Mumbai: Yacht charterer Andreas Liveras has been confirmed as one of the fatalities of the terror strikes in the city of Mumbai – India’s financial capital.
The attacks, which have killed over 120 people and wounded over 300 more, have brought business in the city to a virtual standstill and lead to a suspension of activity at the ports due to a curfew imposed by the army. Liveras, a British-citizen, operated a family run luxury yacht charter business. He was one of a number of people severely injured when armed terrorists took control of the Taj Mahal Hotel (pictured) and was declared dead upon arrival at St George’s hospital this morning as the result of gun shot wounds. Police in Mumbai are still trying to resolve the situation, which began on Wednesday evening. A number of foreign nationals are still being held hostage at the Oberoi Trident Hotel. Local papers have reported that two of the captured terrorists may hold British passports, but co-ordinated the attacks from neighbouring Pakistan. The situation remains unclear at this time.
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Saturday, November 29, 2008
Shipping industry runs into troubled waters
The financial crisis of the last few months and the ensuing economic downturn are putting enormous strains on the once booming ocean shipping industry.
Benefiting from the past several years of expanding shipping volumes and building ever-larger ships to meet increasing demand to move containers, the shipping industry is now starting to seize up as the demand substantially weakens. As a result, major container shippers, bulk operators and port authorities in China are suddenly suffering badly as the slumping export sector passes on the impact of slumping worldwide demand. Shanghai, one of the world's busiest ports, has cut its container traffic target for the year by 5 percent, blaming this on the global financial crisis and an economic slowdown. With a container volume of 26.15 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last year on the back of over 20 percent growth, Shanghai surpassed Hong Kong for the first time in 2007 to become the world's No 2 container port, second only to Singapore. However, such phenomenal growth has been tempered by the ongoing global economic recession. Total container throughput in Shanghai is expected to reach 28.5 million TEUs, less than its earlier target of 30 million TEUs. The port attributed the slowdown to the drop in export volumes and sluggish domestic demand, according to Chen Xiyuan, president of Shanghai International Port Group Co (SIPG), operator of China's busiest container port. Chen said container exports to the US, which account for 20 percent of the city's total export volume, have slid 7.8 percent in the first nine months of this year. In addition, shipping fees have been dropping like a stone, Chen said. The shipping price from Shanghai to Europe, for example, has fallen from $1,000 to $200 per container since the beginning of this year. With the Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a measure of commodity-shipping rates, tumbling 90 percent off its May peak, many shipping companies in China are reportedly keeping their ships idle, because the current prices can barely cover their costs. The situation is just as grim at shipyards. As slowing economic growth cuts demand for steel, coal and iron ore, demand for ships is also falling.
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Benefiting from the past several years of expanding shipping volumes and building ever-larger ships to meet increasing demand to move containers, the shipping industry is now starting to seize up as the demand substantially weakens. As a result, major container shippers, bulk operators and port authorities in China are suddenly suffering badly as the slumping export sector passes on the impact of slumping worldwide demand. Shanghai, one of the world's busiest ports, has cut its container traffic target for the year by 5 percent, blaming this on the global financial crisis and an economic slowdown. With a container volume of 26.15 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last year on the back of over 20 percent growth, Shanghai surpassed Hong Kong for the first time in 2007 to become the world's No 2 container port, second only to Singapore. However, such phenomenal growth has been tempered by the ongoing global economic recession. Total container throughput in Shanghai is expected to reach 28.5 million TEUs, less than its earlier target of 30 million TEUs. The port attributed the slowdown to the drop in export volumes and sluggish domestic demand, according to Chen Xiyuan, president of Shanghai International Port Group Co (SIPG), operator of China's busiest container port. Chen said container exports to the US, which account for 20 percent of the city's total export volume, have slid 7.8 percent in the first nine months of this year. In addition, shipping fees have been dropping like a stone, Chen said. The shipping price from Shanghai to Europe, for example, has fallen from $1,000 to $200 per container since the beginning of this year. With the Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a measure of commodity-shipping rates, tumbling 90 percent off its May peak, many shipping companies in China are reportedly keeping their ships idle, because the current prices can barely cover their costs. The situation is just as grim at shipyards. As slowing economic growth cuts demand for steel, coal and iron ore, demand for ships is also falling.
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Vietnamese workers laid off as shipbuilders and owners face bankruptcy
Vietnam: Thousands of workers have lost their jobs as shipyards in the Xuan Truong district in the Nam Dinh Province.
Between 1,500 and 3,000 workers have been laid off indefinitely, the Chief of the Secretariat of the Xuan Truong District People’s Committee Doan Nang Vinh confirmed. Hundreds of incomplete ships have thus been abandoned in this district located along the Red River Delta. Deputy Head of the Xuan Truong District’s Industry and Trade Sub-Department, Ngo Doan Tho said that shipbuilders and owners were unable to secure finances and were facing bankruptcy. It generally costs over US$2.05 million to build a 2,000-tonne ship and ship owners generally borrow the majority of this figure from the banks, but they cannot afford the current interest rates.
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Between 1,500 and 3,000 workers have been laid off indefinitely, the Chief of the Secretariat of the Xuan Truong District People’s Committee Doan Nang Vinh confirmed. Hundreds of incomplete ships have thus been abandoned in this district located along the Red River Delta. Deputy Head of the Xuan Truong District’s Industry and Trade Sub-Department, Ngo Doan Tho said that shipbuilders and owners were unable to secure finances and were facing bankruptcy. It generally costs over US$2.05 million to build a 2,000-tonne ship and ship owners generally borrow the majority of this figure from the banks, but they cannot afford the current interest rates.
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'Kurdish oil deals not valid'
Iraq's Oil Minister Hussain Shahristani said today that oil contracts signed by the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) with foreign oil companies are not legally valid.
The comments come despite an initial agreement on Thursday between the central Iraqi oil ministry and the largely autonomous Kurdish authorities to allow exports from Kurdistan to Turkey. Norwegian oil company DNO has a concession with the KRG from which it hopes to start exports of 100,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of next year. But Shahristani said the revenues from oil produced anywhere in Iraq belonged to central government for redistribution around the country. "Those contracts have not been reviewed by the ministry of oil and have not been recognised by the federal government," he told Reuters ahead of tomorrow's Opec meeting. "The decision is that any oil that is produced in any part of the country has to be handed over to the federal government and the ministry of oil will export it. The revenues will go to the central budget for distribution inside the country."
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The comments come despite an initial agreement on Thursday between the central Iraqi oil ministry and the largely autonomous Kurdish authorities to allow exports from Kurdistan to Turkey. Norwegian oil company DNO has a concession with the KRG from which it hopes to start exports of 100,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of next year. But Shahristani said the revenues from oil produced anywhere in Iraq belonged to central government for redistribution around the country. "Those contracts have not been reviewed by the ministry of oil and have not been recognised by the federal government," he told Reuters ahead of tomorrow's Opec meeting. "The decision is that any oil that is produced in any part of the country has to be handed over to the federal government and the ministry of oil will export it. The revenues will go to the central budget for distribution inside the country."
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MV Biscaglia latest victim of piracy
Singapore: The Liberia flagged chemical tanker Biscaglia has become the latest casualty of piracy in the Gulf of Aden.
Three crew members managed to escape the Singapore-owned vessel during its capture early this morning, by jumping overboard. They were later rescued from the sea by a German Naval helicopter. According to reports, 28 other crew members remain onboard the tanker, which is the 30th vessel to be hijacked by Somalian pirates this year. "The MV Biscaglia was attacked this morning,” the BBC quotes the British High Commission in Nairobi as saying. "The three men were picked up by a German naval helicopter and taken to a French warship. They are now safely on board." Two of the rescued men are said to have been employed as onboard security for the tanker.
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Three crew members managed to escape the Singapore-owned vessel during its capture early this morning, by jumping overboard. They were later rescued from the sea by a German Naval helicopter. According to reports, 28 other crew members remain onboard the tanker, which is the 30th vessel to be hijacked by Somalian pirates this year. "The MV Biscaglia was attacked this morning,” the BBC quotes the British High Commission in Nairobi as saying. "The three men were picked up by a German naval helicopter and taken to a French warship. They are now safely on board." Two of the rescued men are said to have been employed as onboard security for the tanker.
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