Dubai to host premier networking forum

Middle East Money & Ships, the premier networking forum for key players in the finance and shipping industries will take place from 4-5 November at Mina a’Salam, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.

This forum will be assessing the impact of multi-billion dollar investment in the region’s refineries. According to analysis of project data carried out by Dubai-based research company Proleads, the six GCC countries are investing vast sums in new refinery projects to meet rising demand and tighter specifications for products. These projects are valued at more than $122 billion, $80 billion of which are in Saudi Arabia and due for completion before 2013. Once completed, these GCC projects alone will have total capacity to produce the equivalent of six million barrels a day of petrochemicals said Chris Hayman, Chairman and Managing Director of Seatrade, organizer of Middle East Money & Ships. The forum has the support of high profile maritime businesses in the region and beyond. The conference is endorsed and supported by DP World and the UAE Ship Owners Association.

Read More

Samudera Shipping orders two containerships

Samudera Shipping Line, the container branch of PT Samudera Indonesia, the biggest shipping company of Indonesia, states that it has made an agreement to purchase two container vessels for a total of US$83 million.

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

Read More

Three new international offices

DnB NOR is to open a branch office in Santiago and representative offices in Piraeus and Mumbai to follow up existing clients within shipping, energy, fisheries and aquaculture.

These initiatives are part of DnB NOR`s international growth strategy and will strengthen the company’s ability to locally follow up existing clients within shipping, energy, fisheries and aquaculture, while creating new business opportunities for the bank. The office in Piraeus will serve shipping clients in and outside Greece. DnB NOR is among the world`s leading banks within global ship financing. The office in Mumbai will primarily serve clients within shipping and energy.

Read More

N.J. company to sink ship off Fla. coast

A World War II-vintage ship that served in the Cold War will be sunk off of Florida's Key West as an artificial reef.

Reefmakers, a Moorestown, N.J.-based company that creates artificial reefs, will sink the 530-foot General Hoyt S. Vandenberg in 140 feet of water next spring. The ship was built as the General Harry Taylor during World War II. The $5.7 million dollar project is being paid for by the U.S. Maritime Administration and taxpayers in Florida.

Read More

Carnival opts Italian build cruiser

Carnival Corp. and PLC said its Cunard Line has ordered a 92,000-ton ocean liner from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for about $700 million.

The 92,000-tonne liner, the second-largest in Cunard’s history after the Queen Mary 2, will go into service in 2010. The 2092-passenger ship - to be named Queen Elizabeth - will be built at Fincantieri's Monfalcone yard. Fincantieri is also completing the Queen Victoria, a 90,000-tonne passenger liner, for Cunard at its Margh-era shipyard in Venice. Fincantieri said the deal brought the number of ships on order at its shipyards to 16, giving it a market share of 40 per cent. The Queen Victoria will be launched in December by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. The Queen Elizabeth will be based at Southampton and fly the Red Ensign, as is the case with other Cunard liners.

Read More

Oldest American Shipwreck in Alaska

A private dive team exploring the waters of south-central Alaska has discovered the oldest American shipwreck ever found in the state, officials said Monday.

The Torrent sank 139 years ago in Cook Inlet after tidal currents, among the world's most powerful, rammed it into a reef south of the Kenai Peninsula. Documents from the period show that all 155 people on board survived. The United States had purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million in 1867, less than a year earlier, and about 130 Army soldiers had come north on the Torrent to build the first U.S. military fort in south-central Alaska.

Read More