orskov Yard in Frederikshavn had a fantastic year in 2006/2007. Its profit more than doubled from DKK 6.7 million in 2005/2006 to a record DKK 39.6 million after tax in 2006/2007. The gross profit in the same period was DKK 96.4 million after a very busy year with a large number of repair jobs on ships calling at Frederikshavn. During the period, Orskov Yard worked with four docks: two floating docks and two gravel docks. Also during the year, a second-hand floating dock was purchased as a replacement for an older floating dock. Around 250 ships have been repaired at Orskov Yard, whose equity is DKK 10 million.
ROUTE, PORTS & SERVICES DFDS expands its capacity in the Baltic
New Ro-Pax vessel with capacity for 600 passengers and 2,500 lane metres for freight will be entered into service in May 2009 between Germany and Lithuania.
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DFDS is investing further to strengthen its route network in the Baltic Sea, where the market for sea transport of freight and passengers is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. Growth is being driven in particular by Russia, the CIS countries and the Baltic countries. Capacity on the route network is therefore being expanded with a new combined passenger/-freight vessel (Ro-Pax). It is being built at the Nuovi Cantieri
Apuania shipyard in Italy. DFDS has acquired the vessel from Grimaldi Holding S.p.A., Palermo. The vessel is the fifth newbuilding in a series of eight ordered by Grimaldi from the yard. The vessel is 200m in length, 27m wide and will initially be fitted with 2,500 lane metres for freight and cars. There will be a high standard capacity for 600 passengers. Service speed is 23 knots. Agreement is for the vessel to be delivered in May 2009, when it will be entered into service on DFDS' route between Kiel, Germany, and Klaipeda, Lithuania. Executive Vice President Peder Gellert Pedersen says, "It will mean a significant improvement in the route, both for passengers and freight passengers. After the addition of the vessel, the route will be able to carry more passengers and more lane metres of freight, and I am sure that the route will be an increasingly popular and comfortable alternative to the land route through Germany and Poland, where rising road tolls and congestion are a hindrance to transport." "At the same time, the addition of the new vessel will allow the Ro-Pax ship LISCO OPTIMA to be used to expand capacity and improve quality elsewhere in our Baltic route network," says Peder Gellert Pedersen. The investment includes delivery, equipment and special fittings and totals DKK 600 million. Of this, DKK 100 million will be paid in 2008. "This investment takes us further in our strategic goal of strengthening and expanding our route network, especially aimed at our combined freight and passenger concept in the Baltic," says DFDS CEO Niels Smedegaard. "At the same time we are lowering the age of our fleet."
Second-hand dredger to Denmark SSG-RINGKØBING. MSE Grus ApS, Nørre Alslev, has purchased a second-hand dredger in The Netherlands. The dredger is the Delta, built in 1980, which will shortly be taken over and re-flagged to the Danish flag and is expected to be renamed Kino. The dredger will join the fleet of two dredgers (Kisel and Navo) owned by MSE Grus. Greater demand for reclaimed materials is behind the purchase. The vessel will mainly be working on a contract delivering reclaimed sand to Malmö. The Kino was built by Werf van Goor in Monnickendam and is 67.1 metres long overall. Her capacity is 450 cbm or 1,384 DWT and her main engine is a 765 kW Mitsubishi.
LNG tanker delivered to Sakhalin Energy Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has delivered the LNG tanker Grand Aniva to Sakhalin Energy, which will operate in the Sakhalin-2 project, reports SeaNews.ru. The Grand Aniva is the second unit in a series of three ice-classed LNG tankers being built for Sovcomflot which will be operated by Sakhalin Energy.
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Korean Register to class three ultra-large containerships
Korean Register (KR) is to class three new-build ultra-large containerships. The 10,100 TEU vessels, ordered by Danaos Corporation, are to be built by Hyundai Sambo Heavy Industries and will be delivered in 2011. This is the first time that Danaos - a leading international owner of containerships, chartering vessels to many of the world's largest liner companies - has chosen KR as its class partner. On sealing the arrangement, Danaos President and CEO, Dr John Coustas remarked, “KR has very strong technical ties with the major Korean shipyards and I’m also aware of their finely honed technical competence and survey capabilities. I am confident that they will provide the high quality of service required for the safe and robust construction of these three new additions to our fleet.” In reply, KR’s Chairman and CEO, Mr Oh, Kong-gyun said, “We are very excited about the opportunity to work with one of the world’s leading containership owners and I am confident that my team will meet – or exceed – their expectations. We have worked hard over the past few years to raise the profile of our technical skills across the globe and the decision by Danaos demonstrates that KR is a player on the world stage” Technical teams from Danaos have already visited KR’s head office to familiarise themselves with a series of shipbuilding software developed by KR which will be used to build the new additions to their fleet. The enhanced international profile of KR has been further demonstrated recently by the wide adoption of its SeaTrust-CSR software which governs newbuildings of tankers and bulkships under the Common Structural Rules. This software package is now being used by the major Korean shipyards. In addition, a customer satisfaction survey (relating to classification societies) conducted late last year by the Korean Shipbuilders’ Association – whose membership includes the world’s top seven shipbuilders - concluded that the Korean Register was their second most favoured class society with which to work. A further indication of KR’s technical competence and the trust it now enjoys from the world’s leading shipbuilders. Source : MarineNorway
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Novoship took delivery SSG-TALLINN. The Russian shipping company Novoship has taken delivery of the tanker NS Lotus from Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea. The NS Lotus was the last vessel delivered in a series of four, designated to transport crude oil and other oil products. The NS Lotus has a length of 250 metres and a beam of 43.8 metres.
Crews work to raise ore carrier in Duluth harbor
Salvage crews are trying to raise the rear end of a huge ore carrier that has taken on water in the Duluth-Superior harbor. The Coast Guard says a submerged object punched a hole in the hull of the Walter J. McCarthy Jr. as the huge ship was backing into a dock on Monday. Water poured in through the hole in the rear of the ship, flooding the engine room. The ship's stern sank to the bottom next to the dock, where it's about 20 feet deep. The Guard says the hole is 4 to 5 feet from the bottom of the vessel. The Guard says crews are trying to raise the hole above water by pumping out the ship's ballast tanks. That probably won't be done until at least Friday. The Guard says there are more than 2,500 gallons of fuel and oil stored near the engine room, but there's no risk that it will be released into the harbor. Source : Startribune
Dutch team successfully tests offshore access system
A team from Ampelmann and Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands has successfully tested a new offshore access system - called the Ampelmann - at the Shell-owned offshore wind farm at Egmond aan Zee (OWEZ). This new method of marine personnel transfer consists of a six-legged hydraulic motion compensation platform with a telescoping access bridge mounted on top, providing safe and easy access to any offshore installation. "With the successful completion of these first offshore trials, the founders of the Ampelmann proved that as from this moment offshore access will be as easy as crossing the street," said the company in a statement.
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The new offshore access system was completed and tested only a year after the first design appeared on the drawing board. The Ampelmann project team has recently formed the Ampelmann Company Ltd, which is a spin-off from Delft University of Technology. Said the company: "The Ampelmann platform enables safe transfer at open sea from a vessel to any offshore structure such as wind turbines or an oil and gas platform. Since the transfer platform is kept motionless at all times by actively controlling the hydraulic cylinders, the Ampelmann can be used even in rough sea states (up to Hs=2.5m)." The technology used in the platform is based on technology used in flight simulators, and is used to cancel out ship motion, using a dedicated motion sensor which constantly measures the movements of the ship on which the platform is insalled. Using the Ampelmann, personnel can safely access any offshore structure via a telescopic access bridge, thus providing a safe, cost-effective alternative to helicopter transfer. The Ampelmann does not require any modifications to offshore structuress and can be installed on a wide range of vessels of varying size and sophistication - even on small vessels without DP. Ampelmann Company Ltd said it expects to start production of the first commercially available units in mid-2008, with deliveries by the end of 2008. Source : Offshore Shipping News – Photo : Ampelmann
TOTAL VESSEL MANAGEMENT K.P. van der Mandelelaan 34 - 3062 MB Rotterdam (Brainpark) - The Netherlands
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PRISC0’s biggest in service SSG-TALLINN. The 166,000 DWT tanker PRISCO Alcor recently commenced oil transports in the Baltic. Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea delivered the vessel in September 2007. The tanker has ice class 1A and has a length of 285 metres and a beam of 50 metres. The max draft is 15 metres, which makes it possible to load crude oil in Primorsk and also pass Danish sounds.
Höegh Autoliners Honored by General Motors Oslo - Höegh Autoliners was among 12 suppliers honored by General Motors for its outstanding performance in 2007 and for supporting GM's product efforts. The ceremony took place on Thursday, Jan. 17, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Mich. "Höegh Autoliners is part of a select group of suppliers that make a strong contribution to the success of General Motors," said Bo Andersson, GM group vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain. "As GM prepares to celebrate its 100th birthday, we want to recognize the important role our supply base has played in our past and how, working together, we will ensure our mutual success going forward. "GM's direction is clear - to be the best," he added. "In order for GM to be the best, our global supply base must also be the best." "Höegh Autoliners is very honoured by receiving this recognition," said Leif O. Høegh, Deputy Chairman of Höegh Autoliners who received the award on behalf of the company. "This is a significant recognition of the work we are doing for the global automotive industry, and serves as a great inspiration and motivating force for our continued focus on delivering world-class service and quality to GM." This is the 7th year GM has honored suppliers at the North American International Auto Show. The supplier awards recognize total performance and include such criteria as quality, cost and delivery as well as contributions to GM's products. Source : Hoegh
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Grampian Cavalier delivered North Star Shipping in the UK reports that early last month it took delivery of the seventh NSS-IMT 948 ERRV, Grampian Cavalier, from Balenciaga Shipyard in Spain. The vessel is outfitted with a Daughter Craft and FRC(s), and was due to commence a long-term contract in support of operations in the Central North Sea. North Star Shipping have a further two vessels under construction for delivery in 2009-10. These are a DP II Class PSV and a Tanker Assist ERRV. Source : Offshore Shipping Online
New Loan of Port of Rotterdam 0n January, 18 the Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten (BNG) and the Port of Rotterdam Authority concluded a financing agreement of EUR 450 mn. This sum is destined for the construction of Maasvlakte 2 and infrastructure in the existing Rotterdam port area, the press-service of the port reports. It should be pointed out that, last week the European Investment Bank had already announced it would make EUR 900 mn available for Maasvlakte 2. During the coming 5 years a total of around EUR 12 bn will be invested in the port of Rotterdam. Source : Seanews
Meer capaciteit lijndienst naar Finland UPM Seaways, moederbedrijf van UPM-Kymmene, heeft grotere tonnage ingezet op de wekelijkse lijndienst tussen Amsterdam en Hamina in Finland. De schepen worden op maandag afgehandeld door VCK Logistics op de Scandiaterminal in de Suezhaven. De capaciteit is nu 7.450 ton met 1625 rijbaanmeter, een verdubbeling ten opzichte van vorig jaar. Het vaarschema omvat Hamina - Amsterdam - Tilbury - Lubeck/Rostock - Hamina. Op deze shortseadienst worden vooral forest products, zoals cellulose en papier uit Finland, vervoerd. Source : Nieuwsblad Transport
MOVEMENTS
The Maersk newbuilding MAERSK KUSHIRO seen during her maiden call to Rotterdam, the 2007 built vessel is built at the Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Ltd in Busan under yard number 163, and is flying the Singapore
flag, the liner departed from Rotterdam with destination Southampton in continuation the vessel will head for the Suez canal Far East bound.
Today’s wind (+6Bft) and wave (+3m) chart. Created with SPOS, the onboard weather information & voyage optimisation system, used on over 1000 vessels today.
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B O E K B E S P R E K I N G35 jaar Rederij Waterweg te boek gesteld
‘Langs kusten en ondieptes – Rederij Waterweg 1970-2006’ is de titel van een prachtig geïllustreerd jubileumboek over de eerste 35 jaar van Rederij Waterweg uit Den Helder. In deze periode is het bedrijf uitgegroeid tot een onderneming die wereldwijd 60 kleinere werkschepen exploiteert, die met name ingezet worden op projecten in de baggersector en de offshore olie- en gassector. Het verhaal begint in 1970 toen de rederij opgericht werd door Henk en Lida de Haas in Maassluis en eindigt bij hun beider afscheid in 2006. Vandaag de dag worden de activiteiten van het bedrijf voortgezet als onderdeel van de Acta Marine Groep.
Met name in de baggersector is Rederij Waterweg een begrip. Overal ter wereld waar grote baggermaatschappijen actief zijn, bevinden zich ook werkschepen van de Helderse rederij. Dit varieert van slepers, duwboten, multicats tot surveyvaartuigen, waarmee in zowel diep als heel ondiep water specialistische diensten worden verleend. In het jubileumboek wordt de weg die de oprichters en het bedrijf bewandeld hebben om een speler van formaat te worden, uitvoerig belicht. Van de moeizaam lopende beginjaren in Maassluis, de verhuizing naar Den Helder en Workum tot aan de hoogtepunten voor het bedrijf, zoals het Øresund brug/tunnel-project in Denemarken, de ondiepwaterprojecten in de Kaspische Zee en de World- en Palm-eilandenprojecten bij Dubai. Verder komen ook ook de sleep- en bergingsactiviteiten en de strijd die is geleverd met de reddingsmaatschappijen aan bod en wordt aandacht besteed aan de moeite die de oprichters van het bedrijf zich hebben getroost om de stoomsleper Furie, bekend van de televisieserie ‘Hollands Glorie’, voor het nageslacht te behouden. Bijzonder is dat het boek geheel in interviewvorm is geschreven. In het eerste deel vertelt het ondernemersechtpaar De Haas zelf hun levensverhaal en in het tweede deel komt een aantal relaties en medewerkers aan het woord. Hierdoor is het een prettig leesbaar boek geworden dat zowel in de Nederlandse als Engelse taal is geschreven.
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Daarnaast is het dankzij de vele illustraties ook een mooi kijkboek. Kortom, in het boek wordt op een levendige en persoonlijke manier 35 jaar historie beschreven van een rederij die met kleine schepen groot is geworden.
‘Langs kusten en ondieptes/Along coastlines and shallow waters – Rederij Waterweg 1970-2006’ is geschreven door Paul Schaap en is te bestellen via www.scheepvaartboekhandel.nl en bij de in de hal van het
Maritiem Museum Rotterdam gevestigde Rotterdamse Scheepvaart Boekhandel.(ISBN-13:978-90-805425-4-9)
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