Dawn raids on DNV, BV, Lloyd’s Register, Rina and IACS headquarters in London

Class has been rocked by a co-ordinated series of cartel-busting ‘dawn raids’ by European competition authorities investigating allegations of restrictive business practices.

Leading class societies, including those in Oslo, London, Paris and Genoa, were visited by inspectors probing claims they have restricted competition by collaborating through the International Association of Classification Societies. European Commission competition spokesman Jonathan Todd said: “We are investigating alleged restrictive business practices. That means cartels”. The raids mark an escalation of the fraught relationship that has existed between class and Brussels for many years, with regulators suspicious that the 10-member IACS is a mask for anti-competitive practices. Although Brussels refused to revealthe names of the societies or the number or countries involved, Lloyd’s List can confirm that Det Norske Veritas, Bureau Veritas, Lloyd’s Register and Rina were among the societies raided, although ABS was not. IACS headquarters in London was also raided and documents seized. It is understood that Brussels is investigating allegations that competition has been reduced over a range of class activities including pricing, technical standards, information and quality. “Lloyd’s Register, both individually and as a member of IACS, has actively sought co-operation between all classification societies to increase standards of safety and reduce marine pollution.

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Finger-thin undersea cables tie the world together

The lines that tie the globe together by carrying phone calls and Internet traffic are just two-thirds of an inch (1.68 centimeters) thick where they lie on the ocean floor.

The foundation for a connected world seems quite fragile, an impression reinforced this week when a break in two cables in the Mediterranean Sea disrupted communications across the Middle East and into India and neighboring countries. Yet the network itself is resilient. In fact, cables are broken all the time, usually by fishing lines and ship anchors. It takes a confluence of factors for a cable break to cause an outage. Most telecom companies have capacity at multiple systems, so if one goes out, they simply reroute to a different system,'' said Stephan Beckert, analyst at research firm TeleGeography in Washington. The two cables, FLAG Europe Asia and SEA-ME-WE 4 were cut on the ocean floor just north of Alexandria, Egypt. By an accident of geography and global politics, Egypt is a choke point in the global communications network, just as it is with global shipping. The reasons are the same: The country touches both the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, which flows into the India Ocean.

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Fourth Aker Philadelphia shipyard tanker launched

'Hull 008', the fourth double-hulled tanker in Aker Philadelphia Shipyard's current build programme, was floated off its blocks in the yard's 396-metre-long Building Dock and transferred to the adjacent Outfitting Dock.

Testing and commissioning of the vessel's systems will take place during the coming months, with the ship scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of this year. Steady improvements in production efficiencies have contributed to the shortest duration from start of steel cutting to vessel launch of any of vessel built by the yard. Aker Philadelphia Shipyard's tanker build program consists of firm agreements for twelve 46,000 DWT Veteran Class product tankers, with options for up to an additional 13 ships. Three of these tankers were delivered in 2007 and are currently in service; two of the remaining vessels will be converted for use as the first US flag shuttle tankers to serve the emerging Gulf of Mexico market. All of the vessels in the historic build programme will be owned by Aker American Shipping. 'Hull 008' will be the first tanker sold under new terms and conditions to Aker American Shipping following the corporate reorganization that split the group's ship-owning and shipbuilding operations late last year.

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BPZ chartered tanker sinks after fire

A Peruvian Navy tanker chartered by Houston based BPZ Energy caught fire and sank on Wednesday, Jan 30, injuring 12 sailors.

The tanker "Supe" was moored near the Corvina CX-11 platform, being used to store oil from the Corvina's 21XD and 14D wells, when it caught fire at 8:55 am EST. The tanker was directed away and sank, around 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the platform. The 12 injured sailors were evacuated to local hospitals. So far, two have been discharged, while 10 have been moved to Lima for further care. The Supe had a 7,500 barrel capacity but was holding only 1,300 barrels at the time of the fire, most of which is believed to have been destroyed. Initial reports show that environmental damage has been controlled. There has been no reported damage to BPZ's platforms or equipment, and their tender assist and transport barges were not involved. Production from 21XD and 14D wells, about 4,200 b/d, and testing operations on 18XD well have been suspended pending further assessment.
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BC Ferries puts four vessels up for sale

BC Ferries has announced that four surplus vessels are being offered for sale.

With three new Coastal Class vessels and an intermediate size vessel joining the BC Ferries fleet this year, the Company intends to retire four older vessels by the fall of 2008. The 'Queen of Tsawwassen', one of BC Ferries' original vessels, along with the 'Queen of Esquimalt', 'Queen of Saanich' and 'Queen of Vancouver' are all being offered for sale. The vessels range in age from 45 to 48 years old. 'The sale of these four vessels marks a new phase in the evolution of BC Ferries,' said David L. Hahn, BC Ferries' President and CEO. 'These four ships have served British Columbians and visitors well, however with the arrival of new vessels better suited to current customer expectations and business needs, the time has come for these vessels to be used elsewhere.' BC Ferries is seeking expressions of interest from prospective buyers at this time. Two offers have already been received for the 'Queen of Tsawwassen' and BC Ferries has received numerous enquires regarding the other vessels. All of these vessels are currently operating and are certified by Transport Canada.
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MSC Cruises and Aker Yards, France complete world's first cruise ship newbuilding with Intersleek 900

MSC Cruises, Italy's largest styled cruise company and one of the biggest cruise ship operators in Europe is the world's first company to apply the revolutionary, biocide free, foul release coatings system Intersleek 900 on a cruise ship newbuilding.

The application on the underwater hull of the 23 knot, 92,400 GT poetry of the seas 'MSC Poesia', scheduled to debut in March 2008, was carried out at pre-delivery drydocking of the vessel in St Nazaire, France in early January 2008 by Aker Yards, one of the world's largest builders of sophisticated ships. Mr Giorgio Fabbi, Senior Sales Manager, International Paint Italy said, 'Intersleek 900 is an excellent product, providing significant performance and environmental benefits for both the ship operator and the shipyard. This successful first of a kind application was only made possible however by a first class team effort from all parties involved. Intersleek 900 is a new, unique patented biocide free fluoropolymer foul release coating representing the very latest advances in foul release technology. Other benefits of Intersleek 900 include no leaching of biocides into the sea, reduced paint consumption at the next docking and enhanced Corporate Social Responsibility through an improved environmental profile.
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