Mumbai: The Shipping Ministry of India is confirmed to be negotiating the deployment of Indian naval vessels to the pirate infested waters off the coast of Somalia.
The talks, which reflect growing concern amongst the Indian maritime industry regarding the safety of Indian seafarers serving onboard a large number of the world fleet, come on the heels of a string of hijacks with the Ukrainian cargo ship Faina becoming the latest vessel to be taken. “We have spoken to the Minister of Shipping who is talking with the Ministry of Defense on this matter,” Sabhyasachi Hajara, president of the Indian National Shipowners Association told delegates at the fourth annual Seatrade and Tradewinds co-organised Indian Shipping Summit (ISS) in Mumbai on Wednesday. “If nothing else, an Indian naval presence will give Indian crew members moral support to know that their countrymen are escorting their vessels.”Speaking exclusively to SeatradeAsia-Online on the sidelines of the conference, JO Espinoza Ferrey, head of the Policy and planning unit at the IMO expressed his pleasure at the move. “This is all about multi-national cooperation and it will be very good if India deploys a naval presence to the area,” he said. “The greater the number of countries patrolling the waters in the Gulf of Aden, the better it is for seafarers and the higher is the likelihood of the capture of the pirates. We have seen the benefits of international cooperation in the Straits of Malacca where the cooperative mechanism drastically reduced the number of piracy related incidents.” Ferrey added that the IMO was hoping that the Security Council will have renewed and strengthened resolution 1816 that permits the pursuit of pirates in Somalian waters by the international naval vessels patrolling the waters. The likelihood of renewal prior to the resolution’s expiry date in December is high given the raised profile of piracy in the region following the capture of the Faina which was carrying a cargo of the tanks, artillery, grenade launchers and ammunition. Although the pirates have confirmed that they have no intention of retaining the cargo or offloading the weapons - opting to barter the crew for $20m in cash, the news has made front page headlines around the world.“If I were more cynical”, a delegate at ISS told SeatradeAsia-Online, “I would thank the pirates for taking the Faina since it finally lets the world know what we have been talking about all this time.”
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Saturday, October 4, 2008
Somali pirates ready to fight
One day after the Somali Government gave foreign powers the green light to use force against bandits on board ‘Faina’, Somali pirates have said they were ready to fight any rescue attempt.
“Anyone who tries to attack us or deceive us will face bad repercussions,” the pirates’ spokesman Sugule Ail told the Associated Pres via satellite telephone. “We have nothing to do with insurgents or terrorist organisations. We only need money,” he continued. “We would never reduce the ransom.” The Associated Press said that even though the Ukrainian military cargo-carrying vessel was surrounded by US Navy vessels and helicopters, the pirate sounded “calm and relaxed”. The US is particularly worried that the pirates are after the military loot, including 33 Soviet designed T-72 tanks and an assortment of weapons, and would use them in an al-Qaida-linked movement that is battling the government in Somalia. According to The Associated Press, Ali warned against the types of raids that were carried out this year by French commandos when rescuing hostages on board hijacked vessels. Russia has likewise used commando tactics to rescue hostages, however in those cases, hostages have died in the efforts. Meanwhile The Associated Press said that a Danish intelligence company which specialises in maritime security said that Somali pirates make an average of US$1 million per hijacked ship. The news agency reported that Roger Middleton, who published a report on Somali piracy for London-based Chatham House, predicted that the current situation would only meet its resolution in the payment of the ransom.
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“Anyone who tries to attack us or deceive us will face bad repercussions,” the pirates’ spokesman Sugule Ail told the Associated Pres via satellite telephone. “We have nothing to do with insurgents or terrorist organisations. We only need money,” he continued. “We would never reduce the ransom.” The Associated Press said that even though the Ukrainian military cargo-carrying vessel was surrounded by US Navy vessels and helicopters, the pirate sounded “calm and relaxed”. The US is particularly worried that the pirates are after the military loot, including 33 Soviet designed T-72 tanks and an assortment of weapons, and would use them in an al-Qaida-linked movement that is battling the government in Somalia. According to The Associated Press, Ali warned against the types of raids that were carried out this year by French commandos when rescuing hostages on board hijacked vessels. Russia has likewise used commando tactics to rescue hostages, however in those cases, hostages have died in the efforts. Meanwhile The Associated Press said that a Danish intelligence company which specialises in maritime security said that Somali pirates make an average of US$1 million per hijacked ship. The news agency reported that Roger Middleton, who published a report on Somali piracy for London-based Chatham House, predicted that the current situation would only meet its resolution in the payment of the ransom.
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ABS Nautical Systems Announces New Business Intelligence Tools
Clients of ABS Nautical Systems will soon have a more prominent seat at the developers’ table.
Functionality to be released in version 5.4 of the NS 5 fleet management software this year will deliver personalized dashboards and reporting capabilities to its users. Reducing the daily administrative duties for all levels of the organization, the new “My Tasks” module collects the outstanding duties, alarms and internal system messages of an individual user and displays them in a single control center. Speaking at the annual User Conference in Long Beach, California this week, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Sandipan Bhattacharya compared the module to tools available in common software products such as Microsoft Outlook. Once logged into the software, users can immediately see any purchasing, maintenance, quality or crewing tasks requiring their attention. The parameters displayed in the dashboard are defined by the users, who can also select their own design elements such as fonts and icons. “For the initial release we focused particularly on the tasks performed at the Superintendent level’, said Bhattacharya. “Requisitions, work orders or open audits for any vessels they manage will be immediately accessible for processing”. Tightly tied to company defined authorization profiles, the module secures the visibility and access to data and will be integrated into the NS 5 system at no additional cost. Personalization will also be available through NS 5 Insight, an on-demand reporting tool that taps a separate reporting database, safeguarding company data while still giving end-users the ability to create custom reports.
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Functionality to be released in version 5.4 of the NS 5 fleet management software this year will deliver personalized dashboards and reporting capabilities to its users. Reducing the daily administrative duties for all levels of the organization, the new “My Tasks” module collects the outstanding duties, alarms and internal system messages of an individual user and displays them in a single control center. Speaking at the annual User Conference in Long Beach, California this week, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Sandipan Bhattacharya compared the module to tools available in common software products such as Microsoft Outlook. Once logged into the software, users can immediately see any purchasing, maintenance, quality or crewing tasks requiring their attention. The parameters displayed in the dashboard are defined by the users, who can also select their own design elements such as fonts and icons. “For the initial release we focused particularly on the tasks performed at the Superintendent level’, said Bhattacharya. “Requisitions, work orders or open audits for any vessels they manage will be immediately accessible for processing”. Tightly tied to company defined authorization profiles, the module secures the visibility and access to data and will be integrated into the NS 5 system at no additional cost. Personalization will also be available through NS 5 Insight, an on-demand reporting tool that taps a separate reporting database, safeguarding company data while still giving end-users the ability to create custom reports.
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Powerful PSV from Sarawak
Vroon of the Netherlands serves seven distinct markets, from reefer ships to car carriers.
The company continues to grow their fleet of offshore support vessels and took delivery of three new and one used vessel last month. Included in the expansion was the Conan Wu and Associates-designed ‘VOS Energy’ from Eastern Marine Shipyard in Sarawak, East Malaysia. The 53.8-metre platform supply vessel which carries a 13.8-metre beam and a 4.5-metre moulded depth. The vessel is powered by a pair of Cummins KTA50-M main engines each rated for 1,193kW at 1,800 RPM supplied by Scott & English (Malaysia) which gives the PSV a 13.5-knot cruising speed. In addition to the Cummins mains, the vessel incorporates a pair of 250kW gensets powered by Cummins QSM11 engines, a single Cummins 6BT 5.9(D) 80kW genset and a Cummins 4BT3.9G 46kW emergency genset. A Cummins KTA38M1 delivers 820kW to a pump for the fire fighting monitors. Finally a Cummins KTA19M3 delivers 445kW to a 6.5-tonne side thruster. All in all, ‘VOS Energy’ has eight Cummins engines. On deck a pair of five-tonne tugger winches supplements a 40-tonne towing winch. The main deck has 330 cubic metres of cargo area. Accommodation is provided for up to 42 crew and personnel.
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The company continues to grow their fleet of offshore support vessels and took delivery of three new and one used vessel last month. Included in the expansion was the Conan Wu and Associates-designed ‘VOS Energy’ from Eastern Marine Shipyard in Sarawak, East Malaysia. The 53.8-metre platform supply vessel which carries a 13.8-metre beam and a 4.5-metre moulded depth. The vessel is powered by a pair of Cummins KTA50-M main engines each rated for 1,193kW at 1,800 RPM supplied by Scott & English (Malaysia) which gives the PSV a 13.5-knot cruising speed. In addition to the Cummins mains, the vessel incorporates a pair of 250kW gensets powered by Cummins QSM11 engines, a single Cummins 6BT 5.9(D) 80kW genset and a Cummins 4BT3.9G 46kW emergency genset. A Cummins KTA38M1 delivers 820kW to a pump for the fire fighting monitors. Finally a Cummins KTA19M3 delivers 445kW to a 6.5-tonne side thruster. All in all, ‘VOS Energy’ has eight Cummins engines. On deck a pair of five-tonne tugger winches supplements a 40-tonne towing winch. The main deck has 330 cubic metres of cargo area. Accommodation is provided for up to 42 crew and personnel.
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Brazil nixes 32 blocks from bidding round
Brazilian hydrocarbons regulator ANP has withdrawn 32 onshore blocks from the upcoming 10th licensing round due to technical and environmental restrictions.
The ANP withdrew 28 blocks in the Araripe and Pernambuco-Paraiba basins and four blocks in the Parana basin. The 10th oil bidding round will now offer 130 onshore blocks totaling 70,000 square kilometres in Parecis, Reconcavo, Potiguar, Parana, Amazonas, Sao Francisco and Sergipe-Alagoas. The ANP will host technical and environmental seminars as well as public hearing sessions concerning round 10 licensing in October. Last year, Brazil withdrew 41 sub-salt blocks from an auction of 312 oil blocks held in December after Petrobras revealed that the sub-salt Tupi discovery harboured reserves of between 5 billion and 8 billion barrels of oil.
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The ANP withdrew 28 blocks in the Araripe and Pernambuco-Paraiba basins and four blocks in the Parana basin. The 10th oil bidding round will now offer 130 onshore blocks totaling 70,000 square kilometres in Parecis, Reconcavo, Potiguar, Parana, Amazonas, Sao Francisco and Sergipe-Alagoas. The ANP will host technical and environmental seminars as well as public hearing sessions concerning round 10 licensing in October. Last year, Brazil withdrew 41 sub-salt blocks from an auction of 312 oil blocks held in December after Petrobras revealed that the sub-salt Tupi discovery harboured reserves of between 5 billion and 8 billion barrels of oil.
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