Tug skipper body found by divers

The body of the skipper of the Flying Phantom tug has been found by police divers searching the capsized vessel.

Stephen Humphreys, 33, from Greenock, was the last of three dead crewmembers to have been recovered. Search teams had previously found the bodies of his colleagues, Eric Blackley, 57, of Gourock, and Robert Cameron, 65, of Houston, Renfrewshire. Special prayers had earlier been said in churches in Greenock for the families affected by the tragedy on the River Clyde. The Flying Phantom sank while towing a cargo vessel to Glasgow at about 1830 GMT on Wednesday.

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Heavily armed pirates spark regional shipping alert

A worrying trend in the increasing intensity and ferocity of pirate attacks on commercial shipping vessels has put the regional shipping industry on high alert, as attacks on container, vehicle and general cargo ships continue to rise.

Ship Master's, pilots and crew are being warned to be vigilant on the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Aden and Red Sea by the International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) Piracy Alert service. North Korea's MV Dai Hong Dan cargo vessel was violently hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia late last month. A US Navy destroyer tracked the cargo ship after engaging pirates who had hijacked the vessel, helping the crew to regain control. Three seriously injured crew members have since been transferred to a naval vessel for treatment. Five pirates were captured and two were killed when the US Navy recaptured the ship.
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Russia intends to stay the leading seller of patrol boats and landing ships

Russia has the first place among the suppliers of new boats and the landing ships (29 units worth over US$1 billion).

It also has a growing package of orders: in 2001-2005, it exported 10 ships (US$227 million), in 2005-2010 this parameter will reach 19 units (US$776 million). In 2011-2015 Russia will still strengthen its position in the market. Russian portfolio orders for these five years are already at 21 units (US$760 million). Recently Russia undertook a number of measures aimed at strengthening the positions in this segment in the market, especially in a number of the most perspective countries. In particular, in February 2001 Vietnamese Navy began tests of the first patrol boat PS-500, displacement 530 tonnes, built by Ho Chi Minh shipyard with the assistance of Russia. In the further, it was planned to continue the work on this series with the purpose of their improving and attributing to them the functions of small corvettes. At the order of Vietnam Russian designed corvette of the type SKR-2100.
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Shell and Frontier beef Bully plans

Anglo-Dutch super major Shell and Frontier Drilling are to build a second “Bully rig” drillship, designed for deep-water and arctic drilling.

The pair announced the formation of a joint venture in October to develop the Bully rig concept, with the first vessel to be delivered by early 2010. A second vessel would be designed and built, with delivery also scheduled for 2010. The second Bully will initially be used primarily in the Gulf of Mexico, Shell said. Frontier’s drillships unit will operate both vessels on behalf of the venture under separate management services contracts. The Bully rig ships are designed to offer a lower-cost and more flexible alternative for drilling in ultra-deep and arctic conditions compared with existing new-build rigs of the same capacity. The ships will be capable of drilling in 10,000 feet of water with subsea blowout preventers and 12,000 feet of water with surface BOPs. They will also be equipped with ice-class hulls for arctic drilling.
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Warships back after deployments

Royal Navy sailors have returned to their Devonport base for Christmas.

About 400 people welcomed the HMS Portland warship back after a six and a half month deployment to the Caribbean and North Atlantic. The ship assisted in Belize with the aftermath of Hurricane Dean and intercepted two tonnes of cocaine. HMS Northumberland is due to sail into Devonport on Friday after a four-month-long deployment in the Mediterranean and Red Sea. The ship patrolled the Mediterranean as part of a Nato's Operation Active Endeavour to prevent piracy and smuggling. The deployment included an exercise involving over 40 ships and 19,000 personnel from 12 Nato countries. During its time at sea, HMS Portland travelled 34,908 nautical miles and 40 members of the ship's company went ashore in Belize to help victims of Hurricane Dean.
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Japan plans for new whale factory ship

Japan is planning to build a new, bigger factory ship to hunt whales in the Southern Ocean.

The news came amid unconfirmed reports that Japan would not be killing endangered humpback whales during in its current hunt, as it had earlier declared. The possibility was raised by the US ambassador to Japan, Thomas Schieffer, but the Japanese Foreign Ministry said that no agreement to abandon the humpback hunt exists. The stated Japanese plan this year is to hunt 900 minke whales, 50 fin whales and 50 humpbacks. The possibility of Japan building a new whaling factory ship to replace the Nisshin Maru, which was damaged by fire earlier this year, was first raised in May in Suisan Keizai, a Japanese fishing industry publication. The Nisshin Maru needs to offload cargo to a companion ship during the annual hunt. Greenpeace quizzed 23 Japanese shipbuilding companies, and believes Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has been negotiating for the contract to build the new ship.
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Marine protection plan unveiled

Public consultation has begun on proposals to extend protection for marine life around Britain.

Seven areas, totaling 10,000sq km (4,000sq miles) of sea, have been earmarked as sites for the UK's first offshore Special Areas of Conservation. They include habitats of important sea life, such as sandbanks, sand volcanoes and cold-water coral reefs, found in the seas surrounding the UK. Currently, only coastal and inshore areas are protected. The government says areas rich in wildlife further out to sea face a different kind of threat. Jonathan Shaw, the minister for marine, landscape and rural affairs, said: "The UK has one of the richest marine environments in the world.
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