Costa Cruises makes Dubai its regional cruise hub.

For the second consecutive year, Europe’s leading cruise operator Costa Cruises has made Dubai its regional cruise hub.

It has also deployed two ships offering six weekly packages to destinations in the UAE, Arabian Gulf and the Middle East regions. For the 2007-2008 cruise season, the Italian group has drafted two huge cruise ships – Costa Romantica and Costa Europa- with a combined passenger and crew capacity of 4756. Last year, the company had deployed only one cruise ship. The regional package covers Dubai, Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. There is complete passenger exchange programme at each ship during the current season. Costa is one of the world’s leading cruise operators with 11 ships under deployment. A grand reception was organized on board the Costa Romantica at the Dubai Cruise Terminal in Port Rashid Complex on December 22 to celebrate the inaugural cruises for the 2007-2008 seasons in the Gulf region.

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South Korea's Daewoo wins $3 bln in ship orders

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., the world's third-largest shipbuilder, has won a combined $3 billion order to build four ships for three different companies.

Daewoo said in a filing with the Korea Exchange that it would build one floating production, storage and offloading unit for a company in Europe, two bulk carriers for a company in Asia and a drillship for company from the Oceania region. None of the companies was named. It would deliver all the ships by July 2011.
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S.Korea Finds Cargo Ship Wreckage

The apparent wreckage of a cargo ship that disappeared along with 14 sailors has been found, but lay too deep in the water to raise immediately.

The search continued for the missing. The ship, carrying 2,000 tons of nitric acid, was feared sunk after it sent out a distress signal off Yeosu, 280 miles south of Seoul. One sailor was rescued. Dozens of Coast Guard and navy boats joined by helicopters continued search and rescue work to find survivors but have so far found only 18 metal drums and several life jackets and boats presumed to be from the ship. The survivor, a 28-year-old Burmese told investigators that he watched the vessel sink before he and the other crew members - 12 South Koreans and two Burmese were swept away.
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Fire shuts Beharra Springs plant

A fire has shut down the gas plant at Origin Energy's Beharra Springs field onshore Western Australia.

Nobody was hurt in the incident, which happened in the condensate/gas separation part of the plant. The fire was successfully extinguished. The cause of the fire is unknown; however, a full investigation has been initiated. Origin, as the operator of the gas plant, will comply with all regulatory requirements to investigate and remediate the incident. It is not known how long it will take to repair the plant but it is anticipated it will be operational again before the end of January.

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Vietnam starts large scale container manufacturing

Vietnam has kick-started its export business with the opening of its first container manufacturing plant - the second biggest of its kind in southeast Asia, according to the official Vietnam News Service.

The plant in the northern province of Hai Duong is expected to provide a yearly capacity of 45,000 TEU and is a joint venture between Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) and Toong Goen Enterprise (TGC).

Vietnam's ministry of transport says containers business shows a marked dominance of foreign shipping companies, which weakens the competitiveness of the country's exports.

Growth of container business has increased 50 per cent a year with the transportation business reaching US$1 billion.

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Samsung Heavy to Build 4 Rigs

South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries Co, said it has secured new orders worth a total of $2.41b.

The company said it won a $1.15b dollar contract to build two semi-submersible floating drilling rigs by September 2010 for a Russian client. Separately, clients in Africa and in Americas ordered two oil drill ships worth 1.26 billion dollars which will be delivered by May 2011.
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USS Port Royal Visits Jakarta

USS Port Royal Public Affairs Indonesian naval officers stood in formation on the pier and a military band played patriotic songs Dec. 20 as USS Port Royal (CG 73) pushed away from her berth at Tanjung-Priok Port in Jakarta, after a four-day port visit to Indonesia's capital province.

The farewell show as Port Royal pulled away from Jakarta was only a small demonstration compared to the festivities during the first hours of her arrival Dec. 17. As local dignitaries welcomed Adler with flowers and fruit, while traditional dancers, fire-breathers and other performers entertained the crew on the pier.

Indonesia's hospitality did not stop at the pier. Local citizens embraced Port Royal Sailors as they ventured off the ship to explore the city and participate in athletic games and community relations events. On Dec. 19, a small group of Sailors loaded boxes of toys and hygiene items into a truck for delivery to the U.S. Embassy warehouse, where representatives from three non-governmental organizations received them for distribution to the city and in Indonesia's rural interior. The boxes were donations from Project Handclasp, which is a program that allows private organizations to donate toys and other items for forward-deployed military units to distribute overseas

U.S. Navy port visits such as Port Royal's visit to Indonesia represent an important opportunity to promote peace and stability in the Asian-Pacific region of the world, demonstrate commitment to regional partners and foster growing relationships. U.S. 7th Fleet forces are tangible proof of the U.S. commitment to peace and stability in the Oceana region, and they directly support U.S. national goals of strengthening alliances, defeating global threats, and preserving the free flow of trade.

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