Daewoo Shipbuilding wins record $2.33bn order from Maersk

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., the world's third-largest shipyard, said that it has won an order to build 16 container vessels for US$2.33 billion, the industry's largest order to date.

The deal with A.P. Moeller-Maersk of Denmark, the world's largest boxline, calls on Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering to deliver the vessels by December, 2012, and the company said in a statement. The vessels have individual capacities of 7,450 teu and they are equipped with reefer plugs enabling them to carry 1,700 refrigerated containers each. This is the highest number ever carried on a container vessel. The ships are designed to meet the highest demands for safe and economic transportation of goods in the trade to and from the East Coast of South America. In addition, each vessel is equipped with a waste heat recovery system. The system reuses excess heat from the exhaust and thus generates energy for propulsion of the vessel or on-board electricity consumption. The reduction in fuel consumption results in a corresponding reduction of emissions. "We are very excited with this order and the opportunities these vessels will provide our customers in South America. We are confident that the vessels will enable us to continue to offer competitive container shipping based on a modern, economical, and environmentally friendly fleet," says Senior Vice President Michel Deleuran, Head of Network & Product in Maersk Line. Maersk Line expects to deploy the 16 vessels in the trades between the East Coast of South America and Asia and Europe.

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Kazakhstan eyes Oman CPC stake

Kazakhstan is interested in buying Oman's 7% stake in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium should the Middle Eastern state decide to sell out, an influential oil industry group official said.

Shareholders in CPC, the key export route for Kazakh crude, are struggling to come to terms on the pipeline's expansion, with Russia, the key host state, opposing the plan. Industry sources told that this week Oman, frustrated with delays, has decided to quit the project but the country has not officially commented on the matter. "There would certainly be interest (to buy the stake)," Timur Kulibayev, president of oil industry group KazEnergy, told. "The national company (KazMunaiGas) is working on it." Kulibayev, also son-in-law of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, said Russia was interested in Oman's stake as well. Russia has a 24% share in CPC and Kazakhstan owns 19%. The rest belongs to private shareholders, Chevron, BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Lukoil and Rosneft.

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Bourbon sells interest in the Rigdon companies

The sale of Bourbon's interest in the Rigdon companies has been announced as part of the merger proposal between US companies, Ridgon Marine Corporation and Gulfmark Offshore.

As the Rigdon companies had so far been accounted for according to the equity method, the sale will have no impact on revenues, nor on Bourbon's EBITDA. The sale will generate for Bourbon a capital gain on sale of approximately Eur 60 million (US$95.3 million) in the second half.
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Dioryx Maritime receives MV Argolikos, first ever container ship to be made in Philippines

President Arroyo led Philippine and Korean officials in the launching yesterday of the first ship built in this freeport zone – the MV Argolikos, a $60-million container carrier.

Last May 29, representatives of the Hellenic shipping firm, headed by Mr. D.Papadimitriou, that ordered Argolikos, and Bureau Veritas, a Paris-based conformity assessment, certification and inspection and testing company, witnessed the sea trial of the ship. Pyeong Jong Yu, manager of Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp.-Philippines outside business department, reported to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) that M/V Argolikos successfully passed the sea trial. The container carrier has a gross weight of 41,000 tons, length of 258.9 meters, width of 32 meters, and height of 19 meters, Yu said. He added that prior to the sea trial, Argolikos had been issued an attestation by Bureau Veritas as well as a cargo ship safety equipment certificate, a complete crew list, and a certificate of competency for the Korean crew by the Busan (Korea) Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office. SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga said the successful sea trial of the container carrier marks another milestone for SBMA as it sets its focus on the growing maritime service and logistics business. The Argolikos was to be the first of six container vessels lined up for delivery to Dioryx Maritime Corp. starting 2009, Salonga said.The ship is named after Argolikos, a small gulf located at the east coast of Peloponnese, Greece, which opens into the Aegean Sea.

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Malaysia's Sealink International to list

Malaysian shipbuilder and offshore vessel owner Sealink International is looking to raise as much as MYR 141.71m ($43.4m) from its listing on the main board in Kuala Lumpur.

The cash from the 128.37m shares will be used to expand its yards and fleet of support ships, anchor-handlers and barges. "We want to expand our fleet of 29 vessels to 40 vessels in the next three years. At least MYR 300m is needed over the next three years for this expansion. We need larger landing craft of up to 72 metres and anchor handling tugs and supply vessels of up to 12,000 brake horsepower," chief executive officer and deputy managing director Yong Kiam Sam said. Furthermore, between MYR 50m and MYR 100m will be spent over the next three years to upgrade its two shipyards in Miri.

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Liberia opens up offshore blocks

Liberia has opened a second licensing round for offshore oil acreage, with three international companies.

‘Bidding was for a total of five blocks’. Minister for Land, Mines and Energy Eugene Shannon said. The three companies taking part were Anadarko Petroleum, Luxembourg's Mittal Investments and Hong Kong Tongtai Petroleum.

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Container volume on Yangtze River up 38 per cent

In 2007, the Yangtze River, the longest and most important river in China, experienced a record high volume of container transportation.

The river shipped 5.54 million TEU in 2007, which is an increase of 38 per cent compared to 2006. The average utility of the Yangtze River still holds great potential to rise. Most of the cargo is transported in low reaches where shipping conditions and economic environments are better. In 2007, two-thirds of all the cargo was shipped in the extent from the river mouth to the city of Nanjing, 300 kilometers from the mouth. The main reason for the volume increase is the dredging projects carried out alone the river. By the summer of 2009, the Three Gorges, the largest water conservancy project in China, will be completed. A 10,000-tonnage barge will be able to sail from Chongqing to Shanghai on a 2,500-kilometre waterway.
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