Though the shipping giant suspended its FAL 4 Asia-Europe service after five months, CMA CGM is now telling employees that it will start the FAL 5 service in a few months’ time. No details have been given about the configuration of the new service but its launch looks set to coincide with the arrival in service of the first of eight 13,300TEU newbuildings ordered by CMA CGM. "It is a considerable challenge in a volatile economy, but it will anchor CMA CGM firmly as the leader in Asia; in China, of course, but also in countries like Korea, Japan and Vietnam," said CMA CGM vice president Nicolas Sartini. The FAL 1 deploys ten ships: one of 11,000TEU and nine of 8,500 TEU. The FAL 2 deploys eight 9,500TEU vessels and the FAL 3 has six 6,500TEU and three 8,500TEU vessels.
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009
CMA CGM aims to take leading spot in Asia
French transport liner CMA CGM appears to be poised to launch a new Asia-Europe service in July to secure a leading position in the Asian shipping market.
Bharati Shipyard to build first LNG fuelled vessel in India
Leading Offshore and Cargo Shipbuilding Company, Bharati Shipyard is on the verge of creating a record by developing the first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered vessel in the country.
"Today, we are in the design stage and will start constructing the vessels from mid 2009 and expect to deliver them by the second half of 2010," said Sauvir Sarkar, president (design) of Bharati Shipyard. The company has already got orders for two Roll on-Roll off (Ro Ro) vessels from Norway-based Sea Cargo AS. The two vessels will be designed to use LNG as ship propulsion fuel and it would be the first vessels to be built in the world as per new IMO regulations of inherent gas safe concept. Each of the vessel is estimated to cost $40 million. Among other benefits, according to Mr Sarkar, the two big advantages to the owners would be reduction in fuel cost and substantially decreased emissions. Bunker costs, which remained at a steady $100 plus per metric tonnes between 2000 and 2005, have increased 6-fold until 3rd quarter 2008, hiking up the cost of operations for shipowners. On the pollution front, International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has been tightening the levels of NOx and SOx emissions from ships and shipowners are made to opt for reducing emissions by means of low sulphur fuels, catalytic converters etc. In such a scenario, these ships are understood to provide the owners with maximum benefits in terms of environment, reduction in auxiliary machinery, engine room comfort and equipment maintenance.
Statoil’s Kristin Resumes Production
The Kristin field in the Norwegian Sea came back on stream on Jan. 22.
StatoilHydro has replaced lifeboat components and done extensive testing to ensure that these craft function in all weather and wave conditions. Kristin produces about 10 million cubic metres of gas and roughly 10,000 cubic metres of condensate per day. Production capacity is 20,000 cubic metres of condensate and just over 18 million cubic metres of rich gas per day. Production from Kristin has been shut down since 8 January. A number of specialist teams in the group have worked with the safety delegate service and lifeboat supplier Umoe Schat-Harding to find a solution. The authorities have been informed of the decision. “The problem with the new lifeboats on the Kristin platform was with the hydraulic mechanism which releases the lifeboats from the platform,” explained operations vice president Eileen Andersen Buan. Many of these craft have been modified, with new models installed on some installations during the past few years. The problems have fallen under three main heads: design weaknesses, the influence of gravitational forces during a drop, and driving the craft through the sea in extreme winds and waves.
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BigLift adds five heavylifts to its fleet
Five more heavylift vessels will be added to Amsterdam-based BigLift Shipping.
The 17,500DWT vessels will each have two 400-tonne cranes and one 12o-tonne crane. These “D-4” ships are further developments of the “D-gracht” vessels from BigLift’s parent company, Spliethoff. On board, the high allowable deck loads to stow heavy cargoes. Should visibility from the wheelhouse be obstructed by large deck loads, the vessels are easily maneuvered from a second command station forward. The vessels are being built at the Ohua Shipyard in China and will be delivered between mid 2010 and the end of 2010.
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Monday, January 26, 2009
FMC to build BP offshore gear
FMC Technologies has landed an $80 million job with BP for subsea equipment.
They are destined for the UK supermajor's deep-water projects off Angola. FMC's contract includes six subsea trees, control systems, wellheads, tubing hangers, well jumpers and flow bases. The equipment will be made and delivered this year from at FMC's Kongsberg, Norway and Dunfermline, Scotland facilities. Last week FMC announced it had won a $140 million job with BP at Block 18, off Angola. FMC and BP could not be immediately reached by Upstream for comment.
Goal-based ship construction standards- Inherent objectives for a new generation of seaworthy ships
The world's largest floating drydock CS Ermei made by China Shipping Industry Co (CIC), a unit of China Shipping Group has been put into operation.
The facility operates at CIC's ship repair yard at Liaoning province's Changxing Island near Dalian, and is used for maintenance and refit on ships from all over the world, and has an annual repair capacity of 160 ships and output value of CYN10 billion (US$1.46 billion). The drydock, designed by Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI), is 410 metres long, 82 metres wide, 28 metres draught with a uplift force of 85,000 tonnes and a self weight of 42,000 tonnes. It is the largest and most advanced floating shipyard in the world. The above news indicates, that the industry requires a better, sophisticated and prolonged seaworthy duration ships that could be delivered sooner. With almost 80 percent of the dockyards overbooked for 2009, it is time that states should look into developing innovative inventions such as the CS Ermei. The notion of “goal-based ship construction standards” was introduced in IMO at the 89th session of the Council in November 2002 through a proposal by the Bahamas and Greece, suggesting that IMO should play a larger role in determining the standards to which new ships are built, traditionally the responsibility of classification societies and shipyards.
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UKHO opens Singapore office
The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) opened an office in Singapore on January 23.
The office, based in the British High Commission, is an initiative backed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore – a key long-standing partner and influence in the region – and is staffed by a member of UKHO’s International Partnering team, Chris Thorne. The UKHO’s Singapore office is expected to serve as a springboard for capacity building in the region and delivery of training to foreign government hydrographic offices as well as a base for gaining an insight into the needs of mariners, distributors and product specialists in this busy maritime trading area. The training facility will be delivered and managed jointly with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
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