Schat-Harding opens South China service station

Booming demand in has led leading lifeboat and davit manufacturer Schat-Harding to open a third Chinese service station, this time in Guangzhou's busy port area of Huangpu in Hong Kong.

The new base is close to all the major repair yards in Guangzhou in order to offer faster response times for the yards and ports of Shenzhen, Hong Kong and the South China region. It opens on June 1 with four service engineers and a service administrator. Andrew Lemmis, who heads up Schat-Harding's China Service Division says, "When we first started service in China in February 2006 we were in a small office operating from the Qingdao manufacturing plant with just four service engineers, a service co-ordinator and myself. We outgrew that office is less than a year and relocated to Shanghai. Now we have service facilities in Qingdao, Shanghai and Guangzhou with 22 service engineers and back office support from ten dedicated service staff." David Bradley, Executive Vice-president of Schat-Harding's servicedivision adds: "It is likely Schat-Harding will soon have to open a fourth service facility in north China, possibly Dalian or Tianjin, such is the demand we are experiencing in China and across Asia."

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Korea aims to surpass Norway as world's fifth largest shipping fleet by 2010

South Korea expects to become the fifth-largest shipping power in the world by 2010 as specialized funds and tax benefits help local companies expand their fleets.

The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said as of 2007 South Korea ranked sixth with 36.80 million deadweight tons (DWT) of registered ships. Greece topped the list with 175.70 million DTWs of registered ships, followed by Japan, Germany, China and Norway. "As of May, local shipping companies have ordered 22.00 million DWTs of ships that will be delivered in the coming years, which should be sufficient to push up South Korea's overall ranking by at least one notch," said a government official. He said there has been a 20 percent annual gain in ships in recent years. The expert said the move by local shipping companies to pay tonnage taxes instead of corporate income taxes starting in 2004-2005 helped increase the size of vessels operated. This move has helped companies cut ship operation taxes by up to 60 percent. Companies have also started to make use of shipping funds that allow companies to purchase vessels using money collected by investors. The investors are given set tax breaks for their investments. The ministry said efforts are currently underway to help shipping companies expand business areas that are vital for sustained growth.
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BV Fleet Tops 8,000 Ships

Bureau Veritas has topped 8,000 ships in its classed fleet, which now totals over 60m gt.

With the delivery of the high speed passenger ferry Superstar from Fincantieri to its owners Tallink in April 2008, the BV classed fleet reached more than 60.2 m gt and 8,000 ships. The continuing strong fleet growth follows excellent financial results reported in April, with the BV group posting a turnover of Euro2.067bn, up 12 percent on 2006, and adjusted net profit up 19 per cent. Both figures reflected guidance given before a successful IPO in October 2007, and the forecast for group growth in 2008 is 15 per cent overall. However the Marine Division outperformed the rest of the group in 2007 and continues to grow strongly, not only in the classed fleet but in a wide range of services to owners. The Marine Business Review 2007- 2008 details the activities of BV's marine division in all its sectors and highlights some key clients. The Bureau Veritas classed fleet has experienced rapid growth since 2004, rising from 41m gt in 2004 to 60.2m gt in April 2008. The number of classed ships grew from 6,650 ships at the beginning of 2004 to 8,015 ships classed in April 2008. Strong growth continues as so far this year 305 ships totalling more than 2,700,000 gt have joined the register. Among the new constructions delivered in April 2008, highlights include four liquefied gas carriers, two of them over 100,000 gt, three passenger ships, one of them over 90,000 gt, three bulk carriers, one of them over 90,000 gt, three container ships and fifteen mid-size tankers.

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India tightens entry rules for offshore ships registered abroad

India has further tightened entry rules for foreign ships used in offshore exploration and drilling activities along the country’s coast.

Maritime regulator, the Directorate General of Shipping, has made it mandatory for foreign-registered ships seeking work in India to be classed with the country’s classification society, the , or IRS. This is seen as another attempt by the regulator to raise the profile of the Indian entity among the global shipping community over a key aspect of ship operations. “The decision will lead to dual classification of offshore ships and add to the costs of oil and gas exploration firms,” said an industry official. Classification societies set technical rules on safety and protection of ships, confirm that designs and calculations meet these rules, survey ships and structures during construction and commissioning, and periodically survey vessels to ensure they meet the rules as per the requirements of the International Maritime Organization, or IMO, the global maritime regulator. Ships not classed with or certified by a classification society are not allowed to take to the sea. Foreign ships are normally classed with one of the 10 full-time members of the International Association of Classification Societies, or IACS, the main global body of classification societies. IRS is an associate member of IACS. The classification rule is the latest in series of regulatory tightening. It also ruled that foreign registered offshore ships working in India’s territorial waters should be less than 25 years old. Such ships should be inspected and any deficiency rectified before they enter the Indian waters. India-registered ships are exempt from this rule as they are already registered and licensed to ply in Indian waters.

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Russian oil and gas companies interested in Mediterranean area

Russian oil and gas companies are interested in developing the Mediterranean region and are set to expand their presence in the area, an executive of Russia's largest independent natural gas producer said according to RIA Novosti.

"We are interested in working in the Mediterranean," Leonid Mikhelson, Novatek board chairman, said at an international conference in Cairo, Egypt, adding that Russian technology would suit the region's climatic conditions. "Therefore we will be expanding our presence in the region, based on the principle of economic feasibility," Mikhelson said. Last September Novatek bought a 50% stake in a concession agreement for the exploration and development of the El-Arish offshore deposit in Egypt from Tharwa Petroleum S.A.E. The offshore block covering an area of approximately 2,300 sq km (888 sq miles) is located along the Mediterranean coast to the north of the Sinai. Half of the block lies at depths of up to 50 meters (164 ft) with the remaining area reaching up to 500 meters (1,640 ft). The agreement provides for a minimum exploration period of four years, which will include geophysical studies and the drilling of two wells. Novatek gas fields are located in the Yamal-Nenets autonomous area in West Siberia, which has the world's largest natural gas reserves. The region accounts for over 90% of Russian natural gas output and around 20% of global gas production.

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Excelerate Energy delivers first LNG cargo to Northeast Gateway Deepwater Port

Houston-based Excelerate Energy's Northeast Gateway (NEG) facility has commenced commercial operations in USA.

Operating approximately 30 kilometres east of Boston in Massachusetts Bay, 'Excellence' has begun offloading its cargo of natural gas into the existing HubLine natural gas pipeline system operated by Spectra Energy, also headquartered in Houston. Excelerate Energy CEO Rob Bryngelsoon said that the vessel's regasification technology was the quickest, least expensive and most environmentally responsible way to bring new natural gas supplies to markets. New England's demand for natural gas will increase considerably in coming years, thus calling for new supplies to ensure price and supply stability. The completion and commissioning of NEG marks the first new LNG-receiving facility to be built on the US east coast in more than 30 years. With its inaugural delivery, 'Excellence' will offload about 28.3 million cubic metres of gas in order to test all of the port and pipeline systems. Ultimately, the system is capable of supplying up to approximately 20 per cent of New England's natural gas demand.
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First sailing of new Far-East EU 5 liner service of Grand Alliance in Hamburg

The ‘Oslo Express’ (3,322TEU) from shipping company Hapag-Lloyd was the first vessel in the new Far-East-Europe EU 5 liner service of the Grand Alliance to sail for the Port of Hamburg.

The ‘Oslo Express’ is one of a total of eight container vessels of the new fifth Far-East container liner service of the Grand Alliance cleared at the HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) each week. The new liner service focuses on Central and South China as well as South East Asia and links the Chinese ports of Shanghai, Ningbo and Xiamen as well as the city state of Singapore to the northern European continent. The ports of destination in northern Europe are Hamburg, Amsterdam and Southampton.

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