Sunday, June 28, 2009

Maersk Group cuts down on ship investments

The A P Møller-Mærsk Group will downsize its investments in ships in the future. Instead, the company will take more ships on time charter when it is necessary to increase the capacity.

“In the present market, our investments will generate more profit in other areas”, explains Nils Smedegaard Andersen, CEO of A P Møller-Mærsk, in an interview in Berlingske Nyhedsmagasin.Over the last couple of years, the group has invested USD 11.2 billion in new ships and other projects. In the future, the oil business and the terminal business will be the main targets for investments as they have great potential. Currently, A P Møller-Mærsk has 70 container carriers on order with a capacity of 365,338 TEUs or equal to 17.9 per cent of the active fleet.
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Shipwreck Science Program Begins

Fifteen talented Erie area high school students in the Minority College Experience / Women in Science and Engineering (MCE/WISE) program through Penn State Erie, participated in the Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies' (BCMS) first expedition of the Shipwreck Science Program on June 12, 2009.

BCMS is an eleven year old non-profit community based organization in Erie, Pennsylvania that uses hands-on projects including sailing, boatbuilding, navigation and environmental science to teach and reinforce traditional subjects. The students learned not only about some of the shipwrecks in our local waters, but also about navigation, boat handling, history and technology. Using sophisticated engineering equipment including a Side Scan Sonar and an Underwater Remote Operating Vehicle (ROV), the students were introduced to some of the skills and instruments used in today's underwater exploration technologies.
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Report explains delays for UK Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers

The UK House of Commons and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have issued a report on the Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer programme, identifying problems encountered and lessons learnt during the process.

Following the PAC’s investigation into the reason the project’s increased costs and delays, it was found and acknowledged that “serious mistakes” were made in the early stages of the project, Defence Professionals reported. “The project management arrangements on the Type 45 destroyer were poor and allowed the culture of over-optimism to persist for too long,” the publication quoted the report as saying. Following an extensive review of the project, the contract was renegotiated to a more realistic level and has not experienced any more budget problems or time delays. The first Type 45 destroyer will enter service this year, two years later than originally planned. Furthermore, despite its purpose of being equipped with anti-air capabilities, the Principal Anti-Air Missle System (PAAMS) will not be installed until 2011. Due to the delays, the UK Ministry of Defence has had to extend the life of the Type 42 destroyers, which are costly to maintain.
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Blue Star Ferries signs new building deal with Daewoo

Blue Star Ferries hosted a formal event to celebrate the official signing of the company’s newbuilding order sealed at the end of the previous week.

In a central Athens hotel, the company, part of Attica Group, signed the $200 million deal with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., the world's No.3 shipbuilder Under the terms of the deal, Daewoo will build two new fast car-passenger ferries. The South Korean shipbuilder plans to deliver the ships by the first quarter of 2012, it said in a statement. The order came as shipbuilders such as Daewoo suffer from a steep fall in new ship orders. Attica Group’s announcement of the deal also said that the ships will have overall length 145.5 meters and speed of 26 knots and the capacity to carry 2,400 passengers and 450 private vehicles or 50 freight units and 150 private vehicles.
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