Hanoi: Vietnam's main coal port, Cam Pha has resumed about 70% of loading capacity, after its loaders collapsed during a storm last week, The Economic Times reports state coal monopoly Vinacomin as having said yesterday.
"Repair is under way and the port would resume full operation in a month," a Vinacomin spokesman said. The port in Quang Ninh, Vietnam's northern coal hub, which handles most of the country's coal exports to China and Japan, can now load about 20,000 tonnes of coal daily as compared to around 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes per day before Aug 6 when three of its four loaders collapsed, a port official said. About two thirds of the fuel shipped via Cam Pha goes to China and the rest goes to Japan and other countries, he said. Last month Vietnam estimated its coal exports for the first six months of 2008 dropped 22.7% to 14.47m tonnes as compared to 2007, but revenues jumped 38.4% to $811m, boosted by high world prices. The Southeast Asian country is struggling to meet soaring energy demand at home and plans to slash coal exports this year by more than 32% to about 22m tonnes to save more for new power plants, the Industry and Trade Ministry has said. Vinacomin has forecast coal output could rise to 43m tonnes in 2008, beating previous industry projections of 40m tonnes.
Read More
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Yangshan Port ship access passes 10,000 mark
In late July, a Maersk vessel pulled into the third berth of the Shanghai Yangshan Port Phase II, becoming the 10,000th international sailing ship since Yangshan Port first opened.
The Yangshan Deepwater Port area opened on December 10, 2005, and saw the number of ships accessed reach 5,000 as recently as September 2007. The Yangshan Deepwater Port was built to circumvent the growth limitations of the Port of Shanghai, which has shallow waters. The new port allows berths with depths of up to 15 metres to be built, and is capable of handling even the largest container ships. The port is located in Hangzhou Bay south of Shanghai. When fully operational in 2012, the port will have four phases in operation with 30 berths capable of handling 15 million TEU per annum.
Read More
The Yangshan Deepwater Port area opened on December 10, 2005, and saw the number of ships accessed reach 5,000 as recently as September 2007. The Yangshan Deepwater Port was built to circumvent the growth limitations of the Port of Shanghai, which has shallow waters. The new port allows berths with depths of up to 15 metres to be built, and is capable of handling even the largest container ships. The port is located in Hangzhou Bay south of Shanghai. When fully operational in 2012, the port will have four phases in operation with 30 berths capable of handling 15 million TEU per annum.
Read More
West and Central African states to co-operate in sub-regional Coastguard network
Twenty member States of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA) have adopted a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the establishment of a Sub-regional Coastguard Network for the West and Central African sub-region at the 13th General Assembly of Ministers of MOWCA.
The adoption of the MoU is a major landmark in a long-running campaign by IMO and MOWCA to improve maritime safety, security and environmental protection in the sub-region. It follows a feasibility study undertaken by IMO and the successful IMO/MOWCA forum on the establishment of an integrated coast guard function network for West and Central African Countries held in Dakar in October 2006. The MoU provides an institutional framework for suppressing piracy, armed robbery and other unlawful acts against ships and addressing illegal fishing, drug and weapon trafficking, illegal migration, oil theft, damage to gas pipelines and maritime accident response in the sub-region. It provides guidelines for coastal surveillance, presence in the exclusive economic zones of the sub-region and enforcement of international conventions, regulations and codes - principally those of IMO and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It has provisions on a “right of hot pursuit” in case of unlawful acts perpetrated against ships. IMO - the International Maritime Organization - is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships.
Read More
The adoption of the MoU is a major landmark in a long-running campaign by IMO and MOWCA to improve maritime safety, security and environmental protection in the sub-region. It follows a feasibility study undertaken by IMO and the successful IMO/MOWCA forum on the establishment of an integrated coast guard function network for West and Central African Countries held in Dakar in October 2006. The MoU provides an institutional framework for suppressing piracy, armed robbery and other unlawful acts against ships and addressing illegal fishing, drug and weapon trafficking, illegal migration, oil theft, damage to gas pipelines and maritime accident response in the sub-region. It provides guidelines for coastal surveillance, presence in the exclusive economic zones of the sub-region and enforcement of international conventions, regulations and codes - principally those of IMO and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It has provisions on a “right of hot pursuit” in case of unlawful acts perpetrated against ships. IMO - the International Maritime Organization - is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships.
Read More
Bow Valley rides production landslide
Canadian North Sea producer Bow Valley Energy saw second quarter earnings more than double as booming production and high oil prices offset foreign exchange losses.
Bow Valley reported second quarter net earnings of $9.8 million, or 11 cents per share, up from $4.2 million, or five cents per share, in the second quarter of 2007. Revenues surged to to $31.95 million from $4.56 million previously, as production rose 278% year on year to an average 3355 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the quarter. However, Bow Valley said its production fell 16% from an average 3995 boe per day in the previously quarter on downtown related to shutdown of the UK North Sea’s Forties pipeline system due to a strike at the Grangemouth refinery and the installation of gas compression facilities on the Ula platform, also in the North Sea. The company said capital spending in the quarter was $33.9 million, down from $74.7 million in the year ago period. For the six month period, the company reported net income of $6.59 million, or seven cents per share, up from $4.73 million, or six cents per share, in the first half of 2007, as revenues rose to $70.05 million from $9.18 million previously. Bow Valley has production assets in the UK North Sea and exploration interests in Alaska.
Read More
Bow Valley reported second quarter net earnings of $9.8 million, or 11 cents per share, up from $4.2 million, or five cents per share, in the second quarter of 2007. Revenues surged to to $31.95 million from $4.56 million previously, as production rose 278% year on year to an average 3355 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the quarter. However, Bow Valley said its production fell 16% from an average 3995 boe per day in the previously quarter on downtown related to shutdown of the UK North Sea’s Forties pipeline system due to a strike at the Grangemouth refinery and the installation of gas compression facilities on the Ula platform, also in the North Sea. The company said capital spending in the quarter was $33.9 million, down from $74.7 million in the year ago period. For the six month period, the company reported net income of $6.59 million, or seven cents per share, up from $4.73 million, or six cents per share, in the first half of 2007, as revenues rose to $70.05 million from $9.18 million previously. Bow Valley has production assets in the UK North Sea and exploration interests in Alaska.
Read More
Oakajee port to benefit from Golden West-China deal
Sydney: The proposed Oakajee port, scheduled to be completed by about 2013, has been assured steady business thanks to a new 15 year contract between Australian iron ore firm Golden West Resources and Hunan Valin Steel Tube & Wire.
The contract would see the producer supply up to 4.5m tonnes of iron ore a year to the Chinese company, in which Arcelor Mittal holds a one-third stake. "Getting the Chinese involved now is an indication that there's a strong resource and a viable resource," Reuters quoted Paul Downie, Golden West spokesman as saying. The Australian ore company is reported to be in the exploration phase, and is likely to use the money from the deal to fund exploration.
Read More
The contract would see the producer supply up to 4.5m tonnes of iron ore a year to the Chinese company, in which Arcelor Mittal holds a one-third stake. "Getting the Chinese involved now is an indication that there's a strong resource and a viable resource," Reuters quoted Paul Downie, Golden West spokesman as saying. The Australian ore company is reported to be in the exploration phase, and is likely to use the money from the deal to fund exploration.
Read More
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Aker Yards signs contract for the biggest ferries in the English Channel
Norway-based Aker Yards and P&O Ferries, UK, have signed a contract for building two large car-passenger ferries for the Dover-Calais service.
The total contract price for both vessels is approximately Eur 360 million (US$540.2 million). The vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2010 and 2011 respectively.The contract includes options on a further two vessels of the same design. The vessels will be built in Aker Yards, Rauma, creating some 1,800 manyears of work. Becoming the largest ferry in the English Channel means a 49,000GT vessel with the length of 210 metres and having 2,700 lane metres of vehicle space. There will be space for more than 180 freight vehicles and additionally for up to 195 tourist vehicles. The vessels will be capable of carrying up to 2,000 passengers. The ferries will be as environmentally friendly as possible, offering significant advances in fuel efficiency through a hydro-dynamically efficient hull form that will optimise vessel performance with minimum fuel consumption.
Read More
The total contract price for both vessels is approximately Eur 360 million (US$540.2 million). The vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2010 and 2011 respectively.The contract includes options on a further two vessels of the same design. The vessels will be built in Aker Yards, Rauma, creating some 1,800 manyears of work. Becoming the largest ferry in the English Channel means a 49,000GT vessel with the length of 210 metres and having 2,700 lane metres of vehicle space. There will be space for more than 180 freight vehicles and additionally for up to 195 tourist vehicles. The vessels will be capable of carrying up to 2,000 passengers. The ferries will be as environmentally friendly as possible, offering significant advances in fuel efficiency through a hydro-dynamically efficient hull form that will optimise vessel performance with minimum fuel consumption.
Read More
Coast Guard vessel to map US’s Arctic shelf
A US Coast Guard cutter will embark on an Arctic voyage this week to determine the extent of the continental shelf north of Alaska and map the ocean floor, data that could be used for oil and natural gas exploration.
US scientists on the Coast Guard Cutter Healy will leave Barrow, Alaska, on Thursday on a three-week journey. They will create a three-dimensional map of the Arctic Ocean floor in a relatively unexplored area known as the Chukchi borderland. The Healy will launch again on 6 Sept. 6, when it will be joined by Canadian scientists aboard an icebreaker, who will help collect data to determine the thickness of sediment in the region. That is one factor a country can use to define its extended continental shelf. With oil at $114 a barrel, after hitting a record $147 in July, and sea ice melting fast, countries like Russia and the US are looking north for possible energy riches, Reuters reported. This will be the fourth year that the United States has collected data to define the limits of its continental shelf in the Arctic. Russia, which has claimed 460,000 square miles (1.19 million square kilometres) of Arctic waters and last summer planted its flag on the ocean floor of the North Pole. "These are places nobody's gone before, in essence, so this is a first step," said Margaret Hays, the director of the oceanic affairs office at the US State Department. She said the data collected may provide information to the public about future oil and natural gas sources for the US. The research could also shed light on other potential energy resources, like methane frozen in ice under the ocean, that Hays said might one day have some commercial interest.
Read More
US scientists on the Coast Guard Cutter Healy will leave Barrow, Alaska, on Thursday on a three-week journey. They will create a three-dimensional map of the Arctic Ocean floor in a relatively unexplored area known as the Chukchi borderland. The Healy will launch again on 6 Sept. 6, when it will be joined by Canadian scientists aboard an icebreaker, who will help collect data to determine the thickness of sediment in the region. That is one factor a country can use to define its extended continental shelf. With oil at $114 a barrel, after hitting a record $147 in July, and sea ice melting fast, countries like Russia and the US are looking north for possible energy riches, Reuters reported. This will be the fourth year that the United States has collected data to define the limits of its continental shelf in the Arctic. Russia, which has claimed 460,000 square miles (1.19 million square kilometres) of Arctic waters and last summer planted its flag on the ocean floor of the North Pole. "These are places nobody's gone before, in essence, so this is a first step," said Margaret Hays, the director of the oceanic affairs office at the US State Department. She said the data collected may provide information to the public about future oil and natural gas sources for the US. The research could also shed light on other potential energy resources, like methane frozen in ice under the ocean, that Hays said might one day have some commercial interest.
Read More
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
