Marine BizTV: 07/01/2009 - 08/01/2009

Monday, July 6, 2009

A new vessel from Sealink’s Miri Yard

The Sealink Slipways, located at Miri in the Sarawak Province of East Malaysia, has recently delivered a 53.8 by 13.8-metre offshore and service vessel to Rederij Groen of the Netherlands.

Built to the same Conan Wu & Associates design as the 2008 ‘Venture G’, ‘Maria G’s’ key distinction lies in its switch to Cummins for main propulsion. A pair of Cummins KTA50-M2 mains, each generating 1,193kW at 1,800 rpm also power the vessel, and the main’s turn two-metre diameter propellers in nozzles on 19.5cm diameter shafts through Twin Disc MG5506 gears with 6:1 reduction. A total of three Cummins QSM11DM-powered 245 kW generators meet the vessel’s electrical requirements, and the deck contains a hydraulic crane (TTS GP 320-10-15,0). The ‘Maria G’ is also fitted with a Schottel STT 330 LK FPP tunnel type five tonne bow thruster.

IMO Council makes 2010 the 'Year of the seafarer'

The Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), meeting for its 102nd session in London (29 June to 3 July 2009), agreed that next year’s theme for World Maritime Day will be “2010: Year of the Seafarer”, endorsing a proposal from IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos.

The theme - to be celebrated throughout the year and also at a World Maritime Day parallel event in Argentina - was selected to give IMO and the international maritime community the opportunity to pay tribute to the world’s seafarers for their unique contribution to society and in recognition of the risks they shoulder in the execution of their duties in an often hostile environment. In proposing it, SecretaryGeneral Mitropoulos said that “the unique hazards confronting the 1.5 million seafarers of the world - including pirate attacks, unwarranted detention and abandonment - coupled with the predicted looming shortage of ships’ officers, make it ever more incumbent to take immediate and effective action to forestall a situation from developing in which ships are not manned with sufficient skilled personnel”. The theme complements IMO’s ongoing “Go to Sea!” campaign to attract new entrants to the shipping industry, which was launched in November 2008 in association with the International Labour Organization, the “Round Table” of shipping industry organizations and the International Transport Workers’ Federation. It is also in line with the comprehensive review, initiated in 2006, of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) 1978 and its associated Code, updated texts of which are due to be considered by a Diplomatic Conference scheduled to be held in Manila, Philippines, in mid-2010.

BLRT rebuilds bunker vessels

The Estonian yard group BLRT Grupp has found a niche market – converting single-hull bunker vessels into double-hull vessels in accordance with MARPOL regulations.

The group’s yard, Tallinn Shipyard, recently rebuilt three Estonian bunker vessels, which now have double hulls. The vessels’ cargo capacity was reduced by some 18–20 per cent. BLRT is negotiating with Murmansk Shipping Company to rebuild the bunker vessel Kotlas and the waste disposal barge Randal.

BPA to buy three berths from PNC

Seoul: South Korea's Busan Port Authority (BPA) has confirmed a deal to acquire three berths at Pusan New Port Co (PNC) at an estimated price of 490 billion won ($387 million), writes Portworld.

The berths, with a total capacity of 1.5m teu, were owned by financially troubled PNC, which started the sale negotiations with BPA in April this year. A BPA spokeswoman said operation of the berths would now be put out to tender with a final bidding date on July 8, it was reported. The prime bidder will be announced on July 10 and BPA hopes the three berths will start operations in October.The spokeswoman said some interested parties include PSA International and an association of domestic near-sea operators whose members include KMTC, Heung-A and Nam Saung Shipping. PNC was originally scheduled to commence operations of the three berths in May, but BPA stepped in because of questions over PNC's ability to take on the additional berths, given its shaky financial position.

PetroVietnam to Set Up Oil JV for Devt Offshore Venezuela

State-run Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, or PetroVietnam, said Friday it will set up an oil joint venture with Venezuelan Petroleum Corp. in the second half of this year.

The joint venture, PetroMacareo, will produce oil in the Junin-2 offshore block in Venezuela's Orinoco belt, PetroVietnam said in a statement. State media said in May that Venezuelan Petroleum Corp., a subsidiary of Venezuela's state oil firm PdVSA, will hold a 60% stake in the joint venture, while PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corp., a leading production unit of PetroVietnam, will hold the remaining 40%. PetroMacareo will be able to produce a combined 200,000 barrels a day of heavy and extra heavy oil from the Junin-2 block, which will then be processed into light crude oil to supply to an oil refinery in Vietnam, said Voice of Vietnam radio.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Pipavav Shipyard to launch IPO

India: Pipavav Shipyard is planning to launch an initial public offering by the end of September but must receive approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

A representative from the shipyard said the company hoped to bring forward the date of the IPO.The shipyard plans to raise some US$104 million through the IPO. The company will use the money to build several VLCCs and LNG tankers. In 2008, Pipavav received approval for the issue and sold over 868 million shares.

Safmarine launches 'Safari 3'

Safmarine has enhanced its existing Safari (Southern Africa–Far East) service with the introduction of a new string dedicated to the Indian Ocean Islands and Mozambique.

According to Safmarine’s SA Trades Executive, Alex de Bruyn: ”Our new Safari 3 string will complement Safmarine's existing service offering and market coverage of Southern Africa. Not only will it improve our direct coverage of the niche ports of Toamasina and Maputo to and from Asia, but it will also strengthen Safmarine's service into South Africa by taking the Indian Ocean Islands out of the westbound rotation of the main Safari string where our customers require fast transit times. “The new string - which launches on Thursday, July 2, 2009 - will also deliver market leading transit times to and from Mozambique and Madagascar; it will be particularly attractive to shippers wanting a faster and more reliable service between Maputo and the Indian Ocean Islands. For example, the westbound transit time between Madagascar and Maputo is only four days.” Safari 3 is a weekly service linking Asia to Mozambique and the Indian Ocean Islands with direct calls to Tanjung Pelepas, Port Louis, Toamasina and Maputo.

Transocean Shelf Explorer Starts Drilling on Veninsky Block

On June 30, the Transocean Shelf Explorer jackup started drilling on the Veninsky Block at the Sakhalin-3 project, in which a 74.9% stake belongs to Rosneft and the remaining 25.1% are held by Sinopec.

The drilling was ordered by the Project operator, Veninneft LLC, which had scheduled the drilling of two exploration wells during the 2009 field season.The first Veninsky Block well will be drilled at a distance of roughly 10 kilometers from the shore, with the actual drilling site lying 25 meters beneath the sea. The second well will be located on the North-Veninsky structure, almost 9 kilometers offshore and 21 meters deep. The drilling operations will last till the middle of October.

Eestinova took delivery of Emi Leader

Onega Shipbuilding Yard in Petrozavodsk has delivered Emi Leader to the Estonian shipping company Eestinova OÜ in St. Petersburg.

Its the second vessel in a series of four units. These multipurpose dry-cargo carriers have been designed by Marine Engineering Bureau in Odessa for transportation between European ports. The Malta-flagged Emi Leader, 4,500 DWT, is 89.99 metres long and 14 metres wide. She has a cruising speed of 11.5 knots. The vessel can load 140 TEUs and has ice class 1B. Orimi Ship in St. Petersburg has ordered the other two vessels in the series.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

'Fairplay VIII' donated to Hamburg museum

Germany: Foundation Hamburg Maritim took delivery of a 47-year-old Hamburg harbour tug yesterday (July 2) from Fairplay Towage.

The 447kW ‘Fairplay VIII’ was moored at its new berth at Sandtorhafen, Hamburg’s new museum-port.Joerg Mainzer, Managing Director of Fairplay-Towage, handed one of the original brass-keys of the tug’s wheelhouse as well as the ship’s papers to Reinhard Wolf, Chairman of the board of the foundation. The tug, built in 1962 at the Theodor-Buschmann Yard, which has belonged to the Fairplay-Group since 1957, will forthwith be moored at Sandtorhafen and will be open to visitors.

Unifeeder to Gayle

Danish Unifeeder will commence service to Gävle Container Terminal, GCT, in August. Unifeeder transports other shipping companies containers to European ports as Rotterdam, Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Antwerp.

“This is very positive and an obvious indication of the status of GCT. Today we are the largest East Coast container port in Sweden, and by the awaited connection to Rotterdam our operation conditions will be further improved”, says GCT Marketing Manager Håkan Bergström in a comment. Unifeeder will service Gävle by weekly calls.

Analysis: Focus on India - South Asia Rig Count Heats Up

Exploration in India has grown dramatically in the last decade through the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) program.

With its first formal open exploration round in 1997, India is currently conducting its eighth bidding round for exploration and development opportunities on- and offshore the South Asian country. Prior to the open bidding process, only 11% of the country's sedimentary basins were under exploration, and after the first seven rounds of bidding, approximately 50% of India's sedimentary basins are under exploration.

Evergreen and Coscon merge southern services

Taiwan: Asian container lines Evergreen and Coscon are to merge their two jointly-operated services between the Far East-South America and Far East-South Africa into a single route, reports news site MGN.

The move was, the companies said, a bid to cope with soaring bunker prices and the poor state of the box market. The new ESA service will operate with a total of eleven 3,500 teu vessels of which Evergreen will deploy seven with four coming from Coscon.

China Iron Ore Demand to Boost Shipping, Morgan Stanley Says

Chinese iron ore usage will boost demand for shipping as imports of the steelmaking raw material will remain cheaper than domestic output Morgan Stanley said. “We believe Chinese iron ore demand will put incremental pressure on the seaborne market, as domestic mines are uneconomical,” Morgan Stanley said in a note to clients today.

The bank raised price estimates for the steelmaking ingredient by 42 percent for Australia and 27 percent for Brazil. Steelmakers in China, the world’s biggest producer of the alloy, may trim the price cut they’re seeking for iron ore and aim to agree to annual supply contracts by the end of this month, Tian Zhiping, vice president of Hebei Iron & Steel Group, said by phone today. China’s demand for iron ore has boosted the Baltic Dry Index, a measure of dry-bulk shipping costs, as much as fivefold this year and led to record queues of ships waiting to discharge consignments of the raw material.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Pilot project in the Baltic Sea

In 2009, the EU Commission plans to establish a project with a value of EUR 2 million with the intention to “Cut sulphur emissions and nitrogen oxides in the Baltic Sea by launching a pilot emission trading scheme between stakeholders which are willing to participate on a voluntary basis”.

Until August 7, member states and the industry can hand over proposals for the design of the emissions trading scheme.The EU Commission also wants to “include shipping in research and preparatory work of the Commission to complement its ongoing work in order to identify and define the conditions for a possible trading system for both SO2 and NOx in future legislation.” In 2008, the European Commission initiated two studies focusing on a trading scheme. Through the first study the EU Commission has started to investigate the legal and technical feasibility of establishing an open system of emissions trading between ships and land-based emission sources in the EU for emissions of SO2 and NOx. In the second study the EU-commission investigates the feasibility of using remote sensing to identify ships emitting substantially more air pollutants than the required legal limits in areas such as the Baltic Sea, North Sea and English Channel.

BP hires Subsea 7 for Valhall work

STAVANGER, NORWAY: Subsea 7 Inc. (OSE: SUB) has been awarded a contract from BP Norway for engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) of the Valhall flank gas lift pipelines and wellhead platform riser caisson project in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.

The contract has an approximate value of US$40 million.The scope of work involves engineering, procurement and fabrication of subsea and platform components, installation of two eight-inch diameter pipelines, one 3.7 miles (6 km) long and the other 4.3 miles (7 km) long, and one new caisson on the wellhead platform and subsea tie-in spools at the Valhall Flank South and Valhall Flank North platform locations.The project management and engineering will be performed at Subsea 7's offices in Stavanger, Norway. The offshore operations are due to take place in two campaigns commencing in the summer of 2010.

Nor-Shipping 2009 Defies Economic Downturn

Nor-Shipping 2009 was the largest in the event’s history, dating back to 1967. 1105 exhibitors from 52 countries participated.

By comparison, Nor-Shipping 2007, which took place in the midst of a market boom, had 830 exhibitors from 42 countries.The Leading Voices conference that opened Nor-Shipping 2009 on Tuesday, June 9 got the show off to a favorable start. Attended by Norway’s King Harald V, the conference featured leaders of global stature, including IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos, and Richard Fain and Wilh. Wilhelmsen of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ASA CEO Ingar Skaug discussed shipping’s role in the fight against climate change. CNN’s Todd Benjamin led round-table discussions about the industry’s and regulators’ efforts to contain greenhouse gas emissions.

STX claims its Dalian yard is largest in the world

Dalian: A shipyard that has laid claim to be the largest in the world in terms of physical size held a launching ceremony Wednesday at Changxing Island in Dalian.

STX (Dalian) Shipbuilding Co Ltd, a subsidiary of the STX Group from the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the investor of the project, said the yard was now the largest in the world in terms of physical area. The firm did not reveal the cost of the yard.Used for final assembly of big ships, the drydock is 460 m long, with a width of 135 m and a height of 14.5 m. It is able to accommodate two ships each with a dead weight tonnage of 320,000 tons to be built simultaneously, said the company.The former largest shipyard in the world in terms of physical size was built by ROK-based Hanjin Heavy Industries in the Philippines. The Dalian dock is 1 m longer and 1 m wider than its Filipino counterpart, the STX (Dalian) Shipbuilding said while its physical area dwarfs the Hanjin yard. Changxing Island is filling up fast with new yards and port projects. It is situated about two hours drive from downtown Dalian. Dalian is already home to China's largest shipbuilding yard, DSIC, which recently scooped the shipbuilding trophy at the annual Seatrade Asia Awards.

Moore Stephens: Shipping confidence up

Overall confidence levels in the shipping industry have shown a slight improvement over the past three months, according to the latest shipping confidence survey from international accountant and shipping consultant Moore Stephens.

But there are high levels of concern about the harmful effects of the glut of newbuildings that will continue coming onto the market over the next year.The average confidence level expressed by respondents, on a scale of 1 to 10, was 5.5, compared to 5.4 in the previous survey in February 2009. Owners, managers and charterers all exhibited a small increase in confidence in connection with the shipping markets in which they operate. Confidence among brokers, meanwhile, was marginally down, and the lowest among all categories of respondent. Geographically, the highest confidence level was recorded by respondents in Asia.Comments generally reflected the downturn in economic markets worldwide. One respondent noted: “The volume of work is the same, but the payments are late, and that is what is killing us”. But there was also some optimism, with another respondent commenting: “The shipping market will be stable until September, and then should slowly improve”.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Zamil launches ‘Algosaibi 51’

Zamil Offshore Services has inaugurated the diving support vessel ‘Algosaibi 51’, built especially for Khalifa Abdulrahman Al Gosaibi Diving Company.

The vessel is 49 metres in length and twelve metres at the beam. It is powered by twin engines each delivering 1,200kW. The vessel will be equipped with advanced navigation and control systems. ‘Algosaibi 51’ is expected to be delivered two months prior to the contract deadline after the completion of its outfitting.

Qingdao to host this year’s World Shipping Summit

Qingdao: More than 1,000 delegates are expected to flock to Qingdao this November for the sixth edition of Cosco's World Shipping (China) Summit.

A stellar line up of speakers will be on hand including the ceos and presidents of many of the world’s largest shipping corporations. Described as the "Davos" of the shipping industry, the event takes place in the second week of November with a host of social functions to go alongside the two-day conference. Once again Seatrade will be publishing a dual language guide to this vital Shandong port city, due out at the summit and also Marintec China a month later in Shanghai.

Harbor Branch Gets $2m Navy Grant

Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute received a $2m grant from the U.S. Navy to develop a robotic laser system to identify mines and other threats in ports and coastal waters.

The system to be developed at Harbor Branch would involve a group of underwater robots scanning the water with laser beams and sending information to shore or to a ship above. According to project leader Fraser Dalgleish, an assistant research professor at Harbor Branch, the technology would allow images of much larger areas of the ocean than are now possible. The process will involve 10 Harbor Branch staffers over four to five years and require at least another $2 million from the Navy, Dalgleish said.

AHTS Damas Victory sinks offshore Qatar

DOHA: Nearly 30 people could be dead after Damas Oil & Marine Services anchor handling tug supply vessel (AHTS) Damas Victory sank in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Qatar on the morning of June 30, according to international press reports.

The accident took place at approximately 6:30 a.m. local time, Qatar's Ministry of the Interior said, as the AHTS was returning to port in Doha during bad weather. George Mathew, the general manager of the ship's operator, told the Associated Press that the ship's captain had requested permission to enter the channel leading to Doha's harbor, but was told to remain at an outer anchorage because of the rough conditions."At that time, a huge swell and strong wind hit him and the vessel was capsized," Mathew said in an AP interview. "It completely sank in three minutes."

Ships moored on loch during slump

Four redundant container ships have been moored in Loch Striven this week because of the fall in world trade.

The Danish shipping company Maersk has decided to put the ships into what is called "cold lay-up". This means they will be moored together on the loch with a skeleton crew for at least six months, or until it is economically viable to move them on. The four ships have been waiting in the Firth of Clyde for a decision on their future. Maersk made its decision last week and over the past few days the ships have been towed into the loch and anchored. The four ships, the Bentonville, Baltimore, Sealand Performance and Beaumont, sailed from South Africa with food and consumer goods for markets in northern Europe. They should have made their way back along the same route, but with trade down, they have no cargo to carry. It is now more cost effective to pay lay-up fees to the local port authority, Clydeport, rather than move them on. During the economic boom, shipping companies - including Maersk - expanded their fleets and built massive container ships. This expansion, coupled with the sudden fall in world trade has hit shipping companies hard. Even the bustling ports in the Far East and major hub ports such as Los Angeles have been affected. There are now several hundred ships in lay-up in Singapore. Estimates suggest that world trade has fallen by about 10%.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

AWD Alliance signs procurement contracts

Greg Combet, Minister for Defence Science, Personnel and Materiel, yesterday announced that the Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) Alliance has signed several procurement contracts relating to the combat system of the new Hobart-class AWDs.

These procurements for the combat system on the destroyers and for shipbuilding work and supplies were recently completed by the AWD Alliance. “These procurements demonstrate the… continuing transition… from planning and decision-making to execution of this national building project,” Mr Combet said. Among the more significant of these procurements are combat system contracts to provide a very short range-surface capability, an electro optical system and a number of contracts relating to the valves and flanges required for the project. “[The] announcement builds on the more than A$850 million (US$685 million) of contracts signed by the AWD Alliance since December last year,” said Mr Combet. “This includes A$450 million (US$363 million) for the hull block construction. In addition, a number of ship building contracts have also been signed, including the provision of the AWD turbines, the helicopter handling system, reduction gears, steering system, gas turbines, the ships‚ engines, generators and propellers.”

Stolt Tankers cancels newbuilding at South Korean yard

Seoul: Stolt Tankers, a subsidiary of Stolt-Nielsen, has cancelled a contract with SLS Shipbuilding of South Korea for the construction of a parcel tanker, citing extended delivery delays, writes news site Tanker operator.

The cancelled contract was for a 44,000 dwt coated parcel tanker, which was the second in a series of four ships. On 30th March, Stolt Tankers had entered into arbitration with SLS Shipbuilding disputing the builder’s claim for ‘force majeure’ to justify delays on the hull. The ship was originally scheduled for delivery in September 2008. All progress payments to date were covered by bank refund guarantees.This move follows the cancellation of a hull for the first ship in the series from SLS Shipyard on 18th March. The yard had also disputed this cancellation and the parties entered into arbitration on 26th March.

New Ultra-Luxury Vessel, Seaborne Odyssey

The Yachts of Seabourn launched Seabourn Odyssey from Venice as the first ultra-luxury vessel to debut in six years.

The 32,000-ton vessel built by T. Mariotti of Genoa, Italy, accommodates 450 guests in 225 luxury suites, ninety percent with verandas, offering one of the highest space-per-guest ratios in the industry with highly personalized service. Odyssey features the largest spa on any luxury yacht, four restaurants and a host of luxury amenities. Odyssey is the first of three new vessels Seabourn is building, a 216% increase in capacity for the line, with Seabourn Sojourn launching in June 2010 and a third new-build in 2011.

Ships sail towards scrapheap

More ships have been scrapped so far this year than in the whole of 2008 as owners decide to cash in on their ageing fleets rather than have them sit unused amid the slowdown in global trade brought on by the recession.

Ship owners who had been receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars a day for their vessels are now having to accept a fraction of that, often not enough to make it worthwhile running the ship, especially given that they can get $200 a tonne for the scrap metal.“For container ships, there’s no employment — or what owners do get is less than it costs to run,” Quentin Soanes, director of Braemar Shipping Services, a ship broker, said. “If an owner ... can’t afford to lay off a ship, [he] turns to demolition.” Almost every part of a ship can be recycled, with equipment often resold and the steel used in construction. Mr Soanes said that scrapping started to pick up in November last year and that the first three months of 2009 were extremely busy.Tom Peter Blankestijn, who looks after ship recycling for A.P. Moller Maersk, said that he expected to scrap more than 20 ships this year, compared with 27 over the past eight years.

PGS completes processing of MEO's Artemis 3-D survey

MELBOURNE: Petroleum Geo-Services Australia Pty Ltd (PGS) has completed the processing of MEO Australia Ltd.'s (ASX: MEO) 97-square-mile (250-sq-km) Artemis 3-D seismic survey in WA-360-P in the Carnarvon Basin offshore Western Australia.

The processing has been completed on schedule and the dataset is expected in house on June 30. The survey was acquired in March of 2009 using PGS seismic vessel Orient Explorer to help delineate the northern extent of the Artemis prospect identified on MEO's existing 2007 3-D seismic survey, in preparation for the drilling of an exploration well, currently scheduled for 2010. Interpretation of the Artemis 3-D seismic survey is a component of de-risking the Artemis prospect ahead of the drilling commitment. MEO launched a formal farm-out process in late April to attract a partner to fund the drilling of the exploration well. The company has advised prospective parties that indicative farm-in offers are due by July 31, 2009.

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