More shipping lines to switch to Malaysia within the next decade

More shipping lines are expected to switch hubs to Malaysia within the next five to ten years, drawn by Malaysian ports' attractive pricing and capability in handling cargo volumes.

Westports Malaysia director Ruben Emir Gnanalingam said that while Singapore has more shipping line hubs, the island state had limited capacity and prices in Malaysia were still substantially cheaper. Singapore is also currently the largest handler of trans-shipment cargo volume in the Southeast Asian region, handling 28 million TEU of the 50 million in Southeast Asia while Malaysia handles 15 million TEU. Of the 15 million TEU, Westports is aiming for five million TEU this year. The three main ports for trans-shipment cargo currently are Westports, the Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Singapore. Ruben added that trans-shipment cargo volume in the Southeast Asian region was growing between 10 percent and 15 percent a year with an estimated 55 million TEU in 2008. Westports expects its new 600-metre berth to be fully operational by the fourth quarter of this year. The berth is part of CT5; a new container terminal Westports is constructing as part of its RM800 million (US$249.4 million) three-year expansion plan to boost annual capacity by some 30 percent.
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Yantai delivers for Marine Subsea

China’s largest rig builder Yantai Raffles Shipyard has delivered an accommodation barge to Norwegian oil and gas service company Marine Subsea.

The barge, African Caribe, is 102 metres long by 30 metres wide, and can accommodate 350 people and is equipped with a 150-tonne crawler crane. Yantai Raffles is expected to supply Marine Subsea with a second similar barge, with berths for 400 people, later this year. Oslo-based Marine Subsea focuses on construction support and well intervention. Yantai Raffles is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange but plans to list on the Singapore bourse. Its experience includes constructing jack-up drilling rigs, semi-submersible drilling rigs, floating production, storage and offloading vessels, pipe-laying vessels and prototype vessels.
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India's shipbuilding industry finally gets its period right

When state-run Cochin Shipyard Ltd delivered the sixth and last of a series of bulk carriers built for Denmark's Clipper Group on 30 November 2007, it achieved a first for the Indian shipbuilding industry.

The ship was handed over to the owner 105 days before the scheduled date of delivery. The building of six bulk carriers, each having a capacity to carry 20,000 tonnes of dry bulk cargo, for the Clipper Group signifies India's transition from a shipbuilding country that is notorious for missing delivery deadlines to one that meets globally acceptable standards on delivery time and quality of ships. The delivery sequence of the Clipper ships has scripted this transition. The delivery of the first ship was 45 days behind schedule and the second was delayed by 15 days. The third ship was delivered on time, the fourth five days ahead of time and the fifth 45 days ahead of schedule. Delayed delivery means a yard has to spend more on labour costs, which erodes the firm’s margins. Besides, the firm will have to pay liquidated damages to the shipowner to compensate for loss on freight for each day of delay. ''Cochin Shipyard delivering ships for Clipper ahead of schedule is good for the Indian shipbuilding industry. We need a couple of more examples to boost the confidence of global shipowners to build their ships in India,'' said Ray Stewart, chief executive officer, Pipavav Shipyard Ltd, India’s newest private sector shipbuilder.
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Second aircraft carrier for Russia

Russia would prefer to keep the 'Admiral Gorshkov' for its own navy if it is not possible to reach the financial agreement with India.

At the moment, according to the deputy general director of ROE Victor Komardin, 'Russian party prepared and passed over to the Indian party the detailed information necessary for objectively considering the problem questions and making correct decisions'. Komardin believes that this is sufficient for the forthcoming consultations between the experts and the official delegations. In the past week, various sources have been seriously considering the rumours that 'Admiral Gurshkov' may stay with the Russian Navy. Officially, Sevmash has no comment except to say they are 'continuing the negotiations regarding the amendments to the existing contract on the ship'. 'The problems concerning the reconstruction of the ship are being discussed at the top-level and by the experts', said the Director of the Second Department of Asia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alexander Maryasov. 'There is a number of technical, legal and financial problems that are being discussed, and in the near future the working group will meet.'
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Celebrity Cruises Orders Solstice-Class Ship

Celebrity Cruises, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, has ordered a fifth big cruise liner from Meyer Werft in Papenburg.

The previous contracts for four ships of the Solstice class are now followed by a pre-contract for the construction of a fifth cruise ship. Delivery of the fifth ship is scheduled for the autumn of 2012. The first ship of this class, the Celebrity Solstice, will be delivered in the autumn this year. The other ships will follow at one-year intervals each. The 122,000-gt ships for Celebrity Cruises will have a length overall of 315 m and a breadth of 36.8 m. 2,850 passengers will be accommodated in 1,425 cabins. All standard cabins will offer more space than is usual for this type. More than 90% of all cabins are outside cabins, 90% of which have their own balconies. Other architectural highlights of the new ship will be the Lawn Club featuring natural lawn, the Corning Museum of Glass where the art of glassblowing is presented, and a couple of different restaurants. Meyer Werft already built five cruise ships for Celebrity Cruises in the early and mid-1990s.

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