The shipping industry in Singapore is planning a new training programme for workers in a bid to prevent retrenchments in the maritime sector.
The Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) has launched a US$403 million programme to train over 1,000 workers next year under a new Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR). Teo Siong Seng, President of the SSA, said that after years of struggling to attract talent to the maritime industry, it would be a pity to lose them through retrenchment during the economic downturn. So far seven companies including “K” Line Singapore and Neptune Orient Lines have stepped forward to commit a number of their staff to the new programme. The courses cover issues such as shipping operations and documentation, marine insurance and shipping law. The SSA said that this would provide an ideal stepping stone for those interested in pursuing a diploma.
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Wednesday, December 17, 2008
China prepares to send navy to Gulf of Aden
Beijing: China is all set to send a naval fleet on a mission to fight pirates in Somali waters, a military source told China Daily on Tuesday.
'There will be a significant peacekeeping operation (in Somalia),' the source said, but did not reveal the scale of the mission. "The Chinese government supports the international community's decision to cooperate on the piracy problem according to international law and the UN Security Council's resolutions," Liu Jianchao told a news briefing on Tuesday, referring to Vice-Foreign Minister He Yafei's meeting in New York. A local newspaper provided some details of the planned mission. "The fleet will leave the South China Sea and head to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters," the Global Times reported yesterday.
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'There will be a significant peacekeeping operation (in Somalia),' the source said, but did not reveal the scale of the mission. "The Chinese government supports the international community's decision to cooperate on the piracy problem according to international law and the UN Security Council's resolutions," Liu Jianchao told a news briefing on Tuesday, referring to Vice-Foreign Minister He Yafei's meeting in New York. A local newspaper provided some details of the planned mission. "The fleet will leave the South China Sea and head to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters," the Global Times reported yesterday.
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World's largest floating dock put into operation
The world’s largest floating dock, 'China Shipping Emei Mountain' was recently put into operation during a ceremony held in China to celebrate its completion.
The dock was built by China Shipping Industrial Co, a subsidiary of the China Shipping Group. The new dock was immediately put to work in Shanghai at the China Shipping Changzing repair base, with the hope of strengthening market competitiveness in China.
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The dock was built by China Shipping Industrial Co, a subsidiary of the China Shipping Group. The new dock was immediately put to work in Shanghai at the China Shipping Changzing repair base, with the hope of strengthening market competitiveness in China.
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UN greenlights Somali land ops as two more ships are hijacked
New York: The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution for the first time authorizing international land operations against the pirates sheltering in Somalia.
The text, co-sponsored by the US, Belgium, France, Greece, Liberia and South Korea, gives those nations already involved in battling pirates off Somalia a one-year mandate to act against the brigands inside the country. Resolution 1851 authorizes the states to "take all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia" to suppress "acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea." However, to overcome objections from countries such as Indonesia an earlier reference in the text to "ashore" or "including in its (Somalia) airspace" was dropped. Pirates on Wednesday hijacked a Turkish cargo ship and a Malaysian tug boat and attacked three other vessels in the Gulf of Aden in the past week, a global maritime watchdog said. The latest incidents came as a European Union naval task force took over from a NATO operation patrolling the pirate-infested seas near the Horn of Africa with six warships and three surveillance planes. In the first hijacking, pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons boarded a Malaysian tug on Tuesday, Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur told AFP. The tug with 11 crew on board was heading to Malaysia from the Middle East. Choong said a Turkish cargo ship was hijacked, also in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday, by a gang of pirates who fired automatic weapons from two speed boats.
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The text, co-sponsored by the US, Belgium, France, Greece, Liberia and South Korea, gives those nations already involved in battling pirates off Somalia a one-year mandate to act against the brigands inside the country. Resolution 1851 authorizes the states to "take all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia" to suppress "acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea." However, to overcome objections from countries such as Indonesia an earlier reference in the text to "ashore" or "including in its (Somalia) airspace" was dropped. Pirates on Wednesday hijacked a Turkish cargo ship and a Malaysian tug boat and attacked three other vessels in the Gulf of Aden in the past week, a global maritime watchdog said. The latest incidents came as a European Union naval task force took over from a NATO operation patrolling the pirate-infested seas near the Horn of Africa with six warships and three surveillance planes. In the first hijacking, pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons boarded a Malaysian tug on Tuesday, Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur told AFP. The tug with 11 crew on board was heading to Malaysia from the Middle East. Choong said a Turkish cargo ship was hijacked, also in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday, by a gang of pirates who fired automatic weapons from two speed boats.
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Opec ministers fall into line
Opec oil ministers meet today to remove a record 2 million barrels per day from oil markets as they race to balance supply with the world's collapsing demand for fuel.
The 12 Opec members are also aiming to build a floor under prices that have dropped more than $100 from a July peak above $147 a barrel. They are due to meet from 3.30am EST. Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has led by example - reducing supplies to customers even before a cut has been agreed to help push prices back toward the $75 level Saudi King Abdullah has identified as "fair". Ali al-Naimi, the kingdom's oil minister, was first to publicly call for curbs of 2 million bpd ahead of the meeting. That figure was swiftly endorsed by others in the group that pumps more than a third of the world's oil. An Opec delegate told Reuters there was consensus for a cut of that magnitude starting from 1 January. "A minimum of two million we think needs to be cut so we can balance the market," Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told Reuters. "It's in everyone's interest for supply and demand to be better aligned," Nigerian Minister of State for Oil Odein Ajumogobia told Reuters. "They are clearly not at the moment." The expected cut, the third this year, would bring a total reduction in Opec supply to four million bpd, nearly a 5% cut in world oil supplies. Oil below $50 is uncomfortable for all in Opec, but especially for Venezuela and Iran which are dependent on higher prices to fund ambitious domestic programs. Oil was trading slightly firmer today, just above $44 a barrel. A limited recovery in prices would put a bit more strain on a recessionary global economy, it may help pull the world back from the brink of deflation - a growing source of concern, analysts said. "We are in harmony, we know the situation is difficult," Opec secretary-general Abdullah al-Badri said yesterday.
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The 12 Opec members are also aiming to build a floor under prices that have dropped more than $100 from a July peak above $147 a barrel. They are due to meet from 3.30am EST. Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has led by example - reducing supplies to customers even before a cut has been agreed to help push prices back toward the $75 level Saudi King Abdullah has identified as "fair". Ali al-Naimi, the kingdom's oil minister, was first to publicly call for curbs of 2 million bpd ahead of the meeting. That figure was swiftly endorsed by others in the group that pumps more than a third of the world's oil. An Opec delegate told Reuters there was consensus for a cut of that magnitude starting from 1 January. "A minimum of two million we think needs to be cut so we can balance the market," Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told Reuters. "It's in everyone's interest for supply and demand to be better aligned," Nigerian Minister of State for Oil Odein Ajumogobia told Reuters. "They are clearly not at the moment." The expected cut, the third this year, would bring a total reduction in Opec supply to four million bpd, nearly a 5% cut in world oil supplies. Oil below $50 is uncomfortable for all in Opec, but especially for Venezuela and Iran which are dependent on higher prices to fund ambitious domestic programs. Oil was trading slightly firmer today, just above $44 a barrel. A limited recovery in prices would put a bit more strain on a recessionary global economy, it may help pull the world back from the brink of deflation - a growing source of concern, analysts said. "We are in harmony, we know the situation is difficult," Opec secretary-general Abdullah al-Badri said yesterday.
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Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Russia takes on OPEC challenge
Russia - the world's second largest oil exporter - has signalled its willingness to work with OPEC this week to prop up crude prices through another round of production cuts to be announced at a meeting in Algeria.
But for all its talk of the need to protect its national interest amid declining revenues, Russia is unlikely to contribute meaningful reductions beyond already expected declines in the country's production that are resulting from underinvestment. Led by Saudi Arabia, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected to announce that it will slash output by some 1.5 million barrels a day, as it seeks to bolster prices in the face of the continued weakening of global demand. The OPEC move would come on top of previous production cuts aimed at taking 1.5 million barrels of oil a day off the market. But the cartel is eager to see non-OPEC producers reduce their output, and Russia has taken up that challenge. But even with an announcement of a sizable cut this week, few analysts believe OPEC will be able to reverse the decline in crude prices, which have plunged from a record $147 (U.S.) a barrel in July to close Friday at $46.28 a barrel in New York, after falling as low as $40 the previous week. Prices won't rebound until non-OPEC producers, including Russia and Canada, cut production in response to slumping prices, and global crude consumption revives, said Arjun Murti, oil analyst at Goldman Sachs. "We think the sharp, and sudden collapse on global oil demand exceeds OPEC's ability to, on its own, balance markets and necessitates sharply lower crude supply," Mr. Murti said. He projected crude prices will sink to $30 a barrel early next year, a level that would force Western oil companies to begin cutting back production.
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But for all its talk of the need to protect its national interest amid declining revenues, Russia is unlikely to contribute meaningful reductions beyond already expected declines in the country's production that are resulting from underinvestment. Led by Saudi Arabia, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected to announce that it will slash output by some 1.5 million barrels a day, as it seeks to bolster prices in the face of the continued weakening of global demand. The OPEC move would come on top of previous production cuts aimed at taking 1.5 million barrels of oil a day off the market. But the cartel is eager to see non-OPEC producers reduce their output, and Russia has taken up that challenge. But even with an announcement of a sizable cut this week, few analysts believe OPEC will be able to reverse the decline in crude prices, which have plunged from a record $147 (U.S.) a barrel in July to close Friday at $46.28 a barrel in New York, after falling as low as $40 the previous week. Prices won't rebound until non-OPEC producers, including Russia and Canada, cut production in response to slumping prices, and global crude consumption revives, said Arjun Murti, oil analyst at Goldman Sachs. "We think the sharp, and sudden collapse on global oil demand exceeds OPEC's ability to, on its own, balance markets and necessitates sharply lower crude supply," Mr. Murti said. He projected crude prices will sink to $30 a barrel early next year, a level that would force Western oil companies to begin cutting back production.
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Talks on armed security teams to deter pirates
Dubai: Negotiations are underway on placing private armed security teams aboard ships passing through the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden (known in Arabic as Bab al Mandab), as leading regional supertanker and container ship operators reveal details of hijack attempts on their vessels.
Mohammad Souri, Chairman and Managing Director of the National Iranian Tanker Company, speaking during the opening session of the Seatrade Middle East Maritime conference taking place in Dubai, has revealed that five of his company's ships have been chased and threatened but had escaped by outrunning the Somali pirates in their fast attack boats. At the same conference, Saleh Al Shamekh, President Oil and Gas of the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (NSCSA), said some of his company's vessels had also come under attack off the Somali coast but had escaped, in one case with the protection of an Indian Navy warship. When all ships currently on order are delivered, NSCSA will have a combine fleet of 52 ships. Al Shamekh said his company, like others, had ordered increased speeds for vessels and to stay further away from the Somali coast. In some cases, however, they are diverting vessels away from Bab al Mandab, which leads to the Suez Canal and the shortest route to Europe, in favour of the longer Cape of Good Hope route. Jorn Hinge, Chief Operating Officer of United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), also revealed two of their container ships had been attacked by the pirates without success. He spoke of the "total lawlessness" of Somali where the chance of pirates being caught was small while the rewards in terms of ransom were huge. UASC is the largest ocean carrier of dry cargo to the Middle East and jointly owned by Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
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Mohammad Souri, Chairman and Managing Director of the National Iranian Tanker Company, speaking during the opening session of the Seatrade Middle East Maritime conference taking place in Dubai, has revealed that five of his company's ships have been chased and threatened but had escaped by outrunning the Somali pirates in their fast attack boats. At the same conference, Saleh Al Shamekh, President Oil and Gas of the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (NSCSA), said some of his company's vessels had also come under attack off the Somali coast but had escaped, in one case with the protection of an Indian Navy warship. When all ships currently on order are delivered, NSCSA will have a combine fleet of 52 ships. Al Shamekh said his company, like others, had ordered increased speeds for vessels and to stay further away from the Somali coast. In some cases, however, they are diverting vessels away from Bab al Mandab, which leads to the Suez Canal and the shortest route to Europe, in favour of the longer Cape of Good Hope route. Jorn Hinge, Chief Operating Officer of United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), also revealed two of their container ships had been attacked by the pirates without success. He spoke of the "total lawlessness" of Somali where the chance of pirates being caught was small while the rewards in terms of ransom were huge. UASC is the largest ocean carrier of dry cargo to the Middle East and jointly owned by Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
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