Australian high speed shipbuilder Incat has been awarded the Aurora Energy 2008 Tasmanian Award for Manufacturing.
Incat’s Founder and Chairman, Robert Clifford, also became the second holder of the Interferry Person of Distinction award. The award presentation to Mr Clifford was made during Interferry’s 33rd annual conference in Hong Kong. The trade association accolade recognizes Mr Clifford’s leading role in the development of large vehicle-carrying aluminium catamarans, a sector in which the Tasmania-based company claims almost 40 per cent of the world market. In the latest citation, Interferry CEO Len Roueche said: “Robert Clifford has been at the forefront of high-speed catamaran technology for more than 30 years and, in terms of large vehicle carriers, could certainly be called the father of the concept. “He was almost a lone voice for many years but has since seen his vision embraced by major operators on every continent.” Mr Clifford said he was deeply honoured and very surprised to be nominated by his industry peers, adding: “I have always believed that fast ferries would have an ever-increasing place in the transport scene, and it is pleasing to see the general acceptance that has made this a reality.” Arguing the economic and environmental case for fast ferries, he pointed out: “On some routes they burn less fuel than heavy steel ships as their hulls are made of material about half the weight of steel. This allows them either to be lower powered for the same speed, or to travel faster and make more revenue crossings.
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Wednesday, October 15, 2008
DCT Gdansk Celebrates First Year
On October 1, 2008, the Polish deepwater container terminal DCT Gdansk celebrated its first birthday with a large reception party, attended by close to 300 people.
Amongst invited guests were representatives of freight forwarders, shipping lines and rail operators working with the terminal, as well as local authorities with the Mayor of Gdansk and the Chairman of the Port of Gdansk Authority. The ambassadors of Australia and Denmark were also in attendance. These anniversary party celebrations took place on the terminal apron in a transparent marquee, enabling the guests to view the terminal in operation while the stage inside had been created using a 45ft open-sided container provided by Containerships, currently the terminal’s largest customer. DCT Gdansk SA is a Polish registered company majority owned by GIF II (Global Infrastructure Fund II), a specialist fund managed by a member of the Macquarie Group of Companies, headquartered in Australia. Its new terminal offers year-round ice-free access to container vessels with depths of up to 15m, providing perfect conditions to serve as a transshipment hub to St Petersburg and the rest of the Baltic. Its three post-Panamax gantry cranes are able to work vessels carrying containers 18-across on deck.
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Amongst invited guests were representatives of freight forwarders, shipping lines and rail operators working with the terminal, as well as local authorities with the Mayor of Gdansk and the Chairman of the Port of Gdansk Authority. The ambassadors of Australia and Denmark were also in attendance. These anniversary party celebrations took place on the terminal apron in a transparent marquee, enabling the guests to view the terminal in operation while the stage inside had been created using a 45ft open-sided container provided by Containerships, currently the terminal’s largest customer. DCT Gdansk SA is a Polish registered company majority owned by GIF II (Global Infrastructure Fund II), a specialist fund managed by a member of the Macquarie Group of Companies, headquartered in Australia. Its new terminal offers year-round ice-free access to container vessels with depths of up to 15m, providing perfect conditions to serve as a transshipment hub to St Petersburg and the rest of the Baltic. Its three post-Panamax gantry cranes are able to work vessels carrying containers 18-across on deck.
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New bunker supply chain standard in Singapore
Singapore: Raymond Lim, minister for transport and second minister for foreign affairs, opened this year Singapore International Bunkering Conference with a speech themed around challenges ahead.
He also told delegates of a new bunker standards policy. 'Over the past year, bunker prices have been highly volatile. The benchmark 380-centistoke fuel grade rose from just under US$400 per metric ton a year ago to more than US$761 per metric ton in July and is today back under US$500 per metric ton. This volatility has introduced much uncertainty for shipping lines, fuel suppliers and traders and others, making it more difficult to plan operations and manage costs,' said Lim. He went on to highlight pressures on the demand side following the global financial turmoil as well as the issues the bunker industry must face from an environmental point of view. Mr Lim announced a new national bunker supply chain standard called the Singapore Standard 600 or SS 600. SS 600 will update and consolidate the requirements under two existing Singapore Standards - CP 60 which applies to bunkering by bunker tankers and CP 77 which applies to bunker surveying. The new standard, to be phased in by the second half of 2009, will benefit the industry in three key ways. First, it rationalizes requirements under CP 60 and CP 77 and streamlines the documentation processes, making it easier for bunker players to ensure compliance. Second, the standard will require suppliers to sign declarations that each load of bunkers delivered complies fully with regulations under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, better known as MARPOL.
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He also told delegates of a new bunker standards policy. 'Over the past year, bunker prices have been highly volatile. The benchmark 380-centistoke fuel grade rose from just under US$400 per metric ton a year ago to more than US$761 per metric ton in July and is today back under US$500 per metric ton. This volatility has introduced much uncertainty for shipping lines, fuel suppliers and traders and others, making it more difficult to plan operations and manage costs,' said Lim. He went on to highlight pressures on the demand side following the global financial turmoil as well as the issues the bunker industry must face from an environmental point of view. Mr Lim announced a new national bunker supply chain standard called the Singapore Standard 600 or SS 600. SS 600 will update and consolidate the requirements under two existing Singapore Standards - CP 60 which applies to bunkering by bunker tankers and CP 77 which applies to bunker surveying. The new standard, to be phased in by the second half of 2009, will benefit the industry in three key ways. First, it rationalizes requirements under CP 60 and CP 77 and streamlines the documentation processes, making it easier for bunker players to ensure compliance. Second, the standard will require suppliers to sign declarations that each load of bunkers delivered complies fully with regulations under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, better known as MARPOL.
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Germany's Hapag-Lloyd sold for US$6 billion
Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd has been sold for Eur 4.45 billion (US$6.03 billion) to Hamburg-based consortium Albert Ballin.
Singapore’s Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) had been one of the major bidders for the sale but pulled out of the bidding process last Friday. TUI, which owns the Hapag-Lloyd subsidiary, would take a 33 percent stake in the consortium’s bid vehicle in a deal worth Eur 700 million (US$948.29 million). "Despite an adverse environment, the price we have achieved for container shipping reflects its fair value even under normal market conditions,'' Michael Frenzel, TUI's Chief Executive was quoted as saying on FT.com. He said the decision to retain a third of Hapag-Lloyd made the price of the sale possible. Mr Frenzil will continue to be the supervisory board chairman at Hapag-Lloyd. TUI is now expected to offer a payout to shareholders, the largest of which is none other than Norway’s John Fredriksen.
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Singapore’s Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) had been one of the major bidders for the sale but pulled out of the bidding process last Friday. TUI, which owns the Hapag-Lloyd subsidiary, would take a 33 percent stake in the consortium’s bid vehicle in a deal worth Eur 700 million (US$948.29 million). "Despite an adverse environment, the price we have achieved for container shipping reflects its fair value even under normal market conditions,'' Michael Frenzel, TUI's Chief Executive was quoted as saying on FT.com. He said the decision to retain a third of Hapag-Lloyd made the price of the sale possible. Mr Frenzil will continue to be the supervisory board chairman at Hapag-Lloyd. TUI is now expected to offer a payout to shareholders, the largest of which is none other than Norway’s John Fredriksen.
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Beach aims bit in Bass Strait
Adelaide-based Beach Petroleum has unveiled plans to sink three exploration wells back to back by January in lightly explored areas of the Bass and Otway basins off southern Australia.
Beach said in a statement that the plans will involve it in drilling through to the end of January next year, testing targets in the Bass basin just off northern Tasmania and in the offshore Otway basin in Australia’s Victoria state. The company said it had contracted the jack-up rig West Triton to carry out the work and would operate all three wells. Beach managing director Reg Nelson said in the statement the new wells provided similar opportunities to those in the Basker Manta project in the adjacent Gippsland basin, where the company holds a 30% stake. “Strategically, all three locations are close to key domestic energy markets or supply infrastructure so any commercial success will deliver significant outcomes to our expanding southern Australian operations,” he said. Beach said the first two wells of the new campaign would be drilled in shallow waters off Launceston in Tasmania, where the Bass basin shares a similar geological structure to the Gippsland sediments. The first well, PeeJay-1, will be sunk to a depth of 2133 metres on the T/39P permit, targeting up to 57 million barrels of recoverable oil in the Upper Eastern View Group. Beach will operate the well with a 50% stake, while Benaris Petroleum will hold the remaining 50%.
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Beach said in a statement that the plans will involve it in drilling through to the end of January next year, testing targets in the Bass basin just off northern Tasmania and in the offshore Otway basin in Australia’s Victoria state. The company said it had contracted the jack-up rig West Triton to carry out the work and would operate all three wells. Beach managing director Reg Nelson said in the statement the new wells provided similar opportunities to those in the Basker Manta project in the adjacent Gippsland basin, where the company holds a 30% stake. “Strategically, all three locations are close to key domestic energy markets or supply infrastructure so any commercial success will deliver significant outcomes to our expanding southern Australian operations,” he said. Beach said the first two wells of the new campaign would be drilled in shallow waters off Launceston in Tasmania, where the Bass basin shares a similar geological structure to the Gippsland sediments. The first well, PeeJay-1, will be sunk to a depth of 2133 metres on the T/39P permit, targeting up to 57 million barrels of recoverable oil in the Upper Eastern View Group. Beach will operate the well with a 50% stake, while Benaris Petroleum will hold the remaining 50%.
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