Gujarat lines up policy to pump up ship building

Gujarat state government is all set to introduce a ship-building policy in order to give a push to the ship-building industry.

In recent years, Gujarat has emerged as a major destination for development of ports and port-based facilities catering to the needs of the vast hinterlands of north and central India. Traffic on Gujarat coast is increasing at the rate of 15% per annum. The proposed policy talks about a number of initiatives, including creating global competitiveness, simultaneous competition and co-operation. The government is also planning to offer tax concessions. The shipyards will be developed in clusters called Marine Shipbuilding Park. These parks will be accorded the status of SEZs.

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STX Shipbuilding gets US$30 mln order from China

STX Shipbuilding Co., the world's seventh-largest shipbuilder, said it has won a US$30 million order from a Chinese shipping company to build a handy-size bulk carrier.

The order placed by Taizhou Maple Leaf Shipbuilding Co. calls for the South Korean shipyard to deliver the carrier by 2010, STX Shipbuilding said in a regulatory filing.

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Dutch and Korea firms get Khalifa Port deal

Dutch dredging firm Royal Boskalis Westminster and its South Korean partner Hyundai have won a 1.1 billion euro contract from Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) for the first phase of the new Khalifa Port.

The project will be executed in four-and-a-half years starting October 2007. Boskalis said it will carry out the work in partnership with its subsidiary Archirodon and Hyundai. The Dutch firm's share of the deal is about 670 million euros. The port is part of the Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone (KPIZ) project being developed between in the Taweelah area. The work includes creation of a 2.2-square-kilometre port island, located five kilometres offshore. When the port's initial phase is completed in 2009, it will have a capacity to handle two million TEUs. Its capacity is expected to rise to eight million TEUs by 2015.

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Arctic Ice Island breaks in half

The giant Ayles Ice Island drifting off Canada's northern shores has broken in two - far earlier than expected.

In a season of record summer melting in the region, the two chunks have moved rapidly through the water - one of them covering 98km in a week. Their progress has been tracked amid fears they could edge west towards oil and gas installations off Alaska. The original Manhattan-sized berg broke off the Ayles Ice Shelf in 2005. One of the scientists on the mission said that the fact that the island had headed south was significant. Arctic sea-ice shrank to the smallest area on record this year, as measured by satellite.

The US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said the minimum extent of 4.13 million sq km was reached on 16 September. The figure shattered all previous satellite surveys, including the previous record low of 5.32 million sq km measured in 2005.

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Samudera Shipping orders two containerships of its own

Samudera Shipping Line Ltd says it has entered into an agreement to purchase two container vessels for a total of US$83 million.

The vessels, to be built by Guangzhou Wenchong in south China, will each have a capacity of 1,740 TEU and be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2008. The group currently operates 22 vessels on a combination of short- and long-term lease. Samudera intends to deploy the vessels in one of its major trades, in line with its strategy of improving frequency. The group statement announced its intention to explore opportunities to purchase more vessels.

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