JFE holdings to increase stake in Hitachi Zosen shipbuilding JV

JFE Holdings is to increase its current 50% stake in its shipbuilding joint venture with Hitachi Zosen Corp by 35%.

The Japanese steelmaking and engineering group hopes that the new stake of 85% by the end of March will allow it to focus on its shipbuilding operations. Although neither company specified how much the stake sale was worth, Hitachi Zosen said it will book a 17.1bn yen special profit from the sale and raised its net profit outlook for this fiscal year to 11bn yen from 5bn yen. The announcement of the stake purchase comes after IHI Corp. said earlier in the day it has entered into talks with JFE on a potential merger of their shipbuilding operations.
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Australian Minister condemns attack on whaling ship

The Government is aware of reports of an incident this morning in the Southern Ocean in which liquid and powder substances were thrown on board a Japanese whaling vessel by crewmembers of the 'Steve Irwin'.

Followed by the incident, Japan has advised the Australian Embassy in Tokyo that a ship’s doctor is treating three or four crewmembers on board the Japanese vessel. 'I absolutely condemn actions by crewmembers of any vessel that cause injury, or have the potential to cause injury, to anyone on the high seas,' states Minister for foreign affairs, Stephen Smith. 'I have repeatedly called on all parties in the Southern Ocean, both crewmembers of protest and whaling vessels, to exercise restraint. 'As I have previously outlined, now that the monitoring mission of the Oceanic Viking has been completed, neither protest nor whaling vessels can in any way assume that the Australian Government will be in a position to respond immediately in the event of any serious incident.' 'Crew members of ships in the Southern Ocean should not attempt to board other vessels. All parties should understand that to do so may well be contrary to the law of the flag state of any such vessel. The Australian Government strongly discourages activity, which could be illegal or unsafe activity, which could lead to injury or loss of life at sea. The Australian Government remains strongly committed to action to end Japan's whaling program in the Southern Ocean.

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New maritime student award in North America

Lloyd's Register Educational Trust announces Maritime Technology Student Award in North America

The Lloyd's Register Educational Trust (LRET) has signed an agreement with the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) in the United States of America to sponsor a Maritime Technology Student of the Year competition and award in North America. Designed to highlight excellence, the award will encourage students to showcase their research and investigative studies on various topics in the areas of naval architecture and marine engineering and promote leadership in the industry. The 'Lloyd's Register Educational Trust Maritime Technology Student of the Year Award' is a collaborative effort between SNAME, which is dedicated to advancing the art, science, and practice of naval architecture, shipbuilding, and marine engineering, and the LRET, which supports science, engineering, and technical education programs worldwide. The award is based on an existing scheme that the LRET has funded in the UK for ten years. The competition is open to undergraduates at academic institutions throughout the US and Canada that offer programs in naval architecture and marine engineering.

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Classification Societies joins to support ShipTek 2008

ShipTek 2008, the premier event on Ship Building & Conversion Technology has attracted the attention of major IACS members like RINA, Class NK and Germanischer Lloyd.

The event with such magnitude can play a crucial role in increasing the awareness of Safety of Life at Sea and addressing the environmental concerns during shipbuilding, repairs & conversion. The world’s leading classification societies have realized its significance and came forward to support the event. All the above-mentioned societies will be presenting papers at the Conference, which is to be held at Cochin on 29th and 30th April 2008. The new concept of an eco-friendly ship presented by Class NK will be an attraction at the event. RINA is the classification society from Italy where as Class NK and Germanischer Lloyd represents Japan and Germany respectively. All these organizations have offices worldwide.
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Continued cooperation with COSCO

Richard Sadler, Lloyd's Register CEO was honoured to meet Capt. Wei Jiafu, President and CEO of COSCO Group, on 28th February 2008 during his recent visit to China.

The meeting, also attended by COSCO Vice President Capt. Zhang Liang and senior executives from COSCO and Lloyd's Register, centred on ideas to further improve the services that classification societies provide to shipping companies. Richard Sadler said of the meeting, "the achievements of COSCO and their transformation have been very much based on developing a reputation that gives their clients a confidence in their service and their staff a pride in their reputation.”

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Donjon Marine Tows Disabled LNG Carrier

Donjon Marine Co., Inc. provided the 7000hp salvage tug Atlantic Salvor to assist the (LNG) tanker Catalunya Spirit, which lost propulsion and became disabled and adrift East of Cape Cod in February.

On February 12, 2008, Donjon Marine, Co., Inc., a provider of multi-faceted marine services including marine salvage, heavy lift, dredging and related emergency response services was contracted by the ship-owner and the Unified Command at Coast Guard Sector Boston to assist the liquefied natural gas tanker Catalunya Spirit, which lost propulsion and became disabled and adrift East of Cape Cod. Donjon provided its 7000-HP salvage tug Atlantic Salvor to pick up the disabled ship at the location where she was dead in the water and tow her to safe anchorage. With the tow wire attached until repairs were completed, Donjon stood by until the vessel got underway. The Catalunya Spirit did not suffer structural damage or release any pollutants when it became disabled.

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Container ports biggest polluters

United States container ports are one of the biggest sources of pollution in their cities according to a study.

Container ports are one of America's fastest-growing business sectors, container shipments having risen from less than 10 million TEU in 1980 to almost 45 million TEU in 2006. The diesel fuel burned by over 10,000 containership visits to its country's ports each year releases 'health-threatening toxic air contaminants, smog-forming air pollutants and climate-changing greenhouse gases'. However, the study also says a wide range of pollution-control strategies are now available and gaining momentum.

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