IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea

The award was presented during a special ceremony in London held during the Organization's 25th Assembly.

IMO Secretary-General Mr. Efthimios E. Mitropoulos said the award was "a tribute to extraordinary courage; to adversity faced and adversity overcome; to determination in the face of grave danger; and to lives risked and lives saved.” The Searose G was on passage through the Mediterranean, bound for the Suez Canal, when it responded to a distress call from the Maltese-flagged Teklivka, which was sinking 50 miles south in gale force winds. A dramatic rescue operation was launched and the Searose G managed to rescue nine crew members with a further three survivors picked up by another vessel. The Assessment and Judging Panels considered that Second Officer Topiwala and Captain Ostric had placed their own lives in jeopardy, even though they were not trained professional rescuers, by undertaking acts that went well beyond the scope of their normal duties. The IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea was established by the Organization to provide international recognition for those who, at the risk of losing their own life, perform acts of exceptional bravery, displaying outstanding courage in attempting to save life at sea.
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Iranian boats 'threatened' US ships

The White House issued a warning to Tehran after Iranian speedboats buzzed three US navy ships and threatened to blow them up.

The US forces were "literally" on the verge of firing on the Iranian boats as they passed through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and had moved to operate their guns when the Iranians turned and sped away. No shots were fired in the incident yesterday morning in one of the world's key shipping routes for crude oil. Details of the incident remain unclear, but the skipper of one of the five Iranians speedboats said in a radio transmission: "I’m coming at you and you will blow up in a couple of minutes." News of the stand-off emerged as President Bush prepares to leave tomorrow on a trip to the Middle East in which he is expected to tackle Iran's growing regional influence. The incident occurred about 5am local time on Sunday as a US Navy cruiser, destroyer and frigate were crossing the strait on their way into the Gulf when they were buzzed by the speedboats, which dropped boxes in the water in front of them.
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Asia-Europe shipping traffic on fast growth route

The level of dependence of the Asian maritime industry on US is getting stronger, especially for countries such as India and China.

However, things could change in the next few years with demand from Europe increasing. Large container ships have already started plying between Asia and Europe. It appears that Asia-US container traffic grew to the order of 6.9 per cent in the first half of 2007, rising to around 8 per cent for the first nine months, relative to the same period in 2006. Analyst forecasts predict, on average, similar or slightly higher cargo growth for 2008. That is slower than the 9.6 per cent growth posted for the full year 2006 to 6.5 million 40-foot containers, but it, nonetheless, reflects considerable resilience among US consumers, amid uncertainty over sub-prime mortgages, home values, tightening credit, high gas prices and a weak dollar, according to the Transatlantic Stabilization Agreement. The TSA is a research and discussion group of 14 major container shipping lines offering ocean and inland transportation, logistics and supply chain services from Asia to the US.

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Vietnam find ‘to flow 15,000 bpd by 2010’

Vietnam’s newly discovered Nam Rong-Doi Moi oilfield is expected to produce about 15,000 barrels of oil per day by 2010.

The crude specification is not available yet but it is suspected to be one of the heavier types. Oil flowed from the field at 4150 barrels per day during the testing, operator VRJ Petroleum Company, 50% owned by Russian state oil company Zarubezhneft, said. The field lies 135 kilometres southeast of Vietnam's oil hub province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. State oil group Petrovietnam owns a 35% stake in the venture and Idemitsu Cuu Long Petroleum Company, a unit of Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan, has 15%.
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Single hull tanker ban rushed through Korean legislature

In the wake of the nation's worst ever oil spill, South Korea will ban single-hulled tankers from its waters from 2011, five years earlier than planned.

According to the Maritime Ministry, the law banning single hull vessels from January 2011 will be reviewed by the Ministry of Government Legislation and go into effect in two weeks. Tankers carrying light crude oil will be affected by this new law as heavy-oil single-hull carriers were banned in 2005 under related international agreements. Under the new law, owners of single-hull tankers will have to renovate their ships to give them a second hull or change them into bulkers. The new law comes six weeks after the hull of the Hebei Spirit VLCC was ruptured via a collision with a crane barge leading to some 10,500 metric tons of fuel spilling into the sea and washing up on the shores around Taean, South Chungcheong Province. Police for their negligent actions have charged both owners, Hosco and Samsung. Koreans are one of the largest charterers of single hulled tankers In the first 11 months of last year, 171 out of 354 oil tankers calling at Korean ports were single-hulled ones, the ministry said.
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Woodside warns of Karratha cargo delays

Woodside Petroleum, Australia's second-largest oil and gas producer may have to delay deliveries of liquefied natural gas cargoes, after an electrical outage last week halted output at its Karratha gas plant in Western Australia.

LNG operations at Karratha restarted on Sunday after they were halted, and production is being progressively ramped up. They are working closely with customers to agree to a revised delivery schedule and minimise any impact. The Karratha gas plant is part of the North West Shelf venture, the country's largest LNG project, and provides over 60% of the state's gas supply. Woodside's Karratha plant produces about 12 million tonnes of LNG each year and delivers about 50 LNG cargoes each quarter to customers in Japan, South Korea and China. Shares in Woodside were down 0.6% at A$51.05 by 0043 GMT, compared with a 0.3% decline in the broader S&P/ASX 200 index. The six equal partners in the North West Shelf joint venture are Woodside, BHP Billiton, Chevron, BP, and Japan Australia LNG (MiMi) Pty - a joint venture of Mitsubishi and Mitsui & Company and Shell, which also holds a 34% stake in Woodside itself.
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