Deliveries are slated for the end of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011. The yard is currently building four jackup rigs, two for a UMW Holdings- Standard Drilling joint venture and two for Saipem. In other news, Drydocks World may consider building other vessels at the company’s shipyards in Singapore and Indonesia in anticipation of a pickup in demand for newbuilds when the economy recovers. The yards have received some expressions of interest, however final contracts are slow to roll forth due to the current economic climate.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Drydocks World builds two jackups on speculation, others may follow
Drydocks World’s Graha yard in Batam, Indonesia, is planning to build two jackup rigs on speculation.
APL secure in Singapore
Singapore: APL, the container shipping business of the NOL Group, has achieved STP-plus status as part of Singapore's Secure Trade Partnership (STP).
STP-plus is an enhanced tier of the STP programme - the voluntary supply chain security initiative introduced in 2007 by Singapore Customs. STP-plus is awarded to companies which have in place robust security measures and best practices that meet the more stringent standards defined by the STP Criteria. APL is one of the first organisations to achieve the higher rating from a total of 27 companies which have been certified under the STP programme.
Chouest Purchases Tampa Shipyard
On November 18, 2008, Edison Chouest Offshore officials appeared before the Tampa Port Authority in an effort to secure the assignment of Tampa Bay Shipbuilding and Repair’s long-term lease agreement with the port.
The authority had no objection to the transfer and, on that date, Tampa Ship, LLC was born. Chouest assumed management and operation of the yard in early December. The Tampa shipyard is a full service conversion, overhaul and repair facility that was previously owned by a group associated with Mobile, AL-based Bender Shipbuilding and Repair. The shipyard has been the only commercial shipyard equipped with four large graving docks (capable of servicing ships up to 150,000 DWT) and extensive crane facilities between Pascagoula, MS and Hampton Roads, VA. “Tampa Ship provides us more capacity for new construction and the repair of much larger vessels,” said President Gary Chouest. “Now that we have closed on the purchase, we are looking forward to construction on our first new vessel this month.” Although the shipyard specialized in recent years in performing repairs and overhauls, Chouest has agreed to assist in the phase out of a new construction deal with Bender. The previous owner has been building three large barges for Overseas Shipholding Group; Chouest will assist in completing that deal, slated for a late 2009 delivery.
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Japanese shipping lines scale back on fleet expansions
Both Nippon Yusen KK (NYK) and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) have decided to draw back on their initial fleet expansion programme as the world continues to feel the pressure caused by the credit crunch.
NYK initially had plans to increase its own fleet as well as chartered ships, to 1,000 by 2010, but has decided to go the other way now, with new plans to shave off 200 vessels. The company will reduce its investment in new ships by 15 percent starting this fiscal year. Meanwhile MOL’s plan was to boost the number of ships in their own and chartered fleet by some 300 vessels to 1,200 by the end of fiscal 2012, however the company has now decided to downgrade its plans through 2009. Many shipping companies worldwide are cutting back on fleet expansions, however many continue to introduce new, fuel-efficient ships while concurrently retiring older ships.
Medco and Anadarko can Nunukan deal
Indonesia’s Medco Energi and independent Anadarko Petroleum have reportedly ended a joint exploration agreement covering Medco’s Nunukan block in the country.
The pair signed a mutual termination agreement in December, ending plans to develop the 4917-square-kilometre offshore block in East Kalimantan’s Tarakan basin, the Platts news service reported. Under the deal Anadarko will refund Medco about $14 million that the company has spent on exploration on the block to date. The US company will still try to drill an exploration block on the block as stipulated under the agreement. If it fails to do so by 30 June 2010, Anadarko will pay Medco $25 million less any expenses incurred in attempting to drill, the news service said. Under a 2007 agreement, Anadarko had agreed to a staged farm in to 60% of the Nunukan block, and to take over operatorship of the project. An earlier exploration agreement proposed Anadarko earning a stake of up to 40% of Medco’s interest in certain PSCs for an investment of up to $80 million. Medco said in a statement to the Jakarta Stock Exchange that both agreements had now been ended.
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Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Groundbreaking ceremony held for Huizhou Port's first dedicated container terminal
China: Hutchison Port Holdings and the Huizhou Port Affairs Group Company Limited held a groundbreaking ceremony last week.
The companies broke ground on two 50,000-tonne container berths at Huizhou Quanwan International Container Terminals (HQCT), which will soon become Huizhou Port’s first dedicated container terminal. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by over 400 guests, representing the municipal government, local enterprises as well as top executives from the port and shipping industries. Huang Yebin, Party Secretary of the Huizhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China; Li Ruqiu, Mayor of Huizhou; John Meredith, Group Managing Director of HPH; James S Tsien, Managing Director of Hutchison Ports China; and Zhong Jiayun, Chairman and President of Huizhou Port Affairs Group Company Limited, jointly hosted the ceremony. At the ceremony, Mr Tsien explained that Huizhou Quanwan International Container Terminals would be the first dedicated container terminal in Huizhou Port. An expressway network and two major railway arteries, the Beijing-Kowloon and Guangzhou-Meizhou-Shantou lines, connect HQCT to the Pearl River Delta and manufacturing hinterlands along the railways.
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STX Shipyard launches first China-made diesel engine
Dalian: South Korea's STX Group, said that its Chinese shipyard had succeeded in manufacturing a highly efficient diesel engine, a technological breakthrough that will help enhance its competitiveness.
The engine, made in China's northeastern port city of Dalian, would be installed on a bulk carrier being built at the shipyard, the group said in a statement. The shipyard built its first vessel in December, 2008. STX is the first South Korean shipbuilder to build vessels in China. Its Chinese shipyard was capable of manufacturing 150 high-powered diesel engines a year, STX said. Meanwhile, STX Group said its Norwegian subsidiary will sell US$86 million worth of bonds to help bolster the group's financial health. STX Norway AS will issue the floating-rate bonds and sell them wholly to Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore, the group said, without disclosing the debt's maturity. There is plenty of speculation that STX is about to embark on significant staff cuts at its newly acquired French and Finnish subsidiaries.
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