Somali troops storm Dubai ship, arrest 7 pirates

Somali troops stormed a Dubai-flagged ship on Tuesday that had been hijacked off the Horn of Africa nation, releasing its crew and arresting seven pirates, authorities said.

They pledged to do the same to rescue a Spanish ship held by pirates since the weekend. "Our troops stormed on to the Al-Khaleej and engaged the pirates. There was brief fighting before they defeated them," Abdirizak Hared, the mayor of Bosasso told. The Al-Khaleej had been carrying food and new cars for sale in Somalia when it was raided by pirates seven km (four miles) off Bosasso, in the Gulf of Aden on the northeast coast, on Monday. It was the second rescue mission against pirates operating from the lawless country this month after French commandos swooped to arrest six pirates in the same area. A surge in hijackings for ransom has made the waters off Somalia some of the world's most dangerous shipping zones. The Al-Khaleej was brought into Bosasso port under guard and 16 crewmembers of Asian origin appeared safe. There were also seven arrested pirates in chains, three of them bleeding. Police escorted them to a waiting van and drove them away under tight security from the port in Puntland region. The ship, and cars on it, showed bullet marks.

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Strong Asian presence at Posidonia 2008

The record Asian participation at this years Posidonia exhibition, to be held in Athens June 2-6, reflects the region’s growing relations with the Greek maritime industry.

Over 300 Asian exhibitors have confirmed their presence, nearly three times the number that attended the 2000 event. A third of them will come from China and 62 from Japan, with Singapore and Korea together accounting for 50% of Asia's total Posidonia 2008 exhibitor participation, this is though to be the biggest show services from companies in this region outside the region. In addition to an increase from participating companies from established maritime nations, companies from the Central American Republic of Honduras, Iceland, Luxemburg and Mongolia are making their Posidonia debut this year reiterating the event's status as the world's most international shipping trade fair. New national pavilions include Romania, Argentina, Sweden and Honduras. ‘The credit crunch in the USA has had little effect on an industry that draws its strength from the booming BRIC economies [Brazil, Russia, India and China] and far eastern and Asian markets where the bulk of shipbuilding activity is concentrated,’ said Nana Michael, MD, Posidonia SA. The floor exhibition space has grown in line with stronger exhibitor demand with a total of 27,500sq mtr reserved for Posidonia 2008, the biggest in the biennial event's history.

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Cicek Shipyard launches ‘Ayse Naz Bayraktar'

Cicek Shipyard, located in Tuzla Bay near Istanbul, Turkey, has launched its first container ship.

Cicek had previously focused on high specification chemical/product tankers. The 1,300TEU ship was named ‘Ayse Naz Bayraktar' and is due for delivery in July 2008. She is the first of two 22,000DWT multipurpose container ships ordered from the yard by Bayraktar Shipping, a private Turkish owner that currently operates a fleet of six container ships, all built between 1999 and 2005, and five general cargo vessels. The design of these two ships allows for a high intake of 9.5-foot-high containers and two hatches can accommodate 45-foot containers, including the 2.5-metre-wide "palletwide" containers now widely used in the intra European trades. However, they have been designed in such a way that they could be switched to breakbulk or bulk operations if required. The vessel's nominal container capacity is 1,287TEU, with 775TEU being on deck and 512TEU below deck. At 14 tonnes homogeneous, the container capacity is 910TEU. 240 reefer plugs are provided. Further flexibility is provided by two 45 tonne Liebherr shipboard cranes, making the ships fully self sustained. A MAN B&W main engine, developing 11,060kW at 127RPM, provides sufficient power for a 19-knot service speed at 90 per cent MCR.

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Wärtsilä expands in UAE with new offices and workshop

Wärtsilä has opened new offices and a workshop in the UAE to meet the rapidly growing market demand from marine and power plant customers in Dubai and in the Gulf in general.

The new workshop premises, located in the Dubai Investment Park 2 (DIP2), enable Wärtsilä to offer a wide range of services for engines, ships, automation, propellers, thrusters, alignment and in-situ machining. “Dubai has become an important business hub in the Middle East and its growth is foreseen to continue in the future. The expansion of Wärtsilä’s portfolio of products and services in that region corresponds to our steadfast commitment to be a one-stop shop for industrial and marine customers”, says Tage Blomberg, Group Vice President, Wärtsilä Services. “Being in Dubai is being where the business needs are. Local presence is of the essence in the service business”, he adds. The new offices and workshop have a floor area close to 10,000 square metres, almost triple the combined size of Wärtsilä’s other locations in Dubai. It will allow the company to handle larger work in terms of dimensions and weight, being equipped with six overhead cranes with maximum capacities of 30 tonnes. Wärtsilä also plans to open an office and workshop in Dubai Maritime City. Wärtsilä has been expanding its network in the Middle East. A branch office was opened in Fujairah in April 2007, and in Bahrain in January 2008. Further offices are planned in Oman, Yemen, Egypt and Qatar, as well as additional offices and workshops in Dubai.

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Cyprus to create shipping advisory body

Cyprus President, Demetris Christofias has reaffirmed the government’s support to the island’s shipping industry, stating that all efforts will be made to resolve any problems faced by the sector.

One of these measures will see the creation of a joint body that will coordinate all aspects of the maritime industry and advise the president on all maritime issues, both from a commercial as well as political point of view. One of the ideas put to the two previous Transport Ministers by shipowners’ groups had been need for the creation of a chamber of shipping that would promote the interests of the ship owners and ship managers, as well as the seafarers and any business or public group involved in the development of the maritime industry. In a meeting with members of the Executive Committee of the Cyprus Shipping Council ahead of the shipowners’ 19th annual general meeting last Friday, Christofias was briefed about the current areas of concern for the shipping industry, as well as the promising prospects for the sector, provided that problems are resolved. He said “the development of merchant shipping does not only take on important economic dimensions but it also has political consequences,” adding that “in a small state, part of which is occupied, the fact that the Cyprus flag is hoisted on ships across the globe is indeed very meaningful.” President Christofias also said that “the inclusion of our flag in the White List of both the Paris and Tokyo Memoranda of Understanding on port state control was the result of the policy implemented by Cyprus and this achievement has reinforced the international community’s trust in Cyprus and the Cyprus flag.,”

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