'Superstar Virgo' homeports in Hong Kong

One of the world's largest cruise operators, Star Cruises, has made Hong Kong home for its Asia flagship.

As the flagship superliner docked at Ocean Terminal in Hong Kong, its owners said that their choice of the city as homeport offers the ideal platform to capitalize on the region's burgeoning industry. Leading the charge will be the 286-metre, 1,960-passenger 'Superstar Virgo'. "We believe that Asia's demographics, emerging new ports and cruise terminals in cities like Xiamen, Sanya and Shanghai in addition to the Hong Kong government's tender process for the Kai Tak cruise terminal, plus the Singapore marine south cruise terminal project will contribute to the dynamic growth in the Asian cruise business," Star Cruises Group president David Chua Ming-huap said. Mr. Chua also said that although many cities had the necessary hardware, other ports lacked Hong Kong's unique software in terms of service and local attractions. He said the deployment of the 'Superstar Virgo' to Hong Kong also aimed at capturing a larger segment of the Chinese tourism market, adding that the company's positioning of satellite offices in the mainland and understanding of the Asian market gave them an edge.

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New vessel for NorthTugz

A new ASD 2411 series tug was recently christened by NorthTugz at Marsden Point, New Zealand.

Measuring 24 metres by 11 metres, the tug was built by the Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards Group. The 70-tonne-bollard pull newbuild achieved a top speed of 12.8 knots during its 30-day sea voyage from the Song Cam shipyard in Haiphong, Vietnam. Named 'Bream Bay' in honour of its surroundings, the tug is to replace the 23-year old 'Hauraki', which is being sold. With 360-degree independently rotatable propeller units and two 4175kW Caterpillar main engines, the 'Bream Bay' is highly maneuverable and powerful. The vessel also features a compact wheelhouse to achieve unobstructed views.
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Backing for Antarctic ship review

The International Maritime Organization has invited nations to submit proposals to limit shipping's impact on Antarctica's unique environment.

The IMO's environment committee recognized campaigners' fears that the continent's waters were at risk from the rising number of ships in the area. Environmentalists said the sinking of the M/S Explorer in 2007 was a wake-up call to tighten rules in the region. The meeting also agreed to curb emissions from commercial vessels. A paper submitted by a coalition of environmental groups called for the IMO to ban ships fuelled by heavy oil or without reinforced hulls from the area's waters. It also called for restrictions on sewage and wastewater discharges to be tightened. Figures from the coalition show that the number of tourists visiting the White Continent has increased five-fold over the past 15 years. The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators shows that 37,552 tourists visited Antarctica during 2006-07, the majority arriving by sea. ASOC is concerned that many of the vessels carrying them are not ice-strengthened. This makes serious accidents more likely, and increases the risk of an oil spillage if a ship gets into trouble. The five-day meeting held in London also approved plans to amend regulations to reduce emissions from ships. The main change would lead to a reduction in sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from the world's 50,000 strong fleet. The regulations have been ratified by 49 nations, which account for almost three-quarters of the globe's merchant vessels.

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China delivers first LNG carrier and largest container ship

Another milestone in the rapid development of Chinese shipbuilding capacity as two of the nation’s shipbuilders delivered the first LNG carrier to be built in China and the largest containership to emerge from a Chinese shipyard on April 3.

Both of these historic first shipbuilding projects were completed to ABS class standards. Shanghai-based Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard delivered the 147,000 m3 LNG carrier Dapeng Sun to China LNG Shipping (International) Ltd for service between Australia’s North West Shelf and China’s first LNG receiving terminal in Guangdong Province. It is the first of a five ship series that are being dual classed by ABS and China Classification Society. Keel laying for the first ship took place in June 2005. Construction is already nearing completion on the second in the series, the Dapeng Moon scheduled for delivery in late-June, with the fifth and final ship expected to be handed over one year later in June 2009. “LNG carriers are one of the most sophisticated vessel types for a shipyard to produce,” noted ABS Pacific Division President Jim Liebertz at the delivery. ABS is currently the only class society with LNG carriers building to its standards in China, Korea and Japan. The second milestone occurred at the Nantong COSCO KHI Shipyard (NACKS) with the delivery of the 10,000 TEU Cosco Oceania to COSCO Container Lines. This is the largest containership to have been built in China and is the first of a four ship series from the yard. “COSCO is a long standing client and we are honored to have been selected to class this historic series of ultra large containerships for them,” said ABS Senior Vice President for China and the Central Pacific Region, Kingsley Koo.

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Dutch shipbuilding industry books record turnover

The Dutch shipbuilding industry booked a turnover of six billion euros in 2006, nearly 25 percent up from the previous year, the Dutch Shipbuilding Industry Association said.

The association, which represents 800 businesses employing 25, 000 workers, expects the figures for 2007 to be equally positive. The impressive growth figures are mainly due to the growth of the world economy and rising demand for luxury yachts from multi- millionaires, the organization said. The Dutch shipbuilding industry is known for its expertise in making special ships such as dredgers, tugs, push tugs and big yachts. However, the industry is coming under great pressure due to a serious shortage of manpower, the association said. The sector currently has 2,500 vacancies for a variety of technical staff, pipe fitters and welders.
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