Eastern Echo Orders Seismic Vessels

Eastern Echo Holding Plc signed the shipbuilding contracts with Dubai Drydocks and the design and equipment contracts with Ulstein Design AS, for two seismic vessels, each capable of towing up to 12 streamers.

The shipbuilding contracts conclude and replace the original letter of intent (LOI) announced on the 20 September 2007. ‘We are pleased to announce the signing of these contracts today with Dubai Drydocks and Ulstein Design AS. The two new seismic vessels covered under this agreement will ensure the placement of the Eastern Echo fleet at the top end of the premium 3D seismic segment’, comments CEO Rolf Rønningen in Eastern Echo. The two seismic vessels are both of the same innovative Ulstein SX 124 (X-Bow) design as the previously announced shipbuilding contracts in Spain for four new builds. All six vessels will set a new environmental standard for marine seismic vessels operations and will operate worldwide in the premium 3D/4D seismic market.
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New World Alliance shipping lines to cut more capacity via Panama

New World Alliance carriers MOL, APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine and CMA CGM have announced additional winter capacity reductions for the trade between Asia and the US east coast via Panama Canal.

In late November, New World Alliance carriers APL, HMM and MOL announced that they would be withdrawing capacity to the US west coast and earlier than in previous years in the face of an unprecedented rise in operating costs - particularly for fuel. The latest announcement will see New World carriers reduce capacity to the US east coast by withdrawing some sailings in their ESX/SAX deployment. The carriers confirm that service will continue to be provided at all existing port locations and the carriers will have sufficient capacity to meet demand for cargo transportation services in the transpacific during the winter season. New World carriers remain committed to providing customers with premium global container shipping services.

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GAC Group opens 13 shipping agency offices across Australia

Global shipping, logistics and marine service provider the GAC Group, has announced that it is opening 13 shipping agency offices in major ports across Australia as part of a major expansion.

The offices are located in Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Gladstone and Brisbane in Queensland; Sydney (country headquarters), Newcastle and Port Kembla in New South Wales; Melbourne in Victoria; Adelaide in South Australia, and in Fremantle, Dampier and Port Hedland in Western Australia. GAC Asia Pacific director Christer Sjodoff said this is the largest number of offices launched in a single country within the space of two months in the group's 51-year history. The 13 new offices will initially provide ship agency and maritime ancillary services. The company plans to introduce in stages additional services, including fire, rescue and safety services, marine logistics, as well as GAC-SMHI weather routing for vessel operators.
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TUI AG and RCL to Launch JV

TUI AG and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced that they would launch a new joint venture serving the German cruise market.

The new company, TUI Cruises, will begin service with one ship, in early 2009, and grow quickly with two newbuilds planned for 2011 and 2012. Sales and marketing will commence earlier in Spring 2008. Both partners will hold a 50 percent interest in the joint venture, which is subject to regulatory and board approvals before completion. The first ship to operate under the TUI Cruises brand will undergo renovations before entering service. Once deployed, it will not only enhance the German cruise market, but also meet the sophisticated needs of German-speaking customers seeking a contemporary/premium cruise experience. The onboard product will be custom-tailored to German tastes, and encompass food, entertainment and amenities. German will be the language used onboard as well.

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Hanjin adds capacity replacing two smaller ships with bigger newbuilds

Hanjin Shipping has named its two latest 6,500-TEU vessels, the Hanjin Mumbai and Hanjin Shenzhen, which were built at the Hyundai Heavy Industries yards in Ulsan, South Korea.

The vessels are the sixth and seventh containerships in a series of eight in the 6,500-TEU class currently being built by HHI. The two larger newbuilds are intended to replace the 5,500-TEU ships now on Hanjin's Far East Europe Express (FEX) service. The shipping line said "this supply of more vessel space from Asia to Europe service will contribute to stable transportation of cargo". The port rotation for the FEX service is: Xingang, Gwangyang, Busan, Yantian, Singapore, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Felixstowe, Singapore, Kaohsiung, returning to Xingang.
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Nichols Brothers Resumes Work

Nichols Brothers Boat Builders returned to work after the company laid off 185 employees.

Shortly thereafter, the company filed for bankruptcy protection, a move necessitated by a big lawsuit filed by a disgruntled customer. While the bankruptcy issues are far from settled, Nichols Brothers was allowed to negotiate with individual boat owners to see that their projects, shut down on Nov. 2, could be completed. Those boat owners are now paying the workers’ salaries, as Nichols Brothers as a company is broke and is up for sale. The rehiring process will continue as more existing contracts are placed online though negotiations with individual companies. The 54 workers brought back Monday are working on two tugboats and one catamaran already started, and another catamaran that’s ready to start.
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Hatteland Names Hawthorne as General Manager

Hatteland Display computers and panel computers has appointed David Hawthorne as General Manager of its American operations.

The appointment comes as Hatteland Display's global growth continues in the wake of the introduction of new Naval displays, upgraded Series 1 displays and the 2006 launch of the sophisticated Series 2 product family. David, who is based in San Diego, California, joined Hatteland Display on 23rd October 2007, from his position as Business Development Manager at L-3 Communications RCCS Division. Previous to this, he spent time as a Sales Manager for Barco and has a total of 15 years experience as an Electrical Engineer at major U.S. defense contractors including Loral and Lockheed Martin. These previous roles have given him vast experience in the military market that will be put to good use as the General Manager for Hatteland Display in the USA.

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