Cosco establishes joint venture with Indonesian firm for coal transportation

Sea transport operator China Ocean Shipping Company is making efforts to win coal shipment contract from Indonesia by establishing joint venture with a local firm.

Cosco has teamed up with Indonesia's PT Global Putra International (GPI) and the joint venture will buy up to 10 coal ships with the capacity of between 50,000 tons and 100,000 tons. "Each ship has a price tag of 50 million to 100 million U.S. dollars," GPI president Sumadi Kusuma was quoted as saying. "We established the joint venture to answer demands for coal shipment from Indonesia to foreign countries, particularly China," he said. He and Cosco CEO Wei Jiatu have met with Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal to report the joint venture establishment. "We have handed over all documents to the government, who has the final say. We are confident the joint venture will become operational this year," said Sumadi. The ministry has projected the need of 390 ships to meet the growing coal shipment, as the country's coal export is expected to hit 100 million tons by 2010.

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Dismantlers tackle stricken ferry

The sister ship of the stranded Riverdance ferry is being inspected by workers to help formulate plans to dismantle the beached vessel.

The firm tasked with dismantling the ferry, which is grounded on a Blackpool beach, took over the site on Monday. The 2,600 tonne Riverdance is due to be stripped down before being cut into pieces and transported for recycling in an operation expected to take 14 weeks. Experts boarded sister ship the Moondance in Heysham on Monday. The Riverdance ran aground off the Lancashire coast in January after being hit by a freak wave as it sailed from Northern Ireland to Heysham. Hancock's Contractors in Heysham, Lancashire, has been awarded the contract to dismantle the Riverdance, which has now sunk about 4m (4.4yd) into the sand.

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Ezra takes delivery of Lewek Trogon

Ezra Holdings has taken delivery of an 18,000 bhp anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel, Lewek Trogon from Drydocks World Singapore.

The newbuild AHTS is equipped with Rolls Royce engines and dynamic positioning capabilities. Construction on the vessel took place at the previous Pan-United shipyard, which was acquired by Drydocks last year. Lewek Trogon will be officially named at a ceremony held at the Singapore shipyard today. The vessel will be loaded with supplies and fuel before departing Singapore in about two weeks time to begin a first assignment in Southeast Asia.

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New double-ended ferry 'La Gironde' crosses namesake river

The Bordeaux region is situated in the Department Gironde, directly on the Atlantic coast where a ferry service runs across a six-kilometre stretch between the picturesque towns of Verdon sur Mer and Royan.

This ferry connection saves passengers a detour of approximately 155 kilometres and/or a car trip lasting some three hours. The double-ended ferry 'La Gironde', fitted with Voith Schneider Propellers (VSP), entered service in 2002. It will receive a sister ship, also installed with VSPs. Owing to large tidal differences, strong currents characterize the river mouth of the Gironde into the Gulf of Biscay. Varying flow directions and fierce, blustery winds aggravate ferry traffic. During the construction of 'La Gironde', criteria such as high sailing stability and reliability proved to be the main incentive for the ship owner to decide in favor of the Voith Schneider Propeller as the ferry's propulsion system. Just like the first ferry, the new ship specifies a draught limit of only 2.60 meters. The new ferry will be built at the French shipyard Chantier Piriou in Concarneau, Brittany, and is expected to take up service in spring 2010. The public authority Conseil Général de la Gironde, which also operates the sister, owns it ship 'La Gironde'. The vessel offers room for 600 passengers and 138 cars or alternatively 6 trucks plus 93 cars. It measures 78 metres long and 18.3 meters wide. The ship is designed for a target speed of 13.6 knots.
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“K” Line to join in on WHL’s JCV service

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (“K” Line) and Wan Hai Lines Ltd (WHL) have signed an agreement to co-operate on the latter’s current weekly Japan-China-Vietnam Service (JCV).

Starting May 8, “K” Line will replace one of WHL’s vessels on the route. Three 770teu vessels and call on the following ports on its 21-day rotation will operate the fixed-day service: Tokyo - Yokohama - Shanghai - Hong Kong - Huangpu - Da Nang - Hochiminh City (Cat Lai & VICT) - Hong Kong - Shekou – Tokyo. The service will also drop southbound Shekou calling and add southbound Huangpu. The changes to the current JCV service are seen as a further enhancement to each carrier’s present service network.

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