Fourth 4000 Class PSV, 'GRAND SLAM' christened and delivered

Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Rigdon Marine Corporation (RMC), Billy Guice, announced the 'GRAND SLAM,' the fourth in the series of ten 4000 Class PVS was delivered by Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, Louisiana.

Mrs. Karen Whitley, wife of RMC's Director of Technical Services, Jim Whitley, christened the hull of the vessel with the traditional bottle of champagne the day before the Rigdon 4000 Class PSVs was named a 'Significant Boat of 2007' at the WorkBoat Trade Show in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 'GRAND SLAM,' is a 58-metre x 14-metre x 5.5-metre, diesel electric, DP-2 PSV, which features a capacity of 4,000 barrels of liquid mud in an oval, self cleaning, segregated tank system. The PSV will also include three x Z-Drives and two x large forward tunnel thrusters. The Rigdon 4000 Class PSVs are capable of serving a wide array of marine applications in all water depths. The remaining six Rigdon 4000 class PSVs will be delivered in approximate forty-five day intervals through the third quarter of 2008.
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Swift flies NZ nest

US independent Swift Energy would sell the bulk of its New Zealand assets to Australia’s Origin Energy and its local unit Contact Energy for about $87.8 million as part of plans to end its operations in the country.

Swift said the deal was effective 1 December this year, with plans to sell of its remaining assets in New Zealand expected to be closed by early next year. Origin and Contact said separately today that they stood to gain Swift’s main producing areas in the onshore Taranaki basin, including the Tariki, Ahuroa, Waihapa and Ngaere fields and the Rimu, Kauri and Manutahi fields, as well as associated production facilities. Swift expects to reap about $100 million to $110 million from the sale of its New Zealand assets. It said the move would result in a non-cash book loss of about $115 million to $120 million. Origin would take over its offices in Wellington and New Plymouth and would offer to employ its local staff.

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Ministry raises pitch for 20% shipbuilding subsidy

The Shipping Ministry is pitching for about 20 per cent subsidy levels for the shipbuilding sector and has floated a Cabinet note with the proposal.

Until mid-August this year, the ship-manufacturing sector used to receive 30 per cent subsidy under the shipbuilding subsidy scheme. The Ministry has proposed continuation of the subsidy for 10 years with review after five years. It has called for maintaining subsidy levels ''in the range of 20 per cent''. Additionally, the shipbuilders may also get subsidies for large vessels only with the Ministry batting for a ''level playing field between domestic and export orders''. In the earlier subsidy regime, if ships were manufactured for exports, all types of ships were eligible for the subsidy provided the Indian firms won orders by meeting certain norms like global competitive bidding process. However, if they were manufactured for the domestic market, the subsidy was restricted to ocean-going merchant vessels that were over 80 metres in length. Thus even if ships are manufactured for the export market, a subsidy would be extended only if the ships are larger than 80 metres.

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Shark caught in nets off popular beach

A rare grey nurse shark has been caught in shark nets off Bondi Beach this morning.

The 2.4m shark - a harmless, endangered breed is dead. It comes after a man caused worldwide headlines after being attacked by a shark off the iconic beach.
That attacker is believed to have been a wobbegong and relatively harmless.
It also follows the more serious biting of a surfer as experts say increased shark activity on the NSW coast is normal for this time of year. The South Australian man surfing near Newcastle this week survived a shark bite on his right buttock, becoming the third person in NSW to have a brush with a shark in the past two months.
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Norwegian Cruise Line Christens New 'It' Girl – Norwegian Gem

Norwegian Cruise Line named Cindy Cardella of Fairfield, N.J., the Godmother of its new 'It' Girl, Norwegian Gem, during the ship’s Christening ceremony held in New York.

Cindy was chosen by NCL and the public among five finalists vying for the Godmother crown following an online video contest hosted on www.gemitgirl.com. In addition to being named Norwegian Gem’s Godmother, a position steeped in maritime tradition, she will receive a seven-day cruise in the ultra-luxurious 5,000-square-foot Garden Villa for her and five of her entourage. Cindy received close to 10,000 votes from the public and was selected based on her ability to show how she embodies the attributes of NCL’s hottest, hippest new ship, as well as the free spirit of NCL’s Freestyle Cruising,” said Colin Veitch, NCL Corporation’s president and CEO. Cindy was also given the honor of officially naming the ship and pulling the lever that released the bottle of champagne to christen the ship.
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Russian nuke fuel shipment strengthens strategic ties: Iran

The first shipment of nuclear fuel for Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant by Russia will strengthen strategic ties between Tehran and Moscow.

Iran received its first nuclear fuel from Russia after a long delay on Monday, paving the way for the startup of its 1000-megawatt Bushehr light-water reactor in 2008. Both the US and Russia now say that with the shipment, the Iranians would no longer have any reason to produce enriched uranium that could be used to build a nuclear weapon. However, Iran says it would continue its enrichment activities at a separate facility, in the central city of Natanz, to provide fuel for another light-water 360-megawatt nuclear reactor being built in the southwestern town of Darkhovin. Russian President, Vladimir Putin, finalized the date for shipment of nuclear fuel to Iran during a landmark visit to Iran. Iran says it plans to expand its enrichment programme to up to 54,000 centrifuges at Natanz and is fully within its rights to pursue the enrichment to produce fuel under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.
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