The shipping industry in Singapore is planning a new training programme for workers in a bid to prevent retrenchments in the maritime sector.
The Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) has launched a US$403 million programme to train over 1,000 workers next year under a new Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR). Teo Siong Seng, President of the SSA, said that after years of struggling to attract talent to the maritime industry, it would be a pity to lose them through retrenchment during the economic downturn. So far seven companies including “K” Line Singapore and Neptune Orient Lines have stepped forward to commit a number of their staff to the new programme. The courses cover issues such as shipping operations and documentation, marine insurance and shipping law. The SSA said that this would provide an ideal stepping stone for those interested in pursuing a diploma.
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Wednesday, December 17, 2008
China prepares to send navy to Gulf of Aden
Beijing: China is all set to send a naval fleet on a mission to fight pirates in Somali waters, a military source told China Daily on Tuesday.
'There will be a significant peacekeeping operation (in Somalia),' the source said, but did not reveal the scale of the mission. "The Chinese government supports the international community's decision to cooperate on the piracy problem according to international law and the UN Security Council's resolutions," Liu Jianchao told a news briefing on Tuesday, referring to Vice-Foreign Minister He Yafei's meeting in New York. A local newspaper provided some details of the planned mission. "The fleet will leave the South China Sea and head to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters," the Global Times reported yesterday.
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'There will be a significant peacekeeping operation (in Somalia),' the source said, but did not reveal the scale of the mission. "The Chinese government supports the international community's decision to cooperate on the piracy problem according to international law and the UN Security Council's resolutions," Liu Jianchao told a news briefing on Tuesday, referring to Vice-Foreign Minister He Yafei's meeting in New York. A local newspaper provided some details of the planned mission. "The fleet will leave the South China Sea and head to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters," the Global Times reported yesterday.
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World's largest floating dock put into operation
The world’s largest floating dock, 'China Shipping Emei Mountain' was recently put into operation during a ceremony held in China to celebrate its completion.
The dock was built by China Shipping Industrial Co, a subsidiary of the China Shipping Group. The new dock was immediately put to work in Shanghai at the China Shipping Changzing repair base, with the hope of strengthening market competitiveness in China.
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The dock was built by China Shipping Industrial Co, a subsidiary of the China Shipping Group. The new dock was immediately put to work in Shanghai at the China Shipping Changzing repair base, with the hope of strengthening market competitiveness in China.
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UN greenlights Somali land ops as two more ships are hijacked
New York: The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution for the first time authorizing international land operations against the pirates sheltering in Somalia.
The text, co-sponsored by the US, Belgium, France, Greece, Liberia and South Korea, gives those nations already involved in battling pirates off Somalia a one-year mandate to act against the brigands inside the country. Resolution 1851 authorizes the states to "take all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia" to suppress "acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea." However, to overcome objections from countries such as Indonesia an earlier reference in the text to "ashore" or "including in its (Somalia) airspace" was dropped. Pirates on Wednesday hijacked a Turkish cargo ship and a Malaysian tug boat and attacked three other vessels in the Gulf of Aden in the past week, a global maritime watchdog said. The latest incidents came as a European Union naval task force took over from a NATO operation patrolling the pirate-infested seas near the Horn of Africa with six warships and three surveillance planes. In the first hijacking, pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons boarded a Malaysian tug on Tuesday, Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur told AFP. The tug with 11 crew on board was heading to Malaysia from the Middle East. Choong said a Turkish cargo ship was hijacked, also in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday, by a gang of pirates who fired automatic weapons from two speed boats.
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The text, co-sponsored by the US, Belgium, France, Greece, Liberia and South Korea, gives those nations already involved in battling pirates off Somalia a one-year mandate to act against the brigands inside the country. Resolution 1851 authorizes the states to "take all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia" to suppress "acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea." However, to overcome objections from countries such as Indonesia an earlier reference in the text to "ashore" or "including in its (Somalia) airspace" was dropped. Pirates on Wednesday hijacked a Turkish cargo ship and a Malaysian tug boat and attacked three other vessels in the Gulf of Aden in the past week, a global maritime watchdog said. The latest incidents came as a European Union naval task force took over from a NATO operation patrolling the pirate-infested seas near the Horn of Africa with six warships and three surveillance planes. In the first hijacking, pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons boarded a Malaysian tug on Tuesday, Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur told AFP. The tug with 11 crew on board was heading to Malaysia from the Middle East. Choong said a Turkish cargo ship was hijacked, also in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday, by a gang of pirates who fired automatic weapons from two speed boats.
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Opec ministers fall into line
Opec oil ministers meet today to remove a record 2 million barrels per day from oil markets as they race to balance supply with the world's collapsing demand for fuel.
The 12 Opec members are also aiming to build a floor under prices that have dropped more than $100 from a July peak above $147 a barrel. They are due to meet from 3.30am EST. Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has led by example - reducing supplies to customers even before a cut has been agreed to help push prices back toward the $75 level Saudi King Abdullah has identified as "fair". Ali al-Naimi, the kingdom's oil minister, was first to publicly call for curbs of 2 million bpd ahead of the meeting. That figure was swiftly endorsed by others in the group that pumps more than a third of the world's oil. An Opec delegate told Reuters there was consensus for a cut of that magnitude starting from 1 January. "A minimum of two million we think needs to be cut so we can balance the market," Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told Reuters. "It's in everyone's interest for supply and demand to be better aligned," Nigerian Minister of State for Oil Odein Ajumogobia told Reuters. "They are clearly not at the moment." The expected cut, the third this year, would bring a total reduction in Opec supply to four million bpd, nearly a 5% cut in world oil supplies. Oil below $50 is uncomfortable for all in Opec, but especially for Venezuela and Iran which are dependent on higher prices to fund ambitious domestic programs. Oil was trading slightly firmer today, just above $44 a barrel. A limited recovery in prices would put a bit more strain on a recessionary global economy, it may help pull the world back from the brink of deflation - a growing source of concern, analysts said. "We are in harmony, we know the situation is difficult," Opec secretary-general Abdullah al-Badri said yesterday.
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The 12 Opec members are also aiming to build a floor under prices that have dropped more than $100 from a July peak above $147 a barrel. They are due to meet from 3.30am EST. Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has led by example - reducing supplies to customers even before a cut has been agreed to help push prices back toward the $75 level Saudi King Abdullah has identified as "fair". Ali al-Naimi, the kingdom's oil minister, was first to publicly call for curbs of 2 million bpd ahead of the meeting. That figure was swiftly endorsed by others in the group that pumps more than a third of the world's oil. An Opec delegate told Reuters there was consensus for a cut of that magnitude starting from 1 January. "A minimum of two million we think needs to be cut so we can balance the market," Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told Reuters. "It's in everyone's interest for supply and demand to be better aligned," Nigerian Minister of State for Oil Odein Ajumogobia told Reuters. "They are clearly not at the moment." The expected cut, the third this year, would bring a total reduction in Opec supply to four million bpd, nearly a 5% cut in world oil supplies. Oil below $50 is uncomfortable for all in Opec, but especially for Venezuela and Iran which are dependent on higher prices to fund ambitious domestic programs. Oil was trading slightly firmer today, just above $44 a barrel. A limited recovery in prices would put a bit more strain on a recessionary global economy, it may help pull the world back from the brink of deflation - a growing source of concern, analysts said. "We are in harmony, we know the situation is difficult," Opec secretary-general Abdullah al-Badri said yesterday.
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