Cruise ship begins journey home

A new 115,000-tonne cruise ship has set sail for its home port of Southampton ahead of its official entry into passenger service.

Ventura, which can carry up to 3,600 passengers, will be named by actress Dame Helen Mirren at the Hampshire port on 16 April. Built for British holidaymakers, the vessel was handed over to P&O Cruises at the Fincantieri shipyard, Italy. The ship will leave for her maiden voyage to the Mediterranean in April. Ventura is equipped with five swimming pools, 11 restaurants, 12 bars and lounges, five shops, a library, casino and theatre, and will be staffed by 1,200 crew. Also, it has thousands of works of contemporary art. At 290 metres (317yds) in length, the ship is longer than Tower Bridge and has 15 passenger decks.
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Dana Gas signs Sharjah western offshore concession and gas field development

The work program will include resuming horizontal drilling of two wells originally drilled by Crescent Petroleum.

Dana Gas, the Middle East's first and largest regional and private sector natural gas company, has announced an agreement for the exploration and development of the western offshore concession in Sharjah, UAE, where the company is headquartered. The deal marks Dana Gas' entry into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) exploration and production sector, and is also the first offshore upstream asset for the company in the Middle East. The 25-year agreement was signed by H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council member and Ruler of Sharjah, and Mr. Hamid Jafar, Executive Chairman of Dana Gas, in a ceremony attended by H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Sultan Al-Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Chairman of the Sharjah Petroleum Council, and several members of the Board of Directors of Dana Gas. The concession agreement covers a total offshore area of over 1,000 square kilometres, and includes the development of the Zora gas field within Sharjah, which was discovered in 1979. The preliminary costs of the development phase of the project are estimated at US$55 million, while the exploration works are estimated at a further US$65 million.

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Imabari delivers first ever LNG ship

The Imabari Shipbuilding Group has delivered Japan’s largest liquefied natural gas carrier according to tank capacity to Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (“K” Line) and Mitsui & Co.

The 79,556dwt Trinity Arrow, which has a 154,982 m3 tank capacity, is the first LNG vessel by the group and was constructed at its Koyo Dockyard. The ship establishes Imabari’s position as an established LNG player despite a number of delays in the delivery. The Trinity Arrow boasts the world’s first Trapezoidal Tank in horizontal direction and environmentally friendly Reinforced Polyurethane Foam (R-Puf) for heat insulation, which the builder claims is responsible for the larger capacity of the No.1 tank as well as low boil-off gas rate. The tanker is to be managed by K” Line LNG Shipping (UK) Limited and will be chartered to a subsidiary of American energy company Cheniere Energy.

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Rotterdam to present its plans for a new bulk terminal

The Port of Rotterdam Authority will present its plans for a new terminal for dry bulk to the international producers and consumers of industrial minerals this week.

They will be meeting with each other and logistical service providers during the trade fair ‘Industrial Minerals’ that will take place in Athens from Monday to Wednesday. According to the plans, the terminal will be situated in the ‘Hartelstrook’ on the Maasvlakte. Approximately one third of this location, which was created in part through land reclamation, will be reserved for a dry dock terminal. The new terminal will have a surface area of 12 hectares: 200 metres wide, with 600 metres of quay. The maximum draught is 16 metres. A rail connection is also a possibility, with the Betuwe Route running right next to the location. The new terminal is expected to come into operation in the second half of 2010. For the operation of the terminal, the Port of Rotterdam Authority is currently in negotiations with Van Uden Stevedoring, which currently has a terminal at Merwehaven, an area that has been earmarked for future urban development. The European Union is a highly industrialized part of the world. Therefore, raw materials supply is of key importance for the competitive position of many industrial sectors. Another strong point is the ship-to-ship transshipment provided for by floating cranes. Besides land-based terminals, the port of Rotterdam offers several buoys and dolphins for the ship-to-ship transshipment of dry bulk cargo.
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Huludao Port opens to foreign ships

Securing approval from the State Council, Huludao Port was recently allowed to open to foreign ships.

This new port was founded in 1908, a perfectly natural non-freezing deep water port. Currently there are four berths, including 20,000-DWT and 35,000-DWT groceries terminals, a 5,000-tonne liquid chemical terminal and a 30,000-tonne terminal for oil products.

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