Japan’s political brawl for meat

Japan greeted the dispatch yesterday of its largest whaling hunt in two decades with a collective yawn, when factory ship Nisshin Maru and three chaser ships left after its ceremonial departure to newer levels of whaling from Shimonoseki.

Six ships and dozens of men set out to kill nearly 1,000 of the planet's biggest mammals, the largest whaling hunt in two decades. Local media considered the victory of Mizuki Noguchi in the Tokyo International Women's Marathon a more important story. While the rest of the world reacts with fury to these whaling expeditions, Japan shrugs its shoulders and says "What's the fuss?" The government's $1bn campaign to overturn the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling has been waged largely out of sight. Most Japanese would rather eat hamburger than whale. Hundreds of tonness of whale meat sits in freezers. The Fisheries Agency sees itself as Japan's defender against Western "culinary imperialism" and its right to marine resources. The agency says Japan's low food self-sufficiency – less than 40 per cent – gives it the right to hunt all sustainable sea life, including whales.

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French navy deters Somali pirates

Two ships carrying food aid to Somalia was escorted by the French navy to deter possible attacks from pirates.

The waters off the war-torn country are among the most dangerous in the world. Twenty-six ships, including three carrying food aid, have been attacked this year. In 2007, about 580,000 Somalis have fled their homes due to increased conflict. The country has also been ravaged by drought. The ships transported 3,650 metric tons of food aid from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to Merka, 100 km (60 miles) south of the Somali capital, Mogadishu. France says it will continue its escort operation for two months. World Food Programme Executive Director, Josette Sheeran says that piracy has damaged their ability to reach Somalia's most vulnerable people and they cannot tackle this challenge alone and are grateful to those helping to protect their ships. The attacks have led the WFP to transport some food to Somalia by road, which is far more expensive.

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Ships run aground in TN

A Vishakapatinam-bound private ship ran aground in the wee hours in the district after fishing net was entangled with its propeller on Tuesday.

The crew, which was headed by Captain D Selva was safe and had enough food and water for survival. The vessel "Jasmine", belonging to a Mumbai based company, was towing a barge along, which also ran aground near the beach at Azhagankuppam at around 4 am. Sources say that a tug from Mumbai was on its way to tow the ship back to the sea and if it did not succeed in its mission, the Coast Guard help would be sought. With the help of local anglers, the officials have been keeping in touch with the crew. The ship was on its return from Puducherry after offloading some construction materials for the port there, sources added.

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ICTSI takes over Georgian port operation

The Batumi Sea Port officially handed over the operation and management of the Batumi Container Terminal (BICT) a Georgian Company, to an International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI).

Nugzar Katamadze, BSP deputy director general; Harsh Khare, ICTSI vice president; and the entire BICT management team lead by its general manager and chief operating officer, Tonny P. Bestenbreur, witnessed the handover. BSP and BICT representatives signed the Hand-Over Protocol later in the afternoon. The container terminal handover also includes the rail ferry terminal facilities and the 181-metre general cargo berth, Berth 6. This berth caters to the receiving and loading to an export vessel of metal scraps coming from Georgia and her neighboring countries. The lease agreement to operate and manage the Batumi Container Terminal for 48 years was signed in September 2007.

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Orion a giant of our seas

Orion, an Australian passenger liner has made a major impact on cruising.

One of Australia's unique cruising experiences has been ranked second in a listing of the world's best expedition cruises. ‘The Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising And Cruise Ships 2008’ annual assessment examined about 350 vessels in its search for the best. It ranked Orion Expedition Cruises' four-year-old Orion second behind the Berlin-built Hapag-Lloyd Cruises' Hanseatic vessel, a luxury explorer cruise ship. The assessment focused on two categories: a cruise ship's facilities and as the overall cruise experience. The 104-metre Orion was Australia's only winner in expedition cruise ships. It has proved popular with holidaymakers for its intimate style of cruising. Orion holds 106 passengers and 76 crewmembers and despite the ship's size, there is no lack of choice for its guests. Outside bar areas, boutique shops, a hairdresser, numerous massage facilities, a sauna and ocean-view rooms fill the vessel.

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Oil slips below $94

Oil handed back early gains to stand below $94 a barrel on Monday as investors took profits.

However, concerns over the dollar’s weakness and uncertainties about OPEC’s moves to boost output continued to provide support. US light crude was 51 cents down at $93.34 a barrel at the time of going to press. It raised more than $1 in earlier trade to $95.15.London Brent crude fell 41 cents to $91.21 a barrel, off highs of $92.81. Meanwhile, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said that speculators on the New York Mercantile Exchange crude oil market had cut their net long positions last week.

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Shipping lines 'losing money' as bunker costs surge

The tremendous rise in bunker costs cause shipping lines to loose money on particular routes.

Ronald Widdows, chief executive of the global container shipping business APL Ltd and chairman of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA) said a large part of the industry was operating in the red, even though 2007 had been seen as a good year for shipping. Last week a new system of 'floating surcharges' and upcoming rate increase in a bid to cover bunker costs was announced by TSA soon after Widdows comment, that said TSA members wanted a system that better reflected bunker fuel price fluctuations and that bunker costs are already forcing carriers to cut capacity on trade lanes to the US.

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