Pirates keep up the onslaught in '09

Kuala Lumpur: Somali pirates continue to plague the shipping industry with reports of one successful hijack and another foiled attempt in the new year.

Indian tanker saved from pirates.A Malaysian military helicopter saved an Indian tanker from being hijacked yesterday. The Indian captain sent an SOS, which was received by a Malaysian frigate which dispatched a military helicopter, he said.On spotting the helicopter, the pirates stopped firing and fled. There were no injuries but the tanker sustained some damage.However, the Egyptian-owned 7,923-dwt general cargo ship Blue Star was nabbed by 15 armed pirates as it entered the Gulf from the Red Sea. The vessel was carrying 6,000 tonnes of fertilizer.

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QuietPower-HPU for Superyachts

ABT-TRAC (Arcturus Marine) has released QuietPower HPU - a new modular hydraulic power unit (HPU) family for the superyacht industry.

The QuietPower-HPU was developed specifically for superyachts to provide hydraulic power for stabilizers, thrusters, windlass and other deck functions with significantly less noise than is ordinarily associated with active hydraulics. The QuietPower HPU is manufactured as a module in the ABT-TRAC factory in Rohnert Park, California. ABT-TRAC (Arcturus Marine) based in Rohnert Park California, ABT-TRAC manufactures TRAC Digital Stabilizers, TRAC Bow and Stern Thrusters, inTRAC Ride Control, and QuietPower-HPU Integrated Hydraulics for superyachts worldwide.

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Caribbean tanker rates fall on low demand

The cost to transport crude oil from the Caribbean on Aframax tankers fell, declining for the first time in more than a week amid light demand for voyages.

'The tanker market is relatively quiet,' Omar Nokta, an analyst at Dahlman Rose & Co in New York, said in a note. 'Activity is likely to be muted through the New Year, with reducing Opec production and depressed crack spreads globally hindering tanker demand. 'Aframaxes were hired for an average rate of Worldscale 335 on Tuesday, down 8.2 per cent from Monday, according to New York-based Poten & Partners. It's the first decline since Dec 17. Worldscale 335 is about US$82,000 a day after expenses, such as fuel and port fees. The slowing US economy has cut demand for gasoline, increasing stockpiles of crude oil and depressing the need for voyages. US oil inventories have climbed 11 per cent since Sept 19, according to a Dec 16 US Energy Department report. Inventories stood at 321.3 million barrels.

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BW Group joins tax exemption scheme

Singapore: The BW Group has kick started the year with a new name for its vessel management section and has registered with Singapore’s Approved International Shipping Enterprise (AIS) scheme, which grants it tax exemption on income from the operation of ships outside of Singapore for a period of 10 years.

BW Shipping Managers will now operate under the name BW Maritime and continue to be responsible for all tanker fleet commercial activities along with a number of corporate activities within the BW Group.“These new names do not reflect any change in the substance of who we are or what we do, but represent a step forward in rationalising the structure of the group, allowing us to benefit from groupwide capabilities and for BW Maritime to join the Singapore AIS scheme,” said Andreas Sohmen-Pao, BW Maritime md and Group ceo. The BW Maritime name change coincides with the formation of BW Fleet Management, which combines the strengths of the ship management teams from BW Gas and the former BW Shipping. BW Fleet Management is led by md Morten Steen Martinsen, with teams based in Oslo and Singapore, and will manage the BW gas and tanker fleets.

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