Arctic Ice Island breaks in half

The giant Ayles Ice Island drifting off Canada's northern shores has broken in two - far earlier than expected.

In a season of record summer melting in the region, the two chunks have moved rapidly through the water - one of them covering 98km in a week. Their progress has been tracked amid fears they could edge west towards oil and gas installations off Alaska. The original Manhattan-sized berg broke off the Ayles Ice Shelf in 2005. One of the scientists on the mission said that the fact that the island had headed south was significant. Arctic sea-ice shrank to the smallest area on record this year, as measured by satellite.

The US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said the minimum extent of 4.13 million sq km was reached on 16 September. The figure shattered all previous satellite surveys, including the previous record low of 5.32 million sq km measured in 2005.

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Samudera Shipping orders two containerships of its own

Samudera Shipping Line Ltd says it has entered into an agreement to purchase two container vessels for a total of US$83 million.

The vessels, to be built by Guangzhou Wenchong in south China, will each have a capacity of 1,740 TEU and be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2008. The group currently operates 22 vessels on a combination of short- and long-term lease. Samudera intends to deploy the vessels in one of its major trades, in line with its strategy of improving frequency. The group statement announced its intention to explore opportunities to purchase more vessels.

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Tianjin builds new container terminal

The building of the Eurasia International Container Terminal, which is port of Tianjin's new terminal with an annual capacity of 1.7 million TEU, has commenced, reports media.

The CNY3.6-billion project is jointly invested by Tianjin Port Development Holdings, APM Terminals and Cosco Pacific, consisting of two 100,000-ton berths and one 70,000-ton berths. It has a quay length of 1,100 metres. The facility is expected to become operational by 2008. According to Tian Changsong, vice president of Tianjin Port Group, annual throughput will surpass seven million TEU or 300 million tons by the end of this year.

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Cairn to ramp up Bangladesh drilling

UK-based Cairn Energy will spend $117 million on further exploration and development drilling in Bangladesh's offshore gas fields, senior Bangladeshi energy official Nasir Uddin said.

Preparations have been completed and drilling will commence by this week, informed government official. Cairn has already completed 2D seismic surveys at Magnama in the Bay of Bengal, more than 60 kilometres south of the port city of Chittagong. The possible gas reserve at the offshore field might be 3.5 trillion cubic feet, energy officials have said. Cairn will drill two wells in Magnama and a further one in Hatiya, another offshore gas field where the company has already completed seismic surveys. Cairn is currently operating Bangladesh's only offshore gas field at Sangu in the Bay of Bengal.

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Jindal Shipyards plans JV with Korean Co

Jindal Shipyards, a part of the $8-billion OP Jindal group, is planning to rope in Korean Maritime Consultants (Komac) for setting up the country’s first maritime technology park, expected to draw investment worth $7.2 billion.

Komac is chaired by DC Shin, known as the father of the Korean shipbuilding industry. About $1 billion will be invested in the next three years in this park, to be spread over 700 hectares. The park, to be called India Maritime Technology Park, will come up near Dahej. The project will also house a maritime technology institute.

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Whitesea places $120m order for six vessels

Whitesea Shipping and Supply, a Sharjah-based marine offshore services firm, said it has placed a $120 million order for six new anchor handling tug supply vessels and plans to sell some of its old boats.

Argentina's Astillero Rio Santiago Company will build the boats, with deliveries to be completed in about three years. The company hopes to acquire all six vessels and will take a decision after evaluating the technical information. The vessels will be built to specifications that will enable them to deliver a bollard pull of more than 100 tonnes.Bollard pull is a measurement of a watercraft's pulling capacity. At present Whitesea has 30 vessels deployed in the Gulf and on the western coast of India.

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ONGC hunts for partners to set up shipping JV

Flagship explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is on the lookout for JV with shipping companies to manage offshore support operations as its talks with state-owned SCI has hit choppy waters.

Public Sector Company ONGC has been discussing the formation of a joint venture, proposed to be christened ONShip, with Shipping Corporation of India for forming a joint venture to help it outsource peripheral support services that require operating various kinds of vessels for its operations. Sources say that differences remain on the valuation issue.

At present, ONGC, which is India’s largest company, owns about 30 vessels and contracts nearly two dozen others from private operators to keep its offshore oil pumping installations supplied with required manpower and material. The joint venture with a shipping company is aimed at bringing in better operational efficiency, safety and cost-effectiveness.

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