Vietnam's Vinalines to build seaports, berths nationwide

Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) plans to build a range of major seaport developments nationwide with some of the projects involving foreign direct investment, reports Vietnam Economic Times.

First will be the construction of the Van Phong international transit seaport in the central province of Khanh Hoa, which will have an annual cargo handling capacity of 300 million tonnes and cater to ships weighing up to 400,000 tonnes, said the report. Construction of the Lach Huyen deepwater port in the northern city of Hai Phong is also scheduled to begin during the first three months of the year, along with the building of five new berths for ships of up to 20,000 tons at Hai Phong's Dinh Vu port.
A groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction of berths 2, 3 and 4 at Cai Lan port in northern Quang Ninh province is also slated to be held this quarter. Berths 2, 3, and 4 will be designed to receive 40,000-ton ships, the report said. Vinalines also intends to cooperate with US and Danish firms to build two container berths at Cai Mep-Thi Vai port in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and one container port in Ben Dinh-Sao Mai. The report did not specify when construction on these two projects would begin. However, between this year and 2011, the cooperation with overseas investors is expected to be extended to cover the construction of a further two container berths in Ba Ngoi port on the Cam Ranh Gulf in central Khanh Hoa province, as well as a seaport in the Son Tra peninsula in central Da Nang province, said the Vietnam Economic Times.

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Titan Makes Headway on New Flame Salvage

Titan Salvage, Crowley Maritime Corporation's salvage and wreck removal company, reported that its salvage team on site in Gibraltar responding to the wreck of the bulk ship New Flame is preparing to begin cutting the stern section of the ship from the sunken bow so that the stern can be re-floated and towed away.

The New Flame, which sank following a collision while exiting the port of Gibraltar in August of last year, now lies in the open ocean off Gibraltar's Europa Point with the forward four cargo holds of the ship lying on the ocean bottom, and cargo hold No.5 and the engine room still floating while being maintained by TITAN's salvage pumps. The ship is loaded with over 42,000 tons of scrap metal, which was being transported from New York Harbor to Turkey for recycling.

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Luhrs Marine makes key appointments

Luhrs Marine Group, the USA-based boatbuilding organisation, has announced that the top sales and marketing positions at two of its subsidiaries have been filled by veteran executives of the group.

Mike Usina is now vice-president, sales and marketing duties for the Florida-based Luhrs Corporation, having left the same position at Silverton Marine Corporation to assume the role. Usina joined New Jersey-based Silverton Marine in 1995 and served as vice-president, sales and marketing there since 2002. He first entered the marine industry in 1981, serving in sales and marketing for Thunderbird Formula, Donzi Marine and Trojan Yachts before joining Silverton. The second appointment is that of Brett Marshall, Silverton Marine's national sales manager for the past five years, who has been promoted to director, sales and marketing. With over 20 years' experience in the marine industry, Marshall will head the manufacturer's domestic and international dealership organisation in addition to his marketing responsibilities.

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